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58/100
|
ParaNorman
(2012)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
An extremely strange blend of genres and styles, ParaNorman somehow manages to pull it off...sort of.
Posted Jan 22, 2013
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42/100
|
Rise of the Guardians
(2012)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Alas, a sweet heart and a tender message aren't enough to save Rise of the Guardians from its overly sugary ways.
Posted Jan 12, 2013
|
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64/100
|
The Evil Dead
(1981)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
A cult classic of the highest order, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead is the rare 80′s movie that actually feels worthy of its lofty reputation; relatively, anyway.
Posted Jan 06, 2013
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76/100
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(2012)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Should more than satisfactorily scratch the itch of those who have waited many long years to see Middle Earth back on screen.
Posted Jan 01, 2013
|
|
60/100
|
Wreck-It Ralph
(2012)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Despite being a perfectly entertaining Disney picture, Wreck-it Ralph leaves that nagging taste in the mouth that it could have been so much more.
Posted Dec 30, 2012
|
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65/100
|
Arbitrage
(2012)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
It's appropriate that Arbitrage gets its American release while our country is knee-deep in the fight over the fiscal cliff and the future of our financial institutions.
Posted Dec 30, 2012
|
|
80/100
|
Skyfall
(2012)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Skyfall epitomizes what a Bond movie should be, and its director, for once, justifiably deserves much of the credit.
Posted Dec 30, 2012
|
|
72/100
|
Senna
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
...a surprisingly deft examination of the power of faith...
Posted Feb 05, 2012
|
|
39/100
|
The Ides of March
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
A rehash of a recent political phenomenon dressed up to seem more daring than it actually is.
Posted Jan 20, 2012
|
|
65/100
|
The Phantom Tollbooth
(1969)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
The animation is clean, with enough pop to do Dictionopolis-and-company justice.
Posted Jan 20, 2012
|
|
65/100
|
Win Win
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
There's a real earnestness to the proceedings: if someone had relayed the setup to me via email or over cocktails, I would have bet heavily that we'd be looking at a sappy mess of clichs.
Posted Jan 13, 2012
|
|
57/100
|
Bridesmaids
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
I like that Bridesmaids aspires to be more than just a dumb comedy, but that doesn't mean it needs to belabor its point for what feels like eons.
Posted Jan 13, 2012
|
|
70/100
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
For the most part, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II picks up right where Part I, the franchise's shining beacon on a hill, leaves off.
Posted Jan 13, 2012
|
|
60/100
|
Black Death
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
An entertaining, if by-the-numbers, entry to the sword-and-shield genre, Black Death features lots of blood, disease, and the seemingly requisite Sean Bean.
Posted Jan 02, 2012
|
|
57/100
|
Shame
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
The writing barely scratches the surface of what should have been a fascinating subject.
Posted Dec 31, 2011
|
|
32/100
|
A Better Life
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Each sequence plays out in mind-numbingly cliched fashion: father-son lectures, chin-up resilience-especially the final shot-and a stern message about the heartless anti-immigration movement are depicted in an infuriatingly shallow manner.
Posted Dec 30, 2011
|
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40/100
|
War Horse
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
The treacle is unyielding, and that's basically a kiss of death for a picture that's working off a script with such potential for hokey melodrama.
Posted Dec 30, 2011
|
|
37/100
|
Young Adult
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
If Up in the Air had a certain cavalier attitude in its direction, Young Adult is downright lazy.
Posted Dec 30, 2011
|
|
67/100
|
Carnage
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Embattled filmmaker Roman Polanski has always been drawn to the dark sides of humanity, so it's no surprise he'd be drawn to the play "Carnage."
Posted Dec 30, 2011
|
|
67/100
|
Hobo With a Shotgun
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
A cult picture that's completely comfortable in its own skin.
Posted Nov 30, 2011
|
|
64/100
|
The Adventures of Tintin
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
A brisk, charming, enjoyable romp.
Posted Nov 30, 2011
|
|
53/100
|
The Other F Word
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
We do get to see Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers cry, though. That gets some bonus points in my book.
Posted Nov 17, 2011
|
|
49/100
|
Tucker & Dale vs Evil
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
This goofy, over-the-top tale of college students on a camping trip warring with two local West Virginia hillbillies lacks a core identity.
Posted Nov 17, 2011
|
|
62/100
|
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
(1997)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
I never held The Lost World in such high esteem, but I watched it multiple times and always felt it got a bit of a bum rap. After checking it out again fourteen years later, I still feel the same way.
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
75/100
|
The Gay Divorcee
(1934)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
The Gay Divorcee offers a terrific mix of wit, humor, and, of course, song-and-dance.
