|
49%
|
The Great Gatsby (2013)
|
"Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby makes enough inventive and fairly amazing choices to earn its outsize existence."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
56%
|
Oblivion (2013)
|
"Large-scale, original sci-fi is a hard thing to come by these days, and despite its familiar story Oblivion does dream up some great ideas"
|
Katey Rich
|
|
81%
|
The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)
|
"Cianfrance creates a layered and moving portrait of working-class life, of people trying-- in many of the wrong ways-- to improve lives for themselves and the generations to come. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
87%
|
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
|
"Take-flight moments of blockbuster bliss are frequent and consistently spectacular, as Abrams continues to prove his rare gift of combining character, plot, comedy and action into setpiece after setpiece"
|
Katey Rich
|
|
47%
|
Pain & Gain (2013)
|
"In walking the impossible tightrope of violent satire, Bay succeeds by calling up one of cinema's most powerful and least-understood languages: the relationship the audience has with the people onscreen before the film even begins. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
78%
|
Iron Man 3 (2013)
|
"It embraces the universe it lives in without exploiting it or letting it weigh down the story, and offers its hero a personal, dangerous challenge without ever losing its popcorn charm."
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
47%
|
Pain & Gain (2013)
|
"The final product is a mixed bag and you may not like yourself for being entertained by it, but at least it's original."
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
65%
|
Starbuck (2013)
|
"It's a far-fetched premise, though one that's brought down to Earth by Scott's emotionally upbeat writing, his brisk direction, and Huard's nimble, large-hearted performance."
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
88%
|
Upstream Color (2013)
|
"A bold, imaginative, poetic and, admittedly, frustrating piece of filmmaking that's always engaging and frequently beautiful. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
68%
|
Trance (2013)
|
"If it were any other director at the helm of Trance it would be a more impressive film, but instead it's one of Boyle's more mediocre efforts."
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
28%
|
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
|
"Buy a ticket, enjoy watching ninjas on zip lines and The Rock kicking ass, and when the lights go up try to avoid thinking about it on any deeper level. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
69%
|
The Croods (2013)
|
"Its sentimental messages are garbled by its noisy, repetitive action sequences."
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
47%
|
Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
|
"Olympus Has Fallen takes a star performance and gallons of fake blood and stretches it into something both captivating and queasy."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
66%
|
Spring Breakers (2013)
|
"If we're being honest, Korine's Spring Breakers is a better movie-going experience than it is an actual movie."
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
37%
|
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
|
"A decent comedy about dueling magicians that - ironically - says interesting things about pushing the envelope to entertain the audience ... then stops short of pushing the envelope itself. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
60%
|
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
|
"An entertaining family movie, a true Sam Raimi film, and a fun return to a merry old land. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
67%
|
Stoker (2013)
|
"If this is what Park Chan-wook can bring to the American film world, then hopefully he will stay for a very long time. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
52%
|
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
|
"It's a strange hybrid, and not entirely a successful one, but hey, at least it's trying something different."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
45%
|
Beautiful Creatures (2013)
|
"Like the Civil War re-enactments featured in the final action scene, it all looks insane on the surface, but has a mighty power to suck you in."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
13%
|
Safe Haven (2013)
|
"Safe Haven doesn't have a whole lot to offer, with a plot so familiar and stars so uninterested in each other, and its resolution only undermines what it's truly best at being-- a cheap North Carolina vacation. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
15%
|
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
|
"Yippee Ki-Yuck."
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
20%
|
Identity Thief (2013)
|
"Identity Thief could be mistaken for the latest Todd Phillips comedy. Whether that's an endorsement or a warning depends on your tastes. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
85%
|
Side Effects (2013)
|
"A twisty and surprisingly sexy thriller that, despite its heat, is actually about how cold and disconnected the world can be. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
80%
|
Warm Bodies (2013)
|
"One of the most refreshingly creative zombie movies in recent memory. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
14%
|
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
|
"Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters packs one out-of-left-field surprise, but it arrives during the opening credits, and the delicious twists dissipate as the film trudges along. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013)
|
"Gangster Squad is bloody, sloppy and far dumber than it looks, a Hollywood spectacle of slo-mo bullets and explosions perfectly calibrated to be soulless. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
52%
|
This is 40 (2012)
|
"Takes the universal milestone of turning a certain age and narrows it down through specific observations that only speak to affluent, SoCal suburbanites who own their own companies, have a foothold in the entertainment industry and fart in bed. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
61%
|
Jack Reacher (2012)
|
"Jack Reacher errs on the side of taking itself too seriously, and in simplifying the story becomes more of a standard-issue action thriller-- while most of us know that Reacher and Cruise are capable of something more"
|
Katey Rich
|
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012)
|
"Even as one of his weaker efforts, Django Unchained still ranks higher than most of what comes out over the course of a year."
