|
|
93%
|
Zero Dark Thirty (2013) |
"
The ultra-professional result may be easier to respect than enjoy, but there's no denying its power."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 26, 2012
|
|
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012) |
"
Though historians will surely find room to quibble, every choice Day-Lewis makes lends dignity and gravitas to America's most revered figure."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
|
47%
|
A Liar's Autobiography - The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman (2012) |
"
An unwieldy animated free-for-all (in 3D) featuring vocal contributions by four other Pythons that's sadly lacking in both the comedy and tragedy of Chapman's life."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 31, 2012
|
|
|
86%
|
Wreck-it Ralph (2012) |
"
There are a staggering number of rules governing the gameplay in Wreck-It Ralph, and one of the toon's greatest pleasures comes in how intuitively audiences discover those parameters as the story unfolds."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 26, 2012
|
|
|
51%
|
Pusher (2012) |
"
If Refn made Pusher, then Prieto sets out to make Pushest."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 22, 2012
|
|
|
78%
|
Flight (2012) |
"
Audiences buckle up for one kind of movie but end up strapped in for another in Flight, director Robert Zemeckis' welcome return to live-action after a dozen years away."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 15, 2012
|
|
|
12%
|
Alex Cross (2012) |
"
The director acquits himself on the action front, but makes the simple procedural elements feel wooden and melodramatic, particularly in sappy home-life scenes."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 15, 2012
|
|
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012) |
"
Putting the "intelligence" in MI6, Skyfall reps a smart, savvy and incredibly satisfying addition to the 007 oeuvre."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 13, 2012
|
|
|
35%
|
Butter (2012) |
"
A wicked Midwest satire with razor blades stashed beneath its bright candy-apple surface."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 5, 2012
|
|
|
32%
|
Won't Back Down (2012) |
"
Grossly oversimplifying the issue at hand, writer-director Daniel Barnz's disingenuous pot-stirrer plays to audiences' emotions rather than their intelligence."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 26, 2012
|
|
|
67%
|
Cloud Atlas (2012) |
"
An intense three-hour mental workout rewarded with a big emotional payoff."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 11, 2012
|
|
|
82%
|
Seven Psychopaths (2012) |
"
The script's primary tension isn't between the characters at all, but rather in McDonagh's mind, as he arm-wrestles the split between shlock and sincerity in screenwriting."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 10, 2012
|
|
|
85%
|
End of Watch (2012) |
"
Like a knife in the eye, End of Watch cuts past the cliches of standard police procedurals, serving instead as a visceral ride-along with two thrill-seeking cops."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 10, 2012
|
|
|
43%
|
Hotel Transylvania (2012) |
"
A stale overprotective-dad story set within a location that could easily house a more inspired mix of characters and events."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
|
96%
|
Argo (2012) |
"
White-knuckle tense and less self-congratulatory than it sounds, Ben Affleck's unexpectedly comedic third feature has the vital elements to delight adult auds."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 6, 2012
|
|
|
93%
|
Looper (2012) |
"
[Rian Johnson's] grandly conceived, impressively mounted third feature shows a giddy, geeky interest in science-fiction, then forces it into the back seat and lets the multidimensional characters drive."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 6, 2012
|
|
|
48%
|
Hit & Run (2012) |
"
Above all, real-life couple Shepard and Bell bring genuine chemistry to this high-energy excursion."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 20, 2012
|
|
|
34%
|
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) |
"
With just the right dose of magic and no shortage of sentiment, this inspirational parenting tale from writer-director Peter Hedges plays like Mary Poppins in reverse."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 13, 2012
|
|
|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012) |
"
Before the 2012 presidential election has a chance to get really nasty, The Campaign vigorously swoops in to satirize how low things can go between a pair of rival congressional candidates."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 8, 2012
|
|
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012) |
"
Subbing character actor Jeremy Renner into a franchise that requires Matt Damon-caliber magnetism, series scribe Tony Gilroy takes over the helming duties with an overlong sequel that features too little action and an unnecessarily complicated plot."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 6, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Pincus () |
—
Variety
Posted Jul 13, 2012
|
|
|
80%
|
Magic Mike (2012) |
"
Tatum, Soderbergh and team appreciate the real reason audiences showed up, and the film provides just enough character and plot to validate the plentiful pecs and abundant buns that serve as its main attraction."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 25, 2012
|
|
|
69%
|
Ted (2012) |
"
[A] predictably irreverent satire that's sweeter and, sadly, less funny than you might expect."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 22, 2012
|
|
|
55%
|
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) |
"
The end of the world can't come fast enough in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, a disastrously dull take on the disaster-movie formula."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 19, 2012
|
|
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012) |
"
This pleasantly diverting, none-too-strenuous arthouse excursion feels like a throwback to Allen's short-story anthologies, with the added pleasure of seeing a game cast play along."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 15, 2012
|
|
|
78%
|
Brave (2012) |
"
Adding a female director to its creative boys' club, the studio has fashioned a resonant tribute to mother-daughter relationships that packs a level of poignancy on par with such beloved male-bonding classics as Finding Nemo."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 11, 2012
|
|
|
98%
|
Mud (2013) |
"
Confidently expanding his inquiry into the essence of American masculinity, Nichols' latest pressure-cooker pastoral conjures a wily figure of endangered Southern chivalry."
