|
10/10
|
99%
|
A Separation (2011) |
"
The complex realities of human emotions and experience are more than sufficient to carry a film, and Farhadi doesn't let fussy direction or attempts to be overly clever get in the way of letting this brilliant, quietly insightful story unfold."
—
DCist
Posted Mar 4, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
76%
|
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012) |
"
Kevin is an extraordinary work from Ramsay, a filmmaker with an uncommon gift for getting at the inner psychology of her characters through striking visuals."
—
The Atlantic
Posted Jan 23, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
93%
|
Drive (2011) |
"
Refn accomplishes the near impossible in modern movies: combining uncompromising art-house style with the real potential for mass-market accessibility, in a pitch-perfect blend of pulp narrative and pure cinema."
—
DCist
Posted Sep 18, 2011
|
|
10/10
|
86%
|
Meek's Cutoff (2011) |
"
The subtle ways in which Reichardt explores how these characters have been playing their socially and religiously assigned parts throughout the movie, and likely their entire lives, is the core of an absolute masterpiece."
—
DCist
Posted May 22, 2011
|
|
10/10
|
97%
|
A Prophet (Un prophete) (2010) |
"
That rare film that tries to do too much, yet carries the heavy load of its themes with ease. Audiard dreams big, and his movie is unquestionably a classic crime film, because it transcends all of the conventions of the genre."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
10/10
|
85%
|
The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) (2009) |
"
Haneke makes his way through this complex and knotty subject matter with a staggeringly effortless grace. As an expression of philosophy, it's profound and thought-provoking; as a work of cinema, it is flawless."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
10/10
|
91%
|
There Will Be Blood (2007) |
"
Anderson's vision is uncompromising and razor sharp. Nothing in his first four features quite prepares us for the precision and vicious wit displayed here. "
—
DCist
Posted Jun 12, 2010
|
|
10/10
|
94%
|
No Country for Old Men (2007) |
"
McCarthy's bloody and beautiful novel comes to life under the Coen's able touch."
—
DCist
Posted Jun 12, 2010
|
|
10/10
|
93%
|
Lake of Fire (2007) |
"
Doesn't aim to win converts or preach to the converted. His goal is rather to clear through the rhetoric, and look at abortion and its place in the American political dialog."
—
DCist
Posted Jun 10, 2010
|
|
9.8/10
|
84%
|
The Tree of Life (2011) |
"
Just as The Tree of Life is the sort of movie we rarely see, the kind of thinking it provokes isn't the kind we engage in regularly. Malick makes a strong case for the notion that perhaps we should. "
—
DCist
Posted Jun 5, 2011
|
|
9.7/10
|
90%
|
Fish Tank (2010) |
"
A bold new entry in the long-standing British tradition of disquieting social realism."
—
NPR
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9.6/10
|
97%
|
The Hurt Locker (2009) |
"
Equal parts bravado-fueled action and pointed political statement. The best film yet made about the Iraq War, and the best American film about war since Platoon. "
—
DCist
Posted Jun 15, 2010
|
|
9.5/10
|
92%
|
The Gatekeepers (2013) |
"
The subjects' openness is refreshing - and sometimes frightening. "
—
The Atlantic
Posted Feb 7, 2013
|
|
9.5/10
|
86%
|
Tabu (2012) |
"
Few films are this smart about subtly couching their allegorical aspirations within more straightforward narratives; fewer still are able to do so with such energetically inventive virtuoso style."
—
NPR
Posted Dec 27, 2012
|
|
9.5/10
|
92%
|
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu (2011) |
"
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceauşescu is all about created perception, and Ujică brilliantly manages to craft a film that is not just about a real character, but a formal reflection of its subject."
—
DCist
Posted Oct 10, 2011
|
|
9.5/10
|
90%
|
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2011) |
"
"A film that will linger in your thoughts and dreams for a long time after waking from its intoxicating slumber.""
