|
B
|
98%
|
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] You could come away from the movie thinking that the Catholic Church is nothing more than an impermeable mafia of fascist monsters who prey on little boys. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Nov 6, 2012
|
|
A+
|
90%
|
The Firemen's Ball (1968) |
"
Milos Forman and his co-writers knew they were making a dangerous movie. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Nov 3, 2012
|
|
A-
|
86%
|
Wreck-it Ralph (2012) |
"
"Wreck-It Ralph" is one of the best animated movies of 2012... "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
A
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Skyfall" stands as one more shrewd blast of cinema ecstasy in a long history of compelling 007 spy movies. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 31, 2012
|
|
A+
|
88%
|
The Turin Horse (2012) |
"
"The Turin Horse" is an existential provocation to its audience, demanding that we consider the effect of man's judgments against nature and ultimately against ourselves."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 29, 2012
|
|
A
|
45%
|
The Details (2012) |
"
Jacob Aaron Estes has made a plucky movie that challenges its audience to examine their own less than ethical behaviors. Just as it is in life, it's all fun and games until someone looses their household. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 27, 2012
|
|
B
|
68%
|
This Must Be The Place (2012) |
"
"This Must Be the Place" is as much like a piece of carefully composed music as it is a movie. You've simply got to dig the mood in order to let it take you away. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 26, 2012
|
|
C+
|
78%
|
Flight (2012) |
"
Enjoyable in the Hollywood-popcorn fashion that director Robert Zemeckis is famous for - see "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," skip "Forest Gump" - "Flight" is a drama that would have been better without Zemeckis's kneejerk proclivity for cheese. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 26, 2012
|
|
A+
|
75%
|
Killing Them Softly (2012) |
"
One of the ten best films of 2012, Andrew Dominik's cold-blooded satire of American corporate-political-capitalism cuts through its subject like a freshly sharpened guillotine blade. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 25, 2012
|
|
A-
|
92%
|
Minority Report (2002) |
"
The movie's combination of old and new influences energizes its believable futuristic elements."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 22, 2012
|
|
C-
|
67%
|
Cloud Atlas (2012) |
"
"Cloud Atlas" wants to be more than it is. For a movie pitched as a Meta-Meta exploration linking the ancient past to the recent past to the faraway future, it nosedives before getting out of the gate. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 21, 2012
|
|
D+
|
70%
|
The Loneliest Planet (2012) |
"
Too much a student of the Gus Van Sant school of minimalist filmmaking - think "Gerry" - Julia Loktev manages a travelogue romantic drama that is overwrought and yet undercooked. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 21, 2012
|
|
C
|
79%
|
The Other Son (2012) |
"
Viewing the Palestine-Israeli conflict through a switched-at-birth plot device proves compelling, though not entirely adequate in director Lorraine Levy's uncoordinated melodrama. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 21, 2012
|
|
C
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" is a mess."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 17, 2012
|
|
A+
|
100%
|
The Last Picture Show (1971) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] A masterpiece by any standard, "The Last Picture Show" (1971) presents an emotionally apocalyptic reckoning of an America that has lost its way. The subtext-the film was made at the height of the Vietnam War - is hard to miss."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 16, 2012
|
|
B
|
94%
|
Photographic Memory (2012) |
"
Bittersweet though it may be, "Photographic Memory" reminds us that time is fleeting and all memories fade - even those captured on film. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 15, 2012
|
|
B
|
90%
|
Holy Motors (2012) |
"
Leos Carax's long overdue return to feature filmmaking - behind such dark delights as "The Lovers on the Bridge" (1991) and "Pola X" (1999) - is a self-reflexive avant-garde examination of external and internal influences. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 14, 2012
|
|
B
|
82%
|
Seven Psychopaths (2012) |
"
Martin McDonagh's energetic follow up to his wildly humorous and thoughtful 2008 film "In Bruges" is a self-reflexive study in post-post-modern cinema. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 11, 2012
|
|
C
|
96%
|
Argo (2012) |
"
"Argo" is one more example of how Hollywood waters down its movies for mass consumption. They need to try harder. Much, much harder. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 10, 2012
|
|
B
|
91%
|
Frances Ha (2013) |
"
