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Mark Jenkins, NPR

1. The Sorcerer and the White Snake 2013 These showdowns feature spectacular, Lord of the Rings-style CGI settings, but not much in the way of thrills or terror. full review
2. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry 2012 Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a portrait of a brave (or simply stubborn) eccentric in action. full review
3. The Ambassador 2012 The bold Brugger gets some interesting stuff, but it doesn't quite add up to an expose. full review
4. Americano 2012 The film's appeal has less to do with plot than mood. Demy balances his father's romanticism and his mother's naturalism, taking cues from both. full review
5. A Burning Hot Summer 2012 This existential-romantic roundelay barely simmers, and certainly doesn't scorch. full review
6. Dangerous Liaisons 2012 This is a relatively shallow entertainment, but its glossy surfaces certainly are, well, seductive. full review
7. Deadfall 2012 For Ruzowitzky, Deadfall seems nothing more than work for hire. full review
8. Elles 2012 The sex scenes are attention-getting, but Elles is most remarkable as a naturalistic portrait of a woman. full review
9. For Ellen 2012 By concentrating so intently on the psychically unattached Joby, Kim hinders dramatic and character development. full review
10. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 2012 Ryuichi Sakamoto's score, Nobuyasu Kita's cinematography and the performances are all impressive. full review
11. How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? 2012 Whether contemplating his own sensibility or challenging himself in cross-country ski marathons, the 76-year-old architect appears here as a man who stands heavy upon the planet. full review
12. The Invisible War 2012 The movie depicts the military's culture of intimidation and assault as global, not as an aberration that might be explained by the pressures of combat or the tedium of life on secluded posts. full review
13. Last Ride 2012 Weaving, best known for The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogies, brings subtlety and poignance to the hoodlum's mercurial character. full review
14. The Loneliest Planet 2012 The Loneliest Planet does have a quiet power, which is amplified by the movie's rugged landscape. full review
15. Nobody Else But You 2012 The movie may teeter on the edge of Switzerland, but its playful sensibility is entirely French. full review
16. Orchestra Of Exiles 2012 Orchestra of Exiles will interest anyone who's concerned with European Jewry or classical music in the first half of the 20th century. But it provides mostly the facts of Huberman's legacy and little of the flavor. full review
17. Oslo, August 31st 2012 In its depiction of a man who's considering death, the film is never less than fully alive. full review
18. Payback 2012 Ultimately, this intriguing but scattershot movie turns on the incompatibility of two worldviews - the corporate-financial vs. the environmental-spiritual. full review
19. Pink Ribbons, Inc. 2012 The movie's indignation seems justified on at least one point: that the pink-ribbon movement thus far has done more for marketing than for medicine. full review
20. Pray For Japan 2012 If the movie's tone is a little sappy, that's hardly inappropriate. Sorrow and resilience are the common bond of the major characters. full review
21. Red Lights 2012 Cortes continues to challenge magical thinking, but ultimately submits to it. The only mystery is which of the characters will turn the screw of the twist ending. full review
22. Tai Chi Zero 2012 Fung is enjoying himself so much that he doesn't want the movie to end - and his delight is infectious. full review
23. The Turin Horse 2012 The Turin Horse is an absolute vision, masterly and enveloping in a way that less personal, more conventional movies are not. The film doesn't seduce; it commands. full review
24. We Have a Pope 2012 It's a half-sweet, half-rueful existential drama in which the satire comes secondary. full review
25. Whores' Glory 2012 To combine stories of exploited Third World women with feisty songs by female Anglo-American rockers is to flirt with glamorization. full review
26. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 2011 The Black Power Mixtape includes plenty of interest, but it would be stronger if the filmmakers had dug a little deeper into the footage from 1967 to 1972 and skipped the final years altogether. full review
27. A Good Old Fashioned Orgy 2011 The movie keeps its balance better than its leering title might suggest. full review
28. The Hedgehog 2011 The Hedgehog is not exactly a naturalistic drama, and its winsome charm and annoying contrivance are thoroughly intertwined. full review
29. Magic Trip 2011 The movie fails to make the cross-country jaunt function as a metaphor for the country's mid-century passage. Minus that, the Pranksters' everything-changing adventure looks a lot like just another road trip. full review
30. Mysteries of Lisbon 2011 It's telling that the movie, after reaching a tidy payoff, takes one last spin into an epilogue that questions the actuality of almost everything that's come before. full review
31. Polisse 2011 As humane as it is disturbing, Polisse rifles the files of Paris' Child Protection Unit in search of successes, failures and all the shades of ambiguity in between. full review
32. Surviving Progress 2011 A provocative if scattershot documentary from directors Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks, who wander off topic more than once as they introduce myriad other voices. full review
33. This Must Be The Place 2011 This mashup of genres and themes doesn't entirely succeed, but it is warm, funny and ably crafted. full review
34. The Conspirator 2010 A better history lesson than it is a drama. full review
35. Freakonomics 2010 The movie version of Freakonomics functions as a reasonably effective trailer, but for a book whose moment has already passed. full review
36. Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen 2010 Using not one but two world wars as backdrops, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen is an exhilarating kung fu romp. full review