|
4/5
|
94%
|
Captain Phillips (2013) |
"
The surprise is that it's a surprise in the first place, as Greengrass takes a story we all know and turns it into one of the most enjoyable and well-made movies of the year. "
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Oct 8, 2013
|
|
5/5
|
98%
|
Gravity (2013) |
"
A technical and storytelling masterpiece buoyed by stunning visuals and functioning both as a ripping, tension-filled yarn and as a profound and life-affirming work of art."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Oct 3, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
95%
|
Enough Said (2013) |
"
It's not just a thoroughly enjoyable movie that benefits from a funny, well-humored script, but it's a lovely way to remember the late, great James Gandolfini."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 27, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
15%
|
Baggage Claim (2013) |
"
Built around unimaginative direction and an even less imaginative script, it's a textbook example of a formula film. Still, there are minor charms to be found."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 27, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
88%
|
Rush (2013) |
"
A smartly assembled film fueled as much by surprising moments of heart and humor as it is by high-octane, pedal-to-the-metal sports action."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 26, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
63%
|
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) |
"
It aims to entertain, to offer a few tame chuckles for parents and children to enjoy in a purely Saturday-morning way. And it accomplishes that."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 25, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
91%
|
The Spectacular Now (2013) |
"
Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller are, well, spectacular in the lead roles, helping to elevate what could easily have been a standard coming-of-age drama."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
99%
|
20 Feet From Stardom (2013) |
"
Part musical history lesson, part performance film and part character study -- all of which combines to become its own song of hope and inspiration."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
74%
|
The Grandmaster (2013) |
"
As commendable as Wong's film is at visualizing things, it's far less proficient at contextualizing them."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
1/5
|
40%
|
Only God Forgives (2013) |
"
It boasts tons of atmosphere and flashes of Refn's visual style -- as well as an admirably unhinged performance from Kristen Scott Thomas -- but little else to recommend."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
68%
|
The Artist and the Model (2013) |
"
For anyone who has actually created something -- or been frustrated by their inability to do so -- Fernando Trueba's film stands to offer a dose of quiet resonance."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
1/5
|
22%
|
The Canyons (2013) |
"
It might have felt at home alongside various overly lurid thrillers from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now, however, it feels only cheap and passe."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
31%
|
Austenland (2013) |
"
At its best moments, Hess' film is merely cute, but never more -- and often less."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
92%
|
Museum Hours (2013) |
"
A contemplative experimental drama, it also invites moviegoers to take a deep breath, to relax, and to float along in its leisurely exploration of leisurely exploration."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
81%
|
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013) |
"
A Bonnie & Clyde-informed tale of passion amid the criminal class, it's a film of considerable visual beauty, even lyricism."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
69%
|
I Declare War (2013) |
"
Both playful and nostalgic, it's the kind of movie that stands to be appreciated on some level by anyone who has ever pointed a stick and yelled, Powpowpow!"
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
34%
|
Salinger (2013) |
"
A fascinating and exhaustively researched portrait of a fascinating man."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Sep 20, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
91%
|
Blue Jasmine (2013) |
"
A magnetic but heartbreaking performance from Cate Blanchet as a woman adrift rescues Woody Allen's often rudderless tragi-comedy."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 23, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
89%
|
The World's End (2013) |
"
A fat, juicy cherry on top of a memorably madcap trilogy."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 23, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
100%
|
La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus (2013) |
"
To climb aboard the colorful La Camioneta is to be taken on a lyrical journey - both anthropological and philosophical - to a place most of us would never be able to visit."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 21, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
97%
|
The Act Of Killing (2013) |
"
An odd but riveting film that slowly peels back the veneer of one man's tough-guy image and illustrates the very real psychic toll of murder."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 16, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
98%
|
Blackfish (2013) |
"
It doesn't go very far out of its way to tell more than one side of the story, but the one side of the story that it does tell is an exceedingly compelling and moving one."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 16, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
95%
|
The Hunt (2013) |
"
Strong performances complement the smart and engrossing script and a slowly building tension that blossoms to a piano-string tautness."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 16, 2013
|
|
1/5
|
36%
|
The Hot Flashes (2013) |
"
It's heart is in the right place, but -- with poor writing, lame humor and dreadful on-court sequences -- that's one of the only things right about it."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 15, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
73%
|
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) |
"
