Authors

Los Angeles Times

Rating Title | Year Quote Author
47%

The Great Gatsby (2013)

"On paper "Gatsby" sounds like quite the film. On screen, though, things start to fall apart."

Kenneth Turan

91%

Scandal (1989)

"The film holds because of the brilliance of Hurt and the fascination of Whalley-Kilmer, as well as the sly, tongue-in-cheek viciousness of Bridget Fonda's Mandy Rice-Davies."

Sheila Benson

46%

Agnes of God (2002)

"While Agnes of God has been considerably opened up, it is actually muddled in its transfer from stage to screen."

Kevin Thomas

82%

Wish You Were Here (Too Much) (1987)

"Wish You Were Here may always be thought of as the movie that first gave us Emily Lloyd. Or as David Leland's first directing achievement."

Sheila Benson

70%

In Country (1989)

"There's a decency about this movie that's almost palpable. It's not trying to pump us up with false jingoism or the sins of the past. Jewison, a Canadian, probably approaches the entire subject with a mediatory mood."

Michael Wilmington

97%

Groundhog Day (1993)

"Groundhog Day may not be the funniest collaboration between Bill Murray and director Harold Ramis... Yet this gentle, small-scale effort is easily the most endearing film of both men's careers, a sweet and amusing surprise package."

Kenneth Turan

98%

One False Move (1992)

"For most of the way, One False Move is taut and sure-footed."

Peter Rainer

59%

Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me (1992)

"At its best, it's a dream within a dream, a nightmare in endlessly reflecting pop mirrors, a screen full of TV-movie sex and horror kitsch blowing up right in our faces."

Michael Wilmington

81%

Something in the Air (2013)

"In creating a mashup of a Paris rocked by political storms and a young man in just as much turmoil, the director has given us a glimpse of an imperfect moment and an imperfect life in a slightly imperfect but wonderful film."

Betsy Sharkey

57%

Kiss Of The Damned (2013)

"The confident, female-driven sensuality of "Kiss of the Damned" anchors this handsome nonsense."

Amy Nicholson

77%

André Gregory: Before and After Dinner (2013)

"Watching "André Gregory: Before and After Dinner" often feels like visiting with an elegant, genial, slightly mystifying old friend."

Gary Goldstein

44%

Midnight's Children (2013)

"A pretty but staidly linear epic drained of the novel's larkish, metaphorical sweep, and a collection of multi-generational love stories lacking their originally eccentric, fizzy charm."

Robert Abele

62%

Paradise: Love (2013)

"The whole affair curdles into a feeling of unearned, defensive superiority."

Mark Olsen

42%

Paris Manhattan (2013)

"Siphons off bits of "Play It Again, Sam," "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Manhattan Murder Mystery" in its underwhelming tale of a thirtysomething Parisian's search for Mr. Right."

Sheri Linden

0%

Generation Um... (2013)

"Neither the film, nor the film within the film, hold our attention. Bummer, Keanu."

Amy Nicholson

75%

Love Is All You Need (2013)

"A lovely little lark with a good head on its shoulders."

Betsy Sharkey

67%

The Iceman (2013)

""The Iceman's" problem rests instead with the script, which the director wrote with Morgan Land, his collaborator on the "Rx" screenplay. It never gets underneath Kuklinski's skin in a way that illuminates the psychosis."

Betsy Sharkey

78%

Iron Man 3 (2013)

"By even posing questions of identity, the film creates the kind of jeopardy we can believe in, and for a superhero movie, that is an accomplishment in and of itself."

Kenneth Turan

47%

Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's (2013)

"Though partly funded by one of the descendants of the store's founder, director Matthew Miele has made a lively, clever, fast-moving film that isn't overly reverential about its subject."

Kenneth Turan

18%

Aroused (2013)

"For a film that purports to go beyond the surface and uncover the "true essence" of adult film stars, "Aroused" spends a lot of time admiring the surface."

Sheri Linden

33%

Tai Chi Hero (2013)

"There's less of the hyperventilated genre-pinging (video games, manga, comic books) from the first film. But there's still a nagging, cartoonish emptiness ..."

Robert Abele

54%

Here and There (2013)

"Esparza's cast of unknowns is so fresh and raw that the drama could be mistaken for a documentary if the camera work weren't so controlled ..."

Amy Nicholson

——

War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State (2013)

"At under an hour, the film, which also touches on White House-driven leaks for political gain, can't help but feel a bit incomplete."

