|
9/10
|
100%
|
Ministry of Fear (1944) |
"
Adept at using cinema for art and entertainment since his early career, Lang treats this Graham Greene "entertainment" in modest, yet effective fashion."
—
Film International
Posted Apr 14, 2013
|
|
8/10
|
77%
|
42 (2013) |
"
[Writer-director Brian] Helgeland shapes Jackie into a tested and proven American archetype: the strong, silent type."
—
Film International
Posted Apr 14, 2013
|
|
10/10
|
100%
|
Laura (2005) |
"
Preminger deals in facades, with how perception cheats us, right down to the ideal image of Laura as a portrait. (Cinémathèque Annotations on Film)"
—
Senses of Cinema
Posted Mar 21, 2013
|
|
7.5/10
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013) |
"
Viewers complaining about the cartoonish portrayal and wanting Curtis Hanson's Oscar winner again need to consider the source, and remember that - Paul Muni, anyone? - the former rules."
—
Film International
Posted Jan 12, 2013
|
|
2/10
|
67%
|
Cloud Atlas (2012) |
"
Like Babel stretched through time, though its character connections are merely assumed."
—
Film International
Posted Dec 7, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
84%
|
Eating Raoul (1982) |
"
Nicely lays out capitalism on the chopping block. In an obsessively consumptive culture like America's, the only way for a common couple to strive is through killing, then consuming. "
—
Film Threat
Posted Nov 26, 2012
|
|
5/10
|
71%
|
The Game (1997) |
"
[N]ifty filmic style and crackpot sensibility."
—
Film International
Posted Oct 18, 2012
|
|
3.5/5
|
58%
|
Red Hook Summer (2012) |
"
Seems to be little but demands much more. "
—
Film Threat
Posted Sep 1, 2012
|
|
5/10
|
69%
|
Ted (2012) |
"
A lot of comic effort is smothered in conventional wrapping."
—
Film International
Posted Aug 23, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
77%
|
Killer Joe (2012) |
"
A family (dis)member(ed) ... with a wink from an eye more bloodshot than smirking."
—
Film International
Posted Aug 5, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
100%
|
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) |
"
(Stewart's character) finishes the film an enigma, possibly the good go-getter of Capra but too much of a shadow."
—
Film International
Posted Jun 8, 2012
|
|
3.5/5
|
67%
|
God Bless America (2012) |
"
Sometimes the truth isn't so fresh, but it's all we have. "
—
Film Threat
Posted May 21, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
100%
|
World on a Wire (2011) |
"
Fassbinder could take on any style and make it his own. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted May 20, 2012
|
|
2.5/5
|
50%
|
Good for Nothing (2012) |
"
In a film working off tradition, Good for Nothing moves to uncertain genre territory."
—
Film Threat
Posted Apr 10, 2012
|
|
7/10
|
100%
|
Tokyo Drifter (1966) |
"
A style that works only with a sure hand."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Apr 5, 2012
|
|
9/10
|
100%
|
Branded to Kill (1967) |
"
The images remain so strong that we wonder whether the overall films began as mental images, unearthed from an artist's psyche to help construct probing popular entertainment. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Apr 5, 2012
|
|
7/10
|
74%
|
Rampart (2012) |
"
Like the myth of the American West in a related genre, Dave reflects on an ideal past that never really was."
—
Film International
Posted Mar 5, 2012
|
|
5/10
|
76%
|
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012) |
"
[F]eels like sleeptime indigestion finally cooling off."
—
Film International
Posted Mar 3, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
100%
|
Scarface (1932) |
"
[The police chief] endorses the myth of the west while conceiving the urban gangster as a rat-like menace."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Feb 3, 2012
|
|
10/10
|
89%
|
The Descendants (2011) |
"
Clooney takes up the archetypal role of unofficial investigator, with a younger sidekick in tow. Though the film offers a fine portrait of character growth, it's allotted by the crime-themed structure of the avenger film."
—
Film International
Posted Jan 25, 2012
|
|
2/5
|
56%
|
In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) |
"
In spite of its purported intent -- to vividly portray criminal warfare -- [Jolie's] new film bleeds with the delight of capturing violence for its own sake. "
—
Film Threat
Posted Jan 10, 2012
|
|
3/5
|
98%
|
The Artist (2011) |
"
In the more eye-pleasing The Artist, the plot eventually comes too close to its inspiration, though its early moments were headed for mastery - and transformation - of style."
—
Film Threat
Posted Dec 23, 2011
|
|
4/10
|
68%
|
Black Death (2011) |
"
A film without the ideas or guts to bring hell to life onscreen. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Dec 18, 2011
|
|
10/10
|
94%
|
Win Win (2011) |
"
In Tom McCarthy's Win Win sports may seem to be the means for drama. But when considering the importance of wrestling to the characters, the sport shapes character and narrative."
—
Film International
Posted Dec 11, 2011
|
|
6/10
|
67%
|
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2011) |
"
Phil's journey to health, with the help of Cross, transforms a lacking showpiece into a powerful tale of will and mentorship."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Dec 3, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
81%
|
The Skin I Live In (2011) |
"
Skin satisfies even next to [Almodóvar's] masterpieces ... In the latter films he uses sensationalism to arrive at meditations on passion and humanity's search for it. Yet, his films that approach the territory are always a delight."
