Joe Williams Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Joe Williams

Joe Williams

Agrees with the Tomatometer 76% of the time.

Biography:: I am the film critic for the daily St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Favorites:: It's a Wonderful Life, Quadrophenia, Lost in America, The Graduate, Days of Heaven, The Heartbreak Kid, Apocalypse Now, Gangs of New York, Love with the Proper Stranger, The Party, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, Memento, Waking Life, Amelie
Publications:: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Total Reviews:: 722
Total QuickRatings:: 24

Location:: St. Louis, MO

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 151 - 200 of 722

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
3/4	92%	Headhunters (2012)	" Like a Teutonic techno band, this thriller is both skillfully familiar and chillingly strange." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 18, 2012
2/4	34%	Battleship (2012)	" Some guilty-pleasure cheese atop a ration of stale popcorn can't cleanse the distastefulness that "Battleship" leaves in its wake." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 17, 2012
3/4	58%	The Dictator (2012)	" "The Dictator" is too short and undisciplined to be a world-class comedy, but its chutzpah deserves respect." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 15, 2012
3/4	78%	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)	" "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is an Indian dish for day-trippers. Lacking beef or sufficient spice, it's nonetheless colorful comfort food." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 11, 2012
3/4	62%	We Have a Pope (2012)	" This is rich material that Moretti mines for both superficial absurdity and deep pathos. But he refuses to forge an orthodox happy ending, let alone a tinny satire." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 11, 2012
3/4	38%	Dark Shadows (2012)	" "Dark Shadows" may be too light for vampire purists or fans of the original show, but fresh blood is just what the doctor ordered." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 10, 2012
3.5/4	92%	The Fairy (2012)	" Do yourself and your kids a favor. On the way to multiplex to see "The Avengers," tell them "The Fairy" is about an all-powerful superheroine. Someday, they'll find the words to thank you." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 4, 2012
2/4	75%	Damsels in Distress (2012)	" Like a degree in gender studies, there's no payoff." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 4, 2012
2.5/4	93%	Marvel's The Avengers (2012)	" Biff! Bam! Boring!" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 3, 2012
3/4	47%	96 Minutes (2012)	" "96 Minutes" is a mere introduction to Sociology 101, but it's brisk enough to rustle the reading list and keep the conversation alive." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 27, 2012
3.5/4	70%	The Hunter (2012)	" With a rucksack of gadgets, Dafoe makes a believably cunning tracker, and when he finally confronts his prey, the mutual respect feeds a poignant parable." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 27, 2012
3/4	63%	Delicacy (2012)	" Although there's some meat on the menu, "Delicacy" ends up as lightly sugared and as gently bent as a fortune cookie." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 27, 2012
2.5/4	22%	Elles (2012)	" "Elles" is provocative company, but it leaves us feeling hustled." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 27, 2012
3.5/4	74%	Chimpanzee (2012)	" Produced in association with the Jane Goodall Institute, "Chimpanzee" is an eye-opening primer in cross-species similarity." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 20, 2012
3/4	95%	Marley (2012)	" Given the legal and logistical constraints on this long-delayed project, this lengthy movie is as comprehensive a history as Marley's fans could have hoped, but the uninitiated may not catch a fire." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 20, 2012
2.5/4	79%	The Deep Blue Sea (2012)	" Davies doesn't provide stylish counterweights to the heavy drama. Any story that starts with a woman writing a suicide note is cheating us of an honest investment in the outcome." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 19, 2012
3/4	90%	Footnote (2012)	" Cedar mines dark humor from the humiliations of identity checks and pecking orders." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 13, 2012
3.5/4	76%	Bombay Beach (2011)	" "Bombay Beach" is an oasis of creativity in the documentary landscape." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 13, 2012
2.5/4	84%	The Raid: Redemption (2012)	" "The Raid: Redemption" is built on shaky and blood-soaked ground, but if towering technique is all you want from an action movie, then yippee-ki-yay." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 13, 2012
2.5/4	87%	Bully (2012)	" "Bully" is a good start to a necessary conversation, but its loving voice is likely to be drowned out by haters who hide their own wounded hearts behind Internet pseudonyms and broadcast microphones." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 13, 2012
3.5/4	86%	Chico & Rita (2012)	" When a place and its people are this stylish, we can't help but be drawn to them." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 6, 2012
3/4	96%	Undefeated (2012)	" "Undefeated" doesn't have a deep penetration of poverty and race in its playbook, but it does have enough heart to make substantial forward progress." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 6, 2012
