Tomato 3.5/4 |
L'Enfant (2006) |
"Plain-good storytelling: rigorous acting, handheld urgency, and editing prowess render the whiff of manipulation moot." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
L.A. Confidential (1997) |
"A modern cinematic classic...the alchemical reaction of a director and a charmed collaboration of actors, writers, and design artists...[Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
La Bête Humaine (1938) |
"[Renoir's] expertise behind the camera--and his driving curiosity for human constructs and human nature...elevate La bete humaine to an unforgettable filmic experience." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
La Femme Nikita (1990) |
"A spy version of Pygmalion, complete with perverse romance, Nikita was well ahead of the curve when it came to women warriors as modern shoot-'em-up stars [Blu-ray]." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
La Vie En Rose (2007) |
"More a visual-aural poem about Piaf than a definitive bio-epic of Piaf's complex life story." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Labyrinth (1986) |
"The chaotic narrative proceeds in fits and starts, and the sights and sounds are often dated, but somehow the film's wit and wonder linger in the mind." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Lacombe, Lucien (1974) |
"The collaborationist anti-hero finds Malle instantly broaching a cultural taboo, compounded when the traitorous young man forces himself into a sexual relationship with a not-entirely unyielding girl named France." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Ladder 49 (2004) |
"Conventional, lacking in depth, and reliant on the artifical tension of action scenes to goose along an otherwise watchable but dull movie." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Ladies in Lavender (2005) |
"Dance allows Dench to overact her lovestruck nervousness...By the time he stages a hay-baling montage, you’ll have had enough of this close-but-no-cigar misfire." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1/4 |
Lady in the Water (2006) |
"I hated Lady in the Water, but not because Shyamalan took a sophomoric potshot at critics. I hated Lady in the Water because it's...stupid." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Lady in White (1988) |
"Far from perfect, but what it lacks in finesse, it makes up in shaggy-dog charm....the fun is in the journey." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Lady Vengeance (2005) |
"Delivers more than the filmmaker ever has before....richer themes and more skillful audience involvement." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Lake House (2006) |
"The Lake House is made of glass, but the view straight through it is rather pleasant all the same." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Lakeview Terrace (2008) |
"The race-baiting thriller Lakeview Terrace is exactly what you would expect from a screenplay by a Hollywood hack and an established playwright: some sharp dialogue grafted onto a credibility-stretching and familiar plot. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Last Chance Harvey (2008) |
"Sometimes all we really want from a movie is to spend some time with beloved actors. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Last Days (2005) |
"A sincere effort to sound an echo into Kurt Cobain's cave....Van Sant turns photographic art into screen poetry." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Last Days (2005) |
"Gus Van Sant on Gus Van Sant's Last Days and Career Highlights" |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Last Days (2005) |
"Michael Pitt on Gus Van Sant's Last Days and Career Highlights" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
The Last Emperor (1987) |
"Works the brain in two-part harmony: the melody skids effortlessly across the historical timeline of the Ching dynasty, China's last, and the harmony part is all aesthetic appeal... [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Last Holiday (2006) |
"A better way to seize the day would be to do something other than sitting through the sitcomedic Last Holiday." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Last House on the Left (2009) |
"Those viewers trapped in the film's nihilism and hoping for more can amuse themselves by looking at the film as an Aristotelian tragedy--take that, Friday the 13th remake!" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Last King of Scotland (2006) |
"Graham Greene it's not....Whitaker's striking work aside, The Last King of Scotland is insipid, obvious movieland history." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
The Last King of Scotland (2006) |
"Forest Whitaker: 'I'm always talking about it in such a technical way, but I have to be honest: it's really much more of a spiritual experience for me...working as an actor.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Last Kiss (2006) |
"The Last Kiss isn't afraid of exploding romantic conventions--um, at least not at first. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Last Metro (1980) |
"A loving account of the literal and figurative romance of the stage, even under the most trying of social circumstances. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Last Shot (2004) |
"Has the blunt energy of a teamster's truck taking on speed bumps...watch underrated actors Broderick and Baldwin try to outdo each other." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Last Starfighter (1984) |
"Charmingly hokey...takes the suburban-working-class-folks-meet-space-aliens paradigm of early Spielberg and marries it to Lucas' Star Wars. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Last Year at Marienbad (1961) |
"Gorgeous and elliptical...also became [for some] an instant subject of derision as a prototype for the impenetrable European art film." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Late Spring (1949) |
"Late Spring exemplifies Ozu's rich, mature style, an apparent stylelessness of patient, lifelike rhythms, unobtrusive camerawork, and credibly subtle performances. [DVD]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Law Abiding Citizen (2009) |
"'It's going to get Biblical!'...sets new standards of lunatic plotting as it goes about its smiting." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Layer Cake (2005) |
"Matthew Vaughn on Layer Cake, Bond, Harry Potter, and X3" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Layer Cake (2005) |
"Layer Cake always pulls itself up by its bootsraps whenever its energy threatens to flag." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Layer Cake (2005) |
"Daniel Craig on Layer Cake and Career Highlights" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) |
"Unfortunately, Letters shares with Flags an awkward flashback structure and a patronizing tone." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) |
"Admirably scruffy in its droll comic pursuits, but has all the storytelling aplomb of a Sunday-funnies section." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Lightning in a Bottle (2004) |
"Though many of the performers aren't, or arguably aren't, blues artists (but rather soul, R and B, or even folk artists)...a cheap seat for a fun-filled, big-ticket event." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling (2004) |
"Too shapeless...but the topic is worthy, and the onslaught of trivia and quirky anecdotes hold interest for the film’s 75 minutes." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Little Children (2006) |
"Todd Field on Eyes Wide Shut: 'Probably the polite thing I would say is "no comment," but the truth is...you've never seen two actors more completely subservient, and prostate themselves at the feet of a director.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Little Children (2006) |
"That the narration and Field's God's-eye camera draw attention to the film's form doesn't detract from its function: to give us that 'second' in the mirror..." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat .5/4 |
Little Man (2006) |
"If your taste runs to scatology and you find little people inherently funny, Little Man may be the movie for you." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) |
"Pulls off the trick of the feel-good movie in a way movies haven't managed in a long time. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) |
"Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris: '[Dayton:] We took all the actors out to lunch and asked that they stay in character.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Live and Let Die (1973) |
"I know I probably shouldn't like Live and Let Die, but I do. This crackpot entry, the eighth, in the long-running James Bond series, is figuratively all over the map...[Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Lives of Others (2006) |
"If the story of a stodgy but conflicted Stasi captain gives sympathy to a historical devil, it also allows for an intriguing angle on the evergreen cinematic theme of voyeurism." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Lonesome Dove (1990) |
"Remains the gold standard for the TV miniseries format... easily stands amongst the best Western films ever made. [Blu-Ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Longest Day (1962) |
"Though the film makes a few egregious historical changes for dramatic effect, The Longest Day pretty much lives and dies by its scale. [Blu-Ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Longest Yard (2005) |
"Just remember kids: as fun as it all seems, fast food, soda, candy, binge drinking, reckless driving, steroids, dirty ball and, well, yes, Adam Sandler movies are bad for you." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
The Longshots (2008) |
"That's the problem with this well-intentioned celebration of the spirit of Title IX: it wants so badly to be liked that it tries to blend into the crowd. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Look at Me (2005) |
"Look at Me...states the film's theme: the difficulty of getting...attention and the horrible realization that, when it comes, it usually comes for the wrong reasons." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2006) |
"Albert Brooks has always spun gold from self-absorption and gulfs of misunderstanding." |
Peter Canavese |
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