—
Variety
Posted May 26, 2012
|
|
|
82%
|
Sightseers (2013) |
"
A wicked little pic in which a tacky couple discovers that cross-country road-tripping makes it surprisingly easy -- and fun! -- to knock off the more obnoxious characters they encounter en route."
—
Variety
Posted May 25, 2012
|
|
|
79%
|
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet! (2013) |
"
Though Resnais' gamble seems to have failed, it's encouraging to see a director on the brink of 90 still willing to experiment in a way most helmers half his age wouldn't dare."
—
Variety
Posted May 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
62%
|
Me and You (Io e te) () |
—
Variety
Posted May 23, 2012
|
|
|
93%
|
Amour (2012) |
"
Considering Haneke's confrontational past, this poignantly acted, uncommonly tender two-hander makes a doubly powerful statement about man's capacity for dignity and sensitivity when confronted with the inevitable cruelty of nature."
—
Variety
Posted May 20, 2012
|
|
|
82%
|
De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012) |
"
A tender yet heavily de-romanticized love story between a boxer with broken hands and an orca trainer with missing legs, "Rust and Bone" serves as an impressive if somewhat overblown exercise in contrasts."
—
Variety
Posted May 17, 2012
|
|
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) |
"
Moonrise Kingdom represents a sort of non-magical Neverland -- that momentous instant when the world can seem so small and a naive crush can feel all-consuming."
—
Variety
Posted May 16, 2012
|
|
|
58%
|
The Dictator (2012) |
"
Typically, political correctness couldn't be farther from the filmmakers' mind, and yet, what the pic most sorely lacks is the sort of humanist appeal Chaplin delivered at the close of The Great Dictator."
—
Variety
Posted May 11, 2012
|
|
|
70%
|
Somebody Up There Likes Me (2013) |
"
If nonchalance were an Olympic sport, Max would be a gold medalist, and watching Somebody Up There Likes Me is about as much fun as being a spectator at that event might sound."
—
Variety
Posted May 9, 2012
|
|
|
34%
|
Lola Versus (2012) |
"
It's one girl against the world in Lola Versus, a snappy yet sincere romantic comedy that begins where others end, with the proposal and wedding plans pointing toward happily ever after."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 25, 2012
|
|
—
|
80%
|
Get the Gringo (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 24, 2012
|
|
|
20%
|
The Lucky One (2012) |
"
The trouble with destiny is that it leaves no room for surprise; ditto this safe midseason romancer."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 18, 2012
|
|
|
——
|
The Woman Who Wasn't There (2012) |
"
A singularly unsettling film no less effective for deliberately giving away its twist in the title."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 13, 2012
|
|
|
51%
|
The Three Stooges (2012) |
"
Leave it to a sibling comedy duo to recognize the potential for brotherly love amid the Three Stooges' slap-happy antics, adding a welcome heartwarming dynamic to the gang's signature eye-poking, head-knocking routine."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 12, 2012
|
|
|
100%
|
Trash Dance (2013) |
"
A short yet satisfying glimpse behind the scenes of waste management that feels like a breath of fresh air in a field that typically leaves people holding their nose."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 4, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Welcome To The Machine (2013) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 3, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Last Fall (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 3, 2012
|
|
|
65%
|
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2013) |
"
Too bloodless for the uninitiated and too remedial for the familiar, but still artful in its own right."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 3, 2012
|
|
|
50%
|
In Our Nature (2012) |
"
Savelson's approach feels old-fashioned and perhaps even a little stodgy."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 31, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Taiwan Oyster () |
—
Variety
Posted Mar 20, 2012
|
|
|
28%
|
Crazy Eyes (2012) |
"
These two non-lovers have real chemistry, and it's hard not to be intoxicated by the strange cocktail of watching them together, even as the story appears to be going nowhere."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 20, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Leave Me Like You Found Me () |
—
Variety
Posted Mar 15, 2012
|
|
|
91%
|
Gimme The Loot (2013) |
"
The stakes may be low, but the experience is authentic ..."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 15, 2012
|
|
|
88%
|
Starlet (2012) |
"
[A] brittle, beautifully understated San Fernando Valley character study."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 14, 2012
|
|
|
76%
|
The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (2012) |
"
A delightfully scrappy backburner passion project from Jay and Mark Duplass."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 13, 2012
|
|
|
20%
|
Girls Against Boys (2013) |
"
This Chick pic's greatest provocation is how slow and disengaged it feels."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 13, 2012
|
|
|
63%
|
Sinister (2012) |
"
The scares are not just intense but unyielding in this compelling horror yarn from The Exorcism of Emily Rose director Scott Derrickson."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 12, 2012
|
|
|
92%
|
The Cabin in the Woods (2012) |
"
Not since Scream has a horror movie subverted the expectations that accompany the genre to such wicked effect as The Cabin in the Woods."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 10, 2012
|
|
|
51%
|
John Carter (2012) |
"
To watch John Carter is to wonder where in this jumbled space opera one might find the intuitive sense of wonderment and awe Stanton brought to Finding Nemo and Wall-E."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 6, 2012
|
|
|
67%
|
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012) |
"
With most of the book's major themes gutted, it begs the question: Who wants to see a film about salmon fishing in the Yemen?"