2.5/4	44%	American Reunion (2012)	" The split of hormonal sleaze to cornball sap is still about 50/50, yet like a chance meeting with an old love, it doesn't produce the expected magic." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 5, 2012
4/4	94%	Coriolanus (2011)	" "Coriolanus" is a triumph." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 30, 2012
2/4	——	I Kissed a Vampire (2012)	" Although there have been numerous horror spoofs and musicals since "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," this one is too squeaky clean to play the midnight-movie circuit." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 30, 2012
2/4	26%	Wrath of the Titans (2012)	" The actual story is incoherent, and the choppily paced movie is too short to develop the characters." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 29, 2012
3/4	75%	Addiction Incorporated (2011)	" While it's satisfying to see fat cats tamed by science and an enraged public, the movie misses the opportunity to sustain the pressure." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 23, 2012
2/4	22%	October Baby (2012)	" Trafficking in 2-D morality and unlikely to be seen by the unconverted, "October Baby" would have been better off as a bumper sticker." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 23, 2012
2.5/4	85%	The Hunger Games (2012)	" It's a streamlined fable with enough zing to keep the franchise flying until the next round." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 22, 2012
3/4	85%	Crazy Horse (2012)	" Wiseman is a still-prolific luminary of what has been dubbed "direct cinema," a documentary style in which the director intrudes as little as possible and conducts no on-camera interviews." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 16, 2012
2/4	13%	W.E. (2012)	" It's hard to hate a movie that escorts us to such lovely locales, but instead of marking the territory as her own, Madonna has directed a potentially provocative story like a virgin." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 16, 2012
3/4	78%	Jeff Who Lives at Home (2012)	" "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" is a high-wire act that could crash if the actors were out of sync, but under this big top, the never-better Segel keeps everyone aloft." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 16, 2012
3/4	53%	Being Flynn (2012)	" He might be guilty of showboating, but De Niro's knockout performance is a declaration that the star of "Raging Bull" isn't ready to hang up his gloves." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 16, 2012
3/4	85%	21 Jump Street (2012)	" Even if you think you've graduated from genital jokes and violent slapstick, the laughing gas around "21 Jump Street" may get you hooked." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 15, 2012
3.5/4	86%	Declaration of War (2012)	" The tonal shifts, the "Amelie"-style voiceover and the punk-retro soundtrack may jar some viewers who expect uninterrupted violins, but "Declaration of War" is alternative therapy that really works." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 9, 2012
3.5/4	76%	We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012)	" "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is confrontational cinema that will leave you speechless." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 9, 2012
2.5/4	67%	Friends With Kids (2012)	" Like an acquaintance couple's baby pictures, "Friends With Kids" induces coos but isn't as cute as they think." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 8, 2012
3/4	70%	Thin Ice (2012)	" As a caustic comedy, "Thin Ice" resides just slightly south of "Fargo."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 2, 2012
3/4	55%	General Orders No. 9 (2011)	" Persons' short quasi-documentary doesn't offer specific solutions to toxic modernity, but the film itself is a temporary fix for fallen spirits." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 24, 2012
2.5/4	73%	The Conquest (2011)	" "The Conquest" is like a French restaurant that serves small portions of tart appetizers and calls them freedom fries, yet begrudgingly we must salute the gall." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 24, 2012
2.5/4	25%	Act of Valor (2012)	" "Act of Valor" is a competently directed action movie, but forcing the audience to wear such narrow goggles is a dereliction of duty." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 23, 2012
3.5/4	99%	A Separation (2011)	" "A Separation" is a plaintive fable of the human condition that unites us." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 17, 2012
2/4	26%	This Means War (2012)	" Even by the standards of light entertainment, "This Means War" is meaningless." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 16, 2012
3.5/4	53%	Safe House (2012)	" While other stars of his generation stoop to self-parody, Washington stands tall. We cannot tell a lie: Yes, he makes us nervous, but in a good way." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 10, 2012
1.5/4	42%	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)	" Anyone old enough to have read Jules Verne or seen the way his work was successfully adapted in the past will suffer worse than the kids in the audience who just came to laugh." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 9, 2012
2.5/4	56%	In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)	" With its broad strokes, this invitation to an important discussion is hard to ignore, but the blood and honey on the table is an unpalatable mix." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 3, 2012
