|
90%
|
The Shining (1980)
|
"The first time I saw Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, I had to turn it off during three key moments... Perhaps this time, I prayed, [it] would seem almost comically silly. Yeah, not so much."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
62%
|
Evil Dead (2013)
|
"I will always appreciate a horror flick that introduces novel and inventive ways to dispatch of its cast. But the frights are almost totally absent. So what are we even doing here?"
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
89%
|
Compliance (2012)
|
"Compliance is a horror movie with no sudden frights, no gore, and not a single scream. It's a surveillance video, capturing us with all our blemishes; a reminder that how we see ourselves is so rarely in line with the truth"
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
86%
|
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
|
"I had begun to wonder if any of these big budget monstrosities could deliver something special; something that didn't feel like a facsimile of previous successes, totally devoid of heart and humanity. Star Trek Into Darkness is... almost that."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
66%
|
Spring Breakers (2013)
|
"The message may be lost on those who only came for the bountiful breasts and booties... Spring Breakers is an immersive phantasmagoria; one of the funniest, strangest, prettiest, and flat out maddest films of the year."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
86%
|
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
|
"The feature is anchored by Nicholson's performance, in which he demonstrates his unique ability to swiftly shape-shift from a cheeky sweet-heart into a volatile beast."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
78%
|
Iron Man 3 (2013)
|
"Iron Man 3 carries that 'morning after' feeling former playboy Tony Stark is no doubt familiar with... There are plenty of great moments, but it barely hangs together as a film."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
98%
|
Mean Streets (1973)
|
"This marriage of indelible imagery with electric, seemingly incongruous pop songs wouldn't be bettered until, well, the next time Scorsese decided to do it."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
56%
|
Oblivion (2013)
|
"The pace is far less frenetic than other recent actioners, and the tone more thoughtful. With a lovely score and particularly nice performances from its central trio, the final cut of Oblivion suggests greatness was not entirely out of reach."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
70%
|
The Loneliest Planet (2012)
|
"Frankly, I've greatly enjoyed discussing the film, whereas I merely tolerated the experience of actually watching it."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
20%
|
Identity Thief (2013)
|
"The first thing I did after returning from the screening was take two painkillers for my throbbing headache. A man can only withstand so much shrill shrieking and faux-screwball antics."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
68%
|
Trance (2013)
|
"The rolling of the end credits acts like a finger-snap, after which I suggest you return to your life without giving what's transpired much further though. Easy to watch; easy to dismiss."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
85%
|
Sleepwalk With Me (2012)
|
"Sleepwalk With Me is implausibly appealing. The idea of someone not liking this picture is implausible. It would be without plause."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
9%
|
The Host (2013)
|
"Clunky, dramatically inert, ideologically repugnant, and just a plain old bore, The Host may be the worst thing anyone involved has ever been affiliated with. In some instances, that may also prove true for the audience."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
98%
|
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
|
"How did David Lean and star Peter O'Toole achieve such perfection? If we could define and distil it, we wouldn't need a special category for those flicks we call 'classics.' Lawrence of Arabia is that, and then some."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
——
|
The Patience Stone (2013)
|
"The only ferociousness comes from Farahani... She gives The Patience Stone its gravitas."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
28%
|
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
|
"Retaliation is easily the best film produced under the Hasbro banner, clearing the lowest cinematic bar perhaps ever known to humanity. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, and a bunch of ninjas. You'd have to work hard to not make this thing fun."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
98%
|
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God (2012)
|
"Alex Gibney isn't casting the first stone at the Vatican with his documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God. But, God willing, it will be the most effective in shattering their narrative of blissful ignorance."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
15%
|
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
|
"The Nakatomi Plaza has never felt so far away. Die Hard is my favourite film. I only attended AGDTDH as a sombre obligation; like a relative being asked to identify a corpse."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
96%
|
Blancanieves (2013)
|
"The final sequences - including the odd, unsettling epilogue - are truly beautiful, shot stunningly by Kiko de la Rica and scored by Alfonso de Vilallonga. And all of it is wordless. That's magic."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
37%
|
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
|
"The Incredible Burt Wonderstone gets a lot of mileage out of its stars' increasingly ridiculous hairdos. I'm not proud to say that they kept me giggling throughout, but they did, and I have to live with that."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
86%
|
Easy Rider (1969)
|
" Though deserving of its esteemed status on account of the cinematic revolution it spawned, the feature itself is something of a relic. But since when isn't it fascinating to reflect on the fossils of the past?"
