|
——
|
The Factory (2013)
|
"Aiming for a grim tone of genre escapism, The Factory drowns in poor taste and dismal logic, pushing anger and unnerving personal issues on people just looking to be entertained."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
93%
|
The Sapphires (2013)
|
"There's enough gaiety and whirlwind plotting to sustain an upbeat attitude about the whole endeavor, even when director Wayne Blair seems utterly determined to exit the effort on a sour note. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Officer Down (2013)
|
"It doesn't quite achieve its plan for a psychological breakdown, but the effort is appreciated, even in a feature as messy as this one. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
6%
|
A Haunted House (2013)
|
"As to be expected with a Wayans endeavor, the picture is crude, desperate, and permissive with its actors. What's surprising here is how lazy A Haunted House is."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013)
|
"A stylized, overly emphatic actioner, complete with blazing Tommy guns, professional wrestling-style performances, and a simplified conflict to extract the most machismo. Gangster Squad disappoints in a big bad way. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Vs (2013)
|
"A DOA effort that's severely flawed and poorly executed, attempting to find a dark, personal side of crime fighting and its foundation of courage with a lunch-money budget."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
43%
|
Storage 24 (2013)
|
"Certainly an acceptable matinee distraction and an effective creature feature, at least in rare moments where the monster actually resembles a monster and not a PS3 glitch."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
24%
|
Struck by Lightning (2013)
|
"It's not exactly ambitious, but Struck by Lightning is a noble failure, with individual elements more interesting than the strangled, distracted whole. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
19%
|
Texas Chainsaw (2013)
|
"I'm not exactly sure what Luessenhop and Company were thinking when they assembled this stinker, though genuine thought appears to have been the last thing on their mind."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Crawlspace (2013)
|
"It's B-movie expertise and genre inventiveness that's always interesting to watch, working where many filmmakers have failed."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Sushi Girl (2013)
|
"The real shock of Sushi Girl is how it manages to hold interest despite its familiar moves, working to build a grim personality of its own. Saxton and Pfaff have managed to pull off an entertaining picture."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
19%
|
The Baytown Outlaws (2013)
|
"It's a shame Battles loses his nerve in the final act, weirdly assuming viewers have developed an emotional attachment to material that works best as a cartoon. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
8%
|
A Dark Truth (2013)
|
"An interesting baby step toward a larger discussion of the water rights issue, but there's not enough integrity here to savor, with all the violence and cliche drowning out the lasting message of the movie."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
56%
|
Now Is Good (2013)
|
"Surprisingly harsh when it comes to the dented appeal of its lead character, the movie is a predictable drag, attempting to cozy up to its young adult literary origins in a decidedly tuneless fashion. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
81%
|
The Impossible (2012)
|
"Although it sounds like a downer, The Impossible is actually emotionally satisfying and educational in a way, with director Juan Antonio Bayona doing a superb job keeping the details vital and the characters admirably resolute. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
51%
|
Promised Land (2013)
|
"Interesting movie, but never reaches the greatness or significance it imagines for itself, cursed with a dreadful conclusion that's strangely non-committal considering all the passions swirling around the material."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
44%
|
Save The Date (2012)
|
"Slumbers through routine conflicts, often in the dullest manner imaginable, refusing the lure of a snappy pace to wallow in poor communication contests that grow intolerable."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
14%
|
Ecstasy (2012)
|
"Ecstasy attempts to conjure the same sense of insanity, musical muscle, and impish wit, only to stumble repeatedly as it struggles to put on a dazzling sound and light show. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
18%
|
Parental Guidance (2012)
|
"I'd write that this is the worst production Crystal has been involved with this year, but we all saw the Oscars. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
69%
|
Les Misérables (2012)
|
"A boldly conceived effort with stunning performances and a searing sense of despair, yet the world-famous music lives on, supporting a unique attempt to strip the theatrical behemoth down to its purest elements of stinging emotion."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
88%
|
Django Unchained (2012)
|
"No disaster, far from it at times, actually, but there's a lethargy here that's disconcerting, blocking a lovely view of all the cinematic tributes and screen artistry that typically resides in Tarantinoland."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
82%
|
De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012)
|
"Chemistry shared between Cotillard and Schoenaerts could be seen from space, and Audiard extracts ideal sexual tension and communication frustrations along the way."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
61%
|
Jack Reacher (2012)
|
"Has moments of inviting escapism, but it's also a mystery of debatable importance. In the end, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie makes an engaging feature, but often chooses the wrong elements to emphasize. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
47%
|
Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)
|
"On the plus side, multiplex pricing is much more affordable than any ticket to an actual Cirque du Soleil performance. Perhaps one should consider Worlds Away to be the best Groupon deal of all time. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
96%
|
Monsters, Inc. 3D (2012)
|
"Monsters, Inc. continues a positive 3D trend for the company, who appear to be selecting their upgraded titles wisely, choosing features that benefit from the additional depth."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
