|
| 1. |
|
05/24/13 |
Weak |
 "...like the tribute reel at a retirement dinner.... This stately film lays out the good, the bad, the sad and the proud in stark patterns, to mostly soporific effect." |
| 2. |
|
05/08/13 |
Moderate |
 "...a nice enough introduction... [but] it is too hagiographic to dive into messy spots, where truth tends to live. YouTube clips can offer as much insight." |
| 3. |
|
05/03/13 |
Weak |
 "...inconclusive from start to finish, and while that appears purposeful, it's also pretty dull. And flat, too.... no character is developed enough to draw much interest." |
| 4. |
|
02/16/13 |
Weak |
 "...a good melodrama can be plenty entertaining. But not here, with long close-ups and lingering two-shots of actors whose work cannot support such attention.... induces more lethargy than thrills." |
| 5. |
|
11/30/12 |
Good |
 "...you'll have sympathy for the hard-working woman whose self-improvement lists included exhortations of things she 'must' do and 'never' should do." |
| 6. |
|
10/17/12 |
Moderate |
 "...cuddly with cliché, farcical but maybe not enough.... The boldness is welcome, the execution awkward. The actors are fine..." |
| 7. |
|
10/12/12 |
Good |
 "...observant documentary avoids pedagogy; it's not always artful, but it has a relaxed, light touch that never topples into pretension." |
| 8. |
|
10/12/12 |
Excellent |
 "...has an exquisite ache... What's extraordinary is the absolute love these adults show for the children, even amid their searches for, and confrontations with, identity." |
| 9. |
|
09/21/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...lighthearted, colorful, nonpartisan... in its determined politeness, the film sometimes has the flavor of 'Schoolhouse Rock!' " |
| 10. |
|
09/14/12 |
Very Good |
 "...calmly intelligent... 'Step Up to the Plate' asserts how family, in multifarious ways, can be the most deeply affecting of ensembles." |
| 11. |
|
09/14/12 |
Moderate |
 "...quenches only slightly a thirst for the subject... All this is welcome; all this is too little... the film is at best postcard-pretty, and not much deeper." |
| 12. |
|
06/15/12 |
Weak |
 "...a pretty wretched movie if you want to activate your brain cells, but its busily plotted second half approaches involving." |
| 13. |
|
06/01/12 |
Weak |
 "...dull filmmaking.... most of the camera time goes to airy, awkward sex (no genitalia, though plenty of breasts and backsides), and while it's never titillating, it's also never involving." |
| 14. |
|
05/18/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "For all its drama (and creative filmmaking), the crisis that Mahler describes plays out airy and rote... a core spontaneity seems missing... veers toward melodrama." |
| 15. |
|
05/18/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...too often pedantic (pull out your notebooks)... The dances themselves are entertaining... has the everyday vibe of a bunch of friends putting together a summer camp video." |
| 16. |
|
04/27/12 |
Good |
 "...an important piece of not only the company's history but also of dance history, explained by interviews with former company members and others there at the time." |
| 17. |
|
04/20/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a little dry. The 3-D adds little of impact, and the environment as rendered here isn't as visually rich as it is in 'Everest' or 'The Living Sea.' " |
| 18. |
|
04/13/12 |
Fair |
 "...well-acted if mild and silly... swamped in Movie People who have Movie Finances, Movie Homes, Movie Emotions and a Movie Ending." |
| 19. |
|
03/09/12 |
Good |
 "...a character study mixed with outlandish crime procedural. Everyone's quite serious about the joke... a dry treat -- a solid, self-aware cult pleasure." |
| 20. |
|
03/02/12 |
Excellent |
 "...has a surprising rhythmic genius: joy juxtaposed with humiliation, silliness with sadness, fantasy with reality, and none of it formulaic." |
