|
5/5
|
95%
|
Star Trek (2009) |
"
Bravely vindicates its source material's essential underpinnings of friendship and honor. 'Get a life?' This is the redemption Trekkies have been living for."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted May 7, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
The Dark Knight (2008) |
"
A product of these troubled times, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins includes nods to terrorism, domestic surveillance and even sanctioned torture. But one of its greatest feats is to capture our collective anxiety over the resurgent politics of hope."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 24, 2008
|
|
5/5
|
90%
|
The Simpsons Movie (2007) |
"
The plot is as hilariously bombastic as the ones boob-tube producers used to spin off onto the big screen before they discovered the concept of the Very Special Episode."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 26, 2007
|
|
5/5
|
70%
|
In the Realms of the Unreal - The Mystery of Henry Darger (2005) |
"
Instead of stooping to armchair psychology, this marvelous movie trusts its fascinating subject matter to spin its own web of mystery and melancholia."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted May 19, 2005
|
|
5/5
|
78%
|
Sin City (2005) |
"
Having this movie's revolutionary visuals ands ghoulish sense of fun indelibly imprinted on my brain hasn't in the least stifled my yearning to experience the real thing again as soon as possible."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Apr 1, 2005
|
|
5/5
|
90%
|
DiG! (2004) |
"
Frequently jaw-dropping doc, which exposes rock for the hilarious and harrowing undertaking it is."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jan 27, 2005
|
|
5/5
|
39%
|
Birth (2004) |
"
This is a great picture, unafraid to explore the notion that loving who you do is always an impossible thing to defend."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Oct 28, 2004
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2004) |
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 20, 2004
|
|
5/5
|
70%
|
Dogville (2003) |
"
It's the best stage play you've ever attended, and you feel as if you're right in the middle of it."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted May 28, 2004
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) |
"
The best-paced of the three."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Dec 16, 2003
|
|
5/5
|
84%
|
Pieces of April (2003) |
"
With dark-comedy panache that David Sedaris might envy, writer/director Peter Hedges takes us through one Thanksgiving in the life of April Burns."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Oct 31, 2003
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
The Alien Saga (2003) |
"
Thrill again to how thoroughly conceived the whole thing is, how impeccably acted and genuine in its suspense."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Oct 31, 2003
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
American Splendor (2003) |
"
Pair [Giamatti's Harvey] with Davis' Joyce, and you have one of those rare quirk-romance pairings that deserve mention alongside Alvy Singer and Annie Hall. Really."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Sep 12, 2003
|
|
5/5
|
57%
|
Northfork (2003) |
"
The movie is rich with pathos, grace and absurdist humor, but it takes a couple of viewings to get a firm handle on what the hell is going on."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 1, 2003
|
|
5/5
|
98%
|
Finding Nemo (2003) |
"
On its visual elements alone, Finding Nemo could get almost any kid started on a love of nature -- even if us older specimens know that it's a deep understanding of human nature that keeps the whole thing swimming."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted May 30, 2003
|
|
5/5
|
96%
|
Bowling for Columbine (2002) |
"
This vital film has all of the street-smart urgency of Moore's best work and precious little of the smug self-indulgence that has so often led us fellow lefties to roll our eyes in embarrassment."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Oct 31, 2002
|
|
5/5
|
83%
|
Road to Perdition (2002) |
"
Every era births a movie that captures its uncertain zeitgeist while pointing the way toward release. For the fearful here, and for the bloody now, this is that movie."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 11, 2002
|
|
5/5
|
59%
|
Scotland, PA. (2001) |
"
Deviating from the familiar plot whenever internal logic so demands, the movie is a splendid success on its own terms."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Mar 7, 2002
|
|
4.5/5
|
74%
|
The Illusionist (2006) |
"
You don't have to have spent more than five minutes in the presence of a professional magician to recognize that Edward Norton has their entire act down."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 31, 2006
|
|
4.5/5
|
88%
|
Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) |
"
... just about a perfect doc, railing authoritatively against a disgraceful chapter in the annals of American business."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 10, 2006
|
|
4.5/5
|
84%
|
The Sea Inside (Mar Adentro) (The Sea Within) (2004) |
"
Bardem's performance, a true triumph of face acting, imbues the character with simultaneous impish mischief and weary resignation."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Mar 17, 2005
|
|
4.5/5
|
68%
|
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) |
"
The movie shows how executive audacity can move the average Joe to become frighteningly less ordinary."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Feb 11, 2005
|
|
4.5/5
|
92%
|
Vera Drake (2004) |
"
The ensemble acting is without a blemish."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jan 20, 2005
|
|
4.5/5
|
78%
|
A Very Long Engagement (2004) |
"
Mere minutes into A Very Long Engagement, you realize you're headed straight for elitist nirvana."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Dec 21, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
62%
|
Incident at Loch Ness (2004) |
"
The movie has made us question anew our faith in 'reality' entertainment -- and visual representation in general."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Dec 9, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
76%
|
Being Julia (2004) |
"
