instantwatcher.com

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

1. John Dies at the End 2013 How can a single movie contain all this awesome craziness? full review
2. Act of Valor 2012 I think these real-life action heroes deserve a better movie. So does the audience. full review
3. Ballplayer: Pelotero 2012 A surprisingly nuanced essay on the collision between poverty, hope, exploitation and passion. full review
4. Bernie 2012 A one-of-a-kind comedy based on the real homicide of an innocent old lady. full review
5. Brooklyn Castle 2012 Castle is suspenseful, funny and, particularly in its depiction of the challenging home lives of some of the kids, moving. full review
6. Bully 2012 Bully is less a checklist plan for eliminating abusive behavior than an emotionally powerful wake-up call for a society too long in denial. full review
7. Butter 2012 This film is dumb, blunt-instrument parody. full review
8. Cosmopolis 2012 The film is all too faithful to its un-cinematic source. full review
9. Dark Horse 2012 Todd Solondz, the dean of depressive comedy, is back with another funny, shocking, emotionally probing original. full review
10. The Dictator 2012 Sacha Baron Cohen's third starring feature, and the first to be fully scripted, is sharp as a scimitar in one scene and wobbly in the next, but it's unfailingly audacious. full review
11. Elena 2012 "Elena" is a riveting psychological suspense film. full review
12. Elles 2012 This Paris-based film from Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska is a fairly unengaging journalism procedural shellacked with a veneer of elliptical, complicated symbolism. full review
13. God Bless America 2012 Goldthwait's ranting dialogue is stingingly funny and Murray and Barr are so agreeable you may find yourself rooting for "the bad guys." full review
14. Haywire 2012 While she can't out-act Angelina Jolie, Carano definitely looks comfortable onscreen. And she's a lot more credible kicking butt. full review
15. Headhunters 2012 'Headhunters" is a frighteningly well-made thriller about an amoral art thief on the run. full review
16. The Hunger Games 2012 Viewers who like a side order of political allegory with their science fiction will find much to savor here. So will romantics, fans of feminist heroines and action enthusiasts. "The Hunger Games" is that rare creation, an event movie of real significance. full review
17. I Wish 2012 What a kind and wise movie this is. full review
18. The Imposter 2012 Layton's film joins the top ranks of nonfiction films because he recognizes that in this case no solution could be as engrossing as the questions. full review
19. The Island President 2012 [An] engaging, gorgeously photographed documentary. full review
20. Jiro Dreams of Sushi 2012 By the time this graceful film is over you understand why Japan has declared the bald, bespectacled Jiro a national treasure. Even if you've never tasted sushi, the man's singleness of purpose will inspire you. full review
21. Last Ride 2012 The title more or less gives away the film's design, but the predestined journey is taut and tragic nevertheless. full review
22. The Loneliest Planet 2012 Why expend more energy on the film than its makers did? full review
23. Memorial Day 2012 A family saga as much as a war story, it chronicles a generations-spanning Minnesota military family whose servicemen harbor life-changing combat experiences they can't easily talk about. full review
24. Monsieur Lazhar 2012 The film is rich in naturalistic, tossed-off details. full review
25. October Baby 2012 The closer Hannah gets to her goal, the more insistent the sermonizing becomes. By the time she confronts the woman who rejected her (a careerist lawyer), we are neck-deep in Lifetime TV bathos. full review
26. The Paperboy 2012 "The Paperboy" suggests something Tennessee Williams might have come up with, if he didn't know how to string together a plot. full review
27. ParaNorman 2012 Humor depends on character, context and continuity, none of which is in abundant supply in "ParaNorman." full review
28. The Queen of Versailles 2012 "The Queen of Versailles" is beautifully constructed and frequently uproarious. full review
29. The Raven 2012 Director James McTeigue has no feel for humor or terror, making what could have been a witty pastiche into another cheesy slice-and-dice horror flick. full review
