|
.5/4
|
10%
|
Slackers (2002) |
"
Not only is Slackers painfully bad, but it's also about as morally unpleasant as a teen sex comedy can be."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jan 31, 2002
|
|
|
77%
|
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2005) |
"
The ethereal private moments and inspired passages are beautifully shot by Jean-Marie Dreujou, but Dai never quite organizes the material dramatically, and the tone is too often jagged and disruptive."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 18, 2010
|
|
|
54%
|
Choke (2008) |
"
The movie's not quite there, but it represents a dark ride into the night that unleashes a series of precarious thrills."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
81%
|
Trumbo (2007) |
"
Trumbo is hurt by an unwillingness to actually explore Trumbo's own politics and delve into his actual beliefs about communism, Stalin or Marxist ideology."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
57%
|
One Week (2009) |
"
Another dispiriting example of a director using sickness and physical deterioration in rationalising dishonest and narcissistic behaviour."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
33%
|
The Guitar (2008) |
"
Saffron Burrows is commanding as a distraught woman who finds a novel way to cope with tragedy, but the movie constantly subverts realistic detail with the fantastic in ways that are not dramatically satisfying."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
80%
|
Nothing But the Truth (2008) |
"
A miscalculated piece damaged by poor direction, mediocre writing and performances that feel consistently misguided and off-key."
—
Screen International
Posted Sep 9, 2008
|
|
|
73%
|
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) |
"
The whole never quite registers as forcefully as individual pieces."
—
Screen International
Posted Sep 9, 2008
|
|
|
64%
|
The Merry Gentleman (2009) |
"
[Keaton] summons a wonderful performance by Kelly Macdonald and strong character distinction to the secondary players, but otherwise his movie works only in fragments."
—
Screen International
Posted Feb 1, 2008
|
|
|
51%
|
What Just Happened? (2008) |
"
A desultory Hollywood satire that fatally lacks the guts or verve to say anything vitally new or different."
—
Screen International
Posted Jan 22, 2008
|
|
|
49%
|
La Terza Madre (Mother of Tears: The Third Mother) (2007) |
"
As a piece of narrative, however, the movie is virtually incomprehensible."
—
Screen International
Posted Sep 22, 2007
|
|
|
0%
|
Sex, Politics & Cocktails (2002) |
"
Less a narrative than a haphazard succession of vignettes populated by crude stereotypes instead of credible characters."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Oct 19, 2004
|
|
1/4
|
7%
|
Boat Trip (2003) |
"
The movie's offenses are too numerous to catalog."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 20, 2003
|
|
|
69%
|
Porn Star - The Legend of Ron Jeremy (2001) |
"
Too full of worship and the culture of celebrity to ever pose the questions that should be asked."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 6, 2001
|
|
|
62%
|
Vengo (2001) |
"
Filled with dazzling moments, Vengo never quite reaches the heights those moments promise."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 29, 2001
|
|
2/4
|
82%
|
Bugs! (Bugs! 3D) (Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure) (2003) |
"
Narrated with stentorian authority by English actress Dame Judi Dench, and watching this IMAX movie often feels like being at the receiving end of a dry, dull lecture."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 15, 2003
|
|
2/4
|
16%
|
Pokemon Heroes (2003) |
"
It looks cheap and feels slapped together."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 15, 2003
|
|
2/4
|
80%
|
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) |
"
Though Better Luck Tomorrow is the work of an intriguing new talent, there remains something amiss about a movie so desperate to legitimize its own daring."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Apr 10, 2003
|
|
2/4
|
——
|
All About You (2001) |
"
Utterly lacking surprise, tension or any flair."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 25, 2003
|
|
2/4
|
——
|
Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun (1997) |
"
Doesn't transcend the feeling that the content never achieves the kinetic power and magnetism of the IMAX format."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jul 11, 2002
|
|
B-
|
76%
|
Stardust (2007) |
"
The movie is jaunty and stylish and is blessed with some fun stretches."
—
EmanuelLevy.Com
Posted Aug 8, 2007
|
|
2.5/4
|
50%
|
Onmyoji (2001) |
"
Rarely solemn or dull, and Takita holds its disparate parts together fairly well."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 1, 2003
|
|
2.5/4
|
67%
|
Amen (2003) |
"
On its own terms, Amen is a memorably prickly film."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 6, 2003
|
|
2.5/4
|
83%
|
Baraka (1993) |
"
The form is ravishing, though the content suffers by comparison."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jan 9, 2003
|
|
2.5/4
|
67%
|
The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) |
"
By the second hour, Miike's story fails to punctuate its powerful setup, and the work, much like the family itself, ends up a tangled mess."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 5, 2002
|
|
2.5/4
|
65%
|
Lan Yu (2002) |
"
The movie is gorgeously made, but it is also somewhat shallow and art-conscious."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 17, 2002
|
|
2.5/4
|
73%
|
Tuvalu (2002) |
"
A fascinating work that never quite coalesces, Tuvalu finally becomes oppressively repetitive."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jul 20, 2002
|
|
B
|
78%
|
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) |
"
Dark, malevolent, and serious, this Harry Potter was designed by its new writer, director, and composer as a waking nightmare."