A character like this one has more layers than a viewer can count, and Bening is just brilliant at conveying the idea that Julia is always acting."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Nov 18, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
91%
|
Shaun of the Dead (2004) |
"
There's something delicious about seeing a bunch of post-Thatcher North Londoners slowly learn to distinguish between their customarily low-yield environment and an epidemic of grave-defying cannibalism."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Sep 23, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
87%
|
Zatôichi (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) (2003) |
"
Kitano's take on the classic 'blind swordsman' character of Japanese cinema outdoes Tarantino's playacting in every particular."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 30, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
96%
|
Control Room (2004) |
"
Shines most brightly when it's exploring unexpected ambiguities."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 12, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
98%
|
Chavez: Inside the Coup (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) (2003) |
"
A thrilling, expertly assembled argument against regime change."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 1, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
84%
|
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) |
"
A sometimes sidesplitting, occasionally saddening but consistently entertaining attack on the most disastrous presidency in modern history."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jun 24, 2004
|
|
4.5/5
|
77%
|
Peter Pan (2003) |
"
It's literate, funny, exciting and drenched in fairy dust."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Dec 25, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
87%
|
Mystic River (2003) |
"
If Sean Penn isn't the finest actor working today, Mystic River sure makes it difficult to name an alternative."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Oct 17, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
98%
|
The Man Without a Past (2002) |
"
To vindicate a much-maligned term, it's a nice picture."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 29, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
97%
|
Capturing the Friedmans (2003) |
"
[A] jaw-dropping documentary."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 22, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
92%
|
L' Homme du Train (The Man on the Train) (2003) |
"
A delightfully droll personality comedy."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 11, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
88%
|
X2: X-Men United (2003) |
"
The Marvel age of cinema has truly arrived. 'Nuff said."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted May 2, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
85%
|
Spider (2002) |
"
The film is no mere visual exercise, putting highly empathic acting in the service of an involving subject."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Apr 11, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
87%
|
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) |
"
The structure is simple, but in its own way, Rabbit-Proof Fence is a quest story as grand as The Lord of the Rings."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jan 30, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
96%
|
The Pianist (2002) |
"
Any movie that can make you sit bolt upright in your seat at the extinguishing of a make-believe life has proved itself an adept advocate for real ones."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jan 16, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
91%
|
Adaptation (2002) |
"
Streep and Cooper provide the support structure for two fine performances by Cage, which is two more than most pictures can claim."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jan 9, 2003
|
|
4.5/5
|
96%
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) |
"
Just know that everything that transpires in The Two Towers vindicates the zeal with which the viewing public clasped Fellowship to its collective breast."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Dec 17, 2002
|
|
4.5/5
|
93%
|
Insomnia (2002) |
"
A taut, fully realized thriller that's destined for canonization by suspense buffs and Art-heads alike."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted May 24, 2002
|
|
3.5/4
|
40%
|
The Night Listener (2006) |
"
Sometimes, holding up even a small mirror to contemporary anxieties is enough, which The Night Listener does by skillfully exploiting a mass distrust that's currently reverberating from book clubs to the blogosphere."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 3, 2006
|
|
4/5
|
98%
|
Let the Right One In (2008) |
"
Sweet within its own bloodthirsty idiom, the film inhabits a twilight world in which love doesn't merely conquer all; it'll rip your damn head off if you get in its way."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Nov 6, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
91%
|
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) |
"
Beneath its oddball veneer, Little Miss Sunshine is a knowing injunction against a society that requires every American to be a winner, when simply being a human being used to be enough."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Aug 17, 2006
|
|
4/5
|
95%
|
Wordplay (2006) |
"
A rousing endorsement of the principles of fair play and communication."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jul 6, 2006
|
|
4/5
|
91%
|
Water (2005) |
"
All the pat plotting and discourse in the world can't extinguish the fire of a film this well-intended, sensitively acted and beautifully filmed."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Jun 8, 2006
|
|
4/5
|
83%
|
Inside Deep Throat (2005) |
"
Bailey and Barbato are, as always, master showmen, fixing their story in time with a rhinestone-flashing flair that's both vividly remembered and relentlessly motive."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Apr 21, 2005
|
|
4/5
|
92%
|
Tarnation (2004) |
"
Undeniably compelling, it's proof of the therapeutic potential of filmmaking, but also of our limitless propensity for morbid curiosity."
—
Orlando Weekly
Posted Apr 14, 2005
|
67%
——
98%