30. A Royal Affair 2012 The film moves along crisply, looks great and stimulates the brain (I am a sucker for torrid romances propelled by quotes from Rousseau and Voltaire.) full review
31. Safety Not Guaranteed 2012 A confident, quick-witted romantic comedy that is a giddy joy from start to finish. full review
32. Side by Side 2012 A trim, informative 99-minute primer on celluloid film, which to many viewers has a warmth and feel as soothing as buttered popcorn, and the brave new world of digital cinema. full review
33. Silent House 2012 Silent House feels like a psychotic episode come to life. It's impressive and oppressive, and it very effectively gets on your nerves. full review
34. Sleepwalk With Me 2012 Birbiglia's pleasingly nasal delivery and agreeable presence holds it together. full review
35. Somewhere Between 2012 Documentarian Linda Goldstein Knowlton follows four teenage adoptees as they sort through the sensitive cultural and personal issues that arise from their dual identities. full review
36. We Have a Pope 2012 On the surface, this Italian dramedy about a troubled cardinal reluctant to accept his election to the papacy is a likable, understated farce. Look closer and you'll see that it has serious issues on its mind. full review
37. What to Expect When You're Expecting 2012 An amiable but disjointed movie with too many stories and not enough storytelling. full review
38. The Woman in the Fifth 2012 Those who prefer tidy, "Murder, She Wrote" closure are advised to shop elsewhere. full review
39. Albert Nobbs 2011 This is a costume drama where the costume is the drama. full review
40. The Artist 2011 It's a rocket to the moon fueled by unadulterated joy and pure imagination. full review
41. Bellflower 2011 Glodell doesn't have the emotional intelligence or filmmaking finesse of the early Martin Scorsese, but his film is a new-millennium descendant of "Mean Streets." full review
42. Buck 2011 One of the most valuable things a film can do is to take you to a place or introduce you to a character you haven't encountered before. full review
43. Coriolanus 2011 Ralph Fiennes turns one of Shakespeare's least-loved plays into a slashing, muscular but uneven modern drama in his film-directing debut. full review
44. The Devil's Double 2011 It is a ghastly, riveting, dazzling piece of work. full review
45. First Position 2011 It's in the quick audience-reaction shots of the young dancers' exultant parents and cringing private instructors that the movie finds its most nakedly human moments. full review
46. Footloose 2011 It's an eruption of joyous, jitterbugging energy and a polished piece of filmmaking. full review
47. Friends With Benefits 2011 A savvy, satirical date movie that holds the conventions of romantic comedy up to self-aware spoofing while still delivering the goods. full review
48. A Good Old Fashioned Orgy 2011 You don't review a movie like "A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy." You autopsy it. full review
49. Goodbye First Love 2011 "Goodbye First Love" is a very lifelike film in the sense that life does not often imitate entertainment. full review
50. Hobo With a Shotgun 2011 The movie just blows chunks. full review
51. Into The Abyss 2011 It's like a TV crime reality show made by an alien. full review
52. Ironclad 2011 This English sword-battle drama is a mess. But there's a violent simplicity and a lack of pretentiousness that's refreshing. full review
53. Keep the Lights On 2011 The cast, uniformly excellent, draws us into a vibrant, energetic Manhattan where commitments are forged and broken through sheer chance and those seeking permanence must continually resist temptation and ennui. full review
54. Khodorkovsky 2011 Navigating a tangled tale such as this is like entering a hall of mirrors. "Khodorkovsky" doesn't do a good enough job of Windexing them. full review
55. The Kid with a Bike 2011 The film should be required viewing for everyone who has lost faith in the power of random acts of kindness. full review
56. Like Crazy 2011 The cast creates such a naturalistic sense of empathy -- a complicity, even -- with the viewers that we're swept up into their characters' lives. full review
57. Machine Gun Preacher 2011 What a surprise. Its grindhouse title notwithstanding, "Machine Gun Preacher" is a genuine drama. full review
58. Magic Trip 2011 Records a lot of silly misbehavior but only minor merriment. full review
59. Margin Call 2011 It opens with a bloodbath, builds to an apocalypse and ends with a gravedigger doggedly excavating the earth. By the time the story is told, the blood -- sorry, red ink -- is surging down long corridors like a tidal wave. full review
