|
70%
|
The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)
|
"It's a wistful charmer."
|
Julie Hinds
|
|
100%
|
Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2011)
|
"What makes this better than the usual Behind the Music-style doc is the frankness of its subjects and the fun way the filmmakers intersperse Fat Albert-style animation to tell their story."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
85%
|
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2011)
|
"Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a Canadian-made horror spoof that delivers both comedy and gross-out thrills."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
58%
|
Died Young, Stayed Pretty (2009)
|
"The poster makers... mine the outer limits of violence and misogyny with a garish, pop art palette."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
80%
|
Gran Torino (2009)
|
"Ultimately, Gran Torino is not recommended for its moralizing or its scenery, but for Eastwood's compelling performance."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
66%
|
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
|
"This new Narnia has more of everything, especially action and top-notch effects, but loses some of its soul in the process."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
——
|
One Week (1920)
|
"In 1920's One Week, the silent comedian known as the Great Stone Face attempts to assemble the build-it-yourself home he received as a wedding present."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
96%
|
Let's Get Lost (1989)
|
"There are moments in Let's Get Lost when, if you squint just a little, [Chet] Baker is a ghost image of his former self, the 1950s musical equivalent of James Dean."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
——
|
The Blacksmith (1922)
|
"As The Blacksmith, [Buster Keaton] bungles horse grooming and auto repair with slapstick finesse."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
94%
|
The Violin (El Violin) (2007)
|
"The film from first-timer Francisco Vargas puts a human face on universal suffering. It is also about the power of music, as the title instrument saves (for a while anyway) three generations of peasant men in their roles as guerrilla fighters."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
84%
|
Billy the Kid (2007)
|
"The best documentaries take you places you don't normally have access to."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
56%
|
Charlie Bartlett (2007)
|
"Tone is everything in a movie like this, and director John Poll spends the entire running time trying to find it."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
67%
|
Honeydripper (2007)
|
"It's best to forget the story here and focus on those small moments that shine in any Sayles film."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
83%
|
The Rape of Europa (2007)
|
"As thorough as the movie is, it could easily devote another hour to cases like this."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
97%
|
Persepolis (2007)
|
"More than just the first film in recent memory to be considered a must-see, Persepolis begs for a second viewing, if only to chart the way it so delicately weaves together the different stages of Marjane's life."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
41%
|
27 Dresses (2008)
|
"Sorry, Sandra. Too bad, Meg. The mantle of movie cute queen has just been passed to Katherine Heigl, starring as the romantically challenged New Yorker of 27 Dresses."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
79%
|
Jimmy Carter Man From Plains (2007)
|
"Demme says he entered the project expecting 'fireworks,' and he gets them time and again..."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
0%
|
One Missed Call (2008)
|
"Another mediocre remake of a Japanese horror film in which flashes of computer-generated ghosts are meant to compensate for lousy acting and a banal storyline."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
89%
|
The Savages (2007)
|
"The Savages not only boasts Oscar-worthy performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as a self-absorbed brother and sister, its attention to detail makes it sweetly funny and genuine."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
79%
|
The Great Debaters (2007)
|
"The Great Debaters has value, to be sure, especially for teenage viewers. But serious moviegoers, especially those attracted by the movie's aggressive Oscar campaign, will likely find the package gorgeously wrapped but intellectually empty."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
74%
|
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)
|
"You can't deny the solid performances, the meticulous period detail and, most importantly, the way it refuses to talk down to young audiences."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
65%
|
The Kite Runner (2007)
|
"The filmmakers go by the book in The Kite Runner, a literate, if occasionally listless adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
74%
|
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
|
"This smart new spoof works because its makers...obviously love the genre they have so much fun sending up."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
34%
|
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
|
"This National Treasure sequel, like its 2004 original, is a dumb movie about smart people that uses just enough historical trivia to make you feel like you're bettered by the experience."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
