|
| 1. |
|
05/10/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...tries hard -- too hard, perhaps -- to strike at something real.... The characters' high-minded, if unsophisticated, patter clashes with the film's ironic-chic style..." |
| 2. |
|
05/03/13 |
Outstanding |
 "...a series of puzzles with no answer that achieves that rare aesthetic peak contemporary art seems to eschew with extreme prejudice: The sublime." |
| 3. |
|
04/05/13 |
Very Good |
 "While it's impossible to surpass the original -- so much of its fame is a function of its time -- Alvarez's version still manages to measure up.... He is a great new talent..." |
| 4. |
|
03/29/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...silly, if fun... has its high points, but it is for the most part deeply goofy.... the pace is too lackadaisical, the characters too laid-back." |
| 5. |
|
03/22/13 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...visually dazzling, if empty-headed.... the movie is well-edited and lean, a fast-paced, action-filled bit of froth that manages to be diverting and surprisingly fun." |
| 6. |
|
02/15/13 |
Moderate |
 "...marred by cliches. It has an alarming number of throwaway montage sequences.... And it ends, regrettably, with two plot twists you can see coming a mile away." |
| 7. |
|
10/19/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...an amusing, if not altogether successful, collage of styles, genres, and influences. It's a live-action kung fu manga with on-screen writing, comic-book style." |
| 8. |
|
10/13/12 |
Poor |
 "While Rand spends page upon page to develop her philosophy, the film reduces it to 30-second sound bites delivered with hilarious earnestness by the cast." |
| 9. |
|
10/12/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...assembled in a montage style that is hard to take at times.... But its raw quality also makes it compelling viewing." |
| 10. |
|
10/05/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...rough-hewn, uneven... The first two pieces are outstanding... [but] no one should be expected to endure 115 minutes of this nonsense." |
| 11. |
|
09/21/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...gritty, devastating.... An honest, stark look at the connection between sex, intimacy, friendship, and love.... This is no fairy tale." |
| 12. |
|
09/07/12 |
Very Good |
 "...an exquisitely crafted, brilliant, confusing, disordered, maddening, and wonderfully flawed film that tries to show life as it is lived." |
| 13. |
|
08/31/12 |
Moderate |
 "...dispiritingly unscary... Sure, the film is well-crafted, well-paced, well-shot, and well-acted. But it's, well, so very bland." |
| 14. |
|
08/24/12 |
Outstanding |
 "A taut, understated minimalist masterwork... proves that true horror isn't physical... it shows that everyone, each and every one of us, is more than capable of perpetrating it." |
| 15. |
|
08/17/12 |
Outstanding |
 "The mother of all stranger-than-fiction yarns... dazzling... an exciting, edge-of-your-seat experience superior to any Hollywood mystery you're likely to see for a long time." |
| 16. |
|
08/10/12 |
Outstanding |
 "A remarkable, joyous piece of filmmaking... It's likely to change the way you think about art and politics and the state of China today." |
| 17. |
|
08/03/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...a masterful character study... In a feat of cinematic magic, Joachim Trier molds and sculpts the mood into a haunting, sublime work of art." |
| 18. |
|
07/27/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...presents Israel's various armed conflicts and its leaders' defense policies over the years in an oddly bland and unrealistic manner that is hard to take seriously." |
| 19. |
|
07/13/12 |
Very Good |
 "...enacts an odd - and, at times, oddly endearing - love story.... Solondz tempers his ironic gaze and satiric edge with real humanity." |
| 20. |
|
02/10/12 |
Moderate |
 "At times endearing, clever, and amusing... features writer Jameel Saleem and Kimelia Weathers as the most ill-matched, ill-tempered, and ill-fated couple since Salome and John the Baptist... Their chemistry is gold. It's almost enough to save the picture. Almost... it would have made a terrific 50-minute short." |