With a characteristically strong performance from Forest Whitaker and a nicely crafted script from Danny Strong, it serves up a nice slice of historical drama."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 13, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
27%
|
Planes (2013) |
"
Functioning as a better sequel to Cars than does Cars 2, it will undoubtedly accomplish what it sets out to accomplish: rev the engines of millions of ka-chowing spitfires. "
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 7, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
38%
|
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) |
"
The stakes in this latest, disappointing Harry Potter wannabe never feel as high as they should, or as important as its characters seem to think they are."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 7, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
47%
|
I'm So Excited! (2013) |
"
Daring though it is, it follows the same trajectory as the wounded plane aboard which the film is set. That is, it circles and circles but never really goes anywhere."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
64%
|
2 Guns (2013) |
"
The on-screen chemistry between Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington goes a long way, although it can't entirely hide the fact that this is boilerplate stuff."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
68%
|
Elysium (2013) |
"
It's a briskly paced thriller boasting the expected summertime flourishes: chase scenes, fight scenes, futuristic dystopian obstacles. But it strives to be something more. "
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
14%
|
The Smurfs 2 (2013) |
"
It will do what it sets out to do -- to entertain younger kids without driving their parents nuts -- but the bar isn't set very high here."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 29, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
64%
|
Unfinished Song (2013) |
"
It's a sweet and well-cast film, but it's also unevenly paced and never quite rises above mediocrity."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 26, 2013
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
Fruitvale Station (2013) |
"
A tragically relevant and incredibly important film that deserves all the attention it can get from American audiences."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 26, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
96%
|
A Band Called Death (2013) |
"
A rock 'n' roll fairy tale, well-told."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 24, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
75%
|
Pieta (2013) |
"
It's compelling stuff, a film that starts out as one thing but subtly shifts to become something else entirely."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 19, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
95%
|
Stories We Tell (2013) |
"
An unconventional but wonderfully assembled exploration of how -- and why -- we tell stories, all wrapped in a closely guarded family secret."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 19, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
85%
|
The Way Way Back (2013) |
"
It might sound like well-covered ground - you know: hopelessly awkward kid struggles to transition from boyhood to manhood - but it's a compelling and surprisingly sweet ride."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 19, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
42%
|
Red 2 (2013) |
"
The letters in the title might stand for 'Retired, Extremely Dangerous' -- but they could just as well stand for 'Retread, Extremely Derivative.'"
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 19, 2013
|
|
1/5
|
14%
|
R.I.P.D. (2013) |
"
Sloppily edited, poorly plotted and overly derivative, it puts the 'R.I.P.' in 'ripoff.'"
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 19, 2013
|
|
1/5
|
8%
|
Grown Ups 2 (2013) |
"
A phoned-in ode to lazy comedy and staggering stupidity."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 11, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
31%
|
The Lone Ranger (2013) |
"
It's a touch bloated, but it just might be the most enjoyable Pirates of the Caribbean movie since the first one. (Yes, I said Pirates of the Caribbean.)"
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 3, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
75%
|
Despicable Me 2 (2013) |
"
The rare animated sequel that rivals the brightness and enjoyability of its predecessor."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jul 3, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
87%
|
100 Bloody Acres (2013) |
"
An oddly amiable horror-farce that plays like a cross between 1990's Misery and 2012's Tucker and Dale vs. Evil."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 28, 2013
|
|
1/5
|
48%
|
Maniac (2013) |
"
Khalfoun generates a handful of moments of stomach-knotting intensity, but this ultimately a gimmick film -- and the gimmick doesn't work."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 28, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
50%
|
White House Down (2013) |
"
Some film student or sociologist will have a field day dissecting what it says about Americans' view of their government in 2013 that we blew up the White House not once but twice in a three-month period. In the meantime, though, pass the popcorn."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 27, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
84%
|
Kon Tiki (2013) |
"
Not only is it nicely paced, but it features gripping moments of intensity, as well as some impressive visual effects."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 21, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
60%
|
The Bling Ring (2013) |
"
The ripped-from-the-headlines story is interesting on its own, but Coppola ups the ante by using it as a springboard for a treatise on our celebrity-obsessed culture."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 21, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
76%
|
The Kings of Summer (2013) |
"
There will be movies with bigger casts, louder explosions and more zombies -- but few will boast the sheer spirit of The Kings of Summer."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 21, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
78%
|
Monsters University (2013) |
"
Far more Cars 2 than Up, it is cute -- but no more than cute."
—
Times-Picayune
Posted Jun 20, 2013
|