2.5/4	65%	The Woman in Black (2012)	" There's little that's new, revealing or stylish about this basic-black horror story, but if you've got a Goth sensibility, it might suit you." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 3, 2012
3/4	74%	Big Miracle (2012)	" With such a large and likable cast, the whales are a relatively small part of the movie. But the wonder of "Big Miracle" is that their fate can make a cold-hearted audience blubber." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 2, 2012
3/4	97%	Tomboy (2011)	" Writer and director Celine Sciamma adorns the thorny dilemma with resonant allusions to gender roles..." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jan 27, 2012
2/4	32%	Man on a Ledge (2012)	" When an action movie is as clumsy as "Man on a Ledge," it's begging to fall." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jan 27, 2012
2.5/4	56%	Albert Nobbs (2012)	" "Albert Nobbs" is never less than a tidy feat - but never more than a shuttered window." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jan 26, 2012
3/4	78%	A Dangerous Method (2011)	" Like psychoanalysis, "A Dangerous Method" takes its time as it circles an opening to unexplored depths." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jan 20, 2012
2/4	46%	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)	" "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is supposed to promote healing, but as they say in New York: close, but no cigar." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jan 19, 2012
3/4	72%	Carnage (2011)	" If we grant that "Carnage" is a low-impact exercise in stripping away the social veneer, it's nonetheless brisk and enjoyable." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jan 13, 2012
3.5/4	98%	The Artist (2011)	" "The Artist" may be too cute to qualify as high art, but it's highly entertaining." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 23, 2011
3/4	93%	Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011)	" [Bird] applies the pacing and spatial freedom of a 'toon to a live-action thriller." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 16, 2011
3.5/4	80%	Young Adult (2011)	" Clear-eyed, fearless and ferociously funny, "Young Adult" is mature filmmaking." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 16, 2011
1.5/4	60%	Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)	" Is "Game of Shadows" the most pandering picture of the year? Fo' shizzle, Sherlock." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 15, 2011
3/4	73%	Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2011)	" It's a comic-strip version of one man's life and times, but it's tres cool." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 9, 2011
3/4	89%	Passione (2011)	" Turturro creates the sense that music spews spontaneously from the average Neapolitan and limits the film's educational quotient. But as anyone who has been to Naples knows, you don't go there to learn but to live, out loud." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 9, 2011
1/4	7%	New Year's Eve (2011)	" The sanitized setting and sappy script are so littered with cardboard characters and crass product placements that you'll mourn for the muggers and porno theaters that De Niro cursed in "Taxi Driver."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Dec 8, 2011
3.5/4	84%	My Week with Marilyn (2011)	" Williams is a more three-dimensional Monroe than the love goddess herself. The performance is both an eerie imitation and a touching revelation." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 25, 2011
3/4	81%	The Skin I Live In (2011)	" Few filmmakers are more assured or alluring, even when we fear we're following a monster." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 23, 2011
3.5/4	89%	The Descendants (2011)	" In playing an everyman stranded between anger and duty, Clooney earns an emotional payoff that a lesser actor would simply demand." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 22, 2011
3.5/4	94%	Hugo (2011)	" Scorsese's "Hugo" is a hugely ambitious and wholly satisfying feat. It's a living lesson in movie magic wrapped in a classic kiddie flick." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 22, 2011
3/4	96%	The Muppets (2011)	" "The Muppets," the troupe's first film in more than a decade, is a more aggressively absurd antidote to what it calls "a hard, cynical world." Happily, it works." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 22, 2011
2.5/4	77%	Melancholia (2011)	" It's a credit to the director's persistence of vision that he finds such eerie images to adorn this wispy tree of death. Like a newborn planet, "Melancholia" is magnetically beautiful, but it's also an unformed mass of hot air." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 21, 2011
1.5/4	45%	Happy Feet Two (2011)	" Even though it mimics the original, "Happy Feet Two" is incoherent, and if there's an actual story here, it's drowned out by the vapid pop songs, yapping wisecracks and flapping wings of too many characters." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 17, 2011
2/4	44%	J. Edgar (2011)	" It's gratifying to see an old bully outed as a hypocrite, but by distracting us from bigger crimes, "J. Edgar" is a public enemy." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 10, 2011
3/4	66%	The Women on the 6th Floor (2011)	" "The Women on the 6th Floor" shouldn't work, but this efficient flick whisks away our cynicism." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 4, 2011
3/4	90%	Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)	" "Martha Marcy May Marlene" will stick with you." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 4, 2011
