|
| 1. |
|
01/22/01 |
Good |
 "...the mostly teen cast attacks the material with frightening gusto, and Tatsuya Fujiwara dutifully invokes the voice of inner moral conflict... handsome and vigorous..." |
| 2. |
|
02/18/03 |
Fair |
 "...semi-cloying... suffers from trying to be all things to all auds, but provides enough sap along the way to satisfy the undemanding.... Despite pro handling on both sides of he camera, the storytelling and filmmaking ring false, especially, in the characterizations..." |
| 3. |
|
06/27/05 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...some tart comedy and uneven drama... Tyro co-helmers-writers Michael Aimette and John G. Hofmann don't seem to entirely believe in their own plotting devices..." |
| 4. |
|
02/24/06 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...teems with talking-head testimonials, anecdotes and opinions.... has the texture of a large home movie chock-full of memories." |
| 5. |
|
06/08/07 |
Excellent |
 "...a puckish and perpetually lively night out at a New York strip club... writer/director Abel Ferrara is in a wonderfully loose and comedic mood... features a grand parade of characters whom the actors bring furiously to life." |
| 6. |
|
06/18/07 |
Outstanding |
 "...announces a genuinely original filmmaking talent who literally pulls no punches in his depiction of teen angst and racial warfare on the streets of 1997 St. Petersburg, Fla." |
| 7. |
|
07/03/07 |
Outstanding |
 "...a stunning feature debut... features scene after scene of dialogue that recall Tom Stoppard in their precise, hilarious and mind-expanding use of language." |
| 8. |
|
10/08/07 |
Moderate |
 "...verges on musicvid territory.... Several pieces, alas, are either expendable or even cheesy, harming the film's emotional momentum." |
| 9. |
|
10/22/07 |
Weak |
 "Though Huppert is ideally cast, director Alessandro Capone's conception is studied, with a gummy pace and an inability to reach emotional catharsis that leaves just a hint of what the movie could have been." |
| 10. |
|
11/27/07 |
Weak |
 "...a lot like cotton candy -- decked out in pink and other bright colors, sickly-sweet and designed to evaporate on contact.... a nothing of a movie, a wannabe cute but arch, unfunny comic-melodramatic farce..." |
| 11. |
|
01/28/08 |
Poor |
 "...stymied by arch, stagy dialogue, bizarre characterizations and ultra-chilly filmmaking." |
| 12. |
|
01/28/08 |
Moderate |
 "The effect of being in the midst of the breakout is bracing at first, but soon settles into a routine made somewhat annoying by Benjamin Wallfisch's repetitive jolting cues..." |
| 13. |
|
01/29/08 |
Very Good |
 "As ever with Peralta, it's as impossible to take in everything on a first viewing as it is to look away from the screen." |
| 14. |
|
02/08/08 |
Fair |
 "...a slice of slick trash about bad guys pitched against each other resembles a Tony Scott movie without any of his intelligence and cinematic invention.... Final 15 minutes is a predictable bloodbath, with a payoff for an overplayed gag." |
| 15. |
|
04/07/08 |
Weak |
 "Reminiscent of some of the worst aspects of fellow Canadian Paul Haggis' 'Crash,' Ed Gass-Donnelly's over-calculated, crisis-fueled script links yuppies, crack addicts and a cop, with few signs of its origins as the writer-helmer's stage play 'Descent.' " |
| 16. |
|
04/21/08 |
Moderate |
 "Type A meets Type B, and the formula plays out rather dryly... has far too much blank space demanding a trim... the finale comes off as abrupt and contrived." |
| 17. |
|
05/19/08 |
Outstanding |
 "...supremely accomplished... marks personal artistic progress of director Lisandro Alonso and an impressive standard for others to match." |
| 18. |
|
06/23/08 |
Fair |
 "...dutifully and unimaginatively follows a cluster of culinary arts students... latest in a long, dull line of Yank nonfiction films designed with the best intentions..." |
| 19. |
|
06/30/08 |
Weak |
 "Actor-turned-director Mark Webber combines the worst of two schemes in his debut feature: overweening artistic pretense with a crudely conceived political message." |
| 20. |
|
07/02/08 |
Weak |
 "More a provocation than a fully realized film... strives for a bold connection between spring-break party excess and Abu Ghraib. That's right... Abu Ghraib.... Deliberately divisive and ultimately vacuous, if unforgettable..." |