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
60/100
|
Shall We Dance
(1937)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
It's about innuendo and devious plots (though, of course, the stories are always essentially backdrops to showcasing the Astaire-and-Rogers show), and while it has plenty of amusing moments and some good musical numbers, it feels stiff at times,
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
68/100
|
The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle
(1939)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
It's not exactly a stretch for Astaire and Rogers, but they do the old rags-to-riches angle seamlessly, and the finale is surprisingly touching.
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
30/100
|
The Outsiders
(1983)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Francis Ford Coppola's cheesy, overblown adaptation of S.E. Hinton's wonderful novel captures none of the book's gritty magic.
Posted Jul 12, 2011
|
|
76/100
|
Summer
(1986)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
It's as if we ourselves are observing life, learning and evolving with Delphine.
Posted Jul 09, 2011
|
|
46/100
|
X-Men: First Class
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Its attributes and weaknesses can be broken down into two categories: the relationship between Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and everything else
Posted Jul 09, 2011
|
|
78/100
|
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
(1973)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Peter Yates' crime drama is chock-full of wonderful moments, creative framing (especially an intrusion in a bank teller's home early on in the proceedings), and emotional punch.
Posted Jul 09, 2011
|
|
68/100
|
Batman: Under the Red Hood
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
An extremely dark, brisk chapter in the Dark Knight's ever-popular screen sagas.
Posted Jul 09, 2011
|
|
68/100
|
Gone With the Wind
(1939)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
The golden standard for classic Hollywood bombast, this one.
Posted Jul 09, 2011
|
|
35/100
|
Room Service
(1938)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
With far too many drawn-out chats lacking in any wit or humor, Room Service is close to a total Marx Brothers dud.
Posted Jun 29, 2011
|
|
69/100
|
Midnight in Paris
(2011)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
As befits Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris. is chock-full of cultural homages: Hemingway and Stein are just a small sample of the legends Allen parades onscreen.
Posted Jun 29, 2011
|
|
65/100
|
The Freshman
(1925)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
My first foray into the comedic world of Harold Lloyd yielded eerily similar results to my initial exposure to W.C. Fields.
Posted Apr 24, 2011
|
|
57/100
|
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
In many ways, Cave of Forgotten Dreams perfectly embodies the identity that Werner Herzog v. 2000′s has chosen to take on.
Posted Apr 24, 2011
|
|
76/100
|
Smart Money
(1931)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
In many ways, the first half of Alfred E. Green's Smart Money can be seen as a stage-setter for John Dahl's game-changing Rounders.
Posted Apr 24, 2011
|
|
69/100
|
The Roaring Twenties
(1939)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
A powerful story of wartime bonds and their staying power through the most adverse of circumstances.
Posted Apr 08, 2011
|
|
55/100
|
The Princess of Montpensier
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Never dull, but it also never takes that step into truly encompassing like the very best genre entries.
Posted Apr 07, 2011
|
|
68/100
|
Meek's Cutoff
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Meek's Cutoff may not match Reichardt's previous two works in emotional heft, but it continues to cement her as a young director to watch closely.
Posted Apr 06, 2011
|
|
73/100
|
Park Row
(1952)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Another strong, if lesser-known, depiction of the ruthless, cutthroat newspaper industry.
Posted Apr 05, 2011
|
|
56/100
|
Little Caesar
(1930)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Little Caesar makes two classic LeRoy joints that I've found perfectly solid...and thoroughly underwhelming, especially when viewed through the prism of their reputations.
Posted Apr 05, 2011
|
|
61/100
|
The Thing
(1951)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
A solid, workmanlike film that holds up better than one would expect.
Posted Mar 13, 2011
|
|
45/100
|
Winter's Bone
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Winter's Bone certainly has its redeeming qualities, particularly its cinematography and a superb lead performance by Jennifer Lawrence, but man, does it feel EMPTY until a gripping sequence near the end.
Posted Mar 13, 2011
|
|
70/100
|
Hot Fuzz
(2007)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright's follow-up to his extremely popular zombie satire Shaun of the Dead (2004), improves on the latter's strong points in every conceivable way while drastically tightening up its weakest elements.
Posted Mar 13, 2011
|
|
54/100
|
Ministry of Fear
(1944)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
It's certainly fitting that after filling his German years with ballsy, predictive masterpieces about Nazi rule-by-fear, Fritz Lang would finally make a film that directly involves Nazis.
Posted Jan 31, 2011
|
|
58/100
|
The Ghost Writer
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Polanski's skills are obvious in his compositions and patience, and a nervous energy hovers over much of the picture...yet I consistently felt disengaged, like the pacing was mismanaged.
Posted Jan 30, 2011
|
|
70/100
|
The Woman in the Window
(1944)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
For much of its brisk running time, The Woman in the Window plays like another balls-to-the-wall gem from the rarely-less-than-masterful Fritz Lang.
Posted Jan 30, 2011
|
|
31/100
|
The Karate Kid
(2010)
|
Gabe Leibowitz
|
Zwart's adaptation pretty much fails across the board.
Posted Jan 27, 2011
|