2/4	69%	Tower Heist (2011)	" A generic caper comedy with pretensions of timeliness." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Nov 3, 2011
3.5/4	93%	Take Shelter (2011)	" In an era of empty entertainments, "Take Shelter" is built to last." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 28, 2011
3/4	100%	Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness (2011)	" Throughout the film, Dorman uses ethnographic and silent-cinema footage, along with ubiquitous klezmer music, to paint a picture of the era." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 28, 2011
3/4	91%	The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)	" It's thrilling to hear from unrepentant revolutionaries such as Angela Davis and amusing to hear from their bell-bottomed white lawyers." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 28, 2011
3/4	84%	Puss in Boots (2011)	" Even if they don't provide much lift, these boots were made for amusement." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 27, 2011
1.5/4	38%	Johnny English Reborn (2011)	" At gunpoint I might confess to smiling when English pummeled the Queen of England with a tea tray, but the babysitters for the target audience will know that his best bits are burgled from Austin Powers." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 21, 2011
3/4	74%	Blackthorn (2011)	" In place of a rousing adventure, "Blackthorn" is a haunting ode." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 21, 2011
2.5/4	37%	Restless (2011)	" If you haven't seen a wasting disease in real life, you might think "Restless" is romantic. If you have, you might diagnose it as terminally cute." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 21, 2011
2.5/4	61%	Toast (2011)	" Like its namesake, "Toast" is crusty comfort food with little nutritional substance." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 21, 2011
2.5/4	47%	The Mighty Macs (2011)	" Without resorting to any trick plays, "The Mighty Macs" is the equivalent of high-top Converse All-Stars: timeless and effective, but perhaps not flashy enough for the kids at the mall." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 21, 2011
3/4	88%	Margin Call (2011)	" Within the artful fluctuations of heroism and villainy, Spacey stands out with a performance that evokes memories of "Glengarry Glen Ross."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 20, 2011
3.5/4	78%	The Mill and the Cross (2011)	" "The Mill and the Cross" is an art-history lesson and a spiritual exercise disguised as a movie." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 14, 2011
3/4	84%	My Afternoons with Margueritte (2011)	" [Depardieu] is as emblematic of his country as Tom Hanks is of ours, and "My Afternoons With Margueritte" is his "Forrest Gump." Only better." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 14, 2011
2/4	40%	The Big Year (2011)	" It's nice to watch a comedy that doesn't screech or foul the nest, but "The Big Year" is no big deal." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 14, 2011
2.5/4	36%	The Thing (2011)	" The geographical isolation still produces shivers, but the repeated motif no longer resonates." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 14, 2011
2/4	71%	Footloose (2011)	" "Footloose" poses as a bold update, but it's shockingly out of step with the times." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 13, 2011
2.5/4	85%	Happy, Happy (2011)	" "Happy, Happy" has the makings of a Norwegian "Ice Storm," but it goes out with a whimper." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 7, 2011
2.5/4	29%	Machine Gun Preacher (2011)	" In telling a true story, ambiguity can be an asset; but instead of mapping a middle course, director Marc Foster veers between two kinds of falsehoods." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 7, 2011
2/4	60%	Real Steel (2011)	" What it lacks is the human element. Charlie is more of a rat than a rascal, and instead of working hard to build and operate his robots, he's literally going through the motions." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 7, 2011
3/4	85%	The Ides of March (2011)	" The institutional infrastructure of "The Ides of March" is solid, with some of the best actors in the business bringing politics to life. Gosling is a particular standout." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Oct 6, 2011
3/4	93%	50/50 (2011)	" It wrings comedy from cancer and surrounds its saintly protagonist with sickly stereotypes. But the closer it gets to the mortal abyss, the more it feels real and revealing." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Sep 30, 2011
2.5/4	23%	What's Your Number? (2011)	" This movie isn't as daring as it pretends to be, but with two likable stars and a quotient of absurdity, "What's Your Number?" gets a passing grade." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Sep 29, 2011
1.5/4	82%	Dolphin Tale (2011)	" Instead of steering toward deep and troubled waters, "Dolphin Tale" jumps through hoops to engage a young audience." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Sep 23, 2011
3.5/4	95%	Moneyball (2011)	" Although you don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it, "Moneyball" is one of the best baseball movies imaginable." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Sep 22, 2011
3/4	93%	Drive (2011)	" The abrupt shifts between neo-noir fatalism and white-knight romanticism could give an unsuspecting viewer whiplash, but Refn has a trusty map and keeps his hands on the wheel." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Sep 15, 2011
