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| 1. |
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08/21/09 |
Very Good |
 "...decades of war and years of Taliban repression have fallen to the wayside, however briefly, as Kabul's answer to 'American Idol' seduces a violence-weary Afghanistan." |
| 2. |
|
08/03/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...gives vivid examples of Ai Weiwei's highly conceptual yet visually striking art... a sobering, cautionary tale." |
| 3. |
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07/27/12 |
Very Good |
 "Lanthimos is a poet of the inappropriate response; an inventor of outlandish narrative premises that cast a penetrating and often comic light on a wacko world." |
| 4. |
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06/19/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...exposes conflicts of interest between big-time U.S. producers of food and those who are supposed to regulate them (too often the same people, the filmmakers contend)." |
| 5. |
|
04/13/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...an unsettling mix of life-as-usual and sudden moments of terror... The final key ingredient in this splendidly acted story is the music..." |
| 6. |
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03/23/12 |
Very Good |
 " 'Painting is another form of thinking,' Richter says, and as you watch him in action, you can actually glimpse his mind buzzing away." |
| 7. |
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06/15/12 |
Very Good |
 "Jason Patric's performance is a deadpan treat. His can-do, take-charge character is in continual zany contrast to his surreal surroundings." |
| 8. |
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10/22/10 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Lixin Fan, handling his own cinematography, shoots with such a painterly eye that he almost undermines the social critique he's making." |
| 9. |
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08/13/10 |
Outstanding |
 "...follow-up to 1998's 'Happiness,' dials down the gross-out factor of the earlier movie. But it still maintains Solondz's knife-edge balance between psychodrama and satire..." |
| 10. |
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07/03/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...engages the eye as much as the mind. Here's a canny director who doesn't let technical prowess overwhelm his sure, resourceful sense of human drama..." |
| 11. |
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06/18/10 |
Very Good |
 "...leans more toward moody mystery than fanciful whimsy... shot in misty blue-green colors that make its Irish coastal setting look both beautiful and desolate." |
| 12. |
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08/14/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...rises high above standard biopic..." |
| 13. |
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10/26/12 |
Very Good |
 "Great things can come in small packages -- and so can humdrum things... the best of the films are gems." |
| 14. |
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10/09/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...has some turbulent emotional currents at play beneath its quiet surface.... masterful family drama..." |
| 15. |
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12/10/10 |
Very Good |
 "It's hard to say whether the film will convert viewers who aren't already Merritt-ophiles.... for those who know his work, there's plenty to savor." |
| 16. |
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05/29/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...a wry and measured portrait of family inheritance -- and the necessity, sometimes, of discarding the past... couldn't be more thoughtfully calibrated or observed." |
| 17. |
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07/24/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...boasts subtle performances and curious situations with unpredictable outcomes.... beautifully shot, superbly acted and with thorny complications." |
| 18. |
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08/13/10 |
Very Good |
 "...a wildly imaginative if erratically executed urban fable. Toilet humor is one thing -- toilet hallucinations quite another.... has 'cult movie' written all over it." |
| 19. |
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05/03/13 |
Very Good |
 "Handsomely crafted and smartly performed, the film works on its own terms. But in expanding the story's canvas, it dilutes rather than translates the power of the book." |