60. The Names of Love 2011 It's all put across with such energy and good spirits that it feels brand new. If you don't enjoy this one, you don't like fun. full review
61. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia 2011 It is epic in its aims and achievements yet modest in its resources: some superb actors, stunning landscapes and a resonant, understated script. full review
62. Polisse 2011 Bluntly edited, with no hand-holding transitional scenes, the film is an intimate portrait of an idealistic, understaffed, sometimes wrongheaded team battling youth prostitution, thievery rings and adult predators from every class of society. full review
63. Revenge of the Electric Car 2011 If you thought you'd never mist up at a nonfiction movie about plug-in autos, you're in for a surprise. This is a surprisingly emotional trip, and a very enjoyable one. full review
64. Snow Flower And The Secret Fan 2011 It's the No-Joy, Bad-Luck Club. full review
65. Surviving Progress 2011 They shy away from proposing solutions, and the filmmakers capture humanizing clashes that illustrate the challenges of finding a balance that serves all parties. full review
66. There Be Dragons 2011 Bernardo Bertolucci and David Lean used to make movies like this. More, please. full review
67. This Must Be The Place 2011 With its overbearing eccentricity, rib-nudging irony and confusion of tones, everything in the film is either underdeveloped or overstated. full review
68. Trishna 2011 While the film never delves deep enough into its characters' emotions to be truly spellbinding, it's well worth seeing. full review
69. Undefeated 2011 Volunteer high school coach Bill Courtney says, "Football doesn't build character. Football reveals character." The triumphant sports documentary "Undefeated" proves that it does both. full review
70. The Ward 2011 The horror master's first film in nine years is not the comeback we had wished. full review
71. Warrior 2011 The set-up sounds gallingly crude and derivative, yet "Warrior" turns it into a one-two punch of gripping action and powerful drama. full review
72. Young Adult 2011 It's a step in a new direction, both for the creative team and for movies, a mature and humane comedy centered on a misanthropic female antihero. Think of it as "Juno's" wicked stepsister. full review
73. All Good Things 2010 "All Good Things" has the eerie power of a nightmare. full review
74. Biutiful 2010 "Biutiful" is devastating. full review
75. Blue Valentine 2010 Bright-eyed youth and bedraggled adulthood alternate in a sad spectacle beautifully and sensitively portrayed. full review
76. Casino Jack 2010 The film tries to encompass all of Abramoff's encyclopedic chicanery and chokes on the sheer volume. full review
77. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2010 It was the birth of the modern human soul, and cinematic explorer Werner Herzog's fantastic "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" is the delivery-room video. full review
78. City of Life and Death 2010 Lu tells the heartbreaking, nearly unbearable story with compassion, controlled fury and unflinching realism. full review
79. The Company Men 2010 "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Office Space" made most of the same points vividly long ago. "The Company Men" is a lovingly prepared dish served cold and stale. full review
80. Countdown to Zero 2010 This handsomely produced film argues that nukes can be eliminated through enforceable international agreements, just as chemical and biological weapons have been banned. full review
81. Exit Through The Gift Shop 2010 Exit Through the Gift Shop, credited as "A Banksy Film," poses some bitingly funny questions about the meaning and value of art. Is it in the eye of the beholder? Is it truth plus beauty? Anything you can get away with? Brainwashing? full review
82. Four Lions 2010 A dark farce sitting somewhere between "Dr. Strangelove" and "Duck Soup." It will blow you away. full review
83. Heartbeats 2010 Not too deep but oh so pretty, "Heartbeats" presents a hyper-stylized look at a love triangle, a sort of "Jules and Jim" for millennials. full review
84. Howl 2010 Despite James Franco's smart performance as poet Allen Ginsberg, this film rings hollow. full review
