|
4/4
|
96%
|
Blancanieves (2013) |
"
... lusty and heartfelt, fiery flamenco and spirited country jig. Don't go expecting a Disney-fied fable. Berger seasons with S&M and the kind of macabre touches you'd expect in vintage Browning or Bunuel. "
—
CinemaDope
Posted Apr 19, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
100%
|
Wake in Fright (2012) |
"
This outrageously overlooked masterpiece is a wake-up call to film scholars who will now have to rethink what came first ‒ this film or Peckinpah's 'Straw Dogs," which basically charts the same territory?"
—
CinemaDope
Posted Oct 30, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
89%
|
Compliance (2012) |
"
... a sadomasochistic mind-trip ... It has the lingering impact of a gruesome freeway pileup ‒ you don't want to look, but you can't help yourself. "
—
CinemaDope
Posted Sep 17, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
76%
|
Kill List (2012) |
"
... a brazen mix of Brit-Grit, Pulp Fiction and The Wicker Man ... Wheatley's second feature is definitely fated for horror cult-dom. It not only stands up under repeat viewings, it demands them."
—
CinemaDope
Posted Feb 25, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
77%
|
Melancholia (2011) |
"
Von Trier's Melancholia, befitting its title, is a sad, meditative film, brilliantly written and startlingly beautiful to behold ... It cries out to be seen and discussed. "
—
CinemaDope
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
76%
|
The Help (2011) |
"
Part conscience-searing history lesson, part shamelessly manipulative melodrama, Tate Taylor's adaptation sinks its teeth in early and never lets go ... Do I hear Oscar calling?"
—
CinemaDope
Posted Sep 22, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
76%
|
The Debt (2011) |
"
... two riveting thrillers for the price of one ... as well-orchestrated in spots as 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' and 'Black Sunday' ... easily Madden's best film since 'Shakespeare in Love.'"
—
CinemaDope
Posted Aug 31, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
13 Assassins (2011) |
"
... a subversive, action-packed, beautifully crafted samurai revenge epic ... climaxes in a 40-minute pitched battle that utilizes sword, arrow, spear, slingshot and ‒ here's a new one ‒ burning bull. "
—
CinemaDope
Posted May 21, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Of Gods and Men (2011) |
"
More than anything, we come away remembering the monks' frightened-to-serene faces . . . and the sublime music."
—
CinemaDope
Posted May 4, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
Win Win (2011) |
"
If there's a more agreeable comedy now making the rounds, please, someone, tell me about it ... easily the best film I've seen so far this year ... "
—
CinemaDope
Posted May 4, 2011
|
|
4/4
|
84%
|
The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de Motocicleta) (2004) |
"
This is the kind of impassioned, richly detailed character piece that reminds us why we fell in love with movies in the first place."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Sep 30, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
53%
|
A Dirty Shame (2004) |
"
Let the chant begin here. Ullman for best actress! Ullman for best actress!"
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Sep 23, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
100%
|
Rear Window (1954) |
"
Don't resist the urge -- steal a peek at it now, and be reminded why Hitchcock is still without equal in the clammy thrills department."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted May 28, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
95%
|
The Return (Vozvrashcheniye) (2003) |
"
Spare and allegorical in the best senses of the terms, The Return can be likened to both Faulkner and Dostoevski. It has the mournful tenor and psychological complexity of the former, the fatalism and grim irony of the latter."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Apr 1, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
86%
|
Crimson Gold (2004) |
"
A remarkable work, as much for its uncompromising view of a claustrophobic urban landscape as for its always-muted compassion."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Mar 25, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Touching the Void (2004) |
"
It's one of the all-time great high adventures, easily on a par with Deliverance and Jaws."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Feb 5, 2004
|
|
4/4
|
75%
|
House of Sand and Fog (2003) |
"
In the current political climate, it's required viewing. We all need to think about tolerance and how, like sand, it can slip through our fingers."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Dec 26, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) |
"
Combines the best moments of Fellowship and Two Towers and brings the Arthurian trilogy to a rousing, satisfying finish."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Dec 15, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
100%
|
I Vitelloni (1953) |
"
Besides being the film that most influenced Martin Scorsese's breakthrough Mean Streets, this 1953 release remains the last word on friendship and disillusionment."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Dec 11, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
97%
|
Alien (1979) |
"
It's a most satisfying return to one of the few sci-fi films that deserves to be called a masterpiece."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Nov 29, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
58%
|
The Missing (2003) |
"
As harrowing as it is full-out exhilarating."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Nov 25, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
85%
|
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) |
"
For the most part, this epic adventure steers a true course through storm and sacrifice, and arrives triumphant."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Nov 14, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
72%
|
Elephant (2003) |
"
Evasive and maddening? You bet. Brilliant, enlightening? That, too. From where I sit, it's the most important American movie of the year."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Nov 6, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
The Alien Saga (2003) |
"
It's a most satisfying return to one of the few sci-fi films that deserves to be called a masterpiece."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Oct 30, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
77%
|
The Housekeeper (2003) |
"
Engrossing and a soupçon sad."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Aug 1, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
97%
|
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) |
"
The smartest and smartest-looking action movie of the year."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jul 19, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Marooned In Iraq (2003) |
"
It puts a face and name to people and events we hear about nightly on CNN."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jun 5, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
97%
|
Sweet Sixteen (2003) |
"
Mixes the bitter with the sweet and stays in the mind because it refuses to succumb to the cynicism that surrounds its protagonist."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jun 5, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
99%
|
Finding Nemo 3D (2012) |
"
Spectacular visuals, non-stop laughs and action -- plus a PC message. That's some package, no?"
