Latest Theatrical Reviews

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 33 34 Next »

Frances Ha (2013)

Brims with funny ideas both verbal and visual that are finely tuned by Baumbach and his cast, and sharply edited...
Epic (2013)

Nothing new, but given its solidly built kids' adventure, I'm not going to, y'know, look down on it.
The Hangover Part III (2013)

Less like a movie and more like a contractual obligation.
The Iceman (2013)

The main selling point here—and it's a considerable one—is Shannon, who shows new shadings in the role of Kuklinski...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Smart or...dumb? Yes, and...fun to hang around with for a couple of hours.
The Great Gatsby (2013)

Luhrmann approaches the story and directs his actors in ways that hold them at a distance from us: the overkill plays less as bold art and more as lack of trust in the source material.
In the House (2013)

Inviting photography and a relentless pace complement Claude's unfolding narrative, but the big thrills are in the deftly drawn characters...and the incisive satire...
At Any Price (2012)

Works best when it sticks close to Henry, whose broad grin fails to mask a growing desperation. Quaid not only makes a believably corn-fed patriarch, but he captures the mien of one who is slowly ceding his soul...
Renoir (2013)

Perhaps it's damning Renoir with faint praise to call it agreeable, but Gilles Bourdos' film...shows an admirable restraint, quiet simplicity, and lush pictorial beauty.
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

The most satisfying cinematic experience we've had at the multiplex thus far this year, and largely through its disinterest in playing along with movie trends.
Evil Dead (2013)

There are two types of people in the world. Those who should under no circumstances see the horror sequel/reboot Evil Dead and those who just gotta see it.
From Up on Poppy Hill (2013)

Sunny days, blue skies, and rippling blue waters lined with greenery...Plain nice, and there's nothing wrong with that.
The Host (2013)

Do not consume The Host before operating heavy machinery. Side effects may include spontaneous coma or fits of giggling.
The Croods (2012)

Appears to have been market-tested to within an inch of its life, so despite a theme of finding the capacity to evolve, the picture remains mired in the tar pit of formula.
On the Road (2012)

This pretty period-pictorial companion piece to the novel fatally misses out on the brain-firing raw buzz that Kerouac felt and passed on to his readers...
Stoker (2013)

Park’s skills for surreal subjectivity and the mischievously weird certainly don’t hurt, but they can’t quite banish Stoker’s narrative speed bumps and draughts of cold air...
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Oz the Great and Powerful gets saved from the junk heap by Franco and especially by director Sam Raimi, who happily treats the enterprise as a sandbox.
No (2013)

Swims upstream against high-definition with a defiantly lo-fi approach that's also ingeniously evocative of the historical period.
Greedy Lying Bastards (2013)

The film isn't a worldbeater as either old-school journalism of rigorous reportage or dazzling showmanship...will be of most use as a time capsule of sorts...
Emperor (2013)

The mealy half-truth director Peter Webber...and screenwriters Vera Blasi and David Klass settle for just winds up a waste of everyone's time.
A Place at the Table (2013)

Provides plenty of moving case studies...[but] it's most useful for its prismatic look at the problem of American hunger, examining the problem's recent history, its root causes...and its inextricability from other national crises...
Snitch (2013)

In its modern way, Snitch is almost Dickensian in its intent, missing no opportunity for melodramatic confrontation as it puts a (baby) face on a social ill.
Bless Me, Ultima (2013)

The material calls out for a more expressive cinematographic treatment. Had the film been less antiseptic and more bold in its visuals and the emotional depths of its performances, it could have been a classic; instead, it's a rather ordinary indie.
The Gatekeepers (2013)

The 'other' Oscar-nominated feature about a war on terror, Dror Moreh’s documentary The Gatekeepers proves more intellectually engaging than Hollywood’s Zero Dark Thirty, and at least as unsettling.
Safe Haven (2013)

Does Sparks have to treat people like total idiots...?...[A] soulless-cash-grab.
Identity Theft (2013)

McCarthy is a worthy successor to John Candy, who also had a gift for warming up caricatures with loveable humanity.
Quartet (2012)

Doesn't avoid all of the traps of the genre, but Hoffman does show good taste, particularly in casting.
Rust and Bone (2012)

Has significant blemishes that don't quite come out in the wash...but the picture persists on the strength of its committed performances.
Gangster Squad (2013)

The sheer bulk of talent involved (top-tier technicians and designers included) turns out to be a case of water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.
The Impossible (2012)

Takes dicey material—the story of one privileged family's suffering during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami—and transcends its political incorrectness by focusing on the human condition.
Parental Guidance (2012)

The Baby Boomer teaming no one was asking for—Billy Crystal and Bette Midler—melded to that most moribund of genres, rugrats 'comedy'...
Les Misérables (2012)

A mixed bag of suitable and not-so-suitable choices. On balance, though, it's about as compelling a screen version of Les Mis as we have any right to expect...Pop a dramamine and you'll be fine.
Django Unchained (2012)

There's a case to be made that blood-spattering revenge pictures, no matter how evil the villain, are cultural poison, but if this is what it takes to [get] Don Johnson as a dyed-in-the-wool racist done up as Colonel Sanders, well, so be it.
Jack Reacher (2012)

[McQuarrie] spreads a unearned veneer of intelligence over...a plot one character aptly describes as 'grassy-knoll ludicrous.'
The Guilt Trip (2012)

Silly and nice, basically unfunny but basically innocuous—so as satisfying as your average leftovers.
This is 40 (2012)

Mostly succeeds on its own merits...[but] many comedic and musical distractions pad the 134-minute running time and stray from the implicit promise of that title: the film has little to say about middle age...
Chasing Ice (2012)

While more detailed scientific analysis and greater discussion of impacts would have been welcome, the film's visual rhetoric is solid.
Holy Motors (2012)

As playful as it is...Holy Motors has the power to haunt as much as to amuse.
Playing for Keeps (2012)

Another day at the Romantic Comedy Factory:
'...Pull me down a Gerard Butler and a Jessica Biel, will ya?'
Hitchcock (2012)

Reenactment cinema...On balance, Hitchcock is about as entertaining and as trustworthy as a tabloid.

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 33 34 Next »