Gary Goldstein

33%

The Numbers Station (2013)

"A predictable hodgepodge of uninteresting psychological cat-and-mouse, dimly lighted action filmed by director Kasper Barfoed in standard-operating shaky-cam ..."

Robert Abele

——

The Crumbles (2013)

"The modest rhythms of small-time dreamers work in Boch's favor, when augmented by his elegant framing and affectionate location shooting among the L.A. neighborhood's sloping streets and hill-perched hipster enclaves."

Robert Abele

83%

Graceland (2013)

"A tense, twisty cinematic artichoke brimming with moral complexity and intriguing shades of gray."

Gary Goldstein

98%

Mud (2013)

"One of the most creatively rich and emotionally rewarding movies to come along this year."

Betsy Sharkey

8%

The Big Wedding (2013)

"Like many big weddings - a lot of things go wrong and not much goes right."

Betsy Sharkey

46%

Pain & Gain (2013)

"It makes for some stupid/slap-shtick fun of the Stooges variety -- that is, if Larry, Curly and Moe had been hunky gym rats engaged in illegal activity. "

Betsy Sharkey

76%

Kon Tiki (2013)

""Kon-Tiki" is a ripping yarn torn from yesterday's headlines."

Kenneth Turan

24%

Arthur Newman (2013)

"The promise it begins with doesn't pay off. And while "Arthur Newman" is not a complete disaster, it does leave you wishing the romance and the ride had been a whole lot smoother."

Betsy Sharkey

53%

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)

"If there ever was a time to see "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," that time is here and now."

Kenneth Turan

58%

At Any Price (2013)

"With its fine eye for detail, At Any Price is also a complicated and revelatory look at the intersection of country folk and corporate might."

Sheri Linden

64%

Antiviral (2013)

"If Cronenberg's not yet a dead ringer for his iconic dad, he's taken an intriguing first step."

Gary Goldstein

50%

Bert Stern: Original Madman (2013)

"If someone is that bored with their own life, it's not clear why we should bother listening in, no matter what they've accomplished."

Kenneth Turan

14%

Oconomowoc (2013)

"Writer-director Andy Gillies' shaggy underachiever alternates between the pointless and the elliptical as the movie sputters out its nominal story ..."

Gary Goldstein

73%

Violeta Went to Heaven (2013)

"With its clarity and depth, Gavilan's singing is as good as her acting."

Sheri Linden

45%

Filly Brown (2013)

"Almost despite our will, the cast keeps us invested in Filly's furious resurrection."

Amy Nicholson

56%

Oblivion (2013)

"More adventurous than your typical Hollywood tent pole, "Oblivion" makes you remember why science fiction movies pulled you in way back when and didn't let you go."

Kenneth Turan

50%

Home Run (2013)

"Almost from the beginning the message overwhelms the medium."

Betsy Sharkey

57%

Unmade In China (2013)

"It's a cautionary tale of sorts, but the story is so strange it is often not clear exactly what it's cautioning us against."

Kenneth Turan

87%

In the House (2013)

"The final scene is so open-ended that like Germain, you won't want the story to end."

Betsy Sharkey

——

Pawn (2013)

""Pawn's" cops and robbers game could have been far better played."

Betsy Sharkey

100%

The Revolutionary Optimists (2013)

"A vital snapshot of developing world struggles and possibilities."

Gary Goldstein

100%

Stolen Seas (2013)

"What really elevates the film ... is the crucial context that Payne provides to explain - but not justify - the pirates' actions."

Glenn Whipp

47%

The Lords of Salem (2013)

""The Lords of Salem" will make you feel bad. But it's supposed to."

Mark Olsen

——

Three Days (Three Days of Hamlet) ()

"The result is high school English crossed with "Waiting for Guffman," though the humor is largely accidental."

Amy Nicholson

4%

Scary Movie 5 (2013)

"For the art-house crowd, who may, I suppose, stumble drunk into the wrong theater after too much Chardonnay, there are nods to Black Swan and 127 Hours."

Amy Nicholson

77%

The Mask (1994)

"Not only is he adept at physical humor, the kind of knockabout stuff that recalls the classic silent clowns, but Carrey also has a bright and likable screen presence, a lost puppy quality that is surprisingly endearing."

Kenneth Turan

45%

Leonie (2013)

"As a portrait of female strength and a celebration of the artistic spirit, "Leonie" too seldom comes fully alive."

Sheri Linden

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