|
4/4
|
96%
|
Trouble the Water (2008) |
"
Trouble the Water's greatest of its many values is its incisive record of how a massive catastrophe is really a story of multiple individuals, families, blocks and neighborhoods."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Aug 22, 2008
|
|
4/4
|
68%
|
Pineapple Express (2008) |
"
The funniest stoner movie ever made -- and, so far, the most hilarious comedy of 2008."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Aug 6, 2008
|
|
4/4
|
95%
|
Offside (2006) |
"
Greatness is a word often associated with Iranian cinema. But fun? Practically never. Jafar Panahi's exuberant and subversive Offside, however, scores on both points."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Mar 23, 2007
|
|
4/4
|
83%
|
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005) |
"
Storytelling, performance and visual literacy this brilliant may be out of style, but I can't imagine anyone who sees Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang not coming out panting for more."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 21, 2005
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
Saraband (2003) |
"
Watching old hands Ullmann and Josephson hit every nuance of feeling with consummate grace brings an odd giddiness to an otherwise sad tale."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Jul 8, 2005
|
|
4/4
|
87%
|
Tell Them Who You Are (2005) |
"
One of the most clear-eyed and intimate Hollywood portraits ever filmed."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 13, 2005
|
|
4/4
|
87%
|
Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand) (2005) |
"
Further proof that Ghobadi is one of those great artists that comes forth during his people's time of crisis."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Feb 18, 2005
|
|
4/4
|
92%
|
Million Dollar Baby (2004) |
"
While I wouldn't place Million Dollar Baby on quite as exalted a pedestal as last year's Mystic River and 1992's Unforgiven ... this unlikely female boxer movie may well be the best-directed of Eastwood's filmmaking career."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Dec 15, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
87%
|
Zatôichi (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) (2003) |
"
Stone-faced Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano blurs the line between insanity and genius with The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Jul 23, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
70%
|
Dogville (2003) |
"
What starts out as distracting works to bring us in closer to what we should be concentrating on: the passion of Nicole Kidman's tragic heroine, and what her suffering says about the hope of all mankind."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Mar 26, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
90%
|
Good Bye, Lenin (2004) |
"
Wisely understands that it's our delusions which often get us through this difficult, ridiculous life, and they therefore require something akin to the same nurturing as our deepest, most rewarding loves."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Feb 27, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
70%
|
Elephant (2003) |
"
It looks both unrelentingly and obliquely at something we all wish never occurred and dispassionately touches on every reason we've dreamed up as to why, while stubbornly refusing to isolate any of them as a clear, blamable cause."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 24, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
85%
|
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) |
"
A movie that will separate the true cinema lovers from ... well, just about everyone who has another set of values."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 10, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
87%
|
Mystic River (2003) |
"
As rich and bleeding a work as [Eastwood has] ever made."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 10, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
Concert for George (2003) |
"
It's made with such unobtrusive expertise that it is truly the next best thing to having been there."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 3, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
87%
|
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary (2003) |
"
Degree of difficulty: off the charts. Level of achievement: ditto."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Jun 27, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
98%
|
Finding Nemo (2003) |
"
I really can't remember an animated feature in which the voice work sounded so accomplished, redolent with emotional subtleties and crack comic timing."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 30, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Marooned In Iraq (2003) |
"
The Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi made an impressive feature debut with the tragic tale of child smugglers A Time for Drunken Horses. Events in his second movie, Marooned in Iraq, are even more heart-rending."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 23, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
60%
|
Down with Love (2003) |
"
Expertly mimics a disreputable midcentury movie subgenre, then imbues it with the kind of upfront sexual knowingness that could never speak its name back in the just-starting-to-swing 1960s."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 16, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
88%
|
Russian Ark (2002) |
"
The mighty audacity of Russian Ark makes for a singular moviegoing experience. Its artistic richness ensures an unforgettable one as well."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Jan 10, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
92%
|
Hable con Ella (Talk to Her) (2002) |
"
By the end of his crazy, heart-thrilling tale, Almodovar has delivered us through bawdy humor, art appreciation, specific human connections and fascinating philosophy to a state resembling spirituality."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Dec 13, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
99%
|
Metropolis (1927) |
"
The story has lost none of its metaphorical punch."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 4, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Insomnia (2002) |
"
Williams' devious, subtly psychotic turn here is some of the finest work of his career, and beautifully matches, in their scenes together, Pacino's uncharacteristically whispery portrayal of a man losing every one of his bearings."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 24, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
Time Out (L' Emploi du temps) (2002) |
"
Time Out is an exhaustively complex look at what work, and the lack of it, means and does to an individual. That these effects are rarely predictable and always persuasive marks the picture as a thoughtful original."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Apr 12, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
30%
|
Very Annie Mary (2001) |
"
