|
| 1. |
|
05/21/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...a knockout... The movie eats into your mind -- slowly.... it's too penetrating to shrug off.... that rare downer that leaves you wide awake, with all synapses firing." |
| 2. |
|
05/21/12 |
Very Good |
 "One shot and you know it's a Wes Anderson film... It left me bemused instead of moved, but true Andersonites will likely float away in a state of nirvana." |
| 3. |
|
05/18/12 |
Good |
 "...one of the more enjoyably terrible movies of the year -- not to mention a much-needed morale booster for the Navy..." |
| 4. |
|
05/18/12 |
Weak |
 "...throws so many characters and situations at us and yet goes nowhere.... annoyingly overstuffed and depressingly thin." |
| 5. |
|
05/18/12 |
Fair |
 "...the most demure movie you'll ever see about the creation of a sex toy.... it could just as well be about the guy who invented the cheese grater." |
| 6. |
|
05/16/12 |
Very Good |
 "...loose and silly and occasionally exhilarating... in the tradition of Chaplin's 'The Great Dictator' (obviously) and the Marx Brothers' antiwar masterpiece 'Duck Soup.' " |
| 7. |
|
05/14/12 |
Good |
 "The story isn't original, but Labaki's approach, which seems to pit genres against one another the way it pits genders, is.... it has occasionally breathtaking uncertainty." |
| 8. |
|
05/14/12 |
Moderate |
 "...would be better if it were gentler. It's broadly written and played, the actors too busy telegraphing their characters' emotions to let us contemplate their faces in peace." |
| 9. |
|
05/14/12 |
Fair |
 "I'm getting tired of the Burton-Depp mix of morbid self-pity and gonzo aggression. It was a great partnership for a while, but Burton needs a new mascot." |
| 10. |
|
05/11/12 |
Poor |
 "...pointless.... For a movie that deals with rape, criminality, and even racks up a real body count, 'Hick' is whisper-thin and instantly forgettable." |
| 11. |
|
05/07/12 |
Excellent |
 "...grueling/magical... I found myself convinced that a child's hopeful spirit can actually triumph over the physical world." |
| 12. |
|
05/07/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a tad 'Juno'-esque for comfort, but Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) sounds like teen girls I know... the movie goes soft. But it has the unpretentious energy and charm of a good YA girls' novel." |
| 13. |
|
05/07/12 |
Excellent |
 "Hirokazu Kore-eda's compositions have a sympathetic detachment that Americans rarely value but is, for many Japanese, the whole point of art." |
| 14. |
|
05/03/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a predictable menu of old regrets and new beginnings in a lush, exotic locale.... Still, there's a bit of timeliness to this particular vintage of British retirees." |
| 15. |
|
04/30/12 |
Outstanding |
 "...both campy and reverential. Comic-Con nerds will have multiple orgasms. I had a blast." |
| 16. |
|
04/30/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...has a sweet finish, but for me it still left a bitter taste." |
| 17. |
|
04/27/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Jack Black is highly amusing... and yet I spent most of the movie trying to imagine someone else in the part -- someone not so obviously doing a silly impersonation." |
| 18. |
|
04/23/12 |
Excellent |
 "...a droll bloodbath... Director Morten Tyldum winds his jack-in-the-boxes in full view, and still you jump when they're sprung... Grisly thrillers don't get much more delectable." |
| 19. |
|
04/23/12 |
Good |
 "...blandly made but intense... Zal Batmanglij keeps the movie even-keeled, with nothing to break the trance until a last scene that upends everything we thought we knew." |
| 20. |
|
04/20/12 |
Very Good |
 "Those looking to jump out of their seats or get swept away in supernatural passions may have a hard time with it, but there's a ruthless precision to this film that's breathtaking in its own right." |
