Fresh
| Fresh 60%
| The Fall (2008) | "
The girl and the hospital patients and staff also turn up in his improvised adventure, extravagantly garbed by costume designer Eiko Ishioka." — Chicago Reader Posted Dec 17, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 69%
| Treasure Planet (2002) | "
It's laced with literate humor, and the directors cite N.C. Wyeth's illustrations for the 1911 Scribner's edition of Treasure Island as the inspiration for their marvelously detailed fantasy world." — Chicago Reader Posted Sep 9, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 92%
| Riding Giants (2004) | "
This is vicarious cinema at its best." — Chicago Reader Posted Aug 5, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 78%
| The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) | "
Screenwriter Kate Boutilier provides plenty of sharp patter." — Chicago Reader Posted May 20, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 92%
| Caramel (2008) | "
Perceptive and poignant, Caramel observes the love lives of the establishment's owner, her employees and their customers." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Mar 28, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 53%
| Tre (2008) | "
Smacks of an audition exercise." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Feb 27, 2008 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| Still Life (2008) | "
Jia Zhang-ke is a new auteur making his mark. Embraced abroad on the international festival circuit, if less welcome on screens in China, this writer-director works in a genre that could be called globalist." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Feb 22, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 86%
| Times and Winds (2008) | "
A blunt look at how anger binds generations." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jan 25, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 51%
| Steep (2007) | "
Steep is a throwback to the early days of movies when the sight of things in motion was a thrill in itself. Seeing leaves rustling in the wind or waves on the sea was a marvel." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jan 25, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 0%
| One Missed Call (2008) | "
If you missed the first One Missed Call, made in Japan in 2004, you now can miss the American remake." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jan 7, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 100%
| Live-In Maid (2004) | "
Live-in Maid is a study of two women who appear not to like each other very much, yet their link makes for a moving drama about friendship." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Oct 19, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 58%
| Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) | "
[Director] Swanberg nails the inane fun of youth." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Oct 19, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 86%
| Shadow Company (2007) | "
Drawing a line between official and unofficial forces is irrelevant since both are paid with our taxes, Shadow Company throws light on that bottom line in the war on terror." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Oct 5, 2007 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 79%
| Manda Bala (2007) | "
Artful framing and 23 peppy songs on the soundtrack lend a gloss to subject matter that alternately repels and fascinates..." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 28, 2007 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 37%
| If I Didn't Care (2007) | "
'Hitchcockian' is the less than lilting compliment used to hype this Long Island noir." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 28, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 67%
| The Garden of Earthly Delights (2004) | "
Unfortunately, the couple's intimacy is not especially interesting." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 28, 2007 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 33%
| Freshman Orientation (2007) | "
This trivial film toys with the postmodern lifestyles." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 21, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 26%
| Fierce People (2007) | "
After a promising start, Griffin Dunne's film bogs down and simply turns into a predictable mish-mash of a movie that is shrill and heavy-handed and totally trite." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 21, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 98%
| The Devil Came On Horseback (2007) | "
On all counts, the co-directors of this persuasive documentary set the right tone." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 21, 2007 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 67%
| 9 Star Hotel (2006) | "
A little voiceover commentary might add more than the sound of his panting." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 7, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 85%
| In Between Days (2006) | "
This artfully muted film pays off with a desperate act of eloquence." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 7, 2007 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 48%
| Hatchet (2007) | "
In its gore, Hatchet is not especially inventive" — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 7, 2007 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 96%
| Deep Water (2007) | "
Osmond and Rothwell do a commendable job of mining a rich archive of material." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 7, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 56%
| The Bubble (2007) | "
Don't bet on this Israeli drama exploding any cliches." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Sep 7, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Kamp Katrina (2007) | "
This verite digital video about coping with natural disaster contains exotic characters, tragic hardships, bureaucratic indifference, inner demons and the birth of a crack baby." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 31, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 52%
| Manufacturing Dissent (2007) | "
