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100% Modern Times |
| A slapstick skewering of industrialized America, Modern Times is as politically incisive as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious. |
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100% The Hidden Fortress (kakushi-toride No San-akunin) |
| A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it's a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. The Criterion... |
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97% Ajami |
| This multi-character drama balances intimate portrayals and broad political implications to paint a bracing and moving portrait of the Middle East conflict. |
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97% A Prophet (Un prophete) |
| Featuring an impressive star turn by newcomer Tahar Rahim, A Prophet is a French gangster film filled with arresting, immediate details. |
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95% Madeo (Mother) |
| As fleshy as it is funny, Bong Joon-Ho's Mother straddles family drama, horror and comedy with a deft grasp of tone and plenty of eerie visuals. |
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93% Vincere |
| Part political treatise, part melodrama, Marco Bellocchio's Mussolini biopic forsakes historical details in favor of absorbing emotion -- and provides a showcase for a stunning performance from Giovanna Mezzogiorno. |
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86% The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) |
| Its graphic violence and sprawling length will prove too much for some viewers to take, but Noomi Rapace's gripping performance makes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo an unforgettable viewing experience. |
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85% The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) |
| The White Ribbon effectively utilizes tension and a bleak atmosphere to deliver a thought-provoking examination of nascent fascism. |
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85% The Square |
| The Square may not quite live up to the modern noir classics that inspired it, but with twists and tension to spare, it comes admirably close. |
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85% A Single Man |
| Though the costumes are beautiful and the art direction impeccable, what stands out most from this debut by fashion designer Tom Ford is the leading performance by Colin Firth. |
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84% The Ghost Writer |
| While it may lack the revelatory punch of Polanski's finest films, Ghost Writer benefits from stylish direction, a tense screenplay, and a strong central performance from Ewan McGregor. |
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84% Me and Orson Welles |
| Me and Orson Welles boasts a breakout performance by Christian McKay and an infectious love of the backstage drama that overcomes its sometimes fluffy tone. |
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83% The Good, the Bad, and the Weird |
| Whilst never taking itself too seriously, this riotous and rollicking Sergio Leone-inspired Korean Western is serious fun. |
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81% City Island |
| Raymond De Felitta combines warmth, humanity, and a natural sense of humor, and is abetted by Andy Garcia and an excellent ensemble cast. |
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80% My Name Is Khan |
| "My Name is Khan" examines the life of a Muslim man from India, living in San Francisco, who embarks on a remarkable journey across the United States, inspiring people while inviting debate and creating an accidental revolution. |
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75% Kick-Ass |
| Not for the faint of heart, Kick-Ass takes the comic adaptation genre to new levels of visual style, bloody violence, and gleeful profanity. |
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74% Greenberg |
| Greenberg's title character is harder to like than most, but Ben Stiller's nuanced performance and a darkly funny script help take the misanthropic edge off. |
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71% Tormented |
| It relies too heavily on American slasher cliches, but Tormented is a timely, funny, and even somewhat touching entry in the high school horror genre. |
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71% The Crazies |
| Tense, nicely shot, and uncommonly intelligent, The Crazies is the rare horror remake that works. |
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70% The Yellow Handkerchief |
| Small and intimate -- occasionally to a fault -- The Yellow Handkerchief rises above its overly familiar ingredients thanks to riveting performances from William Hurt and Kristen Stewart. |
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67% Date Night |
| An uneasy blend of action and comedy, Date Night doesn't quite live up to the talents of its two leads, but Steve Carell and Tina Fey still manage to shine through most of the movie's flaws. |
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66% Harry Brown |
| Its lurid violence may put off some viewers, but Harry Brown is a vigilante thriller that carries an emotional as well as a physical punch, thanks to a gripping performance from Michael Caine in the title role. |
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66% The Runaways |
| Viewers expecting an in-depth biopic will be disappointed, but The Runaways is as electric as the band's music, largely thanks to strong performances from Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning, and Kristen Stewart. |
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61% Cemetery Junction |
| It fails to challenge the well-established conventions of its storyline, but Cemetery Junction benefits from the genuine warmth of its script, as well as its refusal to give in to cheap nostalgia. |
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63% Hot Tub Time Machine |