Noah Baumbach officially takes over Woody Allen's mantle as New York's representative auteur of quirky romantic comedy. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 7, 2012
|
|
A+
|
93%
|
Amour (2012) |
"
Michael Haneke's elegiac exploration of an elderly couple's final days together transcends all definition of romantic ideal. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 7, 2012
|
|
A-
|
88%
|
Life of Pi (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Ang Lee orchestrates the film's demanding visual, emotional, and thematic elements as a true maestro conducting with a carefully honed sense of dynamics. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 6, 2012
|
|
D+
|
44%
|
The Paperboy (2012) |
"
Openly anti-Semitic, homophobic, misogynist, and racist, there's something to offend nearly everyone in this wrongheaded '60s era sexploitation misadventure."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 6, 2012
|
|
D
|
86%
|
The Master (2012) |
"
As with Lou Reed's notorious album of over-modulated feedback ("Metal Machine Music"), the audience is left to decide if the movie is some kind of bad joke, or an artistic project gone horribly astray. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Oct 2, 2012
|
|
A
|
98%
|
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) |
"
John Frankenheimer directs with a distinctive complexity of visual depth and a surreal tone of lurking menace. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 30, 2012
|
|
A
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] There's a lot to appreciate in Burton's tastefully punchy animated horror comedy. "Frankenweenie" is poised to be the next best Halloween classic for kids. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
B
|
35%
|
Butter (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Everyone knows capitalism is a racist construct to begin with. It's funny watching an African American girl turn "the white man's burden" on its head. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
C-
|
32%
|
The Oranges (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Barely a spark of humor ever pops in a would-be romantic comedy with nowhere to go."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
A+
|
93%
|
Lone Star (1996) |
"
One of several of writer-director John Sayles's masterpieces -alongside such unforgettable films as "City of Hope," "Matewan" and "The Secret of Roan Inish" - "Lone Star" is an absorbing neo-Western mystery told in a haunting magical realist tone."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
C-
|
43%
|
Hotel Transylvania (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Partying with Dracula and his crew of monsters isn't as enjoyable as you might imagine in this animated misfire. A threadbare script sets an oversimplified plot adrift. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 26, 2012
|
|
C+
|
93%
|
Looper (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] As time-travel suspense thrillers go "Looper" is a pinch better than mediocre. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 23, 2012
|
|
B-
|
81%
|
Pitch Perfect (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Essentially a glorified episode of the television show "Glee," "Pitch Perfect" is a spotty coming-of-age comedy that only marginally pays off on its promise of delivering harmonized vocal virtuosity."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 23, 2012
|
|
A
|
100%
|
How to Survive a Plague (2012) |
"
"How to Survive a Plague" thoroughly examines the history of the AIDS crisis and the dedicated members of an activist group (Act-Up) capable of adapting to the lessons it learned along the way. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 15, 2012
|
|
B-
|
85%
|
End of Watch (2012) |
"
"End of Watch" is a gritty brief apologia from writer-director David Ayer for his less than complimentary Los Angeles copsploitation films "Training Day" and "Harsh Times." "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 13, 2012
|
|
B
|
94%
|
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012) |
"
While not the most comprehensive documentary biopic about fashion maverick and bon vivant Diana Vreeland, this by-committee look at one of fashion's most visionary progenitors captures its subject's energy full-on. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 12, 2012
|
|
A-
|
99%
|
Finding Nemo 3D (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Disney/Pixar's 3D upgrade of its classic animated children's movie - using the expensive Xpand 3D format - has the duel effect of darkening the film's vibrant colors while adding considerable depth to the screen. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 9, 2012
|
|
A+
|
96%
|
The Bad News Bears (1976) |
"
Rife with every non-politically-correct social tic that '70s America had to offer, "The Bad News Bears" (1976) is a sports comedy that serves as a cultural benchmark. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 8, 2012
|
|
C-
|
87%
|
Arbitrage (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Republicans will love this movie. It will make everyone else want to hiss. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 8, 2012
