|
3/4
|
46%
|
Parkland (2013) |
"
"Parkland" finds those telling moments in the margins, tying them together to show an America trying and failing to process what it was living through."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Oct 4, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
98%
|
Gravity (2013) |
"
As an experience of pure cinema, an appreciation of its ability to show terrible and wonderful things, I can't think of its equal in 2013."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Oct 4, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
99%
|
Short Term 12 (2013) |
"
It's one of those performances, like Elizabeth Olsen in "Martha Marcy May Marlene," where a young actress comes seemingly out of nowhere and becomes indelible."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Oct 3, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
80%
|
Drinking Buddies (2013) |
"
Wilde and the other actors really seem to relish Swanberg's approach, getting to say things that real people might actually say, communicating not with big speeches but with small moments."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Oct 2, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
95%
|
The Hunt (2013) |
"
Thomas Vinterberg ("The Celebration") creates a modern-day "Crucible," a frighteningly plausible examination of how suspicion can spread through otherwise decent people."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 30, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
65%
|
Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey (2013) |
"
Once this new Journey has become a success, "Don't Stop Believin'" doesn't have a whole lot more to say on the subject."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 23, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
50%
|
Thanks For Sharing (2013) |
"
Blomberg balances the light and dark well, and if the film goes into the familiar places we expect from addiction dramas, it does so with realism and empathy."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
88%
|
Hannah Arendt (2013) |
"
It's both an amazing piece of impersonation and a subtle, canny performance that suggests the sharpness of Arendt's thinking."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 19, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
33%
|
Between Us (2013) |
"
"Between Us" is a showcase for great actors who could have used more consistent material to springboard off of."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 17, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
31%
|
Austenland (2013) |
"
Diehard Jane Austen fans might see "Austenland" as something of an abomination. Lighten up, Darcy."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 13, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
81%
|
Crystal Fairy (2013) |
"
"Crystal Fairy" is a funny and authentic look at two very distinct types of Americans abroad, who can't escape themselves no matter how far they go."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 12, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
34%
|
Adore (2013) |
"
This Australian film is a total MILF (Melodrama I'd Like to Forget)."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Sep 6, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
81%
|
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013) |
"
While he wears his '70s filmmaking influences on his sleeves, "Saints" is no pastiche, but an eloquent mood piece that leaves room for improvisation from the actors and introspection from the audience."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 30, 2013
|
|
1/4
|
3%
|
Getaway (2013) |
"
The good news about "Getaway" is that it always uses real cars and drivers. The bad news is that it does not always use real actors or writers."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 30, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
84%
|
Prince Avalanche (2013) |
"
If "Waiting for Godot" was about the eternal, existential paralysis of life, "Avalanche" is more hopeful, suggesting that we can move forward - one tiny yellow line at a time."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 30, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
91%
|
In a World... (2013) |
"
"Lean in," Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg famously advised women this year. To which Lake Bell would add, "Speak up. And not with a sexy-baby voice either.""
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 29, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
91%
|
The Spectacular Now (2013) |
"
I think the fact that these lovers are teenagers is a bit of a distraction. This is a relationship every bit as exhilarating and thorny as any adult relationship we'll see on a movie screen."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 23, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
91%
|
Blue Jasmine (2013) |
"
If Allen is outside his element in San Francisco, so is his heroine Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), and the result is one of the nerviest, freshest films he's made in a long time. "
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 23, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
89%
|
The World's End (2013) |
"
Between these films and "Scott Pilgrim Versus the World," Wright has become very deft at using genre conventions to illustrate the human comedy while still giving his audience a ripping good time."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 23, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
97%
|
The Act Of Killing (2013) |
"
By turning murder into performance, "The Act of Killing" dramatizes the perverted hearts of these men, the twisted mental leaps they needed to feel okay, and even proud, of what they've done."
