Nora Lee Mandel Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Nora Lee Mandel

Nora Lee Mandel

Agrees with the Tomatometer 81% of the time.

Publications:: Film-Forward.com
Critics' Group:: New York Film Critics Online

Total Reviews:: 308

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
7/10	53%	Hysteria (2012)	" [B]attle-of-the-sexes romantic comedy around a real historical figure. . .with fun and fanciful imagination about his life and his invention inspired by. . .social currents." — Film-Forward.com Posted May 18, 2012
7/10	89%	Portrait of Wally (2012)	" Suspensefully mounts evidence that the same collectors who basked in the reflected glory of the rising value of Schiele's works set up an elaborate conspiracy." — Film-Forward.com Posted May 11, 2012
7/10	41%	Where Do We Go Now? (2012)	" About as feel-good a fable set in the Middle East as can be imagined infused with music and magic realism [with] a female narrator." — Film-Forward.com Posted May 11, 2012
7/10	68%	The Hunter (2012)	" Where the title character travels is a visually and emotionally striking journey." — Film-Forward.com Posted Apr 23, 2012
4/10	33%	The Lady (2012)	" Well-meaning biopic will barely satisfy people's curiosity about a little-seen woman. Played up as more tragic personal sacrifice than politics, she remains a noble symbol." — Film-Forward.com Posted Apr 23, 2012
4/10	50%	How to Grow a Band (2012)	" [H]as a promising story to follow [but] disappointing, either as an introduction to progressive bluegrass or for longtime Thile fans." — Film-Forward.com Posted Apr 23, 2012
8/10	90%	Turn Me On, Dammit! (2012)	" [R]efreshing take on small-town teenage girls. . . cheerfully shows them as hormonal, curious, bitchy, daydreamy, insecure, and frustrated about sex, all at the same time." — Film-Forward.com Posted Apr 2, 2012
8/10	87%	Bully (2012)	" Embedded filmmakers on the frontlines of the war on middle and high school kids who don't fit in expose the battles they and their families face, survive, or, worse, lose." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 30, 2012
9/10	98%	The Island President (2012)	" [M]akes climate change dramatic, political, personal, and the right stuff of leadership. . . The film would seem hagiographic if his biography weren't so stirring." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 29, 2012
9/10	91%	Footnote (2012)	" [A]cademic research has never been shown with such visual verve. . . [E]ach professor's personality and expertise [is put] in sharp relief both comic and poignant." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 17, 2012
7/10	87%	Boy (2012)	" Colorful visuals and sometimes overly broad sight gags communicate in a universal language [for] this heartwarming film infused with affection about growing up Maori." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 11, 2012
8/10	88%	Sound of Noise (2012)	" While this rollicking comedy about musical terrorists cleverly satirizes movie conventions of cops and capers, the creative crimes look and sound wonderfully unique." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 10, 2012
4/10	83%	Last Days Here (2012)	" Despite the miracle of the concluding uplift, the message is overwhelmingly that drugs will drown out the power of sex and rock 'n' roll." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 3, 2012
10/10	100%	This Is Not a Film (2012)	" Utterly heartbreaking. . . a moving addition to Panahi's oeuvre . . . [Iran] could try to silence one of its greatest filmmakers, but couldn't stop him creating art." — Film-Forward.com Posted Mar 2, 2012
	100%	Our School ()	" Like watching the European equivalent of the aftermath of Brown vs. Board of Education, endemic prejudice against the Roma (or Gypsy) people plays out bald-faced in front of the cameras of Mona Nicoara and Miruna Coca-Cozma." — Film-Forward.com Posted Feb 27, 2012
7/10	86%	The Forgiveness of Blood (2012)	" Marston is so caught up in authenticity in settings and dialogue-and does so effectively-that he's less successful at explaining the intricacies of the 15th century rules." — Film-Forward.com Posted Feb 24, 2012
9/10	86%	Chico & Rita (2012)	" An animated delight for grown-up eyes and ears, besides being a sexy romance and a luscious tribute to a great musician [with] Bebo Vald�s's authentic Latin jazz score." — Film-Forward.com Posted Feb 12, 2012
9/10	90%	In Darkness (2012)	" Portrayed with gripping tension of ever more draconian choices amidst ebb and flow of human interactions in filthy confines, the cinematography is a staggering tour de force." — Film-Forward.com Posted Feb 12, 2012
10/10	100%	The Miners' Hymns (2012)	" Imaginatively re-purposes archival footage in collaboration with Johannsson's stirring score. . . to bring back the proud miners like ghosts . . .of labor's heritage." — Film-Forward.com Posted Feb 12, 2012
5/10	55%	How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? (2012)	" From inspiring bio. . .travels around the world for stunning views of his buildings and structures until collapsing into a promotional video for his global firm." — Film-Forward.com Posted Jan 25, 2012
8/10	89%	The Pruitt-igoe Myth: An Urban History (2012)	" I quibble about facts emphasized or omitted, [but] the memorable images, valuable personal testimonies and... huge empty lot should help frame a discussion [on] urban policy." — Film-Forward.com Posted Jan 21, 2012
7/10	57%	It's About You (2012)	" Supplements concerts and recording. . .of Mellencamp's working-class, heartland music . .by making keen observations. . .like Studs Terkel looking at the decline of America." — Film-Forward.com Posted Jan 6, 2012
9/10	93%	Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2012)	" [E]verything the participants experience and reveal comes to bear in ... the case [as] matters of life and death are subject to interpretation-and for the thoughtful audience." — Film-Forward.com Posted Jan 6, 2012
10/10	99%	A Separation (2011)	" The audience is rocked back and forth in sympathy. . . in a tangled predicament. [N]one is one-dimensional in the superb ensemble [as] the point of view changes by minutes." — Film-Forward.com Posted Jan 5, 2012
