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| 1. |
|
10/11/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...one of the best documentaries of the year.... offers more substantive insights into pressing issues of public education and urban poverty than many political commentators muster in a career.... so raw that it transcends sociology." |
| 2. |
|
11/04/11 |
Outstanding |
 "...one of the most accomplished and undersold directorial debuts this year.... a searching, present-tense study of evolving cultural values in the heartland..." |
| 3. |
|
12/27/10 |
Outstanding |
 "...viscerally raw and lyrically stylized reverie for first love lost.... yes, devastatingly sad.... it works beautifully." |
| 4. |
|
09/09/11 |
Good |
 "...proudly affirms the American dream, reclaiming it for Muslims who see no conflict between their patriotism and their faith.... Though there are few surprises, the emotional arc is satisfying enough..." |
| 5. |
|
10/19/11 |
Moderate |
 "...priestly parables, absurdist fables, campfire horror yarns.... If you're feeling thoroughly confused but still sort of curious, this film was made for you." |
| 6. |
|
10/07/11 |
Moderate |
 "...tracks a half-century of the gay civil-rights movement through the lens of Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans.... it becomes difficult to track individual personalities..." |
| 7. |
|
10/06/11 |
Moderate |
 "Conceptually ambitious and oblique in the extreme.... It fails to engage either the intellect or the senses. At once austere and conceptually overwrought... both too much and not enough." |
| 8. |
|
09/16/11 |
Moderate |
 "...skirts by on the lightly likable charm of its subject... its general superficiality is compounded by a strategic avoidance of divisive political issues." |
| 9. |
|
09/16/11 |
Moderate |
 "...somehow Mr. Reid has an ability to push so far into the depths of stupidity that he breaks out the other side, making you laugh in spite of yourself." |
| 10. |
|
09/14/11 |
Moderate |
 "Yates systematically avoids difficult issues... Like its dictator-nailing subtitle, 'Granito' often feels in its certitude like an inversion of vintage neoconservatism." |
| 11. |
|
10/14/11 |
Fair |
 "...spits out more references and audiovisual material than any one person can manage. What's missing is a compelling synthesis and clear through line." |
| 12. |
|
09/09/11 |
Fair |
 "...a somber morality tale set in Quebec... so artistically well-intentioned and earnest in its ambitions that you can almost forgive the banality of its every scene." |
| 13. |
|
10/03/11 |
Weak |
 "...a slog... Though the scenes of light comedy are mildly amusing, and the action set pieces are competently directed, they feel tacked on to the main storyline..." |
| 14. |
|
11/05/10 |
Weak |
 "...the narrative seems meandering, its modulation of tone singsong and slushy.... rife with grade-school civics lessons, tribal boosterism and Wikipedia-worthy anecdotes." |
| 15. |
|
12/02/11 |
Poor |
 "Director Dina Rosenmeier's tendency to insert herself at the center of the story at first seems slightly immodest. Gradually, it suggests a deeply unsettling level of self-involvement." |
| 16. |
|
06/26/11 |
Poor |
 "The principal characters can be reduced to a handful of tics, and the entire story line is immaculately devoid of incidental detail... like sitting in a padded cell for 90 minutes." |
| 17. |
|
03/18/11 |
Poor |
 "...excruciating acts of violence are somewhat offset by Mr. Mena's pictorial grace notes... But frankly I'd sooner touch a nine-volt battery to my tongue than sit through this film again." |
| 18. |
|
11/11/11 |
Poor |
 "This jumbled epic of absurd coincidences and logical gaps can barely track its internal mythology.... an ugly, burlap sack of a film..." |
| 19. |
|
10/21/10 |
Poor |
 "...initially very confusing... the color-processed stock looks distractingly wrong, like someone in the lab forgot to carry a one or left the intern in charge for the day." |
