|
A minus
|
65%
|
Mama (2013) |
"
There has not been a film of this kind as eerie, creepy and unnervingly evocative since the sleeper hit 'Woman in Black' and Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jan 18, 2013
|
|
B
|
56%
|
Fairhaven (2013) |
"
Great visuals, chemistry."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jan 11, 2013
|
|
C
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013) |
"
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play gangster dress-up."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jan 11, 2013
|
|
A
|
81%
|
The Impossible (2012) |
"
The ultimate heart-wrenching roller-coaster ride made all the more powerful by a superb cast. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jan 4, 2013
|
|
A
|
93%
|
Zero Dark Thirty (2013) |
"
A grade-A, needle-meet-haystack manhunt-thriller"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jan 4, 2013
|
|
A minus
|
69%
|
Not Fade Away (2012) |
"
'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Drummer'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 28, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
51%
|
Promised Land (2013) |
"
The 'Music Man' of movies about fracking."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 28, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
69%
|
Les Misérables (2012) |
"
A swing and a miz."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 25, 2012
|
|
A
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012) |
"
Brought to us by the much imitated, uniquely gifted and never surpassed Quentin Tarantino..."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 25, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
82%
|
De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012) |
"
'Rust and Bone' is no 'Diving Bell and the Butterfly.' It's more like 'Obelix and the Mermaid.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 21, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
52%
|
This is 40 (2012) |
"
Gets old fast."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 21, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
61%
|
Jack Reacher (2012) |
"
Ill-timed, well-made, full of macho posturing and cliches."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 21, 2012
|
|
D
|
38%
|
The Guilt Trip (2012) |
"
Don't take this 'Trip.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 19, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) |
"
Is it crunchable? Is it scrumptious? The best awful-looking film I have ever seen."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Dec 13, 2012
|
|
A
|
75%
|
Killing Them Softly (2012) |
"
'Killing Them Softly' a knockout"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 30, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
63%
|
Hitchcock (2012) |
"
'Hitchcock' a hoot thanks to killer cast"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 26, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
13%
|
Red Dawn (2012) |
"
'Hot Tub Time Machine,' here we go again."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 22, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
74%
|
Rise of the Guardians (2012) |
"
Along with 'Frankenweenie,' it is the most beautiful animated film of the year."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 22, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
88%
|
Life of Pi (2012) |
"
So beautiful I forgive its pop theology-hooey."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 22, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
94%
|
Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters (2012) |
"
Fascinating snapshot of the artist."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 16, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
98%
|
Brooklyn Castle (2012) |
"
Chess, brilliant young students and great teachers potent mix."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 16, 2012
|
|
B
|
92%
|
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) |
"
Contrived, but beautifully cast and very entertaining."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 16, 2012
|
|
B
|
64%
|
Anna Karenina (2012) |
"
An oddly Baz Luhrmann-like take."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 16, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
48%
|
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012) |
"
Good riddance."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 15, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012) |
"
Monumental"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 9, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012) |
"
Take the plunge. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 7, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
70%
|
The Loneliest Planet (2012) |
"
Presumably taking its title from BBC Worldwide's "Lonely Planet" travel books, "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
90%
|
Holy Motors (2012) |
"
Holy moly, Carax drops the movie acid."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
B
|
45%
|
The Details (2012) |
"
A very well cast, R-rated TV sitcom."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
B
|
86%
|
Wreck-it Ralph (2012) |
"
Amiable enough."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
78%
|
Flight (2012) |
"
All aboard."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
88%
|
The Big Picture (2012) |
"
Are you a fan of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley stories?"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 28, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
67%
|
Cloud Atlas (2012) |
"
'Atlas' shrugged"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 28, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
25%
|
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) |
"
Sequel lacks spirit. Will audiences pay to see the same no-budget fright film for the fourth time?"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 21, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
93%
|
Beauty Is Embarrassing (2012) |
"
Using animation, CGI and stop-motion, and mixing analog and digital video, director Berkeley transforms 'Beauty Is Embarrassing' into a White-inspired but Berkeley made work of pop-folk art"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
68%
|
Wuthering Heights (2012) |
"
While director Arnold captures the semi-barbaric violence, rough beauty and rustic splendor of her setting and period, her use of nonprofessional actors in many roles detracts from the story's power."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
95%
|
Sister (2012) |
"