4/4	92%	Senna (2011)	" "Senna" is simply the greatest sports film I have ever seen." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Sep 2, 2011
3/4	72%	Magic Trip (2011)	" "Magic Trip" is neither as magic nor as trippy as the culture quake that it documents, but it's a valuable flashback and a pleasurable contact high." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 26, 2011
3/4	75%	The Names of Love (2011)	" The elements of sex, race and religion spin in separate orbits, but the two likable leads hold them together as the film grows surprisingly serious." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 26, 2011
2.5/4	73%	The Whistleblower (2011)	" If this well-meaning melodrama contains a call to action, it's as quiet as a dog whistle." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 26, 2011
3/4	100%	Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2011)	" Those of us lucky enough to have seen the punk, funk and ska band in a sweaty nightclub might have borrowed a different title: "Party at Ground Zero."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 26, 2011
3/4	95%	The Guard (2011)	" "The Guard" is violent, profane and funny." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 19, 2011
2/4	60%	Vincent Wants to Sea! (2011)	" "Vincent Wants to Sea" never deviates from the predictable bonding-through-misadventure script, and it has little to teach us about the nature and treatment of the traveler's respective maladies." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 19, 2011
2.5/4	72%	The Future (2011)	" July is a provocative and honorably independent filmmaker, but given the meager rewards of investing our time, "The Future" wasn't worth the wait." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 19, 2011
3/4	82%	Life, Above All (2011)	" In such a bleak story, the redemptive ending seems rushed and unconvincing, but director Oliver Schmitz has sent us a timely dispatch from a forgotten corner of the world that is honest above all." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 12, 2011
2/4	64%	Another Earth (2011)	" I was hoping that everyone involved would get hit by an asteroid." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 12, 2011
3.5/4	98%	Project Nim (2011)	" This many-faceted time capsule sheds little light, but buried inside it are vexing questions and the still-beating heart of a special creature." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 12, 2011
2/4	45%	30 Minutes or Less (2011)	" Something similar actually happened once, but the result wasn't funny. Neither is "30 Minutes or Less," although it smirks like it thinks so." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 11, 2011
2.5/4	76%	The Help (2011)	" When an important message is delivered through cardboard cutouts, it's akin to a Tyler Perry production of "Guess Who's Cooking the Dinner."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 9, 2011
3/4	82%	Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)	" It's faint praise to say that this is the best of the "Planet of the Apes" movies, because the evolution of special effects and makeup was predictable. But the unexpected strength of the film is its heart." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 5, 2011
2/4	21%	Salvation Boulevard (2011)	" In truckin' past so many fruitful oases, "Salvation Boulevard" is a bumpy road." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 5, 2011
3/4	91%	Tabloid (2011)	" "Tabloid" is tantalizing, but like yesterday's headlines, it's a fleeting flirtation." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 5, 2011
2.5/4	25%	The Change-Up (2011)	" I still think it's a funny movie, but given its genes, it's a bit of a slacker." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Aug 4, 2011
2.5/4	55%	Mr. Nice (2011)	" [Ifans] captures the character's charisma and cool, and it's fun to ride shotgun with him. But the script isn't pointed enough to drill beneath the surface." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 29, 2011
2.5/4	78%	Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)	" Every moment of mature insight in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is answered by a scene of formulaic farce." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 28, 2011
2.5/4	73%	Sarah's Key (2011)	" When it finds the right room, "Sarah's Key" unlocks a haunting story." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 28, 2011
3/4	85%	Viva Riva! (2011)	" Pulsing with polyglot music and outlaw vigor, "Viva Riva!" is a raucous reply to the new world order." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 21, 2011
2/4	21%	Snow Flower And The Secret Fan (2011)	" Once we've quickly digested the fortune-cookie message that modern women are as bound by obligations as their grandmothers were, all we can savor is the scenery." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 21, 2011
3.5/4	79%	Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)	" On almost every level, Captain America is better engineered and more entertaining than the Iron Man or Spider-Man or Batman films. It's a movie that makes you proud to be an American." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 21, 2011
2.5/4	71%	Friends With Benefits (2011)	" As a predictable romantic fantasy, "Friends with Benefits" profits from two lively and likable stars who maintain our interest. But as the sexual satire in which we invested, there's no payoff." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 21, 2011
2.5/4	84%	A Better Life (2011)	" Notwithstanding its modest scope, "A Better Life" richly documents the life of an invisible man." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 15, 2011
