[
  {
    "movie": "yu_gi_oh_the_movie",
    "reviews": [
        "yu-gi ouch ! rare is the movie experience as painful as it is here",
        "if your pulse quickens when you hear lines like , ` not so fast ! i still have two cards face down , and they 'll bring down your life points to a measly 1000 ! ' , then yu-gi-oh is the movie you 've been waiting for all summer .",
        "a feature-length sales pitch aimed at kids .",
        "kids will eat yu-gi-oh ! the movie up . the rest of us will have to wait for the translation .",
        "the latest kiddie con job to float over from tokyo .",
        "a shabby , joyless , 90-minute slab of ` advertainment ' designed to sell booster packs for a popular trading-card game .",
        "watching it is vaguely like watching someone explain how to play poker when you have never played it and in fact have no intention of ever playing it .",
        "it was mostly over my head but the kids in the audience knew what was going on and loved it . if you see this movie , take a kid and let him guide you through it .",
        "although the movie is n't bad , would n't kids probably have a better time playing yu-gi-oh themselves than watching others play it , cartoonically ?",
        "a treat for the fervent young fans who remain , and a true test of devotion for their accompanying parents , who may need all the help they can get figuring out the storyline .",
        "feels like a 91-minute infomercial selling the popular collectible-card game .",
        "there 's nothing inspiring about yu-gi-oh ! the movie , unless you count the way it compels kids to continue to support the yu-gi-oh franchise .",
        "nothing in yu-gi-oh ! will make the inscrutable more scrutable , as it were . and anime being anime , this one could be nap-time for accompanying adults .",
        "a fantasy kitsch tale .",
        "like harry potter , shrek and spider-man , it will become part of the currency of grade and middle school conversation .",
        "yu-gi-oh translates from the japanese into ` intense migraine in elders . '",
        "yu-gi-oh ! the movie , a hyperventilating feature-length advertisement for japanese trading cards , would be hilarious if it were n't so dreadfully cynical .",
        "i suspect even children will be sophisticated enough to understand that a film should feel more alive than a trading card .",
        "looks like ` transformers on speed : the autobots take japan . '",
        "tecnicamente limitado , o filme n\u0433o \u0439 esteticamente melhor do que uma anima\u0437\u0433o produzida para a televis\u0433o .",
        "a feature-length anime commercial .",
        "it 's a lot like hearing the play-by-play account of a heated game of bridge . only not half as gripping .",
        "it 's essentially an advertisement for a similarly titled trading card game .",
        "the popular kiddie cartoon show comes to the big screen , looking exactly like a tv cartoon blown up to colossal proportions .",
        "more infomercial than movie . for series fans only .",
        "feature-length animated movie based on the television series , and manga comic book of the same name , is like watching a japanese video game being played on a movie screen .",
        "a 90-minute advert in search of a storyline .",
        "the artwork has the familiar saucer-eyed look of japanese anime but with a scuffed angularity that 's a long way from hayao miyazaki 's sublime magic .",
        "effectively a strategy guide and commercial in vaguely filmic form .",
        "only fans of the series will be able to follow the largely incomprehensible plot -- and the bog-standard animation wo n't win it any new ones .",
        "-lsb- b -rsb- eyond the clear aim of getting kids to separate their parents from cold hard cash in exchange for ... yu-gi-oh game cards ... the film is thoroughly incomprehensible ...",
        "while this probably constitutes a good tutorial in the trading-card game 's lingo and lore , it 's tremendously boring to watch an animated series in which most of the fighting does n't even involve combat , just characters looking at cards .",
        "like the gods , the trading cards are capricious , with ever-changing rules and strategies so intricate that only yu-gi-ohlogists will fully enjoy this adventure .",
        "unless you are one of the japanese phenomenon 's army of devoted young followers , much of the film 's story line and machinations will be greek , or at the very least egyptian , to you .",
        "with yu-gi-oh ! , a japanese animated film , the line between entertainment and advertising has been emphatically erased .",
        "no one without a working knowledge of the fabulously profitable manga-turned-gamer phenomenon will find it easy to enter here .",
        "yu-gi-oh ! will make you go ugh !",
        "the only thing missing is a 1-800 number flashing on the bottom .",
        "adults : if your child forces you to go to yu-gi-oh ! , remember that there 's no law against ipods in movie theaters .",
        "with the possible exception of espn-televised poker , watching somebody else play a card game is incredibly boring .",
        "toward the movie 's climax , the characters start spewing clich\u00e9d drivel about the power of friendship , lines that will make all but the youngest viewers shudder .",
        "much of the movie is devoted to the boys dueling card-to-card . and so most the dialogue , forgive me fans , sounds something like this : `` i 'm going to thwart your egyptian god cards with my rare metal dragon card ! ''",
        "a pay-for-admission commercial for its own empire , it stretches the definition of a movie into something so ugly as to be unidentifiable",
        "yu-gi-oh ! is so flat as to make the card game on which it is based seem positively three-dimensional .",
        "i sacrificed 90 minutes of my life points to sit through this and nothing i can summon is going to make up for that .",
        "it 's a painful , ponderous experience that 's not helped by being weighed down by lengthy explanations of the esoteric duelling rules .",
        "this is n't even a movie . it 's a commercial .",
        "this may be the first mainstream movie to have more in common with an infomercial than a screenplay .",
        "the artwork by director hatsuki tsuji and his team of animators is sharp , but it pales before state-of-the-art cgi .",
        "the characters are thinly sketched ; and the sense of adventure is mediocre at best",
        "this lousy animated feature not only looks like bargain-basement tv animation blown up to big-screen proportions , it also feels like a round or two of the trading-card game .",
        "it 's a pretty deep dive off the high board in the world of anime , but there 's no depth there .",
        "the film is simply part of a synergized income stream , more deft revenge upon us for having won world war ii .",
        "this cartoon based on the popular and complicated card game might as well be written in another language .",
        "yu-gi-oh ! the movie keeps the kid-friendly spirit of the show while raising the stakes enough to justify a serviceable big-screen treatment .",
        "a feature-length promotion for the trading cards your kids will beg you to buy all the way home .",
        "some of the dialogue is unintentionally funny . early on , for instance , the narrator bellows : ` even eternity does n't last forever . '",
        "games should n't be movies . yu-gi-oh ! is the -lrb- barely -rrb- living proof .",
        "from the endless product placement to its attempt to reel viewers in with free trading cards at the door , it all adds up to a 90-minute commercial .",
        "the imagination and audacity behind the game are wildly fascinating , and the same is true of the movie .",
        "i took one for the team this week ... if your kid is a yu-gi-oh fan , then god help you .",
        "the quality of the animation certainly has n't improved and the dialogue is typically basic and repetitive .",
        "no doubt its small fans are thrilled , but even young kids will have to be pretty undemanding to enjoy this mess .",
        "various other minuses for the uninitiated -- the changing powers of the cards , the intricate strategies of the participants , the almost-lethal nature of gameplay -- are great pluses for aficionados ."
    ],
    "summary": "do n't watch the tv show or play the card game ? then this movie is not for you .",
    "id": "10953"
  },
  {
    "movie": "volver",
    "reviews": [
        "the late fran\u00e7ois truffaut was frequently described as a filmmaker who loved women , but not even monsieur truffuat could come close to se\u0144or almod\u00f3var in his intelligent , perceptive and creative appreciation of women in MOV .",
        "almod\u00f3var retorna ao mundo das mulheres com seu talento e sensibilidade particulares e , no processo , retoma tamb\u00e9m sua habitual paleta de cores , cuja intensidade \u00e9 proporcional \u0155 dos sentimentos que representa . ''",
        "-lsb- almod\u00f3var 's -rsb- once-kitschy obsession with color and surface continues to deepen into a big , bold , almost painterly style .",
        "it 's very moving , it 's beautifully done .",
        "cruz is glorious to watch here , all voluptuous emotion and energy , a sure fire best actress nominee .",
        "almodovar delves deep into the darkness of a woman 's maternal instincts , finding alternate humor and harrowing emotion in one of the year 's most fascinating films .",
        "almod\u00f3var is still one of the few directors worth watching just for how he uses color on the screen . but the pleasures have always run much deeper , and now they run deeper still .",
        "though its humble pleasures give cause to pause and reflect on the spanish filmmaker 's occasionally overpraised output , MOV is a diverting melodrama ...",
        "you do not want to miss this one .",
        "crammed with outrageous turns of fortune and quicksilver shifts in tone , almodovar 's film is held together by performances so subtle and complex it 's hard to single out only one as exceptional .",
        "MOV -lrb- literally , ` to return ' -rrb- finds spain 's favorite cinematic son pedro almodovar at the peak of his powers .",
        "one of the few artistic highlights in cannes fest , MOV finds almodovar in top form with a personal movie that celebrates powerful mothers , while paying tribute to italian neo-relaism and the strong heroines played by anna magnani and sophia loren .",
        "richly entertaining fantasy from a cinematic master .",
        "cruz has never been better or looked lovelier . the same could be said of almodovar -lrb- well , at least the talent part -rrb- .",
        "almodovar treats even the most eccentric of the film 's females with compassion , empathy , affection and appreciation . he seems almost to envy them , like a kid who longs to be one of robin hood 's merry men .",
        "MOV is far from a paint-by-numbers , mad lib of a movie , but rather a fresh and touching exploration of family , tragedy and second chances .",
        "in this hand-stitched , gentle giant of a film , return is recovery -- by its very nature -- and all ghosts are friendly if you 'd only let them in .",
        "the spanish master brings his own story to the screen with intense emotion , vivid characterization -lrb- so rare in too many of his colleagues -rrb- and a marvellous sense of magic ...",
        "even if MOV sounds too high-concept for you , know that almod\u00f3var is smart enough not to rest on laughs alone , extending his premise to dark , though occasionally tidy psychological territory .",
        "almodovar 's latest is an emotionally rich film about forgiveness , atonement , and second chances that either sex can relate to .",
        "it feels like a chabrol film .",
        "pedro almod\u00f3var gives penelope cruz a great woman 's role that recalls the classic performances of italian actress anna magnani .",
        "comedic soap opera meets ghost story in `` MOV , '' a haunting and often surprising story about a woman who faces challenges at every turn .",
        "the way that almodovar 's resilient women rise above their traumatic pasts to serve one another and their community is a microcosm of idealized reality that welcomes scrutiny .",
        "this is a movie about mothers and children that dispatches with the usual goopy sentiment . MOV reassures us that you can go home again -- if only in the movies .",
        "the characters in MOV are complexly drawn , with intricate relationships and motivations . even the theme of death is more than it seems on the surface .",
        "richly evocative .",
        "red , in every conceivable shade , is , not surprisingly , a key color in MOV , a movie about the towering virtues of high heels and the indomitable power of good old 35 mm celluloid .",
        "will leave you with a smile on your face and a tear in your eye that cinema can be this gorgeous and glorious .",
        "what a run this millennium for pedro almod\u00f3var : one strange and fabulous feature after the next , each in a different style , each so deftly controlled that you hardly register its subversiveness until after you 've been hooked by its story .",
        "... the film , against my wishes , left me unmoved .",
        "one of almod\u00f3var 's more subdued works , ` MOV ' mixes genres but in the end achieves neither serious drama nor serious comedy .",
        "the mad spark which is almod\u00f3var 's alone is only improving with each passing film",
        "MOV admittedly remains a rather slight work , neither as flashy nor as wildly unpredictable as his past few films , preferring instead a quieter elegance and more intimate tone than almod\u00f3var 's more elastic marvels of screenwriting architecture .",
        "touches the heart with its wonderful portraits of spanish women whose nurturing and loving powers are a stay against the powers of violence and death .",
        "mildred pierce won joan crawford an oscar , and almod\u00f3var 's quaint riff on the michael curtiz classic may do the same for pen\u00e9lope cruz .",
        "what we have here is an at-times plaintive love letter to women : a paean to their humor , their loyalty , and especially their ability to survive their encounters with cheating , lying fornicators who employ their penises as weapons of submission .",
        "the humour and the heartstring-pulling hit the mark , as do most of the cast , not least cruz .",
        "pedro almod\u00f3var regresa a terrenos familiares : la mancha , la comedia , la fortaleza femenina y , por supuesto , carmen maura . un regreso esperado y satisfactorio .",
        "... it 's some achievement that the film is both funnier and more moving on repeated viewing , when its pervasive dramatic ironies emerge .",
        "a mature and beautifully told tale of family and the ghosts that haunt us .",
        "proves to be one of almod\u00f3var 's most temperamentally restrained efforts , though such a muted tone does n't detract from its emotional power .",
        "penelope cruz has never looked more beautiful and she gives a sensational , career best performance as raimunda .",
        "a touching , beautifully plotted film , full of memorable images and jokes , it zips along without a wasted second in its 121 minutes .",
        "almodovar infuses proceedings with a horrible sense of self-satisfaction and also has a disconcerting habit of lots of lingering , leery shots of his lead actresses ' bodies , including a pervy close-up of a teenage girl 's groin .",
        "pedro almodovar 's `` MOV '' stars penelope cruz in a comeback performance that 's so good , it recalls the film 's title itself . in spanish , `` MOV '' means `` to return , '' and that 's exactly what cruz has done here . she 's fantastic .",
        "if ever there was such a thing as grand melodrama , many of pedro almod\u00f3var 's works would certainly fit the description , and MOV -lrb- accent on the second v and long last syllable -rrb- is the grandest of them all .",
        "a mixed bag , albeit one with significant signature style .",
        "almod\u00f3var has described MOV as a blend of mildred pierce and arsenic and old lace , which is to say essentially urgent but wry .",
        "MOV is one of his most self-assured works , nestled into a style and filmmaking breadth that has officially become synonymous with the almodovar brand .",
        "MOV has it all : comedy , drama , penelope cruz , death and unexpected life , perfectly strung together with a little old fashioned intrigue .",
        "a movie with more in its heart than on its mind , pedro almod\u00f3var 's MOV does n't approach the brilliance of his recent films talk to her and bad education .",
        "the primary source of `` woman troubles , '' men are , in the end , also irrelevant to women 's patient , purposeful , and proud survival .",
        "does n't have the emotional impact of almodovar 's best films , nor the whacked-out lunacy of his most outrageous ... but it 's a satisfying and enjoyable film nonetheless .",
        "it 's a lovely little movie , but also sort of a wispy one .",
        "one of the amazing things about MOV is that almod\u00f3var once again manages to make a preposterous , overloaded plot seem sublime and organic .",
        "what a distinctive filmmaker almodovar has become .",
        "the women are left to do the best they can . that turns out to be enough to keep you watching through to the final twist -- as unlikely as everything else in this nonetheless extremely likable movie .",
        "the result is intoxicating ; a free-spinning story that 's by its end enormously satisfying , creating its own kind of magic .",
        "a celebration of what women can and will do to survive this mortal coil . penelope cruz is transformed into a classic woman for all the ages .",
        "a feast of colours , swooning camera movements , lushly orchestrated musical cues and meticulously fetishized symbolism .",
        "cruz delivers an award worthy performance in this delightful comedy .",
        "the movie is almost unbearably slow at times , and it was way too long at a little over two hours .",
        "i am a huge pedro almodovar fan , and his latest offering , `` MOV '' , is another gem in his repertoire of films about women .",
        "pedro almod\u00f3var has returned to his abiding , psychologically prescient adoration of women with what is his strongest film in years .",
        "if almodovar is in great form , cruz is even shapelier , with no small number of gags involving her cleavage .",
        "typically unpredictable almodovar surprise , but this time it 's enjoyable .",
        "once almodovar gets all the nasty men out of the picture , he 's free to create his utopia of women , whose chronic widowhood must have been achieved by boring their husbands to death .",
        "a rare success in the overcrowded -lrb- with formulaic disappointments -rrb- field of movies about estranged mothers and daughters who , at last , find a way to understand each other .",
        "far and away the best and most convincing work that she has ever done .",
        "pedro almod\u00f3var whipstitches a movie from patches of those mother-daughter melodramas mildred pierce , bellissima and two women and makes it seamless and original , funny as it is fierce , breathtaking as it is life-affirming .",
        "penelope cruz lights up the screen in a role that she seems born to play ; she 's vibrant , funny , strong , and vulnerable .",
        "MOV is rich , crazy , ambitious and filled with heaven and earth in a way that no other filmmaker can touch . it is a flawed beauty , but the beauty is so much more important than the flaws .",
        "whatever the director asks of cruz she delivers with poise and sincerity . it 's easily her finest work , and one of the year 's best performances .",
        "the return rattles its chains for a spell , but it does n't linger -- it quickly leaves .",
        "i have always felt that almod\u00f3var was at his best as an artist when he was at his most playful . MOV is about deadly serious matters of the heart , but it often has a screwball spirit . the darker things are , the funnier .",
        "pedro almod\u00f3var has made yet another picture that moves beyond camp into a realm of wise , luxuriant humanism .",
        "cruz has never been more radiant and funny : comparisons to sophia loren in her vittorio desica heyday are flying about , and richly warranted .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- vibrant film that 's pure class , pure imagination and pure almodovar .",
        "the characters ' situations may be dire , but almod\u00f3var knows how to present them in a way that is humorous without ever seeming condescending .",
        "the movie is enjoyable , but not passionately engaging in the way we 've come to expect from almod\u00f3var , and it leaves you somewhat cold in spite of the warmth of cruz 's galvanic performance .",
        "watching MOV , pedro almod\u00f3var 's latest poker-faced extravagance , you realize just how far his women have come from the days when they were living on the verge of a nervous breakdown .",
        "once again , the director confronts women on the verge of a nervous breakdown in a film full of humor and affection .",
        "although MOV has a tendency to stray too far down tangential paths , it is ultimately satisfying .",
        "almod\u00f3var 's generous vision is n't just unique , it 's color-coordinated .",
        "spanish director pedro almod\u00f3var always has fun toying with our perceptions and expectations and does it yet again with MOV , a darkly comic look at mortality and family secrets .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- gritty melodrama tempered by surreal black humor .",
        "its buoyant script and zesty cast make a convincing argument that you ca n't fully appreciate life without having a healthy respect for death .",
        "a deeply entertaining experience that engages our hearts as well as our funny bones .",
        "ripe with female characters and embroidered with flourishes that hint at hollywood 's golden age , MOV is one of almod\u00f3var 's finest films . it is also one of his most emotionally delightful .",
        "MOV qualifies as a must-see movie for the director 's fans or for those who wish to admire one of the greatest living cinema artists .",
        "a wonderfully talented cast led by the best performance cruz has given in years , but i am not convinced it is the oscar-worthy turn some have been promoting it to be .",
        "the new film by pedro almod\u00f3var is less ambitious than its predecessors , but all the more delightful in its smallness .",
        "the cannes film festival jury threw up its hands and gave this year 's best actress award to all six of the film 's stars . they 're so fine that refusing to choose between them was the only sensible choice .",
        "MOV is a rapturous , freewheeling valentine to the -lsb- female -rsb- gender as a whole , and as luxuriously voluptuous as the women who populate it .",
        "almod\u00f3var milks this premise for all it 's worth with witty dialogue , terrific performances -- and less-flamboyant-than-usual visuals that are still a red-accented treat for the eye .",
        "for a black comedy whose tangled sequence of events is completely improbable , pedro almod\u00f3var 's MOV feels absolutely authentic . so , think of everything as metaphor and enjoy one of the year 's most delectably twisted treats .",
        "in another director 's hands , MOV could have been as heavy-handed as those films , yet almodovar maintains a buoyant , lighthearted , and often comic mood .",
        "almod\u00f3var is a great filmmaker , and his skills remain intact -- MOV is polished , well-acted , completely personal cinema . yet it still feels slight -- more a tapas than a meal .",
        "... for a couple of hours , i was transported to pedro 's spain .",
        "from the very first shot of MOV ... you know you 're in masterful hands .",
        "MOV is really cruz 's coronation as the spanish sophia loren .",
        "a women 's film -- about women , fueled by the instincts of women -- that does n't resort to obvious melodrama or push-button emotions .",
        "MOV is suspenseful , clever , gently funny and always emotionally resonant .",
        "like most homecomings -lrb- or at least most good ones -rrb- , pedro almod\u00f3var 's MOV is warm , emotional and forever on the brink of tears -- peppered with bouts of pique , old resentments that flare up and moments of intense and lyrical longing .",
        "... if MOV turns out to be more conventional than we might first suppose , almodovar lets us down easy , with a deep and generous wit that forgives even the worst crimes humanity can commit .",
        "... almodovar 's most accessible and empathetic work yet .",
        "... a dark comic thriller with at least as many twists and turns as your typical spanish ` telenovela . '",
        "when the film does work itself up to a boil , it 's worth the wait .",
        "almodovar at his warmest and most accessible .",
        "supplying dialogue for multifaceted female characters is n't almodovar 's lone specialty , but it 's safe to say he does it better than most people in the film business today .",
        "nothing short of moviegoing nirvana .",
        "it 's clever and entertaining . it 's marvelously deft , but never daffy . it works well enough , despite feeling like the most conventional film this great , envelope-pushing spanish director has ever made .",
        "although no director has ever been as fascinated with and supportive of women as almod\u00f3var , in MOV he outdoes himself . though the plot is fictitious , the characters are designed as a memory and tribute to the women in almod\u00f3var 's childhood .",
        "a light , charming comedy with three murders and a death .",
        "so how good is spanish writer-director pedro almod\u00f3var 's latest effort ? `` MOV '' -lrb- to return -rrb- is so mesmerizingly quirky that i sat through a screening with an injured right arm writhing with pain as i became immersed in the film .",
        "... a knowing treatise on the currents that run between mothers and daughters .",
        "pedro almodovar 's MOV is amazingly bright , fresh and clean for a film dealing with murder , adultery , incest , malignant disease and the occasional supernatural apparition .",
        "with all its unexpected twists and turns , the story still unfolds naturally , like some gaudy mediterranean flower .",
        "until now , you may not have considered penelope cruz the modern-day successor to barbara stanwyck and joan crawford . but director pedro almodovar 's delightful ` MOV ' could change your mind .",
        "hollywood , take notice : if you hand penelope cruz a role with more depth than the paper it 's printed on , this is what you 'll get .",
        "almod\u00f3var 's maturity navigates not only the thin lines between comedy and drama and between body and spirit , but also between rebellion and acceptance",
        "almod\u00f3var 's phantasms are emotionally anchored so the story never gets away from its characters -- just when you suspect he might have overplayed his hand he stages a clever , surprising inversion to tie the film together .",
        "at the center of this hectic universe , -lsb- cruz -rsb- never misses a step and may even elevate what almodovar originally conceived .",
        "it 's up to charm to twinkle our attention away from the loose threads and daytime tv plotting .",
        "MOV shifts effortlessly from suspense to pathos to giddy humor ; the cast members negotiate all these changes while delivering low-keyed , reality-rooted performances .",
        "almodovar finds unusual camera angles to break up the straightforward storytelling . but for the first time i recall , not a single male character is crucial to his story , and no actor has a leading role . you wo n't miss them .",
        "i 'm not supposed to say this , as a woman , as a film critic , and particularly as a woman film critic , but i 'm not a fan of pedro almod\u00f3var .",
        "the unpredictable way all these stories begin to weave together makes it impossible to know where MOV is going until the final act . but it 's the exploration of the ties that bind mothers to daughters that offers the real substance .",
        "by the time it gets back to raimunda and paula and their never-too-heavy plight you 've all but forgotten about them , and really could n't care much either .",
        "almodovar 's in a playful mood here , yet there 's no mistaking the seriousness with which he takes the movie 's theme of empowerment through sisterhood .",
        "-lsb- almod\u00f3var -rsb- raises some intriguing and moving ideas in MOV , but the plot strands are not woven tightly together , remaining loose and frayed . it 's a shame , because the potential was there for a great film . instead , we merely get a good one .",
        "the film is realistic , yet almod\u00f3var 's touch of the absurd and the madcap infiltrate everything that occurs while his candy-colored visual palette lends a brightness to what in other hands might have taken the form of a sordid tale .",
        "it is an impossible hybrid , -lrb- in the words of at least one observer -rrb- an epic comedy .",
        "moderately enjoyable , but a step back rather than forward .",
        "one excellent performance does not a captivating drama make ; this is just a colorful , great-looking but weepy telenovela that will require three cups of coffee to endure .",
        "from start to finish , there is just nothing to MOV .",
        "is there another male filmmaker who so celebrates the mystery of women as much as pedro almodovar ? only maverick director george cukor similarly delighted in the intricacies and moods of the female sex .",
        "the pleasures of the new pedro almodovar film MOV , and they are many , have less to do with deep wells of feeling than they do with mastery of craft and a magnificent sort of artifice .",
        "the general rule in hollywood is that an actress can give either a glamorous performance or an ` important ' one . but pedro almodovar allows his actresses to do both .",
        "for all of the film 's pleasures , it 's missing the daring creativity that distinguishes the director 's best work .",
        "compared to something as extraordinary as his talk to her , MOV may seem like a light little soap opera , but its strength , grace and resiliency should not be underestimated .",
        "pity pedro almod\u00f3var . he 's so good so often that the world has come to expect a masterpiece with every new picture .",
        "almodovar is back ! not that he ever actually left ...",
        "as perfect moments go , this one was odd and incomplete ; and yet , when a plump droplet spilled across cruz 's eyelashes , tears came to me , too .",
        "a deeply resonant , thought-provoking story about how making sense of the past can help clarify our present and future .",
        "MOV is pedro almodovar 's latest joy to behold .",
        "... there 's a lot here that works , but there 's far more that 's simply interminable .",
        "there 's enough intrigue and good humor that you barely mind the clich\u00e9s , the misdirection , and the easy capitulation to formula .",
        "almodovar-land may not be as familiar as hollywoodland but give it a chance and you 'll apply for a passport .",
        "the story is too conventional , ghostly presence notwithstanding , but watch penelope cruz 's best performance to date .",
        "a tale of sisterhood , told with playful affection and abiding gratitude .",
        "what seem like needlessly digressive plot strands in the first hour are eventually knitted into a moving melodrama .",
        "though it may seem churlish to knock a film-maker whose only crime has been a naked desire to please audiences , MOV really is one of pedro almod\u00f3var 's weaker efforts .",
        "MOV -lrb- roughly translated : `` to return '' -rrb- is a magical film , but that magic is in the filmmaking -lsb- ... -rsb- itself ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV catches director pedro almodovar and star penelope cruz at the peak of their respective powers , in service of a layered , thought-provoking film . this magical tragicomic melodrama may be almodovar 's most restrained work to date , but it still features his trademarks : a strong attention to color and detail , a celebration of the trials and tribulations of women , and , of course , the inestimable carmen maura . the lovely penelope cruz has n't shone more brightly as she does here .",
    "id": "151436540"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sleepwalk_with_me_2012",
    "reviews": [
        "as an off-beat movie that depends on his conversational delivery , MOV manages to avoid many of the standard romantic comedy pratfalls .",
        "i liked sleepwalk with me-just not nearly as much as i would 've liked to have liked it .",
        "birbiglia has an affable screen presence , and there 's an appealing authenticity to the characters and their relationships .",
