|
2/4
|
54%
|
Safe House (2012) |
"
Crash. Kick. Stab. Punch. Talk (briefly). Smash. Chase. Screech. Shoot. Mumble. That's the wearying pattern of Safe House."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 9, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
65%
|
The Woman in Black (2012) |
"
The expressive Radcliffe looks Byronic, with his high collar, haunted eyes and five o'clock stubble; he's a good match for Hinds, whose beefy stolidity keeps the younger man grounded."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 2, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
77%
|
The Grey (2012) |
"
It makes for an occasionally suspenseful, if credibility-stretching, thriller with a strong, emotional performance from Neeson at its core."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
45%
|
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012) |
"
Whenever the film totters toward sentimentality, young Horn snatches it back."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jan 19, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
84%
|
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) |
"
Director Tomas Alfredson has boiled the story down skillfully to a third of that length and infused it with the wry, energy-sapping dread so often found in modern Scandinavian cinema."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jan 6, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
75%
|
The Adventures of Tintin (2011) |
"
Like the jokes and frenetic action, the entire movie is juvenile."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Dec 19, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
76%
|
War Horse (2011) |
"
For certain movies, the adjectives "formulaic" and "predictable" are complimentary. War Horse is one of them."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Dec 19, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
87%
|
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) |
"
This film has two of Fincher's happiest trademarks: It's full of information and stretches over a remarkably long time (165 minutes), yet it's neither confusing nor overextended."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Dec 19, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
82%
|
Young Adult (2011) |
"
It's funny, in a can't-look-away-from-the-train-wreck way, and it's brutally honest. But it's not pretty."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Dec 15, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
90%
|
The Descendants (2011) |
"
Director Alexander Payne prefers to start a movie with one strike against him. He always picks a dislikable protagonist... Then, as he slowly gives characters self-awareness, he gives us reasons to watch and care about them."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Nov 22, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
92%
|
Arthur Christmas (2011) |
"
Watching Arthur Christmas is like doing your holiday shopping on Dec. 23: fun and frantic, exciting and maddening. You come away feeling warm-hearted and exhausted, wondering if more forethought might have led to a smoother, more satisfying experience."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Nov 22, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
90%
|
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) |
"
Martha Marcy burns itself into our memory banks."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Nov 10, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
44%
|
J. Edgar (2011) |
"
What's the motivation for the earnest, handsome, well-acted, unenlightening, workaday J. Edgar in 2011?"
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Nov 10, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
47%
|
Anonymous (2011) |
"
Anonymous is fun -- if you take the anti-Shakespearean tale as events set in an unreal, alternate universe."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Nov 3, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
92%
|
Take Shelter (2011) |
"
Nichols builds unease from small, repeated details, and he has a terrific asset in Shannon: No modern actor seems as likely to snap and explode."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Nov 3, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
69%
|
The Dead (2011) |
"
The Ford brothers' take on this tradition offers a fair number of shocks and the arm-chomping that is de rigueur mortis for this genre. Yet it has things to say, mostly by implication, before a finish that took me by surprise."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Oct 14, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
85%
|
The Ides of March (2011) |
"
Gosling relies on his now-frequent attitude of guarded impenetrability, but that's a reasonable choice for this part. And the performances around him are superb."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Oct 6, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
50/50 (2011) |
"
The movie deepens in the second half. Eisner based Adam on someone he knew extremely well, so the unsentimental dialogue rings true."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Sep 29, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Moneyball (2011) |
"
It's tense, strangely funny in a lot of spots and -- if you grew up loving old-fashioned, seat-of-the-pants baseball, as I did -- the most depressing movie of the year."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Sep 22, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
12%
|
Creature (2011) |
"
Creature is refreshingly and intentionally silly, in an era when horror has devolved mostly into torture porn and high-tech, computer-generated assaults on our senses."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Sep 15, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
Drive (2011) |
"
Refn favors long, quiet takes followed by intense, often horrifying outbursts; the movie has the same personality as the driver himself."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Sep 15, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
76%
|
The Debt (2011) |
"
A small gem, stuck on the shelf for more than a year, pops out in the days of summer usually associated with dogs."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Sep 1, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
36%
|
One Day (2011) |
"
Ordinarily, I object to previews that lead me to expect one movie yet deliver another. But when the picture I get is more complex and thought-provoking than the picture I had expected, the surprise always leaves me smiling."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Aug 18, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
64%
|
Another Earth (2011) |
"
