|
| 1. |
|
09/09/09 |
Very Good |
 "...all heart and action, channeling 'The Magnificent Seven,' with more characters and a bleaker background. (Imagine if Cormac McCarthy had directed 'The Incredibles.')" |
| 2. |
|
07/24/09 |
Very Good |
 "By the time the afterglow of '(500) Days of Summer' evaporates, you may find yourself wondering how a movie that basically uses a gimmick as structure can work so well." |
| 3. |
|
07/23/10 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a passable follow-up -- more ludicrous, less taut, still creepy -- that picks up exactly where the original left off." |
| 4. |
|
03/27/09 |
Very Good |
 "...overwrought, overlong yet mesmerizing... What's most surprising is how well the script translates." |
| 5. |
|
11/19/10 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...pretty much an unbearable experience... And yet, it must be said, it's exceptionally well made." |
| 6. |
|
04/17/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...the cast hit their marks with fine comic timing, and there's undeniable incongruous fun in hearing Efron lecture his daughter or preach the virtues of abstinence." |
| 7. |
|
02/27/09 |
Excellent |
 "...the best of the five (better than some of the nominees): Jérémy Clapin's 'Skhizein,' a 14-minute study of a man who's existentially dislodged by a 150-ton meteorite..." |
| 8. |
|
02/27/10 |
Outstanding |
 "The individual films are engaging and/or amusing.... 'French Roast' has the most laughs per minute, and a great ending." |
| 9. |
|
11/13/09 |
Outstanding |
 "The end of the world never looked so good." |
| 10. |
|
09/25/09 |
Poor |
 "...a touching portrait of a culture in flux. One woman, now in her 50s and out of work, heartbreakingly observes, 'If you have something to do, you age more slowly.' " |
| 11. |
|
06/25/10 |
Moderate |
 "The movie is such a polemic in favor of open immigration and such an attempt to demonize the anti-immigration forces that it plays more like a propaganda piece." |
| 12. |
|
04/30/10 |
Moderate |
 "...something is worth saying about the young actors in this cast: They're excellent." |
| 13. |
|
08/07/09 |
Very Good |
 "The dialogue is sharp and funny, with most of the best lines going to Olyphant as Nick, a hard-core survivalist type whose brain isn't wired like the rest of ours." |
| 14. |
|
03/12/10 |
Very Good |
 "...has the big opening and the big finish, but the middle is somewhat less exciting, though it always maintains at least a loose hold on interest..." |
| 15. |
|
10/16/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...combines the spiritual desolation of 'No Country for Old Men' with the black comedy of 'Burn After Reading.' It's an unusual and effective combination." |
| 16. |
|
01/15/10 |
Outstanding |
 "...deserves recognition for being about something real that usually goes unexplored: The grief from which there really can be no return." |
| 17. |
|
04/02/10 |
Outstanding |
 "...an ultra-low-tech animated exercise from a Belgian filmmaking duo with a genius for sight gags, absurdity and general mischief." |
| 18. |
|
10/02/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...asks us to do what the heroine does, to look at disturbing events without flinching or making easy judgments.... rapes are depicted, but relatively quickly." |
| 19. |
|
09/24/10 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...an easy film to watch and admire but a hard one to connect with, let alone love." |
| 20. |
|
08/21/09 |
Very Good |
 "...small, sweet... the childlike Dancy ('Ella Enchanted') and the sad-eyed Byrne ('Knowing') meet cute with such bumbling tenderness that it comes across as grace." |
