|
78%
|
Iron Man 3 (2013)
|
"Here, it's not the suit that makes the man; it's the man that makes the suit. And Downey is still the star that keeps it-and this multi-million-dollar movie franchise-roaring and soaring. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
98%
|
Mud (2013)
|
"A modern-day Huck Finn adventure pulled along in the mesmerizing current of a crime yarn and anchored to a teenager's heartbreaking quest for emotional moorings. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
56%
|
Oblivion (2013)
|
"The jam-packed storyline piles on themes and sci-fi clichés, pompously wraps them around an obscure Victorian era poem, then throws in an Andrew Wyeth painting for good cultural measure. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
62%
|
Evil Dead (2013)
|
"A big, spewing slab of gory, red meat entertainment, carved out with all the delicacy of a sputtering chainsaw, for fans a horror movie classic that just refuses to die. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
43%
|
Admission (2013)
|
"A running theme of parenthood, by nature or nurture, extends "Admission" beyond its broader comedy of mismatched-or missing-romantic partners, sight gags and punch lines. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
48%
|
Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
|
"A big, boomy, flag-waving bash of lug-headed escapism."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
39%
|
The Call (2013)
|
"A rather unsavory experience overall made even less pleasant by its ultimate pandering to the basest of its audience's entertainment tastes. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
60%
|
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
|
"This fun-filled, fantastically rendered yellow-brick romp, a back-story companion piece, is festooned with its own characters and once-upon-a-time charms. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
85%
|
Side Effects (2013)
|
"A real pill of a movie that packs a serious one-two punch as a detective drama coupled with a cautionary tale about the dangers of trying to pharma-cate our troubles away. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
58%
|
Snitch (2013)
|
"Has a sobering message underneath its action-movie surface-and behind the marquee power of its muscle-bound leading man. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
13%
|
Safe Haven (2013)
|
"Moves along at the pace of a leisurely paddled canoe, until the big, explosive, action-y roll-call finale of everything and everyone, in one place, at one time, plus fireworks. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
20%
|
Identity Thief (2013)
|
"It's not perfect, but it is a wild 'n' crazy road trip on the lighter side of a topic that, as a lot of folks have discovered, is no laughing matter. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
12%
|
Alex Cross (2012)
|
"Never quite rises above a run-of-the-mill, cop-chases-killer-thriller flick, or much expands beyond would happen if an hour-long TV drama was given an extra half-hour to stretch."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
69%
|
Not Fade Away (2012)
|
"An exhilarating rush of keenly observant, sometimes barbed, occasionally funny and often poignant detail, and all of it feels right. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
76%
|
Killing Them Softly (2012)
|
"A top-notch, viscerally powerfully mobster movie with a view of free-market enterprise as practiced at its most harrowingly basic, last-man-standing level. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
30%
|
Broken City (2013)
|
"Feels, looks and sounds like it's pouting that it can't be a smoldering 1940s pulp detective drama instead of a modern-day crime thriller that needs to lure audiences into multiplexes alongside screens offering far more bang for the buck. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
65%
|
Mama (2013)
|
"This skin-crawling creep-out of a custody battle won't win any major awards, but it does liven things up with more than a few good, old-fashioned scares. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
93%
|
Zero Dark Thirty (2013)
|
"It asks its audience: When does the risk of doing something outweigh the risk not doing anything? What are the costs of revenge? Where will the "war on terror" take us next? "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
61%
|
Jack Reacher (2012)
|
"An often outlandish, overly talky crime-procedural drama that seems like a vanity project its marquee star must have wanted to do with his director buddy while waiting for their next "Mission Impossible" collaboration. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
18%
|
Parental Guidance (2012)
|
"A yappy pile-up of grandparents-know-best shtick, gross-out bathroom humor and sentimental claptrap. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
70%
|
Les Misérables (2012)
|
"The "misery" is there, all right. But so is the uplift. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012)
|
"Few movies have ever dared to stir such highly charged, combustible subject matter into such a cocky cocktail. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
4%
|
Playing for Keeps (2012)
|
"A father-son heart-tugger wrapped around a mushy reconciliation rom-com sprinkled with tinsel of shiny Hollywood supporting stars acting like they're in another movie entirely. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
88%
|
Life of Pi (2012)
|
"It's about the circle of coexistence, but in the end, it circles around to leave you wondering what, exactly, you're supposed to think about what you've just seen. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
74%
|
Rise of the Guardians (2012)
|
"Will touch the hearts of anyone-of any age-who can reconnect with the magical childlike power of believing. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
13%
|
Red Dawn (2012)
|
