|
| 1. |
|
12/08/11 |
Poor |
 "...a movie about self-absorbed douchebags that wallows in their douchebaggery. But honesty alone can't compensate for shittiness..." |
| 2. |
|
01/31/13 |
Weak |
 "...a B-movie that tries to redeem its exploitation elements by couching them as arty feminist critique... turgid..." |
| 3. |
|
05/17/12 |
Weak |
 "...excruciating to watch for an hour and a half... Seen as some kind of absurdist, meta-textual horror story, 'American Animal' almost works. In every other way? It's fuckin' poopy-loopy." |
| 4. |
|
07/14/11 |
Weak |
 "...a misfire of the first order.... like a Coen brothers movie without any wit, style, or clever twists.... the manic tone works against any kind of narrative momentum..." |
| 5. |
|
12/09/10 |
Weak |
 "...all silly, silly surface.... The film isn't erotic or profound. It is occasionally comic, though -- like reading the finalists for one of those Bad Sex In Fiction awards." |
| 6. |
|
04/25/13 |
Fair |
 "Bahrani's intentions are good, and the movie's plot is suitably complex.... But the dialogue and performances are about at the level of a Founders' Day pageant." |
| 7. |
|
03/21/13 |
Fair |
 "...director Marc Evans and screenwriter Laurence Coriat fumble both the musical side of their movie and the coming-of-age side.... the songs are mostly inert." |
| 8. |
|
03/07/13 |
Fair |
 "Friedrich's snide tone gets in the way, turning a study of capitalism run amok into one artist who just can't stand all these rich squares and their 'fancy dogs.' " |
| 9. |
|
02/07/13 |
Fair |
 "...makes no effort to explain or understand... The performances are good -- but what little story there is has no sense of real life..." |
| 10. |
|
01/10/13 |
Fair |
 "...naturalistic... [but] it devolves into a string of scenes where people shout at each other about their feelings.... Its actors are terrific. All of them beg for something better." |
| 11. |
|
12/06/12 |
Fair |
 "The surfeit of plot and the ponderous themes go from feeling shoehorned in to taking over the film -- a sad case of the tail wagging the dog." |
| 12. |
|
11/01/12 |
Fair |
 "...the film's structure is odd, jumping around in Chapman's life in a way that makes the chronology and the significance of any given incident hard to understand." |
| 13. |
|
07/26/12 |
Fair |
 "...does have a real 'no idea what's going to happen next' quality, which is rare. Then again, that's because the movie feels haphazard and unfinished..." |
| 14. |
|
06/14/12 |
Fair |
 "...not much happens and no one has much amusing to say... There's a solid framework in place here for a fun, original twist, but Vigalondo fails to fill that frame with a picture worthy of it." |
| 15. |
|
05/17/12 |
Fair |
 "...a broad period comedy that squanders a fascinating subject... settles for cheap laughs and condescension." |
| 16. |
|
04/12/12 |
Fair |
 "Besson and Frayn hit the high points of Suu Kyi's triumphant, tragic life, but they connect those dots with thick, straight lines... a movie like this needs more shading..." |
| 17. |
|
01/12/12 |
Fair |
 "D'Onofrio's feature directorial debut is a dilettantish gore-fest... offers one good twist on the killer-vs.-campers concept, but otherwise is about as basic as it gets." |
| 18. |
|
11/03/11 |
Fair |
 "...there's a difference between 'funny' and 'comedy,' and this adaptation tries way too hard to be nutty, at the expense of just getting across what Neil McCormick knows." |
| 19. |
|
10/27/11 |
Fair |
 "The movie isn't witty or thrilling -- at least not any more so than a typical episode of any basic-cable action series... the twists feel writerly, not organic." |
| 20. |
|
08/18/11 |
Fair |
 "...it looks cheesy... because filmmaker Jeff Warrick couldn't get anyone from the advertising world to talk to him, his interview subjects tend to be left-wing politicians..." |
