Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 98%
| An American in Paris (1951) | Never the triumph that it really should have been, largely because of a thin script and the flyaway Caron, this is still good, colorful fun. Posted Sep 16, 2005 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 58%
| California Suite (1978) | Dire: good actors playing the worst versions of one-dimensional Neil Simon joke machines. Posted Sep 16, 2005 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 78%
| Caravaggio (1986) | Remarkably true to Caravaggio's visual aesthetic while expanding Jarman's own repertoire of tones and ideas. Posted Sep 16, 2005 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 76%
| Maryam (2002) | Smarter in its message than its execution, this is still a thought-provoking rental. Posted Sep 16, 2005 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 69%
| The Sum of Us (1994) | A second look reveals everything wrong with the movie, but on first pass, it's well-performed and enjoyably crafted. Posted Aug 19, 2005 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 52%
| Waking the Dead (2000) | An enticingly adult drama that frustratingly loses the nerve to follow its richest threads. Posted Aug 19, 2005 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 50%
| Sister My Sister (1994) | Missable but intriguing expansion of the story that inspired Genet's The Maids. Posted Aug 19, 2005 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 80%
| Black Rain (1989) | A stunning, humane, but difficult film about the human aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing. Posted Mar 1, 2005 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| These Three (1936) | Overheated but well-acted adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play The Children's Hour. Posted Mar 1, 2005 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| Atlantic City (1980) | Poignant, atmospheric mood piece with pristine performances by Lancaster and Sarandon. Posted Dec 13, 2004 |
Rotten 0/5
| Fresh 67%
| Executive Decision (1996) | Laughably, inexcusably, abjectly awful. How can I even count the ways? Posted Nov 6, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 67%
| Steel Magnolias (1989) | For all its violations of good taste and critical criteria, I laugh and cry every time, and I'll never let it go. So sue me. Posted Nov 2, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 89%
| Awakenings (1990) | I remember this film, which I saw 13 years ago, as a squishy article redeemed by two strong performances; I am not inclined to go back for a second opinion. Posted Nov 2, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 96%
| Back to the Future (1985) | Technically, no film is impossible to like, but this techno-romantic comedy comes about as close as you can get. Posted Nov 2, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| The Thin Man (1934) | Elegant, frisky, funny, sly... what else are you looking for, exactly? Posted Oct 22, 2004 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 93%
| On the Town (1949) | Disappointingly flat musical; if you're after a Kelly/Sinatra pairing, you'll do better with Anchors Aweigh (and even that is no masterpiece). Posted Sep 25, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 75%
| I Shot Andy Warhol (1996) | Never as compelling as its central performance, it's still a very good film - and after all, that's a hard performance to live up to. Posted Sep 25, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 90%
| A Cry in the Dark (1988) | Admirably off-putting performance by Streep in a reasonably involving Australian court drama. Posted Sep 25, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 68%
| The Fox and the Hound (1981) | The most charming of Disney features of the 1980s, with two appealing protagonists and a worthy story. Posted Aug 31, 2004 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 16%
| The Scarlet Letter (1995) | For anyone who's ever wondered why Hawthorne left out the mute servants, red cockatoos, and rolls in the proverbial hay. As Hawthorne himself would say: "Ignominious!" Posted Aug 31, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 92%
| Cinderella (1950) | Far from the peaks of Pinocchio or Sleeping Beauty, but still a solidly enjoyable Disney venture. Posted Aug 31, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 71%
| Time Regained (1999) | Moody, opulent, and just decadent enough, Ruiz's film is elegant all over and perverse around the edges, just as it should be. Posted Aug 30, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 89%
| The Book of Life (1998) | Anything touched by PJ Harvey is bound to be worth the trouble; even better, Hartley has made one of his better, least grating films. Posted Aug 29, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 92%
| Mask (1985) | A modest film by most stretches, but exquisite acting by Cher, Stoltz, and Laura Dern make it truly special. Posted Aug 29, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 88%
| Bound (1996) | A masterful neo-noir, with bright and shiny colors and contrasts, deliciously camp acting, and a killer plot. Posted Aug 29, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 93%