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
59%
|
10 Years (2012)
|
"To hate 10 Years is like hating the enthusiastic girl who organizes your high school reunion-- can you really be so mean when so much effort was made and a reasonably good time was had by all?"
|
Katey Rich
|
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
|
"For its occasional moments of excess and unhurried pace, An Unexpected Journey is proof that Jackson still has a knack for stories in this world."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
88%
|
Life of Pi (2012)
|
"It's a movie cinema lovers can rally behind and gawk at forever."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
13%
|
Red Dawn (2012)
|
"There's no point in remaking a film unless you can improve upon the execution of an original idea and/or reform an old idea and make it apply to the now; Red Dawn doesn't bother to do either. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
49%
|
The Man With the Iron Fists (2012)
|
"he film does have some interesting choreography and the props department outdid themselves when it came to weapons, but the only reason to focus in on that stuff is because the rest of the movie is so unimpressive. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
86%
|
Wreck-it Ralph (2012)
|
"The world created in the movie is so utterly fascinating that I desperately want to see what other kind of amazing, creative tales can be told within it. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
64%
|
Anna Karenina (2012)
|
"Anna Karenina is a massive, boldly imagined work, the rare novel adaptation that's purely, thrillingly cinematic. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012)
|
"Plays like a two-hour speech, a solemn slog to a foregone conclusion, a dreary march to the inevitable. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
|
98%
|
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
|
"One of the great joys of the film is watching the way in which William Holden's naturalistic performance clashes with an actress and performance style from an earlier age. "
|
Brian Holcomb
|
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012)
|
"With his film Mendes not only resurrects 007, but makes the character's defining trademarks make more sense in a modern world"
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
63%
|
Sinister (2012)
|
"Slow down the number of demonic spirit movies, start thinking twice before settling on the "kids are scary" idea again, and start coming up with something new. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
35%
|
Butter (2012)
|
"Butter has strong moments and has more than a few good jokes, but as a whole it struggles to keep its footing"
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
82%
|
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
|
"I procrastinate because I care and because writing reviews of movies you love is hard. And I really loved Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
12%
|
Alex Cross (2012)
|
"Alex Cross is a total trainwreck. You'd think it would be hard to mess up something as simple as a cop vs. killer story this badly, but Cohen and his crew seem to screw it up at every turn. "
|
Eric Eisenberg
|
|
78%
|
Flight (2012)
|
"Flight is a messy return to live-action filmmaking for Zemeckis, but its strongest scenes -- and especially that plane crash -- are reason enough to be glad he's back. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012)
|
"Skyfall isn't just a great Bond film, it's the character's resurrection."
|
Katey Rich
|
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012)
|
"There's a lot of college dorm philosophical mumbo jumbo on top but it all really boils down to, "Man seeks his creator/makes contact/discovers he is a total jerk." "
|
Brian Holcomb
|
|
44%
|
The Paperboy (2012)
|
"It's both a little too serious and a lot too silly to strike that powerful campy chord. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012)
|
"As energetic children's entertainment with a twist it works fine, but Frankenweenie has the elements to go further before it settles for something that feels too familiar. "
|
Katey Rich
|
|
38%
|
Dark Shadows (2012)
|
"Made for an audience of no one, Dark Shadows is a mess of campy horror, "fish out of coffin" comedy, and gothic melodrama."
|
Brian Holcomb
|
|
32%
|
Won't Back Down (2012)
|
"It's the cast that rescues Won't Back Down from TV-movie-of-the-week-dom. "
|
Sean O'Connell
|
87%
24%
91%
85%
45%
40%