| Its flagrantly silly script -- and immensely likable cast -- make up for most of its flaws. |
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62% When You're Strange |
| It's far from a critical assessment of the band's music or its legacy, but When You're Strange gives fans a beautifully filmed, lovingly assembled tribute to the Doors. |
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61% The Joneses |
| It doesn't pursue its subversive premise as far as it should, but The Joneses benefits from its timely satire of consumer culture -- as well as a pair of strong performances from David Duchovny and Demi Moore. |
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54% Diary of a Wimpy Kid |
| Unlike its bestselling source material, Diary of a Wimpy Kid fails to place a likable protagonist at the center of its middle-school humor -- and its underlying message is drowned out as a result. |
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52% Chloe |
| Despite its promising pedigree and a titillating premise, Chloe ultimately fails to deliver the heat -- or the thrills -- expected of a sexual thriller. |
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51% The Greatest |
| It's burdened by a predictable, overly melodramatic story, but The Greatest benefits from strong performances by its talented cast. |
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50% Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief |
| Though it may seem like just another Harry Potter knockoff, Percy Jackson benefits from a strong supporting cast, a speedy plot, and plenty of fun with Greek mythology. |
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47% The Losers |
| The Losers is loud, fast, and unrelentingly violent -- but it's also funny and well-acted, which will make all the difference for some action fans. |
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47% Creation |
| This Charles Darwin biopic is curiously dispassionate, but Creation contains some of director Jon Amiel's best work, and Paul Bettany's performance is not to be missed. |
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43% Brooklyn's Finest |
| It's appropriately gritty, and soaked in the kind of palpable tension Antoine Fuqua delivers so well, but Brooklyn's Finest suffers from the comparisons its cliched script provokes. |
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42% Dorian Gray |
| Despite a lavish and polished production, Dorian Gray is tame and uninspired with a lifeless performance by Ben Barnes in the title role. |
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38% 2:37 |
| A contemporary, ensemble drama telling the complex tale of six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that so many of today's youth are faced with. The story takes place during a normal school day. At precisely 2:37 a tragedy... |
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33% To Save a Life |
Ever since Jake Taylor was a kid, he was the type of guy you couldnt help but like. For Jake, life is good. He has a ton of friends, a basketball scholarship, a hot girlfriend and a really bright future. Not much to get down about, right?
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28% Why Did I Get Married Too |
| It's bolstered by a strong performance from Janet Jackson, but ultimately, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? doesn't add anything new to Perry's melodramatic formula. |
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28% Clash of the Titans |
| An obviously affectionate remake of the 1981 original, Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans doesn't offer enough visual thrills to offset the deficiencies of its script. |
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26% After.Life |
| It has an interesting premise and admirable ambitions, but After.Life fails to deliver enough twists or thrills to sustain its creepy atmosphere. |
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22% Repo Men |
| Repo Men has an intriguing premise, as well as a likable pair of leads, but they're wasted on a rote screenplay, indifferent direction, and mind-numbing gore. |
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21% Letters To God |
| A young boy fighting cancer writes letters to God, touching lives in his neighborhood and community and inspiring hope among everyone he comes in contact. An unsuspecting substitute postman, with a troubled life of his own, becomes entangled in the... |
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20% The Back-up Plan |
| Jennifer Lopez is as appealing as ever, but The Back-Up Plan smothers its star with unrelatable characters and a predictable plot. |
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19% The Last Song |
| As shamelessly manipulative as any Nicholas Sparks production, The Last Song is done no favors by its miscast and overmatched star, Miley Cyrus. |
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19% Cop Out |
| Cop Out is a cliched buddy action/comedy that suffers from stale gags and slack pacing. |
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13% Our Family Wedding |
| Our Family Wedding is a mirthless, contrived affair that does little with its promising premise and talented cast. |
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10% Marmaduke |
| Dull and unfunny, Marmaduke offers family filmgoers little more than another round of talking animals and scatological humor. |
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10% Dead Man Running |
| Poor performances, stiff dialogue, flat characters, and an unimaginative stab at the mood of the Guy Ritchie crime caper make Dead Man Running into a hooligan tale with little to offer. |
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7% Furry Vengeance |
| A thin premise stretched far beyond serviceable length, Furry Vengeance subjects Brendan Fraser -- and the audience -- to 92 minutes of abuse. |
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