|
3.5/4
|
87%
|
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2013) |
"
Albeit a found film of sorts, Happy People is very much of a piece with Herzog's other work, examining man's place in the natural world, looking at man's history and man's ability to survive, to endure."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 15, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
45%
|
Beautiful Creatures (2013) |
"
Beautiful Creatures tries terribly hard to establish its own mythology of magic and witchcraft and Southern-fried adolescent angst."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 14, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
15%
|
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) |
"
A Good Day to Die Hard wants to be a movie about family values - a father and son, bonding over bullets and bombs - but it's really just about the value of a box-office franchise, and its value is on the wane."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 14, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
Side Effects (2013) |
"
Sex, lies, and violence."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 7, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
60%
|
John Dies at the End (2013) |
"
Salvador Dali meets George Romero. Say hello."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 7, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
20%
|
Identity Thief (2013) |
"
If nothing else, Identity Thief confirms McCarthy's identity in the Hollywood hierarchy: She's a big, ballsy star."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 7, 2013
|
|
3.5/4
|
95%
|
The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013: Animation (2013) |
"
A strong field of Oscar contenders ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 1, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
100%
|
The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013: Live Action (2013) |
"
Although all technically accomplished, this year's batch of live-action shorts is more uneven."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Feb 1, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
80%
|
Warm Bodies (2013) |
"
It's like the Capulets and the Montagues all over again - only the Montagues don't have a pulse."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 31, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
37%
|
Stand Up Guys (2013) |
"
Elegiac and corny and not really convincing on any level ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 31, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
40%
|
Parker (2013) |
"
Take that, Nicholas Sparks."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 24, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
79%
|
Quartet (2013) |
"
Quartet shows us how art illuminates our lives, and shows us artists and performers who can still, after all these years, do some illuminating."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 24, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Amour (2012) |
"
This is a masterpiece."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 24, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
65%
|
Mama (2013) |
"
Like another del Toro stamp-of-approval Spanish horror entry, The Orphanage, Muschietti's Mama is full of arty tropes - sepia-toned flashbacks, flickering lights, menacing murmurings."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 17, 2013
|
|
2/4
|
59%
|
The Last Stand (2013) |
"
Almost certainly, The Last Stand will not be Schwarzenegger's last. For better or for worse (and this is somewhere right in the middle), he is back."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 17, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
30%
|
Broken City (2013) |
"
Wahlberg does what Wahlberg does, bringing muscular conviction to his troubled, tough-guy role. The city may be broken, but the movie star's formula is working fine."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 17, 2013
|
|
2.5/4
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013) |
"
Gangster Squad's violence has a graphic, contemporary feel that's at odds with the vintage crime pics the film wants to celebrate. This isn't the heavy-handed CG-noir of Sin City, but even so, it feels fake."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 10, 2013
|
|
4/4
|
93%
|
Zero Dark Thirty (2013) |
"
As a hugely compressed account of the Osama bin Laden manhunt, as a compelling but troubling look at "black ops" tradecraft, and as a riveting portrait of a fiercely determined woman working in a male-dominated sphere, the film is a resounding success."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jan 3, 2013
|
|
3/4
|
69%
|
Not Fade Away (2012) |
"
Mostly, Not Fade Away is a hit."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 28, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
51%
|
Promised Land (2013) |
"
Promised Land is a frustrating film to watch. It should be better than this, smarter than this."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 27, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
69%
|
Les Misérables (2012) |
"
If you love Les Mis the stage musical, my guess is you will love what Hooper and his bustling company have done."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 24, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012) |
"
It's a live-action, heads-exploding, shoot-'em-up cartoon. Sometimes it crackles, and sometimes it merely cracks."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 24, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
82%
|
De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012) |
"
Audiard, who made the uncompromising prison saga A Prophet, is like a gritty, realist Douglas Sirk - throwing his characters into whirlwind scenarios that are filled with big emotions and fateful turns of events."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 20, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
81%
|
The Impossible (2012) |
"
The Impossible is primal stuff, a tribute to the power of family, to the determination of a mother and father, defying nature, defying the odds, driven by hope."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 20, 2012
|
|
1.5/4
|
61%
|
Jack Reacher (2012) |
"
The violence is plenty, and pointless."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 20, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
52%
|
This is 40 (2012) |
"
This Is 40 is messy. But see it for its honest insights, its laughs, and for the terror Mann's character, as a mom defending her emotionally wounded daughter, rains down on a toothy school kid who's been sending unflattering texts."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 20, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
38%
|
The Guilt Trip (2012) |
"
Are we there yet?"
