96 Minutes Reviews
March 24, 2021
While 96 Minutes has its flaws, there are absolutely people out there who will enjoy it. At the very least, with its strong director and cast, I imagine this will be a notable footnote in some prominent careers.
September 9, 2012
Poignant and powerful, 96 Minutes gives us an insight into not just what happens but why it happens, in the belly of urban America when young men drift into bad company
May 30, 2012
Marks writer-director Aimee Lagos as a name to watch.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
May 11, 2012
Full Review
| Original Score: C
May 5, 2012
The plot doesn't spiral; it falls with a thud and then just lies there.
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| Original Score: C
April 27, 2012
First-time writer-director Aimee Lagos' time-skipping thriller ultimately adds up to less than the sum of its parts, but good performances by the youthful cast help compensate for the overly familiar story.
April 27, 2012
Gritty, riveting and well-acted.
Full Review
| Original Score: 7.0/10
April 27, 2012
"96 Minutes" is a mere introduction to Sociology 101, but it's brisk enough to rustle the reading list and keep the conversation alive.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
April 26, 2012
The talented Mr. Ross makes Dre's panic and adrenaline-fueled behavior all too believable. You watch as he sees his horizons dim. What could be sadder?
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
April 26, 2012
The feature debut of writer-director Aimee Lagos, the film feels overstuffed and overcooked, as if the filmmaker were trying to get too much out all in one go.
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| Original Score: 2.5/5
April 26, 2012
Like 21 Grams minus the breadth, acting, or visual style, Aimee Lagos' first feature follows two pairs of friends on a collision course.
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| Original Score: D+
April 25, 2012
The display of rage is honest and forward, especially near the end credits, yet that intriguing fury can't catch a full breath in this unfocused and unhelpful picture.
Full Review
| Original Score: C-
April 25, 2012
Overly familiar plotting and a dearth of insight doom this padded, grandiloquent carjacking melodrama, no matter its claim that it's based on true events.
Full Review
| Original Score: C-
April 24, 2012
The film cuts with such precision that there's scarcely any room to breathe; it's the rare thriller that is perhaps too tightly structured.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
April 24, 2012
Whenever vapid Valley girls cross paths with wanton Boys 'n the Hood, you know something's gotta give. And when the dust settles, it ain't going to look pretty.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
April 24, 2012
The narrative machinery grows creakier as the plot advances, and the film is a bit too strident about some of the issues at play, but 96 Minutes is admirably knotty nonetheless.
April 24, 2012
The director seems to be at odds with her own film, like a well-meaning but controlling parent hell-bent on choosing a child's college, major, and fraternity for them.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
February 23, 2012
96 Minutes maintains a brisk pace and generates a satisfying degree of suspense with its credibly contrived tale of disparate lives forever changed by a violent carjacking.