|
| 1. |
|
07/05/10 |
Very Good |
 "Obscured vantage points, sudden cuts to black, inhuman shadowy figures lurking just out of clear eyesight... all contribute to nerve-jangling immediacy." |
| 2. |
|
04/24/11 |
Very Good |
 "Miike goes classical... a 'Seven Samurai'-indebted swordfighting epic delivered with a blockbuster scope and sincerity free of his trademark gonzo insanity." |
| 3. |
|
01/30/13 |
Very Good |
 "If the animation category is rife with aesthetic splendor, the dramatic category is far more uneven... the documentaries shine a light on universal issues of suffering..." |
| 4. |
|
01/31/13 |
Very Good |
"There's scant dialogue but plenty of eloquent storytelling in the five animated short films... Leave it to the documentary field to truly wrestle with hardship and mortality..." |
| 5. |
|
10/10/12 |
Moderate |
 "Less inept than its worst-of-the-year title suggests... nonetheless proves too ramshackle and aimless to ever achieve true absurdity." |
| 6. |
|
10/12/12 |
Moderate |
"...writer/director Jordan Roberts never properly establishes a clear narrative through-line, with his script haphazardly jumping between incidents..." |
| 7. |
|
04/10/13 |
Moderate |
 "...elevates the story of Jackie Robinson to that of cornball legend rather than just honoring his legitimately uplifting, heroic saga by telling it straight." |
| 8. |
|
06/27/12 |
Very Good |
 "Sarkozy-era socioeconomic tensions form the backdrop for romantic entanglement and disintegration.... works up a potent dramatic restlessness..." |
| 9. |
|
09/24/11 |
Very Good |
 "Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen capture their historic figures' relatable humanity and larger-than-life brilliance with subtlety and grace..." |
| 10. |
|
08/27/11 |
Weak |
 "...delivers only squishy faux-outrageousness that, like Jason Sudeikis's one-note stud, exudes an unwelcome air of self-satisfaction." |
| 11. |
|
07/18/11 |
Weak |
 "...intends to be a dramedy, but with next to no humor materializing the film quickly bogs down into earnest indie bathos... Phoniness so pervades the action..." |
| 12. |
|
11/09/11 |
Poor |
 "...writer/director Allie Dvorin chops up her tale via groan-worthy 'chapter' title cards -- 'Chapter 2: For Love or Money' and 'Chapter 9: Man Makes Plans and God Laughs' -- and occasionally chops off someone's head with shoddy filming." |
| 13. |
|
11/07/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Nikolaj Arcel handles the material with a stately grace that compensates for the story's predictable trajectory..." |
| 14. |
|
11/08/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
"The way to a queen's heart is through Rousseau here... church and state oppression can't, at least for a time, quell enlightenment urges." |
| 15. |
|
02/06/13 |
Weak |
 "Without any engaging small-scale human drama or larger social or culture-clash import, the film comes across as trivial, and too often also indulgent and pretentious." |
| 16. |
|
09/29/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...superb.... Farhadi exudes sincere empathy for his tale's competing POVs, taking time to understand and acknowledge the root motivations of his various players..." |
| 17. |
|
11/03/11 |
Very Good |
 "Penned with surrealist wit by series creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and helmed with zany panache by director Todd Strauss-Schulson..." |
| 18. |
|
08/30/10 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...the initial, overeager mood of slapstick goofiness is enough to make one cringe.... marked by gorgeous fairy-tale cinematography..." |
| 19. |
|
06/21/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...delivers one over-the-top, in-your-face 3D-enhanced image and set piece after another... affords moderate humor simply from the ludicrous juxtapositions..." |
| 20. |
|
04/20/11 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...visual beauty helps compensate for a script that wastes no opportunity for heartstring tugging... remains committed to addressing the harsh realities..." |
