|
1.5/4
|
8%
|
Runner Runner (2013) |
"
The movie mostly wants to look timely and seem topical. Instead, it feels irrelevant."
—
Newsday
Posted Oct 4, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
46%
|
Parkland (2013) |
"
The assassination of John F. Kennedy, as seen through the eyes of bystanders, insiders and other players."
—
Newsday
Posted Oct 3, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
98%
|
Gravity (2013) |
"
It's a rare combination of jaw-dropping special effects and visual artistry, and it also works as slam-bang entertainment with just two actors and a swift running time of 90 minutes."
—
Newsday
Posted Oct 3, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
83%
|
Don Jon (2013) |
"
Rarely has a film offered such raw and honest talk -- with visuals, too -- about male sexuality."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 26, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
59%
|
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) |
"
Mostly, "Cloudy 2" relies on the usual noxious recipe for junky kid flicks: loud noise, pop music and poop jokes."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 26, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
95%
|
Enough Said (2013) |
"
A small-scale movie made much bigger by achingly good performances from Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini in one of his final roles."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 26, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
88%
|
Rush (2013) |
"
In another movie, either of these men -- the arrogant hunk, the frozen robot -- might have been our villain. But screenwriter Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon") has a deeper insight."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 19, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
50%
|
Thanks For Sharing (2013) |
"
"Thanks for Sharing" has several nice moments and understated insights, but it never quite gets to the heart of its subject."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 19, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
5%
|
Battle of the Year (2013) |
"
Battle of the Year is too inept to make this tired premise sing."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 19, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
80%
|
Prisoners (2013) |
"
Though it's nothing you haven't seen before, it's so artfully made and skillfully executed that you won't care a bit."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 19, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
99%
|
The Wizard of Oz (1939) |
"
Any reason to show your children "The Wizard of Oz" on a big screen seems like a good one."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 18, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
31%
|
Austenland (2013) |
"
"Austenland" understands Austen's enduring romantic appeal but has no use for her deeper themes of class, wealth and gender inequality."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 12, 2013
|
|
|
35%
|
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) |
"
[The film] might have been wackily entertaining if the whole thing weren't so sluggishly paced, poorly lit and dispiritingly unoriginal."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 12, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
60%
|
Riddick (2013) |
"
It's B-grade cinema made with A-level intelligence and imagination -- skillfully directed, surprisingly well acted and gratifyingly preposterous."
—
Newsday
Posted Sep 5, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
46%
|
Closed Circuit (2013) |
"
A mystery-thriller-romance that is conspicuously missing three things. One is mystery, another is thrills and the last is anything approaching romance."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 27, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
89%
|
The World's End (2013) |
"
Wright knows how to keep the energy spinning, but he also doesn't know when to stop."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 22, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
26%
|
Jobs (2013) |
"
"Jobs" turns out to be the IBM PCjr of biographical dramas, hampered by creaky formatting and thinking entirely inside the box."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 15, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
30%
|
Kick-Ass 2 (2013) |
"
It's a smart, edgy, unpredictable action-comedy, the tonal opposite of overwrought sculptures like "Man of Steel.""
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 15, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
73%
|
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) |
"
Strong work from the three stars as a family splintered by Civil Rights-era tensions, but the film too often resorts to easy sentiment and simple caricatures."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 15, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
27%
|
Planes (2013) |
"
If "Planes" were a reasonably priced download, you'd gladly use it to sedate your kids during a long car ride. As a theatrical, 3-D release, however, "Planes" will sedate you, too."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 8, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
68%
|
Elysium (2013) |
"
The movie is both sloppy in its details and too literal in its thinking. A less blunt allegory might have made for sharper entertainment."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 8, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
54%
|
Lovelace (2013) |
"
This movie is short on nuance, but at least it treats Lovelace with a respect she didn't often find in her difficult life."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 8, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
47%
|
We're The Millers (2013) |
"
A smarter, more thoughtful comedy could have made something interesting out of this material, but "We're the Millers" takes the easy route."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
38%
|
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) |
"
With the young wizards of "Harry Potter" fading from memory, the demigod teenagers of "Percy Jackson" are starting to seem like the next best thing."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
90%
|
Bridesmaids (2011) |
"
The star and co-writer of Bridesmaids, Kristen Wiig, puts herself and her female co-stars through the comedy wringer."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 2, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
97%
|
The Act Of Killing (2013) |
"
"The Act of Killing" works on so many levels -- psychodrama, horror movie, Orwellian nightmare, Poe story -- that sifting through your reactions could take days."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 1, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
22%
|
The Canyons (2013) |
"
Despite its impressive pedigree and unorthodox methods, "The Canyons" is hopelessly thin, clumsy and dull."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 1, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
63%
|
2 Guns (2013) |
"
It's a jumbled film with a lazy plot and poorly sketched action sequences, but the natural charm of its two stars, along with some colorful bit players, may put you in a forgiving mood."
