|
87%
|
28 Days Later (2003)
|
"What also makes 28 Days Later effective, and sets it apart from other thrillers, is that it makes you care about the characters."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
91%
|
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
|
"The pasty, scruffy Pegg shows a surprising amount of range for the unlikely hero of a zombie flick."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
87%
|
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
|
"The thought that Blair Witch Project just might be real makes it much scarier than any of the teen horror flicks that have stumbled along in recent years."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
98%
|
Gravity (2013)
|
"As the credits roll, you may find yourself thinking about real space launches you've watched, or watching man walk on the moon, and remembering that feeling of awe at how man ever developed the technology to explore space in the first place."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
59%
|
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
|
"Some might find these tiresome, but let's just note here that this is a kid movie, and KIDS LOVE PUNS. So they laugh at ''There's a leek in the boat.'' And they laugh even more the second time."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
83%
|
Don Jon (2013)
|
"''Don Jon'' is a lark, but an enjoyable one with a full-hearted finale, and it further reveals the considerable talents of Gordon-Levitt."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
80%
|
Prisoners (2013)
|
"In less talented hands, the story could lapse into the maudlin. But Villeneuve, director of the Oscar-nominated Incendies, seems to know just how far to go; only one moment feels less than authentic, but it would be a spoiler to mention it."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
88%
|
Rush (2013)
|
"It's not only one of the better racing films, it's one of Howard's best."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
33%
|
The Family (2013)
|
"[An] oddly paced, overly violent, sometimes amusing but sometimes jarringly unfunny movie."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
35%
|
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
|
"Insidious: Chapter 2 picks up where the first story ended, but the sequel has enough scares, laughs and a story of its own to stand alone."
|
Sandy Cohen
|
|
34%
|
Salinger (2013)
|
"[Salerno] took a kitchen-sink approach, and while the film moves quickly for its 120 minutes, that approach blunts its impact."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
60%
|
Riddick (2013)
|
"''Sloppy'' is a kind word, actually, for the ridiculously clumsy dialogue in ''Riddick,'' the third and latest installment of the sci-fi saga."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
3%
|
Getaway (2013)
|
"The action (all at nighttime) is messily and crudely filmed. The plot mechanics are often laughable."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
46%
|
Closed Circuit (2013)
|
"A smart script by Steven Knight keeps the action humming along smoothly and concisely - if sometimes, it must be said, a bit illogically."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
12%
|
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
|
"It desperately gathers clichés like a teen fantasy Frankenstein that doesn't realize its secret identity: parody."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
89%
|
The World's End (2013)
|
""The World's End" one of those bittersweet coming-home films that show how difficult it is to really, well, go home. Because it's never the same."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
26%
|
Jobs (2013)
|
"The history of a company isn't as compelling as the history of a person, especially one as complex, innovative and influential as Steve Jobs."
|
Sandy Cohen
|
|
81%
|
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
|
"Awash in 1970s filmmaking and the kind of stylized folksiness that pickling Brooklyn hipsters with handlebar mustaches will positively drool over."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
73%
|
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)
|
"Daniels and company may not have made a masterpiece, but they have made a film you should see."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
47%
|
We're The Millers (2013)
|
"When the end-credit bloopers roll, Sudeikis and Aniston, free of the contrived plot, look like they're finally having fun."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
68%
|
Elysium (2013)
|
"If ''Elysium'' doesn't nearly live up to ''District 9,'' it shows enough panache to leave us waiting enthusiastically for his next effort."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
94%
|
March of the Penguins (2005)
|
"French director Luc Jacquet and a team of incredibly brave (and heavily bundled) documentary filmmakers captured this complicated mating ritual with strikingly crisp photography that's both grand and intimate."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
91%
|
Minority Report (2002)
|
"For its stunning visuals and standout performances, Minority Report -- or at least the first three-fourths of it -- might just be the best movie so far this year."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
92%
|
Insomnia (2002)
|
"The highlight is Pacino, who gives his best performance in years."
|
David Germain
|
|
99%
|
Finding Nemo (2003)
|
"Finding Nemo is laced with smart humor and clever gags, and buoyed by another cheery story of mismatched buddies: a pair of fish voiced by Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres."