3/4	92%	The Four Times (Le Quattro Volte) (2011)	" The God's-eye view becomes mesmerizing when we stop insisting that the film flatter us and just enjoy a quiet ride on the cycle." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 15, 2011
	96%	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)	" Like the previous seven movies, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" obliviates the line between art and craft, but the witchcraft conjured for this satisfying finale is uniquely generous." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 14, 2011
2.5/4	82%	American: The Bill Hicks Story (2011)	" Directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas work wonders with the old photos, animating and enhancing them to simulate Hicks' excellent adventure." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 8, 2011
3.5/4	91%	City of Life and Death (2011)	" Exquisitely shot in black and white, with a rare attention to detail and dramatic complexity, "City of Life and Death" is a timelessly great film that commands our collective attention." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 8, 2011
3/4	43%	Ironclad (2011)	" As a critic who complains about painless and brainless action movies, I hoist a glass of mead to the men and maidens of "Ironclad."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 8, 2011
2/4	70%	Horrible Bosses (2011)	" "Horrible Bosses" is like a loud water-cooler routine that you're forced to endure before suggesting to your crass co-workers that they should get back to work." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 7, 2011
3.5/4	89%	The Trip (2011)	" The pinch of pathos in this tart comedy makes the "The Trip" a transportive experience." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 1, 2011
2.5/4	82%	Trollhunter (2011)	" "Trollhunter" has a lot of down time as the crew treks to the fjords, but it's also got dryly subversive humor and, eventually, some impressive special effects." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 1, 2011
3/4	79%	Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011)	" This film functions as a countdown timer to the doomsday when all the news that's fit to print becomes unfit for short attention spans." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jul 1, 2011
2/4	36%	Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)	" One small step for action movies, one giant leap into the abyss of mindlessness." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 28, 2011
2.5/4	69%	Bride Flight (2011)	" A tearjerking romance that belongs to another era, when female moviegoers wanted to be transported, not grounded in grim realities." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 24, 2011
3.5/4	88%	Buck (2011)	" Beautifully but simply wrought by director Cindy Meehl, this deft documentary is a poignant reappraisal of what it means to be human." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 24, 2011
2.5/4	80%	Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)	" A serviceable behind-the-scenes tour documentary with about as much insight as a talk-show monologue." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 24, 2011
3/4	44%	Bad Teacher (2011)	" The classroom comedy "Bad Teacher" could have been sent to detention for copying off of "Bad Santa," but it's brazenly funny in its own right - until it turns into a goody two-shoes." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 23, 2011
2.5/4	38%	Cars 2 (2011)	" Pixar had never produced a clunker, but with "Cars 2," the animation studio has not only stalled, it's gone into reverse." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 23, 2011
2.5/4	18%	The Art of Getting By (2011)	" Smart and sweet enough to become the favorite film of some Midwestern adolescent who wrongly believes he's already seen the dark side." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 17, 2011
3.5/4	87%	Submarine (2011)	" In its own right, "Submarine" is one of the best movies of the year." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 17, 2011
1.5/4	26%	Green Lantern (2011)	" I never thought I could feel sorry for Ryan Reynolds." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 16, 2011
2.5/4	47%	Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)	" Waters neatly integrates trained birds and computer-generated imagery, but the warm-blooded actors are stuck with a story that refuses to fly." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 16, 2011
3/4	93%	Midnight in Paris (2011)	" "Midnight in Paris" is a bonbon to ease the craving for Allen's earlier, funnier films." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 10, 2011
4/4	84%	The Tree of Life (2011)	" "The Tree of Life" is rooted in human nature but ascends to the infinite mystery. It's a dizzying climb with few footholds for the timid or cynical, but the view from above is heavenly." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 10, 2011
3/4	82%	Super 8 (2011)	" Breathing new life into these old forms is a next-to-impossible mission, but if the skeletons in your closet are made of celluloid, "Super 8" will be more of a treat than a trick." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 9, 2011
3.5/4	92%	Circo (2011)	" "Circo" is an amazing feat." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 3, 2011
2.5/4	88%	X-Men: First Class (2011)	" Even without making the honor roll, "X-Men: First Class" has earned a pass for future semesters." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Jun 3, 2011
