|
87%
|
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
|
"a complex plot that manages to balance character writing with slam-bang action sequences"
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Notre Dame de Paris (2005)
|
"a confusing hodgepodge of anachronism, revision of plot, and frustrating missed opportunities "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
90%
|
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (2013)
|
"DECEPTIVE PRACTICE is a fascinating study of one man's mania to attain perfection... Ricky Jay right now has the compulsive desire to be better than his fiercest competitor, Ricky Jay of ten minutes ago."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
55%
|
Oblivion (2013)
|
"OBLIVION is a film with the look being a lot more satisfying than the thought."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
75%
|
Desperate Acts Of Magic (2013)
|
"What makes this film impressive is an unending parade of magic tricks performed by experts and filmed without editing tricks or special effects."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
38%
|
Family Weekend (2013)
|
"What Emily wants is basically a return to "Leave it to Beaver" sort of values. That may be a hard sell in the 21st Century. "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
May I Be Frank (2013)
|
"The film is unpleasant at times and also surprisingly honest where Frank is less than totally successful. But Frank's positive personality shines through."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
88%
|
Hava Nagila: The Movie (2013)
|
"As one interviewee says the song "is a melody that evokes new life, hope, and joy." The song does that and so does HAVA NAGILA (THE MOVIE)."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
81%
|
From Up On Poppy Hill (2013)
|
"The film has charm but overall is a little slight. "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
79%
|
Quartet (2013)
|
"Dustin Hoffman, directing a film for the first time, gives us a film as comfortable as an old stuffed chair."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
15%
|
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
|
"has charm and promises more from the new filmmaker"
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
85%
|
Side Effects (2013)
|
"surprisingly complex medical thriller "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
92%
|
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
|
"There is some charm to the story, but the final act is very neat, predictable, contrived, and not up to originality of the first two. "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Superpower (2008)
|
"Sometimes the most stringent argument is not the most effective one."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Dirty Energy (2013)
|
"While missing fair representation of British Petroleum, the unrepaired ravages of the disaster are shocking and underscore the need for effective regulation of the petroleum industry."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
89%
|
Koch (2013)
|
"While the structure and style of the film are not particularly inventive, the film is a good background on the issues."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012)
|
"While a little overblown and overly long, a wide range of people will find at least something to like here."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
83%
|
Uprising (2013)
|
"The story is uplifting but overshadowed by more recent events in Egypt."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
69%
|
Les Misérables (2012)
|
"Spectacular, sweeping, and poignant. It covers nearly the entire emotional spectrum possible."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
81%
|
The Impossible (2012)
|
"disaster film done as well as one can be done"
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
|
"Visually it is sometimes amazing, but it is a large troll step down from the last trilogy."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
63%
|
Hitchcock (2012)
|
"Like an episode of Hitchcock's TV show, HITCHCOCK is entertaining but not great art. "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
64%
|
Anna Karenina (2012)
|
"Stoppard's touches serve only to pull the viewer away from the story and act as a distraction. "
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
88%
|
Life of Pi (2012)
|
"a visual feast, well acted and with very fine use of 3D, but the story itself does not reach profundity and instead seems flat and a little pretentious."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012)
|
"Spielberg respects his audience's intelligence enough to tell the complex story and maintain a great deal of historical accuracy."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012)
|
"This is a strong, fast, and sexy action story that gives us something different from the Bond films we have seen before."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
96%
|
In the Family (2012)
|
"Will remind viewers of the emotional tugs of a KRAMER VS. KRAMER."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
96%
|
Argo (2012)
|
"This is a film that runs the gamut from grim to absurd."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012)
|
"Burton only occasionally improves on what was in the 1984 version."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
53%
|
Simon and the Oaks (2012)
|
"Though the story does not seem to go into new or even unexpected territory it is engrossing and ultimately affecting."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
86%
|
The Master (2012)
|
"the film has a lot to say about the nature of religious belief, the personalities of radical followers and generally the functioning of cults"
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
93%
|
Looper (2012)
|
"Rian Johnson makes a loud, dark, highly stylized film that looks good but whose ideas do not really bear close examination."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
87%
|
Arbitrage (2012)
|
"You will learn more about arbitrage from this review than you will from ARBITRAGE."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Adventures In Plymptoons! (2012)
|
"the crazy mind of man with a unique genius for bringing impossible ideas out from his subconscious and onto the theater screen."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
39%
|
The Possession (2012)
|
"Borndel delivers just what is expected for a visual horror film, but besides the reference to dybbuks, there is nothing at all new or fresh."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
22%
|
Serving Up Richard (2012)
|
" something of a mixed bag of an apparently whimsical film title and concept, some over-the-top gory images, and a serious conflict of attitudes and acting."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
|
"It is really just another action chase story with a science-fictional MacGuffin concept that could have even been an afterthought."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Sedona (2012)
|
"If like me, you think that things like vortices and Chi are so much flap-doodle, then you have to suspend disbelief or you will miss much of the point of the film"
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
22%
|
True Wolf (2012)
|
"as compelling as seeing the wolf is, the film is at its best when discussing the general issue of overcoming the hatred of adversaries and the prejudices that the adversaries' children have learned from their parents."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
62%
|
It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl (2012)
|
"This documentary of the life of Theodore Herzl is full of information and at the same time is disappointingly dry and un-engaging."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
75%
|
The Intouchables (2012)
|
"This is a film that has everything it should need for a warm, moving experience--everything but enough of the unexpected."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
|
"The film has more action, more special effects, and more mystical philosophy than THE DARK KNIGHT, but less intelligence."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
The Detective's Lover ()
|
"It overcomes its meager budget and is sufficiently well-written to give the viewer that "what the heck is going on" feeling."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
43%
|
Patriocracy (2012)
|
"This film is a diagnosis of the problem without much in the way of a cure, though it does propose some solutions and tries to be optimistic about them."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies (2008)
|
"If you are interested in Pickford herself or just in the early history of the Hollywood film industry, this is an enthralling documentary."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
78%
|
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
|
"Perhaps only one of the stories rises above cliche, but they are all told well with the total being more than the sum of the parts"
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
90%
|
Portrait of Wally (2012)
|
"A complex legal controversy is made enthralling and not infrequently shocking."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012)
|
"It promises to give us at least science fictional explanations for some of the great questions of human existence, but it never has the courage to answer those questions."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
68%
|
Extraterrestrial (2012)
|
"It is a comedy written for an adult audience that does not pander to an "adult" audience."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
——
|
Norman Mailer: The American (2012)
|
"Staccato and compelling, this fast-paced biography recounts some of his views and opinions--writings that alienated people and won supporters."
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
72%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