|
David Germain
|
|
97%
|
The Iron Giant (1999)
|
"It is in the best tradition of animation: an ideal tale for children that offers a lot to adults as well."
|
Ted Anthony
|
|
89%
|
Spider-Man (2002)
|
"With earnest, unpretentious delivery, Maguire is an eminently likable hero audiences will root for from his earliest moments as the class wimp."
|
David Germain
|
|
92%
|
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
|
"War may be a faceless affair, but war movies shouldn't be."
|
Hillel Italie
|
|
91%
|
The Spectacular Now (2013)
|
"A pure gem of a teen romance graced with sparkling acting by its young leads, Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, as high-school seniors falling awkwardly in love."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
63%
|
2 Guns (2013)
|
"For each amusing exchange, there's a gratuitous scene that dampens the proceedings. One of the worst involves the torture of chickens."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
73%
|
Frailty (2002)
|
"Paxton steals the show. And O'Leary more than holds his own again here. Too bad it's in a movie that fails to live up to its potential."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
69%
|
The Wolverine (2013)
|
"At this point [Jackman] could play the role in his sleep - but he doesn't, and the nuances he and director Mangold bring to the character lift this enterprise up from the usual blockbuster-sequel fare."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
91%
|
Blue Jasmine (2013)
|
"Is ''Blue Jasmine'' an Occupy Wall Street-era morality tale, or just a deeply absorbing character study? Either way, Allen has given us a whole lot to chew on - and a flawed heroine we'll remember for a long time."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
40%
|
Only God Forgives (2013)
|
"Once you get past its slick veneer, you may find yourself looking at your watch, even though it clocks in at a concise 89 minutes."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
86%
|
The Conjuring (2013)
|
"''The Conjuring'' is an unusually sturdy piece of haunted-house genre filmmaking."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
72%
|
Pacific Rim (2013)
|
"Though it's made by an obviously gifted director and will likely please devotees of the genre, it ultimately feels very short on character and long on noise, noise, noise."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
94%
|
Fruitvale Station (2013)
|
"For a movie about an unjust death, "Fruitvale Station" is bursting with the colorful, messy striving of life."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
85%
|
The Way Way Back (2013)
|
"It meanders a bit, it's a little lacking in structure, but it's full of small memorable moments - and you're sad when it's over."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
31%
|
The Lone Ranger (2013)
|
"There's a limit, it turns out, to how much Johnny Depp and a bucket of makeup can accomplish."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
50%
|
White House Down (2013)
|
"If stripped of its production value, ''White House Down'' would make one hysterical off-Broadway one-act."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
67%
|
World War Z (2013)
|
"Pretty much what you'd want in a summer blockbuster: scary but not-too-gross zombies, a journey to exotic locales, a few excellent action scenes, and did we mention Pitt?"
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
78%
|
Monsters University (2013)
|
"Pixar's ''Monsters University'' might not be as gifted as some of its other movies, but sometimes it's alright to be OK."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
8%
|
Summer Catch (2001)
|
"Maybe the filmmakers figured that the audience for Summer Catch is too young to have seen Bull Durham."
|
Malcolm Ritter
|
|
59%
|
The Bling Ring (2013)
|
"It's obvious that Coppola knows this milieu, what these kids wear and the way they speak."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
56%
|
Man of Steel (2013)
|
"The gravity that cloaks ''Man of Steel'' is merely an en vogue costume."
|
Jake Coyle
|
|
6%
|
Underclassman (2005)
|
"Consists of little more than tired racial jokes and fish-out-of-water gags."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
6%
|
The Perfect Man (2005)
|
"The latest dose of Hilary Duff fluff is essentially a series of gags and scenarios that range from implausible to outlandish."
|
David Germain
|
|
7%
|
License to Wed (2007)
|
"It's exactly what it looks like from the commercials -- a one-joke movie, and that one joke isn't even funny to begin with."
|
Christy Lemire
|
|
35%
|
The Internship (2013)
|
"The premise, like the whole movie, is far-fetched but enjoyable."
|
Jocelyn Noveck
|
|
84%
|
Much Ado About Nothing (2013)
|
"Moviegoers will likely have few better options this summer for a good romantic comedy."
|
Jake Coyle
|
