|
97%
|
The Queen (2006)
|
"A fascinating battle between archaic monarchal standards and modernistic tendencies."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
69%
|
Through the Fire (2005)
|
"Has plenty of soul, plenty of competitive fire, and plenty of food for thought."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
94%
|
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
|
"Relentless in its condemnation of childish parenting and irresponsibility, Noah Baumbach's uncomfortable The Squid and the Whale ranks as one of 2005's best films by pulling no punches whatsoever."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
84%
|
King Kong (2005)
|
""It was beauty that killed the beast," remarks Carl Denham at the conclusion of Peter Jackson's bloated King Kong, but he might as well have been referring to Jackson's formerly obese figure suffocating all the life out of his 2005 remake."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
87%
|
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
|
"A rich love poem with boundless soul, Brokeback Mountain is another wonderful gem to be placed atop Ang Lee's filmic mantle."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
82%
|
The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
|
"Donaldson's ham-fisted direction leads to multiple soppy, cringe-inducing moments (Burt talking about his brother Ernie takes the cake)."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
46%
|
Rent (2005)
|
"For those who dig Larson's vision, Rent is a wild, emotional rush through the cold streets and tattered bodies and souls, with gripping music to boot."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
88%
|
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
|
"Goblet of Fire is largely about the growing pains as the children inch towards adulthood, including love and all that comes with it, and Newell does a strong job of painting adolescent jealousy, crushes, and discomfort."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
61%
|
Jarhead (2005)
|
"For all the interesting aspects of Jarhead, there's way too much filler for it to be more than a so-so picture."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
76%
|
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)
|
"For a journey into a mystical land, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is oddly awkward and stale."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
72%
|
Bubble (2006)
|
"Often feels like a bootleg version of Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, with the same conflicted female central character who eventually pays for her sins."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
86%
|
L'Enfant (The Child) (2006)
|
"Like Spike Lee's 25th Hour, L'Enfant focuses on the redemption of a sinner, but it's debatable whether L'Enfant really earns its teary finale."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
100%
|
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
|
"As powerful, meditative, and gripping as anything Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, or other Japanese masters have created."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
34%
|
Must Love Dogs (2005)
|
"An inconsequential, harmless piece of moderately cute fluff"
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
90%
|
Mean Creek (2004)
|
"Follows a fluid narrative that never feels contrived, and leaves the audience with genuine sympathy for every single child involved."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
82%
|
Hustle & Flow (2005)
|
"We're clearly meant to sympathize with his plight-being 'stuck' in this miserable lifestyle, being played by Skinny Black, having gone nowhere-but why exactly should we care?"
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
85%
|
De Battre mon Coeur s'est Arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) (2005)
|
"With 2005's The Beat That my Heart Skipped joining Read my Lips, Jacques Audiard is asserting himself as a powerhouse in the new wave of French directors."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
84%
|
Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)
|
"Were I not from Manhattan, I can't imagine gleaning anything from Mad Hot Ballroom beyond a desire to pinch those ragamuffin's precious cheeks."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
83%
|
Rize (2005)
|
"Rize is full of sugar-rush adrenaline, but it also has the presence of mind to cool our enthusiasm enough to pierce through to its issues' core."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
75%
|
J'ai pas sommeil (I Can't Sleep) (I'm Not Sleepy) (1995)
|
"...more intriguing than Denis' later efforts, but no less frustrating, and ultimately unrewarding..."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
90%
|
Kung Fu Hustle (2005)
|
"...like a smorgasbord of high-pitched artistry and homages..."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
87%
|
Rushmore (1998)
|
"While Rushmore can be analyzed from many angles, I think it's most interesting as a daring and original character study."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
95%
|
Before Sunset (2004)
|
"The final 25 minutes of Before Sunset, starting with excruciatingly honest admissions from both parties in a car backseat, are the best filmmaking I've ever seen."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
90%
|
Fresh (1994)
|
"Unlike John Singleton's by-the-numbers Boyz n the Hood, Boaz Yakin's Fresh doesn't rely on skeletal portrayals of life in the ghetto, or moralistic messages."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
100%
|
Playtime (Play Time) (1967)
|
