|
95%
|
The Queen of Versailles (2012)
|
"A tragicomic indulgence of schadenfreude with the sophistication of a Kardashian reality show."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
87%
|
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
|
"There's no doubt that fans of the legendary Nolan trilogy will find a finale that satisfies."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
86%
|
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
|
"Zeitlin's grainy, hypnotic feature film debut offers a child's fantastical perception of life at nature's edge."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
88%
|
Neil Young Journeys (2012)
|
"Demme's visual attention to detail is matched by the film's impeccable sound quality."
|
George Varga
|
|
43%
|
To Rome with Love (2012)
|
"Even at 76, Allen maintains his grueling pace of releasing one film a year, which doesn't allow much time for finely tuned scripts, robust character development or visual finesse."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
78%
|
Brave (2012)
|
"It's disappointing that the team of writers, including Andrews and Chapman, failed to redefine what it means to be a heroine in big-budget animation."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
41%
|
Rock of Ages (2012)
|
"The film feels much like where it came from, modern-day Broadway - a formerly grimy section of New York City that's been scrubbed clean and thoroughly Disneyfied."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
74%
|
Prometheus (2012)
|
""Prometheus" may go overboard on the existential inquiry, but it's still an epic ride."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
94%
|
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
|
"Exactly what you expect from Anderson, and also dangerously close to overstaying its welcome."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
58%
|
Hysteria (2012)
|
"For a film that's so up in women's business, it's surprising how far it gets from putting an authentic woman on the screen. "
|
Alison Gang
|
|
70%
|
Men in Black III (2012)
|
""Men in Black 3" is a bore."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
——
|
Murder Capital of the World (2012)
|
"Despite the lack of solutions, "Murder Capital of the World" accomplishes what seems to be Minn's goal: make his American audience feel compassion and a righteous sense of injustice for the people of Juarez."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
22%
|
What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)
|
"It is, indeed, what a moviegoer should expect from a genre in which an ensemble cast of famous, pretty faces is loosely strung together by an innocuous holiday or, in this case, baby-having."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
62%
|
Lymelife (2008)
|
"The rest of the cast is splendid, including Alec Baldwin, a long way from the network executive on the TV sitcom 30 Rock."
|
Lee Grant
|
|
93%
|
Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
|
"It's all rather serious and ominous, yet outlandish and mostly entertaining. Sounds about right for summer, doesn't it?"
|
Alison Gang
|
|
98%
|
The Island President (2012)
|
"Shenk's tight storytelling makes for a gripping film that delivers the ugly, at times ennobling, truth."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
87%
|
Bully (2012)
|
"By ignoring the perpetrators, Hirsch keeps the finger pointed only at the victims and the underfunded, overworked school administrators. In a way it feels like the bullies were yet again let off the hook. "
|
Alison Gang
|
|
83%
|
Comic-Con: Episode IV - A Fan's Hope (2012)
|
"A loving yet scattered documentary about San Diego Comic-Con International."
|
Nina Garin
|
|
50%
|
Mirror Mirror (2012)
|
"A cartoonish, nonsensical mishmash that falls somewhere between a Saturday morning cartoon and the Three Stooges."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
85%
|
The Hunger Games (2012)
|
"Take away the hullabaloo surrounding the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling young adult book and what you have is an absorbing film with a dire premise that stands pretty much on its own."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
96%
|
Undefeated (2012)
|
"A touching documentary that offers a field-level portrait of male mentorship, compassion and unvarnished hope - all without a Hollywood ending."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
51%
|
John Carter (2012)
|
"Disney and director Andrew Stanton may have dusted off the creaky franchise and wrapped it in $300 million worth of 3-D digital effects, but the final product still feels like ancient history."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
25%
|
Act of Valor (2012)
|
"Moments before and between the missions plays like stilted filler cable TV programming, but once our heroes step onto that helicopter or sea vessel, Act of Valor puts the audience into the boots and under the helmets of these elite fighters. "
|
Alison Gang
|
|
46%
|
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)
|
"Yes, Daldry extracts a few tears in the process, but the increasing number of precious touches leaves you feeling pandered to and clumsily manipulated."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
52%
|
The Iron Lady (2012)
|
"Even Ms. Streep's best efforts can't rescue this sloppy biopic from itself."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
98%
|
The Artist (2011)
|
"The story and the silent-era conventions may not be entirely original, but the director revives this uniquely American storytelling style with such infectious joy and life-affirming enthusiasm that it's nearly impossible not to respond in equal measure."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
80%
|
Shame (2011)
|
"When Fassbender is paired with McQueen, the actor is at his most intense, physical and even a little frightening. "
|
Alison Gang
|
|
86%
|
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
|
"Fincher delivers a well-paced story (even at more than 2 1/2 hours), without a lot of unnecessary Hollywood flash..."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
84%
|
My Week with Marilyn (2011)
|
"Williams' delicate, underplayed performance demonstrates the actress' courage and confidence in her own talent to take herself - and her audience - inside Monroe's fragile psyche."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
94%
|
Hugo (2011)
|
""Hugo" is as much a tribute to the medium that gave [Scorsese] life as it is to the magical world Selznick created in his illustrated book."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
89%
|
The Descendants (2011)
|
""The balmy breezes and small-town intimacy of island life give "The Descendants" a leisurely tone that distinguishes it from Payne's more angry-edged work.""
