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| 1. |
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04/30/13 |
Outstanding |
 "...unexpectedly galvanic... a madly creative, darkly comical, and fiendishly self-aware actioner with muscle to spare... thrilling..." |
| 2. |
|
09/26/12 |
Outstanding |
 "As in the very best Anthony Mann and John Ford westerns, the film at once understands the visual power of violence and is deeply critical of it." |
| 3. |
|
04/29/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...a dark-toned coming-of-age tale gradually grows into a macabre psychological portrait that might very well make Rob Zombie smile with admiration.... an unflinching mixture between social realism and horror that remains both affecting and potently surreal." |
| 4. |
|
09/25/10 |
Outstanding |
 "...features the director's alter-ego, the titular biophilic cinematographer... Robinson is a loner in the digital age, a scavenger and forager of information, and, as the narrator tells it, a relentless documenter of the molecular basis of historical occurrences." |
| 5. |
|
05/14/13 |
Very Good |
 "...densely plotted, and occasionally borders on the convoluted, but the clarity and inventiveness of the direction keeps the drama and action constantly percolating." |
| 6. |
|
05/09/13 |
Very Good |
 "Wang's no-frills style of documentation visually echoes a preadolescent trio's simple yet unforgiving world and its sense of labor as life." |
| 7. |
|
11/28/12 |
Very Good |
 "...lean, fleet-footed... The pacing is propulsive, the death pieces are creative, and though the performances are one-note, they're never stiff or distracting." |
| 8. |
|
09/19/12 |
Very Good |
 "...the film remains largely humorous... the Tavianis' sense of composition and visual rhythm focuses on elemental pleasures.... inspirational, terrifying, and timely..." |
| 9. |
|
07/29/12 |
Very Good |
 "...an honest and breezily melancholic film, thoroughly clear-sighted in its intentions and ideas and bravely committed to the emotional rigors of its central relationship." |
| 10. |
|
06/12/12 |
Very Good |
 "...a work of genre mechanics, in this case a supernaturally flecked thriller... throbs with substantial personal weight and bristles with a violent, haunting interior life." |
| 11. |
|
03/17/12 |
Very Good |
 "An essential work... provides a birdsong of perseverance in the face of irrational violence, immense historic anger, and grim, seemingly insurmountable realities." |
| 12. |
|
03/22/11 |
Very Good |
 "A great deal of credit for how fully rounded these characters are and how deeply human they feel must be given to actors Philomène and Emmanuel Bilodeau..." |
| 13. |
|
10/08/10 |
Very Good |
 "...something of an elliptical enigma, conveying an odd exhileration punctuated by the closing image of the buntings inexplicably finding themselves freed from their cage." |
| 14. |
|
03/21/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...derives quite a lot of charm out of keeping each character's personal conflicts just that, personal... entirely watchable and mildly pleasing..." |
| 15. |
|
10/01/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...memorable and fascinating.... exudes an elemental, intriguing mysteriousness, a reminder that things remain unseen and in a state of unrest." |
| 16. |
|
08/30/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Kim's direction remains ruminative, even poetic, in its pacing, its sense of place, and its approach to intimacy, but this is by some measure his most unsuitable script." |
| 17. |
|
08/12/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...an engaging entertainment with an ample amount of visual delights... there's the familiar strain to be universally relevant while also being somewhat unique." |
| 18. |
|
04/28/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...admirable, if a bit uneven... Despite crafting a consistently engaging film, director Malik Bendjelloul doesn't present the full scope of Rodriguez's life..." |
| 19. |
|
03/21/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a lopsided, if irrefutably involving, act of gonzo reportage, part absurdist how-to guide on becoming a diamond smuggler, part outsider tour of a truly lawless land..." |
| 20. |
|
10/28/12 |
Moderate |
 "...aesthetically adventurous, if not terribly original... At once impassioned and wholly manipulative... a ruminative worst-case scenario as genre piece..." |
