|
10/10
|
100%
|
Scarface (1932) |
"
[The police chief] endorses the myth of the west while conceiving the urban gangster as a rat-like menace."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Feb 3, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
89%
|
The Descendants (2011) |
"
Clooney takes up the archetypal role of unofficial investigator, with a younger sidekick in tow. Though the film offers a fine portrait of character growth, it's allotted by the crime-themed structure of the avenger film."
—
Film International
Posted Jan 25, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
94%
|
Win Win (2011) |
"
In Tom McCarthy's Win Win sports may seem to be the means for drama. But when considering the importance of wrestling to the characters, the sport shapes character and narrative."
—
Film International
Posted Dec 11, 2011
|
|
5/5
|
89%
|
The Return of the Living Dead (1985) |
"
Bastard Son of a Prodigal Son: Interview on The Complete History of The Return of the Living Dead"
—
Film Threat
Posted Mar 30, 2011
|
|
5/5
|
98%
|
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) |
"
It all begins with the title. The irony aside, its lightness and alliteration suggest the last breaths of one of the film's victims."
—
Film Threat
Posted Mar 7, 2011
|
|
10/10
|
99%
|
Metropolis (1927) |
"
The new release of Metropolis, fully restored to just shy of Fritz Lang's original vision, is an example of the grandest telepathy: what was thought to be lost forever."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Jun 12, 2010
|
|
5/5
|
100%
|
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) |
"
Make Way eulogizes humanity so well that it's as painful as it is beautiful."
—
Film Threat
Posted Feb 24, 2010
|
|
10/10
|
100%
|
I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932) |
"
The film suggests the denial of the common worker, whose service to industry is only as worthy as his social status."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Feb 2, 2010
|
|
5/5
|
95%
|
You Can Count On Me (2000) |
"
Stylized showmen do Rain Man and Forrest Gump, but it takes a natural actor like Ruffalo to pull off this strange beauty."
—
PopMatters
Posted Nov 16, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
92%
|
Hable con Ella (Talk to Her) (2002) |
"
Humanity is intricate, contradictory, fathomless here, and the filmmaking just as rich."
—
PopMatters
Posted Nov 16, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
——
|
Murnau Collection: Tartuffe / The Haunted Castle / Faust / Nosferatu / The Last Laugh / The Finances of the Grand Duke (2009) |
"
Even the most passionate lover of cinema couldn't dream up an origin myth better than F.W. Murnau."
—
Film Threat
Posted Sep 8, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
91%
|
District 9 (2009) |
"
The humanity of District 9 adds another dimension to this multilayered, rewarding work - one of the best of the summer, and undoubtedly the most inventive from the multiplex this year."
—
Film Threat
Posted Aug 12, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
68%
|
Public Enemies (2009) |
"
This is the purest of American narratives, and this, indeed, is one of our finest storytellers."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jul 1, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
93%
|
Drag Me to Hell (2009) |
"
Resistance and rebellion to the studio routine resounds throughout Drag Me to Hell, and as a return to the filmmaker's original witty shocks and gross-outs, how goddamn touching it is."
—
Film Threat
Posted May 29, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
——
|
Grand Inquisitor () |
"
A brilliant exercise in American gothic."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jul 16, 2008
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring) (1960) |
"
Easily lost amid a brilliant career, The Virgin Spring once again shows Bergman's control in capturing the furthest ranges of emotion."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jun 7, 2008
|
|
5/5
|
93%
|
Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) (2007) |
"
While The Diving Bell is based on Bauby's elegant, well-wrought words, [Director Julian] Schnabel's film is so steeped in the visual that it is surely the purest of cinema."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jan 7, 2008
|
|
5/5
|
93%
|
Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006) |
"
... von Donnersmarck creates a milieu so realistic that the attention-worthy setting becomes just a backdrop, while an intricate tale, as suspenseful as it is humanistic, takes over."
—
Film Threat
Posted Mar 27, 2007
|
|
9.5/10
|
87%
|
Los Cronocrímenes (Timecrimes) (2007) |
"
Nacho Vigalondo's reinvention of Pandora's Box plays upon the nerves as much as the intellect."
—
PopMatters
Posted Dec 19, 2008
|
|
9/10
|
100%
|
World on a Wire (2011) |
"
Fassbinder could take on any style and make it his own. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted May 20, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
100%
|
Branded to Kill (1967) |
"
The images remain so strong that we wonder whether the overall films began as mental images, unearthed from an artist's psyche to help construct probing popular entertainment. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Apr 5, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
84%
|
Cul-de-Sac (1966) |
"
Polanski tributes the [gangster-invasion film] by adding his own conceit: when there's no community worth salvaging, a threat will leave all involved floating, sans shoreline."
—
Film International
Posted Oct 27, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
76%
|
The Robber (2011) |
"
Johann operates with rules of the onscreen gangster ... [Yet he] is a noir protagonist, trapped and doomed by his past."
—
Film International
Posted Jun 3, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
83%
|
Circumstance (2011) |
"
"Nothing is Private" would also suit Maryam Keshavarz's feature debut, though she chose "Circumstance" [to] reflect the factors surrounding her two young female leads in Iran."