"Tati mimics American idealism with the tour bus women's 'golly-gee, wow!' attitude, and isn't any easier on the French's to-do, prim-and-proper persona."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
96%
|
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)
|
"A remarkably honest look at Calcutta's Red Light district."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
75%
|
H.H. Holmes - America's First Serial Killer (2004)
|
"Alternately fascinating and dopey."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
16%
|
Alexander (2004)
|
"An unmitigated disaster, Oliver Stone's sprawling Alexander is an unbearable 173 minute alternative to Chinese water torture."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
100%
|
Scarface (1932)
|
"Hawks displays balls of steel, using the filmic medium to challenge the free reign of mobsters in the 1930's."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
92%
|
Vera Drake (2004)
|
"I found Vera Drake most interesting in its portrayal of a woman in a crisis, and the subsequent emotional reactions it provokes in her and her family."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
83%
|
Finding Neverland (2004)
|
"...2004's most captivating picture, and certainly my biggest cinematic surprise to date this year..."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
33%
|
Seed Of Chucky (2004)
|
"For an easy zero star picture, Seed of Chucky isn't that bad. Okay, I'm lying-it definitely is that bad."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
88%
|
Springtime in a Small Town (Xiao cheng zhi chun) (2002)
|
"Even potentially crushing situations are diffused by the respect each character has for one another."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
73%
|
Primer (2004)
|
"So much of the picture is impenetrable that the intrigue always remains dangling-like a cat chasing a ball of string, it's always just out of our reach."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
55%
|
Undertow (2004)
|
"Too frequently, Green bludgeons his audience with precocious moments and ineffective interludes that siphon emotional momentum down the drain."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
98%
|
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
|
"Few pictures are greater than Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder's scathing assault on Hollywood's magnetism, aura, and fear of watching it pass you by..."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
86%
|
Collateral (2004)
|
"Cruise turns in perhaps his best performance, flashing his trademark smile just once behind his raggedy, greying stubble."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
97%
|
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
|
"Strangely unemotional and flat for a character journey, irritatingly at its worst when it should be its most moving..."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
90%
|
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
|
"It helps that I'm a huge fan of Rowling's Harry Potter books, and love the core story so much (especially Azkaban) that I'm apt to overlook some minor quibbles."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
97%
|
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001)
|
"Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon mixes In the Mood for Love's unobtainable romance with Dancer in the Dark's selfless-to-the-end philosophy."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
93%
|
Super Size Me (2004)
|
"One of the most terrifying reality checks I've ever seen, predominantly horrifying yet frequently hilarious (that Spurlock's girlfriend is a Vegan chef is the topper)."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
85%
|
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
|
"Volume 1 is a pure sugar-rush, an adrenaline-packed needle that injects wild fun into almost every conceivable vein."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
84%
|
Kill Bill, Volume 2 (2004)
|
"Volume 2 gets off to a terrific start."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
58%
|
The Middle of the World (O Caminho das Nuvens) (2004)
|
"A moving coming-of-age story that invokes memories of films such as Pixote (with significantly less violence) and The Bicycle Thief."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
100%
|
Jalsaghar (The Music Room) (1958)
|
"One of my favorite films, The Music Room bathes its viewers in Indian culture while remaining universally accessible with its masterful photography and stunning music."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
100%
|
It (1927)
|
"Clarence Badger's romantic comedy It maintains its charm with witty camerawork and a powerhouse performance by the lovely Clara Bow."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
81%
|
Day of the Dead (1985)
|
"The most flawed in the series, but also the most ambitious."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
35%
|
Games People Play (2004)
|
"As an avid hater of reality television, the intelligence behind James Ronald Whitney's Games People Play was quite a surprise."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
95%
|
El Ángel Exterminador (The Exterminating Angel) (1967)
|
"A blistering attack on social classes and conventions, The Exterminating Angel may be the best in a long line of Buñuel masterpieces."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
|
87%
|
Mystic River (2003)
|
"A tale of tragic misinterpretation, Mystic River requires deep focus into the multiple tortured souls to fully be harnessed."
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
73%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