        "a pretty flimsy piece , but a likable cast and a laid-back attitude make it moderately agreeable .",
        "birbiglia 's easygoing style makes even his oft-told tales affecting on the big screen .",
        "the jokes are never quite funny enough , and the situation -- aside from the sleepwalking gimmick -- does n't feel quite fresh enough .",
        "dizzying navel-gazer about a desperately unfunny comedian .",
        "like any good stand-up comic , birbiglia works best when playing off an audience - or , in this case , the camera .",
        "mike birbiglia adeptly navigates the comic , self-mocking confessional terrain .",
        "a movie that will likely have greater resonance for his fans -- and for fans of npr 's this american life -- than more casual moviegoers .",
        "birbiglia is boyish , a calm talker , and just meek enough to keep his punch lines surprising but not so meek that he 's unlikable . -lrb- if anything , birbiglia is extremely likable . -rrb-",
        "modestly amusing autobiographically inspired work of fiction .",
        "full of shaggy self-deprecation and wistful romantic realization , MOV is an amiable tale of beta-male discovery .",
        "it 's slight .",
        "even if comedian mike birbiglia does n't have more stories worth telling on film , he 's done one movie that sneaks up on an audience and earns its attention .",
        "it is n't the typical romcom with a happy ending and rosy outlook all around , but it spins its wheels in familiar territory too often and takes a lazy approach to its central relationship , even as its sleepwalking scenes hit all the right notes .",
        "so do hang on and tough it out through the early awkwardness : once the truth starts hitting the fan/fans ... it 's a production that no one will sleep through .",
        "from start to finish , his character , called matt pandamiglio , is all by his lonesome -- reaching out of the fog . he 's a funny fog person .",
        "the film acts as both a diary of a sidewinding comic stylist finding his style , almost by accident , and a reminder to all post-collegiate boyfriends and girlfriends that `` ok '' probably is n't good enough for either party .",
        "even though the story does have its serious elements , it is very funny .",
        "this is a movie for anyone who 's ever been unsure , and surely that 's everyone .",
        "it 's not the most novel character arc in the world , but sometimes a story does n't need to break new ground . sometimes it 's enough for it to feel comfortable , maybe even familiar , and make you smile .",
        "yet another film about an underachieving -lrb- but bright and talented -rrb- character trying to make it in world of straights who do n't immediately recognize how wonderful he is .",
        "this is unquestionably the funniest movie you 'll ever see about a doomed relationship coupled with a life-threatening sleep-disorder .",
        "the movie is hilariously funny and witty . although messy at times , matt 's relationship with abby is sweet and endearing . the sleepwalking incidents are the weakest links in the narrative , because it is difficult to show on screen the vividness of ...",
        "an amusing but innocuous movie that wants to be liked , loved , perhaps even hugged -lrb- birbiglia is n't shy about exposing his love handles -rrb- .",
        "ultimately , the film becomes an admirable , but flawed piece of work . the comedy bits work well , but the overall story leaves something to be desired .",
        "there is something worthwhile about a comic who has the guts to admit not everything that arises from his lips is worthy of mark twain .",
        "... pleasant entertainment with overtones of personal confession ...",
        "it 's not until the movie 's second half that it really picks up momentum and builds drama . but by the time MOV crosses the finish line , it 's difficult not to genuinely like everyone involved .",
        "as entertaining as the movie can be , it 's the smaller , more poignant material in between the big laughs that makes the final product so charming .",
        "though the sleep-walking episodes are funny , it 's the way mike birbiglia captures the pains of performing comedy to tiny rooms that really fly .",
        "rarely these days do you come across a comedy so wholly warm-hearted .",
        "this is a great radio bit . problem is that somebody decided this was a movie , and it is certainly not .",
        "birbiglia humbly finds gold in his unassuming story .",
        "this self-deprecating comedy would make both larry david and louis c.k. proud ,",
        "the mix of broad laughs and excruciating truths makes for a highly watchable and intuitive experience .",
        "however , there 's something ultimately unsatisfying about the experience of listening to stand-up comedian mike birbiglia tell the true story of his inability to marry his longtime girlfriend -lrb- played by the far-too-hot-to-be-with-him lauren ambrose -rrb- .",
        "walking a fine line between darkly compassionate comedy , biting reality , striking low-budget fantasy and harsh psychological honesty , this modest but most disarming offering from funnyman birbiglia is one of those pics that unexpectedly grows on you .",
        "a riotous breakthrough for mike birbiglia , whose humanist comedy says a lot about modern relationships that many of us wo n't be prepared to admit .",
        "when it comes to mining a medical malady for laughs across multiple platforms , standup comic mike birbiglia is a master .",
        "matt 's learning curve is probably supposed to be entertaining , or endearing , or something , but mostly it just sends the movie lurching into inertia .",
        "a thoughtful adaptation of birbiglia 's hit one-man , off-broadway show .",
        "more than just a glorified stand-up act .",
        "birbiglia 's gift , really , is one of reassurance . it 's nice to know that we can fail spectacularly and still be okay .",
        "feats of raconteur storytelling are always tricky to translate into something effective and fluid enough to be movieworthy . but MOV sticks the landing .",
        "MOV sets itself apart from other movies about standups . the moral he learns is to face up to the truth , or else he 'll be miserable . that 's a life lesson that will hit home with anyone , not just comedians .",
        "mike birbiglia 's wonderfully deft `` opening up '' of his stand-up routine is a rare achievement in this genre and a supremely self-deprecating delight .",
        "sleepwalk holds together as a story that , like a particularly good episode of this american life , is both laugh-out-loud funny and somewhat melancholic .",
        "an amiable , sometimes surprising movie about chasing your dream while you 're wide awake .",
        "charming and occasionally insightful .",
        "birbiglia 's take on relationships is irreverent , which makes it better than the usual guy complaining about his pretty fianc\u00e9 movie .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- `` MOV '' is lightweight to a fault . yeah it 's strange that this marginal comedian has a kooky sleep disorder , but that does n't mean it makes for a very entertaining comedy .",
        "the crux of the story offers sharp practical wisdom in the modernist vein , regarding the comedian 's confrontation with the danger and the challenge of self-revelation , but it 's served up too smoothly and sweetly .",
        "this is an adorable film based on the story of a comedian struggling to break through in the business while bartending in a comedy club .",
        "the movie is so good that if you were n't a fan of mike birbiglia beforehand , you will be afterwards .",
        "-lsb- rides -rsb- a weird tonal line , maybe aiming to split the difference between comedy and terror but coming off as afraid to really go for it on either .",
        "MOV embraces its toughness and emerges with a sharp comment about evasion .",
        "the funny thing about the movie is n't its failure-to-launch humor , but the weird mess of life that rushes in despite it .",
        "birbiglia is a fresh new comic voice in the world of indie film and it will be interesting to see where he goes from this clever movie .",
        "the idea of the man-boy who ca n't commit is rather '90s , and neither the film 's narrative nor style brings it forward two decades , to where it should be .",
        "MOV is implausibly appealing . the idea of someone not liking this picture is implausible . it would be without plause .",
        "based on an off-broadway play and novel , the humour is cumulative , emanating from the characters and situations and resulting in a bubbling feel-good snapshot of life from the view point of an aspiring comic with an oddball slant on things",
        "moments of comedy and drama are preserved , but even at 81 minutes the film seems a tad long",
        "... just like the most memorable stand-up routines , there 's a twinge of tragedy and pathos in the mix that make the laughs linger and the story stick .",
        "it takes a while to find its feet but MOV develops into an interesting film about an interesting person .",
        "i guess there are only so many times you can tell a story - even a great story - before even you are tired of hearing it .",
        "really , this film lives or dies on the charm of its protagonist . luckily , birbiglia is very charming indeed .",
        "a film that expertly paddles through the complicated subconscious and repressed feelings of a faltering comedian",
        "MOV is a disposably sweet ` annie hall ' rehash that achieves its minor ambitions with unremarkable efficiency .",
        "MOV is a remarkably assured directorial debut for comedian and storyteller mike birbiglia , based on a stage monologue about his journey of self-discovery as a performer and the challenge of dealing with a rare sleep disorder .",
        "this sharp romantic comedy began as a one-man show , and you can tell : the hero 's voice-over narration wraps around the entire movie , and the scenes are mainly verbal .",
        "MOV is never anything less than awfully likable . but i so wanted it to be more .",
        "funny and fresh - leading man/director/writer mike birbiglia is one to watch .",
        "`` MOV 's '' transition from stage to screen primarily works because birbiglia continues to carry the weight .",
        "it all adds up to a fine , funny exercise in disheveled self-deprecation : a self-portrait of a guy who ca n't control a major portion of his life .",
        "birbiglia proves to be as engaging a presence on the screen as he has been all these years onstage and over the radio waves .",
        "the real find , above all else , is mike birbiglia himself . he 's as sure of a natural in front of the camera as he is behind it .",
        "the semi-autobiographical tale is appealingly low-key and alternately funny and melancholy , informed by birbiglia 's casual delivery .",
        "is there reason to be concerned that so much popular culture is about young men not wanting to become adults ? probably . and yet `` MOV '' makes the subject palatable , funny and maybe even touching .",
        "i like this movie . more important , i like mike birbiglia in it . whether he has a future in stand-up i can not say , but he has a future as a monologist and actor .",
        "it is a likable , warm film that brings a welcome reassurance : even if you fail spectacularly as a comedian or as a human being , it really can turn out ok in the end .",
        "`` MOV '' is the perfect movie for fans of `` the daily show '' who actually stick around for the second-half interview .",
        "`` MOV '' traps birbiglia inside his own head . he desperately needs a movie or cable series that wakes him up and sets his material loose on the outside world .",
        "the film may not be as laugh out loud funny as one would expect from a guy who makes his living telling jokes , but mike birbiglia has made an insightful film on how he got there .",
        "... a very personal story from actor-turned-filmmaker birbiglia and gives an honest account of matt 's two very different lives ...",
        "for all the first-film jitters ... MOV is a canny and heartwarming comedy that rarely sells the audience short .",
        "familiar problems with a funny , likable spin , much like birbiglia 's easygoing , anecdote-filled comedy style .",
        "sleepwalk is oddly soothing , like a cup of camomile tea before bedtime .",
        "it 's far too similar to every other star-is-born sob story the entertainment industry churns out with ease .",
        "with a sure visual sense despite a clearly limited budget , and most importantly a rock-solid understanding of storytelling , birbiglia crafts a romantic comedy that 's utterly unique , but also satisfying in a primal , familiar way .",
        "an endearing indie feature about the day-to-day indecisions and nocturnal perambulations of a commitment-phobic new yorker .",
        "this storytelling is n't particularly intriguing , but birbiglia 's charisma carries them with a personable brand of self-deprecation .",
        "MOV very much reminded me of a take on high fidelity with comedians instead of music snobs .",
        "a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging film .",
        "crowd-pleasing comedy from stand-up mike birbiglia .",
        "the extent to which his stand-up improves and his insecurities worsen ... seems to stem from a very real place of ambivalence and ambition .",
        "birbiglia has a very matter-of-fact charm about him and gives the simplest of observations wonderfully sardonic weight .",
        "MOV is as charming as it is winningly modest , but it 's so incredibly slight a stiff wind would knock it into a different hemisphere .",
        "birbiglia has been a unique voice on the standup comedy circuit for several years now . `` MOV '' indicates he could make an even bigger impact at the movies .",
        "mike birbiglia showcases the mindset of a comedian trying to find his voice , and the film has a surprising amount of heart .",
        "it 's a film of great humor and insight , but most importantly , it retains birbiglia 's personality , keeping the master of ceremonies and his whirlwind life of heartache and nocturnal activity beautifully intact .",
        "it 's like nothing i 've ever seen , sort of funny people crossed with annie hall by way of lost highway .",
        "there is n't a single thing this movie attempts that every episode of louie does n't do better .",
        "`` MOV '' is a good movie , but it could have been a great one if it cared as much about the woman as it does the man .",
        "`` MOV '' puts a laudably offbeat new spin on the familiar story of the slacker guy with the commitment problem .",
        "birbiglia 's pleasingly nasal delivery and agreeable presence holds it together .",
        "notwithstanding its storytelling stumbles , `` MOV '' points in a positive direction for this likable comedian 's career .",
        "a smart , neurotic slice-of-life comedy about a stand-up comic with confidence issues , commitment issues , and career issues ."
    ],
    "summary": "laugh-out-loud funny and endearingly messy , MOV overcomes its tonal inconsistencies to deliver a sweetly melancholic , amiably reassuring indie crowd-pleaser .",
    "id": "771267283"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dogtown_and_zboys",
    "reviews": [
        "when these guys were headed down the street at 50 m.p.h. , you got out of the way .",
        "the overall effect is awe and affection -- and a strange urge to get on a board and , uh , shred , dude .",
        "delivers a thrilling view of an era when a group of kids , almost by accident , defined ` cool ' for a generation .",
        "the subjects are all charismatic and interesting - any of them could have been the focus of their own documentary",
        "fast-paced and wonderfully edited , the film is extremely thorough .",
        "you may see more important , more moving , more meaningful documentaries in your time . but you will never see one cooler .",
        "a very entertaining documentary , further proof that a good doc can be as much fun as a fictional film .",
        "an exhilarating , breathless , must-see chronicle of the skateboarder revolution and evolution .",
        "peralta 's product may have the whiff of sell-out , but you may find that you 're too busy buying it to care .",
        "this engrossing , definitive documentary on the birth of southern california 's outlaw skateboarding culture is a jaw-dropping piece of work .",
        "about nowhere kids who appropriated turfs as they found them and become self-made celebrity athletes -- a low-down version of the american dream .",
        "this documentary by stacy peralta makes a convincing case on behalf of skateboarding , of all things , as a catalyst for this change , and for some delinquent youths in a derelict los angeles neighborhood as its agents .",
        "poetry in motion captured on film . while it can be a bit repetitive , overall it 's an entertaining and informative documentary .",
        "enormously enjoyable , high-adrenaline documentary .",
        "an informative , nostalgic trip back to a fascinating era , told by those who knew it best .",
        "at times , however , dogtown and z-boys lapses into an insider 's lingo and mindset that the uninitiated may find hard to follow , or care about .",
        "a uniquely visceral -lrb- if inevitably self-aggrandizing -rrb- piece of documentary filmmaking .",
        "the story of how santa monica 's zephyr skate club created a bridge from the ho-dad '60s to the rad '80s is fascinating stuff .",
        "this is pop history that blows your hair back .",
        "blatant promotion aside , the chronicles of dogtown make for fascinating insider cultural history .",
        "infectiously exuberant .",
        "using the zephyr team 's creation , its sudden fame , and death by defection , dogtown documents genuine 20th century tribalism .",
        "raw , baby , raw . that 's what this documentary is , and that 's why it 's not meant for blu-ray .",
        "before tony hawk , skateboarding had the z-boys .",
        "skateboard-legend-turned-filmmaker stacy peralta rips open the paradigm of the documentary form in much the same way that he and his young santa monica zephyr competition skate team revolutionized skateboarding in the mid - '70s .",
        "marred by a self-importance and heavy-handed assertion of mythic status that some may well find misplaced or just downright ridiculous .",
        "you want to know more about their private lives than you get . but most viewers may be too stoked by the sheer adrenaline rush of the subject to care .",
        "package is lively , if loosely structured .",
        "this propulsive , highly satisfying 2002 documentary concerns a group of daredevil skateboarders from an economically depressed and dangerous area of santa monica known as dogtown who reinvented the sport in the 70s .",
        "i know exactly nothing about skateboarding , but this wild , exuberant documentary puts it all in perspective , outlining a crew of 12 surfers-turned-skaters who pioneered the sport -- and , some say , the art form .",
        "peralta 's filmmaking is nearly as audacious as his skating . the movie often looks like an underground document .",
        "seeing how 99 % of movies are designed to keep you on your keester , you have to respect one that inspires you to get off your ever-widening behind and do something real .",
        "although devoid of objectivity and full of nostalgic comments from the now middle-aged participants , dogtown and z-boys has a compelling story to tell .",
        "... this is a great document , and gives due credit to those who truly invented vertical skateboarding which is the predecessor of all the ` vertical ' sports . god bless the z-boys , every one .",
        "suitably energetic but thoroughly egotistical .",
        "it 's impossible not to admire his joie de vivre -- and this movie 's joie de vivre , as well .",
        "few sports films catch their time , place and sport so well .",
        "has all the depth of a wading pool .",
        "a truly fascinating case study of just how an underground sport ascended on the world .",
        "what there 's too much is interviews with middle-aged , self-proclaimed radicals indulged in endless back-patting sessions for having spawned ` a revolution . '",
        "quite possibly the best documentary about youth and sport since hoop dreams .",
        "the film fearlessly gets under the skin of the people involved ... this makes it not only a detailed historical document , but an engaging and moving portrait of a subculture .",
        "the straight cuts illustrate how the zephyr team 's revolutionary , riffing style was both an extension of surfing and aesthetically beautiful .",
        "there is something i find deeply disturbing about a documentary made about one 's own life that never acknowledges its first person status .",
        "an affectionate look back at those heady days .",
        "despite its lack of perspective on history or the evolution of the sport , dogtown and z-boys does what documentaries do best : it makes even viewers who have never touched a skateboard feel a part of the action .",
        "it 's an entertaining study for anyone , as it makes you believe that skateboarding is the ultimate guerilla sport -- taking something that exists and is shrugged off and turning it into something amazing .",
        "an enthusiastic ode to a few of the pioneers of extreme sports .",
        "it also paints a vivid portrait of a place , time and tribal gathering where environment , attitude , innovation , athleticism and emphasis on style spawned an accidental revolution of sorts .",
        "dogtown and z-boys does precisely what a documentary movie should do : it makes its subject fascinating whether you actually give a damn or not .",
        "the rebellion , the rock music , and the frenetic introduction to skating culture all combine to make -lsb- this -rsb- one of the most entertaining and fun movies of the year .",
        "a wild ride with eight boarders from venice beach that was a deserved co-winner of the audience award for documentaries at the sundance film festival .",
        "a fine , interesting documentary .",
        "dogtown & z-boys evokes the blithe rebel fantasy with the kind of insouciance embedded in the sexy demise of james dean .",
        "its sheer dynamism is infectious .",
        "a thrilling experience , and one that can be thoroughly enjoyed even if you 're unable to discern a ` kickflip ' from a ` frontside air . '",
        "if you think a documentary about the birth of modern skateboarding sounds like something worth missing , think again .",
        "at its core is a truly human tale of how a bunch of kids who had everything going against them unintentionally created a cultural phenomenon .",
        "dogtown and z-boys more than exposes the roots of the skateboarding boom that would become `` the punk kids ' revolution . ''",
        "a fast-paced but narrowly-aimed look at the outlaw skateboarding movement of the '70s ... disappointingly bland and adulatory .",
        "peralta 's mythmaking could have used some informed , adult hindsight .",
        "this is one fantastic , enthralling film .",
        "its spirit of iconoclastic abandon -- however canned -- makes for unexpectedly giddy viewing .",
        "the movie has an infectious exuberance that will engage anyone with a passing interest in the skate/surf culture , the l.a. beach scene and the imaginative -lrb- and sometimes illegal -rrb- ways kids can make a playground out of the refuse of adults .",
        "a thrilling look at the mostly unknown history of the original extreme sport .",
        "even people clueless about skateboarding can enjoy dogtown and z-boys .",
        "a dazzlingly crafted documentary .",
        "it is impossible not to be seduced by its hard-edged vision of an endless teenage summer .",
        "you do n't need to know or care about the skateboarding culture to enjoy this free-wheeling ride through a dog-eared section of '70s - era los angeles .",
        "whether you 're a grind god or an ollie newbie , you 'll want to watch this doc like a tony hawk .",
        "if the sign of good documentary is its ability to enthrall you regardless of your prior interest in the subject , then stacy peralta 's hugely entertaining film earns high marks .",
        "energetic and fun film ... the most memorable parts of the movie are all of the editing tricks .",
        "gives a detailed and fascinating picture of the z-boys phenomenon .",
        "does a terrific job of evoking the electric magic of an extraordinary era .",
        "a high-flying kick for anyone who enjoys a good road rash and wind rushing through the hair .",
        "watching dogtown is like discovering a secret history of america .",
        "despite its faults , this is a fascinating look at a subculture .",
        "this flick is about as cool and crowd-pleasing as a documentary can get .",
        "peralta captures , in luminous interviews and amazingly evocative film from three decades ago , the essence of the dogtown experience .",
        "the people in dogtown and z-boys are so funny , aggressive and alive , you have to watch them because you ca n't wait to see what they do next .",
        "more than simply a portrait of early extreme sports , this peek into the 1970s skateboard revolution is a skateboard film as social anthropology ...",
        "unless you come in to the film with a skateboard under your arm , you 're going to feel like you were n't invited to the party .",
        "filmmaker stacy peralta has a flashy editing style that does n't always jell with sean penn 's monotone narration , but he respects the material without sentimentalizing it .",
        "the rare and wondrous nonfiction film that transcends its subject to become a thing of beauty in itself , a slice of pop-cultural history that shimmers with life .",
        "a wonderful demonstration of how employing the aesthetic values of a subject can produce a raw , jagged exciting style in cinematic nonfiction .",
        "fascinating .",
        "watch this , and the next time you see the x games or a skateboarding video game commercial , you 'll think of the z-boys and how it all began .",
        "the problem is that peralta wants it all , and that it does n't all add up .",
        "voracious visually , unswerving narratively , and stylistically brave .",
        "the film has an infectious enthusiasm and we 're touched by the film 's conviction that all life centered on that place , that time and that sport .",
        "even if you could n't care less about skateboarding , dogtown and z-boys serves up an intriguing slice of american culture .",
        "exhilarating but blatantly biased .",
        "an account that 's as raw and colorful as the misfits it mythologizes ."
    ],
    "summary": "dogtown and z-boys is a colorful , exhilarating look at the skateboarding subculture .",
    "id": "11563"
  },
  {
    "movie": "that_thing_you_do",
    "reviews": [
        "hanks evokes astonishingly precise memories of the time .",
        "light and peppy , this filmmaking debut by tom hanks is as harmless as a puppy dog waiting to be petted .",
        "a romantic romp as sweet and bubbly as a coke float .",
        "tom hanks ' writing-directing debut is a sweet valentine to rock 'n' roll .",
        "it 's concerned with a very general notion of the corrupting nature of stardom , and it does n't push any of its ideas far enough to invite its audience to invest in the issues it raises .",
        "MOV ! is a credible first effort .",
        "... a movie that , like many a pop tune , has a cute idea but a simpleminded lyric .",
        "... is a pleasant film perfect for a brain-dead matinee .",
        "uma hist\u0437ria simples , contada de maneira tamb\u0436m simples , que acaba agradando por suas boas inten\u0443\u0448es .",
        "with its exuberant tempo and danceable beatlesque theme song , MOV will win the hearts of a broad audience .",
        "a simple , rather sweet and uncomplicated , rock and roll fable .",
        "sweet nothing , then , but what would you expect of a rock movie devoted to the drummer ?",
        "mr. hanks 's debut feature , written and directed with delightful good cheer , is rock-and-roll nostalgia presented as pure fizz .",
        "short on substance but long on charm , MOV ! is a lively , entertaining fable about a makeshift rock 'n' roll band that enjoys a brief moment of fame in the summer of 1964 .",
        "an amusing directorial debut by hanks",
        "hanks sacrificed character complexity , but at least some period details are right .",
        "rock on , hanks .",
        "it 's a pleasant little film with a big profile , thanks to tom hanks , who wrote and directed and gave himself a plum role as the band 's hard-nosed manager .",
        "the strange thing is that even though hanks bungles the big moments , he does so many things right with the small moments that it is easy to walk away with a smile .",
        "you will likely leave the theater feeling happy for no particular reason .",
        "... the film has a contagiously exuberant atmosphere , and you 'll most likely leave the theater happily humming the title tune .",
        "has all the qualities you would associate with the most beloved screen actor of the moment : fun , lively , and oh-so-nice .",
        "hanks has good `` thing '' going .",
        "the film definitely does its own thing and often does it well .",
        "hanks ' film is about how all good things come to an end . the important thing is to enjoy it all while it lasts .",
        "it may be too happy and sweet for the cynical crowd , sort of a `` have a nice day '' movie , but if feel good films are your fancy it would be hard to go wrong with this one .",
        "the good old days look good indeed in this movie .",
        "in short , this is a lightweight but utterly loveable affair which proves hanks is as assured behind the camera as in front of it .",
        "in the end , the movie simply clicks . it is a class act all the way .",
        "leaving audiences feeling good is very much , and very successfully , on its mind .",
        "hanks or no hanks this gem of a movie is definitely worth the time .",
        "... nearly everything has incredible , subtle depth and this just make the movie that much more enjoyable .",
        "passable entertainment , but still trite and superficial",
        "in his first effort at directing a feature film , hanks chooses his material wisely and writes it with witty , beguiling charm .",
        "... a larky but observant comedy .",
        "hanks has crafted a highly entertaining film . it 's young cast are all superb",
        "... a brightly entertaining blend of humor and heartbreak about four fresh-faced guys in a band from erie , pa. .",
        "first-time writer/director tom hanks stays about a half-beat ahead of the cliches with rim shots of boyish enthusiasm and deft comedy . the movie 's also buoyed by the title song , whose beatles sound is infectious enough to merit a real hit .",
        "a barely there-tale of rock 'n' roll dreams , driven by the infectious title tune .",
        "though hanks keeps the satirical and critical aspects of this look at show biz fairly light , there 's a lot of conviction and savvy behind the steadiness of his gaze .",
        "whereas dances with wolves was an epic cultural tract , MOV ! is a piece of entertaining bubblegum which , like its director , making his feature directorial debut , is high on charm and style .",
        "a movie as catchy and likable as the title song .",
        "sweet , sleepy take on flash-in-the-pan '60s band .",
        "tom hanks directorial effort is a decent film overall , but nothing that would ever inspire to re-visit again and again with fondness .",
        "` MOV ! ' has an air of nostalgia and likeable characters that make us believe their story and their time , and a strong narrative backbeat to power this light musical comedy .",
        "the rise of the wonders is fun to watch , does n't require a lot of probing analysis , and should make a great date movie , especially for boomers .",
        "a sweet , likeable tale of the quick rise to fame and then demise of a small town band . set in 1964 , hanks ' film offers a sanitized , gump-ish look at a mythical period when boys were boys and girls were girls , with no references to the sex-drug subculture",
        "an undeniably delightful film . it makes you smile and want to dance , and -lrb- for better or worse -rrb- it 's titular theme song wo n't leave your head for days .",
        "though hanks does n't serve up much context , he 's solid with details , and the wonders ' performances ring truer than most .",
        "without hauling in a lot of deep meanings , it remembers with great warmth a time and a place .",
        "in this story about the rise and fall of a pre-beatles rock band -- written by , directed by and starring hanks -- his true colors shine ."
