|
4/5
|
86%
|
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) |
"
People are unlikely to charge out of the cinema with quite the same level of glee as they did in 2009; but this is certainly an astute, exhilarating concoction."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 30, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
90%
|
Bernie (2012) |
"
Really impressive."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 25, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
Paths of Glory (1957) |
"
You can sense Kubrick stretching his cinematic wings in this prime slice of Hollywood liberalism."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Mar 26, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
92%
|
Top of the Lake (2013) |
"
Jane Campion's latest project is part of a now-honourable tradition of film-making that is a bridge between features and high-end TV."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Mar 22, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
66%
|
For Ellen (2012) |
"
Paul Dano makes So Yong Kim's story of a deadbeat rocker with marriage problems his own."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 14, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
——
|
The Best Offer (La Migliore Offerta) () |
"
Fine actors as Rush, Sturgess and Hoeks are, almost everything they say remains dead on the page."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 13, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
——
|
Computer Chess (2013) |
"
It won't be to everyone's taste, for sure - this is no War Games-style pop comedy. But as an act of cultural archaeology I can think of few better."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 12, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
——
|
Maladies () |
"
Is it anything more than a vanity project? It's hard to see it any other way."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 11, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
68%
|
The Spirit of '45 () |
"
Films are rarely this committed or, indeed, persuasive."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 11, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
51%
|
Promised Land (2013) |
"
Gus Van Sant's fracking drama pits Matt Damon's energy executive against John Krasinski's eco-dreamboat in a battle for the minds of backwater farmers and the heart of Rosemarie DeWitt's moony schoolma'am."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 8, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
——
|
Grandmaster (2012) |
"
The Grandmaster is something pretty special."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 7, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
100%
|
Victim (1961) |
"
Impeccably liberal, weirdly restrained and, aside from anything else, a fascinating historical document."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 6, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
95%
|
Midnight Son (2012) |
"
Yet another tortured-emo vampire movie, but there's an attempt to inject a dose of plausible realism into proceedings, rather than Twilight's leaden coffee-table stylings."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Jan 10, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
91%
|
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan () |
"
Harryhausen emerges as a charming, likable pioneer, a mood helped along by the adoring nature of this profile."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 8, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
94%
|
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012) |
"
It's a mine of pop-cultural history, but the unswervingly generous assessment of her achievements and permanently arch vocal style become a little wearying."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
83%
|
El alma de las moscas (The Soul of Flies) () |
"
The mix of deadpan humour and flowery voiceovers doesn't always work, but there are sympathetic performances from the two leads."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Jul 12, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
57%
|
Detachment (2012) |
"
It's watchable enough, but the bludgeoning screenplay seems undercooked compared to the high-grade actors on show."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Jul 12, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
43%
|
7 Days in Havana () |
"
A pleasant couple of hours, even if feels like an extended advert for the rum company who paid for it."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Jul 5, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
73%
|
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) |
"
Webb successfully treads a fine line between keeping the hardcore superhero-movie fans happy and injecting a dose of meaningful affect."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Jun 19, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
83%
|
Klitschko (2011) |
"
Perhaps more could have been made of the older Klitschko's move into Ukranian politics, now such a hot potato - but that might be asking a bit much."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted May 17, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
87%
|
She Monkeys (Apflickorna) (2011) |
"
It suffers a little from its resolute avoidance of titillation - a little more passion would not have gone amiss - but it's a worthwhile effort nonetheless."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted May 17, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
20%
|
Hara ga kore nande (Mitsuko Delivers) () |
"
It isn't exactly a laugh a minute, and some of the comedy is way too broad, but it exerts a quiet hold."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted May 10, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
92%
|
Beauty and the Beast (2012) |
"
There's no doubting the craftsmanlike elegance of the film, summoning up with relish the spirit of classic fairytale Disney of the 50s and 60s..."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted May 3, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
——
|
Lawrence Of Belgravia () |
"
Unless you already worship at the altar of Lawrence, there's not much concession made to you; it feels very much for devotees only."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted May 3, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
50%
|
388 Arletta Avenue (2012) |
"
