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| 1. |
|
04/27/12 |
Very Good |
 "It's suggested that things will improve if a new Mexican president is elected, but under present circumstances, any kind of optimism is highly unconvincing." |
| 2. |
|
04/20/12 |
Weak |
 "The poodle gets the biggest laugh, looking sufficiently startled as he's being sucked down the jetliner's toilet. Oops... did I spoil the gag? No worries, you can thank me later." |
| 3. |
|
03/15/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "If you can overlook its shortcomings and focus on the information it provides, you may find it highly enlightening.... it's badly directed and poorly performed, but its message remains valid." |
| 4. |
|
02/24/12 |
Moderate |
 "...essentially a World War III thriller for the 'Twilight' crowd, in which our fashionable, ridiculously outnumbered heroes instantly develop amazing survival skills and rise up to fight the enemy.... Enemy invasion? Dude, what a buzzkill." |
| 5. |
|
02/10/12 |
Very Good |
 "Academy rules define shorts as original, stand-alone films running '40 minutes or less, including all credits,' and this year's nominees provide a bumper crop of ingenuity." |
| 6. |
|
01/20/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "If you've been following the franchise in comic books (manga) or on film and TV, then don't hesitate to check out the film. Not a fan? Don't bother." |
| 7. |
|
12/02/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...shiny and delicate, like a Christmas-tree ornament, but it's got just enough substance to balance out the frolic and fortitude of defiant youth in Moscow circa 1955." |
| 8. |
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11/11/11 |
Outstanding |
 "Maybe we know what's going on, maybe we don't. That subtly unsettling ambiguity is yet another thing that makes this beguiling film so enticingly different." |
| 9. |
|
11/11/11 |
Very Good |
 "...an intimate, meticulously crafted meditation on the impact of civilization on the natural and spiritual landscape of the American South." |
| 10. |
|
10/14/11 |
Moderate |
 "More sick than scary and more visceral than logical... But in his ongoing collaboration with novelist Jack Ketchum, director Lucky McKee's extremity is undeniably effective..." |
| 11. |
|
10/07/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...filmmaker Tiffany Shlain struggles to find the thread that connects her father, her upbringing and her own playful curiosity to the complexities of life in the age of texting, tweeting and apps..." |
| 12. |
|
09/23/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...standard-issue... It never violates the basic intelligence of its plotting, but it could have been much better.... benefits from refreshing injections of low-tech adrenaline." |
| 13. |
|
08/12/11 |
Very Good |
 "[Monte] Hellman subtly shifts between film and reality (and a possibly hidden identity), refusing to coddle us with easy distinctions. The final scene offers clarity, at least, if not a satisfying payoff." |
| 14. |
|
07/29/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...loud, chaotic, colorful, occasionally amusing... inventive enough that it almost begs for a lavish, live-action Michael Bay makeover, but the plot is so derivatively familiar that it feels like a rote exercise..." |
| 15. |
|
07/08/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...takes a 'pseudo-realistic' approach to history while upping the ante on medieval carnage.... Through it all, Paul Giamatti spits bilious fury... What's not to like?" |
| 16. |
|
06/24/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a classy, good-looking chick flick in the old-school tradition.... A bit too tidy, in a movie that lacks the kind of decades-spanning payoff it really needs to work." |
| 17. |
|
05/20/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Hong Kong action specialist Andrew Lau's first romantic melodrama. It's all quite harmless, as tear-jerkers go, despite an overwrought screenplay that strains credulity and feels 20 minutes too long." |
| 18. |
|
05/13/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...demands the viewer's attentive participation as it miraculously straddles the line between the orchestrated epiphanies of fiction and the simple, unadorned reality of documentary." |
| 19. |
|
04/29/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...an exceptionally well-balanced documentary that takes a complex and compassionate look at the controversial issue of raising exotic, potentially dangerous animals as household pets." |
| 20. |
|
04/15/11 |
Outstanding |
 "Posthumously hailed as the greatest American comedian since Richard Pryor... doesn't deny the comic's inner demons.... Hicks was born for stand-up greatness, and taken from us all too soon." |
