|
| 1. |
|
04/29/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "If you're willing to overlook the blatant outsider's perspective, it works as a gripping film about filmmaking with a globally topical hook." |
| 2. |
|
03/25/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...suggests a marriage between the archly whimsical style of a Wes Anderson film and the deadpan near-blankness of the acting in a Robert Bresson film." |
| 3. |
|
02/13/13 |
Weak |
 "If you prefer your social commentary in the form of a glorified sitcom with broad humor and even broader caricatures, look no further.... suspend disbelief and swallow..." |
| 4. |
|
02/06/13 |
Moderate |
 "...looks so glossy, plasticized, and unreal that all you end up thinking about is special effects. State of the art, in this case, is no substitute for soulful craft." |
| 5. |
|
01/29/13 |
Weak |
 "...an especially egregious example of documentary-as-hagiography... eventually degenerates into an orgy of congratulation.... irritatingly insistent one-sidedness..." |
| 6. |
|
01/06/13 |
Moderate |
 "...aims to be more than an anti-paparazzi tract; it also wants to elucidate the role these photographers play in a whole complex web of celebrity obsession in America..." |
| 7. |
|
12/10/12 |
Moderate |
 "...as bracing as its message undoubtedly is, there's no escaping the feel this film exudes of being little more than an 87-minute back-patting session." |
| 8. |
|
11/26/12 |
Poor |
 "Meaney and Morgan's chemistry is convincing... [but] 'Parked' is the kind of middling bore in which the notes are all laid out, but the music never floods through." |
| 9. |
|
10/29/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...illustrates with a combination of street ballet, exultant music, and unflagging verve.... A more inspiring middle finger to cynicism is difficult to imagine." |
| 10. |
|
09/18/12 |
Very Good |
 "...a courageous act of reportage... images and interviews are eye-opening enough to justify the dangerous effort.... impressionistic, inquisitive..." |
| 11. |
|
09/17/12 |
Moderate |
 "...despite a handful of scenes offering a modicum of context to these characters' seemingly unfathomable decisions, '17 Girls' offers precious little genuine illumination." |
| 12. |
|
08/07/12 |
Moderate |
 "...conventional to the point of dullness... has a lot of information, but its pose of academic detachment proves to be just a subtler way of selling its pro-Israel agenda." |
| 13. |
|
07/22/12 |
Very Good |
 "...we begin to get a sense of how Young-chan experiences the world: forever full of discoveries to be made, sensations to be felt.... a 'triumph of the human spirit' film..." |
| 14. |
|
07/08/12 |
Very Good |
 "...convincing... For all the footage in the world, the Polite Rapist remains as invisible to Lily and Nira as they both undoubtedly were to him about 20 years ago." |
| 15. |
|
06/09/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...as entertaining as the doc is, it never really measures up to the fascination and sheer force of personality of its subject. Maybe no film could, really..." |
| 16. |
|
05/06/12 |
Very Good |
 "...suggests scintillating questions about how much of a responsibility artists have to reflect current political moments in their music..." |
| 17. |
|
05/06/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...it's the formal and thematic adventurousness that not only makes it near-Sebaldian, but also thrilling, provocative, and fascinating in its own right." |
| 18. |
|
04/28/12 |
Very Good |
 "...sidesteps most of the potential pitfalls of sentimentality inherent in its premise and ends up as a generally affecting and occasionally insightful drama about the ways people handle an awareness of mortality." |
| 19. |
|
04/22/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...amiably loose... warmly observant... beautifully acted... it's a shame the film eventually threatens to fall apart under the weight of an excess of plot twists and hedged bets." |
| 20. |
|
03/21/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...while the filmmaker's visible passion isn't quite enough to make the film a great work, there's still enough here that's worth taking seriously." |