    ],
    "summary": "a light , sweet , and thoroughly entertaining debut for director tom hanks , MOV ! makes up in charm what it lacks in complexity .",
    "id": "10233"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bicentennial_man",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV misses the big picture .",
        "a good time .",
        "the film is cute , saccarhine , overlong , at times overbearing ... but not completely unpleasant .",
        "tries to win our hearts without doing much for our brains or our funny bones , and it just does n't work .",
        "relies too heavily on the inconsequential silliness that ensues from the robot 's simplistic and transparent manner of communicating with the more complex and fallible humans .",
        "MOV is crusty , dusty , and musty . metal or flesh-and-bone , robin 's rusty .",
        "it 's a step in the right direction for both its star and maker .",
        "MOV too mushy , heavy-handed .",
        "those who get a catch in the throat just thinking about valentines day might not mind slogging through this epic ... everyone else will emerge from `` bicentennial '' feeling about 200 years older than they were when they went in .",
        "this tin man has a heart , but his movie needs a pulse .",
        "the lack of any real conflict makes MOV seem even longer than it is .",
        "an impuissant and confused movie .",
        "sci-fi fans expecting awesome effects and an interesting vision of the future are bound to be disappointed .",
        "a nice try , but overall , no dice .",
        "like crossing the sahara to get to the water , this film has a lot of dry spells and the prize may not be worth the trip .",
        "this is one tin man with neither heart nor brains .",
        "even though it takes too long to make some of its points , MOV boasts thought-provoking ideas about the nature of humanity , the blessings and curses of emotions and the meaning of mortality .",
        "so coldly calculated it could give you frostbite .",
        "click your red slippers dorothy ; here comes holiday ho-ho-hokum sprinkling with cheer , but devoid of pressing issues , y2k fears , and anything closely resembling controversy .",
        "in a perfect world , i would have gotten sick with a stomach virus 45 minutes into this film , ran out of the theater , puked all over the place , and then proceeded to leave with a smile on my face .",
        "the film should please those looking for a somewhat sentimental and clearly different sort of story .",
        "gradually becomes more and more penetrating",
        "canned emotions .",
        "if anyone 's going to animate a machine , it might as well be robin williams .",
        "it 's a bit strange , and strained .",
        "an ambitious tale handled in a dawdling , sentimental way .",
        "an underfunded inventor makes enough snide asides about ` relentlessly unfashionable android technology ' that you half expect williams to start speechifying about the merits of cloning .",
        "there are some impressive special effects , but the picture is more a charming character study than a futuristic adventure .",
        "by relegating the story to a disappointing level of superficiality and never attempting to venture more than skin-deep into some intriguing themes , MOV comes across like recycled , diluted star trek .",
        "a cornball drone of greeting-card sentiment .",
        "almost always convinces and involves the viewer .",
        "MOV 's few simple pleasures ca n't make up for its shallow philosophizing .",
        "but i 'll be darned if , by the end , my heart did n't reach out a bit to andrew as he tried to understand the workings of his own .",
        "MOV 's heart may be synthetic , but it beats strongly , nonetheless .",
        "is it incest or insurrection ?",
        "whatever truly thought-provoking sci-fi or philosophical concepts the original material contained have been watered down to sentimental blandness .",
        "robin williams continues to demand attention .",
        "without a doubt , a manipulative picture . but director chris columbus , schmaltzmeister that he is , makes no bones about it .",
        "one of the greatest features of the film is the realistic aging of its characters .",
        "this film is everything a good film should be .",
        "more a meditation on the nature of life itself than anything else , and a welcome respite from robin williams , the emotion sponge .",
        "part of the deep appeal of this film is its undercurrent of yearning beneath surface ironies .",
        "this movie gives families a good opportunity to talk about what makes us human .",
        "this is n't a perfect movie , but it entertains and touches the heart , and it 's certainly a big step up from patch adams .",
        "a shiny houehold robot becomes an exemplar of the spiritual practice of kindness in this film that must be taken to heart .",
        "the worst kind of movie -- one with no direction , no identity , and above all no heart .",
        "gives up too early in its search to say something authentic .",
        "... nothing but a sappy , shameless , and morbid production that wastes talent and time in a script designed to line the bottom of a bird cage .",
        "lacks urgency .",
        "feels like 200 years of dullness .",
        "you wish that the film unfolded on a more modest scale and in the real world .",
        "mr. williams latches onto every cheap laugh he can find .",
        "columbus ... has a suffocating sense of family values in which all problems are plot-deep and there is no familial crisis ... that ca n't be fixed with a motown sing-along .",
        "MOV has heart , but lacks bite .",
        "the music in MOV is excellent and williams ' performance is heartwarming .",
        "essentially the adventures of pinocchio with a lot of bells and whistles , except that kazan and columbus neglect to give pinocchio any adventures -- or , worse yet , any flaws to grow out of .",
        "williams has lost almost every last ounce of charm on screen .",
        "in addition to its provocative dialogue , MOV features some cute scenes of the future city .",
        "it 's frequently witless and entirely lacks conviction .",
        "a likable movie .",
        "we have a decent little film trying desperately to escape from the vicious grasp of a hokey hollywood formula . as a result , we get a pretty average film .",
        "patiently directed -lrb- occasionally too patiently -rrb- , warm and cuddly , but not the over-the-top kind of comedy we 've come to expect from robin williams .",
        "-lsb- robin william 's -rsb- most grandiose holiday greeting yet .",
        "robin williams cae en el tipo de personaje que ha venido interpretando hasta el cansancio : el del hombre bueno que es todo emociones y que es capaz de llorar amargamente",
        "a male fantasy with artificial intelligence .",
        "the most bland , laughless film to come from the artist formerly known as manic in , well , months .",
        "it 's the tin man without much brain .",
        "it 's one thing to ask an audience to love a mechanical man , but quite another to love a mechanical performance .",
        "best left on the shelf to collect dust .",
        "you long for -lsb- williams -rsb- to break the metal mold , if only for a minute , to remind you that you are watching the best improvisational comedian of this millennium .",
        "becomes a somber , sentimental and rather profound romantic fantasy that is more true to the spirit of the golden age of science-fiction writing than possibly any other movie of the '90s .",
        "columbus lays on the sentimentality thickly , sometimes letting it get in the way of the storytelling . the longer the movie continues , the more overt he becomes in his emotional pandering .",
        "virtually every emotion , motivation , idea , character and plot point in the movie is flat and perfunctory -- except for those that carry the invisible subtitle , ` cry , dammit ! '",
        "MOV is sometimes sweet , but it 's also a phenomenal waste of talent , and a continuation of a williams ' trip down the wrong road .",
        "the film swiftly settles into an unevenly paced , episodic structure , unsure whether it 's a family saga , a sci-fi drama or a children 's comedy .",
        "film about robot who wants to be human is so-so .",
        "... aspires to an almost adult level of seriousness ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is ruined by a bad script and ends up being dull and mawkish .",
    "id": "10593"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bronson",
    "reviews": [
        "the `` doing crime for fame '' theme is more than a little played-out , but hardy 's so boisterous -- and refn 's filmmaking so dynamic -- that it 's fairly easy to buy in to the inherent entertainment value of bloody fisticuffs .",
        "refn tells his story in a gripping , genre-breaking way , introducing broad theatricality and surreal animation . in some scenes , peterson delivers monologues in a clown 's whiteface ; in others , we 're in an asylum as mad as its patients .",
        "tom hardy is pure dynamite in the role , beefing up 35 pounds to play britain 's most notorious prisoner .",
        "MOV is an explosive , theatrical , fourth-wall-busting project that will strike some viewers -lrb- like me -rrb- as prodigious and others as unbearably pretentious .",
        "refn films much of the violence in slow motion , accompanied by classical music , which adds impact to the brutality .",
        "a bit like stanley kubrick 's clockwork orange reimagined as a one-man stage show and stripped of any political implications .",
        "an invigorating , refreshingly stylish biopic brimming with dark humor , surrealism and an unforgettable , brave performance by tom hardy .",
        "tom hardy proves more than ready for his close-up , cackling , snarling and head-butting his way through pusher director nicolas winding refn 's mercifully unconventional biopic .",
        "hardy delivers a committed if showy performance , but there are some awful smaller turns which smell dangerously of homophobia . the whole thing made me want to scrub my brain with vim .",
        "hardy 's portrayal is more than a real-life impersonation of MOV ; it realizes the stunt movie opportunity to present an actor 's thoroughly romantic admiration of force .",
        "an unnerving , barking-mad black comedy surveying the fractured mind of `` the most violent prisoner in britain , '' the picture is a divisive beast , shimmying between cracking wise and cracking skulls , often erratically so .",
        "in a film closer to a clockwork orange or blue velvet than to chopper , brutal ultraviolence and arthouse oddity make for an arresting mix , while it is impossible to take your eyes off hardy 's intense serio-comic turn .",
        "-lsb- tom hardy gives -rsb- one of the best performances of the year , maybe . it is certainly one of the most committed .",
        "tom hardy gives a disgustingly excellent performance .",
        "a weird and wonderful anti-biopic",
        "britain 's got talent never looked so good .",
        "MOV does n't have much to say , but it 's a very fun exercise in bad behavior that 's neither glamorized nor bemoaned .",
        "... an anthropological study in human viciousness , like a nature film done by stanley kubrick .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "the movie 's giddy brio can leave you punch-drunk , and oddly unsatisfied .",
        "an overstylized mess , with a brave but pointless performance from tom hardy as a lifelong prisoner who just wants to destroy everything around him , most of all himself .",
        "hardy does an admirable job of making this monster human , which he achieves with surprising wit and a visceral , attention-grabbing passion .",
        "... the film can barely contain tom hardy 's performance . it 's a method turn so bloodily immersive it 's hard to imagine the actor getting his head straight afterwards .",
        "has `` cult hit '' written all over it .",
        "it 's content to be a kind of freak-show character study of a man who embraces anarchy , not for its own sake but for the fame and adrenaline that it brings him .",
        "this is psychotic behavior as performance art , and hardy makes it irresistible .",
        "a stylized portrait of a criminal famous in his native britain as perhaps the most violent man in her majesty 's prison system , MOV serves primarily as a showcase for tom hardy 's undeniably brilliant performance .",
        "strap yourself in for a jaw-dropping performance from tom hardy as he completely inhabits the role of britain 's most notorious prisoner in this highly stylised piece of mischievous cinematic vaudeville .",
        "stylish kick ass sympathetic but revealing biopic of the notorious and pitiful british felon michael gordon peterson .",
        "writer-director nicolas winding refn uses some inventive theatrical interludes and soliloquies to diversify what might have otherwise been a rather one-note depiction of prison life .",
        "the film does a good job of presenting in bloody detail the misdeeds of a misanthrope while italicizing his underdeveloped artistic abilities , but it is obtuse when it comes to character development .",
        "MOV just keeps coming , straight ahead , like a bull charging through the slaughterhouse door .",
        "he 's spent 34 years behind bars , mostly in solitary . when the movie ends , you 'll feel you 've done hard time yourself .",
        "the movie takes on a fearsome purity , refusing to find reasons , indifferent to motives , not even finding causes and effects . it is 92 minutes of rage , acted by tom hardy .",
        "part literate black comedy , part surrealistic character study , part horror movie , MOV is a sophisticated confection , rich and dark , sprinkled with bitter little jokes .",
        "for such a potentially exciting subject matter , MOV hits way too many lulls .",
        "in the end , `` MOV '' is a beautiful , intense film about a man that may or may not be insane , based on events that might actually have occurred in his life .",
        "director and co-writer nicolas winding refn strives mightily to match his star crescendo for crescendo , which can be exhausting . but the film is nimble and spare enough to absorb most of the director 's outr\u00e9 inspirations .",
        "it\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s a meditation on the art of rage -- an action painting passing itself off as an action movie .",
        "done differently , the cat-and-mouse brawling could get tiresome , but tom hardy as MOV -- with his shaved head , handlebar moustache , and glittering eyes -- is mesmerizing .",
        "if you want to spend two hours with a psychopath who loves nothing more than getting naked and brawling with prison guards , this is for you . i prefer vintage kurosawa .",
        "hardy chomps down on his once-in-a-career role with stunning ferocity and never lets go . he 's extraordinary .",
        "animalistic",
        "if it 's to be remembered for anything , it will be as the romper stomper to a next generation 's russell crowe .",
        "not among the best movies this year , but arguably the most creative and novel so far .",
        "i. . . found this repulsive ; and the endless brutality of MOV 's so-called art became numbing and tedious .",
        "the kernel of an idea -- brutish antihero as irrepressible life force -- is trampled into dust by the showy sturm und drang of refn 's filmmaking .",
        "kubrick 's a clockwork orange is an easy in for those looking for comparisons in terms of tone and mood and style .",
        "MOV is a fast , ferocious , wickedly funny portrait of one man 's acceptance of his bone-deep animalism .",
        "a kind of second cousin to paolo sorrentino 's `` il divo '' -lrb- 2008 -rrb- , `` MOV '' shares that film 's mechanical sense of ambivalent regard for its subject '",
        "like a cross between a clockwork orange and an extended music video ...",
        "tom hardy is just outstanding , actually all the performances are pitch perfect for the material . it 's a class act this film , it just will not appeal to audiences who do n't want to be confronted with violence when they go to the movies .",
        "an example of a film that is , in all likelihood , considerably more intelligent and interesting than its subject .",
        "do n't let tom hardy turn MOV into a caricature of what we expect mad people to be like .",
        "dark , intelligent and disturbing , supported by a force-of-nature lead performance and a clever screenplay .",
        "refn directs as a series of episodes , each set up for maximum weirdness and black humor , always emphasizing large , blocky spaces and fluid motion .",
        "in addition to celebrating violence , this most brutal of biopics is virulently homophobic . and its other disagreeable overtones of pretentiousness and precious fringe-theatricality make it a uniquely gruesome experience .",
        "while i ca n't say MOV is - to lean on a running gag of the movie 's - `` my cuppa tea , '' i ca n't say it is n't art either .",
        "MOV resembles a clockwork orange or jubilee : brutal , arty . tom hardy is exceptional , snarling and uncompromising , alert and always impenetrable . we are not asked to pity MOV , only to spectate at an exhibition of criminal creativity .",
        "a figure this luridly fascinating , a personality this ludicrously outsized , warrants something more than your typical biopic .",
        "nicolas winding refn -lrb- `` the pusher '' trilogy -rrb- takes an experimental approach to the biopic , letting his subject guide the way through his life so far as if it were a piece of performance art .",
        "... not a great film but garners a strong performance from its star -lsb- tom hardy -rsb- .",
        "`` nuffin ' wonky about my upbringing , '' MOV says , early on . nothing wonky about hardy 's performance , either .",
        "hardy 's range is impressive , and he makes refn 's latest an arresting spectacle , if not a particularly enlightening one .",
        "charles MOV seems like a bit of a sweetheart , when he 's not trying to gouge someone 's eyes out .",
        "the tone is surreal , at once visceral and clinical , making MOV an unsettling experience : savage , disturbing , and yet somehow fascinating .",
        "MOV is one of those `` based on a true story '' dramatizations where the theatrically staged drama only gets in the way of the more interesting truth .",
        "a pointless exercise in morbidity .",
        "it 's impossible to deny hardy 's astounding performance , which partially redeems the picture . looking like a mad circus strongman , his moustache seeming to twirl all by itself , he 's so fully immersed in his character , you fear for his sanity .",
        "refn presents this jolly madman in a variety of showbiz fantasies -lrb- wearing clown makeup , addressing a packed theater -rrb- to tease out the weird disjuncture between his penal isolation and his tabloid fame in the uk .",
        "the problem with MOV - and the movie is certainly a problem - is how hard it wants to be a visceral tour de force , and how stunted this objective ends up feeling .",
        "the career of a real-life recidivist hardman gets a highly stylised theatrical treatment , matched by virtuoso direction and a career-making lead performance .",
        "winding refn has created a gripping tale of the institutionalised madness of this violent criminal who relishes in his new found alter ego .",
        "it is a mesmerising performance from tom hardy . but as a study of this man , it did n't interest me at all . i thought it was rather facile .",
        "a determinedly ugly movie , as brutish in its delivery as its subject is brutish in character , MOV fails to offer meaningful insight into the life of a singularly idiotic individual .",
        "gripping and visceral , ugly and beautiful , terrible and haunting , MOV is quite brilliant ."
    ],
    "summary": "undeniably gripping , MOV forces the viewer to make some hard decisions about where the line between art and exploitation lies .",
    "id": "770783965"
  },
  {
    "movie": "around_the_world_in_80_days",
    "reviews": [
        "trippy , goofy , and nearly senseless concoction -lsb- is -rsb- one of the more entertaining cases of ` what-in-the-heck ? ' out there .",
        "amiably dorky redo .",
        "jackie chan ... is undermined by the film 's lack of direction .",
        "the heart and soul of it , the story and the casting , are a complete mess .",
        "it 's ironic that this film is less about traveling and more about beating the crap out of people all over the world .",
        "i was amazed at how little actually happens for a movie with so much action .",
        "mildly amusing jackie chan adventure .",
        "this purely satirical version sometimes works , and sometimes does n't .",
        "... just another adventure comedy built around jackie chan , this time with verne 's travelogue tenuously holding the action scenes together .",
        "... fogg essentially winds up playing second-banana to passepartout - a disastrous choice that simply does not work .",
        "se eu fosse descendente de verne processaria os produtores desta adapta\u0437\u0433o pavorosa por mancharem o nome da fam\u043dlia ao inclu\u043d-lo nos cr\u0439ditos iniciais .",
        "... a pleasing mix of martial arts and madcap comedy , with a string of big-name cameos thrown in for good measure .",
        "jackie chan stars in this fast paced remake of the famous jules verne story .",
        "the gargantuanly funny performance of jim broadbent as a deliciously greedy , quill-whipping maniac is worth the admission ticket alone .",
        "it was exactly what i expected and that 's something i did n't really want to see .",
        "it 's not as classic as the novel .",
        "this live action cartoon creates a world that has nothing to do with the real one , so it can be as exaggerated as it wants to be without getting lost in earthbound details .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- feeble and flighty excuse for family fare . it 's too bad that this inflated romp does n't have the intended impact of a jackie chan animated chop to the head .",
        "only a devotee of the original film or a hardcore sourpuss could find serious fault with this world romp .",
        "MOV is never as delightful and silly as it needs to be .",
        "this is something slightly different , but only because it 's offensive at so many levels .",
        "consists almost entirely of people falling down and/or being hit on the head .",
        "... conviendra peut-\u0119tre aux tr\u010ds jeunes enfants alors que les parents voudront certainement passer leur tour .",
        "-lrb- owes -rrb- more to verne ` mini me ' troyer than author jules verne .",
        "despite the rush to get everyone from place to place , director frank coraci luxuriates in colorful visual detail and gives the locals their due .",
        "coraci makes every location -- london , paris , istanbul , wherever -- feel like the same cheap backlot , and has trouble getting laughs out of the most surefire jokes .",
        "it 's fairly fast , zips some good zingers at the audience through steve coogan , and is just the sort of instantly forgettable fun parents can have with their kids .",
        "there 's a disturbing savagery amidst the cotton-candy fluff and crayola colors ... the cruel mirth with which the film distributes its comic violence ...",
        "the feat of making it MOV seems all too simple . it 's getting through the movie that 's difficult .",
        "even the 1989 made-for-tv version starring pierce brosnan possessed more spark and steam than this lazy , lackluster take .",
        "MOV is like eating a candy bar -- loaded with empty calories but also light and fluffy with a sweet jackie chan in the center .",
        "if director frank coraci wanted to rehash rush hour 2 and shanghai knights , was there any need to drag jules verne into it ?",
        "days represents everything that over-budgeted hollywood can possibly get wrong in a period piece .",
        "... chan 's random kung-fu sequences feel like just another plate spinning in the air .",
        "a colorful , fast-paced , and enjoyably old-fashioned adventure comedy .",
        "the gags are physical but rarely funny .",
        "devoid of genuine wit , urgency or suspense .",
        "a colorful disappointment .",
        "works more often than it does n't .",
        "jackie chan 's colorful fight during a visit to an art gallery in paris is one of his best .",
        "modest kid fare guaranteed not to make you think .",
        "spends about an hour getting past its casting and screenwriting hurdles before finally settling into an even , enjoyable pace . that first hour , though : man . it 's pure death .",
        "jackie is great , his choreography flawless , his comic timing spot on , but he 's doing it in the wrong film .",
        "compared to the torture of sitting through garfield , this ... is a family movie that is the perfect summer distraction .",
        "hackneyed is one thing ; embarrassing is another ... but if you 're enough of a fan to see it for the action and only for the action , it 's worth your while .",
        "a leaden excuse for family entertainment .",
        "plays like a listless '60s overseas co-production .",
        "this second bigscreen version of jules verne 's 1873 novel takes plenty of liberties with the material and never generates much genuine excitement , but provides an agreeable ride without overloading it with contemporary filmmaking mannerisms .",
        "has that cheesy , chintzy mid-florida feel that we all know and love , despite its $ 110 million budget .",
        "i do n't know why they call it MOV . watching it feels like it takes only five , maybe six days .",
        "jules verne is rotating in his grave worrying about his other works ripe for plucking from the public domain .",
        "feel -lsb- s -rsb- like a future ride at the magic kingdom .",
        "a journey worth taking .",
        "offers only snooze-worthy action scenes .",
        "a two-hour version of the jules verne story that is only intermittently fun , despite lavish expenditures on cgi and stunt work .",
        "wonderful family escapist entertainment .",
        "if you 've remained a chan fan despite the action hero 's obvious concessions to age and you 've enjoyed his recent family-style films , ` MOV ' will entertain you ... most other people , however , may want to make different travel plans .",
        "properly silly and slapsticky .",
        "an energetic and enormously good-natured family movie .",
        "the world already knows about jackie chan . but thanks to this irreverent remake , british actor steve googan appears set to become an international movie star .",
        "this $ 110-million fiasco is the sort of movie that gives family entertainment a bad name .",
        "plays like a suicide note : full of references to past glories , past fight scenes played at half-speed , and an implacable patina of obliterating self-pity .",
        "as he hit the long home stretch , i could n't help but wish that fogg had managed to shave a week or two off his itinerary .",
        "it 's as though the crew is traveling through an oversize , even more irritating version of disney 's it 's a small world .",
        "see it if you 're looking for an excuse to sit in an air-conditioned theater for two hours",
        "a flawed reworking of the jules verne classic that runs out of creative energy early in the story and relies too heavily on tiresome martial arts sequences",
        "is it any wonder -lsb- chan -rsb- is aching for something different ?",
        "this comedy is billed as being ` based on the novel by jules verne , ' but ` suggested by ' or ` borrowing the title and character names of ' would be more accurate .",
        "it 's light as a fly , but springs some genuinely funny moments .",
        "a peppy , fast-moving , wafer-thin amusement that 's fine for kids if you do n't mind a lot of three stooges-style martial arts . for grown-ups , it 's the equivalent of a 59-cent tin globe .",
        "the colors , costumes , and sets showed that disney has n't lost all of its magic yet .",
        "to say that all this is painfully contrived is to suggest that verne 's tale was n't , but at least the novel had some tension .",
        "as the tourist on a time budget , the usually brilliant coogan merely mugs and flails ... while he and able straight man chan enjoy scant opportunity to develop any comic rapport .",
        "wholesome for the most part , this rich robust family film -lrb- with the flair of yesteryear -rrb- clips along fast . it plants a smile on your face that lasts for the duration .",
        "coraci belongs to a hollywood faction that believes children wo n't be entertained unless a movie pushes them to the edge of hyperventilation .",
        "seeing this movie is like being seasick on your cruise to the bahamas - you 're going to see some cool things , but it 's an adventure without a lot of laughs .",
        "verne might have a hard time recognizing his source material , but it 's easy to forgive the many liberties taken in this funny , fleet-footed summer-matinee romp .",
        "sure , it 's silly , but at least it knows that it 's silly and runs with it .",
        "this comic riff on the verne classic loses altitude as it proceeds , closing with a crash landing in more ways than one .",
        "MOV is modestly diverting summer fare , but at about the halfway mark you 're going to start wondering , ` are we there yet ? '",
        "the modern-day equivalent of the cannonball run .",
        "completely mediocre .",
        "one of the lamest remakes of a classic film i 've ever seen .",
        "solid family entertainment that alternates plenty of laughs with plenty of adventure .",
        "this new , family-friendly adaptation of jules verne 's novel can hardly be called a travesty . but it ca n't be called a very good movie , either .",
        "the major problem with around the world is that there 's just not quite enough chan , or at least the chan we want to see , which is the acrobatic clown .",
        "passes the parental test in that it has wit , is cinemagraphically loaded with scenic eye candy and moves along at an energetic enough pace to keep seat-squirming to a minumum .",
        "despite all the audience-pleasing laughs and derring-do , it fails to take us anywhere we have n't been before .",
        "a total hack job .",
        "chan seems tired , even distracted , impatient to get it all over with . i was , too .",
        "it 's yucky .",
        "this flick attempts to take its audience across the entire spectrum of hollywood genres in 80 minutes -lrb- give or take a few -rrb- ... bad idea .",
        "the end result is about as thrilling as spending those 80 days stuck in cary , illinois with a broken axle .",
        "a waste of time .",
        "silly and energetic ... it 's pure fluff , but it 's cute .",
        "the first american jackie chan movie that does n't make fun of him , that lets him be the cool guy .",
        "mayhem substitutes for wit .",
        "an unexpectedly buoyant spectacular .",
        "any resemblance between jules verne 's marvelous science fiction novel or mike todd 's enjoyable 1956 movie is pure happenstance .",
        "plays like a three stooges travelogue .",
        "a dead-on-arrival movie idea .",
        "anyone who has not seen the original movie will wonder why chan is gadding about in the bowler derby of an english valet , and anyone who has seen the cantinflas version most likely will long for the real thing .",
        "not even chan 's imaginative fight choreography redeems this folly .",
        "the movie equivalent of a mustache scrawled on the mona lisa .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- sweeping adventure tale just left of center , a family entertainment with sprinklings of offbeat humor",
        "a satisfying slice of old-fashioned storybook entertainment .",
        "if -lsb- verne -rsb- saw the movie with youngsters , he 'd appreciate how much they enjoyed it .",
        "except for little kids and relatives of the cast , there 's not much appeal to this numbing remake .",
        "basically an excuse to give jackie chan a hundred different places to beat people up .",
        "we should consider ourselves lucky his film does n't run the three hours that its predecessor did",
        "you may be pleasantly surprised by just how good this remake of the jules verne classic really is .",
        "director frank coraci plays fast and loose with jules verne 's classic tome MOV , but his adaptation never runs out of gas .",
        "the style of humor - with its forced high jinks and pathetic attempts at farce - is so aggressively outrageous that it ultimately becomes abusive to the audience .",
        "all my critical faculties tell me i should n't recommend it . but when i think of how often it i grinned -lrb- once a minute -rrb- and how often i checked my watch -lrb- never -rrb- , i give up .",
        "the absolutely scariest scene in MOV features arnold schwarzenegger .",
        "once it settles down , 80 days becomes a pretty enjoyable comic-action romp that 's ultimately twice as much fun as a lot of technically better movies i could name .",
        "jackie chan is in a tiny tub with a man . again .",
        "true to walt 's original vision for walt disney pictures ... you can taste the corniness .",
        "everything about this production seems tired .",
        "phony , unfunny family entertainment ... packs in almost every racial and cultural stereotype in the world ."
