|
|
72%
|
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) |
"
[Director Justin Lin] manages to imbue the material with Hawksian notions of masculinity, group dynamics, and moral authority even as he preserves the franchise's multicultural milieu and gleefully exaggerated action sequences."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted May 23, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
71%
|
Doin' It in the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC (2013) |
"
Perhaps the first important film about street hoops, even if the overall product struggles from a lack of focus."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted May 19, 2013
|
|
|
78%
|
Pieta (2013) |
"
This is brilliant in some stretches and deplorable in others, with the director's usual extreme violence and depraved sexuality."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted May 16, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
100%
|
Elemental (2013) |
"
More than some run-of-the-mill social-awareness doc, the film pays as much attention to the personal and emotional strife of its subjects as it does to their activism. "
—
Slant Magazine
Posted May 13, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
18%
|
No One Lives (2013) |
"
Ryuhei Kitamura's latest genre bloodbath is par for the course, in spite of the occasionally flourish of interesting subtext. "
—
Slant Magazine
Posted May 10, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
67%
|
One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das (2013) |
"
The overall product doesn't reveal anything about its subject that a Wikipedia page couldn't do just as well."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted May 7, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
0%
|
Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn (2013) |
"
As far as derivative crime sagas go, Paul Borghese's film might represent the new gold standard of shameless barrel-scraping."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Apr 30, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
18%
|
1st Night (2013) |
"
The political dynamic that underpins The Rules of the Game is nonexistent in 1st Night, which is fixated entirely on the zany sexcapades of its characters."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Apr 27, 2013
|
|
|
47%
|
The Lords of Salem (2013) |
"
Polished and calculated, this is a nerve-shattering fright fest bolstered by immaculate technique."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Apr 25, 2013
|
|
|
24%
|
Arthur Newman (2013) |
"
For the most part, the film is very basic, a simple drama about the dangers of avoiding responsibility, but there are occasional flairs of eccentricity."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Apr 25, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
100%
|
This Ain't California (2013) |
"
While the film is deeply romantic and nostalgic, possessing a genuine reverence for youth and rebellion, it's also something of a tragedy."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Apr 8, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
Stranger Things (2013) |
"
Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal's film is a tasteful, well-orchestrated drama that never reaches beyond its humble means."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Apr 2, 2013
|
|
|
47%
|
Olympus Has Fallen (2013) |
"
This ludicrous actioner strives to be as loud, violent, and patriotic as possible."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 28, 2013
|
|
|
86%
|
The Iran Job (2012) |
"
The film takes a distinctly American approach to Iranian matters of gender relations and religious extremism, shedding little light on subjects that are far more complicated than Schauder makes them out to be."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 28, 2013
|
|
|
65%
|
Starbuck (2013) |
"
Director Ken Scott stresses the movie's dude-centric outlook, playing up the anxieties of impending fatherhood, and neglects any sort of maternal perspective, which dumbs down an already moronic premise."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 28, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
100%
|
The Revolutionary Optimists (2013) |
"
The filmmakers display a genuine reverence for their subjects, evident even in the intimate but never intrusive photography."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Mar 25, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
0%
|
Silver Circle (2013) |
"
Amateurish and hyperbolic, this animated feature directed by Pasha Roberts makes quite clear his political leanings. "
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Mar 18, 2013
|
|
|
56%
|
The End of Love (2013) |
"
Creative people often mistakenly assume that the trials of their profession are compelling."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 14, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
71%
|
My Amityville Horror (2013) |
"
The film is a tender character portrait rooted in deep curiosity and sympathy for its subject. "
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Mar 12, 2013
|
|
|
13%
|
Safe Haven (2013) |
"
Keeping up with the movie's inane plot twists makes for a capricious good time, but an unimaginative denouement turns the whole thing into a fool's errand."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 7, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
80%
|
Le Petit Soldat (The Little Soldier) (2013) |
"
In many ways, Jean-Luc Godard's Le Petit Soldat is equal to Breathless in its inventiveness and exuberance."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Mar 4, 2013
|
|
.5/4
|
31%
|
Language of a Broken Heart (2013) |
"
A feigned attempt at a stereotypically quirky indie film that has virtually nothing in the way of formal sophistication or narrative ambition."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Mar 2, 2013
|
|
|
100%
|
Pavilion (2013) |
"
Shallow-focus photography sharpens the action and gives the seemingly banal images a sense of drama, capturing the urgency of childhood without resorting to histrionics."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Feb 27, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
65%
|
A Fierce Green Fire (2013) |
"
The firector avoids all manner of stylistics, opting instead for the formulaic documentary trifecta of first-person interviews, archival material, and news footage."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Feb 25, 2013
|
|
|
37%
|
Stand Up Guys (2013) |
"
Thematic inconsistencies abound as Stevens aims for a tone somewhere between Grumpy Old Men, The Hangover, and Goodfellas."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Feb 4, 2013
|
|
|
66%
|
Mama (2013) |
"
Screenplay contrivances aside, it's as stylish and atmospheric as modern horror gets."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Jan 25, 2013
|
|
|
——
|
Tiger Tail In Blue () |
"
Ross's films, similar to those of his peers Joe Swanberg and Andrew Bujalski, are deceptively formal, notable for the way they upend notions of time and space while maintaining a palpable sense of realism."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Jan 25, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
87%
|
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2013) |
"
It would be inaccurate to call Happy People: A Year in the Taiga the newest Werner Herzog film."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Jan 21, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
19%
|
The Baytown Outlaws (2013) |
"
This schlocky piece of ultra violence plays like a pop-culture pastiche without a stable thematic foundation."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Jan 7, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
18%
|
Allegiance (2012) |
"
Michael Connors does a fine job of not passing judgment on his characters, yet his depiction of his main character's dilemma is about the only thing he handles correctly."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Dec 23, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
82%
|
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012) |
"
Jesse Vile's film, despite its best intentions, is merely a serviceable extension of his own fandom."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Dec 10, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
88%
|
Tchoupitoulas (2012) |
"
The film is entirely immersive, thanks not only to the handheld camera, but also to the illusory nature of the staging."