2.5/4	96%	13 Assassins (2011)	" The dialectic about duty may not translate to a modern Western audience, but the savage sword-fighting is to die for." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 27, 2011
3.5/4	100%	Into Eternity (2011)	" Madsen, whose symmetrical compositions and slo-mo shots of uniformed workers have a quality of Kubrickian sci-fi, frames the film as a message to the future." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 27, 2011
2.5/4	59%	Yves Saint Laurent - L'amour fou (2011)	" "L'Amour Fou" is an elegant fabric without the rough texture of real life and love." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 27, 2011
3/4	81%	Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)	" For a summertime sequel, "Kung Fu Panda 2" is an unexpected kick." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 25, 2011
2/4	34%	The Hangover Part II (2011)	" Wastrels think the formula for a hangover is the hair of the dog, but this flaccid follow-up to the hit comedy expects us to swallow the entire rotting carcass." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 25, 2011
2.5/4	92%	Incendies (2011)	" Villaneuve knows how to stoke a hot debate about the legacy of violence. But in this case, where there's smoke, there's not enough air." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 20, 2011
3/4	83%	Sons of Perdition (2011)	" "Sons of Perdition" is a captivating testament, but the silence of the daughters is the real revelation." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 20, 2011
3/4	73%	POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011)	" Spurlock, the affable activist behind "Super Size Me," aims a not particularly harsh spotlight on product placement in his new documentary." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 20, 2011
1.5/4	33%	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)	" A long, slow voyage through shallow water." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 19, 2011
	86%	Meek's Cutoff (2011)	" Those with the courage to explore uncharted territory will be rewarded with a rough gem of a movie." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 13, 2011
3/4	43%	Cracks (2011)	" "Cracks" is a bit of a knock-off, but it's a sturdily assembled vessel for a promising director and cast." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 13, 2011
1/4	54%	Hesher (2011)	" When the blessed credits finally roll, the first thing Susser shows us is Hesher's tattoo of a raised middle finger. Backatcha, dude." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 13, 2011
3.5/4	75%	Everything Must Go (2011)	" A superstar like Ferrell could coast through disposable comedies, but "Everything Must Go" is a keeper." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 13, 2011
3.5/4	90%	Bridesmaids (2011)	" Kristen Wiig is the best sketch comic alive, and "Bridesmaids" should finally make her a movie star." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 13, 2011
3.5/4	96%	Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)	" This is something more than a movie; it's a testament - and re-creation - of rapture." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 6, 2011
3/4	77%	In A Better World (2011)	" Despite some weaknesses as both a film and a parable, "In a Better World" is a potent provocation." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 6, 2011
2/4	11%	There Be Dragons (2011)	" "There Be Dragons" tries to echo "For Whom the Bell Tolls," but this instrument is tinny and tarnished." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 6, 2011
2.5/4	77%	Thor (2011)	" With its references to other properties in the Marvel universe and to classic tales of redemption, this no-surprises summer movie might appeal to those who've been bitten by radioactive spiders or the Shakespeare bug." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted May 5, 2011
3/4	37%	I Am (2011)	" An open heart can be a recipe for ridicule, particularly in a culture where consumption is mistaken for a moral imperative." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 29, 2011
3/4	74%	Winter in Wartime (2011)	" It's got a grown-up artfulness, but "Winter in Wartime" could become a lot of boys' favorite movie." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 29, 2011
2/4	11%	Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil (2011)	" "Hoodwinked" wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't a smash hit, either, and the stash of spoofable fairy tales is now as empty as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 29, 2011
3/4	73%	Heartbeats (2011)	" Ultimately what makes "Heartbeats" tick is that it's less about love objects and more about friends who are stuck with each other, for better or worse." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 29, 2011
2/4	78%	Fast Five (2011)	" "Fast Five" represents Yankee ingenuity of the brutally stupid kind." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 28, 2011
2/4	61%	Water for Elephants (2011)	" As usual, Pattinson's acting consists of shaking his head and whimpering." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 22, 2011
3.5/4	61%	The Concert (Le concert) (2010)	" "The Concert" builds beautifully from a farcical premise that requires a suspension of disbelief to a musical climax that washes away our cynicism in a wave of honest tears." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 22, 2011
2/4	74%	The Human Resources Manager (2011)	" Even with incidents involving drunken locals, an underground bunker and a decommissioned tank, the film doesn't build the comic momentum of good intentions hurtling downhill in a strange land." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 22, 2011