    ],
    "summary": "hit-and-miss family fare that bares only the slightest resemblance to verne 's novel .",
    "id": "11425"
  },
  {
    "movie": "three_burials_of_melquiades_estrada",
    "reviews": [
        "the film works on three levels : as a visually appealing modern southwestern saga , as an old-fashioned cowboy story , and as a compelling , slightly troubling look at modern ideas superimposed against an old-fashioned lifestyle .",
        "like richard farnsworth , l. q. jones or even steve mcqueen in his later performances , jones ' world-weary western masculinity transcends `` movie acting . ''",
        "if you 've seen and loved lone star , you will not want to miss this similar character study and mystery .",
        "a beguiling and fast-paced tex-mex western saga of transcendent meaning and beauty",
        "tommy lee jones makes a sure-handed feature directing debut and gives one of the best performances of his career .",
        "crash by way of cormac mccarthy .",
        "what , exactly , is the devil in mr. jones ?",
        "tommy lee jones ' feature directorial debut is probably much as you 'd expect : a blast of nostalgia that nonetheless accepts the realities of modernity",
        "begins deep in peckinpah territory , but soon forges its own unique , queerly beautiful path ... a masterpiece , flat out .",
        "at times , burials seems to be arguing that ` civilization ' is a joke and that we 're kidding ourselves if we think we believe the world makes sense .",
        "a parable , buddy movie , western myth and road movie all rolled into one % u2013 one excellent one",
        "the MOV features some solid , if not spectacular , performances , as well as a bizarre and dark sense of humor -- which come in handy when the film starts meandering and runs out of steam .",
        "burials barely has one plot : grizzled texas cowhand pete perkins -lrb- tommy lee jones -rrb- wants to give his pal proper internment in mexico and make his killer pay .",
        "with all due respect to that important , quasi-controversial , most-honored film of last year , this is the best western of 2005 .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- long , kooky , immensely absorbing picture , which forges the elegiac cruelty of a cormac mccarthy novel with the two-fisted machismo of a sam peckinpah movie , and comes up with an altogether new brand of western mythology .",
        "that burials works on multiple levels makes it great , and the fact that it 's great says a lot about -lsb- director-star tommy lee -rsb- jones .",
        "in true peckinpah fashion , the harsh , involving three burials showcases lawlessness , heartlessness and gallows humor on the frontier . but this modern western 's prevailing themes are propriety and friendship .",
        "funny , tough , filled with cut-to-the-bone moments and bleached in the heat of the texas sun , the MOV is a movie that sears itself into the viewer with uncompromising vision and stark approach .",
        "it boasts genuinely and uniformly fine performances -- a credit to jones the director and the actor , as well as his costars -- some stunning cinematography by the great chris menges and a uncompromising script by -lsb- guillermo -rsb- arriaga .",
        "sam peckinpah is no longer with us to stir up south-of-the-border madness , but tommy lee jones has taken over the franchise .",
        "tommy lee jones ' directorial debut is an extraordinarily complex , robust tale . deceptively , it looks like a violent modern western but the undercurrents and intelligence behind the story elevate this to art .",
        "this is n't a film that demands to be enjoyed in order to be remembered -- one way or the other , it will stick with you .",
        "`` the MOV '' is rugged and quiet , absurd and humourous .",
        "the film is finally more successful in bits and pieces than as a whole .",
        "the sweep and classic themes of the MOV make it a rare modern western , and a good one , too .",
        "strong characters that nurse us over rugged horse paths and through craggy nooks",
        "this is a modest , low-budget , and low-key film but jones shows a sure hand and real directing power with handling his actors .",
        "it 's a scorching journey alongside stubborn fools like us as they stumble awkwardly toward grace , or run headlong in the other direction until the wages of sin catch up with them .",
        "jones ' theatrical directorial debut is imbued with all the intensity , compassion , fierceness and sly humor that mark the actor 's best performances",
        "do n't let the near-impossible-to-remember title keep you away from this singular and slightly surreal tommy lee jones scorcher .",
        "i wanted to scream at the screen , ` just bury him and be done with it ! '",
        "without the wise and well-crafted words of screenwriter guillermo arriaga , it 's just so much posturing .",
        "wily , sad , funny , and full of life .",
        "a satisfying little morality play about prejudice and responsibility .",
        "the MOV can at least rest on its laurels from cannes .",
        "among the movie 's many grim figures , mel 's decaying corpse -lrb- badly preserved with anti-freeze -rrb- serves as metaphor and reality , an occasion for respect and the limit of legend . % u2014 9 february 2006",
        "-lsb- the film -rsb- echoes in its weary bones end-of-the-west films by the likes of sam peckinpah , john ford and clint eastwood .",
        "may not be a perfectly polished diamond , but it is one treasure worth digging up .",
        "jones holds it all together like old chaps glued by sweat , and if you want a modern offshoot of the western even beyond the risks of brokeback mountain , here it is .",
        "gives us little information about pete and mequiades , but plenty about the loathsome border patrol guy .",
        "while compelling in its own right , three burials is more an homage to a past master than an original work .",
        "exerts considerable , groggy power",
        "tommy lee himself must be mentioned , as he pulls a nuanced role with a craggy , sunburnt face that 's impressive to behold . he 's at the top of his game in this flick , all the more remarkable as he 's literally wearing many hats on the production .",
        "in the MOV , there is heartbreak , loss , and adultery , all of it general and all of it far more affecting than any self-righteous ethics or anachronistic western codes .",
        "an offbeat , tonal take on the western , tommy lee jones ' the MOV is best described as soulful and creative , if scattered and overambitious .",
        "a stunningly offbeat and finely controlled directorial debut .",
        "the MOV is a spiritual exploration so profound and complex that it 's impossible to take it all in with one viewing .",
        "part character study , part peckinpah-esque border western , part mystic epic , three burials traverses its uncharted territories with a humour and humanity that lighten the burden of its sadness .",
        "breathtaking tableaus , colorful characters , and a moving message about redemption end up overshadowed by wanton insanity one might normally associate with a sadistic snuff film .",
        "i 'm afraid that this small but potent film may be lost in the shuffle and be pushed to the wayside by the big guys on the block .",
        "three burials is just a cluster of symbols , and what they symbolize is this : a director who has seen too many european art films .",
        "one of those offbeat dramas that would never have gotten produced without the clout of a major star behind it . ... a challenging , unpredictable film that never allows the audience to get too comfortable .",
        "like most westerns , the action is slow and the dialogue slower , but that only helps to ratchet up the drama .",
        "it 's worth a wary look before it attains midnight cult-movie status .",
        "has a type of quiet grace that 's out of step and perhaps out of style with modern hollywood convention .",
        "tommy lee jones has crafted a modern western worthy of peckinpah with a message of racial understanding that 's as relevant -lrb- and subversive -rrb- as anything you 'll find in movies today .",
        "ignore the rotten title ; make jones -lrb- and yourself -rrb- happy -- see this movie .",
        "a seriously promising directorial debut from an already great actor .",
        "few films have ever captured the feel of the desert southwest better than tommy lee jones ' the MOV .",
        "as ` brokeback mountain ' and now ` burials ' demonstrate , filmmakers continue to find usefulness and meaning in the mythology and iconography of that most american -lrb- and masculine -rrb- of self-critiques , the western .",
        "jones gives himself the plum role , not out of vanity but to do justice to arriaga 's story . ... the only actor capable of playing a man like perkins is tommy lee jones .",
        "the strange odyssey that ... forms the heart of the movie covers emotional terrain as stark yet as varied as the borderlands themselves .",
        "by turns brutal and sadistic , humorous and moralistic , jones weaves a tale that has the moral heft of a fable and the gritty realism of 1970s cinema .",
        "tommy lee jones ' big-screen directorial debut might not be the easiest film to watch , but its payoff makes it one of the better trips to the movies of the past year .",
        "a brooding , narratively brusque tale of the modern west , as unvarnished and stripped of pretense as bones bleached by sun , wind and drifting sand .",
        "three burials is a film with a lot on its mind , but it succeeds best when it leaves ideas behind and focuses on simple beauty .",
        "... a smart and beautiful movie that touches on the nature of borders , actual and mythic .",
        "as a vision of the american west and the wide country around it , tommy lee jones 's western strikes both fresh and familiar chords , most of them pleasingly dissonant .",
        "takes the finale of lonesome dove to new levels with his directorial debut ; a poetic tribute to a dying breed and a peckinpahesque examination of friendship and kept promises .",
        "tommy lee jones makes the year 's most assured directorial debut .",
        "jones carries pete 's weight of grief but without betraying the character 's emotional impenetrability or slack conscience .",
        "a small movie that plays like a western epic .",
        "a well-structured and literate yarn that employs the classic qualities of older films with a simplicity and sincerity that makes them fresh again .",
        "the MOV may not be a love story per se , but it is , for my money , the most deeply affecting portrait of cowboy camaraderie to be found on movie screens this season .",
        "jones handles his fellow actors well , drawing a hard , anguished performance from pepper and allowing january jones -lrb- no relation -rrb- to bring a touching vulnerability to mike 's bored , vapid , baby-doll wife .",
        "incisive yet supple , wrenching yet deeply pleasurable , the MOV easily ranks among the year 's best pictures .",
        "a smug lesson posing as a peckinpah deathfest .",
        "it is a brave look at the distortions created when an international border bisects what natural law intended to be a cultural melting pot .",
        "the MOV tells the kind of story that john huston or sam peckinpah might have wanted to film .",
        "it 's a disorganized journey of redemption and a wandering study of prejudice and promises .",
        "the acting is so good throughout , and texas native jones does such a sharp , unforced job of directing a story dear to his geographical and spiritual heart , the three burials is the rare film that gets better and better as it goes .",
        "-lsb- jones has made -rsb- a rugged modern-day western that evokes the spirit of sam peckinpah -- and reinvents it through his own perspective .",
        "... the most impressive directorial debut the american cinema has seen in some time , a contemporary western both rough and poetic , laconic and passionate .",
        "melquiades ... is meant to function as some sort of potent symbol , but ` three burials ' is too oblique to give his presence -- buried or otherwise -- much significance .",
        "when it stays on track , the MOV turns into a thing of musty beauty .",
        "jones , screenwriter guillermo arriaga and a crew blessed with pristine vision have delivered a tale of friendship and ethics worthy of greek tragedy .",
        "tommy lee jones makes his feature directing debut here , and the film is as weathered , subtle , and sympathetic as the actor 's own face .",
        "this is the real deal , kids .",
        "fascinating road-and-buddy adventure story on the tex-mex border .",
        "three burials is finally a little smug -- jones , despite a best actor nod at cannes , undergoes no ethan edwards corruption-of-the-soul , no ambivalence , no ordeal by rectitude .",
        "ultimately affirms the value of all humans , privileged and poor , good and evil , all of us -- and that 's quite an achievement",
        "... hurt by an overlong running time ...",
        "my enthusiasm for the MOV knows no bounds .",
        "sam peckinpah lives !",
        "an excruciatingly boring morality tale with poorly developed characters and a big spiritual finale that sputters .",
        "tommy lee jones ' bracing bigscreen directorial debut , which copped acting and writing awards from the cannes film festival jury , connects with both the head and the heart .",
        "the helmer 's subtle work with his excellent cast and chris menges ' widescreen vistas of merciless west texas landscapes help to temper the story 's excesses .",
        "a loose , generous , funky little oater with a deliciously ghoulish sense of humor , it 's probably the sweetest movie i 've ever seen about taking a road trip with a rotting corpse .",
        "for a movie about the policing of borders , could n't this one have maintained a firmer one , between credulity and incredulity ? between seriousness and self-seriousness ?",
        "part homer , part dante , set on the texas/mexican border .",
        "new filmmakers are often told `` do n't mistake motion for action . '' this is why .",
        "three burials still reaches the kind of pungency it seems to be seeking , and it touches on issues of alienation and distance very relevant to the reality of countless migrants .",
        "all this edginess , combined with the grandeur and sweep of a classic western , demonstrates that jones clearly knows how to tell a story -- and how to confound us at the same time .",
        "as satire , the MOV is n't funny or illuminating , and as a drama it has only a few scattered moments .",
        "jones , directing his first feature , finds the right note in every scene , bringing arriaga 's elegant cipher to life .",
        "a wry and sometimes alarming contemporary western .",
        "behind the hype lies a banal morality tale told in needlessly jumbled flashbacks and gorged with gruesome atrocities out of a sam peckinpah flick .",
        "jones displays a firm hand at the helm -- you sense that he is well within his comfort zone in this environment -- and performances including his own are lively and convincing .",
        "a revenge western that will do peckinpah and eastwood proud , this is a morality tale with political overtones about the culture clash between white americans and mexicans",
        "... a beautifully crafted and original piece of work . hats off to mr. jones .",
        "worth seeing as a hickory-smoke tale of contrition and redemption .",
        "a beautifully written and acted mini-epic about life and death , although it might be somewhat enigmatic for many viewers .",
        "this , despite the brutality and diversions -lsb- two of the most boring sex scenes this year -rsb- , this is well worth a look .",
        "believable performances , excellent cinematography , and it is mixed with little oddities and humor that keep it from being overly oppressive .",
        "a literally slow-moving western that plays out as laboriously as its title .",
        "a simple , rugged tale about friendship , loyalty , keeping your word , and the importance of human life . it 's also a must see .",
        "what does a masterpiece look like ? like the MOV , one of the best movies of the decade so far .",
        "a simple , stoic , well-structured contemporary western that brings a humanist point of view to bigger issues .",
        "tommy lee jones ' stirring and deeply felt three burials proves one thing : sometimes the most compelling films are the ones closest to the heart .",
        "beautiful , authentic and brutally observant of human nature .",
        "a satire that touches deeply even as it amuses so richly .",
        "the essentially sanctified melquiades ... is the least developed character ... jones and arriaga instead focus on the redemption of estrada 's white neighbors .",
        "a fotografia ressalta a secura e o aspecto rochoso das loca\u0443\u0448es como forma de estabelecer uma met\u0440fora visual da pr\u0437pria exist\u0436ncia daquelas pessoas retratadas pelo roteiro .",
        "intriguingly structured , beautifully shot and superbly acted western - this is one of the highlights of the year .",
        "this gripping film about real people is well-worth excavating .",
        "they say good things come in threes : burials , for one , and tommy lee jones -lrb- for another -rrb- .",
        "you owe it to yourself to saddle up with them .",
        "a stiff shows up with gruesome repetition in the MOV , and some will be surprised to learn that it is n't tommy lee jones ' former college roommate , al gore .",
        "it attempts to cover a lot of territory just like the american border patrol in texas , but its results are mixed , perhaps , not unlike the border patrol .",
        "the film skitters along the lives of sad people in low places .",
        "a messy drama that digs up a made-to-order villain -lrb- the racist u.s. authorities -rrb- and a dead hero -lrb- an illegal mexican immigrant -rrb- ... jones doubles-back on the story repeatedly , running roughshod over his characters to shovel in his political points .",
        "a safe , satisfying drama steeped in classic notions of loyalty and friendship ."
    ],
    "summary": "tommy lee jones ' directorial debut is both a potent western and a powerful morality tale .",
    "id": "24222"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paranorman",
    "reviews": [
        "it is a herculean task to create a stop-motion film like MOV , so it 's too bad the story and the characters in this adventure tale are so weak .",
        "the movie has its moments of dark whimsy and cheeky wit , but most of what it has is body parts .",
        "one of the most original films of the year .",
        "the main plot - about combating a witch 's curse - is less fun than the gothic gags on the margins .",
        "it 's an engaging entertainment , with a solidly constructed storyline .",
        "MOV confirms that laika is an animation studio worth watching out for . as with coraline , they 've crafted a film that truly respects its young audience",
        "anyone who 's robust enough to enjoy roald dahl will surely appreciate MOV 's playfully pg undead action .",
        "an exceptional amblin film made for that slightly weird kid with the nightmare before christmas lunch-box and the disconnected snark .",
        "there 's no meat on the bone of this skeleton . witty and fast-paced , sure , but the film lacks substance .",
        "a few decent gags are not enough to keep this 3d stop-motion film alive .",
        "tweens , rather than children , will savour its snarky bite , although like the shambling on-screen cadavers , the story needed a bit more meat on its bones .",
        "it 's fun but a light on plot and not quite funny enough .",
        "unlike the polished universe of pixar 's `` brave '' or countless other recent cgi efforts , `` MOV '' maintains a delicate , handcrafted look that underscores its ideas .",
        "solid storytelling , clever humor and incredible craftsmanship and animation skills puts MOV a few steps above the normal kid-friendly fare .",
        "a striking marriage of form and content .",
        "-lsb- while MOV -rsb- takes stop-motion animation to an entirely new level ... on -lsb- the -rsb- surface -lsb- it 's -rsb- a beautiful piece of work that 's -lsb- actually -rsb- rotten at its core .",
        "it 's creepy , it 's funny and in spite of its weirdness it resonates with those of us doomed to live our own lives in the real world .",
        "not only the best animated film of 2012 by a large margin but it 's better than anything that came out last year as well .",
        "i certainly would n't go so far as to call it a bad movie , it 's just a movie that could have used a little improvement in the story department .",
        "gorgeously animated and beautifully designed , this is an entertaining adventure with strong characters , a handful of very funny gags and an important central message ...",
        "like monster house , this animated feature taps into horror movie history to tell a story that 's both genuinely creepy and a lot of fun",
        "co-directors sam fell and chris butler will please a broad crowd , striking a consistent balance between morbid slapstick and fabulously droll wit .",
        "it 's rather gross in parts and a bit scary , but kids aged about eight and up will love its dark , ingenious humour and impressive stop-motion animation .",
        "ghoulish ? yes . funny ? you bet .",
        "the result is never dull , does n't overplay the peril , and respects the art of stop-motion so there is always something interesting going on visually .",
        "ingenious and wonderfully detailed , though better in its imaginative horror than its slightly too-broad comic knockabout .",
        "unequivocally original with breathtaking stop-motion animation -lrb- stay to the end of the credits for a very brief demo of norman 's creation -rrb- , `` MOV '' is easily the best animated film of the year .",
        "gorgeous animation and inspired set design help patch over a lacklustre script .",
        "comically macabre and beautifully intricate ... destined to become a halloween perennial .",
        "it 's as slow as a corpse , and half as interesting .",
        "it has its entertaining moments , but this paranormal stop-motion animated comedy-chiller cries out for more activity .",
        "few movies so taken with death have felt so rudely alive as MOV , the latest handcrafted marvel from the stop-motion artists at laika .",
        "i love that in a summer where some of the biggest and most hyped films have disappointed , a small under-the-radar charmer like ` MOV ' has the ability to surprise completely .",
        "MOV is one of the best films of the year , animated or not .",
        "the story may be thin , but the project , a feat of stop-motion animation , is made with generous care by the same impressive laika studio artists who conjured up the gorgeous coraline .",
        "as a summer movie for the kids : protect your progeny . nightmares and bedwetting are bad . but teaching your kids to take death casually is just bad parenting .",
        "MOV , despite some uninspired trailers , is exactly what it wants to be - a family movie that does n't pander , pushing boundaries without being inappropriate .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- fans of aardman 's handcrafted style of animation will find much to enjoy in this wonderfully stylized stop-motion comedy-horror-thriller ...",
        "the tagline for the film reads `` you do n't become a hero by being normal , '' and the film mostly lives up to that assertion , but only up to a point .",
        "films like this are few and far between - emotional , exciting , and endearing .",
        "the impoverished story line and murky amber tone make for a slightly depressing experience .",
        "stories about real heroes of this kind are very rare in movies today , but this is one of those rare stories , and it is to be cherished .",
        "MOV has a unique look that 's equal parts old school and cutting edge .",
        "incredible animation unfortunately paired with a preachy , recycled story and unpleasant character design .",
        "good stop action animation but the storyline and characters all have a been there done that feel .",
        "... contains an appealing hero for kids and provides a nostalgic kick for adults .",
        "a sumptuously rendered and freakishly fun monster story for kids that should have been saved for halloween .",
        "the film avoids the pandering of many animated features , bringing an acerbic edge and a thrilling intelligence to its story .",
        "quite probably the most sophisticated stop-motion feature ever made .",
        "rankin/bass never made me feel so detached .",
        "... if you 're any kind of animation or graphic art fiend or even mild enthusiast , the visuals are sure to stagger you . MOV is an extrasensory delight for sure .",
        "with infinite warmth toward its characters , whip-smart humor and a plea for human compassion that feels especially necessary these days , MOV is a movie worth wrapping yourself up in",
        "as beautifully crafted as any pixar or aardman picture and as funny and emotionally satisfying as the best of them ... another laika triumph .",
        "new supernatural tale from the stop-motion studio behind coraline is a rollicking good time until its jarringly somber and earnest final act .",
        "truly , this is one animated film that would work just as well as a live-action movie .",
        "animation is stunning ... voice cast would n't need to be stellar if the writing were better . instead , film climaxes with a lengthy sermon on the psychology of bullying . whee !",
        "in any given year , it would stand as a lovingly crafted animated endeavor made up of equal parts creepiness and caring , mercifully spare in its use of potty humor and pop-culture references . in 2012 , it ranks as one of the year 's best .",
        "an animated marvel ... oscar worthy .",
        "this is the kind of grim fairy tale , equal parts midnight-movie macabre and family-round-the-hearth compassionate , that scars in all the right ways .",
        "butler called it `` john carpenter meets john hughes , '' and that does just about sum MOV up , though the actual math still feels a little fuzzy .",
        "a genuine emotional core at the heart of this glum young outsider 's world . especially as to just how otherworldly adults can seem in a solidly cartoonish universe from the ground up , and all those magnified bulging bellies and backsides surrounding him .",
        "an inventive and visually engaging melange of coraline , monster house and a nightmare before christmas that , its own small way , is also a salvo against modern-day sociocultural nastiness .",
        "might be described as the little brother of its predecessor from 2009 , ` coraline . ' it 's ruder , rowdier , somewhat dumber and a good deal more gross and obvious than its sister ; but smarter and more likable than the average movie .",
        "balances visual wit and genre reification with genuine pathos and generous humor",
        "i appreciate any flick that so capably merges survival horror with throwbacks to '50s b-movies .",
        "comes so damned close to perfection that many will be willing to overlook its obvious flaws . and that 's great .",
        "the look of the film is great , and the anti-bullying message works . this would be a fantastic introduction to scary movies for the kids .",
        "`` MOV '' took a huge risk on a scarier concept , and it paid off enormously .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- clear-headed and touching film about finding your own purpose , accepting others as they are and , most importantly , forgiveness .",
        "MOV is created with stop-motion animation rather than computer animation , and so it has a much warmer more organic feel ... it 's almost as if the textures and tone make the story spookier .",
        "it 's filled with clever detail , both old-school and state-of-the-art .",
        "butler and fell are diehard fans of the horror genre and they have peppered the film with an endless array of subtle homages and gags .",
        "what works about `` MOV '' is its subtle interweave of the stoical and the heroic .",
        "`` MOV '' is brilliantly animated with an amazing cast and clever writing . it 's the animated film horror fans have been waiting for and the one `` frankenweenie '' is probably aiming to be .",
        "it delivers a potent , multipronged fable that touches on meaty themes , from bullying to dealing with death . it also delivers an especially resonant message about not succumbing to a cult of fear .",
        "though the narrative is slender , the stop-motion animation is impressive and the concept of a small-town hero original .",
        "clever and sweet , funny and spooky ... the best animated movie since toy story 3 .",
        "the quick-witted script and visual puns -lrb- check out norman 's bedroom -rrb- make this a zombie movie for kids , but one parents can enjoy .",
        "gleefully twisted fairytale about a small medium with large problems . if only the script were as deeply textured as the beautiful stop-motion animation .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- darkly charming , at times forlorn , snarky little movie that both kids and their wised-up parents will love .",
        "it 's a major studio release with the charm and personality of a hand-crafted art project .",
        "beautifully rendered in 3-d stop-motion animation , the film combines ghoulishness and hilarity in a way that suggests evil dead 2 for the nickelodeon set .",
        "visually vibrant animation and terrific use of 3-d .",
        "if it stumbles a bit , it 's during an ending where the movie over-explains its themes , but that ending is also surprisingly emotional - and the multimedia animation technique and subtle use of 3d are pretty remarkable .",
        "in the wake of toon hits like brave and the ice age & madagascar sequels , this charming and often very funny piece is bound to get lost in the crowd . but in the chance it makes it to blu-ray/dvd by halloween , it 's a sound choice to pop into the player .",
        "the results are breathtakingly chilling , but it 's easy to wonder what heights MOV could have reached by doing one thing that well throughout , instead of 10 things at once , haphazardly .",
        "spooky story about an adolescent medium 's morbid `` sixth-sense '' encounters ... perhaps it should be pg-10 , not pg .",
        "a smart , contemporary monster movie that does n't talk down to its young or adult audience .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he animation is divine . highly detailed , purposefully designed , imaginatively executed , it is more vivid that reality itself , delighting in imperfections and sight-gags while also attaining heights of pure terror and from the most unexpected sources",
        "the script is smartly written , offering plenty of loving jabs to the horror genre ... it 's heart 's in the right place , even if that place happens to be outside of its ribcage",
        "what 's truly marvelous about the stop-motion fantasia MOV is the way it acknowledges adolescence as a daily horror show .",
        "i admire its character and production design , which achieve the kind of look that sets stop-motion animation apart from cgi .",
        "stop-motion ` MOV ' as ghoul as it gets .",
        "the folks at laika seem to be making an art form out of good-naturedly scaring the underoos off of pint-sized viewers while simultaneously delighting their parents .",
        "a thoroughly delightful movie that will entertain kids and adult horror buffs alike .",
        "for a movie grounded in fear , MOV stands out as a movie for audiences young and old that 's truly fearless .",
        "the originality of the script saves the experience , along with widescreen splendor , but there 's a lot about MOV that 's unsettling , and it 's not all tied to the boy 's interest in gore and ghostly pals .",
        "cool-but-creepy monster flick is too scary for little kids .",
        "not as daringly , disturbingly original as coraline , but the dialogue and visuals are peppered with wit ... most of the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes drawn without much affection .",
        "if `` MOV '' were a recipe , it would be roughly three parts funny , two parts tender , one part scary and one part sad .",
        "any misgivings about the plot are eased by the handcrafted visuals . catch it in 3d if you can .",
        "a really enjoyable amblin-like adventure comedy that will make for a fantastic halloween family double feature with the nightmare before christmas .",
        "from a visual standpoint , MOV has set the bar for stop-action animation .",
        "good movie but a horror movie for children ought to be more fun . kids also like creepy and missing is that nice dash of the willies they love so much .",
        "what was the last animated movie you could relate to german expressionist cinema , alfred hitchcock , night of the living dead and b-movie horror of the 1950s ? that 's right -- none .",
        "this swell stop-motion animation operates on a wavelength similar to that of laika 's debut feature , coraline , with assured character comedy counterbalanced by a solemn sense of macabre wonder .",
        "employs stop-motion animation to provide hand-crafted appeal to the clever and surprisingly scary story of a massachusetts town whose witch-hunting past catches up with it on its 300th anniversary .",
        "chances are most kids , and most adults , will find `` MOV '' perfectly horrible in the best possible way .",
        "if the story lacks the consistent psychological depth of coraline , another tale of an outcast finding solace in a parallel world , amends are made during the lovely climax .",
        "`` MOV '' is never less than entertaining , but you 'll have to follow it into a strange purgatory between two opposing genres .",
        "for the most part , it 's a brisk , funny and engaging movie that does genuinely exciting things with little bits of string and wire and such .",
        "a clear and solidly entertaining effort from start to finish . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "norman 's world is a visual and technical marvel , but the plot drags down in elongated chase sequences and a third act fizzle .",
        "the emotions -lsb- the film -rsb- raises are quite complex and mature and MOV handles them in a refreshingly unironic fashion .",
        "`` MOV '' finds a way to make this night of the living dead play essentially as a comedy ...",
        "`` MOV '' has plenty of rambunctious thrills to give the kiddies goosebumps , while older connoisseurs of stop-motion animation will appreciate the laika studio 's inventive visuals .",
        "the spirit of great stop-motion animators like george pal and ray harryhausen lives on in MOV , and not just as a ghost : it 's so real you could almost reach out and touch it .",
        "the story , an amusing if not especially fresh tale involving a witch and some puritans , is principally a vehicle for the movie 's meticulously detailed pictorial beauty , which turns each scene into an occasion for discovery and sometimes delight .",
        "it 's rare to find a movie brimming with this much talent that finds a way to so consistently kill its own narrative momentum .",
        "it 's not just pixar that kicks ass in animation . there 's magic in MOV , a small miracle in stop-motion 3d from the wizards at laika .",
        "it celebrates the gothic outsider in familiar fashion , though it does so with a wisdom and gentleness that burton seems to have lost .",
        "a colorfully macabre stop-motion animation comedy that embraces the sociopolitical allegories of george a. romero 's zombie pictures and reworks them into a feature-length episode of `` scooby-doo . ''",
        "like its hero , this smart , funny and beautifully animated film achieves great things by daring to be different .",
        "the inner horror fan is accessed via the child inside in this quirky stop-motion animation treat",
        "norman -lrb- kodi smit-mcphee -rrb- loves zombie movies , monster movies , and all other kinds of movies about dead people , the grosser and gooier the better .",
        "funny , frightening , exciting and extremely thoughtful about the nature of the conflict at the core of the film , MOV is a standout feature animation .",
        "bristling with energy , here 's a delectable 3d film that 's inventive , funny , devilishly ghoulish , loaded with splendid effects and a heartfelt story at its core",
        "i still liked MOV and it deserves to be seen for its wit and the work of its passionate animators .",
        "MOV demonstrates - as did films such as coraline , the corpse bride , wallace & gromit and the nightmare before christmas - that stop-motion animation has a texture and warmth that ca n't -lrb- yet ! -rrb- be replicated by computer .",
        "MOV is style , substance , -lsb- delicious -rsb- brains and a huge -lsb- cold dead -rsb- heart .",
        "kids who can handle the bumps should find much to love in this beautifully animated ramshackle parcel , one that 's packed full of detail , humour and positive messages .",
        "an extremely strange blend of genres and styles , MOV somehow manages to pull it off ... sort of .",
        "movies that set themselves firmly against bullying are great , but ones that play to horror fans are even better .",
        "MOV is ambitious and inventive , marvelously conceived , but the bulk of its value lies within the movie 's open-minded philosophy .",
        "the thrilling finale is a terrific blend of heartfelt emotion , surreal visuals and inventive ghostly spectacle , and the film 's timeless message is put across in wonderfully ghoulish and surprising ways .",
        "MOV treats its viewers with respect , and is all the more wonderful for it .",
        "it 's sort of like what the goonies might 've been , had the goonies been beautifully animated and not terrible .",
        "sweet , morbid , funny , clever , and occasionally brilliant .",
        "the only thing animated about it is the animation , which is so spectacular that you begrudge the script for not being equally inspired .",
        "i ca n't imagine any kid who enjoys halloween -lrb- i mean the holiday , not the movie -rrb- not being delighted by MOV .",
        "-lsb- c -rsb- inema is nothing if not a fluid creature that has the power to affect us based on any number of variables . the climactic action sequence of MOV is too busy from a visual standpoint , but its message shines loud and clear .",
        "is there such a thing as a gateway drug for horror films ? if so , MOV might be just the ticket .",
        "MOV , blessed with otherworldly animation , ca n't escape the demons of story .",
        "the world of blithe hollow exists in real space . the residents have real bags under their eyes , real bellies at their belt buckles . ugliness alternates with rapturous beauty ...",
        "blithe and hollow",
        "a morbid film but gleefully so .",
        "it may be the most fun you 'll have with ghosts and zombies all year .",
        "easily the most ambitious and creative animated film this year .",
        "simply put , it is no less than the most confident , fully realized , and just plain imaginative stop-motion animated feature since 1993 's holiday classic `` the nightmare before christmas . ''",
        "`` MOV '' expertly balances scary and funny elements of the story , with a surprisingly heartwarming conclusion .",
        "humor depends on character , context and continuity , none of which is in abundant supply in `` MOV . ''",
        "beginning with a zombie-movie-within-a-zombie-movie , this sweet retro paean to kids who love their monsters also has a message for kids about tolerance and bullying .",
        "an entertaining and visually attractive family-friendly story .",
        "laika , the animation outfit behind 2009 's marvelous stop-motion adaptation of neil gaiman 's coraline , scores another one for the dark side with this endearingly sweet and spooky-ookie ode to the living , the dead , and the in-between .",
        "a kids ' film horror fans can sink their teeth into ...",
        "kids will be very frightened and then end up sympathetic to zombies .",
        "... this is truly edgy for children 's fare .",
        "it 's probably a tad too scary for really small humans , but anyone from seven upwards will find MOV 's adventures firmly stick in their braaaiiinnns .",
        "charming stop-motion lumps chase a witch",
        "for moviegoers who tend to look down their nose at horror films , MOV offers proof positive that the genre that gets us screaming can also have real substance .",
        "a savvy , intelligent , well-crafted animated horror comedy for kids should also appeal to adult horror fans as well .",
        "... not so much creepy as simply unpleasant ...",
        "MOV proves that laika entertainment has some great talent , great ideas , and a bright future telling dark tales about uplifting and insightful life lessons .",
        "dismal , yet profound and pungent ... -lsb- m -rsb- ake -lsb- s -rsb- its points in ways more sharp and brutal than other ` children 's ' films ..."
