|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012)
|
"The problem with situation comedy movies in general - and Will Ferrell vehicles such as The Campaign in particular - is that they usually fizzle out after the first 30 minutes."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
51%
|
Savages (2012)
|
"compelling action scenes with momentum-killing dialogue digressions"
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
97%
|
Monsieur Lazhar (2012)
|
"Falardeau had the good fortune to work with a powerfully effective ensemble cast, and Martin Léon's minimalist ambient score helps set the mood for a satisfying story about the healing effect brief encounters can have on emotional scars. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012)
|
"Inconsistencies in time and space elements, and a plot that echoes an episode of The Flintstones, join generally underdeveloped attempts at suspending disbelief to mar Allen's attempt to represent the city of Fellini."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
55%
|
For a Good Time, Call... (2012)
|
"the concept was rife with possibilities that could synergize with Graynor's fresh appeal as well as her rising-star status. Neither the possibilities nor the synergy happens, mainly due to an underdeveloped story."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
94%
|
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012)
|
"Although some of the dates and causal events in her life are passed over, the rhythm and style carry the narrative forward until the last 20 minutes, when the film mostly meanders to the finish."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
35%
|
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
|
"Rather than create an innovative style to complement the horror-history hybrid, he employs superhero clichés and hackneyed action scenes that only help distract from the ineffectiveness of the film's scant 3-D effects."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
78%
|
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
|
"its difficult to sit through the final scenes without thinking of what Madden could have cut to earn Marigold Hotel a five-star rating."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
99%
|
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012)
|
"Gelb also provides an education on the different kinds of sushi, the purveyors of premium fish and rice, and overfishing. But it's his lyrical, lovingly photographed scenes of preparation that elevates the documentary to a work of art."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
38%
|
Dark Shadows (2012)
|
"Burton really needed to lean his horror-comedy more toward horror. Instead, it's reminiscent at times of Love at First Bite and the feature film remakes of The Addams Family and The Brady Bunch."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
33%
|
The Lady (2012)
|
"The dramatic moments are few and far between, and the film seems like it walks in the footsteps of Richard Attenborough's Gandhi at times. Besson definitely tries to present Suu Kyi in a similarly reverent light."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
73%
|
Chicken with Plums (2012)
|
"unfurls in a dazzling set of sequences and montages that demonstrates everything shown to us - like marriage and society itself - may not be as it seems, or what it should have been."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
88%
|
Neil Young Journeys (2012)
|
"Demme plants a camera on the mic stand so at one point he can present Young's unshaven scowl in extreme close-up, blocking out the gorgeously lighted stage. It's not a pleasant image"
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
93%
|
Amour (2012)
|
"Haneke has created a gift for both audiences and the two legendary actors cast in the lead roles. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
54%
|
Brother (Hermano) (2012)
|
"Hermano is part sports film, part neorealist drama and a fully successful debut feature from Venezuelan director Marcel Rasquín."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
95%
|
The Imposter (2012)
|
"Credit director Bart Layton for taking a subject that appears barely capable of propping up hour-long, true-crime cable programming and turning it into compelling, full-length documentary."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
64%
|
Cosmopolis (2012)
|
"Cronenberg is not a director to be daunted by a scenario in which the antihero spends most of his time in a stretch limo. Turning it into a film that interests anyone ... is another matter"
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
86%
|
Robot & Frank (2012)
|
"Christopher D. Ford's seamless screenplay provides a light-comedy vehicle that Langella rides to a satisfyingly original, epiphanic finale. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
75%
|
Damsels in Distress (2012)
|
"Why he would once again focus his imagination on another ensemble of shallow, self-absorbed characters that are all directed to speak like they were born in the same upper-class Connecticut suburb indicates a one-track mind, at the least."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
63%
|
Delicacy (2012)
|
"Foenkinos brothers' balance of light comedy and moody desperation is conveyed with a breezy cinematic style "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
93%
|
Coriolanus (2011)
|
"Fiennes' blend of action and homage is top-notch, as is direction.... Fiennes created his own modern world for which it's easy to suspend disbelief."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
89%
|
Footnote (2012)
|
"Cedar remains in stylistic second gear for the rest of the film, and interest fizzles out long before the finish line. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
78%
|
The Deep Blue Sea (2012)
|
"By the time she learns love is less about ideal romance than "wiping someone's ass" when they grow old, it's difficult to care about a problem she created for herself."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
85%
|
The Raid: Redemption (2012)
|
"Gareth Huw Evans doesn't swipe plot points as much as organically build a taut, expertly choreographed heir to urban mayhem fantasies "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
88%
|
In Darkness (2012)
|
"The Academy Award-nominated film does not disappoint in terms of performances or presentation, except for its length. A good percentage of its 145 minutes is spent in subterranean near-darkness."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