—
Variety
Posted Mar 5, 2012
|
|
|
85%
|
21 Jump Street (2012) |
"
The helmers make slick use of their new live-action collaborators. Considering that hardly anyone was asking for a 21 Jump Street reboot, they've put their own playful stamp on it."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 5, 2012
|
|
|
27%
|
Project X (2012) |
"
With its cast of unfamiliar faces and catalog of underage wish-fulfillment fantasies, this game-changing instant classic will doubtless inspire imitators."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 2, 2012
|
|
—
|
59%
|
The First Grader (2011) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
|
88%
|
Boy (2012) |
"
The material is clearly quite personal for the helmer, though it doesn't feel particularly original."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Gachi bôi (Wrestling with a Memory) (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Absent () |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Mortician (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
What's Up Scarlet (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Bilal's Stand (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
41%
|
Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Les hauts murs (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
|
21%
|
360 (2012) |
"
With a multilingual cast of mostly unfamiliar faces, plus a few stars, 360 feels too abstract, orchestrating break-ups and hook-ups in a passionless vacuum."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Heidi Fleiss:The Would-Be Madam of Crystal () |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Greece - Secrets Of The Past (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Dare mo mamotte kurenai (Nobody to Watch Over Me) (The Guardian) (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
|
83%
|
Comic-Con: Episode IV - A Fan's Hope (2012) |
"
Spurlock brings his usual good-humored approach to the subject, nicely balancing absurdity with genuine human interest."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
29%
|
Deadgirl (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Ainda Orangotangos (Still Orangutans) (2007) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
87%
|
Mio Fratello è Figlio Unico (My Brother Is an Only Child) (2007) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
No One's Son (Niciji sin) () |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
We Are the Mods (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Camp Out (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
100%
|
Laberinto de pasiones (Labyrinth of Passion) (1982) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
|
43%
|
Late Bloomers (2012) |
"
While the world could certainly use more films about characters entering their sunset years, a solution as toothless and saggy as Julie Gavras' Late Bloomers does little to help the cause."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Lightkeepers (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Last Beekeeper () |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
|
18%
|
My Best Enemy (2013) |
"
Entertaining, though conventionally told."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2012
|
|
|
26%
|
This Means War (2012) |
"
This screwball premise lives or dies by the chemistry between Pine and Hardy, who are too busy trying to out-appeal one another to make the buddy dynamic click."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 11, 2012
|
|
|
89%
|
In Darkness (2012) |
"
With the exception of the group's leader, movie-star handsome Mundek Margulies (German-born, internationally recognized Benno Furmann), the characters are flat as shadows."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 10, 2012
|
|
|
30%
|
The Vow (2012) |
"
With its stately crane shots and plaintive score, The Vow feels as unabashedly sentimental as those melodramas, but resists the cloying impulse to manufacture tragedy for easy tears."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 8, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Ctyri slunce (Four Suns) () |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 7, 2012
|
|
|
79%
|
An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty (2013) |
"
[An] endearing love poem."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 7, 2012
|
|
|
85%
|
Chronicle (2012) |
"
Unlike other mock docs, which unconvincingly pass themselves off as real, Chronicle cleverly embraces the format as shorthand for a new kind of naturalism."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 2, 2012
|
|
|
84%
|
Bestiaire (2012) |
"
erving up artfully framed, static-camera compositions of the animals within their mismatched environs, Cote's actuality-style catalog of context-free tableaux invites auds to free-associate with the scenes put before them."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 30, 2012
|
|
|
97%
|
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012) |
"
The film is a good start, but such an important artist deserves a more rigorous portrait."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 30, 2012
|
|
—
|
——
|
Sleepwalker (Meng you 3D) () |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 27, 2012
|
|
|
85%
|
Sleepwalk With Me (2012) |
"
An endearing indie feature about the day-to-day indecisions and nocturnal perambulations of a commitment-phobic New Yorker."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
|
93%
|
The House I Live In (2012) |
"
A ballsy mix of interviews and editorializing that's daring enough to question a costly crackdown that has long had the public's support."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
|
56%
|
Albert Nobbs (2012) |
"
It's a career-crowning role for Glenn Close. Too bad the film is such a drag."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
|
95%
|
The Imposter (2012) |
"
The Imposter makes slick work of its wily subject, using atmospheric reenactments and stark, soul-baring interviews to explore a mind-boggling case of false identity."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 24, 2012
|
78%
36%
100%
85%
45%
40%
