MOVIE REVIEWS: LAWLESS

It’s hard to remember a movie that received such divergent reviews as Australian director John Hillcoat’s Lawless, which opens today (Wednesday). That’s how it was at Cannes, when it was screened in competition last May, drawing boos and applause during the closing credits. The film, adapted by rock musician Nick Cave and starring Shia LaBeouf, […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

Somewhat surprisingly, given what several critics regarded as a put-offish title, there are only a handful of negative reviews for Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth in the title roles. One of them comes from Linda Barnard in the Toronto Star, who writes that “director Rupert Sanders makes all the […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT

In 2012 a movie with a title like The Five-Year Engagement hardly seems as provocative as one with a title like The 40-Year-Old Virgin but, despite the innocuous title, the movie is picking up some decent reviews, and even those that aren’t overwhelmingly positive aren’t exactly caustic. “Perhaps the tale of a couple who love […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: SCREAM 4

It’s a brave studio that opens its screening-room doors to critics for a horror film. Stephen Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer suggests that the reason The Weinstein Co.’s Dimension Films has done so with Scream 4 — a revival of the franchise after 10 years — is the belief that it may appeal to the […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: SUCKER PUNCH

Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch is being punched right and left by critics, with many of them suggesting that the real suckers will be those by tickets to see it. Of the leading film critics, only Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times has anything positive to say about it, writing, “I’d suggest the film is […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: BLUE VALENTINE

Fresh off their victory in persuading the MPAA ratings board to reduce the rating of Blue Valentine from NC-17 to R, the Weinstein Brothers are receiving much critical praise for the film as it opens in limited release today (Wednesday), in time for Oscar consideration. Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times calls the film, […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: “SALT”

Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, is being described by critics as an “action thriller.” Their reviews indicate that the emphasis should be placed on the “action.” The film moves with such speed, they say, that all the things they’d like to criticize fly by too fast for scrutiny. “Jolie’s character, Evelyn Salt, makes it look as […]