Features
Monday, January 28 2013
The Best Films of 2012
From popcorn perfection to animation experimentation, foreign finesse and good old Hollywood hokum, 2012 delivered the shiny cinematic goods and then some. Here are our choices for the titles that took on the challenge, and won.
Wednesday, January 9 2013
The Best Male Film Performances of 2012
From diabolical tech terrorism to brutal slave ownership, the actors that make up this year's best traversed a wide canvas of creative and cinematic choices.
Monday, January 7 2013
The Best Female Film Performances of 2012
From a precocious young girl bravely battling the elements to much older women waging war with their own demons, 2012 was a standout year for actresses, with these being some of the very, very best.
Wednesday, January 12 2011
The Best Films of 2010
Among this year's winners include a fake documentary, a comedy about Jihad, a vampire story NOT dealing with tacky tween romance, a haunting hillbilly noir, and an elegant tale about clones. Not necessarily the usual cinematic suspects.
Wednesday, January 5 2011
The Best Male Film Performances of 2010
Heroes and villains, criminals and crazed creative types: the 20 best male performances of 2010 definitely run the dramatic/comedic character topography... with a few unusual turns tossed in for good measure.
Reviews
Wednesday, May 1 2013
The Plays of Life: 'Silver Linings Playbook'
No matter how much live devolves into formula, we're all wackjobs underneath. That's what Silver Linings Playbook communicates resoundingly: for all of the blitzes and jukes we can concoct in a difficult game, we will always carry our flaws with us.
Friday, November 16 2012
'Silver Linings Playbook': The Eagles As a Guide to Life
Pat's rhyming relationship with Pat Senior makes the son (played by Bradley Cooper) different from the many other movie manboys you've seen in the past couple of years.
Monday, March 14 2011
Christian Bale Delivers a Knockout Performance in 'The Fighter'
The usually handsome Christian Bale—a master chameleon—physically transforms into a frighteningly thin, haggard, balding, twitchy, and wild-eyed addict who never stops moving his jittery limbs.
Friday, December 10 2010
'The Fighter': On the Outside
As The Fighter presents fight after fight, the tonal quirks and distances don't ask you to disinvest so much as they invite you to consider the many ways that audiences -- you included -- shape what you see.
Thursday, October 21 2010
'Three Kings': A Thematically Dense Take on American Military Action in the Gulf
Surreal, comic, chaotic, and at times, tragically sad, Three Kings offers a thematically dense take on American military action in the Gulf.
Blogs
Thursday, January 17 2013
'Silver Linings Playbook's' Historic Nominations
Few films have scored in all four Oscar acting categories... which other movies maybe should have?
Monday, January 31 2011
The Guild-ed Cages of Awards Season
After decades of decided handwringing, Hollywood finally has what it wants: a sense of specialness undeterred by surprise or a sense of wonder.
Friday, December 17 2010
'The Fighter', Quietly Brawling
Though there are times when David O. Russell seems to think he’s slumming, he still crafts a satisfyingly potent familial melodrama that transcends the boxing genre.
Friday, December 10 2010
'The Fighter': All in the Family
You can see The Fighter struggling to be significant, to be more than just an interesting tale well told.