|
|
C
|
55%
|
Beloved (2012) |
"
What starts out as a perky musical, slides downward into a morass of misplaced romantic desires over the course of four decades. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 8, 2012
|
|
C-
|
68%
|
Step Up To The Plate (2012) |
"
The audience comes away from the movie none the wiser about the gastronomical gifts of the Bras family, who seem almost "Stepford" in their insular world of private luxury. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 6, 2012
|
|
F
|
39%
|
The Possession (2012) |
"
Put "The Possession" on the short-list for one of the worst films of 2012. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 5, 2012
|
|
B+
|
64%
|
The Good Doctor (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "The Good Doctor" is a seriously creepy Euro-styled thriller. Regardless of their position on Obamacare, no one who sees this movie will feel any better about being a hospital patient."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 4, 2012
|
|
A
|
82%
|
De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] A tour de force by any standard of cinema, Jacques Audiard's convention-breaking romantic drama is one more example of how French filmic storytelling rises above the fray of Hollywood's forced efforts. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 4, 2012
|
|
C+
|
69%
|
Liberal Arts (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Writer-director-actor Josh Radnor follows up his debut feature ("Happythankyoumoreplease") with a compact romantic comedy that almost works, but not quite. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 3, 2012
|
|
B-
|
58%
|
The Eye of the Storm (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] There are three main reasons to see "The Eye of the Storm." Their names are Charlotte Rampling, Geoffrey Rush, and Judy Davis. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Sep 1, 2012
|
|
A+
|
91%
|
Thelma & Louise (1991) |
"
Loyalty and friendship between two women who discover beauty, lust, and the wonder of the road is at the heart of "Thelma & Louise." "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 31, 2012
|
|
C+
|
54%
|
The Inbetweeners (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "The Inbetweeners" doesn't go far enough into its insinuated territory of sticky gross-out humor. "The Inbetweeners" keeps too much in the middle of the road. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 31, 2012
|
|
C-
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) |
"
Disconnected significantly from the flow of logic between the first and second installments of Christopher Nolan's "Batman" films, "The Dark Knight Rises" is a disjointed mess. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 30, 2012
|
|
D+
|
65%
|
The Expendables 2 (2012) |
"
With a script seemingly dashed off on a chalkboard, "The Expendables 2" lives up to its title in the most pejorative way. Everything about this bombastic goofball action movie screams "disposable." "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 29, 2012
|
|
C-
|
56%
|
The Revenant (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Made in 2009, "The Revenant" finally finds its way to the big screen with a resounding thud. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 26, 2012
|
|
D+
|
56%
|
For a Good Time, Call... (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Indolent pacing combines with tone-deaf dialogue for a movie that is a chore to endure. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 26, 2012
|
|
A
|
90%
|
M*A*S*H (MASH) (1970) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "M*A*S*H" ruthlessly satirizes the hypocritical U.S. military, and de facto the U.S. Government, for its systemic hypocrisies and arbitrary means of doling out Draconian punishments to friends and foe alike."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 26, 2012
|
|
B
|
67%
|
Lawless (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Lawless" never pretends to be anything more than a revved up period-piece gangster movie. If the movie takes a few too many liberties regarding the survivability of its invincible leading characters, the trespass is forgivable. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 26, 2012
|
|
B-
|
76%
|
Premium Rush (2012) |
"
Popcorn gets stuck in the bubblegum of director/co-writer David Koepp's teenybopper crowd-pleaser. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 24, 2012
|
|
B
|
73%
|
Hello I Must Be Going (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Hello I Must Be Going" is a delightful slow boil adult romantic comedy that taps increasingly harder on your funny bone before really letting you have it with a brilliantly conceived scene of exponentially embarrassing implications."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 22, 2012
|
|
B-
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012) |
"
"The Bourne Legacy" is a better than competent spy thriller that pays off on its promise to push up the spectator's blood pressure."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 21, 2012