'Sister' often recalls the recent work of the Dardenne brothers of Belgium and that landmark of the French new wave, Francois Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows' (1959)."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
12%
|
Alex Cross (2012) |
"
A stomach-churning mix of sadism and sentimentality."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
44%
|
The Paperboy (2012) |
"
Tennessee Williams on crack"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 12, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
82%
|
Seven Psychopaths (2012) |
"
For a film about nothing, 'Seven Psychopaths' is awfully entertaining."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 12, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
63%
|
Sinister (2012) |
"
The demon Bughuul is not to be confused with 'gabagool,' which is merely a demonic deli meat."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 12, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
96%
|
Argo (2012) |
"
Five years ago, I thought Ben Affleck was done."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 12, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
88%
|
Head Games (2012) |
"
If you have children involved in contact sports, you must see 'Head Games.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 5, 2012
|
|
C
|
54%
|
V/H/S (2012) |
"
Unpleasant to watch and unoriginal evocation of "The Blair Witch Project" and J-Horror."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 5, 2012
|
|
A
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012) |
"
Burton's stop-motion 'Frankenweenie' is a lush, black-and-white monster-piece about children, pets, the allure of the neighborhood cemetery and unforgettable images created by the artist known as James Whale."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 5, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
21%
|
Taken 2 (2012) |
"
'Taken 2' the cleaners."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Oct 4, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
81%
|
Pitch Perfect (2012) |
"
If there is an honest moment in this should-be TV sitcom, I missed it. A-ca-phony."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
94%
|
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012) |
"
With her lacquered black hair and Kabuki-like face, one-time 'ugly duckling' Vreeland was her own work of art and, as the film reminds us, she was one of the most important and amusing self-made works of art of her century."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
C
|
43%
|
Hotel Transylvania (2012) |
"
'Scream cheese' is right. In addition to being notably unfunny, the 3-D version of the film is like a black hole sucking all the light out of the theater."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
B
|
65%
|
Solomon Kane (2012) |
"
If some of the special effects aren't so special and the theology is bit foggy, director Bassett knows that there is almost nothing more inherently scary than a dark forest and leading man Purefoy brings conviction to Kane."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
93%
|
Looper (2012) |
"
Other films evoked by 'Looper' include Brian De Palma's 'Carrie' and, inevitably, Terry Gilliam's '12 Monkeys' (1995), which also stars Willis and which is light years ahead of 'Looper.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 28, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
75%
|
Chicken with Plums (2012) |
"
Tepid stew."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 21, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
59%
|
10 Years (2012) |
"
Mediocre reunion pic, great cast."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 21, 2012
|
|
B
|
85%
|
End of Watch (2012) |
"
Gyllenhaal and Pena have the sort of buddy-movie chemistry film directors can only dream of capturing. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 21, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
51%
|
Trouble with the Curve (2012) |
"
This cast works its magic, and I dare you not to tear up when Eastwood's Gus sings 'You Are My Sunshine'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 21, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
86%
|
The Master (2012) |
"
The eternal struggle between the satyr and the mystic in human nature is joined."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 21, 2012
|
|
B
|
78%
|
Dredd (2012) |
"
Plenty of red, dead meat for the hard-core crowd."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
42%
|
Little White Lies (2012) |
"
Who needs visual fireworks when you can just shoot a close-up of Marion Cotillard?"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 14, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
55%
|
Beloved (2012) |
"
Mining the French New Wave for material and inspiration invites death by comparison."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 14, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
87%
|
Arbitrage (2012) |
"
Richard Gere is the only real reason to see 'Arbitrage'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 14, 2012
|
|
B
|
55%
|
Bachelorette (2012) |
"
A supposedly raunchier and 'darker' version of 'Bridesmaids' (it isn't), the film is beautifully cast and funny. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
B
|
54%
|
The Inbetweeners (2012) |
"
Spring break, Brit-style."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
22%
|
The Words (2012) |
"
What this film about plagiarism lacks is originality."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
B+
|
95%
|
Side by Side (2012) |
"
A documentary film that asks the sort of questions most major film studios don't want asked or answered."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Sep 5, 2012
|
|
B
|
39%
|
The Possession (2012) |
"
'The Possession' is not bad. Director ole Bornedal has a nice touch with some things, such as the afore-mentioned atmosphere. But he inexplicably blows other things. Oy, Ole."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 31, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
70%
|
The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2012) |
"
Among the standouts in the cast beyond the legendary Li is Lunmei Kwai as a Tartan warrior princess."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 31, 2012
|
|
B
|
56%
|
For a Good Time, Call... (2012) |
"
Girls just want to have fun making raunchy R-rated comedies, too. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 31, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
98%
|
Oslo, August 31st (2012) |
"
The film is perhaps the most emotionally devastating and yet paradoxically delicate effort of the year, a genuine gem."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 29, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
