|
96%
|
13 Assassins (2011)
|
"... a subversive, action-packed, beautifully crafted samurai revenge epic ... climaxes in a 40-minute pitched battle that utilizes sword, arrow, spear, slingshot and ‒ here's a new one ‒ burning bull. "
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
33%
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
|
"Since this is a PG-13 Disney production, Depp and Cruz do more swashing than unbuckling here. There is, however, a naughty backstory, something to do with a nunnery mistaken for a brothel."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
90%
|
Bridesmaids (2011)
|
"... brings to mind Renee Zellweger films about ugly ducklings that long to be seen for their inner beauty. Big difference: In "Bridesmaids," the poufy swan poops in the street."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
75%
|
Everything Must Go (2011)
|
"... to Ferrell what "Punch-Drunk Love" was to Adam Sandler: a gutsy change of pace that reminds us the class clown, deep down, is a tangle of neuroses."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
77%
|
Thor (2011)
|
"... latest in a string of whatever-sticks action-hero franchises ... I can hear the slumming Branagh admonishing, "Give me a break ‒ it's an amusement-park ride! "
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
37%
|
The Resident (2012)
|
"... takes primal fear of home invasion to the next level. As in "Crawlspace," you can't lock out the threat because it's inside, and it knows the floor plan better than you."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
68%
|
Rubber (2011)
|
"Spielberg announced his arrival with a killer truck. By making us believe in a thinking tire, Dupieux has outdone him. Appropriately, in this film's parting shot, the Hollywood sign beckons."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
74%
|
Dream Home (2010)
|
"We're billboarding this bloodbath because it's stylish, jaw-droppingly funny and features a knockout performance by Ho, who brings to mind the young Deneuve of "Repulsion.""
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
——
|
Choose (2011)
|
"Some of the plotting feels trite, erratic, but overall I enjoyed this genre entry, as much for Pollak's fussbudget sheriff as the memorably haunting denouement."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
93%
|
127 Hours (2010)
|
"A lot of movies about climbing ‒ Touching the Void, North Face ‒ are about men who get into trouble by pushing their luck. This one takes as its main theme the sin of hubris."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
67%
|
The Company Men (2011)
|
"... an engrossing, if uneven, ensemble drama featuring strong performances by Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and especially Chris Cooper as the most desperate of the trio."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
20%
|
The Rite (2011)
|
"Despite Hopkins' balmy performance, this scare picture is too serious by half. In place of supernatural hocus-pocus we get artsy-fartsy set design, hoof prints in the snow."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
30%
|
Sanctum (2011)
|
"Too bad this film, executive produced by Cameron, is rated R for profanity and gruesome makeup effects. I'm betting it's every 13-year-old's dream escape."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
56%
|
Unknown (2011)
|
"Each situation is pulled off with a by-the-numbers precision. Sorely lacking is the dark humor Hitchcock invested in similar no-one-believes-me scenarios."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
4%
|
The Roommate (2011)
|
"... a Miss Teen "Fatal Attraction" ‒ with baked kitten replacing rabbit stew on the menu. "
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
38%
|
The Eagle (2011)
|
"All the sturm and drang can't hide the obvious. "The Eagle" is "Gladiator" Lite, a low-budget costumer about honor and redemption ... handing your enemy his head on a shield."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
19%
|
Just Go with It (2011)
|
"... forgettable update of an equally forgettable 1969 farce called 'Cactus Flower.'"
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
58%
|
Kaboom (2011)
|
"... a freewheeling mystery-satire about friendship, flip-flops, campus conspiracies, paranormal activities and The Big Bang Theory."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
85%
|
Cedar Rapids (2011)
|
"What happens in "Cedar Rapids" doesn't stay in Cedar Rapids ... Excellent news for film-goers in the mood for something hilariously off-kilter."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
34%
|
Hall Pass (2011)
|
""Hall Pass," actually shot in Georgia, boasts the production values of public access TV. The masturbation / marijuana jokes aren't worthy of a Farrelly outtakes reel. "
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
20%
|
Beastly (2011)
|
"... tone deaf (do students today really say "hurl chunks" and "Too cool for school"?), predictably plotted, filled with drippy love songs that would embarrass Bryan Ferry. "
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
88%
|
Rango (2011)
|
"OK, kids, who's ready for an animated version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"?"
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
73%
|
The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
|
"... more hearts-aflutter romance than nuts-and-bolts sci-fi."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
55%
|
The Conspirator (2011)
|
"... a talking-heads lecture that seldom catches fire as compelling drama or historical narrative."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
11%
|
Red Riding Hood (2011)
|
"We always suspected the kid in the red cloak had a dark side. The new "Red Riding Hood" starring Amanda Seyfried confirms our suspicions."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
93%
|
Of Gods and Men (2011)
|
"More than anything, we come away remembering the monks' frightened-to-serene faces . . . and the sublime music."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
72%
|
Paul (2011)
|
"The poster is cute, the trailer cuter. "Paul" the movie? Don't ask."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
83%
|
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
|
"That this mystery-thriller doesn't add up ‒ feels more than a little contrived ‒ says something about compromises made to keep the filmgoer from recoiling from the heel hero."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
70%
|
Limitless (2011)
|
"... a humdinger of a science fiction thriller that scoots easily from shaggy-dog fable to noir mystery to conspiracy thriller and winds up on the dark side of Twilight Zone."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
50%
|
Wrecked (2011)
|
""first 30 minutes are as scary as anything I've seen in recent months. Director Greenspan, shooting in British Columbia, does a terrific job of sustaining Brody's restricted point-of-view ..."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
35%
|
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
|
"... lock-and-load sci-fi - "Full Metal Jacket" meets "War of the Worlds."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
40%
|
The Bleeding House (2011)
|
"more an intellectual exercise in absurdist horror than a goody-goody, balls-to-the-wall horror film. Advice to Gelatt: trust darkest instincts next time, and finish us off."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
71%
|
Hanna (2011)
|
"... the kind of deliberately stylish espionage yarn that Ingmar Bergman and Orson Welles might have agree upon, had they been predisposed to such foolishness."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
58%
|
Scream 4 (2011)
|
"Craven happily treading water, exploding the clichés he exploded so successfully 16 years ago. Result is a brain-dead brainteaser, a mirror reflection of a mirror reflection."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
94%
|
Win Win (2011)
|
"If there's a more agreeable comedy now making the rounds, please, someone, tell me about it ... easily the best film I've seen so far this year ... "
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
61%
|
Water for Elephants (2011)
|
"... sometimes feels like a big-top "Titanic" ... Standing in for those treacherous icebergs? Unhappy roustabouts, a couple of toothless lions, and a temperamental pachyderm named Rosie."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
|
78%
|
Fast Five (2011)
|
"People die, cars collide, things get blown sky high. But none of it feels at all suspenseful. Lin is much better at comedy relief, which includes a sexy con by Gadot, who beats the all-hands drug czar at his own game."
|
Glenn Lovell
|
86%
22%
90%
