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| 1. |
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05/23/13 |
Very Good |
 "...diverges from the expected.... One of the mysteries the film explains is Bradley Manning's access to so much intel." |
| 2. |
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05/16/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...polemical.... would be more compelling if it had used the U.S. government's assault on the ad hoc activist to also discuss threats to the American political environment." |
| 3. |
|
05/16/13 |
Good |
 "While not neglecting historical details, the director takes a modernist approach to storytelling... Winocour, who also scripted, often makes her points without words." |
| 4. |
|
05/03/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...most of the movie drifts at the same speed as the raft.... The trip might have been less languid if the directors had drawn the supporting characters more fully." |
| 5. |
|
05/02/13 |
Excellent |
 "...smart, clear-eyed... illuminates all of Assayas' work by introducing the boy who struggled between art and pop, ideology and vocation." |
| 6. |
|
04/25/13 |
Weak |
 "...dreary.... fails to finesse an essential problem: how to make a boring man interesting.... the miscast Firth doesn't bring anything to the role..." |
| 7. |
|
04/25/13 |
Moderate |
 "...startlingly frank if narratively underdeveloped.... Ulrich Seidl's strategy is to reiterate and escalate, which is finally more exhausting than illuminating." |
| 8. |
|
04/19/13 |
Weak |
 "The soundtrack does include great stuff from such classic musicians as Bach, Mozart and the Velvet Underground, but it's not used very effectively." |
| 9. |
|
04/18/13 |
Good |
 "The contrasting demeanors of its two main characters give the film its spark, but the movie has some pungent moments without them." |
| 10. |
|
04/11/13 |
Fair |
 "Pretty but inert... plays like an eccentric audiovisual remix of an original no one but Malick knows.... a cinematic tone poem that offers much to look at, and little to see." |
| 11. |
|
04/04/13 |
Good |
 "Crisp in execution and classic in ambiance.... a pleasure to watch, even if the payoff is rather less substantial than the backstory." |
| 12. |
|
03/29/13 |
Moderate |
 "Mortensen can add only so much meaning to an underwritten character and a story whose gangster-movie developments establish a vague feeling of unease..." |
| 13. |
|
03/29/13 |
Good |
 "...doesn't present a particularly dynamic tale.... But the performances are assured, the ambiance impeccable and the themes resonant." |
| 14. |
|
03/28/13 |
Weak |
 "...features no performances of note.... First-time 'G.I. Joe' director Jon M. Chu rarely trusts his actors to sustain an action sequence." |
| 15. |
|
03/28/13 |
Moderate |
 "...too much of this seething drama is devoted not to characterization but to posturing.... the script fails to negotiate the turn from Luke to Avery." |
| 16. |
|
03/22/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...packs a lot of style.... Punctuated by stately funerals and chaotic melees, it is as elegant and impassive as its suit-wearing thugs." |
| 17. |
|
03/21/13 |
Moderate |
 "...earnest, carefully detailed and finally a bit glib. Sally El Hosaini fights the conventions of the brotherly gangster melodrama, but the conventions win." |
| 18. |
|
03/21/13 |
Good |
 "Although the story is told with narration rather than dialogue, Tobias relies too much on reconstruction.... Still, it's an unforgettable story. It's also one that remains raw..." |
| 19. |
|
03/14/13 |
Fair |
 "There are some funny bits and characters around the edges, but its core is empty of humor... a three-void circus: the script, the central character, the main performance." |
| 20. |
|
03/08/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...serious and well made but will appeal primarily to those with an interest in the devastated setting (1945 Tokyo) and the enigmatic title character (Emperor Hirohito)." |