67%
|
Lawless (2012) |
"
Tom Hardy is as incomprehensible as he is in 'The Dark Knight Rises'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 29, 2012
|
|
D
|
4%
|
The Apparition (2012) |
"
Scary bad."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 25, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
64%
|
Cosmopolis (2012) |
"
GQ-ready, super-rich Internet entrepreneur/financier Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) sails around New York inside a sleek, white, ovoid sarcophagus-limo from which he emerges like a modern-day, couture-clad Count Dracula"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 24, 2012
|
|
B
|
87%
|
Robot & Frank (2012) |
"
Blessed with artistry bordering on magic, Langella carries the film."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 24, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
76%
|
Premium Rush (2012) |
"
Feel this 'Rush.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 24, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
48%
|
Hit & Run (2012) |
"
A quirky, modern romance wrapped around a motor-mouthed Tarantino-esque crime movie."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 22, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
95%
|
The Imposter (2012) |
"
The real imposter here is the director."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 17, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
70%
|
Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) |
"
The best movie couple of the summer is getting a divorce. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 17, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
87%
|
ParaNorman (2012) |
"
Stop-motion 'ParaNorman' As Ghoul As It Gets."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 17, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
34%
|
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) |
"
So it's just a coincidence that the couple's name is Green, and their son is some sort of triffid?"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 15, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
74%
|
Hope Springs (2012) |
"
OK, you snobs who turned up your noses at 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,' try this piece of hackwork. Ugh."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 11, 2012
|
|
C minus
|
77%
|
Killer Joe (2012) |
"
A Southern Gothic pulp-noir freak show, yee-haw."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 10, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012) |
"
Eat your hearts out, Aaron Sorkin and Michael Moore."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 10, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012) |
"
'Bourne' again? I don't think so."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 10, 2012
|
|
A
|
97%
|
La Grande illusion (Grand Illusion) (2012) |
"
Like Universal's Oscar winner 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (1930), 'La Grande Illusion' was banned in Germany by Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels. See it and sing 'La Marseillaise.'"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 10, 2012
|
|
D
|
8%
|
The Babymakers (2012) |
"
'The Babymakers' is so uninspired it's depressing."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
C
|
79%
|
Ruby Sparks (2012) |
"
Half relentless cutsie-wootsies, half sentimental slop, 'Ruby Sparks' has no sparks, not even between real-life couple Dano and Kazan, and little originality."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
79%
|
Klown (2012) |
"
Great Danes 'Klown' Around"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
86%
|
Easy Money (2012) |
"
Yes, that is Joel Kinnaman of the Danish-based AMC series 'The Killing,' in which he plays a rain-soaked Seattle homicide detective, speaking fluent Swedish in the lead role in 'Easy Money.' "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
31%
|
Total Recall (2012) |
"
Formerly a fun, dumb, R-rated, Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, this is now a PG-13, CGI Cheese Whiz exercise in remaking a famous-title with a second-tier cast. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
A
|
79%
|
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2012) |
"
In turn, cruel, savage, humane, joyful and finally devastating and visually transcendent. Originally in 3-D."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 27, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
90%
|
The Well Digger's Daughter (2012) |
"
Strong pedigree pushes 'Well Digger's Daughter' to the top. "
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 27, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
94%
|
Farewell, My Queen (2012) |
"
The film boasts Vermeer-like interiors lit by candle or firelight glowingly reflected in gilt-adorned paneling and screens, and in one memorable shot, the gleaming skin of a nude sleeping Gabrielle."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 27, 2012
|
|
D plus
|
16%
|
The Watch (2012) |
"
A disease-carrying mosquito of film comedy."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 27, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) |
"
The worst offender here is composer Hans Zimmer, who might as well show up at every showing of this film and bang everyone in the audience over the head with his drum set."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 17, 2012
|
|
B plus
|
88%
|
Ballplayer: Pelotero (2012) |
"
Can you say 'Moneyball' en espanol?"
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 13, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
88%
|
Neil Young Journeys (2012) |
"
"Look at Mother Nature on the run...""
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 13, 2012
|
|
B minus
|
37%
|
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) |
"
Milking those woolly mammoths for the fourth time..."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 13, 2012
|
|
C plus
|
86%
|
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) |
"
At best a bit of indie-film eye candy, at worst an art-house minstrel show..."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 6, 2012
|
|
A minus
|
51%
|
Savages (2012) |
"
'I have orgasms; he has war-gasms,' is my choice for nuttiest movie line of the summer of 2012."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 6, 2012
|
|
B+
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012) |
"
Not as captivating as last summer's sleeper hit 'Midnight in Paris' (few films are), Woody Allen's follow-up, similarly Euro-centric comedy 'To Rome with Love' offers many of the same pleasures."
—
Boston Herald
Posted Jul 6, 2012
|
87%
24%
91%
85%
45%
40%