|
|
C
|
85%
|
Sleepwalk With Me (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Sleepwalk With Me" is lightweight to a fault. Yeah it's strange that this marginal comedian has a kooky sleep disorder, but that doesn't mean it makes for a very entertaining comedy."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 19, 2012
|
|
A-
|
47%
|
Heaven's Gate (1980) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Heaven's Gate" is an unforgettable film full of heartfelt sincerity and pointed commentary about America's bloody history of hypocrisy, greed, and racism."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 18, 2012
|
|
A-
|
75%
|
Chicken with Plums (2012) |
"
A mesmerizing blend of evocative live-action drama, and lush animation to rival the work of Maxfield Parish, "Chicken With Plums" is a magical film of epic proportions. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 15, 2012
|
|
B-
|
34%
|
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) |
"
Lighthearted, but emotionally sincere, writer/director Peter Hedges's tale of a boy created out of best intentions is yet another addition to this year's batch of magic realist movies. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 12, 2012
|
|
A
|
96%
|
Gone With the Wind (1939) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] ...a closer reading finds a cutting commentary on the South's hypocritical, opportunistic, and racist attitudes that continue to infect American culture. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 11, 2012
|
|
B
|
87%
|
ParaNorman (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Fans of Aardman's handcrafted style of animation will find much to enjoy in this wonderfully stylized stop-motion comedy-horror-thriller... "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 11, 2012
|
|
C-
|
64%
|
Cosmopolis (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] If intellectual sarcasm is your thing, you might like "Cosmopolis." Either way, the movie is too pretentious for its own good. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 10, 2012
|
|
A
|
98%
|
The Wild Bunch (1969) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Famous for its breathtaking bridge explosion sequence, "The Wild Bunch" is a western layered with social commentary about war, codes of honor among men, and humanity's childish nature that bends equally between violence and pleasure. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 7, 2012
|
|
B
|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Here's a new twist. Picture a Republican politician with humanitarian ethics. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 7, 2012
|
|
D+
|
20%
|
Goats (2012) |
"
"Goats" is an amateurish coming-of-age movie made up scattershot ideas that are never developed. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 7, 2012
|
|
A+
|
93%
|
West Side Story (1961) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Indisputably the greatest musical ever made, "West Side Story" (1961) has sadly proven socially timeless regarding America's eternally troubled immigrant experience. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 4, 2012
|
|
D+
|
21%
|
360 (2012) |
"
You'd hardly recognize the inspiration of Arthur Schnitzler's 19th century play "Reigen," or its previous cinematic interpretations (by Max Ophuls in 1950 and Roger Vadim in 1964), in Fernando Meirelles somber take on "La Ronde." "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 4, 2012
|
|
A-
|
74%
|
Hope Springs (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Hope Springs" is a romantic comedy with no small amount of potential to actually save a few marriages. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
B-
|
87%
|
Robot & Frank (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY]...there's much to appreciate in Frank Langella's artful performance opposite an empathetic robot."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
B-
|
62%
|
The Awakening (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "The Awakening" is all about mood and tone. Peepholes, poison, and long dim hallways with ghosts at the end of them just never get old. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Aug 1, 2012
|
|
B+
|
6%
|
Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY]...an eye-popping celebration of a talented and fearless stunt crew unafraid to put their lives on the line. Taste the adrenaline babyface. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 31, 2012
|
|
A
|
93%
|
The Apartment (1960) |
"
{VIDEO ESSAY} Billy Wilder's classic Manhattan-based romantic comedy comes with a sly critique regarding 50's era corporate culture of rampant misogyny and unbridled ambition. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 29, 2012
|
|
B
|
75%
|
Alps (2012) |
"
After the failure of his insufferable last film "Dogtooth," Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos refines his minimalist approach to absurdist satire. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 29, 2012