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 19, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
38%
|
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) |
"
A deceptively subtle portrayal in which the mostly deadpan comic star disappears beneath the pince-nez and the snappy brim of a presidential fedora, Murray offers a fascinating glimpse into a complex and charismatic figure ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 13, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
32%
|
Deadfall (2012) |
"
Deadfall is fast and fatalistic ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 13, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) |
"
This is not about a reluctant hero drawing courage from some deep personal well. It's not about dread and danger. It's about visual effects."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 13, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
88%
|
Starlet (2012) |
"
Starlet sneaks up on you."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Dec 6, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
75%
|
Killing Them Softly (2012) |
"
Jolting, suspenseful, full of twisted sympathy for its goons' row of characters, and wickedly amusing to boot, Killing Them Softly summons up the ghosts of Goodfellas and a whole nasty tradition of crime pics."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 29, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
63%
|
Hitchcock (2012) |
"
Hopkins makes a wonderful Hitchcock."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 29, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
64%
|
Anna Karenina (2012) |
"
It's hard not to admire Wright's bold approach to Anna Karenina's story of longing and jealousy and societal condemnation."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 21, 2012
|
|
1.5/4
|
13%
|
Red Dawn (2012) |
"
Hobbled by a laughably bad script and a uniformly uncharismatic cast."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 21, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012) |
"
The film masterfully captures the dual dilemmas facing the president in the final months of his life: how to bring the war between the states to an end, and how to eradicate slavery, once and for all."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 15, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
89%
|
A Royal Affair (2012) |
"
A Royal Affair is historical drama of the highest order - teeming with big ideas, and anchored by the nicely nuanced performances of Vikander and Mikkelsen."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 15, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
48%
|
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012) |
"
Easily the trippiest and goofiest of the five addled adolescent vampire romances based on the Stephenie Meyer books ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 15, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
68%
|
Wuthering Heights (2012) |
"
Arnold ... has put her stamp on Emily Brontë's 19th-century novel Wuthering Heights, but it's a smudged and imperfect stamp, to be sure."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 8, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012) |
"
Skyfall is certainly the most cultured Bond film to come along in some time. It's also the first of the three Craig endeavors to seriously (and wittily) acknowledge its pedigree."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 8, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
92%
|
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) |
"
A head-spinning wonder of a movie about love and pain, reclamation and the totemic power of a National Football League franchise."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 2, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
The Sessions (2012) |
"
Using only his tilted head, his eyes, nose, and mouth and that quizzical voice, Hawkes brings O'Brien to life."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 1, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012) |
"
Her life, and her work, transcended what we think of as "fashion." Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel celebrates a unique and uniquely determined woman."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 1, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
95%
|
Sister (2012) |
"
Haunting and sad. And absolutely worth seeing."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Nov 1, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
78%
|
Flight (2012) |
"
"Flight" is neither a simple story of heroism, nor one of a fallen hero. Things are more complex than that -- and it is its complexities that make the film all the more rewarding an experience."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 31, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
79%
|
The Other Son (2012) |
"
A parablelike melodrama with obvious symbolic meaning."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 25, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
67%
|
Cloud Atlas (2012) |
"
Did you hear the one about the Zen master who walks up to a hot dog cart, scans the menu, and asks the vendor to "make me one with everything"?"