—
EmanuelLevy.Com
Posted Jul 4, 2007
|
|
|
——
|
Babar - King Of The Elephants (1999) |
"
The composition and imagery are workmanlike at best, but the score is jaunty and witty and the middle section is breezy fun"
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Jan 29, 2010
|
|
|
89%
|
Moon (2009) |
"
A frequently engrossing science fiction story given a particular tension and seriousness by its moral inquiry into what it means to be fully human and alive."
—
Screen International
Posted Dec 16, 2009
|
|
|
94%
|
Sugar (2008) |
"
In a word, Sugar is extraordinary."
—
Screen International
Posted Dec 16, 2009
|
|
|
100%
|
Afghan Star (2009) |
"
Not a radical act of film-making and visually, it is far from an inspired piece of work - but it's a great example of a film where the strong content rules supreme."
—
Screen International
Posted Jun 23, 2009
|
|
|
79%
|
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2008) |
"
The minor key and quietly observational work is not earth-shattering or particularly urgent, though it enables a talented filmmaker to work through personal ideas about assimilation and family conflict in an open, smart and gracious way."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
50%
|
Assassination of a High School President (2008) |
"
Brett Simon's Assassination of a High School President is a small and pleasant surprise."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
66%
|
The Escapist (2008) |
"
Wyatt and his superb cast pull it together in the movie's boldly-imagined final act that justifies the movie's sometimes elusive form and turns it into something a cut above the rest."
—
Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
92%
|
Bloody Sunday (2002) |
"
Greengrass sacrifices character and plot to a chilling impressionistic stylization."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 11, 2008
|
|
|
99%
|
Bus 174 (Ônibus 174) (2003) |
"
Padilha allows neither easy answers nor ironic commentary, producing on both sides of the conflict a world of inconsolable grief."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted May 8, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
65%
|
Kaubôi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door) (2003) |
"
This is magnetic, beautiful stuff."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Apr 3, 2003
|
|
3/4
|
52%
|
Down and Out With the Dolls (2003) |
"
The movie belongs to the women, and they perform with attitude and power."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 20, 2003
|
|
3/4
|
89%
|
Comment j'ai tué mon père (My Father and I) (2001) |
"
Cold, nervy and memorable."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 21, 2002
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
Interview With the Assassin (2002) |
"
Consummate actor Barry has done excellent work here."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 21, 2002
|
|
3/4
|
83%
|
Satin Rouge (2002) |
"
A fascinating examination of the joyous, turbulent self-discovery made by a proper, middle-aged woman."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 31, 2002
|
|
3/4
|
48%
|
Naqoyqatsi (Naqoyqatsi: Life as War) (2002) |
"
A disturbing and frighteningly evocative assembly of imagery and hypnotic music composed by Philip Glass."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 24, 2002
|
|
3/4
|
82%
|
Secret Ballot (2002) |
"
A gem, captured in the unhurried, low-key style favored by many directors of the Iranian new wave."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Aug 29, 2002
|
|
|
31%
|
Miu haan fook wood (Second Time Around) (2001) |
"
Extremely well acted by the four primary actors, this is a seriously intended movie that is not easily forgotten."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Feb 7, 2002
|
|
3/4
|
75%
|
Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius (2001) |
"
This is a movie that is neither sentimental nor cheap; it never takes itself too seriously, and it has faith in the intelligence of its audience."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 20, 2001
|
|
|
78%
|
Audition (Ôdishon) (1999) |
"
Miike is brilliant at transforming the mundane and familiar ... into something sinister and eerie."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 29, 2001
|
|
|
77%
|
Presque rien (Come Undone) (2000) |
"
While Come Undone has some explicit material, what makes it a mature and special work is its embrace of the knotty and unfamiliar."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 1, 2001
|
|
|
77%
|
La Virgen de los Sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins) (2001) |
"
A film of clarity, feeling and electric intensity."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 25, 2001
|
|
|
86%
|
La Ciénaga (2001) |
"
A film that has an extraordinary cumulative power."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 18, 2001
|
68%
——
98%