—
DCist
Posted Mar 25, 2011
|
|
9.5/10
|
96%
|
The Social Network (2010) |
"
Fincher is back to the sort of engrossing, immersive storytelling of his best work in Zodiac. "
—
DCist
Posted Oct 1, 2010
|
|
9.5/10
|
90%
|
The Messenger (2009) |
"
The Messenger drives home the point that war is a losing proposition, which has nothing to do with who is victorious on the battlefield. They're the everyday losses of life, of family, of friends."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9.5/10
|
98%
|
The Wrestler (2008) |
"
Rourke doesn't need makeup to look this permanently damaged these days, and some of the emotional scars in his performance probably run painfully close to reality as well. "
—
DCist
Posted Jun 13, 2010
|
|
9.2/10
|
92%
|
The Cabin in the Woods (2012) |
"
For all of its many intellectual pleasures, and smart commentary, Cabin in the Woods is a visceral roller coaster of a movie at heart. And like the best thrill rides, when it's over, you just want to get back on and go again."
—
NPR
Posted Apr 13, 2012
|
|
9.2/10
|
96%
|
35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum) (2008) |
"
Denis sees human interactions with an uncommon clarity of vision. Her great talent, as evident as ever in this, one of her greatest films, is her ability to allow an audience to see those relationships in the same quietly revelatory way she does."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9.2/10
|
89%
|
A Serious Man (2009) |
"
In terms of putting a protagonist through the wringer, the directors haven't been quite this cruel since Barton Fink, a film which shares A Serious Man's penchant for extremely black - actually, make that bleak - humor."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9.2/10
|
91%
|
Momma's Man (2008) |
"
Jacobs' minimalist approach demands acting of extraordinary sensitivity, which he gets from his cast, particularly from Matt Boren in the lead role."
—
DCist
Posted Jun 12, 2010
|
|
9.1/10
|
71%
|
Somewhere (2010) |
"
With filmmaking so understated that it might appear completely static on first glance, this may be Coppola's least accessible work. But it's also her most nuanced, and most rewarding to patient, observant viewing."
—
DCist
Posted Dec 22, 2010
|
|
9.1/10
|
90%
|
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2010) |
"
Chazelle demonstrates a stunning natural fluency in this outdated filmic grammar. It's as if he's spontaneously started writing gorgeous poetry in a long-dormant language."
—
NPR
Posted Nov 4, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
87%
|
Upstream Color (2013) |
"
Carruth may be something that the movies haven't yet seen, perhaps the first great realization of the democratization of filmmaking that digital technology and the Internet promised."
—
The Atlantic
Posted Apr 12, 2013
|
|
9/10
|
100%
|
Resolution (2013) |
"
A smart and chilling indie horror from co-directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead ..."
—
NPR
Posted Jan 24, 2013
|
|
9/10
|
89%
|
Consuming Spirits (2012) |
"
The effect is that of disjointed, haunted reverie, of alternate realities colliding, soundtracked by mumbled asides and an uneasy murmur of background noise."
—
NPR
Posted Dec 11, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
90%
|
Holy Motors (2012) |
"
A film that not only demands repeat viewings but also makes that an attractive proposition."
—
The Washingtonian
Posted Nov 9, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
86%
|
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) |
"
Ebullient and brimming over with imagination, this is easily one of the most unapologetically (and earnedly) joyful films you'll see this year."
—
The Washingtonian
Posted Jul 6, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) |
"
For all the self-conscious distancing techniques and quirky humor Anderson employs, when he's at his best, his work can be surprising in its disarming emotion."
—
NPR
Posted May 24, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
97%
|
Monsieur Lazhar (2012) |
"
There's a lighthearted inspiration infused throughout Monsieur Lazhar that makes it also touching, but never maudlin. "
—
The Washingtonian
Posted May 11, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
89%
|
The Descendants (2011) |
"
Payne has a particular skill for making movie stars seem like normal people, and the resolute normalcy of the cast helps to show Hawaii not as a resort paradise, but as a place like any other where people live, work, love, and die."