—
Madison Movie
Posted Aug 22, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
74%
|
Love Is All You Need (2013) |
"
I think Bier might be a little too acute an observer of human behavior to agree with the simple premise of her film's title, but she makes us believe it for a while, anyway."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 16, 2013
|
|
1.5/4
|
4%
|
Paranoia (2013) |
"
It's like one of those cheap knockoff phones you might buy on a streetcorner in Manhattan -- the "IPhoen 5″ of thrillers."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 16, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
82%
|
Dirty Wars (2013) |
"
"Dirty Wars" becomes more than the sum of its facts, illuminating not just the secret wars but the emotional toll that trying to uncover them takes on Scahill."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 9, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
98%
|
Blackfish (2013) |
"
The question that "Blackfish" provokes, viscerally, is whether the education and entertainment for visitors, and profits for the company, are worth it if the animals are mistreated and unhappy. After watching "Blackfish," the answer is crystal clear."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 8, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
38%
|
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) |
"
What "Sea of Monsters" really skimps on is 1. Sea and 2. Monsters."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 7, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
47%
|
We're The Millers (2013) |
"
Trying to turn such acerbic raunch into a sweet redemptive comedy is like trying to negotiate an RV around a hairpin turn, and "We're the Millers" just can't make it. "
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 7, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
22%
|
The Canyons (2013) |
"
The Canyons" isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but Lohan makes it highly watchable, and is the film's best inadvertent argument that the movies aren't dead after all."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 3, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
50%
|
At Any Price (2013) |
"
Bahrani is striving for something epic and tragic - Shakespeare among the soybeans - but too often the film settles for merely melodramatic."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 2, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
63%
|
2 Guns (2013) |
"
In a summer movie season where everyone is trying to top one another with ever more outlandish visual effects and IMAX 3D setpieces, there's a relaxed confidence to "2 Guns" that's refreshing."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Aug 2, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
44%
|
To The Wonder (2013) |
"
"To the Wonder" is an imperfect film that perhaps reaches too high and too far, but I admire the effort, and am grateful for those moments when Malick does connect, and the film suddenly becomes glorious."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jul 11, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
75%
|
Despicable Me 2 (2013) |
"
It would have been funnier to see an inkling of the old Gru peeking through, perhaps momentarily swayed by the idea of rejoining the dark side. He's just so (shudder) nice."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jul 3, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
50%
|
White House Down (2013) |
"
Though assuredly as nutballs as its predecessors in the Emmerich oeuvre, this is a really fun action movie, and acutely aware it's a really fun action movie."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jun 28, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
World War Z (2013) |
"
Marc Forster's "World War Z," based on Max Brooks' clever bestseller, delivers the doomsday goods, with a fresh take on the zombie thriller that's just smart enough to stand apart from the blockbuster hordes."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jun 21, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
98%
|
Before Midnight (2013) |
"
"Before Midnight" puts us in the same position with Jesse and Celine that they are in with each other. The romantic idealism has evaporated, and now we see them for who they are - real, deeply flawed, sometimes selfish people. Can we still love them?"
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jun 14, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
84%
|
This Is the End (2013) |
"
In a summer where the world seems to be going up in flames over and over again at the movies, "This is the End" shows you don't need to take the death and destruction of every single thing you've ever known or loved so darn seriously."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jun 12, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
35%
|
The Internship (2013) |
"
Once I realized that "The Internship" wasn't going to be that good, it wasn't that bad."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jun 7, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
88%
|
What Maisie Knew (2013) |
"
It's an intimate, well-acted and nuanced film that provides a fresh angle on an all-too-familiar struggle."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted Jun 6, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Frances Ha (2013) |
"
It's a film that bears all of the zingy dialogue and sharp characterizations of Baumbach's other films ("The Squid and the Whale," "Greenberg") but with more of a generosity of spirit towards its characters."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 31, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
55%
|
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013) |
"
The film from writer William Wheeler and director Mira Nair ("Monsoon Wedding') is smart and complex, as unwilling to cling to one ideology as its protagonist."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 28, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
Lore (2013) |
"
One could have made a much more didactic film with the same story - German girl learns Jews aren't so bad after all! - but Shortland is after something much more elliptical here. "
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 28, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
Free The Mind (2013) |
"
This is overall a compassionate and curious film about the real-world implications of some fascinating research happening right in our backyard, helping our own neighbors."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 28, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
The Iceman (2013) |
"
Kuklinski is thought to have killed over 100 people in the '70s and '80s, and in looking into Shannon's cold, dead eyes, you wonder if that's lowballing it."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 28, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
69%
|
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) |
"
Forget real-world physics. The car chases and crashes of the sixth installment don't adhere to the physics of my old Matchbox car races, when cars would do septuple-flips off the dining room table and into the litter box."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 24, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
87%
|
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) |
"
I couldn't help feeling let down. Not because J.J. Abrams and his writers have ignored what "Star Trek" fans want. It's that they've pandered to it to such a degree that it feels less like fan appreciation and more like base-covering pragmatism. "
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 16, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
95%
|
West of Memphis (2012) |
"
It's another case where, instead of a prosecution having to prove a case, a defendant has to choose the lesser of two evils. "This happens all the time," defendant Damien Echols says of the whole process, and he's right."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 13, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
49%
|
The Great Gatsby (2013) |
"
Luhrmann struggles to connect his film's glitzy first half with its darker second half. I suspect there will be people who buy the Blu-ray, only to turn it off midway through every time, just as the last strand of confetti hits the floor."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 10, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
89%
|
Koch (2013) |
"
Forget "A Tale of Two Cities:" - the documentary "Koch" is a tale of two mayors. At LEAST two."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 9, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
72%
|
Renoir (2013) |
"
It's that eye-popping surface that is the real star of "Renoir," although the film is an agreeable if shallow look at the great artist in the twilight of his years."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 3, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
89%
|
The Angels' Share (2013) |
"
Whether Robbie pulls off his caper should be left for the audience to discover. But Loach's great cinematic switcheroo goes off almost without a hitch."
—
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Posted May 2, 2013
|