|
Alison Gang
|
|
73%
|
Like Crazy (2011)
|
"Doremus reminds us of what love felt like the first time - before our hearts were dented, dinged or all-out broken - when we could fall irrationally hard, with pure intentions, and no idea that it simply can't stay that way forever."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
44%
|
J. Edgar (2011)
|
"We get straightforward narration and expository dialogue that introduces each time-traveling vignette and dictates Hoover's tiresome "me versus them" rationalizations for whatever unscrupulous thing he did to stop them."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
69%
|
Tower Heist (2011)
|
""Tower Heist" and its cast still manage to hit a few functional notes that allow the film to pass as a serviceable comedy that will probably play best on Saturday afternoon cable (you know, where all the other '80s action-comedies live)."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
90%
|
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
|
"Durkin eschews the sensationalism so often associated with cults in favor of an intimate, psychological portrayal of the confusion, fear and mistrust someone in Martha's situation might experience."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
81%
|
The Skin I Live In (2011)
|
"Almodóvar puts Vera on display like a piece of grocery store meat wrapped under cellophane, designed to be appetizing - as long as you don't think about where it came from."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
40%
|
The Big Year (2011)
|
""The Big Year" proves yet again that comedy isn't just magic that happens when funny people stand next to each other. They actually have to be doing or saying, or not doing or not saying, something that might inspire humor."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
85%
|
The Ides of March (2011)
|
"While the story itself takes some tense turns, Clooney's moralizing doesn't, leaving us with a bit of a campaign hangover."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
93%
|
50/50 (2011)
|
""50/50" is an unusual comedy that should be taken seriously."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
95%
|
Moneyball (2011)
|
"Just like any baseball game, "Moneyball" has its slow points. But while you're waiting for something of substance to happen, there are plenty of worthwhile glimpses behind the scenes of a low-budget baseball club to keep your interest."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
93%
|
Drive (2011)
|
"An enthralling piece of filmmaking in the same class as Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," and Oscar-worthy acting that firmly places Gosling in the role of top-tier star."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
85%
|
Contagion (2011)
|
"As he did in his 2000 film "Traffic," director Steven Soderbergh weaves together multiple perspectives in a seamlessly edited collage."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
73%
|
Bellflower (2011)
|
"Glodell's vision is a disturbing portrait of the first generation to come of age in a post-9/11 America."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
68%
|
Our Idiot Brother (2011)
|
"Hey, man, if you've got Paul Rudd spreading sunshine in every scene, what's there to complain about?"
|
Alison Gang
|
|
36%
|
One Day (2011)
|
"By the time this flat, excruciatingly predictable film reaches its drawn-out, melodramatic (and unintentionally comedic) ending, we've not only stopped caring about Emma and Dexter, we're actively rooting against them."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
72%
|
The Future (2011)
|
"A heartbreaking journey of defeat and loss."
|
Nina Garin
|
|
45%
|
30 Minutes or Less (2011)
|
"A Beavis and Butt-Head-style bank robbery comedy that leaves you longing for the intelligence and sophistication of a bachelor party in Bangkok."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
76%
|
The Help (2011)
|
"Writer/director Tate Taylor takes care to balance the at-odds themes of shameful social injustice, female bonding and outright comedy in this tale about African-American maids in 1960s Jackson, Miss."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
64%
|
Another Earth (2011)
|
"This Sundance hit is really about the universe within our own minds, whether it's the prisons of guilt we lock ourselves in or the fantasies we construct to escape."
|
Alison Gang
|
|
82%
|
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
|
"Gives contemporary audiences the chance to embrace this cultural phenomenon on their own terms with (near) total seriousness and superior special effects."
|
Alison Gang
|
78%
47%
100%
85%
45%
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