Impossible as it may sound, this film's heart is even more embracing than Monty, if only because it accepts nasty behavior and severe flaws as part of the human condition."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Mar 29, 2002
|
|
3.5/4
|
59%
|
Phoebe in Wonderland (2009) |
"
Phoebe in Wonderland introduces us to a smart new talent in Barnz and lets the more established members of its cast work at their top capacity. It's a film about kids graced with a mature aesthetic and rare behavioral wisdom."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Mar 6, 2009
|
|
3.5/4
|
91%
|
Gomorrah (Gomorra) (2008) |
"
Gomorrah brings subtle artistry and character insight to the observational, plot-drive-phobic school of filmmaking that's so popular among serious auteurs at the moment."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Dec 19, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
Wendy and Lucy (2008) |
"
Wendy and Lucy renews the spirit of American independent film. Its minimalism has a purpose, its sentiment seeks honest feeling when it could have been used for easy manipulation."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Dec 12, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
92%
|
Frost/Nixon (2008) |
"
Frost/Nixon could be the best political film in a year that's had more than its share of good ones."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Dec 5, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Milk (2008) |
"
After many years and failed attempts, a very, very good biopic of Harvey Milk is finally here."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Nov 26, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) |
"
Kuenne uses ingenious montages and judicious pacing tactics to drive through reams of evidence, legal codes and other data that, in most documentaries, would leave viewers' eyes glazed over."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Nov 7, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2008) |
"
In Search of a Midnight Kiss gets L.A. like few films do. And writer-director Holdridge understands the aspiring, disappointed but still open-to-anything crowd on the fringes of show business quite persuasively."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Aug 22, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
83%
|
Tropic Thunder (2008) |
"
Yes, Stiller's movie aims at easy targets. But it hits the bull's-eye with a blast, even from way up there over the top."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Aug 12, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
89%
|
Auf der Anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven) (On the Other Side) (2007) |
"
A guy who really understands split cultural personalities, [Akin's] got a good handle on what makes each individual unique and what might really bring us all together."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 30, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
75%
|
Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies) (2008) |
"
A sensitive study of budding adolescent desires, a pervert's delight, plus synchronized swimming. Yes, Water Lilies will be many things to many people."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 16, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
86%
|
Shine a Light (2008) |
"
Powerful in its energy, sparkling in its intimacy, the film captures the self-proclaimed world's greatest rock 'n' roll band still at the height of its performance powers during a two-night stint at Manhattan's small Beacon Theater in late 2006."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Apr 4, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
83%
|
Atonement (2007) |
"
If you appreciate rigorous cinematic artistry along with your transcendent romance, you may just find the whole package heartrending."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Dec 7, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
War Dance (2007) |
"
The core of this week's African catastrophe documentary is so simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, you only want to thank the Fines for making it as engaging as they have."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Nov 9, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Gone Baby Gone (2007) |
"
Superb ethical drama in the guise of a wrenching, kidnapped child mystery."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 19, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
81%
|
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) |
"
It's a crazy situation and utterly unbelievable, yet no movie I've seen in ages has inspired me more to want to do the right thing."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Oct 12, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
82%
|
Into the Wild (2007) |
"
Hirsch is thoroughly impressive in Penn's best directing effort yet."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Sep 21, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
75%
|
The Last Winter (2007) |
"
Consistently chilling (no, that's not a pun), with crisp, haunting visuals and sound character relationships."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Sep 21, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
81%
|
Fong juk (Exiled) (2006) |
"
To is doing exquisite and exciting work at a mind-boggling rate."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Sep 7, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
61%
|
Dans Paris (Inside Paris) (2007) |
"
The personal disconnections and interpersonal bonds the film explores are timeless."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Sep 7, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
86%
|
When the Road Bends...tales of a Gypsy Caravan (2007) |
"
The music is unfailingly joyous (even at its saddest), and the film's devotion to outreach and understanding is just as exhilarating."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Jun 29, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
96%
|
Ratatouille (2007) |
"
A breathlessly scampering slapstick delight."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Jun 29, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
78%
|
Private Fears in Public Places (Coeurs) (2007) |
"
Private/Public is both simple and sophisticated, lightly comic and deeply melancholy, stagey yet totally cinematic."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 4, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Away from Her (2007) |
"
So beautifully, delicately and completely about relationships, their strengths and weaknesses and unavoidable changes, that the illness aspects of the story, key as they are, play secondary roles."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted May 4, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
90%
|
Stephanie Daley (2006) |
"
Powerfully acted, intimate drama."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Apr 27, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
The Hoax (2007) |
"
The core brilliance of the performance lies in Gere's refusal to write Irving off as a mere sociopath."
—
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted Apr 6, 2007
|
85%
79%
7%