|
|
C-
|
37%
|
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) |
"
The "Ice Age" franchise runs out of steam with a narratively inert example of animated fluff. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 28, 2012
|
|
C-
|
16%
|
The Watch (2012) |
"
Could it be that Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Ben Stiller have lost their respective knacks for making audiences laugh? "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 28, 2012
|
|
B
|
97%
|
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012) |
"
Ai Weiwei is sorry now - just as sorry as every American citizen living under a similarly merciless form of militarized government. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 26, 2012
|
|
D+
|
8%
|
The Babymakers (2012) |
"
Olivia Munn is fun to look and, but you'd never guess at how talented Paul Schneider really is from the looks of this comic travesty. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 25, 2012
|
|
A+
|
98%
|
The Night of the Hunter (1955) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Charles Laughton, a consummate British actor of stage and film, directed only one film during his lifetime, but he made it count. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 22, 2012
|
|
D
|
5%
|
30 Beats (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Marginally enhanced by the presence of a few experienced actors (Jennifer Tilly, Paz De La Huerta, Lee Pace), writer-director Alexis Lloyd's Manhattan-set sexual roundelay is a shoddy feature debut. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 20, 2012
|
|
A-
|
90%
|
The Well Digger's Daughter (2012) |
"
"The Well-Digger's Daughter" transports the viewer to the smells, rhythms, and social constraints of a France that no longer exists. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 18, 2012
|
|
A+
|
79%
|
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai" is a stunner from start to finish."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 15, 2012
|
|
A+
|
100%
|
Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Dr. Strangelove" pokes fun at the idea of "mutually assured annihilation" and the dubious concept of "nuclear deterrents." "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 14, 2012
|
|
B
|
95%
|
The Queen of Versailles (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] There's quiet satisfaction is watching the financial collapse of the Florida billionaire self-professedly "personally" responsible for George W. Bush's "illegal" takeover of the White House in 2000. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 14, 2012
|
|
C-
|
80%
|
Magic Mike (2012) |
"
Steven Soderbergh's guilty-pleasure for sexually frustrated housewives fails to accomplish its modest thematic aspirations."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 14, 2012
|
|
B
|
51%
|
Savages (2012) |
"
Oliver Stone revs up the crime thriller genre with an energetic video-nasty that keeps up with modern sensibilities regarding sex, drugs, and violence. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 11, 2012
|
|
B
|
79%
|
Ruby Sparks (2012) |
"
"Ruby Sparks" is a humorous observation of the dysfunctional ground between men and women, especially during the early stages of a relationship. It has "date-movie" written all over it. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 10, 2012
|
|
B
|
94%
|
Farewell, My Queen (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Marie Antoinette takes on the façade of lesbian-rebel-savant in Benoit Jacquot's nuanced cinematic rendition of Chantal Thomas's novel. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 5, 2012
|
|
A
|
92%
|
Django (1966) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] With an emphasis on gory brutality, Corbucci introduced a blood-soaked drifter closely modeled after Clint Eastwood's iconic character from Leone's films, but with one clear difference - Django drags a coffin with him everywhere he goes."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 5, 2012
|
|
A+
|
97%
|
L'Avventura (The Adventure) (1960) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "L'avventura" is a haunting film that presages Fellini's post-modern cinema, and informs the French New Wave that gave way to such iconic auteurs as Jean Luc Goddard."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 2, 2012
|
|
C-
|
67%
|
The Pact (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "The Pact" is a horror movie with training wheels. It's for audiences who have never seen one before and don't want to be too scared. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 2, 2012
|
|
B
|
69%
|
Ted (2012) |
"
"Family Guy"- originator Seth McFarlane stacks his romantic-comedy deck by repurposing his popular animated television series' brand of irreverent humor. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jul 1, 2012
|
|
D+
|
21%
|
Madea's Witness Protection (2012) |
"
Tyler Perry continues to make movies for his audience. Everyone else be damned. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 29, 2012
