|
4/4
|
88%
|
Titanic (2012) |
"
It is, simply, a great film, a throwback to classic filmmaking, and more than that, an experience with unusual resonance to the world of today."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Apr 12, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
76%
|
The Help (2011) |
"
A Southern gothic comedy-drama with wickedly observed performances and a story arc that feels absolutely epic, despite the modest, domestic setting."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Aug 16, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
73%
|
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) |
"
Possibly the richest testament Hollywood has yet made about the paroxysm of World War II ... an astounding movie on every level, not the least of which is its common humanity."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
——
|
Gui lin rong ji (My Rice Noodle Shop) () |
"
Although Chinese films can be overtly weepy, My Rice Noodle Shop is more smartly sentimental than mawkish."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 23, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
The King's Speech (2010) |
"
It is a rare movie indeed that successfully uses empathy rather than sympathy. We feel what the character feels, instead of feeling for them."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 22, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
91%
|
City of Life and Death (2011) |
"
A work of grim art told with relentlessly restless curiosity about the human capacity for survival."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 10, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
——
|
The Land Of Eb () |
"
A rare, extraordinary film that celebrates the dignity of hard work, as well as the tenuous connections of cultural legacy in a fragmented community."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
51%
|
John Carter (2012) |
"
Great fun as we endure scrape after scrape in this wild, near-hallucinatory landscape, and director Stanton finds the right balance of cheerful solemnity and cheeky humor."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Mar 12, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
89%
|
The Descendants (2011) |
"
A large patch of the movie's social contract are the Hawaiian notions of 'aina, malama and pono. It joins the short list we aren't embarrassed to screen for malahini."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
81%
|
Red Dog (2012) |
"
Miners are telling Red Dog stories, and so it's essentially a series of personal flashbacks that grow larger with the retelling, exactly the way mythology gets kickstarted."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Oct 28, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
96%
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) |
"
The Potter universe, magical as it is, is more grounded in heart and soul than many fictions. You don't read Harry Potter to escape, you read Harry Potter to find your way."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 15, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
——
|
Made in China (2009) |
"
A thoroughly charming, quirkily funny independent film with a standout performance that would never have been touched in a million years by a major studio."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
59%
|
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) |
"
Prior to "Tora!" movies showing the attack were jingoistic propaganda; afterwards, the attack was an excuse to indulge in Hollywood's fascination with American self-loathing."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Dec 20, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
The Road (2012) |
"
... Enough rattling thrills for the date-night crowd, and enough story and character for older film buffs to chew on. The ride home afterwards might require your high beams."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted May 11, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
Big in Bollywood () |
"
A funny, insightful meditation on the trappings of fame, and the key word there is "trap." Also helps explain the foreign excitement of Bollywood to American audiences."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
39%
|
Red Tails (2012) |
"
A canny homage to a certain genre of film, the aerial adventure story, a type that was popular when airplanes were considered marvelous machines and not merely flying buses."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jan 25, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) |
"
This is defiantly old-fashioned, high-value entertainment with a glamorous, talented cast. You used to see this sort of thing all the time from Hollywood."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jan 12, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
77%
|
War Horse (2011) |
"
A tearjerker finale suggests that Joey has the power of restoring sight to the blind. Oh, the noble creatures that make us see ourselves as we really are!"
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Dec 28, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
86%
|
The Forgiveness of Blood (2012) |
"
We start out hoping that new freedoms will start to cancel out age-old blood feuds, and wind up simply wishing that a cease-fire can be maintained."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Dec 21, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
100%
|
Semper Fi: Always Faithful (2012) |
"
Semper Fi: Always Faithful carefully follows the conduct of this case, which is largely unknown by the general public. It is superbly constructed without being preachy."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
80%
|
Littlerock (2011) |
"
A neatly plotted, observational film about being on the outside looking in, and on the inside looking out."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Nov 11, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
85%
|
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2011) |
"
Beginning psychologists take note - hillbillies and college kids may kill each other, but the greatest assets in maintaining the peace, on both sides, are hot coeds."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Oct 27, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
100%
|
The Interrupters (2011) |
"
If this were a fiction movie out of Hollywood, we'd be hooting at the preposterousness of it all. I mean, really. "
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Sep 13, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
85%
|
Contagion (2011) |
"
It proves the creepiest movies are also the quietest. Although "Contagion" is a horror movie, it's also a response about a viral apocalypse. The end arrives with tiny coughs ..."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Sep 9, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
33%
|
Flyboys (2006) |
"
Each air battle has been scripted as a set piece that not only shows off the capabilities of the pilots and their machines, but also advances the plot. Bring your Dramamine!"