—
Film Threat
Posted Nov 20, 2011
|
|
5/10
|
40%
|
The Great Outdoors (1988) |
"
At the onset it seems that Candy, as in Uncle, plays the lower class half. Yet, by [Outdoors'] end we learn that the in-law is actually broke, essentially Cousin Eddie in disguise."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Nov 7, 2011
|
|
8/10
|
68%
|
The Bad Seed (1956) |
"
The 'secret' villain is the missing father - or we should say, the mother for trying to child-rear by herself ... The bad seed is dead - but single parents, be warned."
—
Film Threat
Posted Oct 31, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
84%
|
Cul-de-Sac (1966) |
"
Polanski tributes the [gangster-invasion film] by adding his own conceit: when there's no community worth salvaging, a threat will leave all involved floating, sans shoreline."
—
Film International
Posted Oct 27, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
60%
|
Real Steel (2011) |
"
The film serves a broad audience without exploiting the classic boxing tradition. "Mind over matter" may be age-old, but this one delivers it in a fun package."
—
Film Threat
Posted Oct 7, 2011
|
|
4/10
|
44%
|
Black Moon (1975) |
"
Fans for such a film need insight more than sundry freakout moments. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Sep 27, 2011
|
|
2.5/5
|
73%
|
Bellflower (2011) |
"
The film wanders through the purgatory of romance and action. "
—
Film Threat
Posted Sep 14, 2011
|
|
6/10
|
75%
|
The Names of Love (2011) |
"
An extreme scenario, yes, but really just a new French take on the time-old screwball comedy motif: straight guy meets crazy gal."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Aug 21, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
82%
|
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) |
"
Rise wears Planet's mask to use 2001′s conceit. In this sense, Franco-stein begets a monster worthy of our consideration and viewing pleasure."
—
Film Threat
Posted Aug 5, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
——
|
Finisterrae (2010) |
"
With absurdism relying on comical irony, the film has its share of legit jokes, though we soon expect far more than the film can deliver."
—
Film Threat
Posted Jul 26, 2011
|
|
7.5/10
|
79%
|
Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011) |
"
Carr's tongue-lashing of [Vice] is a treat, showing that the grand ol' institution can swipe away the scurrying little Tweeters. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Jul 6, 2011
|
|
7/10
|
90%
|
The Fighter (2010) |
"
Russell delivers what we least expect from him: a pro-family film. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Jun 13, 2011
|
|
8/10
|
96%
|
True Grit (2010) |
"
The title refers to the trait Mattie needs in her avenger, though the film sympathizes with the criminal outcasts. "
—
IdentityTheory
Posted Jun 13, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
77%
|
The Robber (2011) |
"
Johann operates with rules of the onscreen gangster ... [Yet he] is a noir protagonist, trapped and doomed by his past."
—
Film International
Posted Jun 3, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
75%
|
Everything Must Go (2011) |
"
{A} triumphant performance that promises much range from what seemed a one-burner hot plate of an actor."
—
Film Threat
Posted May 27, 2011
|
|
4/10
|
59%
|
Yves Saint Laurent - L'amour fou (2011) |
"
[F]ans of fashion will delight over the subject, especially those who love the gay-outsider-who-makes-it theme. In The Devil Wears Prada, it took Stanley Tucci one scene to nail it, while this film's still searching at 103 minutes."
—
IdentityTheory
Posted May 27, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
34%
|
The Hangover Part II (2011) |
"
We don't know what's more bizarre: Phillips' sensibility, or how he avoided an NC-17. We profit (mostly) unscathed."
—
Film Threat
Posted May 25, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
86%
|
Circumstance (2011) |
"
"Nothing is Private" would also suit Maryam Keshavarz's feature debut, though she chose "Circumstance" [to] reflect the factors surrounding her two young female leads in Iran."
—
Film International
Posted May 19, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
83%
|
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2010) |
"
(A) portrayal of an immortal spirit thriving in a unique vision."
—
Film Threat
Posted May 18, 2011
|
|
2.5/5
|
43%
|
Cracks (2011) |
"
Along with Fiamma's shift, we can't buy a miscast Eva Green, whose teacher begins the film faultless and finishes looking like The Turn of the Screw's governess."
—
Film Threat
Posted May 17, 2011
|
|
9/10
|
86%
|
Meek's Cutoff (2011) |
"
Of Time and Place: An Interview with John Raymond on Meek's Cutoff"
—
Bright Lights Film Journal
Posted May 8, 2011
|
|
4.5/5
|
66%
|
Insidious (2011) |
"
It's a case of tribute working to the top of its game. It's horror film trickery that immerses us, once again. "
—
Film Threat
Posted May 1, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
96%
|
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011) |
"
The 3-D format helps to capture the holy sensations one must feel when entering such a place. Though after the camera looks through much of the caverns, the format loses its effect..."
—
Film Threat
Posted Apr 29, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
74%
|
The Human Resources Manager (2011) |
"
[A] well-made piece we must admire, even if it doesn't grab us by the heart."
—
Film Threat
Posted Apr 19, 2011
|
87%
24%
91%
85%
45%
40%