Marling's low-key performance anchors the film. She's in virtually every scene, and her face (which looks stunning or plain from different angles -- is always expressive, though she says little."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Aug 18, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) |
"
Director David Yates has finally found an ideal combination of exposition and emotion in his fourth consecutive Potter project. Writer Steve Kloves... neither wastes a word nor leaves out any essentials."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jul 13, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
69%
|
Horrible Bosses (2011) |
"
This is a fantasy along the lines of 9 to 5: coarser, less realistic about corporate culture, but just as much a fantasy of revenge for everyone humiliated or exploited by a supervisor."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jul 7, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
34%
|
Larry Crowne (2011) |
"
Inside this film, a poignant and personal story is struggling to get out. But it's couched in such awkward sentiments that it can't emerge."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 30, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
92%
|
Incendies (2011) |
"
The movie never feels long, partly because of Azabal's terrific performance."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 23, 2011
|
|
1.5/4
|
39%
|
Cars 2 (2011) |
"
For the first time in its 25-year history, Pixar has produced a picture that has no reason to exist -- other than the obvious monetary one, of course, or maybe director John Lasseter's desire to make a faux James Bond movie."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 23, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
44%
|
Bad Teacher (2011) |
"
The picture doesn't inspire or reward high expectations, but it raises smiles."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 23, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
61%
|
The Beaver (2011) |
"
As the movie grows darker, and Walter becomes more dissociated from reality, Gibson convincingly depicts a man who'll have to crack all the way before he can heal."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
84%
|
The Tree of Life (2011) |
"
[Malick] has reached high, all the way up to our maker. You can decide whether he came back with a profound examination of humanity or a fistful of fog."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
82%
|
Super 8 (2011) |
"
Super 8 takes its place among the best B-grade science fiction movies of this generation by copying the best of the past 50 years."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 9, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
58%
|
The First Grader (2011) |
"
Maruge and Obinchu never lose their senses of humor or conviction, and Litondo and Harris are ideally cast."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 2, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
87%
|
X-Men: First Class (2011) |
"
The big ideas and battles come off thoughtfully and handsomely."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Jun 2, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
35%
|
The Hangover Part II (2011) |
"
The sequel turns not dark but revoltingly cruel."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted May 25, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
34%
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) |
"
Depp sleepwalks through action sequences and relies on mannerisms during the dialogue. Perhaps he's saving himself for a string of sequels that will stretch monotonously into eternity."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted May 20, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
77%
|
In A Better World (2011) |
"
The movie provides no answers, let alone easy ones."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted May 12, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
77%
|
Thor (2011) |
"
[Branagh's] Thor has more complex characters than the usual Transformers-style melee; though that may not be what the readers of Marvel comics now want, it satisfied me most of the time."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted May 5, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Of Gods and Men (2011) |
"
I can't recall the last film that so wholly, honestly and movingly explained what it means to be a Christian."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Apr 22, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
71%
|
Hanna (2011) |
"
Ronan's pale blue eyes can seem vulnerable or inscrutable, wistful or deadly."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Apr 7, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
91%
|
Source Code (2011) |
"
Sitting through Source Code is like watching a chef coax a beautiful soufflé into perfect shape for 80 minutes, then drop a bowling ball on it."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Apr 1, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
35%
|
Battle: Los Angeles (2011) |
"
The biggest irony of this project is that it was made by a company that calls itself Original Film but has produced perhaps the least original movie of the year so far."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Mar 10, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
72%
|
The Adjustment Bureau (2011) |
"
Even if you like much of the story (and I did), the muddled theology is baffling."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Mar 4, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
34%
|
Hall Pass (2011) |
"
The Farrellys, who wrote the script with Pete Jones and Kevin Barnett, play enough variations on that theme to keep us curious about how the inevitable reconciliation will go."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 25, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
80%
|
Barney's Version (2011) |
"
The title character of Barney's Version left me wishing someone would give this unrelenting boor a boa constrictor for a necktie."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 18, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
90%
|
The Illusionist (L'illusionniste) (2010) |
"
It's beautifully drawn -- really drawn, with hardly any computer effects -- and has an elegiac tone and bits of quirky humor. But it wouldn't win a footrace with a snail, and the narrative amounts to nothing."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 11, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
39%
|
The Eagle (2011) |
"
It's just an honest, basic story set forth with brevity, skill, care and intelligence."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 11, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
13%
|
The Super Mario Bros. (1990) |
"
Bombs explode, cars careen and crash, people leap from dimension to dimension in this blaring, glaring picture. Kids might get a charge out of the mayhem. I got the vapors."
—
Charlotte Observer
Posted Feb 7, 2011
|
