|
| 1. |
|
04/28/12 |
Very Good |
 "...a visually intoxicating documentary, most notably for how the filmmakers use cinematography to heighten our emotional responses." |
| 2. |
|
04/25/12 |
Moderate |
 "...a wafer-thin narrative stretched to its breaking point, wholly dependent on the charisma and chemistry of its voice talents to carry us through..." |
| 3. |
|
04/19/12 |
Moderate |
 "...isn't so much an epic documentary as it is a Wikipedia page forcibly stretched to fill a 145-minute running time." |
| 4. |
|
04/16/12 |
Moderate |
 "...mixed... much of the film plays it safe when it comes to the more complex aspects of race, religion, and social codes, relying on surface silliness for cheap laughs." |
| 5. |
|
02/09/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a modern-day western dedicated to the classic tango between spoken threats and sudden bursts of violence.... achieves something rare for a Hollywood action film: depth of purpose." |
| 6. |
|
02/06/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...what sets 'Undefeated' apart from the usual underdog sports story is how the filmmakers emphasize the importance of mentorship as something separate from on-the-field interactions between coach and player." |
| 7. |
|
02/02/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...one of the most surprising genre hybrids in years.... Visually glassy and smooth... values the dynamic mood of each scene without being overly stylized." |
| 8. |
|
12/27/11 |
Poor |
 "...unflinchingly manipulative and pointless... 'Angels Crest' and its insufferable characters make sure we know how clearly all of this heartache and suffering has been so fatefully ordained." |
| 9. |
|
11/19/11 |
Very Good |
 "If Robert Altman had made a cop drama, it might have looked and sounded like 'Rampart'.... continuously defies expectations..." |
| 10. |
|
11/14/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...hits the familiar plot points most prison films cherish (escape attempts, riots, chase sequences), but Marius Hoist's keen directing abilities prove that worn-out film genres can be advanced with the right casting and setting." |
| 11. |
|
11/13/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "The wide range of genres on display (rock, classical, alternative) proves 'Garbo: The Spy' to be a bit schizophrenic, unsure of how to compute the massive amounts of information at hand." |
| 12. |
|
11/04/11 |
Poor |
 "For the first time, I can't excuse the bull Clint Eastwood is selling.... a suffocating bore of indulgent orating, faux-historiography, and inconsequential dramatic outbursts." |
| 13. |
|
10/31/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Watching Farina dominate every scene is a joy.... director Joe Maggio is smart enough to give his forceful star the wiggle room he needs to find the balance of spite and tenderness in between the obvious dialogue sequences." |
| 14. |
|
10/25/11 |
Moderate |
 "...a postmodern deconstruction of the romance picture... Taretto challenges genre conventions by engaging the palpable overlap between physical and emotional disconnection, but that doesn't change the fact that he and his film are trying entirely too hard to make us swoon, and that's the biggest turnoff of them all." |
| 15. |
|
10/10/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...an inspiring but choppy documentary on a high school 'power writing' class in Bronx, NY... finds the unique passions and heartaches in three stories..." |
| 16. |
|
09/28/11 |
Moderate |
 "...the film's clunky combination of interview segments and archival footage lacks the immediacy the subject matter demands... Omar the martyr overwhelms Omar the human being in this ultimately dry and overtly biased attempt at cinematic protest." |
| 17. |
|
09/27/11 |
Very Good |
 "...a volatile but intoxicating examination of personal emptiness.... director Cam Archer and cinematographer Aaron Platt give Barkin's all-consuming performance the perfect sense of texture and sheen her character deserves..." |
| 18. |
|
09/19/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...lovely but problematic... beautifully rendered, there's a troubling sense of certainty permeating throughout the dramatic climax, something almost preachy in nature." |
| 19. |
|
08/29/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...essentially a platform for discussion and listening.... finds collective transcendence through the veil of so much personal tragedy." |
| 20. |
|
08/21/11 |
Poor |
 "...a terribly confused examination of moral comeuppance that fails to even interestingly establish the standard expectations of the genre. There's absolutely no fresh perspective here; just more juiceless samplings of what's already been cooked to death." |
