| 1. |
|
05/17/12 |
Moderate |
"...every time the film touches on some simple, relatable truth about the trials of bringing a child into the world, there are five or six outrageous comic setpieces that diminish it." |
| 2. |
|
05/17/12 |
Poor |
"...a time-waster that lives down to its title.... singularly devoid of insight.... Hell, 80 minutes of John Waters sleeping would be more fun..." |
| 3. |
|
05/17/12 |
Excellent |
"...a giddy drug-trip of a movie... a hypnotic experiment that goes beyond genre pastiche or art-school wankery to seem formally daring." |
| 4. |
|
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." |
| 5. |
|
05/17/12 |
Very Good |
"The best moments of Maïwenn's 'Polisse' have a fly-on-the-wall docu-realism that feels eerily like the real thing. In other instances, the opposite is true..." |
| 6. |
|
05/17/12 |
Very Good |
"...a portrait of either spiraling madness or a haunting... it keeps the jump scares to a minimum and allows its formidable lead performance to be its best special effect." |
| 7. |
|
05/17/12 |
Fair |
"...ought to be an opportunity for an established actor to take risks, and Jackson seems only interested in cashing his paycheck, even if it's not an especially large one." |
| 8. |
|
05/17/12 |
Fair |
"...absent of almost any dramatic tension and freighted instead with a sentimentality that an adorable, devoted Labrador can achieve without much help." |
| 9. |
|
05/17/12 |
Fair |
"...a broad period comedy that squanders a fascinating subject... settles for cheap laughs and condescension." |
| 10. |
|
05/17/12 |
Excellent |
"...it's hard to imagine any consistent fan of Wes Anderson's work not surrendering to the film's trademark amalgam of precision and melancholy." |
| 11. |
|
05/17/12 |
Fair |
"With eyes closed, the movie uncannily resembles a giant baby playing with pots and pans." |
| 12. |
|
05/15/12 |
Excellent |
"...both more conventional than 'Borat' and 'Brüno' and a more accommodating vehicle for different types of comedy. In reaching back to the past, Baron Cohen finds a viable way forward." |
| 13. |
|
05/11/12 |
Poor |
"...so artificial and self-satisfied that it's seldom infected by the messiness and unpredictability of reality." |
| 14. |
|
05/10/12 |
Very Good |
"...tells a gripping story, but the filmmakers should have been more forthright about their own part in it.... lays bare the territorial skirmishes between cultural institutions and individual collectors..." |
| 15. |
|
05/10/12 |
Outstanding |
"...amply Kore-eda-esque, full of life, heart, and funny little details about daily existence, as it meanders its way toward moments of real profundity." |
| 16. |
|
05/10/12 |
Good |
"...rests in the push-and-pull between sincerity and indie piffle.... Yet the film has an earnest quality that asserts itself more and more as it sputters along..." |
| 17. |
|
05/10/12 |
Very Good |
"...the movie's insistence works like a drill bit to the skull, and the actors' uneven performances impart a degree of realism..." |
| 18. |
|
05/10/12 |
Very Good |
"Greyhound-lean and adrenaline-dazed... keeps up a relentless pace... The film maneuvers its parties around like chess pieces, and makes full use of its setting..." |
| 19. |
|
05/10/12 |
Fair |
"...tries to use its teeming, chaotic backdrop of bands, booze, and camping concertgoers to give its wisp of a romance some extra voltage." |
| 20. |
|
05/10/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
"Burton goes through the motions... as much as he feels at home among this family of misfits and beasts, 'Dark Shadows' doesn't have the conviction..." |