—
Film International
Posted May 19, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
85%
|
Meek's Cutoff (2011) |
"
Of Time and Place: An Interview with John Raymond on Meek's Cutoff"
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted May 8, 2011
|
|
4.5/5
|
67%
|
Insidious (2011) |
"
It's a case of tribute working to the top of its game. It's horror film trickery that immerses us, once again. "
—
Film Threat
Posted May 1, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
75%
|
Modus Operandi (2010) |
"
"Loving the Bad: An Interview with Frankie Latina and Sasha Grey on Modus Operandi""
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Nov 28, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
87%
|
Kawasakiho ruze (Kawasaki's Rose) (2010) |
"
Rose cleverly uses its contemporary fictional narrative to depict documentary filmmaking's process of revealing truth."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Nov 24, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
89%
|
The Wrong Man (1957) |
"
Confined spaces highlight Hitchcock's inversion of his usual fugitive-on-the-run films. (From Hitchcock 101)"
—
PopMatters
Posted Jun 27, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
84%
|
Mystery Train (1989) |
"
(O)nce it plants itself within, it remains a vivid cultural memory."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Jun 22, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
96%
|
Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010) |
"
Here comes a rich smell drawn from a load of bullsh-t."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Apr 19, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
96%
|
Revanche (2009) |
"
The film's first half uses a restrained style to build interest, while the latter, as clever in its construction as it is human, elevates the characters of this potential potboiler."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Mar 9, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
81%
|
Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) (Broken Hugs) (2009) |
"
In Almodóvar, the past is reckoned by characters of the present, a layering over which we revel."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Jan 16, 2010
|
|
4.5/5
|
73%
|
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) |
"
Jonze's camera gazes upon Carrol and company just like countless readers have, and thus "Where the Wild Things Are" tributes and adds to its inspiration."
—
Film Threat
Posted Oct 16, 2009
|
|
4.5/5
|
79%
|
Chasing a Dream (Miles from Nowhere) (2009) |
"
The film's elements hum into a glorious experience, with its narrative as captivating as its visualization."
—
Film Threat
Posted Oct 2, 2009
|
|
4.5/5
|
100%
|
Repulsion (1997) |
"
The director deploys suspense techniques with surrealistic touches -- both of which would seem dated today were they not so sharply weaved together."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jul 29, 2009
|
|
4.5/5
|
34%
|
The Burning Plain (2009) |
"
Fate breeds fatalism in a tale that Guillermo Arriaga masterfully writes and directs. It's realized so beautifully and viscerally that - I hate to say it - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu now seems a little obsolete."
—
Film Threat
Posted Apr 6, 2009
|
|
4.5/5
|
——
|
Early Works of Cheryl Dunye (2008) |
"
Dunye's documentary style is so personal that it seems confessional, almost therapeutic. The results are self-assured, natural, and fascinating."
—
Film Threat
Posted Mar 21, 2009
|
|
4.5/5
|
78%
|
Doubt (2008) |
"
Exhausting yet invigorating, it's a drama one witnesses more than just views."
—
Film Threat
Posted Dec 26, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
85%
|
Rachel Getting Married (2008) |
"
Demme keeps a close eye on his shaggy family drama and, by assembling it, creates a platform for numerous natural performers to shine."
—
Film Threat
Posted Nov 29, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
92%
|
Ballast (2008) |
"
The audio is occupied by only the sounds the characters make ... moments of silence open up an emotional void."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Oct 11, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
73%
|
Stuck (2008) |
"
A fresh and rewarding take on cinematic terror."
—
Film Threat
Posted Aug 5, 2008
|
|
9/10
|
97%
|
Play It Again, Sam (1972) |
"
Apart from its fantastic elements, Woody's script of Sam finds a deft blend of the comic and romantic."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Jul 10, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
98%
|
Murderball (2005) |
"
Filmmakers Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro wisely chose a high-energy aesthetic to portray quadriplegic rugby (a.k.a. "Murderball") through the story of Mark Zupan and his American teammates battling for Paralympic gold."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jun 21, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
92%
|
Volver (2006) |
"
At the center of this hectic universe, [Cruz] never misses a step and may even elevate what Almodovar originally conceived."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jun 21, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
76%
|
Une Vieille Maîtresse (The Last Mistress) (An Old Mistress) (2007) |
"
Argento delivers volumes in her vivid physical performance ... In Asia, it looks like the filmmaker [Breillat] has finally met her match."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jun 21, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
100%
|
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) |
"
I couldn't articulate my devastation. This film remains with you like a wound bleeding truth."
—
Film Threat
Posted Feb 26, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
91%
|
Brand Upon the Brain! (2006) |
"
Seeing is believing, and the clever Maddin understands a dimension of his medium that many of his contemporaries won't dare approach: with the right compelling images, anything is possible."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jul 28, 2007
|
|
8.5/10
|
91%
|
Cronos (1994) |
"
The truly child-bound perspectives of The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth are still to come, though Aurora has flights of del Torian wonder."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Dec 7, 2010
|
|
8.5/10
|
96%
|
The Social Network (2010) |
"
[Network's rise and fall] relates to the classic gangster film narrative ... More directly, [the film] positions itself as a new Citizen Kane, with its protagonist reaching the heights of a communication empire."
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted Oct 2, 2010
|
60%
——
97%
