|
98%
|
Gravity (2013)
|
"Yes, director Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity is laden with ingenious special effects, but they make for a balletic visual experience that engulfs and transports the audience in a way that very few movies ever have."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
46%
|
Parkland (2013)
|
"JFK conspiracy advocates are invited to hold their letters; Parkland isn't really about all that, which is both a strength and a weakness. In contrast to, say, the phantasmagorical JFK, it is impossible to tell where history stops and Parkland begins."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
88%
|
Rush (2013)
|
"Howard gives an epic, swinging story an appropriately epic, swinging treatment. You will likely race home afterward."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
95%
|
Enough Said (2013)
|
"Both Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus do strong work, but it's virtually impossible not to look at anything other than Gandolfini when he's on screen."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
34%
|
Salinger (2013)
|
"Holden would avert his eyes in mortification at such corniness. So should we."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
99%
|
Short Term 12 (2013)
|
"The movie has an authenticity and intensity that derives from excellent performances by its young cast and a script that never panders to its characters or the audience."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
69%
|
I Declare War (2013)
|
"I Declare War works best not as a Lord of the Flies riff but as a solid look at how close middle-school emotions are to the surface and how imaginary wars become real-life conflicts in the space of a too-harsh word."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
81%
|
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
|
"After unspooling in the first two acts, the frayed story returns to a tight form as the suspense builds. What begins as a Malick-esque exploration of light and warmth moves into the dark recesses of cold loneliness and potential danger."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
83%
|
Computer Chess (2013)
|
"Computer Chess is packed with characters both specific to the tournament and familiar to anyone who has ever attended any sort of convention. You will recognize everyone's haircut from your 1981 yearbooks."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
91%
|
In a World... (2013)
|
"It is a refreshing and unique film that marks the longtime romantic comedy side player as not only a leading lady but an impressive writing talent with a considerable future."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
55%
|
Now, Forager (2012)
|
"Now, Forager beautifully depicts the connection between nature and our plates and bleakly portrays how obsession and rigidity can slowly smother a relationship."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
84%
|
Prince Avalanche (2013)
|
"It is an absurd and touching little film that has more heart than one would expect to find in such a slight body."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
73%
|
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)
|
"It's a truncated history lesson, to be sure, but one that Lee Daniels' The Butler serves up fairly well."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
97%
|
The Act Of Killing (2013)
|
"The Act of Killing will mesmerize, confound and haunt you. From the opening scenes you'll wonder if what you're watching is real. And by the end you'll wish that it had all been a horrible fever dream."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
91%
|
Blue Jasmine (2013)
|
"In recent years, Blanchett played Blanche DuBois on the stage, and her familiarity with the inner workings of a refined woman reduced to rubble shows in every scene."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
27%
|
Planes (2013)
|
"It often looks cheap and dull, lacking the reflectivity and realism of the vehicles in the Cars series. As always, the 3-D doesn't help. It makes those often bright, sunny skies seem dull and dingy."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
68%
|
Elysium (2013)
|
"Elysium starts out hot with promise and tension but unravels into a sticky mess of blood-soaked melodrama and action conventions that seem beneath such a gifted filmmaker."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
99%
|
Toy Story 3 (2010)
|
"From 1995's Toy Story to now, we know these are not mere toys. Woody, Buzz and the rest have inner lives of their own, demonstrating unconditional loyalty, love, camaraderie and tearjerking nostalgia."
|
Chris Garcia
|
|
93%
|
Midnight in Paris (2011)
|
"It lacks the humor of Annie Hall. It lacks the depth of Manhattan. But it manages to entertain, mainly as an homage to Paris - a romp through the city's intellectual and artistic history. "
|
Charles Ealy
|
|
90%
|
Bridesmaids (2011)
|
"Over the past couple of years, the R-rated comedy genre seemed to stale a bit, suffering a slight affliction of monotony. Seems all it needed was a woman's touch."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
63%
|
2 Guns (2013)
|
"If you're looking for some mindless escapism and can get past head-in-a-duffel-bag level violence, go ahead and pull the trigger on 2 Guns."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
47%
|
I'm So Excited! (2013)
|
"For those who enjoy bawdiness with their comedy, I'm So Excited! will be catnip. For those expecting subtitled sophistication, look elsewhere."
|
Charles Ealy
|
|
95%
|
The Hunt (2013)
|
"Mikkelsen is one of Europe's most respected actors, yet he's best known in the United States for playing evil characters... So it's interesting -- and rewarding -- to see what Mikkelsen can do as an innocent, well-meaning leading man."
|
Charles Ealy
|
|
94%
|
Fruitvale Station (2013)
|
"Fruitvale Station shows us the last day of a young man, whose life was like a lot of young men's, who was shot in the back by public servants, his face against a cold subway platform."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
69%
|
The Wolverine (2013)
|
"Oh, Wolverine. Why, oh, why, in the name of all that is awesome and pointy, don't your movies work?"