85. The Human Resources Manager 2010 A cross-cultural shaggy-dog story along the lines of Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero." full review
86. I Am Love 2010 A pall of deadly self-indulgence spreads as the story moves from operatic passion to soap-opera melodrama. It's as if director Luca Guadagnino filmed a synopsis of the script rather than a fully realized screenplay. full review
87. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child 2010 In the end the art must speak for the artist; Davis wisely stands aside and lets the magical images tell their tales. full review
88. Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work 2010 Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, a hilarious and unsettling look at the rewards and costs of compulsive celebrity, shows Rivers in all her multifaceted glory. full review
89. The King's Speech 2010 Put aside the finery, eloquent dialogue and sublime acting, and you have a marvelous odd couple farce featuring Bertie and Lionel, a timid, tongue-tied king and a casual, self-assured commoner. full review
90. A Little Help 2010 The film suffers from an uncertain tone, playing serious situations for laughs while supplying Laura with a drinking habit and a hair-trigger temper that come across as problems rather than endearing foibles. full review
91. Marwencol 2010 Producer/director Jeff Malmberg tells the amazing true story with tenderness and tact. full review
92. Monsters 2010 A stunning piece of work that packs a devastating emotional wallop. full review
93. Nowhere Boy 2010 A Great Man biography gone comically wrong. full review
94. Rabbit Hole 2010 Nicole Kidman is strikingly good as Becca, infusing clipped dialogue and fleeting expressions with great depth of feeling. full review
95. Restrepo 2010 After the recent avalanche of pundit-filled advocacy documentaries about health care, failing schools and environmental collapse, it's a bracing experience to be trusted to think for oneself. full review
96. Senna 2010 There's not an ounce of fat or a wasted shot throughout. full review
97. The Tempest 2010 The effects are dazzling, the cast is stellar, the play is timeless, the movie is wretched. full review
98. True Grit 2010 It's a tonal mash-up no one but the Coens could deliver, the finest, most intelligent Western since "Unforgiven," with the funniest public hanging since "Blazing Saddles." full review
99. The Whistleblower 2010 Somewhere inside this movie is a thought-provoking thriller about the collateral damage caused by geopolitical do-gooders. Too bad it never emerges. full review
100. White Irish Drinkers 2010 Every kitchen-sink dramatic cliche is trotted out in John Gray's Brooklyn period piece. full review
101. 44 Inch Chest 2009 After a while you can see why the wayward wife moved on to fresher prospects. Our man Ray is all talk, no bloody action. full review
102. Amreeka 2009 Director Cherien Dabis' debut feature is a surprising, humorous, moving and very human story about a Palestinian family's emigration to Illinois on the eve of the Iraq war. full review
103. Antichrist 2009 To watch the Danish provocateur's new film is to experience unrelenting pain, shading into revulsion, while being inspired by his virtuoso command of the medium and sharp intelligence. full review
104. The Art Of The Steal 2009 Marshaling a wealth of archival and new material, it made me want to hop on a plane to Philadelphia to see the original before it's emptied. full review
105. The Boys Are Back 2009 Has there been a better film about single fatherhood than The Boys Are Back? None that I recall. full review
106. Bruno 2009 I don't know how many more times Baron Cohen can go undercover, but it looks as if he'll never run out of bigotry, idiocy and hypocrisy to spoof. full review
107. Creation 2009 Bettany's sheepish performance fails to engage, and Connelly, his wife in real life, seems distant and frigid. There is no sense of romance between them. That may be accurate, but it's no fun to watch. full review
108. Extract 2009 Bateman suffers under an ever-mounting pile of indignities with strained patience. Most viewers will probably view the fitfully amusing movie the same way. full review
109. Fish Tank 2009 The characters are guarded, and as we come to understand them scene by scene, they become ever harder to sort into convenient categories of hero and villain. full review
110. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest 2009 The film huffs and wheezes under the strain of its narrative baggage. full review