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 25, 2012
|
|
|
84%
|
Smashed (2012) |
"
Smashed belongs to Winstead."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 25, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
96%
|
Argo (2012) |
"
It's high-class Hollywood, not the low-rent and exploitative route that the make-believe movie at the heart of this tale would have taken."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 11, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
44%
|
The Paperboy (2012) |
"
The Paperboy is over-the-top every which way you look."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 11, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
82%
|
Seven Psychopaths (2012) |
"
Put a gun in the hands of Woody Harrelson and some glorious gab in the mouth of Christopher Walken - the most deadpan of deadpanning thespians - and it's impossible not to make something of this profanity-flying conflation."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 11, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
32%
|
The Oranges (2012) |
"
The Oranges displays an air of efficient economy. Nothing is messy, no beat too long, the actors hit their marks."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 5, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
21%
|
Taken 2 (2012) |
"
Rigorously formulaic and far-fetched ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Oct 4, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
43%
|
Hotel Transylvania (2012) |
"
There's enough here to entertain - and gross out - the kiddie crowd, and parental units, too."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
93%
|
Looper (2012) |
"
Looper grounds itself in the commonplace realities of moments ... and then takes off on wild flights of science fiction-y suspense. The combination is cool."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
32%
|
Won't Back Down (2012) |
"
A kind of Norma Rae for the Paul Ryan set ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
End of Watch (2012) |
"
It's not a pretty job. But it's a pretty awesome film."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
37%
|
The Brooklyn Brothers Beat The Best (2012) |
"
A likably goofy, lo-fi indie propelled by the syncopations of a cheesy keyboard - and the cheesy dreams of its hapless heroes."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
86%
|
The Master (2012) |
"
The Master is a work that demands attention, and it satisfies on many levels - it is a film of intelligence and ambition, teeming with ideas, assembled with fearless artistry."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 20, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
Sleepwalk With Me (2012) |
"
A smart, neurotic slice-of-life comedy about a stand-up comic with confidence issues, commitment issues, and career issues."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 13, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
87%
|
Arbitrage (2012) |
"
Slick and suspenseful ..."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 13, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
22%
|
The Words (2012) |
"
The Words resonates - richly, remarkably."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 6, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
42%
|
Little White Lies (2012) |
"
Little White Lies wants to capture something momentous and meaningful in these people's lives. But ultimately it's hard to care."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Sep 6, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
55%
|
Beloved (2012) |
"
It's a film full of turbulence and passion, as a mother and daughter embark on their separate journeys - their pasts and futures, their happiness and sorrow, intertwined."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 30, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
81%
|
A Cat in Paris (2012) |
"
A Cat in Paris is thrilling, and a thrilling example of traditional ink and paint cartooning."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 30, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
Lawless (2012) |
"
A story of entrepreneurship, of family, of fighting for one's rights - the right to make white lightning, and money. It's as American as apple pie."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 29, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
26%
|
2016: Obama's America (2012) |
"
The film asks the question "If Obama wins a second term, where will we be in 2016?," then posits some disturbing answers. Disturbing, but dubious."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 27, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
76%
|
Premium Rush (2012) |
"
Premium Rush can't decide if it's a serious, ticking-clock thriller or an antic, stunt-driven cartoon."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 23, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
87%
|
Robot & Frank (2012) |
"
A small, sweet character study that affords Frank Langella another opportunity to shine."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 23, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
65%
|
2 Days in New York (2012) |
"
Finds its comedy in the familiar annoyances of urban life (a contentious neighbor, random acts of vandalism), in the conflict between parents and siblings, but also in bigger, kookier, existential quandaries."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 16, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012) |
"
The Campaign is intermittently amusing, but more often just interminable."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 9, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
77%
|
Killer Joe (2012) |
"
Killer Joe is twisted pulp, and the actors chew on it bravely, boldly, and with varying degrees of success."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 9, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
96%
|
Searching for Sugar Man (2012) |
"
Beautiful and revelatory, Searching for Sugar Man also incorporates huge chunks of Rodriguez's music."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 9, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012) |
"
A momentum-driven thriller that depends less on star power than on epic action sequences."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 9, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
79%
|
Ruby Sparks (2012) |
"
What starts off as a sunny daydream, a shot of whimsy and mild-mannered magical realism, turns into something more serious, and seriously reflective. Satisfyingly so."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
92%
|
Farewell, My Queen (2012) |
"
Although it was shot at Versailles, and its actors are dressed to the 18th-century nines, Farewell, My Queen has a loose, reportorial intimacy about it."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
31%
|
Total Recall (2012) |
"
Strip away the video-game visual effects, the endless chases and zero gravity shootouts, and Total Recall comes down to this: What is reality?"
