Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 77%
| The Good Soldier (2009) | "
Their wars differ but their tales are eerily identical. Their material is arresting, with troves of detailed memories pouring out for the first time." Posted Nov 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 83%
| Four Seasons Lodge (2009) | "
The collective’s flame burns bright and disrupts the darkness of a time that too many would soon rather forget. Luckily, we still care to remember." Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 73%
| Act of God (2009) | "
Interlaces spectacular visuals with meaty chatter by various luminaries and laymen talking about life after being struck by lightning." Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 13%
| Labor Day (2009) | "
. No opinion seems to stray from the talking points. Everybody’s giddy to stump. Everyday. This makes the film feel padded and rinsed. Is the director solely trying to please his subjects?" Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 25%
| Adventures of Power (2009) | "
The playful plot with go-figure ending is bubbly, and the mechanics of the film are on-point for the most part." Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Visual Acoustics: The Modernisms of Julius Shulman (2009) | "
Schulman's passion to be present in the here and now and “stop time” with his photographs is indicative of a mortal who has channeled the powers that be to make something that wasn’t there before: Art in its greatest sense." Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| N/A | Do Knot Disturb (2009) | "
Instead of casting the picture with two former Miss Universes, the filmmakers would have done well to punch-up a script and attend to the chintzy musical composition." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 50%
| An American Journey (2009) | "
The film’s incredibly understated with its depiction of a tarnished land of the free and promises to captivate Europeans and venturesome Americans willing to subject themselves to a bruised utopia." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 94%
| In Search Of Beethoven (2009) | "
A visual biography that employs scores of live performances reimagining the master’s infinite range -- from raging to ethereal." Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 83%
| Gogol Bordello Non-Stop (2009) | "
Margarita Jimeno’s documentary Gogol Bordello Non-Stop savors the early offerings of the band, gigging at Brighton Beach wedding parties and musing for second generation Russians to sold out phenomena tours across Europe." Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 70%
| American Casino (2009) | "
The piece finds a balance between the tearjerkers caught in the crossfire and the reckless bidders who don't seem to feel troubled for the life of excess at the expense of others." Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| Liverpool (2009) | "
There are no tears, no hugs—not even a gesture of goodbye. Like the weather, the emotions expressed between folks are bitingly cold." Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 67%
| Sikandar (2009) | "
Watching the piece is akin to seeing a good rehearsal shot by a competent technical crew. Nothing more." Posted Aug 28, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 45%
| Shorts (2009) | "
Trimming the flashy CGI and giving attention to character and substance aren’t failsafe tactics, but they’re tactics that simply play better...And the final product will command a shelf life lasting longer than it takes to lick down a popsicle." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 85%
| Import/Export (2009) | "
Technically, the sedate yet stunning 35mm camera is there for the ride and somehow never imposes or dominates the content. And the result is a true triumph." Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/5
| Fresh 64%
| Off Jackson Avenue (2009) | "
So pressed to push plot, the filmmaker deserts little (big) things, like location attributes and character quirks. Much of the fodder is slippery pastiche, winking flirtations at elders who do gangster capers better and bolder." Posted Jul 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 80%
| DJ Spooky's Rebirth of a Nation (2009) | "
Despite its verbose flaws, the work is a succinct sampling of performance-art-meets-multimedia. When the film is left to its own devices and giddied-up by the scratching and booming base there’s genuine verve jumping off the screen." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Fresh 78%
| The End of the Line (2009) | "
The exercise feels mass-produced and makes you think some books shouldn’t be adapted unless given a new and fervent second wind." Posted Jun 22, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 84%
| The Windmill Movie (2009) | "
Maybe Edwards has some crazy intent to try and offer his reel to God himself and get a pass. Whatever the case, he leaves one heck of a masterpiece for us mortals." Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 88%
| The Pope's Toilet (2007) | "
Despite the sensationalism of Holy Father’s arrival, the subtext here is that there’s a speck on the map whose poor are treated as well as a backed-up john." Posted Jun 18, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 94%
| Munyurangabo (2009) | "
In order to survive, one can’t hold onto innocence nor wash away the bloody, tattooed existence of the past. And even with this grim reality, there is some semblance of promise. Not everything corrupt stays that way." Posted May 29, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 33%
| Offshore (2009) | "
What’s cobbled together in Diane Cheklich’s harebrained feature is a mishmash of desperate clichés and over-the-top depictions of Americans as vile, lazy recalcitrants who gleek racial epithets after each swig from a cheap beer or an oversized coffee mug." Posted May 29, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| N/A | 99 (2009) | "