|
|
B
|
73%
|
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) |
"
{VIDEO ESSAY} Spidey 2.0 has some very good things going for it - 3D effects, sadly are not among them. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 28, 2012
|
|
A+
|
89%
|
Compliance (2012) |
"
"Compliance" is a very uncomfortable movie. It makes us question our own readiness to allow strangers at airports to grope our nether regions through our clothes, or even to strip search us while we act like defenseless victims. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 28, 2012
|
|
C
|
55%
|
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) |
"
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" is at best a guilty pleasure thanks to Keira Knightly's presence. At worst, it's a movie that bides its audience's time on the way to certain death."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 27, 2012
|
|
B
|
56%
|
People Like Us (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Smart dialogue intersperses a by-committee soap opera plot in a movie made much better than the sum of its vulnerable narrative by three terrific actors."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 20, 2012
|
|
A
|
96%
|
Searching for Sugar Man (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Spoiler alert: "Searching for Sugar Man" is a truly inspiring and thoroughly entertaining documentary. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 20, 2012
|
|
A
|
79%
|
Klown (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Easily the most ribald and politically incorrect comedy to come out of the 21st century's second decade so far, Mikkel Norgaard's "Klown" hits funny bones you didn't know you had. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 20, 2012
|
|
A+
|
100%
|
The Invisible War (2012) |
"
Kirby Dick's devastating documentary about the U.S. Military's systemically endorsed sexual abuses against its own soldiers, puts yet another puzzle-piece in America's horrific reality..."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 18, 2012
|
|
B
|
78%
|
Brave (2012) |
"
Pixar's latest contribution to the sparsely populated arena of PG-rated animated children's fare is a droll fairytale built of ancient Celtic myths. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 18, 2012
|
|
C-
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "To Rome With Love" could easily be construed as more of a "French letter" than a love letter to Italy's Eternal City. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 18, 2012
|
|
A-
|
95%
|
Enter the Dragon (1973) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] From a historical perspective of cultural influence, Bruce Lee's last movie is a martial arts film of epic proportions. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 16, 2012
|
|
B-
|
41%
|
Rock of Ages (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Based on Chris D'Arienzo's campy Broadway musical, "Rock of Ages" is a gaudy, spirited exhumation of music that many would prefer to forget ever existed. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 16, 2012
|
|
A-
|
77%
|
Killer Joe (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] William Friedkin has made the most triumphantly dark, funny, and sexy black comedy you could ever imagine. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 13, 2012
|
|
C-
|
76%
|
Unforgivable (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] André Téchiné taints an otherwise stellar filmmaking career with an abbreviated romantic drama where nothing holds together. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 13, 2012
|
|
A
|
75%
|
High Anxiety (1977) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Mel Brooks's flair for comic riffing against a stylized background of plot devices draws on a long tradition of spoof movies that date back to the first days of sound cinema. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 12, 2012
|
|
C-
|
95%
|
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] What starts out as an informative documentary - about an intriguing Serbian performance artist who has pushed the boundaries of her art for more than four decades - digresses into a stale exercise in futility. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 11, 2012
|
|
B-
|
83%
|
Your Sister's Sister (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Mumblecore standard-bearer Lynn Shelton ("Humpday") shows promising signs of maturing with an originally executed romantic comedy. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 11, 2012
|
|
C-
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012) |
"
Hobbled by a script that largely ignores its marginally implied protagonist, "Prometheus" is a cobbled-together sci-fi movie at odds with itself."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 10, 2012
|
|
B
|
91%
|
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) |
"
Magic realism takes hold in newbie director Colin Trevorrow's confident romantic comedy. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 4, 2012