94%
|
Room 237 (2013)
|
"Guarantees a whole new perspective on the 1980 movie, while making any future viewing of The Shining immense fun with all this fresh information to process and flashes of madness to sort out. It's a hypnotic documentary."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
52%
|
This is 40 (2012)
|
"The results are uproarious and keenly observed, continuing Apatow's satisfying quest to inspect itchy human behavior with a pronounced silly streak. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
38%
|
The Guilt Trip (2012)
|
"For a road movie, the feature goes absolutely nowhere. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
45%
|
On the Road (2012)
|
"Mistakes droning meditation for soulful significance, dashing around Kerouac's experiences without establishing connective tissue, making the feature less about the characters and more about the highlights."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
77%
|
Any Day Now (2012)
|
"A Very Special Movie approach for material that deserves nuance and patience, relying on shameless manipulation to communicate simple ideas on prejudice and parenting."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
30%
|
Babes in Toyland (1961)
|
"Perhaps 105 minutes of this sugary concoction borders on punishment, but when the movie hits a creative groove the results are highly amusing, generating a heightened sense of theatrical entertainment with a definite Disney twist. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
|
"I trust Jackson's instincts with Tolkien's work. It's his editorial indifference that could pose a greater threat to The Hobbit than any attack from Smaug."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
100%
|
Wake in Fright (2012)
|
"Brutal, but in a deceptively causal manner, Wake in Fright submits one the sharpest depictions of Outback life I've come into contact with, imagining the vast land as a sun-baked prison from which there is no escape. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
38%
|
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)
|
"Successfully undertakes a challenging story with a welcome detachment, preferring to focus on the characters, not the larger fallout from their actions. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Freeloaders (2013)
|
"Broken Lizard is no longer a brand name, it's a warning label."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Amber Alert (2012)
|
"If the sound of child being molested and moronic lead characters endlessly bickering is your thing, perhaps the feature won't feel like swallowing glass for 70 minutes."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
75%
|
Comic Book Confidential (1999)
|
"The highest compliment I can pay the picture is that it makes me want to delve further into the research and discussion of comic books, to continue exploring where Mann's work ends. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
29%
|
Heavyweights (Heavy Weights) (1995)
|
"Time has been kind to the discarded fat camp movie, finding Heavyweights more digestible these days, after years spent processing the askew sense of humor shared by Apatow and Company. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
4%
|
Playing for Keeps (2012)
|
"At this point, I'm positive Gerard Butler selects his scripts by blindfolded dart throw. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
64%
|
The Fitzgerald Family Christmas (2012)
|
"A fertile battlefield of sibling discontent and parental resentment, creating a prickly but inviting familial atmosphere that offers enough variation in woe to ease the script out of its occasional dalliance with clumsy melodrama. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
35%
|
Cheerful Weather For The Wedding (2012)
|
"Entertains intermittently with its stiff-upper-lip community interplay, only truly taking command when it focuses on unspoken desires and stymied confessions."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
96%
|
Chasing Ice (2012)
|
"Despite its dire message about rising carbon dioxide levels polluting the Earth, Chasing Ice is a beautiful film, with stunning visits to snowy realms with deep blue water."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
36%
|
The Collection (2012)
|
"Comes off as a disappointment, failing to live up to its sequel potential by advancing the conflict and expanding murderous appetites in an exciting, imaginative manner."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
75%
|
Killing Them Softly (2012)
|
"Killing Them Softly is mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore, but fails to provide an invitation to join the outrage."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
63%
|
Hitchcock (2012)
|
"The results are entertaining and capably acted, but true insight remains at arm's length, despite a feature cooking up all sorts of ghoulish visions and barely concealed jealousies. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
67%
|
Price Check (2012)
|
"Posey is bravely unlikable and invested in Walker's script, turning Price Check from a mechanical comedic routine about office politics into something complex and occasionally dangerous. I wasn't aware she was even capable of this."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
95%
|
Sister (2012)
|
"For the most part a distant film, Sister supplies a full behavioral experience that's riveting at times, with lead performances by Lea Seydoux and Kacey Mottet Klein communicating isolation in bravely vulnerable ways. "
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
——
|
Shadows (Hellgate) (2013)
|
"Nothing but silliness, yet there's potential baked into the foundation of the story that suggests a more profound approach was there for the taking, finding Penney passing on the challenge to make a trivial horror film."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
90%
|
Holy Motors (2012)
|
"If Carax's sorcery doesn't immediately encourage interest in Oscar's fantasyland invasion, trigger the eject button on your seat. Holy Motors is not the type of cinema that should be endured."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
|
32%
|
Deadfall (2012)
|
"A film of shootouts, snowmobile chases, anguish, and forgiveness. That it rarely lingers long enough to soak up its ample mood and process intricacy of behavior is baffling."
|
Brian Orndorf
|
72%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