What makes 99 conquer its counterparts is the fairly strict attention to the time for which it was set (the '90s) and the subtle references." Posted May 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 18%
| The Big Shot-Caller (2009) | "
This film, about a wallflower that finds himself through Salsa dancing, warrants a short—not a feature film." Posted May 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 73%
| Objectified (2009) | "
This is an offering for those that can spot the beauty in objects from beamers to toilet bowl plungers." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 83%
| The Window (2008) | "
In The Window a last hurrah presents itself without any big bangs or catharsis." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 63%
| Brothers at War (2009) | "
The thoughtful work walks a few paces in soldiers' boots." Posted May 7, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 62%
| Eldorado (2008) | "
One could only hope to find such succulence in austerity. Credit the bold helmer and the lead actor Bouli Lanners for having the courage to put himself into the minefield of acting and directing. He is superb at both." Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 86%
| Ice People (2009) | "
The payoff is relative and internal." Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 91%
| Il Divo (2009) | "
The switchblade style of snappy scenes and quick cuts delivers juicy, visual delight." Posted Apr 27, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| N/A | The Sky Turns (2009) | "
What’s rendered here is a fleeting life where we’re mere visitors with roots that come and go. The film is testament to this transient existence." Posted Apr 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 50%
| The Education of Charlie Banks (2009) | "
The cast is superb in their performances." Posted Apr 1, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 97%
| Tulpan (2008) | "
In the attempt to follow a coming of age story about a boy’s transition into manhood, a subliminal odyssey of the human spirit takes over." Posted Mar 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 50%
| The Feature (2009) | "
A pixilated portrait of a life lived and captured unlike any other." Posted Mar 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 58%
| Skills Like This (2009) | "
The writing is economically witty." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 88%
| Carmen and Geoffrey (2009) | "
There is much to applaud and ruminate over." Posted Mar 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 20%
| Dog Eat Dog (2009) | "
It's not rattling the genre." Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 88%
| Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead (2009) | "
The film's a wicked batch of screwy logic but, even when tossed and shaken, all the moving pieces fall into place." Posted Feb 20, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/5
| Fresh 71%
| Our City Dreams (2009) | "
The filmmaker accomplishes a strong connection with her subjects and trapezes New York’s persona nicely with its 16-millimeter cutaways and fun clips of the turning seasons." Posted Feb 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Fresh 67%
| Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (2009) | "
Despite the technical lapses, the film's message is one that demands attention." Posted Feb 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 71%
| Luck by Chance (2009) | "
If anything, a film like this should compel us all to linger a little longer through the credits to acknowledge the no-name extra and the sandpaper-handed carpenters." Posted Jan 30, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 60%
| Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms (2009) | "
With incredible self-restraint and tactical acumen, Dealing and Wheeling’s Dutch director Sander Francken delicately throws salt on a gaping wound." Posted Jan 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 76%
| Cargo 200 (2008) | "
The realism of the cinematography, the pull-no-punches style in the scenes that depict Russia's military as a disenfranchised bunch of thugs and the gumption to toss it into one pot all deliver a robust recipe." Posted Jan 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Toots (2007) | "
Toots is a euphoric rewind to a bygone era when the speakeasies and the saloon congregations drew a faithful patronage that rivaled the Catholic Church." Posted Dec 18, 2008 |
Fresh 2.5/5
| N/A | He Fengming (2008) | "
Speaking to the camera, you watch this frail woman command authority and, at times, fear. Before your eyes, she's wrestling with demons." Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 93%
| The Betrayal (2008) | "
A lyrical prance through a most dreary period in time." Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Fresh 2.5/5
| Rotten 50%
| The Beautiful Truth (2008) | "
The picture carries an element of nostalgia and yet thunders down too hard with a lot of one-sided perspectives." Posted Nov 13, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 83%
| Call + Response (2008) | "
The piece is well-executed, and compiles some strong takes from folks that are calling out modern-day slavery and are determined to topple its infrastructure." Posted Nov 10, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| N/A | Jesus Politics (2008) | "
Politicos may still need to purchase Jolt soda to stay tuned for all 90 minutes." Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 88%
| Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback (2008) | "
The work is significant because it found gold tucked deep in a rusted drawer way in the back of an armory and manages through stock footage and stills—even a few live performances—to reprise the caliber of talent The Monks were, both onstage and on wa" Posted Nov 4, 2008 |
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