It all works - just."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 26, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
22%
|
The Samaritan (2012) |
"
It wants to be a nimble-footed con movie, but also a bludgeoning (and bloody) revenge thriller, neither of which it succeeds in."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 19, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
92%
|
Town Of Runners () |
"
A valuable insight into the roots of the sport."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 19, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
74%
|
Blackthorn (2011) |
"
Blackthorn is a handsomely mounted film, with many an awesome vista and rolling plain, but compared to the quicksilver brilliance of its predecessors, it comes off as irredeemably minor."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 12, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
81%
|
A Cat in Paris (2012) |
"
A slight, attractive tale: a childlike fable of a little girl and her preternaturally intelligent cat that swiftly devolves into a very old-school cops and robbers yarn."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Apr 5, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
41%
|
The Flowers of War (2011) |
"
The Nanjing massacre is still a running sore in China's 20th century history, and Zhang is brave to take it on."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 14, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
97%
|
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012) |
"
Let's hope Klayman gets to make a sequel."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 13, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
95%
|
Marley (2012) |
"
What results is an immensely detailed overview of Marley's life and times..."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 13, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
36%
|
Iron Sky (2012) |
"
It's not terrible, by any means: just not nearly as funny or cruel as its killer premise suggests."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 13, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
56%
|
In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) |
"
Jolie's grasp of the material is confident enough to mean that her film never slows down, or loses its way."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 10, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
22%
|
Elles (2012) |
"
Juliette Binoche gives it her considerable all in this otherwise dubious film, which purports to investigate the moral and emotional price of teenage prostitution."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 10, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
93%
|
Girl Model (2012) |
"
This fantastically depressing film ought to be shown in school assemblies, or wherever impressionable pre-teens gather to discuss their dreams of media stardom."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Feb 9, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
8%
|
Acts of Godfrey () |
"
Things only properly kick off in a frantic farce-like finale; by then the laboriousness of the plotting has taken its toll."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Jan 27, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
77%
|
War Horse (2011) |
"
Rooted in a buffed-up, sanded-down vision of rural England, where even alcohol-fuelled poverty is given a picturesque, storybook patina."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Dec 20, 2011
|
|
1/5
|
40%
|
The Big Year (2011) |
"
It's theoretically possible for laughs to be gouged out of this scenario, but you won't find them here: every move, every joke, every emotion is heaved lumberingly into place."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Dec 1, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
44%
|
J. Edgar (2011) |
"
A laboured, morally questionable portrait of the would-be power broker that, moreover, is badly undermined by some dubious special-effects decisions."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 30, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
100%
|
We Were Here (2011) |
"
Even if, understandably, it's a little inward-looking (the ongoing disaster in Africa gets barely a mention), as a slice of social history, We Were Here takes an invigoratingly positive position on a very gloomy time."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
Hugo (2011) |
"
Scorsese has created an exquisite jewel box of a movie, polished and honed to glittering, diamond-hard brilliance."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 23, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
35%
|
Immortals (2011) |
"
Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar slathers things with eyecatching visuals - luscious CGI effects, vertiginous camera angles, a treacly amber glow - and keeps every frame watchable, however foolish and stilted the utterances emerging from people's mouths."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 10, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
21%
|
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan (2011) |
"
Here is a very self-conscious attempt to bridge the US-China divide through the medium of glossy, handsomely mounted cinema."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 3, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
92%
|
Sound It Out (2011) |
"
A cheap and cheerful documentary about a properly endangered species: the record shop."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Nov 3, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
Ghostbusters (1984) |
"
What's not to like?"
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Oct 27, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
90%
|
Amélie (2001) |
"
What comes across most powerfully is Jeunet's athletic, playful directing style, a tour de force of tricks, gags and effects."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
88%
|
When China Met Africa () |
"
An eye-opening documentary that puts into concrete images that truism of the geo-political commentariat: that China is a new economic superpower."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Oct 6, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
83%
|
The Story of Lovers Rock () |
"
There's a lot of misty-eyed nostalgia in this tribute to the forgotten 70s subgenre of 'lover's rock', but sadly not much archive footage."
—
Guardian [UK]
Posted Sep 29, 2011
|
86%
22%
90%