111. The Good Heart 2009 Cox makes his reanimation a believable, joyful change of heart, rather than a labored bit of plot manipulation. He seems ennobled, not merely sentimentalized. full review
112. Hunger 2009 This is strong stuff, a tour of hell on Earth presented in scenes of unbearable tension and pulse-spiking violence. Hunger ends as something else, though, in a vision of transcendence and grace. full review
113. The Joneses 2009 The film asks welcome questions about what price we should be willing to pay for "the good life," but ultimately it can't close the deal. full review
114. Last Train Home 2009 Chinese-Canadian director Lixin Fan presents the human cost of China's economic rise in terms any parent or child can understand. full review
115. The Limits of Control 2009 This interminable trifle from indie icon Jim Jarmusch aims to be the last word in ironic cool, but it comes across as the work of a fatigued dilettante. full review
116. The Nature of Existence 2009 After 90 minutes of scattershot quips, I felt like I was wearing spiritual beer goggles. full review
117. Ondine 2009 Ondine is so good it hurts. full review
118. Soul Kitchen 2009 Akin's earlier films were dramas, and he hasn't remade himself as a master of comedy, but even when the gags fall flat the vibe is agreeable. full review
119. Survival of the Dead 2009 Shuffle, shuffle, limp, limp. That's not the shambling gait of the zombie hordes in George Romero's Survival of the Dead, but the draggy pace of the movie itself. full review
120. Valhalla Rising 2009 It's a chilly, often slow, uncompromisingly harsh film, but Refn's images will sear your retinas. full review
121. Vincere 2009 Vincere is a thrilling period drama about the power of delusions. full review
122. Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen 2009 Here's a rarity: a reverent, respectful biography of a medieval Benedictine nun. full review
123. White Material 2009 Enigmatic, elliptical but visually powerful, Claire Denis' film plays chronological hopscotch with events. full review
124. Defiance 2008 The resistance drama Defiance just doesn't seem to have anything to add to the swastika overload currently clogging the nation's theaters. full review
125. I Sell the Dead 2008 The budget was clearly minuscule, but writer/director Glenn McQuaid's deft dialogue, strong characters and clever plotting attracted some impressive acting talent. full review
126. Let the Right One In 2008 Let the Right One In is one of the essential horror films of the decade. It's also one of the most enthralling romances and one of the best films about children. full review
127. Man on Wire 2008 There's nothing on movie screens now that can compare with the footage of Petit's performance. full review
128. Shrink 2008 The characters are so flatly conceived and their dilemmas so familiar that you wonder if the filmmakers even aspired to be original. Luckily, Kevin Spacey plays Carter with scene-saving grace. full review
129. The Square 2008 The dramatic structure is familiar, but the characters don't fit neatly into the usual pigeonholes. full review
130. The Tale of Despereaux 2008 Flat-footed when it should be fleet, scary when it means to be exciting, and only intermittently emotionally effective, The Tale of Despereaux does a disservice to Kate DiCamillo's well-regarded children's book. full review
131. Were the World Mine 2008 This high school reworking of A Midsummer Night's Dream never really takes flight, but neither is it the preening misfire the first half promises. full review
132. What Just Happened? 2008 In What Just Happened, we get a loving tribute to the movie business filled with disdain for the ethics of the people who work in the business. full review
133. The Yellow Handkerchief 2008 This modest but moving indie ensemble piece puts three estimable actors in a convertible, sets them on a long drive to post-Katrina Louisiana and lets the character dynamics do the rest. full review
134. Before the Rains 2007 It's standard soap opera dramaturgy in wrinkled linens, loincloths and saris. full review
135. Boarding Gate 2007 What it all means is up for grabs, but for connoisseurs of sadomasochistic nastiness, it's a must-see. full review
136. Broken English 2007 Although it's conventionally filmed and rather flat looking, the first dramatic feature written and directed by Zoe Cassavetes displays a good deal of her father John's appreciation for unembellished honesty.