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted May 29, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
Winged Migration (Le Peuple Migrateur) (2003) |
"
This is one of the most exhilarating wildlife documentaries ever brought to the big screen."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted May 15, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
86%
|
Lawless Heart (2002) |
"
It's dedicated to a fuller understanding of the human condition, a deeper appreciation of everything we take for granted in even the messiest melodramas."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted May 1, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
85%
|
Nowhere in Africa (Nirgendwo in Afrika) (2001) |
"
An instant family classic to be shared and enjoyed by parents and mature teens."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Apr 3, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
57%
|
Irreversible (2002) |
"
Once the shock wears off and feeling returns to the extremities, Irreversible is unmistakably life-altering and affirming."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Mar 13, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
85%
|
Spider (2002) |
"
Working from Patrick McGrath's script and novel, Cronenberg delivers his most austere film to date."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Mar 7, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
87%
|
The Quiet American (2003) |
"
Old-fashioned storytelling in the best sense of the term."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Feb 7, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
90%
|
Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2003) |
"
A grim, outrageous, blisteringly effective underworld thriller destined to become a classic of its kind."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jan 24, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
78%
|
25th Hour (2003) |
"
It's a long, complex, deeply flawed work -- and also quite possibly Lee's most ambitious and accusatory movie since Do the Right Thing in 1989."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jan 9, 2003
|
|
4/4
|
85%
|
About Schmidt (2002) |
"
Nicholson's cranky father of the bride is as touching as he is exasperating, and the delightfully oddball About Schmidt is just about perfect."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Dec 19, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
79%
|
Daughter from Danang (2004) |
"
Like other great documentaries ... this goes after one truth (the Ford administration's complicity in tearing 'orphans' from their mothers) and stumbles upon others even more compelling."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Nov 27, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
76%
|
Frida (2002) |
"
Compelling, adult, sexy and fiercely stylized."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Oct 31, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
100%
|
Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) (1954) |
"
The archetypal action classic."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Oct 24, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
Bowling for Columbine (2002) |
"
It gets my vote for the bravest, most incendiary film of the year."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Oct 17, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
84%
|
Merci Pour le Chocolat (2000) |
"
A sun-drenched masterpiece, part parlor game, part psychological case study, part droll social satire."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Oct 17, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
63%
|
Moonlight Mile (2002) |
"
One of the most generous and reassuring tragicomedies of this or any year."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Sep 27, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
98%
|
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) |
"
A cracking good adventure yarn, as well as a disturbing psychological profile of a man destined to become a great leader but an even greater dupe."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Sep 26, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
81%
|
Stuart Little 2 (2002) |
"
We're talking instant family classic here, folks."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jul 18, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
92%
|
Minority Report (2002) |
"
This one blends the best aspects of the mature Spielberg's often warring personality."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jun 20, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
83%
|
The Bourne Identity (2002) |
"
I've seen the best cloak-and-danger exercises, including The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and the original Day of the Jackal, and in terms of story and cold-sweat suspense, I'd rank this one right up there."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jun 13, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
Amadeus (1984) |
"
Still a work of consummate artistry and craftsmanship."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Apr 4, 2002
|
|
4/4
|
92%
|
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) |
"
Thanks to Mitchell's electrifying work in front of and behind the camera, you'll find yourself falling in love with this rock odyssey."
—
San Jose Mercury News
Posted Jul 20, 2001
|
87%
22%
90%