    ],
    "summary": "beautifully animated and solidly scripted , MOV will entertain -lrb- and frighten -rrb- older children while providing surprisingly thoughtful fare for their parents .",
    "id": "771242305"
  },
  {
    "movie": "once_upon_a_time_in_america",
    "reviews": [
        "a lazily haullucinatory epic that means to encapsulate approximately 50 years of american social history into a single film .",
        "the perfect swan song for leone .",
        "pure cinematic bliss .",
        "hugely complex , achingly sad and splendidly gorgeous .",
        "at its restored 229-minute cut , leone in his directorial swan song proves in its first half-hour how he 's the master of cinematic hypnosis .",
        "masterfully edited .",
        "seeing what leone always intended is like getting your dirty glasses washed .",
        "the film seems to be too ambiguous for its own good . but somehow it holds together , and becomes a masterpiece , and a wonderful little exit piece for the genius mr. leone .",
        "while the godfather delivers certainty and a comforting dramatic resolution , MOV delivers a profound kind of mystery .",
        "every gesture is immediate , and every gesture seems eternal .",
        "leone is less interested in arousing an audience 's easier emotions than in presenting , at a dispassionate distance , the horror of two men warily walking toward each other on a tightrope suspended above the snake pit of their , deepest compulsions .",
        "handsomely mounted beyond a shadow of a doubt , but as the final statement in leone 's career , it mostly makes me think of how fantastic his westerns were .",
        "sergio leone 's cut is wonderful ! avoid the butchered theatrical version unleashed in the u.s. -- i actually walked out on that indecipherable mess .",
        "spaghetti western master sergio leone turns his eye toward an american gangster epic spanning 50 years with surprisingly positive results .",
        "a disappointment of considerable proportions .",
        "in a post the godfather world , for leone to even consider taking on an epically scoped new york gangster film took tremendous courage if not foolishness , coppola had set the bar at an impossible height .",
        "the film slips easily back and forth in time , dancing between the decades , often making the connection from one era to another solely by means of brilliant cuts that work like magic .",
        "sergio leone shot the film with such style , grace , and patience that it is impossible not to get caught up in the story .",
        "great scene follows great scene with inventive direction for almost four hours .",
        "as one would expect from leone , the film is a brilliant stylistic accomplishment .",
        "visually stunning , rich in detail , and filled with outstanding performances .",
        "a cinematic masterpiece .",
        "a obviedade da meia hora final compromete o impacto do filme - que , ainda assim , impressiona por sua escala \u0436pica , por suas elegantes transi\u0443\u0448es de tempo e \u0437timas atua\u0443\u0448es .",
        "i 'm as big a fan of misogyny as the next guy , but how did this hateful and often tasteless godfather ripoff become a classic ?",
        "haunting , thematically complex .",
        "there are times when we do n't understand exactly what is happening , but never a time when we do n't feel confidence in the film 's narrative .",
        "while leone 's vision still has a magnificent sweep , the film finally subsides to an emotional core that is sombre , even elegiac , and which centres on a man who is bent and broken by time , and finally left with nothing but an impotent sadness .",
        "sergio leone 's swan song is an undisputed masterpeice , a self-reflexive crime-gangster epic with towering performances from de niro and tuesday weld .",
        "here was a filmmaker who specialized in pure , blistering images , and this operatic earthiness just does n't play as well as the horrifying , salacious stuff .",
        "a work of tremendous intellectual depth and emotional range",
        "sergio leone explores the seamiest byways of urban americana through the story of two gangsters who start their partnership as brooklyn kids in 1921 and tragically end it in the late '60s .",
        "a striking tale of loyalty , love , friendship and ambition , once upon a time is a work of technical beauty and sombre emotion .",
        "just gasp at the scale , at the immaculate period reconstruction and at that incredible opening with its endlessly ringing phone .",
        "the film , photographed by tonino delli colli , is striking to look at , especially its new york street scenes , which were shot in manhattan , montreal and a back lot near rome . the acting is stunning .",
        "while sergio leone 's `` MOV '' is not quite the masterpiece that some make it out to be due to its excess , there are still plenty of things to recommend about it .",
        "adding 22 minutes only enhances leone 's brilliant saga of guilt and betrayal",
        "sad and vast yet compelling throughout , this remain leone 's most towering achievement .",
        "sergio leone 's languid , lovely and lengthy ode to lower east side mobsters -lrb- more specifically , mobster films -rrb- ..."
    ],
    "summary": "sergio leone 's epic crime drama is visually stunning , stylistically bold , and emotionally haunting , and filled with great performances from the likes of robert de niro and james woods .",
    "id": "13113"
  },
  {
    "movie": "final_destination_2",
    "reviews": [
        "fd2 , despite some imaginative fatalities , is less a movie than a slick video game .",
        "a gory good show for fans of r-rated horror mayhem .",
        "they 've run the idea to staleness with only two films .",
        "the movie mandates complete gullibility and vacuous attention in order to work on any level .",
        "it 's a soulless affair that has little of the panache and intelligence of 2000 's final destination .",
        "bloody , graceless and surprisingly effective .",
        "it 's a race to find out who 'll get into number three and this is good enough to rate one .",
        "the carnage should leave horror fans laughing , groaning and squirming in their seats .",
        "opens with a horrific traffic accident , which seems apt since what follows is the cinematic equivalent of rubbernecking .",
        "suffers from the same rancid dialogue and acting problems as the original but with a much funnier pulse .",
        "entertaining enough to make you forget that you 're watching little more than death warmed over .",
        "it has a sense of humor ... but in the end is overwhelmed by its silliness .",
        "it 's gory . it 's fun . it knows how silly it is .",
        "it 's some sort of classic .",
        "once you get past its supremely nonsensical title , MOV , a smooth and sharp slice of teen-gothic cheese , is kind of fun .",
        "the formula is so rigid that no matter how clever the variations , they 're still fundamentally predictable : any character around long enough to acquire a name is bound to wind up resting in pieces .",
        "innovative offings are about the only thing MOV has going for it .",
        "just a series of grand guignol skits played for mean-spirited laughs .",
        "where else have you seen a death scene that involved a leaking aquarium , a crane , pigeons , a mobile , a sheet of glass and nitrous oxide ?",
        "the movie is a real jolter for horror fans who like the charge of gory images but also demand a certain level of intelligence in the proceedings .",
        "the measure of it comes down to whether you can buy the idea of 100 minutes devoted to just how creatively people can be sliced , diced , broiled , crushed or dismembered .",
        "it 's like death and ingmar bergman sitting around playing six degrees of kevin bacon .",
        "it 's hard to root for a heroine ... who wails , ` it 's a sign ! nora and tim are going to be attacked by pigeons ! '",
        "surprisingly good of its kind ... if you like gross-out gore , that is .",
        "we do n't want logic or complex characterizations in a horror flick - we want to see violent death and dismemberment on the most in-ventive and disgusting scale imaginable , right ? on its own terms - elusive as they might be - ` MOV ' delivers",
        "the film does mostly follow its predecessor?s routine , a wise choice ; although it has become a less enticing , second lap around the same track .",
        "history has shown us - quite brutally at times - that sequels are often little more than shameless cash-ins . ` MOV ' conforms ruthlessly to this trend .",
        "ali larter is a fine performer and all , but when she 's the big celebrity guest star of a movie , you know there 's desperation in the air .",
        "same concept , more fun ... if you 're the kind of moviegoer that thinks creative carnage and watching frantic , screaming people die horribly is fun .",
        "the most well-rounded character in this movie is death himself .",
        "fully aware that this is a rehash of what was supposed to be a one-trick pony , the filmmakers have upped the ante by delivering some gratifyingly gruesome death scenes .",
        "premoni\u0437\u0433o 2 certamente n\u0433o \u0439 t\u0433o tenso quanto seu predecessor , embora seja igualmente divertido .",
        "it 's filled with scenes laden with irony and coincidence that the audience can anticipate and snicker at with just a bit of nervousness .",
        "gets more convoluted and thus less involving as it goes along .",
        "` make no mistake , without the slicing , dicing , filleting , and pureeing , this flick is a recipe for boredom . but like its predecessor , i was expecting a bloodless teen snorefest and got something several sanguineous degrees better ! '",
        "decent at best this is a lighter , campier , but gorier sequel to the original .",
        "now that the ground rules have been established for the final destination movies , the fun lies in seeing the inventive ways in which the writers dispatch the various characters in the sequel .",
        "gruesome , ridiculous , really bad waste of time .",
        "just the fact that it manages to keep the viewer involved despite the plot 's general ridiculousness makes it the most effective vancouver-shot horror flick in years .",
        "perhaps you ca n't cheat death in MOV , but apparently you can kill originality .",
        "albert einstein ... noted , ` god does not play dice with the universe . ' -lsb- t -rsb- he makers of ... final destination ... have ... decided that death likes to play mouse trap .",
        "one by one these people get bumped off , one by one the people in the audience laugh their asses off .",
        "even more than part 1 , the real stars of this movie are the elegantly choreographed freak accidents .",
        "... a wet wick of a film never able to ignite .",
        "one of the rare horror sequels that actually helps the movie that inspired it .",
        "if that 's what you came for , you wo n't go away disappointed .",
        "as grisly as the movie is , you have to admire its twisted invention and the way it plays the audience like a piano .",
        "once you get past the immediate question of how many ` final ' destinations there can be -lrb- what 's next , the really final % u2013 no fooling % u2013 destination ? -rrb- , this is an efficiently trashy horror flick of the creative death school .",
        "`` MOV '' is , in a word , a hoot .",
        "as a half-hour `` twilight zone '' episode , it might have been able to hold your attention , but at almost one-and-three-quarter hours , it just tests your patience .",
        "death pretty much takes a holiday .",
        "the killings are n't exactly slapstick , but they 're surprisingly close , and some of them turn out to be fiendishly funny .",
        "how the movie-going public has n't become bored senseless with such tediously low-standard , so-called scary movies is beyond me .",
        "if my mini-anxiety attack driving home following the film is any indication , MOV if nothing else , may just give you nightmares for days afterward at the mere thought of getting onto the highway .",
        "and when a group of folks narrowly escapes dying in a particular order , expect them to be knocked off , one by one , in the exact sequence they would have died originally . in other words , not only is death relentless , it 's also anal retentive .",
        "this sequel to the surprise 2000 horror hit final destination takes scream and squirm levels to new highs .",
        "MOV repeats just about everything from the first installment , only with tighter plotting and more enjoyable chills .",
        "what a novel conceit : take exactly what 's wrong with modern horror movies -lrb- i.e. boredom and predictability -rrb- and flip the proverbial script on 'em . the beauty of the final destination flicks is that anyone can die at any time - and often do .",
        "part of the fun here is anticipating the rube goldberg-style machinations by which death catches up with its targets .",
        "that there is an audience for a movie in which innocent people suffer hideous accidental deaths is troubling enough , but that a group of creative people chose to direct their energies on this repulsive spectacle simply provokes disgust .",
        "the filmmakers clearly set out to make a film that featured lots of footage of really disgusting annihilations , then threw together a haphazard script and hired a few hot actors to play the corpses .",
        "it 's sick , stupid stuff , and intentionally so .",
        "with most every ounce of effort and imagination going into figuring out ` creative ' ways to kill the various characters , the film is otherwise an empty exercise in brutal and sadistic horror humor .",
        "a sloppy and graceless but fun sequel that serves to illustrate the difference between having a great story and a good screenplay . still : a matinee idol in a world of false pin-ups .",
        "when a horror flick gets tedious , it 's doa .",
        "` MOV ' exploits the universal fear of death -- but it does so with a creepy , creative flair .",
        "... one of the most purely enjoyable films out there right now .",
        "with every killing played for comic effect , MOV negates terror because it 's not concerned with survival .",
        "it 's simple , but effective .",
        "it skillfully accomplishes the horror genre 's most basic goal : scaring the hell out of you .",
        "the sequel repeats exactly the far-fetched plot of the original , complete with elaborate chain-reaction deaths visited on the hapless characters and equally elaborate mumbo-jumbo about the fabric of death 's continuum to try to keep the suspense up .",
        "in director david r. ellis 's feeble and rancid offering MOV , we 're treated to more of the same nonsensical gory goings-on . this disjointed display of recklessness is bluntly overwrought , blatantly numbing and downright laughable .",
        "the moviegoers most likely to enjoy this aggressively stupid sequel will be those lovers of over-the-top gore effects who cheer out loud when a character is sliced into three pieces that slowly slide apart .",
        "let 's not even get into the awful script or the numbingly awful performances .",
        "though the complicated carnage is competently filmed and staged , the acting and the dialogue are often risible enough to make you wonder if the film is n't a spoof brought you by the folks from scary movie .",
        "if you think of all this as an elongated three stooges short with bones breaking and membranes splashing , maybe it will go down easier .",
        "you 'll gasp , you 'll flinch , you 'll cringe , but mostly you 'll scream .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- uncomfortable combination of giggle-inducing absurdity and disgustingly graphic visions of death .",
        "it turns the squirm factor up to 11",
        "the inventiveness of the death scenes is n't quite enough to compensate for the dullness of the rest , but it comes close .",
        "it contains some of the most brain-dead people a screenplay has ever produced .",
        "definitely not for the squeamish !",
        "gory , disgusting and stupid . ... but , heaven help me , it 's entertaining .",
        "it does n't matter that the logic is nonexistent and the characters lack little more substance than paper dolls . this is a funny lark for lovers of cheesy horror .",
        "MOV '' is a real scream . this sequel to the surprise 2000 hit will jolt you yet tickle your funny bone with its audacity and grand flair .",
        "the premise is thin , the deaths are very graphic - this would be unbearable if it did n't add up to comic value .",
        "joyeusement morbide .",
        "while some of the slaughters one-up amanda detmer 's bus-to-body experience from the first movie , you 're basically just waiting for the next nonbeliever to die .",
        "MOV does n't pretend to be anything other than a robotic repeat of the first film .",
        "what is most shocking about director david r. ellis ' clever and extremely gory film is that it 's one of few horror sequels to outdo the original .",
        "takes a good idea from the first film and pounds it into the ground , not to mention decapitating , electrocuting , skewering , blowing up , incinerating , drowning and gassing it .",
        "the audience in a very direct way becomes that invisible cold wind that announces the arrival of doom -- MOV is almost interactive .",
        "`` MOV '' may not be on the level that its creepy , unnerving and effective predecessor is , but what it lacks in thrills it nearly makes up for in delicious-if gratuitous-absurdity ."
    ],
    "summary": "this sequel is little more than an excuse to stage elaborate , gory scenes of characters getting killed off .",
    "id": "13166"
  },
  {
    "movie": "back_to_the_future_2",
    "reviews": [
        "a rush job from filmmakers who should have left well enough alone .",
        "satirically acute , intricately structured and deftly paced , it is at heart stout , good and untainted by easy sentiment .",
        "an entertaining but hollow picture .",
        "another fantastic voyage in a thoroughly entertaining contraption .",
        "this is a sequel for sequel 's sake - all title , no content .",
        "the effects are even better than in the first film , and the actors certainly enjoy themselves in a baffling array of roles .",
        "fans of the original should relish going back to back to the future .",
        "glum , claustrophobic and often oppressive .",
        "a surprisingly oppressive , rapid-fire , noisy , gadget-filled action picture lacking the emotion of the original film .",
        "the most important point is that the new film is fun .",
        "after a few good scenes , the plot gets too tricky , and the filmmakers keep walloping us with one chase scene after another .",
        "a dismal and mean-spirited sequel to one of the best movies of the 1980s .",
        "one-half a very bad movie and one-half a very good movie",
        "the movie is fun , mostly because it 's so screwy .",
        "lackluster yet benign time-travel sequel .",
        "taken as a pair , the first two films ask a number of unresolved and unresolvable questions about causality , order , and intention ; and taken as a pair , they 're also a hell of a lot of fun .",
        "the one thing the film got right was the crushed effect the media 's growing omnipresence has had on human existence .",
        "see website for more details .",
        "solidly entertaining .",
        "an ambitious film that fails to recreate the warmth or excitment of the first back to the future .",
        "has the spirit , but it lacks the heart of the original film , and more importantly , much of the humor .",
        "the idea and the execution is so good that you could applaud .",
        "does n't surpass the original , but tosses a whole lot of gee-whiz gizmos and concepts at the screen . it 's a whole lot of fun .",
        "the latest must-see , peer pressure , carve the logo on your head , designer blue jean experience .",
        "cleverly plotted , but commercially overloaded .",
        "the film ultimately relies on too many cheesy make-up routines in which characters play their older -lrb- and female ! -rrb- selves which makes it not exactly the best movie in this series .",
        "part ii incorporates both the staple features of the first film and , at its base , a more mature theme . the film is ridden with questionable violence , and contains an awkward moment of oedipal frustration .",
        "unfortunately , the story is not as novel or as funny the second time around .",
        "it manages to be giddily and merrily mind-boggling rather than confusing .",
        "sure , -lsb- back to the future ii -rsb- has a clunky first act - which takes place in a hilariously overblown futuristic society - but the film knows just how , and when , to entertain us , and it does so in spades .",
        "there are definitely aspects of laziness to the script -- jokes which have n't been fully considered , simpleminded characterizations , subplots which have no life outside of the narrative -- but at the same time the movie has a spirit of exploration and daring ,",
        "zemeckis ' fascination with having characters interact at different ages of their lives hurts the film visually , and strains credibility past the breaking point , by forcing him to rely on some very cheesy makeup designs .",
        "by the end , you may feel that you 've just sat through a feature-length commercial for both part one -lrb- which has to be seen to make this sequel comprehensible -rrb- and part three -lrb- a trailer for it literally ends part two -rrb- .",
        "the film works best through its magnificent technical achievements -lrb- the visual effects received an oscar nomination -rrb- and the inherent charm of fox , lloyd and , especially , the delightfully menacing thomas f. wilson .",
        "the relatively quaint and simple time travel arc from bttf gets far more confusing and , in some ways , more fulfilling .",
        "it turned off most viewers , but fascinated me .",
        "a weak , convoluted attempt to cash in on the original 's charms .",
        "it 's impressive entertainment , and best of all , it never degenerates into spielbergian sentimentality : you can laugh , be thrilled and think without feeling embarrassed .",
        "uneven but still enjoyable , delivers a darker scenario than the ending of the first film would imply .",
        "` de volta para o futuro 2 ' \u0439 uma continua\u0437\u0433o \u0430 altura do original e merece ser visto - antes que o velho biff altere tudo novamente .",
        "more frantic , noisy , and overproduced than funny"
    ],
    "summary": "back to the future ii is far more uneven than its predecessor , but its madcap highs outweigh the occasionally cluttered machinations of an overstuffed plot .",
    "id": "23533"
  },
  {
    "movie": "im_not_scared",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- i 'm not scared -rsb- is a nicely crafted coming of age film by salvatores and he deftly shapes the story into an appealing package .",
        "connects everything in a lovely and terrifying way .",
        "salvatores ' classically illustrative treatment should open arthouse doors for the visually sumptuous production .",
        "it offers a fresh , stylish , and considerably more intelligent treatment of familiar genre material .",
        "i 'm not scared is n't a perfect film , but petriccione 's cinematography and cristiani 's performance make it well worth seeing .",
        "odd coming-of-age movie is gorgeously shot and emotionally involving , and features some truly exceptional performances from its young cast .",
        "a well-crafted cross-breed that utilizes cruel power-plays of both youngsters and adults to support the ominous mood of a first-rate thriller .",
        "a beautiful , exciting and challenging film about survival and a child 's cold realization that adults do n't always have the right answers .",
        "haunting and suspenseful .",
        "rana 's anxiety , stacked on top of that of the politically tense region , creates a pitched emotional drama made more gripping by its real-world setting .",
        "excels at interpreting the peculiar currency of childhood .",
        "nature and animal imagery dominate salvatores ' stark , moody film , which suffers from an overreliance on mutely beautiful imagery to express its themes .",
        "this spare and haunting italian thriller is about innocence lost , and how a small world can be made smaller when you 're alone in it .",
        "salvatores and director of photography italo petriccione 's gentle , meditative approach ... masks the menace laying within the seemingly peaceful village .",
        "proves once again how accomplished italian cinema is at seeing the world through a child 's eyes .",
        "the performances are all terrific . each one suggests an entire story that we can only glimpse .",
        "the director reminds us that not all films require a breakneck pace or ridiculous twists to be effective .",
        "this pleasant italian offering is a suspenseful and heart warming story of a heroic 10 year old boy who risks his own life to save another .",
        "by far the most gorgeous slice of sunlit sadism so far this summer , i 'm not scared also manages to be oddly sweet : a boy 's life , with treachery .",
        "hauntingly beautiful -- when it 's not harrowingly disturbing .",
        "cristiano is completely believable as michele , and , as the confused kidnapped boy who believes he has died and that michele is an angel , mattia di pierro is unforgettable .",
        "yet another sad tumble from promise into violation , from the white-heat of bliss to the ashes of banality .",
        "a well-mounted movie , i 'm not scared is good but it seems even better because of its evocative setting .",
        "it 's the kind of stomach-churning bedtime story that encourages us to be afraid , without ever being able to reassure us , like a parent , that it 'll all be okay in the end .",
        "both atmospheric thriller and heartbreaking coming-of-age tale .",
        "makes bland international entertainment out of specific historical trauma .",
        "a visually magnificent film in which the camera will help you remember just how the world looks to children .",
        "a beautifully shot and compelling blend of thriller and coming-of-age drama .",
        "watching it is like being lost in somebody 's richly moody campfire story .",
        "a reminder of true childhood , of its fears and speculations , of the way a conversation can be overheard but not understood , of the way that the shape of the adult world forms slowly through the mist .",
        "the primal intensity of emotions and settings takes the story well beyond generic elements .",
        "a collection of juxtapositions : bucolic countryside opposite jangling nerves . innocent childhood opposite a boy subjected to unspeakable horror . love opposite fear .",
        "a small movie but , like the thematically similar to kill a mockingbird , it leaves with you a sense of children 's vulnerability and their incredible resilience .",
        "salvatores remains admirably literal throughout the story , but his camera evokes all kinds of mystical possibilities .",
        "a good story told with energy and efficiency .",
        "an italian drama that restores the overused phrase ` loss of innocence ' to something meaningful and memorable .",
        "an accomplished and evocative thriller from italy .",
        "this is a different sort of horror film , where the known is infinitely more frightening than the unknown .",
        "unlike most boys in films these days , michele is n't your typically cloying blabbermouth . he is a quiet kid with a strong sense of imagination .",
        "... one of the purest movies you will see , unhindered by the conventions of cinema and built completely on the essence of feelings .",
        "what is excellently captured in salvatores 's film ... is the look and feel of those long-forgotten freeform summer days of childhood .",
        "the muddled motivations of the film 's adults to one side , scared scores -- and even soars -- when looking at the world through the eyes of its 10-year-old protagonist .",
        "delicado em seu retrato da inf\u00e2ncia , peca apenas pela conclus\u0103o frouxa , quando o pr\u00f3prio filme torna-se infantil .",
        "`` i 'm not scared '' suffers from ill-conceived staging and sluggish pacing . the film 's theme that altruism and ignorance are punished is a careless postulate drawn from a kidnapping spree in italy during the late '70s .",
        "this is a visually stunning film , an intelligently consummated marriage of genres resulting in a movie that is , if not unique , at least very special .",
        "harmoniously blends elements of a coming-of-age story , a crime drama and a mystery together in something of astonishing power and scope .",
        "... a fascinating , if frustrating , look at the relative lack of power and security and place a child has in our modern world .",
        "few movies evoke the wonder and terror of childhood as this film does .",
        "a lyrical throwback to such movies as ren\u00e9 cl\u00e9ment 's forbidden games -lrb- 1952 -rrb- and other works of the humanist european cinema of a half century ago .",
        "visually striking and exceptionally performed by old and young alike , i 'm not scared plucks the nerves .",
        "a remarkable italian drama that elevates a thriller to the artful level of deeply affecting drama .",
        "a middle-brow work posing as an art film .",
        "those who stick with it will be richly rewarded .",
        "this sounds like prime fodder for a fast-paced thriller , but the movie is actually something more special : a tender-hearted rumination on the loss of innocence among children .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- first catches your attention -lsb- with -rsb- the crime ... but what you 'll remember long after is the terrible dilemma of a young boy being forced to face the real world .",
        "to watch gabriele salva-tores ' i 'm not scared is to be whisked into childhood .",
        "a terrific attempt to express a young boy 's moral awakening using intense colour schemes , wide-angle lenses and unforgiving close-ups",
        "the beautiful photography will have you booking flights to sicily , while the unsentimental rites-of-passage drama ca n't fail to touch your heart .",
        "brilliantly shows the frivolity of childhood and the joy of summertime -- an effectively contrasting background against which to set a kidnapping drama , you must admit .",
        "it 's the exchanges between cristiano and di pierro , children caught up in nasty business they ca n't understand , that hit you in the gut .",
        "a fierce , frightening and deeply moving study of childhood .",
        "an engaging italian film about a pint-sized hero in a poor small village where the adults are acting very strange and hiding something .",
        "with a graceful confidence salvatores has made a movie in which good and evil flow into each other as easily as day and night .",
        "cleverly structured and smartly acted .",
        "with its unique perspective on both the coming-of-age and thriller genres , the movie deserves to be seen by a wider audience than the one that normally frequents subtitled movies .",
        "well-scripted story about the end of innocence .",
        "with a taste for dark lyricism , the director delicately emphasizes the contrast between surface innocence and subterranean danger , and between grown-up secrets and boyhood bravery .",
        "acted in one flavor of broadly sliced prosciutto , and marred with familiar digital punctuation , i 'm not scared need n't be prepped for hollywood recycling -- it is its own homogenized remake .",
        "an eloquent coming-of-age tale about a young boy with uncommon courage",
        "offers a startling mix of genres : a memory piece drenched in nostalgia for a lost childhood , clothed in the form of a thriller that grabs you by the throat .",
        "... perfectly captures kids at play , as well as something related , but darker .",
        "a coming of age story with some very interesting twists . the film moves a little slowly but it does engage you .",
        "in the end , its elements come together with the kind of genuinely thrilling , deeply satisfying climax that even the better hollywood movies just ca n't seem to pull off anymore .",
        "a thriller of conviction , class and deceptive simplicity .",
        "both a spooky reverie about childhood and a slow-burning suspenser in which conspiracy and betrayal shake the foundations of a boy 's life .",
        "reminiscent of the live-action disney films of the 1970s - if wes craven directed one .",
        "a virtuoso piece of dark storytelling .",
        "loss of innocence ? yeah , maybe . but there 's so much more at play here that it seems absurdly reductionist to stick i 'm not scared with such a clich\u00e9d label .",
        "rivet -lsb- s -rsb- attention to its expertly woven storyline with appealing and believable characters about whose fate it is impossible not to care .",
        "a thriller , but a gorgeously lyrical one , an entrancing exercise in hyper-realism ... like a cinematic dream , hazy and suggestive , atmospheric and moody , almost operatic .",
        "certainly a heartfelt film but it 's also melodramatic and weighed down by heavy-handed direction and a sappy musical score .",
        "taps into the terrifying rush and excitement that accompanies a child 's loss of innocence : the dislocating realization that the world is not the safe , neatly ordered place it once seemed to be .",
        "lovely to behold and almost as lovely to reflect upon .",
        "salvatores draws strikingly unsentimental performances from his young actors , all making their film debuts , and juxtaposes the petty meanness of children with the calculated cruelty of desperate adults to haunting effect .",
        "at the bottom of it all lies nothing more than a by-the-numbers hollywood thriller .",
        "few movies purporting to chronicle loss of innocence convey its jolt and sadness as effectively .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- so perfectly written and paced .",
        "... salvatores has made a film reminiscent of spanish masterpiece , the spirit of the beehive .",
        "agreeably gripping coming-of-age thriller .",
        "io non ho paura reveals the reasons children ca n't help but be afraid , despite the efforts of most adults to protect them .",
        "this satisfying adaptation of a popular novel is mostly an artistic reflection on youthful loss of innocence .",
        "although this visually dazzling movie from italy takes on many of the characteristics of a conventional thriller , it refuses to go for cheap , vicious shocks .",
        "powerfully and palpably capturing the isolation , confusion and unnameable fears of childhood ."