—
Slant Magazine
Posted Dec 4, 2012
|
|
|
13%
|
Red Dawn (2012) |
"
John Milius's 1984 cult classic about American teens battling a Soviet invasion has been reinvented as a Tea Party wet dream that offers a scathing (if completely illogical) indictment of the federal government."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Nov 21, 2012
|
|
|
100%
|
Wake in Fright (2012) |
"
A Conradian parable of a man succumbing to the wild, the film is remarkable for its raw, pointed dithe suggests, and you'll find the beast concealed behind the mask of propriety."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Nov 1, 2012
|
|
|
——
|
8 Diagram Pole Fighter (2001) |
"
This late release from the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong is one of its very best, thanks to the kinetic direction of Lau Kar-leung."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Oct 18, 2012
|
|
|
87%
|
Easy Money (2012) |
"
The story is overcooked and the gritty aesthetic (handheld cameras, desaturated color) borders on cliche."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Oct 18, 2012
|
|
|
20%
|
Now, Forager (2012) |
"
Nothing much distinguishes this from any other relationship drama: the husband's climactic anecdote about a fungi's parasitic relationship to its host drives home the obvious."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Oct 11, 2012
|
|
|
90%
|
The Well Digger's Daughter (2012) |
"
Auteuil's direction is a lot like his acting -- well-mannered and likable, yet staid and ultimately inconsequential."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Oct 4, 2012
|
|
|
54%
|
V/H/S (2012) |
"
This horror anthology collects six shorts of varying quality, all purported to be found footage. My favorite is Ti West's Second Honeymoon."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Oct 4, 2012
|
|
|
81%
|
Pitch Perfect (2012) |
"
The musical numbers, however, are quite good, if only because they're so disjointed from the narrative."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
|
94%
|
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012) |
"
[The film] squeezes an impressive amount of information into a relatively brief running time, yet it's blandly straightforward in its use of talking heads and archival footage."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
|
56%
|
For a Good Time, Call... (2012) |
"
Unfortunately Travis lacks the comedic skill and humanistic insight to make this anything more than Judd Apatow lite."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Sep 14, 2012
|
|
|
22%
|
The Words (2012) |
"
The premise is ambitious -- if not a little hokey -- but the meager themes of ephemeral authorship and constructed realities aren't exactly revelatory."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
|
58%
|
Red Hook Summer (2012) |
"
Lee's typically paradoxical statements on race and religion muddle the narrative, and his old stylistic tricks -- saturated color schemes, characters addressing the camera -- aren't exactly inspired. "
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Aug 31, 2012
|
|
|
77%
|
Killer Joe (2012) |
"
The film harks back to the low-budget chamber pieces of Friedkin's early career, and he creates a perfect storm of montage and character interplay within a confined space, which culminates in a disturbing loss of humanity."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
|
31%
|
Total Recall (2012) |
"
The new version, with its humorless dialogue and Farrell's smoldering performance, suffers from a self-seriousness that undercuts any genre pleasures. But the action is thrilling and the futuristic setting superbly realized."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
|
50%
|
A Burning Hot Summer (2012) |
"
Garrel's work is indebted to silent cinema style, but his recent films have shown a real flair for dialogue too."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Jul 13, 2012
|
|
|
91%
|
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) |
"
The film almost spirals out of control when some overtly conceptual elements are introduced to the plot, but there's enough conviction in the performances to keep them tolerable."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Jun 14, 2012
|
|
|
21%
|
That's My Boy (2012) |
"
Despite their assorted vulgarities and lack of polish, the films of Adam Sandler are remarkably consistent in their own particular way."
—
Chicago Reader
Posted Jun 14, 2012
|
72%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