|
|
C-
|
34%
|
Lola Versus (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Lola Versus" is an ill-conceived romantic comedy that flirts too closely with the widely reviled and obsolete Mumblecore genre. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 4, 2012
|
|
A
|
86%
|
Colossal Youth (Juventude Em Marcha) (2006) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] How human beings learn from history in the face of unending injustice, or retain their dignity when everything is taken from them, are just a couple of the titanic issues Pedro Costa grapples with. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 4, 2012
|
|
A
|
79%
|
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
"
The level of visual and narrative sophistication on display is astonishing."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 3, 2012
|
|
A-
|
95%
|
The Imposter (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] That least mined of all film genres - the docudrama - finds full-throated expression in the service of true story that is, as the saying goes, stranger than fiction. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Jun 1, 2012
|
|
B
|
64%
|
Kumaré (2012) |
"
In an age in America where cult "gurus' inspire women to breast their children into bike-riding age, documentarian Vikram Gandhi puts the cult of Indian religiosity to his own test. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 31, 2012
|
|
B-
|
48%
|
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) |
"
There's a lot to appreciate, and a lot to ignore in a movie that needed a more experienced director to properly pull off. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 30, 2012
|
|
B-
|
27%
|
High School (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Stoner-friendly B-movies don't come much closer to producing a contact high than this dastardly little comedy. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 28, 2012
|
|
B+
|
58%
|
U.N. Me (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] You'll never look at the U.N. the same after seeing this film."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 28, 2012
|
|
F
|
46%
|
Beyond The Black Rainbow (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Yes, this movie is even worse than "Battlefield Earth.""
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 28, 2012
|
|
A
|
88%
|
Boys Don't Cry (1999) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Kimberly Pierce's remarkable 1999 filmic version of Brandon Teena's last days is a scalding indictment of the kind of consciously ignorant intolerance that runs disgracefully through America's Heartland and Southern states. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 28, 2012
|
|
A
|
47%
|
Sweet Movie (1974) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] To this day, "Sweet Movie" remains a powerfully defiant film deeply rooted in anti-authoritarian motives."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 26, 2012
|
|
B
|
70%
|
Men in Black III (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Go ahead and eat some popcorn. "Men In Black III" is a great excuse to do so."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 22, 2012
|
|
B
|
75%
|
The Intouchables (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] While some audiences will find fault with the film for advancing racial stereotyping, "The Intouchables" is a well-crafted comedy built on humanitarian values."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 21, 2012
|
|
C-
|
34%
|
Battleship (2012) |
"
"Battleship" is a loud and booming-blow-'em-up movie made for a 12-year-old target audience. Adults should sit this one out - that is, if you don't want to be exposed to a two-hour long headache. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 17, 2012
|
|
A
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Wes Anderson has honed his formally composed vernacular of kitschy nostalgic magic realism cinema to a super fine point."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 17, 2012
|
|
C-
|
88%
|
Polisse (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] French auteur Maiwenn's provocative slice-of-life examination of a Parisian Child Protection unit is haphazard to a fault."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 16, 2012
|
|
A
|
100%
|
Titicut Follies (1967) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Made during an era when mental hospitals dotted America's map like flies on manure, "Titicut Follies" presents an invaluable time capsule. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 16, 2012
|
|
B-
|
22%
|
The Samaritan (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] The Samaritan" is a juicy little crime thriller that does the job."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 15, 2012
|
|
B+
|
58%
|
The Dictator (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Sacha Baron Cohen takes political satire to new heights. "The Dictator" is the most fun I've had at the movies this year."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 14, 2012