137. Charlie Bartlett 2007 The film feels like an old person's notion of how young people live. full review
138. Day Watch 2007 Spectaculars don't come much more bombastic than this goth-Russian supernatural epic.
139. The Devil Came on Horseback 2007 The gripping documentary The Devil Came on Horseback traces the change of heart that compelled Steidle to break military discipline in 2005 and offer his secret photographic evidence of Sudan's vicious ethnic cleansing to the New York Times. full review
140. Eagle vs. Shark 2007 The movie is so self-consciously odd and twee it's hard to connect with the sad-sack characters. Waititi borrowed the formula for Dynamite but created a damp firecracker.
141. Encounters at the End of the World 2007 [Herzog is] a filmmaker ideally suited to recognize and celebrate...deep irony. full review
142. Lars and the Real Girl 2007 Every scene that could be played for pathos uncorks great laughs, while those that could turn crass or silly are compassionate. On every level, this is a labor of love. full review
143. Meet Bill 2007 Meet Bill misfires on multiple levels, but its foremost mistake is focusing on a sad-sack underachiever. Bill doesn't believe in himself, so why should we? full review
144. No End in Sight 2007 Even dedicated news junkies will gain new understanding of a campaign with no end in sight. full review
145. The Rape of Europa 2007 The Rape of Europa, an engrossing film based on Lynn Nicholas' 1995 book of the same name, offers a fascinating new perspective on an era that sometimes seems as if it has no more secrets. full review
146. Shooter 2007 A high-caliber action movie that gives '70s revenge fantasies a contemporary spin.
147. The Signal 2007 With just one compelling sequence emerging from so many filmmakers' efforts, The Signal is decidedly less than the sum of its parts. full review
148. The Ten 2007 The film is far from a perfect 10, with hit-and-miss writing, an over-reliance on cheap shocks and solid laughs in maybe five of the sketches. Given their brief running time, the weaker efforts are off the screen in short order.
149. Trumbo 2007 This biography is celebratory to a fault. There is scant context about the history and political climate that led to the blacklist. full review
150. Bug 2006 A film of excruciating intensity, a psychodrama that infects the imagination.
151. Cashback 2006 It's awkwardly drawn out to feature length with not-truly-comic secondary characters on the supermarket team, and go-nowhere incidents like a soccer match with a rival store and an unresolved encounter with another time-stopper.
152. Curious George 2006 The makers of Curious George have figured out how to make an innocent cartoon that will amuse knee-nuzzlers without hitting adults like a liter of chloroform. full review
153. Golden Door 2006 Writer/director Emanuel Crialese gives his atmospheric film a look of daguerreotype authenticity.
154. Heading South 2006 The regal Rampling has never been finer, and Cesar makes his character surprisingly proud and sympathetic. full review
155. Jackass: Number Two 2006 Whether you laugh, shriek or fight the urge to puke reveals as much about you as years of psychotherapy. full review
156. Keeping Up With The Steins 2006 It's not the kind of comedy that makes you laugh till your face hurts, but it'll give your smile muscles a good workout. full review
157. Lady Chatterley 2006 Paradoxically for a film about unchecked sexuality, it never comes alive. Unless you come to it already fascinated by the story, there's not much in this dull, dutiful dramatization to win you over.
158. Maxed Out 2006 If your outrage glands need a workout, be sure to see Maxed Out, a muckraking, emotionally powerful, wickedly entertaining documentary on the dreary-sounding topic of consumer debt.
159. Mission: Impossible III 2006 A smart, tightly directed thriller that could serve as the template for film schools teaching Summertime Escapism 101. full review
160. Saint of 9/11 2006 This is a loving and handsomely produced biography of Judge, a Franciscan priest of seemingly limitless wisdom, charisma, good humor and charity.