—
DCist
Posted Nov 19, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
90%
|
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) |
"
Durkin lures us into the world of the cult slowly, just as Martha was, and the additive effect of gradually introducing its more extreme aspects is nearly imperceptible, yet as constricting as a slowly tightening vice."
—
DCist
Posted Oct 28, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
93%
|
Take Shelter (2011) |
"
Nichols is interested in more here than one man's sanity, and that coming storm -- real, dreamed, or hallucinated -- packs the metaphorical wallop of a category five hurricane."
—
DCist
Posted Oct 17, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
95%
|
Moneyball (2011) |
"
For all the concentration on numbers, the film never loses sight of the fact that this is a game of people."
—
DCist
Posted Sep 23, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
72%
|
The Future (2011) |
"
July ties together these three characters' search for love, their desperate craving for contact, in a beautifully devastating narrative that employs time, space, and perception as simple props."
—
DCist
Posted Aug 6, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
90%
|
Attack the Block (2011) |
"
Irreverently funny without ever being spoofy...The one-liners are hilarious, and Cornish has a deft touch at weaving social commentary on urban gentrification into the narrative."
—
NPR
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
98%
|
Project Nim (2011) |
"
It's the scab of decades-old tension between those involved in the experiment and its aftermath that Marsh wants to pick at; and it doesn't take much prodding before the conflicts and petty human jealousies rise to the top."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 23, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
92%
|
Incendies (2011) |
"
Manufactures shocks that have purpose, and that resonate long after the anxious feelings the movie prompts have finally settled."
—
DCist
Posted May 22, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
88%
|
Certified Copy (Copie Conforme) (2011) |
"
Certified Copy may represent a return of sorts for Kiarostami, to a film that more resembles traditional narrative storytelling -- but the structural daring typical of the director's work over the last decade is still front and center."
—
DCist
Posted Mar 25, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
88%
|
White Material (2010) |
"
The urgent hopelessness of this dark and meaningful work is striking from the very start."
—
DCist
Posted Nov 30, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
93%
|
127 Hours (2010) |
"
Ralston seems to love living his life on the ragged edge of disaster, and Boyle's filmmaking rides that same narrow edge, to breathtaking effect."
—
DCist
Posted Nov 12, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
81%
|
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) |
"
There's no director working today with a better sense of comic timing than Edgar Wright, who marries intelligent and funny writing and perfectly matched visuals with a savant-like skill."
—
DCist
Posted Aug 13, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
83%
|
The Ghost Writer (2010) |
"
With The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanksi not only does his most assured thriller filmmaking since the mid-1990s, he also does some of his wittiest work in years."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
85%
|
A Single Man (2009) |
"
Not only is the film meticulously designed, choreographed, and costumed, but everything is photographed (by young Spanish cinematographer Eduard Grau) with an eye towards conveying story and meaning via well-thought-out use of color. "
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
91%
|
Up in the Air (2009) |
"
One of the pleasures of the film is watching Jason Reitman blossom into a filmmaker light years ahead of the one who made the underwhelming Thank You For Smoking and the overly self-conscious Juno."
—
DCist
Posted Jul 4, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
96%
|
Trouble the Water (2008) |
"
The most affecting footage of Hurricane Katrina ever seen comes from an amateur camcorder bought on the street for twenty bucks. "
—
DCist
Posted Jun 12, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
96%
|
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) |
"
Even if you've never so much as eaten a single ghost in a game of Ms. Pac-Man, King of Kong is still a remarkable (and remarkably hilarious) film."
—
DCist
Posted Jun 9, 2010
|
|
9/10
|
91%
|
Hot Fuzz (2007) |
"
Works because they set out to make a faithful genre picture just as equally as a comedy. The film is even funnier because they never sacrifice plot or character for a laugh. "
—
DCist
Posted Jun 9, 2010
|
87%
22%
90%