"The '84 original wasn't Shakespeare by any stretch, but it's practically a nostalgic masterpiece compared to this misguided remake. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012)
|
"Sweeping action, solid characters, spectacular scenery, a bountiful sense of cleverness, and a pitch-perfect tone of self-reference to the long line of Bond pop-culture mythology. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
79%
|
Flight (2012)
|
"Plenty to ponder: God & faith, fate & choices, broken families & broken people, cover-ups & coming clean, & the grey area between the culture of drugs & the devastation of addiction. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
96%
|
Argo (2012)
|
"Given today's headline news from the Middle East, it seems not only frighteningly, jarringly real, but like it could easily have happened last week. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012)
|
"An extremely touching tale of a boy and his dog makes "Frankenweenie" much more than just a dazzling exercise in pop-culture cleverness. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
63%
|
Sinister (2012)
|
"A stylishly made, perversely twisted tale that swirls with murder, madness, ghosts, demons and the stuff of nightmares. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
81%
|
Pitch Perfect (2012)
|
"Rebel Wilson steals the show as Fat Amy, a big, bountiful Bella whose generous physical proportions are matched by her gift of knowing how, when and where to sprinkle on just the right amount of comedic side-dish seasoning. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
87%
|
Arbitrage (2012)
|
"When it's over, you feel the same chill as its characters, pondering the cold, thin line that slices like a razor between striking it rich and losing it all. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
51%
|
Trouble with the Curve (2012)
|
"Tender, touching, moving and often funny, and the scenes between Adams and Eastwood have an honest, been-there, lived-in feel. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
67%
|
Lawless (2012)
|
"Like the kickapoo hillbilly brew slow-cooking in one of the Bondurant stills, it packs a punch that may be thrilling to some, but possibly a bit too strong and unsettling for some stomachs. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
65%
|
The Expendables 2 (2012)
|
"Despite its ridiculously high kill count, there's a vein of humor running throughout the script and almost as many quips zipping around as bullets. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
65%
|
The Campaign (2012)
|
"Although the over-the-top antics are outrageous and outlandish, they're grounded in the bloody mash-up realities of modern-day politics. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
56%
|
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
|
"After one of the best chase sequences of any movie this year, it literally slams into an ending that doesn't feel very much like an ending at all, leaving viewers adrift in a sea of unanswered spy questions."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
42%
|
Step Up 4: Miami Heat (2012)
|
"Anyone who loves watching any kind of dance (and, based on the popularity of the TV shows "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With The Stars," there are a few of you who do) will find something to appreciate and admire. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
16%
|
The Watch (2012)
|
"It's amazing how much thought, effort and creative energy "The Watch" works into its script about human---and space-alien---crotches. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
|
"The summer's most grandiose, grown-up, operatic superhero movie, one that makes others look, in comparison, like kids playing around in action-figure pajamas. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
|
"Funny, touching, sweet and drenched in '60s nostalgia, but reverberating with distant, haunting echoes of adolescent longing for practically anyone who grew up anytime, anyplace, anywhere. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
73%
|
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
|
"The most "amazing" thing about this 50-year-old superhero saga is that there's still so much freshness, energy and fun to be spun, once again, from a story that Spidey fans already know so well. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
78%
|
Brave (2012)
|
"Merida's bravery provides the title. But the movie's real message is in the lengths she goes to repair the damage her words and actions cause to the woman who brought her into the world. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012)
|
"Prometheus asks a big, loaded question, but teasingly leaves the answer for another mission...and another movie. "
|
Neil Pond
|
|
41%
|
Rock of Ages (2012)
|
"Big, showy and over the top with highs, lows, laughs and some truly fist-pumping performances from a diverse cast of familiar actors, most of them in roles requiring some serious belting and hoofing."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
48%
|
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
|
"Restores some of the fable's pre-Disney grit and gristle and strips decades of candy coating off its grown-up edge."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
22%
|
What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)
|
"A dirty diaper bag of sex jokes, sentimental mush, cartoonish claptrap and weary parent-to-be cliches."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
70%
|
Men in Black III (2012)
|
"Dials down the creepy-crawly alien effects and ups the human element for this trip down the time tunnel, with a running theme of mortality, fatherhood and uncovering the mysteries of the past."
|
Neil Pond
|
|
34%
|
Battleship (2012)
|
"A clangy, anchors-aweigh bombast of special-effects whoosh and wallop, ka-booming explosions and dumb action-movie dialogue."
|
Neil Pond
|
47%
45%
95%
99%
65%
61%
