|
| 1. |
|
05/10/12 |
Good |
 "...sustains interest through the smooth efficiency of its storytelling and the engaging performances of its lead players." |
| 2. |
|
05/06/12 |
Poor |
 "...a shapeless and charmless teen-skewing trifle stocked with trendy slanguage and social-network gimcracks that make it seem like something four years past its expiration date.... plays like a mash-up of three or four segments of an ABC Family sitcom..." |
| 3. |
|
05/03/12 |
Weak |
 "...a contrived suspenser... Samuel L. Jackson offers a performance that could be labeled Swift's Premium and sold by the pound.... more than a few melodramatic scenes are quite funny, intentionally or not." |
| 4. |
|
04/15/12 |
Moderate |
 "...a lightweight and overlong feel-good drama that plays like a mashup of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'Friday Night Lights'.... handsomely produced but ponderously uplifting..." |
| 5. |
|
04/11/12 |
Good |
 "...tactfully charts the sort of artistic and philosophical differences that can eventually undermine any group endeavor, even among seemingly like-minded collaborators." |
| 6. |
|
03/21/12 |
Good |
 "...isn't preachy: The underlying anti-abortion message is notably understated, and religious plot elements are implicit rather than explicit until the final reel." |
| 7. |
|
02/24/12 |
Fair |
 "...feels like a very long time to unwind a drearily predictable storyline.... To his credit, Perry manages to avoid at least one or two cliches endemic to this sort of sudser." |
| 8. |
|
02/21/12 |
Moderate |
 "Obviously sincere but unremarkably bland... provides only a modest amount of uplift while recounting the true-life story of Richard Wallrath... For some viewers, the only real standout will be Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who cameos as himself... Yes, Perry does remember all of his (few) lines." |
| 9. |
|
01/20/12 |
Good |
 "...helmers Måns Mårling and Björn Stein sustain a suitably rapid-fire pace while noticeably elevating the level of graphic slice-and-dice, run-and-gun mayhem." |
| 10. |
|
01/17/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...dialogue-heavy stretches and an ambiguous finale could leave ticketbuyers impatient for less chatter and more chomping." |
| 11. |
|
01/05/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Despite the palpable air of deja vu that hangs over it like a light fog, 'The Devil Inside' generates a fair amount of suspense during sizable swaths of its familiar but serviceable exorcism-centric scenario." |
| 12. |
|
12/25/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a modestly inventive and involving variation on a standard-issue sci-fi doomsday scenario.... the rote familiarity of scripter Jon Spaihts' premise is neatly counterbalanced by the exotic unfamiliarity of the pic's Moscow setting." |
| 13. |
|
12/01/11 |
Weak |
 "...respectably crafted but thoroughly predictable... rarely deviates from the game plan followed by countless other dramas about self-absorbed young hotheads who get a shot at redemption on the playing field." |
| 14. |
|
10/17/11 |
Good |
 "...an undemandingly pleasant indie drama about the true-life exploits of the 1971-72 Immaculata College basketball team, which set a new standard for achievement in women's sports." |
| 15. |
|
10/03/11 |
Good |
 "...a generally low-key but sporadically exciting account of Canada's most notorious bank robber of the post-WWII era. Abundant in persuasive period detail..." |
| 16. |
|
10/01/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...convincingly sincere but entirely too long-winded.... pic as a whole would have benefited from judicious trimming down from its 129-minute length.... director [Alex] Kendrick handles a few action setpieces with impressive dexterity... performances across the board are credible and creditable." |
| 17. |
|
09/29/11 |
Good |
 "...a slow-building, stealthily creepy supernatural thriller that takes a teasingly indirect approach to generating suspense and escalating dread." |
| 18. |
|
09/13/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Yet another intense thriller about an upscale family terrorized by violent home invaders... takes an old-school approach to unsettling auds, largely eschewing the sadism and nihilism that lately have been hallmarks of this subgenre." |
| 19. |
|
09/09/11 |
Weak |
 "Uneven performances, flat direction and an overall sense of narrative arbitrariness... the frustratingly sketchy characters and relationships suggest the tragic possibility that screenwriter Horton Foote died before completing a satisfying final draft." |
| 20. |
|
09/02/11 |
Weak |
 "...little more than a modestly clever stunt.... the found-footage flourishes -- jump cuts, eruptions of static, swervy camera movements, etc. -- get in the way of narrative clarity." |
