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| 1. |
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05/11/12 |
Very Good |
 "...cinematic comfort food aimed at well-settled audiences looking for a little vicarious, AARP-approved spunk. Not that there's anything wrong with that." |
| 2. |
|
04/13/12 |
Fair |
 "...the vagueness of Don's character (what does he actually believe?) and the borderline cartoonish depiction of those kooky, atheistic Reedies prevents us from taking the movie seriously..." |
| 3. |
|
03/16/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...a sneaky little movie.... The plot threads, and the cast, converge on a traffic-choked bridge out of Baton Rouge. There, the movie takes a sudden, and astonishing, left turn..." |
| 4. |
|
02/23/12 |
Excellent |
 "Based on the true case of Australia's most notorious serial killer... pulls no punches in depicting the relentless unpleasantness of its setting and the horrific banality of the violence which springs from it." |
| 5. |
|
02/10/12 |
Excellent |
 "...maintains the same Chianti-dry wit that made Gianni Di Gregorio's previous film such a pleasant diversion." |
| 6. |
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01/27/12 |
Excellent |
 "...uses Kaurismäki's dry wit to tell a tale that's more earnest and political than anything he's done, but which retains the skewed Scandinavian worldview we've come to expect." |
| 7. |
|
12/09/11 |
Very Good |
 "...offers a rare look at the everyday life of a spiritual leader... a compelling, universal film." |
| 8. |
|
12/02/11 |
Very Good |
 "The cast is nearly flawless, and we haven't even mentioned the marvelous John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling as Justine's messed-up parents." |
| 9. |
|
11/23/11 |
Very Good |
 "...a tightly focused look at the realities underlying our nation's continued reliance on this archaic tool of criminal justice." |
| 10. |
|
11/18/11 |
Moderate |
 "...it's strange, and it's pretty consistently funny. But there's a strong undercurrent of cruelty to the humor, verging on poor taste, or at least a lack of real humanity." |
| 11. |
|
11/04/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...hitches an insightful, cleverly structured script to a star-making performance from Elizabeth Olsen..." |
| 12. |
|
10/07/11 |
Good |
 "The performances are solid, the cinematography is stunning, and the setting is intriguing. But the whole thing feels bloodless, hitting us over the head with its understatedness." |
| 13. |
|
10/07/11 |
Excellent |
 "What really shines is the jigsaw plot (based on a play), which piles revelation on twist without straining credulity, partly because the film is so thoroughly set in the real, contemporary world." |
| 14. |
|
09/30/11 |
Excellent |
 "...isn't quite as outré as it thinks. Still, thanks to a slew of engaging performances and a script that finds the sweet spot between crass and curdled, it's a winner." |
| 15. |
|
09/30/11 |
Very Good |
 "...doesn't have anything to say that 'Harold and Maude' didn't say 10 times better 40 years ago. But the budding relationship between the two lonely adults at its center is enough of a reason to seek it out." |
| 16. |
|
09/23/11 |
Moderate |
 "...creaky, saccharine... The only thing that could make this movie more French would be a guillotine.... it's a movie the likes of which the Nouvelle Vague was supposed to have disposed of decades ago." |
| 17. |
|
09/16/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Director Oliver Schmitz and screenwriter Dennis Foon never intended to make a condescending, simplistic movie more adept at pricking consciences than at telling a worthwhile story." |
| 18. |
|
09/09/11 |
Excellent |
 "Vera Farmiga paces this decades-spanning tale just right, imbuing each chapter with period detail and giving her excellent cast (John Hawkes and Dagmara Dominczyk stand out) room to breathe." |
| 19. |
|
09/02/11 |
Moderate |
 "...there's no real sense of the atmosphere of a sticky, buggy, fetid jungle, and no intensity to a story that cries out for a sense of moral outrage." |
| 20. |
|
09/01/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...these immature, fairly pitiable protagonists go about their absurd project in all the wrong ways. But you just keep rooting for them." |