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Aug 2, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
87%
|
Easy Money (2012) |
"
The action is fast and fierce, as are the crosses and double-crosses."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 26, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
95%
|
The Queen of Versailles (2012) |
"
The Queen of Versailles combines the voyeuristic thrills of reality TV with the soul-revealing artistry of great portraiture and the head-shaking revelations of solid investigative reporting."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 26, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
16%
|
The Watch (2012) |
"
Ayoade, the writer and director of last year's charming U.K. indie Submarine, brings a stranger-in-a-strange-land naiveté to the proceedings. He's The Watch's biggest surprise - not that there are many."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 26, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) |
"
Production-wise, effects-wise, Nolan's movie - much of its big action sequences shot with Imax cameras - is spectacular."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 18, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
86%
|
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) |
"
Beasts of the Southern Wild is like outsider art: patched together with found materials, conjured up by untrained artists (the actors), and evocative of a truly American attitude of eccentricity, boldness, transcendence."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 12, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
78%
|
Take This Waltz (2012) |
"
Williams lives and breathes her role, Kirby is charming and real, and you actually start to ache and empathize with Rogen - the emptiness and heartache he conveys when Lou and Margot finally thrash things out is crushing."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 12, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012) |
"
Alas, it's a love letter written on the fly, with brushstroke characters working their way through a cluster of sketchy, disconnected plotlines."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 5, 2012
|
|
2/4
|
51%
|
Savages (2012) |
"
I thought Stone was redoing Truffaut's Jules and Jim: two guys and a girl, love pulling them every which way."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 5, 2012
|
|
|
73%
|
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) |
"
Brings fresh faces and 3-D bells and whistles to the adventures of a moody nerd-boy who gets bitten by a radioactive arachnid and morphs into a smart-talking, web-slinging, thug-busting superhero."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jul 3, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
80%
|
Magic Mike (2012) |
"
A weirdly guilty pleasure."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 28, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
69%
|
Ted (2012) |
"
I'm betting on Mark Wahlberg for best actor when the Oscars swing around next year."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 28, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
78%
|
Brave (2012) |
"
Although Brave is satisfying and spirited and laced with humor (haggis jokes, kilt jokes), it doesn't quite mark a return to form for Pixar following the digital house's disappointing 12th feature, Cars 2."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 21, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
41%
|
Rock of Ages (2012) |
"
There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours than with this odd assortment of courageous thespians bringin' on the heartbreak, and feelin' the noize."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 14, 2012
|
|
|
91%
|
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) |
"
Expectedly funny but unexpectedly touching, too."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 14, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012) |
"
Narratively, it's a mess. There's a through-line Darwinism vs. creationism thing going on that ping-pongs big religious and philosophical ideas, but whiffs the return."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 7, 2012
|
|
1.5/4
|
29%
|
Bel Ami (2012) |
"
It's the total lack of empathy these characters elicit (or don't) that is Bel Ami's overarching problem."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 7, 2012
|
|
4/4
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) |
"
The usual complaints and caveats about Anderson - he's precious, his characters have no grounding in the real world - can be made about Moonrise Kingdom, but so what?"
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted Jun 7, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
52%
|
Where Do We Go Now? (2012) |
"
Time passes with a sense that nothing is really happening, until suddenly too much happens all at once."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted May 31, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
58%
|
Hysteria (2012) |
"
Good vibrations all around."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted May 31, 2012
|
|
3/4
|
48%
|
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) |
"
A surprisingly fine, fantastic movie it is."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted May 31, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
75%
|
The Intouchables (2012) |
"
It's the classic odd-couple buddy movie setup, only it'll pull at your heartstrings, whether you want it to or not."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted May 31, 2012
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
I Wish (2012) |
"
A wistful heartbreaker from the Japanese master of quiet observation, Hirokazu Kore-eda."
—
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted May 24, 2012
|
78%
44%
100%
85%
45%
40%