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
85%
|
Side Effects (2013)
|
"The feature evolves from an icy, haunting tale of depression and abandonment into a squalid, sordid, serpentine Alfred Hitchcock pastiche. That it can glide from these two poles with us barely realising is a testament to Soderbergh's talent."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
60%
|
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
|
"[Is] Oz the Great and Powerful the tale of a playboy operator being forced to deal with the consequences of his bed-hopping past? An allegorical glimpse into the home life of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening? Perhaps not. It's pretty nonetheless."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
68%
|
Great Expectations (2013)
|
"You know what you're getting with this movie. Perhaps some will appreciate a nicely decorated, predictable take on a beloved book. I'd rather something riskier."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
——
|
Le prénom ()
|
"If I found any one of these five relatable, I wouldn't be wondering what to call my son, but rather inquiring into an operation that would make procreation an impossibility."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
30%
|
Broken City (2013)
|
"Broken City may break new ground when it comes to pioneering cinematic scowls, but that's the only area where the cast is able to elevate the banal material."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
67%
|
Cloud Atlas (2012)
|
"A compelling, uncynical, often thrilling package, the likes of which we've never seen before, and will perhaps never see replicated. I will watch Cloud Atlas more than once."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
44%
|
The Paperboy (2012)
|
"On their first meeting in prison, [Hillary] demands [Charlotte] put on a sex show of sorts in front of everyone. She obliges. Look, dating is tough."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
38%
|
Save Your Legs ()
|
"[Stephen Curry] manages to put a few runs on the board for the Aussie cricket flick Save Your Legs, elevating Boyd Hicklin's spritely if not particularly funny flick to the realm of 'watchable.' "
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
59%
|
The Last Stand (2013)
|
"The Last Stand sees bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger return to the big screen following an eight-year term as Governor of California, because that is the reality we now occupy... A fun, dumb, enjoyable, dumb, mostly well performed, super dumb film. "
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
92%
|
No (2013)
|
"Larraín's script is punctuated by dark bursts of humour, and the filmmaker knowingly navigates his audience to a nail-biting - though never cloying, and fully warranted - climax."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
100%
|
On the Waterfront (1954)
|
"Allow me to suggest On the Waterfront is one such 'classic' that holds up; a declaration that deserves only one, dismissive response: "No duh.""
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
91%
|
Caesar Must Die (2013)
|
"In just 76 minutes, the Taviani brothers treat us to a deeply affecting adaptation of this ancient play, embedded with even deeper meaning on account of its unconventional stars."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012)
|
"A focused, remarkably human production, anchored by Day-Lewis' understated performance as the softly spoken, long winded, devilishly funny Abraham"
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
14%
|
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
|
"A half-heartedly conceived, boringly executed, and instantly forgettable feathered-fish for absolutely no one... just bad enough to incite an existential, soul-searching journey wherein we wonder if we are even capable of experiencing joy"
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
84%
|
Smashed (2012)
|
"In under eighty minutes, Smashed succeeds in so many ways."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
92%
|
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
|
"Silver Linings Playbook is a fine, funny film, and one that should charm viewers who haven't been tricked by all those Oscar nominations into anticipating it as some kind of world-changing work of art for the ages."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
78%
|
Flight (2012)
|
"Denzel Washington and Robert Zemeckis jettison their bad habits like so much frozen human waste from the back of a soaring airliner with their collaboration Flight."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
93%
|
Barbara (2012)
|
"A well-observed, compelling, and evocative character piece, haunted by the ghosts of Germany's recent past."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
93%
|
Zero Dark Thirty (2013)
|
"This thing is an embarrassment of riches; the jewel in director Kathryn Bigelow's crown."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
95%
|
Sister (2012)
|
"Slow-moving to the point of being glacial, Meier's icy endeavour is just barely rewarding enough to warrant the effort required to sit through it."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
92%
|
Charade (1963)
|
"A novel, auteur-driven film populated with reliably charismatic stars; even at the age of 50 it leaves most modern produce in the dust. It was also a hit. Five decades later, why has Hollywood not learnt their lesson?"
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
91%
|
The Hunt (2013)
|
"Humans do terrible things to one another. In The Hunt, Vinterberg believes we can do right too."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012)
|
"Tarantino often reminds us that film can be used as a weapon. Here he purges all that racial ugliness from the past not by asking its left-leaning audience to whoop and cheer at whitey's demise, but by having our hero do battle with screen history itself."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
91%
|
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
|
"If you like your science-fiction lo-fi, and your coming of age parables with a handy technological metaphor at their core, Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed is the movie you've been waiting for."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013)
|
"The final product elicits little more than a shrug. Made it, ma. Top of the world..."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
52%
|
This is 40 (2012)
|
"Feels even more personal than his previous works, and considering Funny People spent many minutes showing us a video of his daughter Maude's singing Memories at a high school play, that's mighty impressive. "
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
18%
|
Parental Guidance (2012)
|
"It is with deep regret that the last film I review for 2012 be Andy Fickman's Parental Guidance, wherein Billy Crystal is struck in the testicles with a baseball bat, and then proceeds to vomit on a child out of agony."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
|
"Peter Jackson didn't particularly want to direct The Hobbit, and I didn't particularly want to be bored to tears, but there we both were, fulfilling what could only be described as some sort of cinematic murder-suicide pact."
|
Simon Miraudo
|
78%
——
100%
85%
45%
40%