| Persona (1966) | There are so many stunning monologues and unforgettable set-pieces in Persona that even at a modest 80 minutes, it feels fuller on the surface than most movies twice the length. Posted Aug 28, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Seven Samurai (1954) | Impressive and ambitious, but seriously - am I the only person alive who finds it overwrought and patience-testing? Posted Aug 28, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| On the Waterfront (1954) | Not a flawless film, but so very fine that you'll remember what works--the terrific lead performance, the great support from Cobb and Saint, the evocative photography, the expertly chosen locations--more than what doesn't. Posted Aug 28, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| N/A | L'Homme Blesse (1984) | A bleak and grotty film, turgidly stereotypical in its view of homosexual life - but it's exceptionally well-acted, and consistent in its point of view. Posted Aug 17, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 96%
| Full Metal Jacket (1987) | Never as coherent as you want it to be, but the images are often indelible. Posted Aug 13, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Vampyr (1931) | Sublimely creepy, and a surrealist surprise from this usually ascetic director. Posted Aug 13, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 88%
| If These Walls Could Talk (1996) | Overly earnest but admirable short films about important issues. Posted Aug 13, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| N/A | A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985) | Moving and memorable, and more accessible than some of the director's other work Posted Aug 12, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Harry and Tonto (1974) | I remember it being better than I expected, but at the same time, that's all I remember. Pleasant, forgettable. Posted Jul 31, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Mary Poppins (1964) | Even better than you remember, better than anyone could have hoped, better than almost any other movie of its kind. Posted Jul 31, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 91%
| Moonstruck (1987) | Elegantly designed and acted with verve, even though the story and concept are frustratingly minor. Posted Jul 31, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 93%
| The Magic Flute (1975) | A particular delight for opera fans, though colorfully engaging to everyone. Posted Jul 31, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 92%
| Funny Girl (1968) | Barbra Streisand gives one of the musical genre's most sublime performances--unfortunately in a stodgy, badly paced, overly produced movie that don't deserve her. Posted Jul 31, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) | If there never were another satire of war, you'd think this one would have single-handedly stopped the whole mad business. Posted Jul 29, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 80%
| Fatal Attraction (1987) | The movie's sexual politics are a little acrid, but its construction is so persuasive and the lead performances so inspired that the film is hard to resist. Posted Jul 29, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| My Left Foot (1989) | A bit rudimentary in form and style, but full of bracing performances and an admirably light-and-dark tone. Posted Jul 29, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| North by Northwest (1959) | A diverting adventure, but in truth, a little precious... Not my favorite of Hitch's later films. Posted Jul 29, 2004 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 84%
| Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965) | Smothered in Spanish moss, creakily derivative of Baby Jane, this one proves you can't borrow from the same well twice. Posted Jul 27, 2004 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 97%
| Grand Illusion (1937) | You don't know war films can be like this until you see it: elegant, humane, seriocomic, deeply wounded, with a sublime regard for life that exceeds all borders. Posted Jul 27, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| The Gold Rush (1925) | One of Chaplin's very funniest movies; not as indelibe as Modern Times, but close. Posted Jul 27, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| The Bride With White Hair (1993) | A demented, wildly colorful, extravagantly conceived martial-arts adventure-cum-mystical fable. Posted Jul 24, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 82%
| Pink Flamingos (1972) | Hard to make an argument based on sheer artistry; impossible to make an argument against outrageous charm and transfixing weirdness. Posted Jul 24, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| N/A | The Tempest (1979) | A devious and fascinating treatment of the play, especially good for Shakespeare scholars and Jarman fans. Posted Jun 20, 2004 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 71%
| The Divorcee (1930) | Refreshingly excited about female sexuality for a Hollywood movie, though pretty tame stuff all in all. Posted Jun 20, 2004 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 95%
| Intolerance (1916) | Over-extended and powered by a glib conceit, but still a stunning piece of filmmaking, with a breathtaking set. Posted Jun 20, 2004 |
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