|
3/4
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012) |
"
Even though the kid-friendly horror genre has become crowded with offerings such as "ParaNorman," "Monster House" and "Coraline," the new 'Weenie" is distinctive."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Oct 4, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
Looper (2012) |
"
[Johnson] uses speculative and film noir elements to defy expectations of both."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
51%
|
Trouble with the Curve (2012) |
"
"Curve" is small ball, a simplistic Lifetime-cable-caliber movie in which every loose end gets resolved on the way to a heartwarming finale."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
86%
|
The Master (2012) |
"
[Phoenix's] mercurial performance adds another layer of mystery to a film thick with complexity but whose meaning is up for grabs."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
67%
|
Lawless (2012) |
"
Feels like an account of an isolated incident of no real significance exaggerated by an outsider."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 29, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
70%
|
Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) |
"
It speaks with the sobriety of a reformed romantic who warns that drinking to someone only with one's heart can lead to a regret-filled hangover the next day."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 23, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
76%
|
Premium Rush (2012) |
"
The nonstop action and physicality is like watching a two-wheel parkour workout video."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 23, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
87%
|
ParaNorman (2012) |
"
Comically macabre and beautifully intricate ... destined to become a Halloween perennial."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 16, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012) |
"
It's all played as slapstick with little wit. It's never crazy enough at one extreme, nor smart enough at the other."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 9, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012) |
"
These franchise films are best when they feature working actors such as Renner."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 9, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
74%
|
Hope Springs (2012) |
"
It turns out that crude behavior and broad stereotypes can be made warmly human and believable when actors of the caliber of Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones are the ones getting busy."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 8, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
31%
|
Total Recall (2012) |
"
In the end, the film is devoid of sense or sensibility."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
78%
|
Take This Waltz (2012) |
"
"Take This Waltz" is overwrought, overwritten and a little unfair to all the characters portrayed."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jul 26, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
86%
|
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) |
"
A daring, lyrical and challenging piece of folk art that defies easy explanation."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jul 19, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) |
"
It stands alone but is also a bookend to the previous two films, and it expands and supplements the world portrayed in them."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jul 19, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012) |
"
It wanders the winding streets of the Eternal City like a lost tourist, asking for directions but never finding its way."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jul 5, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
73%
|
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) |
"
Webb doesn't elevate the reboot as much as keep its head above water, while pedaling furiously below the surface. He proves himself skilled at technically sophisticated multiplex fare without losing track of the narrative threads."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jul 2, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
80%
|
Magic Mike (2012) |
"
I wouldn't say "Magic Mike" has gravitas, but Soderbergh gives it enough grit to keep it from turning into "Showgirls.""
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 28, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
69%
|
Ted (2012) |
"
Co-writer-director McFarlane is a funny guy, but his barbed humor here rests on the same generic, boy-meets-girl, bed-of-roses conceit as too many romantic comedies to count."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 28, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
78%
|
Brave (2012) |
"
A shake-and-bake hybrid of what both studios do best, with the tie going to Disney's penchant for princesses and appetite for anthropomorphism."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 21, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
55%
|
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) |
"
A subdued tale told in a string of alternately rollicking and somber, but equally predictable, on-the-road vignettes."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 21, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
41%
|
Rock of Ages (2012) |
"
The songs in "Rock of Ages" are by bands like Twisted Sister, Starship, Styx, Foreigner, Poison and Journey, but are sung by the actors. They are as familiar as they are forgettable, like the film itself."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 14, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) |
"
A sometimes precocious but mostly whimsical and artfully fluent evocation of adolescent enthusiasm and adult ennui."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 14, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012) |
"
If you like grandiose space opera, you'll love "Prometheus," especially in earsplitting, visually overwhelming IMAX."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 10, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
75%
|
The Intouchables (2012) |
"
Although it is sentimental and formulaic, complete with music and fashion montages, hookers and pot-smoking along the Seine, something about "The Intouchables" transcends cliché."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jun 7, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
97%
|
Monsieur Lazhar (2012) |
"
As the teacher, Fellag suggests Robert Downey Jr. channeling a quietly reflective Robert De Niro."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 24, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
75%
|
Sound of My Voice (2012) |
"
[It] should engage anyone who enjoys leaving the theater with more questions than answers."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 17, 2012
|
|
1.5/4
|
58%
|
The Dictator (2012) |
"
"The Dictator" has no clothes."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 15, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
78%
|
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) |
"
If nothing else, "Marigold Hotel" is a chance to watch British acting royalty work together in a film that has nothing to do with wizards or Muggles. Yet the result is no less fantasy than "Harry Potter.""