    ],
    "summary": "a well-acted and thrilling coming-of-age tale that captures a child awakening to the frightening world of adults .",
    "id": "770678574"
  },
  {
    "movie": "mr_deeds",
    "reviews": [
        "slackly directed , but there is n't a mean bone in its body -lrb- even the bad people are n't all that bad -rrb- , and its good nature rubs off on you .",
        "in `` mr. deeds , '' there is no ambition , no pretense whatsoever ; it is inexplicably proud of its forgettable nature . ''",
        "surprisingly sweet and , dare we say it , old-fashioned .",
        "it ranks among -lsb- sandler 's -rsb- better work . frank capra would not approve , but he 's not rolling in his grave , either .",
        "it 's not that the gags are n't funny here and there ... it 's that they do n't add up to a movie , or really pretend to .",
        "makes the capra film , labeled cornball by some even in 1936 , seem like shakespeare .",
        "while brill 's direction is crisp , herlihy 's jokes are n't much .",
        "a half-good update of mr. deeds goes to town .",
        "what 's next ? rob schneider , dana carvey and sarah michelle gellar in the philadelphia story ? david spade as citizen kane ?",
        "comically flat and flawed on many levels .",
        "adam sandler is to gary cooper what a gnat is to a racehorse .",
        "mr. deeds is , as comedy goes , very silly -- and in the best way .",
        "fortunately for sandler and audiences , it hits more often than it misses .",
        "mr. deeds is n't bad for an adam sandler film , which is as backhanded as a compliment can get .",
        "sandler has none of coop 's magic .",
        "with the sandler company in full force once again , one certainly ca n't accuse deeds of straying from formula . it 's the formula itself that is highly suspect .",
        "though it 's enjoyable , you ca n't help but feel the squandered situations and talent , flattened by mediocre writing and direction .",
        "the otherwise good-naturedness of mr. deeds , with its embrace of sheer goofiness and cameos of less - than-likely new york celebrities ... certainly raises the film above anything sandler 's been attached to before .",
        "anyone who has responded to the sweet side of adam sandler 's growing comic screen persona is sure to be delighted by mr. deeds .",
        "it 's crippled by a complete lack of chemistry between the two leads .",
        "sandler 's poorest film to date .",
        "there 's a price to pay for the guilty pleasure steven brill 's film affords -- a relentless process of dumbing down that tells the audience it 's cool to be a doofus .",
        "the plot is moth-eaten , the jokes lame , the action sequences idiotic to disgusting , and the whole adds up -lrb- or subtracts down -rrb- to a complete waste of time .",
        "no amount of spastic-colon jokes , cartoon violence or good-buddy cameos -lrb- al sharpton , john mcenroe -rrb- can distract from the fact that gary cooper -lsb- sandler -rsb- ai n't .",
        "a very stupid film that 's almost watchable but does n't really have any reason to exist .",
        "when you 've already made something as execrable and universally loathed as little nicky , why stop there ?",
        "a remake so bad it will make your gums bleed . orphanage fires are funnier .",
        "the film delivers as promised on most levels ; however , it does help to be an adam sandler fan to begin with .",
        "the only saving grace about mr. deeds is its functioning as a wise and timely cliche ' : money ca n't buy everything -- especially for a clunky comedy with no spirit or no spark .",
        "... perpetuates -lsb- sandler 's -rsb- penchant for idiotic , schoolboy humor , misunderstood-nice-guy characters , and plots which insult the intelligence of anyone over 12 .",
        "he 's still the same persona in every movie .",
        "adam sandler comedy is more of -- and less than -- his previous `` little guy makes good '' films .",
        "sandler strives for an awkward blend of sight gags , comic violence and smarmy sentiment that might even have sent capra himself retching to the nearest lavatory .",
        "it 's not his best , but it is far from his worst .",
        "sandler -lrb- reminiscent of his wedding singer character -rrb- is sweet , touching and very funny .",
        "sandler is ready to be himself again , which means veering between his usual devilish savant and a newer post-adolescent gentleman .",
        "the story is predictable , the jokes are typical sandler fare , and the romance with ryder is puzzling .",
        "sandler has never seemed less inspired and merely goes though the motions in a bland movie that limply recycles bits from his other films .",
        "a surprisingly funny movie .",
        "sandler 's gonzo charisma keeps this weightless souffl\u00e9 from levitating too often out of the laugh zone .",
        "an unfunny , careless piece of trash riddled with directorial , editing and acting mistakes .",
        "perfunctory is the word .",
        "capra 's deeds was n't all that good to begin with , and modernized casting here does n't improve on it .",
        "boba . sosa e innocua hasta morir ...",
        "no good deed goes unpunished - and punishment you shall feel after watching mr. deeds .",
        "adam sandler is not funny . nothing he does is funny . his movies , with a couple exceptions , are n't funny .",
        "nothing in it adds up logistically or comedically . it appears to have been photographed by volunteer carwash attendants .",
        "mr. deeds has more impromptu punchouts than a source awards get-together .",
        "although the premise opens doors to many comic opportunities , the film resorts to cheap , random jokes that do not grant sander the right material to explore .",
        "if this disposable tissue has one wild card , it 's john turturro , who 's simply fab as a spanish butler with a foot fetish .",
        "if your expectations are very low , there are some decent laughs and the film makes for a guilty pleasure .",
        "if you 're over 25 , have an iq over 90 , and have a driver 's license , you should be able to find better entertainment .",
        "i may be too old for adam sandler movies , but it seems to me that he 's getting too old for them , too .",
        "mostly terrible , a shambles of a comedy that looks as if it was shot by a tabloid news crew .",
        "this is a terrible movie in its own right , tasteless and condescending -- if sandler 's character is an everyman , than the everyman of today is a boorish jackass .",
        "fans can rejoice that mr. deeds is a close third behind happy gilmore and the wedding singer on sandler 's list of quality credits .",
        "a witless and wafer-thin remake .",
        "sandler 's worst effort to date .",
        "sandler does n't do much we have n't seen before , although he 's wisely scrapped the annoying showboating he did throughout `` little nicky , '' in which he insisted on trying to upstage everyone else onscreen .",
        "it 's a film that is n't there , 91 minutes of celluloid without a movie .",
        "neither charming nor funny and risks disappointing even the most ardent sandler fans .",
        "comparing frank capra 's mr. deeds goes to town and adam sandler 's new remake is like viewing a rolex against a cheap knockoff .",
        "... nicely fills the void between special-effects blockbusters and predicatable thrillers while still being something you can send your kids to .",
        "it 's neither as sappy as big daddy nor as anarchic as happy gilmore or the waterboy , but it has its moments .",
        "what 's surprising about mr. deeds , a remake of capra 's mr. deeds goes to town -lrb- 1936 -rrb- , is that it tries to be as earnest as its predecessor .",
        "capra 's ... common crowds too often degenerate into mobs ... . we like the mild mindlessness of the re-make a bit better .",
        "while it is n't nearly the equal of the original , sandler 's deeds is an entertaining time-waster with a couple of great laughs and many more chuckles .",
        "no longer can a classic movie go silently into the volumes of film history without someone thinking up a sequel or remake .",
        "films like big daddy and the waterboy aggravated me by being actively obnoxious ; mr. deeds is merely bland .",
        "typical adam sandler fare , but pretty entertaining nonetheless .",
        "this heavy-handed , dimwitted , dumbed-down version ca n't decide whether it 's a parody , a slapstick comedy or sappy romance . rent `` mr. deeds goes to town . ''",
        "directed with the panache that only the creator of the mighty ducks can bring to your project , mr. deeds is a poorly made and charmless affair .",
        "frank capra played this story straight . but the 2002 film does n't really believe in it , and breaks the mood with absurdly inappropriate ` comedy ' scenes .",
        "mr. deeds '' oddly enough is enjoyable while it follows capra 's outline . only when it goes its own way in the third act does the comedy fall apart .",
        "the story is only a loose thread formed to link a string of comedic pearls .",
        "this movie would n't be worth paying to see even if you had 40 billion dollars .",
        "never decides whether it wants to be a surreal farce , a satire , a romance , an homage or all of the above .",
        "it virtually defines a comedy that 's strongly mediocre , with funny bits surfacing every once in a while .",
        "it 's all a saggy , inept mess .",
        "utterly predictable , thoroughly sentimental and -- worse -- not all that funny .",
        "how could adam sandler , of all people , remake capra ? well , shoddily , as it happens .",
        "this is a remake which will vaguely satisfy the sandler faithful and have capra fans gritting their teeth .",
        "sandler barely expends any energy trotting out the `` average dude who shakes up stodgy high society '' schtick , and director steven brill and scripter tim herlihy follow lazy suit .",
        "the star and his numbskull cronies piss on capra 's grave with acrid insincerity .",
        "the end result is n't dreadful , but it is patchy .",
        "pretty awful , but teen sandler fans may like it .",
        "just another sandler movie , nothing more , nothing less .",
        "click to read review",
        "peter gallagher must 've been hard up for cash .",
        "anyone with an iq over 85 should stay away .",
        "there are about four laughs in the thing , and that 's not good when you 're adam sandler ...",
        "just another dumbed-down comedy , although it aspires to social satire",
        "the problem is that sandler just is n't as fresh or as funny as he used to be .",
        "so incompetently filmed that they ca n't even manage the production values of dude , where 's my car ?",
        "nothing about this movie works .",
        "` god help us , but capra and cooper are rolling over in their graves . '",
        "sandler 's still owns the deeds to sweetness , sentimentality , and sitcom skill .",
        "sandler ai n't no gary cooper . with his rumpled clothing , boorish behavior , and his circa 1952 jerry lewis haircut , he comes across more as a pathetic 30-something who never got past hanging out in shopping center parking lots with his `` buds . ''",
        "there 's a sense of genuine , naive good will accompanying the material that almost , but not quite , makes up for the far more than occasional lapses of successful comedy .",
        "it is a movie that is so dumb it 's funny . unfortunately , it is also a movie that will make you wish you went to see something else .",
        "the second tier performances in mr. deeds are worth the price of admission .",
        "overall , ` deeds ' proves that sandler 's comedy is showing it 's age . while not as horrid as ` little nicky , ' ` deeds ' remains outside of sandler 's circle of great comedies .",
        "returning aggressively to his formula of dimwitted comedy and even dimmer characters , sandler , who also executive produces , has made a film that makes previous vehicles look smart and sassy .",
        "mr. deeds is not really a film as much as it is a loose collection of not-so-funny gags , scattered moments of lazy humor .",
        "too whitewashed and generic ... it 's like watching chris rock in bad company .",
        "` if you 've seen the original ... steer clear of the new knockoff , lest your heart be broken . '",
        "let 's cut to the consumer-advice bottom line : stay home .",
        "there 's nothing funny about this .",
        "so painfully and relentlessly unamusing , so chockablock full of desperate mugging and witless silliness where truly funny stuff should be , that it appears to be work of people who never made another movie comedy .",
        "adam sandler is an extremely likable man who knows his limitations and works within them .",
        "it 's not just that the movie itself is wicked awful , it 's that mr. deeds brings out the worst in adam sandler .",
        ". . there were a lot of elements in the film which just did n't work at all . .",
        "look who 's out of the courtroom and on the big screen in what may be the worst performance of her career , it 's alleged kleptomaniac winona ryder !",
        "a surprisingly sweet picture , it is n't quite funny enough to be able to recommend it , but it is n't a bad film .",
        "it 's filled with charm .",
        "this is very much of a mixed bag , with enough negatives to outweigh the positives .",
        "i 've never seen -lrb- a remake -rrb- do anything as stomach-turning as the way adam sandler 's new movie rapes , pillages and incinerates frank capra 's classic ...",
        "mr. deeds goes to town updated for the big daddy crowd .",
        "foul , putrid cesspool of a movie .",
        "the people who made this movie ... -lsb- crammed -rsb- so many product placements into the action that you feel like there should be an 800 number at the bottom of the screen .",
        "yes , the acting is atrocious -lrb- possibly the worst i 've seen this year -rrb- , the romantic chemistry non-existent and the morality struggle endured by ryder 's reporter laughably manufactured .",
        "this is sandler running on empty , repeating what he 's already done way too often .",
        "people who just call 'em as they see 'em need only note that this remake of one of frank capra 's most famous pictures is a perfectly dreadful film and leave it at that .",
        "see it with someone you love ... or at least someone who enjoys sandler .",
        "a lost puppy of a movie aimlessly in search of approval .",
        "it 's all over . we 're doomed . hightail it to a bomb shelter , if you can find one . otherwise , just insert your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye .",
        "sandler is back to form in a movie that has its share of over-the-top moments , but is likable for its underlyingly sweet love story .",
        "you 'll laugh , hard too , and in this world , why would you want to turn down an opportunity like that ?",
        "anyone who can count to five -lrb- the film 's target market ? -rrb- can see where this dumbed-down concoction is going .",
        "frank capra 's 1936 classic mr. deeds goes to town is bashed senseless by adam sandler 's particular brand of classless bombast .",
        "the picture is a primer on what happens when lack of know-how mixes with lack of give-a-damn .",
        "what would i do if i inherited forty billion dollars ? first of all , buy out adam sandler 's contract and put him in more movies like ` the wedding singer . '",
        "mr. deeds could have used another round of editing and some beefed up comedy",
        "`` mr. deeds '' is suitable summer entertainment that offers escapism without requiring a great deal of thought .",
        "formuliac , but fun .",
        "i loved the laughter , but i hated the boredom in between the laughs .",
        "turturro is fabulously funny and over the top as a ` very sneaky ' butler who excels in the art of impossible disappearing/reappearing acts",
        "it 's sweet , harmless , dumb , occasionally funny and about as compelling as a fishing show .",
        "lacks almost everything that made the 1936 movie an enduring classic : idealism , heart , social and political savvy , convincing romanticism , robust ensemble acting and humor .",
        "` mr. deeds ' turns out to be the perfect vehicle for sandler , a common man 's comedian who fits quite nicely in a farce celebrating common wisdom .",
        "a leftover casserole of sandler 's previous films in which his performance seems detatched and bored .",
        "a surrealistically bad movie , one of those astonishing clunkers you watch agape at its awfulness .",
        "i 'm just too bored to care .",
        "the latest adam sandler assault and possibly the worst film of the year .",
        "i ca n't recommend it except to die-hard sandler fans , and even they will have to admit that this is one of his lesser efforts .",
        "all in all , this baby makes you ever more eternally grateful for amc and tcm on the cable . that 's where the real movies have gone to hide .",
        "the projectors in the theater practically shut down with boredom .",
        "it 's still adam sandler , and it 's not little nicky . and for many of us , that 's good enough .",
        "you do n't have to be a tree-hugging pacificist to be sickened by the constant sight of sandler putting his fists and boots to someone , or of others imitating his psychotic behaviour .",
        "in addition to the lame retreading of the original film 's underlying fish out of water plot , the performances help sink this effort .",
        "it 's nothing more than a money maker for the filmmakers and a pointless star vehicle for sandler .",
        "it has finally happened , a small miracle of miracles : i actually like an adam sandler comedy .",
        "a stink bomb of a movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "this update of capra does n't hold a candle to the original , and even on its own merits , mr. deeds is still indifferently acted and stale .",
    "id": "11234"
  },
  {
    "movie": "iraq_in_fragments",
    "reviews": [
        "because -lsb- director -rsb- longley uses a technique that forgoes interviews and voiceover commentary in favour of observation and revealing juxtapositions , his movie puts you both in the chaos and just above it .",
        "what MOV lacks in fresh reportage or sending a political message , it makes up for with unique insight .",
        "the first third is so intense -- a masterpiece in miniature , really -- that audiences may not have much emotion left for the rest .",
        "MOV ... appears to be asking a simple , but often unmentioned , question : oh yeah , what about the people of iraq ?",
        "bafflingly , the threats in an occupied country consistently come from within , not without or overhead : what has the effect of the us occupation and hussein 's vicious rule been on these people ? offers a fragmented , obscuring picture of iraq .",
        "too bad james longley could n't have broadcast this insightful documentary immediately after he shot it in 2003 and 2004 .",
        "visually , the director 's flair is impressive . but longley 's clear intention of using children 's faces to better tug at our heartstrings would be more admirable if it did n't feel as shamelessly staged .",
        "the film is both gritty and lyrical , showing how tanks share the baghdad streets with donkeys as well as the quiet beauty of the kurdish countryside .",
        "the film is terrific at providing a kaleidoscopic sense of life unfolding , with imaginative editing and colors that seem to leap off the screen .",
        "the technique is more expressionistic than naturalistic , but it makes the film far more vivid and emotionally satisfying .",
        "a timely , lyrical and candid look at daily life in a post-invasion iraq .",
        "in the end , the movie is more than the sum of its fragments . the montages are intense , the images ravishing . the movie is tactile . when you finally feel this place , you understand just how little you understand .",
        "a heartbreaking assessment of iraq 's reconstruction from the point-of-view of its intended beneficiaries .",
        "james longley 's haunting , oblique film , MOV , presents a collage of images , sounds and characters in an intimate , partial portrait of an unraveling nation .",
        "working with v\u00e9rit\u00e9 patience and no scripted narration , longley looks and listens , with nonjudgmental sensitivity , as sunni , shiite , and kurdish iraqis explain their colliding , intractable , invaded worlds , and their rising frustrations .",
        "it 's head and shoulders above the rest in its clarity , intimacy and poetry , and it illustrates the dreadful predicament america has created in iraq , which drove so many angry people to the polls on tuesday .",
        "people talk about the country being split into pieces , but there 's not much shown to articulate how , when or why that is the case .",
        "brings back nothing journalistically substantial from the war front .",
        "raw and powerful .",
        "a visually startling , patiently observed and deeply humanist film .",
        "style comes occasionally close to taking precedence over its heartfelt humanistic intentions , yet the film 's deep respect for human resilience and hope ultimately renders cynical accusations of touristy condescension moot .",
        "an engrossing award-winning documentary about the chaotic and bloody situation in iraq as seen through the eyes of sunnis , shiites , and kurds .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- longely 's real strength lies in his ability to draw from the observances of children .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- longley shows a poetic , almost elegiacal artistry . after two years , he might not understand the iraqi people fully , but they have won his heart and mind .",
        "visually arresting and deeply disheartening , james longley 's impressionistic documentary explores the pain of a shattered country by homing in on a few tiny shards .",
        "longley 's access to public and private developments in the wake of the u.s. invasion of iraq is often stunning .",
        "the imagery is poetic and beautiful at times . meanwhile , the haunting legacy of the documentary is that people still are being pulled apart by religious differences and ethnicity .",
        "james longley 's MOV is a visually stunning documentary that looks at that country through the eyes of its own people -- a novel enough approach at a time when everyone else has had their say .",
        "told in tones both wondrous and horrible .",
        "... a beauty and a richly textured palette rarely seen in such video documentaries .",
        "watch the evening news and you get a view of iraq from high above the wreckage . in this fascinating doc , director james longley shows us how things look on the ground .",
        "james longley 's sundance-winning documentary puts the camera uncomfortably close to scenes of abuse , violence , terror , cynicism and racial hatred amid the rubble of u.s.-occupied iraq . but at the same time , its texture is frequently beautiful .",
        "there are embedded journalists in iraq , and then there is `` MOV '' director james longley .",
        "there are some striking images , but the film is less useful for not having any commentary on the confused events depicted .",
        "what makes MOV so distinctive is its impressionistic and at times lyrical imagery .",
        "a work of beauty as well as horror , MOV is one of the best of the many documentaries to come out of that ruined country . it 's powerful , enlightening and necessarily depressing .",
        "in a series of stunningly filmed sequences , longley and his camera seek out the real lives outside the frame of conventional tv news , and he succeeds in creating both compelling journalism and superb images .",
        "there 's something of a period quality to this beautifully photographed documentary snapshot of iraq in transition .",
        "the film provides specifics , details of hectic life among ruins , faces filled with dread , desire , and defiance .",
        "... this one demands to be seen .",
        "in addition to the interesting camera work , the documentary 's undeniable appeal comes in how close longley gets to the characters , who are all male . they speak openly of the past , the u.s. forces , the uncertain future .",
        "a vivid , poetic evocation of life in post-invasion iraq that works both as impressionistic collage and candid portraiture .",
        "of all the documentaries to come out of the current war , MOV is the least violent and perhaps the most disquieting .",
        "documentary filmmaker james longley -lrb- gaza strip -rrb- has a flair for cinematography and editing and a poetic sensibility that informs both these talents .",
        "much of what is captured will be familiar for viewers of frontline or other recent documentaries .",
        "when the war is long gone , this deft construction will persist in relevance , if not for what it says about the mess we once made , then as a model of canny cinematic construction .",
        "what justifies the film , and makes it compelling , is the corresponding subjectivity of its iraqi narrators , who lend this movie not only their voices but their eyes and ears .",
        "shot over three years , this is one of the more considered and insightful iraqi documentaries - although some may find its stylistic contrasts a little self-conscious and distracting .",
        "a remarkable example of the conjunction of a burningly topical and newsworthy subject with a brilliant filmmaker .",
        "MOV opens a window on the world of the war 's casualties in a narrative triptych that 's profoundly haunting and often ravishing .",
        "the frequently gorgeous footage , culled from some 300 hours shot over a two-year period , provides ample compensation for any narrative .",
        "this visually sumptuous movie richly deserves the cinematography , editing and directing prizes it carried off at sundance last january .",
        "a documentary of stunning immediacy and marvelous images ...",
        "although the film does n't make any earth-shattering discoveries , it at least attempts to put a face on an ` enemy ' that few americans have considered .",
        "longley 's journalistic discipline is as impressive as his artistic eye : he 's content to show , not tell .",
        "longley is a strikingly effective director",
        "the film is unusual among iraq documentaries for its impressionistic , frequently gorgeous cinematography and for its structure : it 's split into thirds , one about a sunni -lrb- the boy -rrb- , one about a shiite mob , and one about the quiet kurds up north .",
        "the struggles -lsb- documentary filmmaker james longley -rsb- recorded in his dazzling MOV are n't battlefield conflicts , but the personal , religious and political efforts of iraqi citizens to reassemble their shattered lives .",
        "director james longley does n't say anything new about the politics of iraq , but he leaves us with a vivid impression of its people , its places and its seemingly irreconcilable contradictions .",
        "by turns tender and shocking , MOV strikes a rare balance between impromptu fluidity and feature-film narrative control , in the process resisting both partisanship and predigested points of view .",
        "james longley 's devastating documentary MOV has neither narration nor obvious political ax to grind , but it manages to tell us something about iraq that we are n't getting or ca n't get from standard news coverage .",
        "we 're used to seeing iraq through the lens of washed-out digital video , so it 's striking how sumptuous and elegantly-composed the shots are in `` MOV . ''",
        "MOV sometimes feels random , but it is a well-crafted , thoughtful study of the dueling divisiveness and hope that will define the region long after foreign troops leave .",
        "stands up as a classic war documentary , in its unusual poetic form and by its extraordinary access to the lives of ordinary iraqis .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- evocative , heartbreaking documentary told from three disparate but equally compelling perspectives : the sunnis , shiites and kurds ."