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Sep 7, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
Sunny (Sseo-ni) (2011) |
"
Writer-director Kang Hyeong-Cheoi has a keen grasp of what motivates teenagers, which is mostly a desire to be an individual while also being exactly like everyone else."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Aug 24, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
Siam Sunset (2003) |
"
Many of the jokes are big production numbers that appear out of nowhere, and some are appallingly cruel in a brawny, slap-your-back kind of way."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
86%
|
Chunhyangdyun (2000) |
"
Reminded of 'Ever After,' a film that took a standard western myth and updated it with wit, verve and relevance. This is in that league, and rather more elegant and adult."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
83%
|
George Washington (2000) |
"
Oh, you could analyze and debate and dissect the individual vignettes to smithereens, which is what makes it literary, I 'spect. But that would be too much like homework."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
History of the Sons of Hawaii (2004) |
"
What sets 'Sons' apart is not the depth of the subject matter - at 80 minutes, it's an epic - but the resonance it strikes with every level of modern Hawaiian culture."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
83%
|
Sione's Wedding (Samoan Wedding) (2006) |
"
Actor Oscar Kightley bears a remarkable resemblance to teenage actor Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe, if Radcliffe were in his mid-30s, bald and Samoan. Uncanny."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
Beautiful Son () |
"
Objectivity and distance aren't what documentarians are all about. The result of that tension has resulted in this passionate and, yes, beautiful film."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
75%
|
John Rabe (2010) |
"
A serious, large-budget treatment of Rabe's exploits and a moving, terrific film about trying to maintain one's decency amidst horrors."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
49%
|
Atlantis - The Lost Empire (2001) |
"
It's too rich with invention and characterization, too packed with juice, and it gallops right along breathlessly. Even so, it manages moments of lyricism and visual elegance."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
The Recipe (2010) |
"
A runaway killer is captured by the police because he's moony about some bean-paste stew he's eaten. His last request before execution? He wants some more of that stew ..."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 22, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
96%
|
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011) |
"
They emerged with a film that is supposed to be an art documentary, but is really a kind of immersive fever dream and time machine."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 14, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
90%
|
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2010) |
"
Chazelle is more interested in having fun with this witty melange than in hammering home a filmic style lesson. So enjoy."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 3, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
88%
|
Even the Rain (Meme La Pluie) (2011) |
"
If you can handle a few scenes of hammeringly obvious metaphor, "Even The Rain" is a rich, multi-layered film that gives an involved viewer much to think about."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 3, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
41%
|
The Flowers of War (2011) |
"
What we have here is a movie that believes it is a massive and glorious heroic epic, when it's really a backlot melodrama."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jan 19, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
92%
|
Senna (2011) |
"
While this documentary is unreeling, we're definitely along for the ride. But there's no aftertaste, except for that of burnt metal."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
74%
|
Shaolin (2011) |
"
This is not a subtle film, and certainly not a great one, but it's made with bubbling brio and it's spectacular to look at. It's action filmmaking of the highest order."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Sep 8, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
72%
|
Fright Night (2011) |
"
Finally - after a long dry spell - here's a vampire movie that doesn't suck. This makes it seem better than it is, as long as you don't squeeze your eyeballs in a 3D theater."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Aug 19, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
70%
|
Horrible Bosses (2011) |
"
Hollywood, ever-sensitive to the heated scent of the national zeitgeist, is in the business of trotting out movies that greedily feed on subliminal obsessions."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 7, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
82%
|
Linda Linda Linda (2005) |
"
The movie provides a fine, shiny reminiscence of school days, when learning three guitar chords in the right order was the most important thing in the world."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
58%
|
Year of the Fish (2007) |
"
Making the film 'animated' creates a remove from the harshness of reality, like erecting a scrim between performer and audience, but it also makes for a certain glow."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
——
|
Kuro-obi (Black Belt) (2007) |
"
Like a 1962 martial-arts movie, influenced by the landscape of American Westerns and relying on A-to-B storytelling, villains and heroes unfettered by backstory or motive."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
66%
|
The Blind Side (2009) |
"
A living tribute to fundamental Christian motivations, although the point is hammered home with an extraordinarily soft touch: Love thy neighbor."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
61%
|
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) |
"
Brendan Fraser's physical dexterity and comic timing are laid out in good order here, and "Journey" is pretty much a Frasermobile. Without him, it just doesn't go anywhere."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
——
|
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (Fâsuto sukuwaddo) (2009) |
"
That the blood and thunder is being carried out by big-eyed children is a little creepy, but then, the Great Patriotic War was no day at the amusement park."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jul 5, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
——
|
Via Satellite (1998) |
"
An enormous Family Secret manages to suck the oxygen out of the room. Indeed, all the characters get the pinched, bloody-eyed look test animals get in pressure chambers."
—
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Posted Jun 23, 2011
|
77%
30%
88%
85%
45%
40%