8/10	87%	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)	" With great pizzazz, Fincher's creative team's original style wrings suspense from the aspects that are a pastiche of other thrillers." — Film-Forward.com Posted Dec 19, 2011
8/10	94%	Pina (2011)	" Beyond a nostalgic tribute for cognoscenti, this visually stunning film is a terrific introduction. It will be an essential resource and inspiration for future dance fans." — Film-Forward.com Posted Dec 19, 2011
7/10	90%	London River (2011)	" [T]wo strangers surprisingly find that horror makes the globalization of terror very personal [with] Blethyn's convincing performance [as] a desperate mother." — Film-Forward.com Posted Dec 9, 2011
8/10	——	Gang de qin (The Piano In A Factory) (2011)	" Lovely addition to the heartwarming genre of films saluting blue-collar workers banding together to take one last inspiring stand in tough times." — Film-Forward.com Posted Dec 6, 2011
7/10	100%	Under Fire: Journalists In Combat (2011)	" [R]eveals the personal cost of bringing first-hand information of conflict and war beyond borders [in a] sympathetic tribute." — Film-Forward.com Posted Dec 2, 2011
7/10	50%	Sleeping Beauty (2011)	" Exploring enduring appeal to men,. . .the banality of human nature. . .may be a letdown, especially about elderly males, but is disturbingly universal as a modern fairy tale." — Film-Forward.com Posted Dec 2, 2011
8/10	100%	Dolphin Boy (2012)	" From PTSD after a beating to. . .astounding rebirth into a new personality under the sea through dolphin therapy. . .the arc of Morad's life has to be seen to be appreciated." — Film-Forward.com Posted Nov 26, 2011
8/10	78%	A Dangerous Method (2011)	" The charisma of the actors . . . helps communicate escalating tensions in changing relationships . . . in the hothouse of the freeing force of the unconscious." — Film-Forward.com Posted Nov 23, 2011
6/10	82%	Tyrannosaur (2011)	" Amidst excruciating violence, the storyline is not as strong as the harrowingly indelible performances." — Film-Forward.com Posted Nov 19, 2011
7/10	——	My Enemy's Enemy ()	" Angry finger-pointing examination of how a Nazi war criminal influenced U.S. foreign policy for 40 years. . . Revealing look at torture history is even more relevant today." — Film-Forward.com Posted Nov 17, 2011
8/10	97%	Tomboy (2011)	" Each day is a suspenseful challenge of how [the kid] keeps up a freeing masquerade; it's striking to see how gender casually figures into the daily life of children at play." — Film-Forward.com Posted Nov 17, 2011
8/10	91%	Into The Abyss (2011)	" Herzog takes a startlingly clear-eyed look at crime and capital punishment in Texas. . . He just seeks to shine a light on the facts for the viewer to soberly decide." — Film-Forward.com Posted Nov 17, 2011
7/10	——	Little Sparrows (2011)	" Debut writer/director is strongest through visual storytelling, aided by bright cinematography, and bringing out intense performances." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 30, 2011
7/10	89%	To Be Heard (2011)	" Puts the hard work of teachers and their students into a realistic context and balanced perspective about the impact of the arts on teenagers' lives." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 29, 2011
7/10	89%	Margin Call (2011)	" Hour by hour over this 24 hour period, the tension builds as to who will give in to what ethical lapses and how each will face the future." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 29, 2011
4/10	81%	Incendiary: The Willingham Case (2011)	" Documentary about injustice piles on facts still needs to make a cinematic case [with] better graphics and clearer explanations. . .Fire images visually drown out reasoning." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 21, 2011
5/10	76%	Bombay Beach (2011)	" [T]he moody film is a compassionate portrait, [but] wanders around the mostly downtrodden too much, even with brief flashes of optimism." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 21, 2011
7/10	100%	Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2008)	" [U]pdate[s,] reinterprets the original material and incorporates old outtakes and photographs. . .for comprehensive forensic and legal analysis [but] confusingly organized." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 18, 2011
9/10	——	There Was Once... (2011)	" Starts out like a teacher's history lesson about a vanished past, but turns into a detective story as memories collide, link to witnesses, and a nightmare starts to repeat." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 9, 2011
3/10	30%	Sarah Palin: You Betcha! (2011)	" Not a hatchet job. . .but adds so little insight by talking mostly to her enemies that a viewer almost becomes sympathetic about what she has to put up with. Almost." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 9, 2011
8/10	30%	A Bird of the Air (2011)	" A lovely little modern screwball comedy that only hard-hearted cynics will resist. An unexpected bonus comes with the delightful stream of old pro's as...master storytellers." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 9, 2011
6/10	67%	American Teacher (2011)	" [S]upplements lots of stats with teachers' true tales. . . [E]ffective portraits poignantly personalize the multitude of charts and testimony from many education experts." — Film-Forward.com Posted Oct 9, 2011
7/10	60%	The Weird World of Blowfly (2011)	" Too brief on details [but] earthy, living history of the roots of rap through the ribald and bemused perspective of a septuagenarian veteran of the music business." — Film-Forward.com Posted Sep 17, 2011
7/10	91%	The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)	" [V]ivid archival footage from a time when African-American advocates. . .were not shown so up close and personal in U.S. . . despite being presented within an awkward format." — Film-Forward.com Posted Sep 17, 2011
8/10	——	The Tiniest Place ()	" Past and present, the living and the ghosts, eerily collide [in a] a universal and specific story of solidarity. . . to keep on living victoriously over inhumanity." — Film-Forward.com Posted Sep 13, 2011

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