    ],
    "summary": "a stylistically bold , humanist take on the difficulties of post-invasion iraq .",
    "id": "157954279"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paprika",
    "reviews": [
        "satoshi kon 's glorious visuals are the driving force of a rather strange and surreal sci-fi experience that 's often hard to follow .",
        "in MOV , a gorgeous riot of future-shock ideas and brightly animated imagery , the doors of perception never close .",
        "sit back and enjoy the detail-rich visuals while appreciating the unfettered imagination at work in constructing them .",
        "an animated fever dream sure to haunt long after the lights have come up .",
        "all i can say about MOV ... is : whoa ! and , i mean that in a good way , a very good way .",
        "could -lsb- director satoshi -rsb- kon 's fanciful cure for the blockbuster blues have come along at a better time ?",
        "MOV tries to do too much and does n't do any of it especially well .",
        "despite the jumble , kon 's eye-popping , surreal mastery of the japanese dream is awakening .",
        "the anything-goes dream logic is confusing , and the question of why , late in the game , the nighttime fantasies start becoming real , is left mostly unexplained .",
        "a spectacular experience , full of bizarre , frightening and beautiful dream logic .",
        "... the experience is as beautifully baffling as any that you 'll have wide awake .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- dizzying , ambitious excursion into the subconscious .",
        "kon rarely cares about the stagnant old real world that his films so frequently transcend . his characters fuss endlessly about fantasy 's gripping , consuming power , but he himself seems blissfully unconcerned with where his gorgeous illusions take them .",
        "the movie keeps flooding us with strange , scary imagery .",
        "soulless characters in remarkably flat animation talking epistemological gobbledegook among watered-down psychedelia .",
        "with a conventional invade-dreams/bend-reality plot , it 's a bit of a bore .",
        "watching anime is like hearing a foreign language in which you are fluent but not native : however much you believe you understand , you can never be sure you totally get it .",
        "offers both eye candy and mind candy -- it 's a thoughtful visual treat .",
        "solely as a magical mystery tour of sights , sounds and surrealism , however , it 's a unique animated blast to the senses .",
        "MOV fills me with such overwhelming enthusiasm as to leave me gibbering .",
        "its visual collision of mindscapes , films within films and dreams within dreams cascade into a dizzying rush that easily washes away the humdrum dialogue and somewhat sketchy plot .",
        "the animation shows brilliant imagination by the filmmakers .",
        "plays like the end and the beginning of japanese cinema : it contradicts itself and contains multitudes .",
        "though it 's not quite up there with the cream of anime feature films , MOV is a distinctive , quality addition to the genre .",
        "reality and fantasy leak into each other in short-circuiting jolts in kon 's cosmos",
        "i ca n't claim to have followed the story line of MOV any better than i did pirates of the caribbean , but this mind-blowing , adult animated adventure from japan is half the length and maybe five times as much fun .",
        "MOV expands your notion of what animation can achieve . you wake from it as if from a dream : spooked , provoked and exhilarated .",
        "smart , electrifying , and proudly unhinged , this japanimated gem definitely belongs in the fold , and might even win over a few older art-house patrons with its very adult , transhumanist premise of interactive dream therapy run amok .",
        "my advice ? enter your own dream state , and surrender your brain .",
        "this is without question a unique and superior achievement .",
        "whatever it is you 're looking for -- comedy , horror , parades of singing frogs and dancing kitchen appliances -- you 'll find it in satoshi kon 's anime adventure , a jaw-dropping feat of imagination .",
        "the latest eye-popping and surreal anime from satoshi kon -lrb- tokyo godfathers -rrb- .",
        "MOV offers a breathtakingly surreal journey . it 's a film that may serve up mass destruction and ponder some nightmarish scenarios , but underneath it has a warm humanity and humor that 's utterly endearing .",
        "does n't do much to free itself from the trappings of the anime genre , which one supposes is n't necessarily a bad thing for actual anime fans . but for the rest of us ? that 's more nightmare than dream come true .",
        "a relentlessly hallucinatory experience that only just manages to leave a dozen or so left-brain cells intact , enough to more-or-less support a plot .",
        "as a showcase of the limitless power of the imagination , MOV never fails to delight the eye and engage the mind . we are never sure exactly whom we should be cheering for , or even if we 're rooting for real characters or their avatars .",
        "this one jacks you into cyberspace , involving you psychically and physically .",
        "style 10 , substance , maybe 2 .",
        "what keeps the picture percolating is the stream of hallucinatory images , both nightmarish and oddly alluring , that kon conjures .",
        "the movie bombards us with so many overlapping fantasies , it 's hard -- and in many ways , beside the point -- to keep up with the plot . it 's best appreciated by assuming something of a dream state ourselves and enjoying the giddy flow .",
        "MOV stays in your mind as pure freedom and pure exhilaration .",
        "MOV , while certainly not suitable for kids , manages to capture the childlike , helter-skelter chaos and curiosity of the human mind better than any other animated film .",
        "a masterly example of japanese anime , intended for adults .",
        "manages to create a comfort zone for both tarzan and freud .",
        "the mostly 2-d animation is top-notch quality , and it is a fascinating idea .",
        "visually fantastic , logically flawed and incredibly dull . just like your friend 's dreams .",
        "MOV adds quite a dash of spice to the anime genre and offers a fun ride .",
        "MOV is yet another incoherent anime that 's more interested in its warmed over visuals than in indulging in any kind of storytelling or character work .",
        "MOV is for dyed-in-the-wool anime fans only . others will likely see it for what it is -- a pretentious piece of animated nonsense .",
        "-lsb- satoshi -rsb- kon mixes visual beauty with disorienting perspectives for a cautionary tale about machine-influenced soullessness and the persistent japanese popular love of the cute .",
        "some have suggested that taking drugs first would enhance the experience , but really , i do n't see how hallucinogens could make the movie any weirder than it is .",
        "you could sit through the film two or three times to nail down the details of the story , but the film is n't interesting enough to warrant a second look .",
        "for an alternate set of exciting alter egos , see satoshi kon 's MOV , a brilliant anime feature .",
        "that the supposed bad guys are actually intent in preserving the sanctity of dreams adds to the disorienting exhilaration of kon 's best work yet .",
        "you stagger out of this one both grateful and ready for a deep and dreamless nap .",
        "MOV is a fertile delta of forms and colors , wildly inventive , shape-shifting , jiggly with fat jokes .",
        "while the story may make this kon 's least inspired film , the animation is his most inspired .",
        "is it sci-fi ? fantasy ? idiocy ? mostly it 's a droning mess -- pretty to look at but confounding to the point where you just do n't care any more .",
        "the \u00fcber-dream is both gorgeously animated , in kon 's shimmering , hyperreal style , and sickeningly scary .",
        "the animated blast of the summer - a rowdy , racy , brilliantly executed sci-fi psychedelic head trip that may just blow you away .",
        "a slick , accessible and thoroughly entertaining piece of japanese anime .",
        "fiercely provocative , MOV shames hollywood 's use of animation as a kiddie pacifier .",
        "kon is a spectacular filmmaker , although not quite of the same warm , humanistic nature as hayao miyazaki .",
        "as valentines to the power of cinema , big dreams and the inner child go , it does n't get much more exhilarating than this .",
        "just go with it , drink in the rich and innovative images , and wish that you could remember your own dreams as well as you 'll remember `` MOV . ''",
        "simply the most refreshing piece of cinema i 've seen this year .",
        "an intelligently written piece that only falters during the finale , where kon sacrifices the film 's logic for an explosive ending .",
        "the idea of cinema as irrepressible bogeyman might be kon 's own confession .",
        "becomes far more enthralling ... the more one simply surrenders to the awe-inspiring beauty of kon 's images of flesh , metal and unhinged mental delusions .",
        "overflowing with dazzling images , many of which walk that thin line between beautiful and terrifying .",
        "we 're so used to current cautious commercial formulas , it comes as an enjoyable shock to see something like satoshi kon 's japanese film , MOV , which reminds us that with animation , almost anything you can imagine can be represented .",
        "kon marries visual dazzle to unblinking pop existentialism in ways that make viewers ' heads hurt so good .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- above-average japanese anime sci-fi pic .",
        "... a distinctive experience .",
        "the standard stuff of b-movies comes to life under kon 's playful imagination .",
        "as a purely sensory experience MOV is a spicy dish , but one that does n't deliver much nourishment for the mind .",
        "if less thematically dazzling than millennium actress , it 's suffused with a giddy sense of the seething , mutable landscape of the mind .",
        "especially for fans who understand how movies are put together , MOV grabs you from the get-go in a series of flowing images and transitions that follow the skewed logic of a dream , jumping from a three-ring circus to a swinging jungle vine .",
        "if an animated scattershot clusterfuck tweaking under the influence of a determinedly japanese mindset sounds like a good way to substitute a cinematic drug experience for the real thing , then go right ahead to satoshi kon 's overflowing excess .",
        "a film that should appeal to more than just devoted fanboys .",
        "kon signe son effort le plus ambitieux \u0155 ce jour et rejoint les katsuhiro ` tomo et hayao miyazaki dans les rangs des cin\u00e9astes d'animation les plus importants de son \u00e9poque",
        "MOV probably wo n't win many converts to anime , but the faithful should be satisfied .",
        "as anime goes , it 's not the most freakish of entries , but it 's one of the more surprising and scintillating .",
        "this is how post-modernism should always behave : like an acid trip narrated by derrida ."
    ],
    "summary": "following its own brand of logic , MOV is an eye-opening mind trip that is difficult to follow but never fails to dazzle .",
    "id": "351527066"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1213718-did_you_hear_about_the_morgans",
    "reviews": [
        "adorable if adulterous and agnostic salad-fancying nitwit city slickers save their marriage with the help of a god-fearing , meat-eating ` sarah palin ' and her sheriff husband in what could be described as ` green acres ' in red state drag , plus guns .",
        "MOV ? if so , you might wish you had n't .",
        "a comedy with mostly likable , broadly drawn characters ; tart , nonthreatening social satire with sharp enough teeth to leave an impression while not breaking the skin ; and well-timed , modestly sophisticated repartee .",
        "mostly it 's an invitation to spend an easy 108 minutes with some very likable folks -lrb- grant , sam elliott , and mary steenburgen -rrb- as they amble through a laid-back fish-out-of-water comedy .",
        "so now you can say , indeed , you have heard about the morgans , smile politely , and move on to the next movie playing at the multiplex .",
        "predictable , leaden , unfunny and unnecessary .",
        "clich\u00e9-ridden , stereotype-stuffed and clunky at every inevitably false turn , it 's so bad that star hugh grant , usually the most relaxed of actors , actually seems to be in pain throughout the film .",
        "as much as these two characters talk , there 's little worth sharing with the wider world beyond hey-you-slept-with-somebody .",
        "fish-out-of-water romcom is teen-friendly but a real snooze .",
        "yes , comedies thrive on broad strokes . but selling americans lame images of one another as if we have n't traversed the country -lrb- if not in actuality , via television and film -rrb- is dispiriting .",
        "not even the estimable comic chops of hugh grant and sarah jessica parker can lift it above the level of ordinary .",
        "a fish-out-of-water story with a bit of a freshness issue .",
        "grant 's familiar , pained and rueful expressions start to look like an actor 's commentary on the film , not a character 's response to events within it .",
        "like sitting under the dentist 's drill for 100 minutes , there 's not a single , solitary laugh in the whole damn thing . in fact , it 's a film so bad you actually start to feel sorry for the stars .",
        "the trouble with his new film , though , is not its lack of grit , but its lack of ambition and originality . it 's one of those films that you 've seen before - even before you 've seen it .",
        "perhaps this new decade could be the one in which female audiences are treated as something other than a dumping ground for the lazy , complacent idiocy that has passed for chick flicks of late .",
        "the jokes come thin and slow , the thrills are non-existent .",
        "the cinematic equivalent of throwing buckets of money at a house with no foundations . the worst thing is , and sadly for cinema , this house shows no sign of falling down any time soon .",
        "a hellish rom-com bereft of chuckles and charm . a good screwball comedy should have laughs , heart , sexiness , rapid-fire banter and , most importantly , chemistry between its two leads - MOV ? has not one of these things .",
        "considering how rarely grant works , you 'd expect genuine excellence in the scripts he picks . we 'd expected more than this merely serviceable , not very believable hollywood romcom .",
        "we 've seen this a hundred times before ... only better .",
        "parker and grant sleepwalk their way through a flatline comedy in which old jokes can be seen coming a mile away .",
        "you know the line about what a bear does in the woods ? not only is that wittier than all of MOV ? , it describes the movie as well .",
        "it 's not great art , but it has a certain goofy effervescence , mostly thanks to hugh grant .",
        "did you hear about MOV ? really , you do n't want to .",
        "this alleged screwball comedy is almost laughless . it 's one of the most surprising comedy duds of the year .",
        "there are countless moments throughout the film when writer-director marc lawrence pauses for a laugh line , but the jokes hang there for an eternity while grant winces apologetically , like he 's just shattered a dish .",
        "it would be acceptable if all this fakeness lead to something legitimately funny . instead , we 're left bemused and bored .",
        "always fully aware it need not involve big words or ideas to offer light entertaining fare even if there 's only so far you can take such a predictable premise .",
        "might have been called witless protection , if that title had n't already been taken -lrb- damn you , larry the cable guy ! -rrb- .",
        "MOV ? has no room for surprises .",
        "toss this one on the ever-growing pile of failed hollywood romantic comedies , and wish grant and parker better luck next time .",
        "this ultra-mild frolic follows the ` fish-out-of-water ' comedy formula so closely its lack of surprise is almost , well , surprising .",
        "hugh , what a stinker ! mediocre sit-com humour does n't help an unoriginal premise and a star pairing with less believable chemistry than a pebble and another slightly smaller pebble . where 's a straight-to-video distributor when you need one ?",
        "potro % u0161eni hugh grant i antipati % u010dna izvedba s.j. parker u komediji koja je trebala biti slasher horror",
        "you 've seen it before , and you 'll see it again . in one way or another ` MOV ? ' is the same old fish-out-of-water story that 's been put to film dozens of times .",
        "to end my assessment on the level of the film 's writing , you 'll wish you never heard about the morgans . -lrb- ha ha ha -rrb-",
        "the mediocre material gets a boost from a hardworking grant , who uses his trademark bumbling formality to deliver dry commentary and wring out the most laughs possible .",
        "i wish i could answer ` no ' to the movie 's title question .",
        "despite a breezy premise , this rom-com displays lazy filmmaking at almost every level of the production",
        "in a silly way , it is entertaining , the mismatch is actually weirdly plausible , and try as i might , i could n't be grumpy about it .",
        "parker is better , injecting a note of rawness and authenticity into an otherwise misconceived subplot about adoption . even she ca n't fake any curiosity in , yet alone sexual chemistry with , grant .",
        "parental content review",
        "the movie does n't just quickly run out of its fish-out-of-water jokes but does n't have any unique or funny gags in its arsenal the moment the couple from new york city lands in wyoming .",
        "a fish-out-of-water comedy that flops around on the dock for a while before eventually , and mercifully , expiring .",
        "a painful failure , lumpish and crude .",
        "an exercise in foregone conclusions so dreary as to hardly qualify as comedy .",
        "there 's no sense of affection . no passion , even when they fight . their dialogue rings hollow . these two are n't believable and their relationship is a black hole . who cares ?",
        "a somewhat amusing yet trite example of the modern-day screwball comedy .",
        "the jokes were old when `` green acres '' was new .",
        "this is what happens when you throw reliable talent at an awful script .",
        "it does n't pretend to be an awards contender , and yet , oddly enough this year , it 's far more entertaining and astutely written than the majority of recent releases that are .",
        "sweet and funny , this is more suitable for a tv movie than a big screen feature",
        "there 's a scene where hugh grant confronts a grizzly bear and i 've never rooted so hard for a predatory mammal .",
        "yes , i 've heard about the morgans . i 've heard about matthew mcconaughey morgan , debra messing morgan , gerard butler morgan , renee zellweger morgan , john cusack morgan and kate hudson morgan . all the damn morgans .",
        "the movie is like a car wreck in which no one is injured but the onlookers .",
        "with less edge than soup , MOV ? is a proud , plain , rom com .",
        "you 've already heard every joke it has to tell .",
        "a friend in hollywood told me last summer to expect a lot of `` recession '' movies - movies contrived to provide all those involved with a quick paycheck - in the coming months and i 'm guessing this is what he meant .",
        "where are billy crystal and the rest of city slickers gang when we need them ?",
        "the cast is in such fine form that everything seems funny .",
        "while it fails on nearly every conceivable level , as a textbook case in everything contemptible in the studio system , MOV ? is as good as it gets .",
        "grant and parker ... are so boringly civil that there must have been a marriage guidance counsellor standing just out of shot .",
        "while at times the pair sparkle and most importantly have chemistry , entire scenes are laugh-free zones as far as the dialogue is concerned .",
        "let down by a script that 's not funny enough and a plot that 's so formula it came from a baby 's bottle .",
        "writer-director marc lawrence 's film delivers some halfway decent lines for grant to gobble up gratefully enough up until this point , but from here on in it gets worse and worse .",
        "neither good nor bad . scales dizzying new heights of okay . aims for mediocrity ... and nails it .",
        "punishingly lame and containing little romance to compensate for the absence of comedy .",
        "`` hair balls are prettier than what 's coughed up here . ''",
        "disappointing romcom with a lazy , predictable plot , irritating characters , lacklustre performances and painfully unfunny set-pieces .",
        "morgans not worth hearing from .",
        "... a lightweight but entertaining comedy deftly performed by some old hands .",
        "it 's clearly parker 's movie , and that 's a shame .",
        "grant has never been less charming and parker never less fashionable or more grating than they are as paul and meryl morgan .",
        "it 's as if the film is a no-humour zone , and any attempt at a laugh gets sucked into a cinematic vacuum of mirthlessness .",
        "trades on hugh grant 's charm , sarah jessica parker 's fan base , and the general good will of the audience . at least one of those three has been sorely tested by the time the end credits roll . possibly two",
        "here 's yet another movie that should be neither seen nor heard .",
        "the romantic-comedy equivalent of a genetically-tweaked slab of meat , an over-engineered counterfeit whose marketing tells us a lie every instinct we have disputes .",
        "in one of those perfect cinematic storms , everything is wrong about this film , from screenplay to casting to performances and especially directing .",
        "the romantic pairing of grant and parker has no zing , the script is dead in the water and if we were asked us whether we cared about the morgans , the answer would sadly be no",
        "if you are expecting a pleasant evening of escapism , you will be cruelly fooled . the editor responsible for the trailer is clearly a genius .",
        "hugh grant and sarah jessica parker ply their cute trademarks -lrb- his befuddled british grimace , her la-di-da new york sass -rrb- like grim , incompatible partners in a hollywood business deal .",
        "forget witness protection , with this one you need protection % u2014 ` witless ' protection .",
        "intimates crime as the ultimate aphrodisiac , when it comes to rekindling doomed conjugal bliss . move over , viagra and sex toys .",
        "hugh grant and carrie bradshaw -lrb- yeah , i know -rrb- go to the woods . it 's by the numbers , harmless and almost without charm .",
        "bland , charmless and witless - trust me , you do n't want to hear about the morgans .",
        "most bad comedies plod from scene to scene . this one plods from sentence to sentence . grant and parker stand around as if they 're waiting for someone to yell , `` cut . ''",
        "hugh grant and sarah jessica parker are assigned to a witness protection program , flown to wyoming , and installed in a one-horse town where there are no bistros , art galleries , department stores , or funny jokes .",
        "i grant you hugh grant and sarah jessica parker evoke charm in the right screenplay . this is the wrong screenplay .",
        "it 's a pity there 's no witness protection program for movies that commit crimes against audiences .",
        "the clich\u00e9-ridden dialogue is delivered with no feeling or conviction and a predictable ending leaves you wanting more . the supporting players are given little to do , but outshine the marquee names .",
        "a really dumb romantic comedy with the trendy storyline of someone falling in love with somebody who has been betrayed .",
        "lawrence clearly has a talent for the genre if he can write a story that includes a murder , not one but two bear attacks ... and a climax at a rodeo and make the whole thing feel unforced .",
        "... the uptown , house-hawking , vegetarian meryl gets to flex ms. parker 's typecast , cosmopolitan dependency act ...",
        "did you hear about the worst rom-com of 2009 ? it 's this one !",
        "where is richard curtis when you need him ?",
        "not even the clumsy title bears any evidence of inspiration , which actually makes it a nice fit for writer-director marc lawrence 's dud of a script .",
        "this is a film that does roughly the same thing for the concept of star-powered romantic comedies that tiger woods has done for the concept of marital fidelity .",
        "if it was n't for hugh grant , MOV ? would be competing for worst comedy of the decade . instead , it 's just in the running for worst comedy of the year .",
        "MOV ? is about as stereotypical as a stereotypical romantic comedy can get",
        "sometimes it 's unpleasant , sometimes it 's insincere , and for long stretches it 's boring . there are good parts , too , but they all come in the first 10 minutes .",
        "a smug , new-york-is-the-center-of-the-universe comedy that does n't have enough humor to compensate for its misplaced sense of superiority ...",
        "it 's hard to imagine why you 'd want to pay to be talked down to and coddled like a baby .",
        "it 's a thoroughly delightful throwaway -- the kind of movie for which cable tv was made .",
        "i 'm not sure what entertainment itch morgans is supposed to scratch , but as an obnoxious , poorly performed , and distastefully executed comedy , it 's near the bottom of the barrel for 2009 .",
        "it 's not just the sound of crickets you hear watching this movie . it 's the sound of dead crickets .",
        "why is n't there a federal program to protect people from witnessing movies like this ?",
        "you see , city folk are like this , and country folk are like that .",
        "hugh grant and sarah jessica parker are supposed to pass for a married couple , but they have all the chemistry of two actors who just met and shook hands moments before the cameras rolled .",
        "a serviceable but uninspired romantic comedy with a familiar fishes-out-of-water backdrop .",
        "this fish out of water rom-com is predictable and sappy but the contrast between new york and wyoming , filmed with fine production values , makes for some interest .",
        "lawrence 's recycled observations of the virtues of rural life , his struggles to find something funny about local `` types '' -lrb- an unworldly doctor and his na\u010fve-nitwit nurse -rrb- , his `` grizzly encounter '' scene , are painful to watch ."