161. Severance 2006 Every clash of tones that worked in Shaun of the Dead goes haywire here.
162. Unknown 2006 Unknown is far from a perfect movie, but it's more amusing than many better-made ones. full review
163. Brick 2005 It has insolent wit, a taut style and strong characterizations. But it lacks the special quality needed to make a movie spring to life, a divine spark of real imagination. full review
164. Brokeback Mountain 2005 It has become shorthand to call Brokeback Mountain the 'gay cowboy movie,' but it is much more than that glib description implies. This is a human story, a haunting film in the tradition of the great Hollywood romantic melodramas. full review
165. Color Me Kubrick 2005 Without much insight into the self-dramatizing enigma of Conway, nor any representation of the solitary auteur he impersonated, the film becomes a repetitive series of small-scale con games played on cabdrivers, bar owners and wannabe stars.
166. Factotum 2005 This adaptation captures the late writer's unkempt soul.
167. Lonesome Jim 2005 It is packed with delightfully silly vignettes that had me squirming in my seat with laughter. full review
168. The Lost City 2005 'That's not filmmaking,' I thought, 'that's photography.' 'That's not acting, that's posing.' 'That's not Jon Lovitz, it's Andy Garcia!' full review
169. Old Joy 2005 At just 76 minutes, Old Joy is a minimalist film, but illuminating, bittersweet, gentle and deeply alive.
170. The Producers 2005 If this film were any funnier, the world would explode. full review
171. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days 2005 With the exception of a melodramatic musical score, director Marc Rothemund never missteps, filming the remarkable true story with restraint and skill. full review
172. Stoned 2005 Leo Gregory's performance as Jones fails to capture his rebel charisma, and the film, like its subject, winds up all wet, floating without direction, and lifeless. full review
173. This Film is Not Yet Rated 2005 [Dick's] recordings and reenactments of his skirmishes with the MPAA's executives and lawyers make the association look like a fatuous kangaroo court that rules by fiat rather than reason.
174. Big Fish 2004 Burton, who has clung to the trappings of precocious genius well into his 40s, demonstrates a new emotional maturity. full review
175. Inside Deep Throat 2004 A history lesson that challenges many preconceptions. full review
176. The Puffy Chair 2004 It captures the nuances and rhythms of messy real-life relationships dead-on.
177. White Chicks 2004 The movie is much more interested in the flatulence gags it can wring out of lactose intolerance than lampooning social intolerance. full review
178. Word Wars 2004 Sly, smart and delightful. full review
179. CSA: Confederate States of America 2003 Rarely does a promising premise get such lackluster execution as in the satiric CSA: The Confederate States of America.
180. Down to the Bone 2003 This downbeat story of blue-collar drug abuse becomes a moving portrait of people battling their inner demons, thanks to an outstanding acting ensemble. full review
181. The Hunted 2003 full review
182. The Machinist 2003 If grimly atmospheric studies in alienation are your cup of tea, you should find director Brad Anderson's dark brew especially tasty. full review
183. Something's Gotta Give 2003 While the film won't drive you delirious with suspense about where it's going, the journey is pleasant enough. full review
184. Tears of the Sun 2003 full review
185. Touching the Void 2003 Macdonald has done an astonishing job of recreating the climbers' saga of disaster and triumph. full review
186. The Hebrew Hammer 2002 Kesselman keeps the movie crackling with the raucous energy absent since Mel Brooks' heyday. full review
187. The Hours 2002 full review
188. Irreversible 2002 full review
189. Secret Things 2002 Imagine Emmanuelle remade on a shoestring budget or Eyes Wide Shut staged by a community theater group. full review
190. Black Hawk Down 2001 full review
191. Baran 2001 full review
192. Shaft 2000 full review
193. The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 The hippest of all holiday classics, the 1993 release rendered anew in 3-D format remains a postmodern three-ring circus of morbid humor, eye-popping puppet animation and show-stopping songs. full review
194. Barbarella 1968 It's fun in a 'What were they smoking?' kind of way. full review
195. Becket 1964 How could you hope for better casting than Peter O'Toole and his acting rival/drinking buddy Richard Burton playing opposite each other? full review
196. Harakiri 1963 A devastating, emotionally intense critique of the feudal system's hypocrisy and the warrior's code. full review