Too bad co-writers/co-directors Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine don't investigate -- and ingratiate -- the way their target does in his own films." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 31, 2007 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 40%
| Trapped Ashes (2006) | "
Dennis Bartok writes this lackluster anthology of four juvenile horror stories dripping with sexual dread and goofball gore." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 31, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 59%
| Dans Paris (2007) | "
Dans Paris has a lot of whining about women, interrupted with impulsive trysts and bouts of dancing." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 31, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 64%
| Ladron que Roba a Ladron (To Rob a Thief) (2007) | "
International talents converge for an entertaining genre exercise." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 31, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 62%
| Them (2007) | "
The fright is crafted well enough, but the twist at the end calls for more originality than filmmakers David Moreau and Xavier Palud wield." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 24, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 77%
| Summercamp! (2007) | "
Unlike the intense cadets for Christ and creationism in the recent documentary Jesus Camp, the kids in the sweet Summercamp! have fun!" — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 24, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 86%
| Gypsy Caravan (2006) | "
The camera work is always note-perfect." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 24, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 64%
| Belle Toujours (2006) | "
Belle Toujours lets us peer at one master embroidering on the legacy of another master." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 24, 2007 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 70%
| Moliere (2007) | "
Moliere hardly matches the clever mockery of its 17th century inspiration." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 10, 2007 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 70%
| Day Night Day Night (2007) | "
Loktev creates a minimalist study of unfathomable faith." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 10, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 68%
| The Treatment (2007) | "
A smart, tender love story." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 10, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 63%
| Casting About (2007) | "
This revelatory documentary lets us see what it's like to be an actress at an audition." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Aug 10, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 82%
| Manufactured Landscapes (2007) | "
Burtynsky calls for "a whole new way of thinking" about the world's economy and ecology, though he never says what's wrong with the old way." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 27, 2007 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 69%
| L'Iceberg (2005) | "
Delightful in places, the surreal stunts are lovingly crafted. As a seaworthy film, though, Fiona's folly is more pratfall than plot." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 27, 2007 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 30%
| The Glamorous Life Of Sachiko Hanai (2007) | "
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai is far less silly than it thinks it is. The upbeat vibe of super-female power misfires with a gratuitous rape scene." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 23, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 74%
| The Boss of it All (2007) | "
Perverse humor pervades the films of Lars von Trier." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 23, 2007 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 63%
| Allegro (2005) | "
[Director] Boe's technique has more flash than passion." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 23, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 68%
| Lights In The Dusk (2007) | "
The director's existential sarcasm is muted here." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 23, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 90%
| Punk's Not Dead (2007) | "
Punk's Not Dead serves as a diehard's scrapbook of three decades of living punk, not a eulogy for an extinct underground retrofitted as a fashion trend." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 23, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 46%
| Macbeth (2007) | "
This Macbeth is true to the ugly-hearted original. No one is redeemed by gore, or absolved of madness. Nor do lines sound any less sublime when channeled through underlings and overlords." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 13, 2007 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 96%
| Triad Election (2007) | "
If Machiavelli's The Prince and Sun Tzu's The Art of War translate to other centuries and cultures, so might Election and Triad Election." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 13, 2007 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 86%
| Election (2005) | "
Election feels routine at times, though less formulaic than other genre exercises from Hong Kong. The depiction of crime customs is sociologically detailed." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 13, 2007 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 50%
| Hula Girls (2007) | "
Slick cinematography makes this bland social comedy always watchable, but the movie has its insipid moments." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 13, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 81%
| Time (2007) | "
An unnerving riff on South Korean women fixated on the idea of ul-jjang ('best face')." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jul 13, 2007 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Rock the Bells (2007) | "
Rock the Bells deals with the mechanics of how to pull off a concert, not with what brought Wu-Tang Clan together or split them up. The impressive teamwork of the promoters upstages the egos of hip-hop divos and their rampaging fans." — Chicago Sun-Times Posted Jun 29, 2007 |
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