|
| 1. |
|
10/27/10 |
Very Good |
 "...reps crude, violent, flashy and sentimental fare, but with a sharp, intelligent edge... This blood-spattered fantasy about a Barcelona street kid trying to make good for Mom revels happily in its own cliches, delivering well-crafted, high-testosterone entertainment..." |
| 2. |
|
09/29/10 |
Good |
 "...may look deceptively lightweight, but this no-frills, sincere if sometimes cliched drama nicely sidesteps sentimentality and haranguing social criticism... wobbly dramatics are compensated for by a wonderful central perf from kid thesp Hernan Ocampo." |
| 3. |
|
09/10/10 |
Excellent |
 "...powerful, richly layered... Iciar Bollain's fifth feature is her most ambitious and best, driving its big ideas home through a tightly knit Paul Laverty script that only falters over the final reel." |
| 4. |
|
07/02/10 |
Excellent |
 "...a satisfyingly intense and suitably incendiary prison drama that keeps the viewer tightly handcuffed during its first hour before falling victim to the fraud of improbability.... The cast is superb..." |
| 5. |
|
12/30/09 |
Excellent |
 "...a compelling, gracefully told account of an extraordinary Spanish double agent during WWII who helped change the course of history." |
| 6. |
|
12/21/09 |
Good |
 "An intellectual concierge, a precocious 11-year-old and a refined Japanese gentleman are the strange trio at the heart of the sometimes uplifting, sometimes cynical 'The Hedgehog'.... a basically touching, engaging parable about the importance of unconventionality..." |
| 7. |
|
10/04/09 |
Outstanding |
 "A deeply rewarding throwback to the unself-conscious days when cinema still strove to be magical... simply mesmerizing.... director Juan Jose Campanella's finest film." |
| 8. |
|
09/25/09 |
Very Good |
 "An absorbing and at times moving look at life for someone with Down syndrome... two fine central perfs hold interest throughout, keeping at bay side issues that continually threaten to swamp the drama. The helmers avoid turning the pic into a feel-good schmaltzfest..." |
| 9. |
|
09/03/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "An enjoyably slick but entirely soulless update of Fritz Lang's controversial 1956 noir, 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' drags screaming into the light much that Lang wisely left in the shadows." |
| 10. |
|
03/17/09 |
Good |
 "Partly a film about films and partly a film about love, Pedro Almodovar's 'Broken Embraces' can't quite decide where its allegiances lie." |
| 11. |
|
02/04/08 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a polished but verbose whodunit... Some auds will enjoy its plentiful, philosophy-lite bantering and games-playing; others may feel it gets in the way of the entertaining if outlandish plot." |
| 12. |
|
01/01/08 |
Excellent |
 "...a consummately achieved, lyrical meditation on how to capture things before they're gone forever.... thanks to sharp editing, pic never becomes boring. Alberto Rodriguez's lensing is superb, and similar attention is paid to the sounds of rural life." |
