|
| 1. |
|
09/09/09 |
Excellent |
 "...lively, smart, handsome... it was born as a 10-minute short (which won an Oscar) and, frankly, could keep growing in size and scope before wearing out its welcome." |
| 2. |
|
07/24/09 |
Excellent |
 "...the film does a lovely job of balancing emotional clarity, formal trickery, pop sweetness, and heartfelt narrative." |
| 3. |
|
05/22/09 |
Good |
 "Nikita Mikhalkov plays the jury foreman, allowing himself a bit of business that eventually erases itself... Alas, too much of this splashy film is just like that." |
| 4. |
|
11/19/10 |
Excellent |
 "...it is undeniably Franco's film, and he imbues it with palpable verve, purpose and naturalness. It's a terrific performance..." |
| 5. |
|
08/24/12 |
Very Good |
 "Slight but winning... It's a predictable sort of humor, but it's played with intelligence, wit, charm and, blissfully, very little pretense." |
| 6. |
|
03/16/12 |
Good |
 "...uneven... can't decide if it's a satire, a joke, a thriller or a heartstring-tugger, and in dithering in its tone and its aims it ultimately turns out to be none of the above." |
| 7. |
|
02/10/12 |
Good |
 "A surprise Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature... a handsome and perky film built around a story so simplistic that it almost feels like it wasn't ever written down." |
| 8. |
|
12/23/11 |
Very Good |
 "...there's a certain rote quality to the storytelling and perhaps too much dramatic weight placed on the ideas and, thus, talk.... refreshing in many regards..." |
| 9. |
|
10/22/10 |
Excellent |
 "...a powerful, haunting documentary about work done by Nazi film crews in the Warsaw ghetto in the spring of 1942, just before mass deportations of Jews..." |
| 10. |
|
03/19/10 |
Outstanding |
 "...long and sometimes grueling, but it never feels indulgent... In order to be subtle about the horrifying transformation he records, Audiard needs to let it unfold slowly..." |
| 11. |
|
02/03/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...a portrait of an essential and sympathetic human dilemma, and in that it's both real and timeless in ways that transcend borders, cultures and languages." |
| 12. |
|
10/09/09 |
Outstanding |
 "It's about life, 'A Serious Man' is, and it's as close, I think, as any American narrative movie of recent vintage has come to touching on the uncanniness of it." |
| 13. |
|
12/25/09 |
Excellent |
 "...a handsome and inventive and truly felt film. Credit for that goes to Ford, of course, but much, too, falls to Colin Firth, who's superb..." |
| 14. |
|
02/18/11 |
Very Good |
 "The film's real draw is Stellan Skarsgård's restrained performance, and the fantastic small moments when Ulrik's stoic face cracks during fleeting moments of fatherly joy." |
| 15. |
|
02/26/10 |
Outstanding |
 "Delirious. Hilarious. Absolutely one-of-a-kind." |
| 16. |
|
06/22/12 |
Excellent |
 "...when Bekmambetov is in full stride and the gore, oaths and silver bullets are flying, it's a kick. The title may sound like a joke, but the movie is serious fun." |
| 17. |
|
02/24/12 |
Good |
 "...a laudable tribute to servicepeople... [but] despite having a simplistic script to perform, these folks barely make it through their scenes..." |
| 18. |
|
04/03/09 |
Very Good |
 "...there are wonderfully underplayed bits of memory obviously derived from Mottola's youthful real life... a heart that can be broken with a whisper." |
| 19. |
|
08/03/12 |
Excellent |
 "You come away with an appreciation of the abstraction, scale and daring of Ai's art and, even more, a sense of the living man in his courage, humor and restlessness." |
| 20. |
|
01/27/12 |
Very Good |
 "...there are nice turns by Brendan Gleeson, Mia Wasikowska and Pauline Collins. Like Albert himself, the film isn't showy, but it's got quality and heart." |
