|
| 1. |
|
05/21/12 |
Excellent |
 "...a less conventional portrayal of a world immersed in poverty and risk, from inhabitants' points of view.... Winner of the Grand Jury prize at Sundance..." |
| 2. |
|
05/18/12 |
Poor |
 "...the type of movie that introduces new locations primarily to blow them up.... Most of the fiery destruction emits an over-processed computery haze." |
| 3. |
|
05/18/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...raises questions that may be too numerous to count as a point of view.... leaves a lingering mystery over whether there's less to Marling's work than meets the eye." |
| 4. |
|
05/18/12 |
Excellent |
 "...the film cuts from case to case, peers into detectives' personal lives, notes the effects of one sphere on another." |
| 5. |
|
05/18/12 |
Very Good |
 "...achieves a a particular poignancy by showing the devotion of people who usher creatures (human and otherwise) from their beginning moments to their final ones." |
| 6. |
|
05/18/12 |
Poor |
 "...could not be more obvious about what to expect at every minute of its plot... broad idiocy... By the time these guys are ramming each other in golf carts, well..." |
| 7. |
|
05/17/12 |
Moderate |
 "...uses prostitution to suggest the very old idea that beneath the surface of the bourgeoisie lies emotion as perverse and menacing as any." |
| 8. |
|
05/16/12 |
Excellent |
 "As much as expectations for women are limiting and exasperating, they pay off as much as they exact costs.... And the men go on about their business, carelessly and selfishly." |
| 9. |
|
05/16/12 |
Poor |
 "...has lots of predictable business to launch... the movie's comedy is rambunctious or its politics obvious. But none of it is especially smart..." |
| 10. |
|
05/14/12 |
Excellent |
 "...sometimes like a melodrama and other times like a crime story.... looking at wealthy people dressed up and posing for photos with the painting and each other, the resolution is less odd than foreseeable." |
| 11. |
|
05/11/12 |
Poor |
 "...proceeds with meta and cringeworthy scenes of Ansiedad acting self-consciously dorky so she can then self-consciously rebel and fall in with a bad crowd..." |
| 12. |
|
05/11/12 |
Poor |
 "You might be thinking about Tim Burton, how his fixations can lead to projects both wonderful and dull." |
| 13. |
|
05/09/12 |
Excellent |
 "Grant Gee's odd, beautiful film becomes not just the story of the book... but also the story of reading, how individuals bring themselves to books... or films, or pubs, or cemeteries." |
| 14. |
|
05/08/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...makes visible the debt system's many intersecting elements, those who are victimized and exploited, and those who benefit and claim superiority." |
| 15. |
|
05/04/12 |
Moderate |
 "The children are trained to be perfectionists, but I couldn't help feeling that some less structured footage of their lives would be more revealing..." |
| 16. |
|
05/04/12 |
Excellent |
 "...watching these actors work together is its own pleasure... Call it a League of Extraordinary Thespians." |
| 17. |
|
05/03/12 |
Moderate |
 "The Harry Dean Stanton scene shows why you've been thinking that Whedon is the best and only person to make 'The Avengers.' The rest of the movie is less convincing." |
| 18. |
|
04/30/12 |
Very Good |
 "...draws attention not only to the shrinking water supply, and human populations' careless waste, but also those populations' extraordinary efforts to accelerate the process." |
| 19. |
|
04/27/12 |
Poor |
 "What initially comes off as amiability turns quickly to smugness and self-satisfaction: see, isn't this funny?" |
| 20. |
|
04/27/12 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...doesn't allow for much tension, comic or otherwise.... it's a curiosity in both form and content, a strange, darkly amusing little story told as if from a Carthage porch." |