|
|
B
|
38%
|
Dark Shadows (2012) |
"
"Dark Shadows" is a lot more fun than any of the "Twilight" movies combined."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 13, 2012
|
|
A
|
63%
|
Strange Days (1995) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Strange Days" owes a debt to Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom," the film that ruined his storied career. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 7, 2012
|
|
A
|
94%
|
I Wish (2012) |
"
Master Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda returns to his trademark familial themes with a charming coming-of-age film that focuses on an emotional rather than sexual awakening."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 7, 2012
|
|
B-
|
29%
|
Girl In Progress (2012) |
"
A deconstructionist take on the teenaged coming-of-age story, director Patricia Riggen's fair adaptation of Hiram Martinez's screenplay makes bold commentary on immigrant culture and values in America."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 6, 2012
|
|
A
|
64%
|
9 1/2 Weeks (1986) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] With its tantalizing title suggesting an ideal timeline for a fetishized affair, Adrian Lyne's beautifully stylized adaptation of Elizabeth McNeill's novel is a milestone of mainstream erotic cinema. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 1, 2012
|
|
B-
|
48%
|
The Perfect Family (2012) |
"
[VIDEO] Director Anne Renton's feature debut is a low-key family comedy that succeeds primarily on the shoulders of its capable leading lady. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted May 1, 2012
|
|
C+
|
93%
|
Marvel's The Avengers (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Sloppy in its construction, "Marvel's The Avengers" has one thing going for it - humor. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 30, 2012
|
|
B+
|
86%
|
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) |
"
Sly jokes come as fast and furious as the imaginative visuals that overflow like an exploding booty of goofy action. Every nook and cranny of the movie seeps with humorous purpose."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 28, 2012
|
|
B-
|
57%
|
Safe (2012) |
"
[VIDEO] As far as Jason Statham action movies go, writer-director Boaz Yakin's Manhattan-set effort rolls with the best of them. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 23, 2012
|
|
D+
|
50%
|
Citizen Gangster (2012) |
"
[VIDEO] Everything about "Citizen Gangster" seems second-rate. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 22, 2012
|
|
B
|
90%
|
Bernie (2012) |
"
[VIDEO] Richard Linklater's impeccable black comedy - based on the real-life exploits of Carthage, Texas mortician Bernie Tiede - is so infectiously eccentric that you don't want the movie to end. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 22, 2012
|
|
A+
|
89%
|
Get Carter (1971) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] ...represents the apex of the British Gangster genre for the its realistically gritty tone, fetishized eroticism, and dynamic attention to details..."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 22, 2012
|
|
B+
|
74%
|
Chimpanzee (2012) |
"
[VIDEO] The true story of Oscar, an abandoned infant chimpanzee left to fend for himself in Africa's jungle wilderness, is at the heart of this stunning documentary. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 22, 2012
|
|
C-
|
59%
|
Fightville (2012) |
"
The bumpy road to success as a mixed martial arts fighter is ambiguously investigated in this amateurish documentary by the directing/editing team of Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 21, 2012
|
|
B-
|
28%
|
Crazy Eyes (2012) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] Matching the cold, callused, cynicism of Bret Easton Ellis's LA Gen-X "Less Than Zero," "Crazy Eyes" is too much in love with its spoiled brat protagonist. It is still a guilty pleasure in the theater of cruelty. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 21, 2012
|
|
D
|
20%
|
The Lucky One (2012) |
"
[VIDEO] Compared to a great author like John Irving, Nicholas Sparks is an example of everything wrong in contemporary American literature."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 20, 2012
|
|
A+
|
95%
|
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) |
"
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Hannibal the Cannibal" is the ultimate anti-hero. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 16, 2012
|
|
C+
|
51%
|
The Three Stooges (2012) |
"
For all of the tremendous effort put into transposing The Three Stooges' brand of physical comedy into a feature film, an unpolished script hampers the result. First-act laughs succumb to third-act disappointment. "
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 15, 2012
|
|
b
|
70%
|
Keyhole (2012) |
"
Think of "Keyhole" as an avant-garde melodrama to cleanse you palate of all of the insipid Hollywood crap you've ever seen over the years. You need it."
—
ColeSmithey.com
Posted Apr 14, 2012
|
87%
24%
91%