|
Joe Gross
|
|
65%
|
Turbo (2013)
|
"The film looks great (which is barely even worth mentioning in reviews of CGI movies anymore), but it has problems under the hood."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
40%
|
Only God Forgives (2013)
|
"The talented Gosling is relegated to little more than window dressing in this surrealist genre film."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
88%
|
What Maisie Knew (2013)
|
"Both Moore and Coogan are note-perfect."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
72%
|
Pacific Rim (2013)
|
"It's actually a weird relief to see a summer actioner with the nerve to just say, "This is how this fantasy world works, take it or leave it, we have monsters to punch." It makes Pacific Rim the summer's most authentically comic booky movie/"
|
Joe Gross
|
|
75%
|
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
|
"The animation is great, especially among the minions, whose every action seems to instigate a ripple effect that creates a chain of slapstick laughs."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
96%
|
A Band Called Death (2013)
|
"More than anything else, the movie is about family -- how we support them and they support us, what we sacrifice for them, how they inspire us and hold us back, what we tell them and what we leave out."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
77%
|
Somm (2013)
|
"This film will teach you something new about the beverage and the people that make up its world, and at the very least, you will walk away with dozens of new ways to describe the sight, smell and taste of your favorite red, white or rosé."
|
Emma Janzen
|
|
82%
|
Dirty Wars (2013)
|
"Filmmaker Richard Rowley's documentary Dirty Wars sounds the alarms, throws the lights on in the room and confronts audiences with the brutality of the conflicts in Afghanistan and elsewhere."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
97%
|
A Hijacking (2013)
|
"The danger never reaches the level of chaos, but the subtext and metaphor in the slow-moving humanistic commentary on the motivations and byproducts of capitalism make for an intriguing film."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
65%
|
The Heat (2013)
|
"When it clicks, when McCarthy is clearly riffing and Bullock floundering in the Judd-Apatow-school-of-comedy style to which we have become accustomed, the movie is good for cheap summer laughs. But after Bridesmaids, don't blame us for being let down."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
59%
|
Pandora's Promise (2013)
|
"With glaciers melting, seas rising and superstorms in the wings, Pandora's Promise, despite its one-sided polemics, revives a desperately needed conversation."
|
Jane Sumner
|
|
84%
|
Much Ado About Nothing (2013)
|
"So, when can Whedon do the rest of the plays?"
|
Joe Gross
|
|
59%
|
The Bling Ring (2013)
|
"It's also fun to watch Watson try to be an L.A. bad girl. She has the acting chops to go way beyond being one of Harry Potter's best friends."
|
Charles Ealy
|
|
78%
|
Monsters University (2013)
|
"Monsters University is not a bad movie; your kids will love it."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
67%
|
World War Z (2013)
|
"An uneven thriller that blends sociopolitical commentary with flashy set pieces, tense moments of scientific sleuthing and a touch of heart."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
56%
|
Man of Steel (2013)
|
"As enjoyable as the action is, the final battle between Zod and Superman is city-smashing disaster porn that makes the final scene in Avengers look like a model of tasteful restraint."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
38%
|
The Purge (2013)
|
"The satirical social observations about class warfare and the elimination of poverty by killing the poor are really just an excuse to get the motley crew of sociopaths into the house."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
95%
|
Stories We Tell (2013)
|
"What Stories We Tell does so brilliantly is both tell the story and tell about how we tell our stories. The truth may not be out there."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
93%
|
Frances Ha (2013)
|
"The light Frances Ha provides skittish moments of heartbreak and confusion on the humorous path to adulthood, but it sends a comforting message that our fate may use the same language as our dreams even if it doesn't tell the same story."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
11%
|
After Earth (2013)
|
"One tries not to get cranky about bad science in sci-fi blockbusters, but this is a staggeringly dumb idea."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
98%
|
Before Midnight (2013)
|
"It is a bold work that could come only from a strong trust and faith forged over time between the three collaborators."
|
Matthew Odam
|
|
64%
|
Epic (2013)
|
"It's funny, exciting, beautiful to look at and, unfortunately, so very familiar and unsurprising."
|
Dale Roe
|
|
69%
|
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
|
"These are movies about driving cars really fast and destroying them. And, yes, the thing with the tank is awesome."
|
Joe Gross
|
|
50%
|
At Any Price (2013)
|
"At its heart, At Any Price is a significant film about America, our times, and the notion of self-examination."
|
Brad Buchholz
|
|
75%
|
Pieta (2013)
|
"It's a nasty, compelling thriller if you have the stomach, perhaps not as profound as it wants us to think it is, but sharply realized nonetheless."
|
Joe Gross
|