3/4	77%	When We Leave (2011)	" "When We Leave" has a predetermined arc that almost chokes its life, but for frustrated witnesses to this passion play, Kekilli offers redemption." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 15, 2011
3/4	48%	Super (2011)	" "Super" could use the certitude of its hero, but the weapon it wields instead is a scalpel to see what's inside us." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 15, 2011
2.5/4	72%	Rio (2011)	" Although the road to "Rio" was paved with good intentions, this 'toon never truly takes flight." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 15, 2011
2/4	17%	Miral (2011)	" The director injects some showy images into the mix but, without a defined frame for Schnabel to paint in, "Miral" is an unholy mess." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 15, 2011
2/4	55%	The Conspirator (2011)	" Instead of entertaining us, director Robert Redford offers us a handsome history lesson that's as dry as a hardtack biscuit." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 15, 2011
2.5/4	45%	Soul Surfer (2011)	" It's a compelling tale of surf and survival." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 8, 2011
3/4	98%	Born To Be Wild (2011)	" "Born to be Wild" is a good nature film - and a great technical achievement." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 8, 2011
4/4	100%	Poetry (2011)	" A Korean movie about an aging housemaid that turns out to be one of the best films of the year." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 8, 2011
2/4	26%	Arthur (2011)	" The original "Arthur" was harmless. The new one is charmless." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 7, 2011
3/4	88%	Certified Copy (Copie Conforme) (2011)	" "Certified Copy" promises more than it delivers, but the limited portions are fresh." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 1, 2011
1.5/4	26%	Hop (2011)	" It's supposed to be sweet, but "Hop" is a headache waiting to happen." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 1, 2011
2/4	65%	The Music Never Stopped (2011)	" A medley of "Memento," "The King's Speech" and "Hair," "The Music Never Stopped" is sentimental pop packaged as a profound rock opera." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 1, 2011
3/4	99%	Bill Cunningham New York (2011)	" Cunningham seems genuinely in love with his work..." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Apr 1, 2011
2.5/4	93%	Of Gods and Men (2011)	" Forgive me, Father, for I was bored." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 25, 2011
2.5/4	83%	The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)	" It marches at an efficient pace, but there's too much collateral damage to believability." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 18, 2011
2/4	70%	Limitless (2011)	" If there were a pill that made people smarter, I'd donate an extra supply to the creators of "Limitless."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 18, 2011
3/4	72%	Paul (2011)	" Somewhere between high concept and lowbrow humor, "Paul" hits the sweet spot of a genuine heart." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 17, 2011
3/4	88%	Even the Rain (Meme La Pluie) (2011)	" Despite the whiff of a Hollywood ending, "Even the Rain" is a refreshing import." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 11, 2011
1.5/4	11%	Red Riding Hood (2011)	" "Red Riding Hood" is such a sorrowful attempt to resurrect the marketing magic of "Twilight" that it ought to be titled "Career Eclipse."" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 11, 2011
2.5/4	87%	The Last Lions (2011)	" While "The Last Lions" lacks the visceral excitement of some other survival dramas, it has anthropomorphic heart to spare." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 11, 2011
2/4	29%	Take Me Home Tonight (2011)	" It pretends to be hungry like the wolf, yet it ends up doing the safety dance." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 4, 2011
3/4	73%	The Housemaid (2011)	" The movie kowtows to the old truism that the rich are different - but it does it with a sardonic smile." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 4, 2011
3.5/4	88%	Rango (2011)	" Without double-crossing the kiddie contingent, "Rango" is iconic like a spaghetti Western, smart like a '70s conspiracy thriller and lively like a Coen brothers comedy." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Mar 4, 2011
	56%	Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)	" Gnomeo & Juliet stays too low to the ground to become an animated classic, but if there's a fairer midwinter's tale, wherefore art thou?" — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 26, 2011
3/4	84%	Nenette (2010)	" The persistent gaze in both directions raises unanswered questions about captivity and voyeurism." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 25, 2011
	35%	The Grace Card (2011)	" The filmmakers seem more interested in coddling the converted than ministering to sinners." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 25, 2011
1.5/4	34%	Hall Pass (2011)	" Like the middle-aged dads in this flaccid fiasco, "Hall Pass" is a decade behind the curve of what's happening." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 25, 2011
3.5/4	85%	Cedar Rapids (2011)	" In the dying days of an era when "big city" has been a relative term, the sales-convention comedy "Cedar Rapids" is a loving tribute to American innocence." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted Feb 18, 2011

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