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 10, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
38%
|
Dark Shadows (2012) |
"
By trying to hit so many notes, "Dark Shadows" fails to strike any of them."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 10, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
79%
|
The Deep Blue Sea (2012) |
"
There is more to the dense, deliberate and emotionally turbulent "The Deep Blue Sea" than its painterly style and anguished subject matter."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 3, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
Marvel's The Avengers (2012) |
"
Joss Whedon is the real superhero."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted May 3, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
99%
|
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012) |
"
The parade of dishes is like one note after another in a symphony meant to be appreciated by all the senses."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Apr 26, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
90%
|
Footnote (2012) |
"
"Footnote" has one of the most satisfying scenes I've seen in years."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Apr 19, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
87%
|
Bully (2012) |
"
Surely, a little objective statistical analysis would not have intruded upon the film's emotionally wrenching, fly-on-the-wall perspective."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Apr 12, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
96%
|
Undefeated (2012) |
"
Combines the gritty reality of "Hoop Dreams" and the heart of "Friday Night Lights," along with a dash of "The Blind Side.""
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 29, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
89%
|
In Darkness (2012) |
"
The most consistent and effective element is Robert Wieckiewicz's performance as the plumber..."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 22, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
85%
|
The Hunger Games (2012) |
"
Lawrence was nominated for an Oscar as a backwoods girl in the independent film "Winter's Bone," and she gives this character a similar feral quality. This is a movie about killing."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 20, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
74%
|
Rampart (2012) |
"
Harrelson is riveting as a man without redeeming qualities or hope of redemption being driven to madness by personal demons."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 16, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
94%
|
Coriolanus (2011) |
"
By combining selective fragments of the text with populist cultural references and by using visually bold cinematic and TV news techniques, "Coriolanus" director and star Ralph Fiennes has created a thinking person's action thriller."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 15, 2012
|
|
1.5/4
|
51%
|
John Carter (2012) |
"
Even genre film lovers have standards, and "John Carter" doesn't meet them."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 8, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
95%
|
Pariah (2011) |
"
"Pariah" has a vibrant and funky street-wise lyricism, and Rees captures the conflicting emotions of the title character with a fierce intimacy."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 1, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
13%
|
W.E. (2012) |
"
Neither story comes alive, in large part because the film never stops moving long enough to let them."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Mar 1, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
99%
|
A Separation (2011) |
"
A tragically familiar family drama whose heartbreaking "for want of a nail" sequence of events spirals out of control at an intimate and individual level."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Feb 16, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
80%
|
Shame (2011) |
"
McQueen again proves that he is not averse to breaking taboos while exploring the uncomfortable and unthinkable. Nor is he afraid of stirring up a little fear and loathing in the process."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Feb 9, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
56%
|
Albert Nobbs (2012) |
"
The story is never as interesting as the choices made by the actresses or their characters."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
78%
|
A Dangerous Method (2011) |
"
"A Dangerous Method" makes a ... journey from lunacy to intense and compelling and is surprisingly entertaining as it does."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
46%
|
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012) |
"
The youth's pain is palpable, and the film will stir viewers still wounded by that day and those who have suffered loss in general."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jan 19, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
52%
|
The Iron Lady (2012) |
"
[Streep] transcends the limitations of the material to embody Thatcher's real, or imagined, conflicted emotional landscape."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jan 12, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
72%
|
Carnage (2011) |
"
"Carnage" is an accident waiting to happen."
—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted Jan 12, 2012
|
78%
——
——
85%
45%
40%