—
Newsday
Posted Aug 1, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
91%
|
Blue Jasmine (2013) |
"
Allen's story of a fictitious Ruth Madoff figure works as both a what-if comedy and a penetrating psychological portrait. Major credit goes to Blanchett, raw and funny and astounding as ever."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 30, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
69%
|
The Wolverine (2013) |
"
Like most superhero films, "The Wolverine" depends mostly on sheer mechanics -- both in front of and behind the camera -- and on that level it's a resounding success."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 25, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
52%
|
The To Do List (2013) |
"
So determined to one-up the boys that it goes overboard, misses its mark and accidentally makes an entirely different kind of statement."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 25, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Fruitvale Station (2013) |
"
Some of this narrative feels cliched, but Coogler and his actors make it work by leaning toward understatement."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 25, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
14%
|
R.I.P.D. (2013) |
"
Despite its flaws, "R.I.P.D." is a fairly entertaining and frequently funny movie."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 19, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
86%
|
The Conjuring (2013) |
"
What saves the movie is a surprisingly fine cast and deft direction from James Wan, the horror veteran who gave us "Saw.""
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 18, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
42%
|
Red 2 (2013) |
"
"RED 2" stands quite sturdily on its own as a caper comedy whose stars just happen to be approaching 50, 60 and even 70 years old."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 18, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
65%
|
Turbo (2013) |
"
"Turbo" has just enough heart to make it to the winner's circle."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 16, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
8%
|
Grown Ups 2 (2013) |
"
For all its warm and fuzzy notions of family and community, Grown Ups 2, directed by longtime Sandler cohort Dennis Dugan, has a desperate reliance on nasty jokes about pee, poo and -- with surprising frequency -- gay panic."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 11, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
72%
|
Pacific Rim (2013) |
"
It lasts more than two hours. And there is nothing endearing about it."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 11, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
63%
|
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (2013) |
"
Any comic who can play the Garden must be good, but you wouldn't know it from this jumble of random routines and on-the-bus footage."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 4, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
75%
|
Despicable Me 2 (2013) |
"
Better, or at least sweeter, than the first, with Wiig adding some much-needed romantic charm to the toddler-level humor."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 2, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
31%
|
The Lone Ranger (2013) |
"
The Lone Ranger succeeds on all counts -- perhaps too well. The movie is so imaginative, so brimming with ideas that it can't quite decide what to be."
—
Newsday
Posted Jul 2, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
99%
|
20 Feet From Stardom (2013) |
"
This illuminating documentary looks into a small corner of the music industry to find deeper truths about talent, artistry and success."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 28, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
65%
|
The Heat (2013) |
"
McCarthy owns this movie, but nearly everyone in it is hilarious."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 27, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
World War Z (2013) |
"
A smart, entertaining zombie flick that's slightly cleverer and classier than most."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 20, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
78%
|
Monsters University (2013) |
"
"Monsters University" has an emotional quality that its whimsical predecessor lacked."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 20, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
56%
|
Man of Steel (2013) |
"
Cavill broods handsomely as Superman, but this reboot skimps on fun and romance."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 14, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
98%
|
Before Midnight (2013) |
"
"Before Midnight" is heartbreaking, but not because of Jesse and Celine. It's the filmmakers' passions that seem to have cooled."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 13, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
59%
|
The Bling Ring (2013) |
"
It would rather mock its protagonists than help us understand them."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 13, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
84%
|
This Is the End (2013) |
"
With no outsiders to coddle, this tight-knit ensemble locks into a groove and reaches some truly giddy heights, turning even the weakest material (a spoof of "The Exorcist") into anarchic fun."
—
Newsday
Posted Jun 11, 2013
|