47%
|
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)
|
"Oskar expounds to excess, a problem that becomes worse as time drags on and is particularly excruciating during the one-way verbal dialogues with Von Sydow "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
78%
|
Jeff Who Lives at Home (2012)
|
"Jeff, Who Lives at Home offers escapism of a different kind, an entertaining reminder that good people sometimes prevail, and that living by your own Yoda logic in your own universe may not be such a bad thing."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
99%
|
A Separation (2011)
|
"Ambiguous endings can work for some films, but it doesn't here. Still, the powerful performances and near seamless screenplay leave little else to be desired. A Separation deserves its Oscar."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
55%
|
Albert Nobbs (2012)
|
"There's no contrived moralizing bridge to modern relevance, no overt nod to contemporary gender politics and no real reason why Close shouldn't get some respect this awards season."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
79%
|
Shame (2011)
|
"Shame has the problems that accompany most films in which the director sticks his neck out. It's not incoherent, but will seem underdeveloped for viewers who want plots and characters spelled out for them. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
51%
|
The Iron Lady (2012)
|
"The narrative is not well structured, and Streep's performance suffers as a result.... The scenes with Broadbent are the best. They just aren't worth sitting through a history lesson that isn't taught well."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012)
|
"WPrometheus offers hypotheses about the origin of life on our planet that are so well constructed, they make real-life theories about extraterrestrials seem highly feasible."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
67%
|
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012)
|
"... just because something seems absurd doesn't mean it can't happen. And just because a film seems to lack surprises doesn't mean it won't take an entirely satisfying turn at the end."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
86%
|
Bully (2012)
|
"There's no arguing with Hirsch's message, but in order for his film to make the necessary impact, it must be mandatory viewing in every school -- for faculty and administration as well as for students."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
71%
|
Carnage (2011)
|
"This is an actors' movie, although it's not always pleasant. Waltz has the most fun, and is the most enjoyable to watch. He also exchanges dialogue with Winslet that best sums up the story's absurdist nature: "Why are we still in this house?" "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
83%
|
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
|
"Seven Psychopaths is refreshingly unorthodox on the level of The Big Lebowski, mixing clever film-about-film elements with dialogue that McDonagh crafted with care."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
63%
|
Kill the Irishman (2011)
|
"A minor mob-cinema classic."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
10%
|
Red Riding Hood (2011)
|
"Grandma's house exudes the fairy-tale atmosphere Hardwicke strived for, but it's too little too late. By then it's clear that Seyfried's leading men are bland, the pacing plods, and the story needed more development. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
85%
|
Cedar Rapids (2011)
|
"The Hangover cast member can't quite carry a feature on his own. This one is not all that funny anyway, and its comic elements eventually become redundant"
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
67%
|
Brüno (2009)
|
"if mixed martial arts fans who view the film are forever after afraid of fighters getting aroused during a ground-and-pound session on the mat, then Baron Cohen did the job right."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
68%
|
Public Enemies (2009)
|
"... meanders and never delivers the pay-off it promises. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
68%
|
Funny People (2009)
|
"Apatow draws on his own experience to explore behavioral nuances of people that make us laugh, and it's no secret that being funny is not the same as being happy."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
77%
|
Valentino: The Last Emperor (2009)
|
"It's interesting to a degree, but without a strong knowledge of the fashion industry, a novice will be left out in the cold."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
48%
|
Taking Woodstock (2009)
|
"A ham-handed attempt to indicate the oncoming tragedy of Altamont ends the film with a touch of contrivance, but it's the only sour note in an otherwise flawless film."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
79%
|
Humpday (2009)
|
"While the dare itself seems almost contrived to make the movie happen, what transpires afterward is a very universal experience for people who take stock of their lives for the first time after college. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
80%
|
It Might Get Loud (2009)
|
"Guggenheim's depictions of his subjects' artistic development will strike universal chords in anyone who finds meaning in creativity."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
35%
|
The Burning Plain (2009)
|
"Knowing ... that it's a 20-year old story, one can only conclude the idea behind the film would have been best left unfilmed, an unfinished step toward greater things."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
74%
|
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
|
"It's almost as if they were afraid to redefine the book, and left things as free-floating and ambiguous as possible. ... it's all meandering, abstract non-story that isn't helped by the muddy color palette"
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
52%
|
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
|
"although Clooney's charm factor helps Cassady rise above the caricatures created by the rest of the cast. ... it won't necessarily elevate a mediocre film into one worth watching. "
|
Matt Kelemen
|
|
94%
|
The Damned United (2009)
|
"as foreign for American audiences as a story about one of Billy Martin's stints with the Yankees would be in the U.K."
|
Matt Kelemen
|