23%
|
P.S. I Love You (2007)
|
"Tone is everything in a movie like this, but writer-director Richard LaGravanese, working from a novel by Cecelia Ahern, can't decide between quirky indie dark comedy and laugh-a-minute TV sitcom."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
86%
|
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
|
"One of the most memorable films of the year."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
52%
|
The Walker (2007)
|
"This is no masterpiece, but a fine-tuned little thriller packed with meticulously chosen details of character and place."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
26%
|
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)
|
"Young viewers will enjoy the slapstick, while parents will relate to Lee's amiable frustration as the trio's surrogate dad."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
70%
|
I Am Legend (2007)
|
"All the effort that went into the spectacle of destroying Manhattan in flashbacks could have been better spent on developing the claustrophobic, creepy present."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
16%
|
The Perfect Holiday (2007)
|
"Dear Santa: Please leave better scripts under her Christmas tree."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
78%
|
The Page Turner (La Tourneuse de pages) (2006)
|
"This must be what a French movie-of-the-week look like, deemed art here because of the subtitles."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
93%
|
Trollflöjten (The Magic Flute) (1975)
|
"Using the opera's timeless whimsy and inventiveness, the movie replicates a performance on the stage that is so good that it almost makes you forget the participants' ABBA-like hairstyles."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
100%
|
The Magician (Ansiktet) (The Face) (1958)
|
"The movie has elements of Gothic horror and philosophy, along with lusty, low comedy rolls."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
94%
|
The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (1957)
|
"Its view of a seemingly godless landscape in the grip of plague is still bold and frightening."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
96%
|
A fost sau n-a fost?, (12:08 East of Bucharest) (2007)
|
"12:08 East of Bucharest is easier to admire than enjoy, funnier to describe than actually watch."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
44%
|
redacted (2007)
|
"It is simply so amateurish and overacted that it makes it impossible to become invested in the documentary-like reality De Palma hopes to achieve."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
77%
|
I'm Not There (2007)
|
"It willfully denies one of the sacred tenets of cinematic storytelling, that every movie -- comedy, romance or biography -- is actually a mystery, one the audience expects to see solved."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
37%
|
August Rush (2007)
|
"Director Kirsten Sheridan has no interest in keeping August Rush tethered to reality or toning down the sentimentality."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
93%
|
Enchanted (2007)
|
"What could have been an epic Disney misfire is saved by the charming Adams."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
14%
|
Hitman (2007)
|
"While Hitman is decidedly more watchable than Resident Evil and most previous video-game movies, it shares its forerunners' lack of interest in storytelling or logic."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
55%
|
This Christmas (2007)
|
"A family movie that holds few surprises but an abundance of hope and goodwill."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
74%
|
The Mist (2007)
|
"It's an old-fashioned spooker that gives the boogey-man more than a fighting chance, and leaves you more concerned about the evil out there than you were before you survived the experience."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
95%
|
No Country for Old Men (2007)
|
"Bardem is nothing less than the best movie villain since Anthony Hopkins slipped out of Hannibal Lecter's manacles, scary-smart and horrifyingly appealing, and Brolin is nothing short of a revelation."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
92%
|
Blade Runner (1982)
|
"Blade Runner: The Final Cut plays better now than ever."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
35%
|
Southland Tales (2007)
|
"No amount of reworking could salvage what was a misbegotten and unfunny idea to begin with."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
80%
|
Summer '04 (Sommer '04) (2007)
|
"What better way to spend 97 minutes in November than trying to sort out romantic complications in shorts and sailboats?"
|
John Monaghan
|
|
71%
|
Beowulf (2007)
|
"A bloody, silly-sexy action spectacle that shamelessly attempts to justify its excess by basing its violent bombast on the epic poem."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
27%
|
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
|
"Hopelessly misguided."
|
John Monaghan
|
|
37%
|
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
|
"With fine performances from Hoffman, Portman, Bateman and the sad-eyed Mills, and some ever-true observations about imagination and possibilities, Mr. Magorium is likely to work his magic given a chance."
|
Terry Lawson
|
|
——
|
I'll Believe You (2007)
|
"Cult movies have been made with a lot less, but this one, harmless enough, doesn't have enough originality or personality to get it off the ground."
|
John Monaghan
|
67%
——
98%