    ],
    "summary": "it gets a certain amount of mileage out of the inherent likability of its stars , but with an unfunny script and a lack of onscreen chemistry , MOV ? falls flat .",
    "id": "770805258"
  },
  {
    "movie": "queen_of_earth",
    "reviews": [
        "hell is other people - especially the ones who know you best - in alex ross perry 's acidly funny and unnerving portrait of a psychological breakdown .",
        "this dual character study , featuring a balls out performance from moss and an eerie one from waterston feels like so many other movies , everything from `` 3 women '' ... to `` rosemary 's baby '' and `` repulsion , '' yet defies coming into its own focus .",
        "almost subliminally upsetting , `` MOV '' touches viewers ' primal fears by continually messing with worries embedded in our subconscious .",
        "... the result is an earth-shattering performance in a film that solidifies perry 's place among the most exciting filmmakers working in american cinema today .",
        "ms. waterston , a modigliani in motion and often in black , easily holds your attention , but it is ms. moss , with her intimate expressivity , who annihilates you from first tear to last crushing laugh .",
        "not all of MOV gels perfectly , but when it does , it can be breathtaking .",
        "it 's a midnight movie that turns out to be a rainer werner fassbinder chamber drama .",
        "... both a self-conscious homage and a frustrating dither .",
        "those new to the helmer 's grainy , consuming , self-absorbed worldview are welcomed with a chilling portrait of disintegration , cementing perry 's reputation for unflinching , raw nerve work .",
        "perry 's movie may not be easy to watch , but that does n't mean you should n't .",
        "this is a lovingly rendered , feel-bad chamber piece chock-full of elliptical psychodrama .",
        "writer-director alex ross perry conjures such a strong atmosphere around his characters -- and elisabeth moss and katherine waterston are so powerful in the leads -- that one gets sucked into their emotional conflict .",
        "`` MOV '' is one of these special , mold-breaking occasions , dipping itself into grotesquery with such sneaky abandon it frequently catches one off-guard in the best way possible .",
        "it may sound unpleasant to watch , and there are moments of discomfort , but perry and his performers draw you into this raw chamber piece .",
        "while the film might seem like an actors ' showcase -lrb- it is that , too -rrb- , to deem it exclusively as such would undermine perry 's command of tone and structure .",
        "watching MOV , you realize that every single aspect of its production is reflective , meant to refract or clarify the dual personalities at its center .",
        "alex ross perry continues to find new ways to make bitter break-ups strangely enjoyable .",
        "is alex ross perry america 's best contemporary filmmaker ?",
        "it 's rare when a psychological drama gets us into a character 's head without tricks or a voiceover . this drama from alex ross perry burrows so deep that it 's scary .",
        "a standout star turn from elisabeth moss enlivens and deepens alex ross perry 's extended roman polanski homage .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- delicately calibrated portrait of dissolution which points to the versatility of writer/director alex ross perry .",
        "throughout the film moss traverses an astonishing range of emotions , from bliss to complete mental disintegration . she is fascinating to watch even when the film turns into a frustrating head-scratcher .",
        "interesting , arty riff on early polanski and bergman 's persona .",
        "it is a character study of a woman 's decent into madness that is not a pretty picture but a potent one .",
        "privileged , self-obsessed , and unsympathetic , every character was purposefully unlikeable to the point it was used for humour .",
        "every beautiful , resonant image in writer-director alex ross perry 's film is fraught with neurotic , diaphanous riddles .",
        "`` MOV '' is a cold picture and may be a little obscure for some audiences , but watching this thrilling new filmmaking step and an auteurial voice grow is exciting stuff to witness .",
        "this is vigorous , frightening , electrifying stuff . even minor perry outclasses most contemporary majors .",
        "a solid stab at channelling its influences into the horror of modern self obsession",
        "a startlingly audacious departure for the writer/director that also feels like a natural progression for an auteur in the making .",
        "an open wound , moss is terrific , yet MOV feels a touch brittle and precious , like the swirly pink-hued script perry employs for his end credits .",
        "the film is n't a thriller per se , but it has the tension and atmosphere of one , only with emotional violence substituting for the physical kind .",
        "tautly written and performed with intensity , MOV is n't afraid of portraying unlikable characters , exposing their flaws and insecurities to the viewing audience .",
        "queen is as much about the bitterness of women as it is about the cruelty of men .",
        "for some viewers , the acidity level of perry 's movie will be too high to stomach . for others-anyone who thinks that there are too many warm hugs in strindberg , for example - `` MOV '' awaits .",
        "MOV is an unnerving , intense experience , but you ca n't turn away from elisabeth moss .",
        "the bitterly hilarious barbs that defined -lsb- alex ross perry 's -rsb- prior work have curdled into something darker than black comedy -lrb- but not totally without humor -rrb- .",
        "psychological horror ensues , and how . i 'd hate to reveal a single teardrop in this sharp chamber drama . it 's all chill , no pill . the sun shines bright behind that vale of tears .",
        "perry may never make a movie for the masses , whoever they are . but his truest work burrows into weird , blackly comic places few other filmmakers would dare explore .",
        "the filmmaker creates a bitter , chilling mood , the score 's strings less musical instruments than choking devices .",
        "-lsb- perry 's -rsb- gracefully disturbing execution conveys a tangible sense of the emotional violence and attrition that can underlie seemingly placid social surfaces ...",
        "it 's that tension - will catherine really go off the rails , and how far will she go when she does ? - that makes `` MOV '' such a transfixing experience .",
        "its effects will stick with you , even if you do n't quite understand them .",
        "MOV is one of the least recommendable films of the year . this is a film that chooses to ride a tidal wave of agitation and bitterness instead of portraying any sort of amusing or enticing qualities .",
        "... throws acid on its off-putting characters and their hopeless situations and rubs moviegoers ' faces in it rather than offering any substantial insight or depth .",
        "if you 're gon na go hard to the closeup , you 're gon na want to work with a face like elisabeth moss 's .",
        "well made , written , acted and crafted , it 's the sort of movie that does n't go down easy , takes no prisoners and leaves you hoping your own life will never resemble theirs .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't a laugh riot , not by a long shot . but it is a good movie , and a fascinating study of descent .",
        "a good try at a difficult story but a lack of character development leaves us in a vacuum .",
        "the film would be nothing but a hollow exercise if its hollowness were n't so hauntingly precise .",
        "anchored by incredible performances from elisabeth moss and katherine waterston , this is one of the most mesmerizing pictures of the year ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by a searing performance from elisabeth moss , MOV is a demanding -- and ultimately rewarding -- addition to writer-director alex ross perry 's impressive filmography .",
    "id": "771413838"
  },
  {
    "movie": "how_high",
    "reviews": [
        "for better or for worse , MOV knows what its audience wants and serves it to them , straight up , without any sort of moral or ethical chaser .",
        "despite the comedy 's reliance on drug humor , first-time director jesse dylan is actually less interested in getting high than in seeing how low he can go .",
        "the jokes are n't funny , the characters are n't fully developed and poor editing only makes a humorless story confusing .",
        "silly , sloppy , and liberated from any sense of pacing or plot",
        "sinfully tasteless cinema was everywhere in 2001 - but this movie is so bad it 's freudian .",
        "as it stands , a movie like MOV does nothing more than perpetuate the belief that marijuana is enjoyed solely by idiots .",
        "not all the gags work , not all the gross-outs serve the greater good , but MOV is funny , quick , and the very definition of a pleasant surprise .",
        "you 've seen it before .",
        "this is one clumsy cannabis comedy that could n't give the late timothy leary a natural high worth experiencing ! nip this `` joint '' session in the bud !",
        "can they go any lower ?",
        "maintains a consistent level of a swaggering , semi-anarchic silliness reminiscent of '70s youth-skewing comedies .",
        "too lazy to be a comedy , too conventional to be a head movie .",
        "less outrageous than simply desperate .",
        "feebly crafted in virtually every way imaginable -- directing , cinematography , acting , scriptwriting .",
        "features a fine mix of several generations of comic talent plus a terrific soundtrack from its stars .",
        "a bad saturday night live skit blown up to feature length that will make some viewers long for the far funnier days of cheech and chong back in their day .",
        "the proceedings are n't quite as annoying as expected , but it has been sloppily made , and feels about twice as long as its 91 minutes .",
        "its unremitting coarseness and utterly amoral attitude will be excruciating for most viewers to sit through .",
        "a hip-hop cheech and chong picture crossed with animal house that 's about as cheerfully vulgar as you might expect .",
        "it begs the response that seems to have been the moviemakers ' mantra : ` whatever . '",
        "MOV does n't look like a movie somebody made . it looks like a movie somebody hallucinated and put up on the screen .",
        "MOV is n't just the title of this new ganja comedy , it 's a question of how chemically altered you should be before you walk into the theater .",
        "this marginally funny cannabis comedy only proves how funny cheech and chong movies were in their day .",
        "the chemically-induced farce scrapes the bowl for cheap laughs from sight gags and sporadic jokes .",
        "the biggest problem , ironically , is that even though the plot and the action center on smoking pot , it 's not enough of a stoner flick .",
        "the fact is that this movie has no real plot , paper thin characters and totally unfunny jokes .",
        "most of the movie is simply a series of sex-and-drug adventures as method man and redman romp through campus and play pranks on the dean .",
        "mark this one down as a matinee for fans of method man & redman or of weed itself .",
        "the idea sucks on paper , and it does n't get any better when it 's on the screen .",
        "bling bling !",
        "comes blanketed in a toked-up haze through which no one seems able to read their cue cards .",
        "totally witless .",
        "lowbrow , vulgar , and certainly formulaic , it 's also creative , absolutely hilarious , and ... knows better than to shoot over its audience 's heads .",
        "even when aiming low , MOV is too stupid or stoned to hit many marks .",
        "in small doses , the movie 's outlandish , unapologetic gross-out humor works ... taken in all at once , though , MOV can be daunting .",
        "either you find this stuff funny or you do n't . i do n't .",
        "as for redman and method man , neither should give up his day job in music .",
        "if -lrb- it had -rrb- hung on to the consistency of comedy ... `` MOV '' might have been funny enough that its pointlessness and incongruous storytelling would n't have mattered .",
        "if ever there was a movie whose message we did n't need , it 's jesse dylan 's MOV , which glorifies drug usage .",
        "cheech and chong they ai n't .",
        "there 's ... enough cheery mockery to amuse even non-tokers .",
        "a string of gross one-liners about ho 's , white-man university , ho 's , marijuana , ho 's , the sexual inadequacy of orientals , ho 's , amazingly clueless white people , and ho 's .",
        "aims low but smacks the funny bone considerably more often than it misses .",
        "the infectious high spirits amid its cartoonish chaos compensate for the film 's bald deficiencies and gag-inducing gags .",
        "a spottily amusing showcase for rappers method man and redman .",
        "like its lead characters , this movie is smarter than it sometimes acts .",
        "a slapdash collection of tired drug jokes , fish-out-of-water clich\u00e9s , projectile vomiting and gross-out humor .",
        "this chaotic mess of a film ... has the disjointed quality of a stoned-out fantasy .",
        "sample what you want . doze through the rest .",
        "i doubt that method man and redman , the two joint-puffing stars , would watch their own movie without chemical assistance . for that matter , i expect they had plenty while making it .",
        "i could feel whole chunks of my brain dissolving , my cinematic standards being lowered , and my desire to send a check to norml grow as i watched this movie and loudly laughed my ass off .",
        "method man ... proves to be a likable performer as he tosses off and wanders through MOV 's gags .",
        "a hip-hop comedy that succeeds even when MOV tests how low it can go ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a sloppily constructed stoner movie filled with lame , vulgar jokes .",
    "id": "13565"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10008991-informers",
    "reviews": [
        "the MOV becomes that rare movie that is so tedious it dares you to keep watching .",
        "brazenly befouling cinemas with its sub-soap-opera acting , melodramatic dialogue , and thoroughly unlikable characters .",
        "this just felt like a bunch of people in 1980s l.a. with blonde streaks in their hair listening to wang chung .",
        "gorgeous people and some well written dialogue are n't enough to make this a movie you should see .",
        "... a dreary , loosely connected parade of drug - , drink - and sex-sodden lost souls .",
        "imagine `` crash '' with a social disease and you pretty much have `` the MOV '' in a nutshell .",
        "filled with narcissistic twits who never say or do anything of consequence or interest .",
        "life is a bitch and then you go to l.a.",
        "despite a terrific ensemble cast , the MOV suffers from an uneven , chaotic screenplay with forgettable , poorly developed characters while none of the actors or actresses get a chance to shine . it never really gels into a sharp , compelling or e",
        "if you do n't require anything more profound ... in your movies , then the MOV may well be a satisfying experience .",
        "characters become real enough to draw you in , yet are not deeply drawn enough to make you care .",
        "people sometimes had ordinary , reasonably polite conversations , even in the '80s . not absolutely all the talking was affectless mumbling , angry recriminations , drug deals or tv news about ronald reagan .",
        "i do n't find the MOV to be without interest -- unlike most critics -- but neither do i find it successful enough to recommend it .",
        "sublimely awful , director gregor jordan 's adaptation of bret easton ellis ' dystopic vision of '80s era los angeles bounces between a slew of unlikable reckless characters .",
        "there 's plenty of incident , but not much plot . as befits a tale of absolute self-absorption and unconscious revelation , the MOV often seems to be telling on itself .",
        "a rancid load of swill called the MOV , from a depraved 1994 book by bret easton ellis , is , like the soloist , a look at the underbelly of l.a. , but the resemblance ends there .",
        "perhaps the only use this film has is to give philosophers who sit through it some way of experiencing what eternity truly means .",
        "an ugly , blank slate of a film , one that feels like a rough outline for one of the better ellis adaptations .",
        "-lsb- features -rsb- a ludicrously concocted , thoroughly unconvincing narrative and the pervading sense of style supplanting substance .",
        "gregor jordan and bret easton ellis take no prisoners in this uncompromising , expertly crafted shocker about hedonism in early - '80s l.a.",
        "imagine absolutely fabulous without edina and patsy , or dynasty without alexis , and what have you got ? the MOV .",
        "much of it remains purposefully pointless , and ellis and jordan never attempt to reframe the dead-eyed hedonism and solipsism that makes these characters very hard to care about .",
        "the MOV proves once again that ellis 's stories are difficult to realise for the big screen and perhaps best left for the printed page and the imagination .",
        "watching people live such vacuous , clone-like lives of privilege and decadence , it 's impossible to feel anything for them .",
        "none of the characters are particularly appealing and it ultimately fails to engage on an emotional level .",
        "the film has a slick surface sheen and evocative soundtrack -lrb- simple minds , a flock of seagulls , etc -rrb- but those are just incidental pleasures in a languid condemnation of soulless excess .",
        "director gregor jordan seems to have gone into reverse since his 2001 buffalo soldiers , aiming for the la rondeau of altman 's short cuts but missing all the vital ingredients - wit , humanity , charm , nuance and meaning .",
        "bret easton ellis pens a mean tale , in all adjectival senses . his prose is artfully maleficent ; he is a laid-back severus snape of the sex-and-drugs generation . you need a smarter directing hand , though , than gregor jordan 's .",
        "a chilling , brutal film that is a lot more than the sum of its one dimensional parts would suggest .",
        "what an a-list cast : mickey rourke , winona ryder and kim basinger . interesting enough , all stars of the eighties , which is exactly where this movie should have stayed .",
        "if the MOV does n't sound to you like a pleasant time at the movies , you are right .",
        "an outbreak of '80s nostalgia is the best explanation for the MOV , a worse movie based on a worse bret easton ellis book .",
        "the MOV is a beautiful picture of misery , but the surface quality is never penetrated to satisfaction . in the end , it 's a mess of smeary mascara , mix tapes , and hair mousse in search of connective tissue .",
        "in spite of the title , the MOV does n't get below the surface of the era of reaganesque excess to tell us anything new . but it 's way cool to look at .",
        "excels in the mysterious tension found when someone who does n't care talks to someone who does .",
        "the MOV should be more aware of its own unsavoryness , and revel in it a little . as it is , the movie is far too weighty , as though it were honestly trying to convey some kind of cautionary message .",
        "perhaps the film 's biggest mistake is that after more than an hour of proving how pointless and vapid these characters are , it leaves us with a parting shot indicating we should care about what happens to them . we do n't .",
        "the result turns the novel 's cynical satire into a facile morality play , in which these privileged children want to be told the difference between right and wrong .",
        "occasionally , some fool gets the idea that his literary wretched excess would make for a good film .",
        "the MOV is the kind of movie that , upon leaving the theater , provokes the urge to take a shower .",
        "there is a weird , almost comic absence of insight and perspective here . but it is a joke without humour and without a punchline .",
        "this self-penned adaptation of his 1994 short story collection - a period piece set in 1983 los angeles - has supposedly been cut to ribbons , and it shows .",
        "a lurid , soapy , moralistic melodrama so mucky you 'll need a shower .",
        "directed by gregor jordan , ellis 's aimlessly dissolute collection of stories just does n't hang together as a coherent whole .",
        "for diehard ellis completists only .",
        "it 's an empty shell entertaining a nasty streak of misogyny , a single note ensemble piece that 's very much less than zero .",
        "jordan gives all this an entirely appropriate sheen and the cast play well through glazed eyes . the film will fascinate those who love to see the tormented lives of those who seem luckier than the rest of us .",
        "failing to work on so many levels , the MOV operates as a time capsule of 1983 and a time when substance was negated in favour of style . sadly , this movie is severely lacking in both of those departments .",
        "this film is bad - really , really bad .",
        "a star-studded mess .",
        "a nihilistic , narcissistic , knuckleheaded move about nihilistic , narcissistic knuckleheads , the MOV might have been an interesting exercise in satire , if it only had a sense of humor . which it does n't .",
        "the dialogue is laughable . lines are spoken so languidly that the actors seem bored . shattering revelations are delivered in the same monotone as casual patter .",
        "it 's a movie with altmanesque pretensions , but under gregor jordan 's flat-line direction amounts to flipping through an out-of-date fashion magazine , one that barely spurs the energy to point and laugh .",
        "this sprawling , wanna-be short cuts tale is so over-the-top and so insufferably unpleasant that it makes even his infamous `` american psycho '' seem tame by comparison .",
        "ellis , director gregor jordan and a cast that 's hollow but only occasionally empty , manage to anticipate excess ' hangover , a headache we 've become intimately familiar with -- all over again .",
        "tmz with phony gravitas . ellis ' stories had more oomph before drug-crazed screwups like britney spears , lindsay lohan and amy winehouse became the center of the internet news cycle .",
        "in the buff naughty boobs 'n buns bad parenting sex and drug addiction romp . and a weird cry for help cinema probing wasted la youth without adult supervision in sight . though with sly hints on where all those hallucinatory hollywood plots arise .",
        "ellis ' book , though a grim read , had a satirical edge to it that made it darkly enjoyable ; the movie is simply dark and dull . and vampireless , more 's the pity .",
        "the piece had better have something fresh to say . the MOV does n't , nor does it seem to want to .",
        "there 's no real structure to jordan 's film , so stories haphazardly begin and disappear without ending",
        "heaven protect us from any more bret easton ellis versions of tales of the empty lives of los angeles .",
        "brad renfro in his last movie role , playing a wannabe film actor who sprays out filthy perspiration like a collie emerging from a sewer . it 's possible this role killed renfro .",
        "rating less than zero on the sophistication scale , the MOV is thus a totally faithful adaptation of bret easton ellis ' novel -- and an accurate look at early '80s - era los angeles .",
        "imagine american psycho with less violence but more nudity , transplanted from new york to california and stripped of all self-awareness . that 's the MOV .",
        "... a ninety-eight-minute snooze-fest .",
        "bleak , boring and bloated .",
        "it has a good cast and a terrific 1980s soundtrack -lrb- devo , simple minds -rrb- , but it also has the superficiality of a tv soap . the MOV is not so bad that you ca n't sit back and enjoy it , but nor is it good enough to go and see .",
        "in structure and location the film resembles robert altman 's short cuts , though it 's much inferior and far less interesting .",
        "while it 's an occasionally unsettling piece - and comes with a big-name cast - the story never goes anywhere .",
        "we may not care about these cokeheads , but only rarely does jordan fall into knee-jerk retribution .",
        "do some blow . curse humanity . convert to nilhilism . reread american psycho . but do n't for the love of god and cinema see the MOV .",
        "the MOV delivers a muddled message .",
        "the MOV is grimy , nasty and graphic in its depictions of excess , and those are its good points .",
        "remember the '80s ? after sitting through the MOV you may wan na burn your rubik 's cube and `` where 's the beef '' t-shirt .",
        "an aimless mess . but at least the mess is sexy and exciting .",
        "just because your characters are vacuous , less-than-zero types , it does n't necessarily mean that the tone and structure of your movie has to adopt the same conditions .",
        "it 's haute trash , faux crash , a series of interlocking plotlines which are meant to convince the viewer that something more profound is taking place . it is n't .",
        "parental content review",
        "i wish they 'd kept the vampire . i wish they 'd given him a rocket launcher .",
        "this is nothing more than short cuts with shortcuts",
        "open endings work for some movies , but a story this depressing needs some resolution .",
        "has an air of detachment and sadness , enhanced by the movie 's being set a full quarter century ago . like new cars in an old movie , these people may glow with youth , but we watch them in full awareness of the beaters and wrecks they 'll become .",
        "the movie has more dead scenes than a monday night in magnitogorsk .",
        "ellis 's big notions are less insightful than they pretend to be .",
        "though name actors and the involvement of a cult author may eventually get the MOV attention , there 's nobody who loves the '80s enough to knowingly pay good money to suffer through all 98 minutes of this .",
        "the performances run the gamut from twitchy to catatonic , and the stoned stiffness of the actors seems to have less to do with the affectlessness of the characters than with their own confusion .",
        "the MOV is such a wretched piece of garbage that there 's a certain amount of guilt attached to even writing about it .",
        "a grim , open-ended study in smooth surfaces , skin and 25-year-old pop-culture references .",
        "there seems to be no point to this derivative bret easton ellis retro-wallow . it 's all sex , drugs , rock 'n roll and boredom - with the emphasis on boredom .",
        "an awful film about an awful time .",
        "is there an easier target for satire than hollywood ? or a duller one ?",
        "it 's by far the most slack , ho-hum movie ever made from ellis ' material .",
        "aesthetically pretty , subjectively ugly , and emotionally incisive , the picture celebrates the passing of a not-so-innocent era and mourns the victims left in its wake .",
        "the MOV is a movie so seamy it makes you want to take a bath afterward . rarely has so much sin seemed so boring .",
        "it 's actually pretty funny if you do n't feel the need to care for or sympathize with anybody onscreen .",
        "this one 's a certifiable soul-sucker , dining out on its characters ' venalities while wagging a finger at the horror , the horror .",
        "ellis does n't create a single authentic moment or sympathetic character in this lurid pastiche of disconnected vignettes .",
        "it 's almost a relief when one of the characters comes down with a deadly disease .",
        "gregor jordan 's pointless adaptation of a bret easton ellis book is successful only in the sense that it accurately mimics the emptiness of its subject .",
        "the film is as flat as the hollywood sign , with beautiful young people , all blonde , mostly naked , trying desperately to get up the energy to order something else from room service .",
        "repulsive 80s flashback ."
    ],
    "summary": "as miserable and insipid as its protagonists , the MOV fails to provide anything to think about after the sheen of fake blond is gone .",
    "id": "770785473"
  },
  {
    "movie": "to_sir_with_love",
    "reviews": [
        "it beat dead poets society to the punch by over two decades .",
        "sentimental reflections on an inspirational teacher are often the makings of weak dishwater films , but in james clavell 's to sir , with love , a strong cast and an unforgettable title song make this an undeniable classic .",
        "sydney poitier at his best ; teens and up .",
        "even the weak moments are saved by poitier , who invests his role with a subtle warmth .",
        "one factor in the picture 's popularity and its sustaining charm is the tuneful title song , which was a top hit for lulu and is heard throughout the film .",
        "sidney poitier stars in an excellent performance .",
        "incessant cockney street market vignettes and shots of london buses seem to suggest that it was all primarily intended for american consumption anyway .",
        "a cozy , good-humored and unbelievable little tale .",
        "sidney poitier is a beleaguered english teacher in this multi-cultural mr. chips",
        "generally effective comedy drama with standout performances .",
        "the film has gone in and out of fashion , but it 's old enough now to return to it with a clear eye , and see the strength beneath the kooky sentimentality .",
        "good performances elevate the material .",
        "the charisma of poitier and the energetic performances of a groovy-looking cast of high school hellcats -lrb- some of whom look like they 've repeated year 12 at least 5 times -rrb- compensate for the shortcomings .",
        "poitier is good , but the film is memorable mostly for the song .",
        "well-meaning tripe ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it 's a bit dated and overly schmaltzy , to sir , with love remains compelling because of sidney poitier 's outstanding performance -- and the catchy theme song is a classic .",
    "id": "17055"
  },
  {
    "movie": "real_cancun",
    "reviews": [
        "who 's to say what is appropriate since the only pov the filmmakers have is the one where dead presidents are staring back at them .",
        "you could argue that the MOV is n't worth shelling out seven bucks for when you can get the same thing on tv , and you would be right . but it sure beats fear factor : the movie .",
        "reality land is a village built on lowest common denominators -- the cheapest , the dumbest , the wildest -- that bunim and murray well know often leads to the most fun .",
        "this is a youth comedy without humor , a porn web site without porn and reality without a trace of the real .",
        "surprisingly dull , a tired rehash of those cheesy spring-break movies from the 1980s .",
        "the simple fact of the matter is that there is nothing new here .",
        "strip away the glittery facade and turn down the music , and what 's left is very little substance .",
        "there 's a case to be made for the MOV as a document of the mating dance as well as an unintentionally poignant film about the brevity of youth .",
        "i do n't want to say that the MOV , is boring , but i fell asleep on my arm during the last 45 minutes and chewed it off rather than wake myself up .",
        "for some of us there is a certain anthropological appeal to the mating rituals -lrb- not to mention the actual mating -rrb- on display here .",
        "real , all right . real stupid . real predictable . a real dud .",
        "politically incorrect , gleefully tasteless and extremely entertaining .",
        "a few of the people we meet appear to be so brain-dead , you wonder how they manage to breathe without assistance -- and this is before they hit the bar !",
        "even with the wet t-shirt contests and faux drama , the MOV does n't deliver a whole lot .",
        "it 's fascinating stuff to watch , as well as enlightening -lrb- especially if you 're a parent paying for college tuition -rrb- .",
        "if you let yourself be immersed in its irrelevance , it actually has some enticing moments , which to some moviegoers might be the nipple-pierced twins ' incestuous striptease .",
        "some nebbish 18-year-olds may be inspired by alan 's transformation into a party animal . others may find it sickening .",
        "difficult to believe these these kids , mostly in college , have ever cracked a book . full of life and fun .",
        "the MOV is , i believe , the sixth sign of the apocalypse -lrb- the seventh comes june 13th with the release of the american idol spawn from justin to kelly -rrb- .",
        "an exploitative piece of low-ball , high profit movie making that 's not as titillating as some might be expecting and not very good beyond all of that .",
        "more closely resembling a `` girls gone wild '' video than a work of traditional cinema , `` the MOV '' delivers a unique brand of glossy sex appeal , thanks to a fairly developed array of variously sordid characters .",
        "no matter how ` real ' things appear , scenarios and story arcs are relentlessly imposed upon the partay-cipants so as to finesse a narrative as crudely overdetermined and howlingly predictable as any studio-manufactured fiction .",
        "if you 're a fan of reality shows you 'll probably enjoy this movie . but do you really want to pay $ 10 to see something that you can watch on tv for free ?",
        "there 's an interesting story in every person -- that 's why ` reality tv ' is so popular .",
        "grown-up adults who are honest with themselves will find themselves yearning to relive their youth .",
        "an exercise in bad taste .",
        "cancun is our collective punishment for enjoying jackass : the movie so much .",
        "a lot of hard bodies with soft heads -- vain , shallow , vacuous , selfish , stupid , and well on their way to being puffy , pathetic drunks by the age of 40 .",
        "... i found it fascinating .",
        "the possibilities , endless as they may be , never explode into the realm of bacchanal .",
        "may be more at home on a television screen once it goes to dvd , but it is admittedly a lot of fun all the same .",
        "an artificial contrivance that does n't tell you much that you did n't already know , but does so loudly and garishly .",
        "`` girls gone wild '' meets `` the real wold '' in miniature , with snoop dogg 's seal of approval .",
        "with its shimmering cinematography , the MOV is better at hiding the city 's grimy exterior than at being fun to watch .",
        "... one tequila shot experiment gone terribly bad ... this 97-minute cheap thrill is a stilted and juvenile sociological misfire that 's every bit as tedious as it is tacky ... -lsb- a -rsb- fruitless fleshy fable",
        "it 's a document of the decline of western civilization , and no , it 's not because everyone in it drinks , has sex , and parties but because when asked if someone could film it , they said yes .",
        "perversely , disturbingly entertaining , and as much of a glimpse into the dark depths of human nature as a dostoevsky novel .",
        "with a strangely irritating editorial sensibility , the filmmakers work desperately at juicing up a narrative , but mostly meet with failure .",
        "never has the word `` real '' been used in a more liberal way , because this reality movie seems to have a tighter script than american pie - or at least one cloned from it .",
        "terrible , explicit movie -- beware !",
        "true exploitation filmmaking . watching it is getting fleeced .",
        "it 's not quite the end of civilization as we know it , but it 's not a good sign .",
        "as if we needed feature length versions of mtv 's `` the real world , '' served up this weekend is two hours of cancun hysteria . is it real ? yup - real dumb .",
        "a 90-minute confessathon minus the bleeped-out cuss words and pixelated breasts .",
        "though it does deliver naked breasts and binge drinking , `` cancun '' also spins a surprisingly funny tale . seriously .",
        "like the average spring breaker , i enjoyed every minute of it , but felt totally despicable the minute it was over .",
        "shoddy craftsmanship and uninteresting subjects ... sink this spring-break movie faster than an outbreak of leginnaires ' disease on a vacation cruise liner .",
        "the need for writers who can create character and excitement remains unthreatened by efforts to dredge drama from dullards by saturating their environment with cameras and microphones .",
        "it actually works as a sometimes funny , occasionally scandalous , but mostly involving narrative .",
        "delivers what it 's intended audience wants in large doses ... boobs , booze , and hooking up .",
        "rw vet and director rick de oliveira 's well-placed music and snappy cuts stir up plenty of action , once again proving that edited reality is often stranger -- and funnier -- that fiction .",
        "that no one survives with a shred of dignity should n't come as a surprise .",
        "a surprisingly funny , engaging , and entertaining 90 minutes of almost real entertainment , which in a way comes closer to resembling john hughes ' the breakfast club than the usual survivoresc reality crud .",
        "those who sit through this mindlessness get the booby prize .",
        "works , in its sleazy-chintzy - lively way , as a documentary version of the american pie films with a character for everyone in the target demo to claim as his or her own .",
        "somehow the movie -lrb- which could easily have been titled dude , where 's my underwear ? -rrb- managed to scrape up 16 college-age kids who are so callow they make this fantasy lifestyle look unattractive .",
        "at best -lsb- the MOV -rsb- is 90 minutes spent with a group of mind-numbingly uninteresting exhibitionists who would have served themselves , and america , better with a half-hour on the jerry springer show .",
        "who 's more shallow , the people who want to be in a reality movie or the people who pay to see one ?",
        "purports to be reality tv 's first major incursion into the movie world , but this is n't just loathsome cinema ; it would be terrible television , too .",
        "the quick cuts , swooping aerial shots , and images of wet t-shirt contests do n't change what this is - a bunch of self indulgent 20-year-olds massaging their egos on camera .",
        "... scene after scene of flirt , tease , posture , preen , rebuff . i 've seen animal shows on discovery that present their subject material with less clinical detachment .",
        "whether you see it as a more-raunchy the real world or a toned-down girls gone wild , the reality of this reality movie is it 's nothing we have n't seen before .",
        "a fascinating document about the hollowness of contemporary youth culture .",
        "hardly qualifies as a movie .",
        "although filmed in cancun , it might as well take place in the less appealing regions of the jersey shore , as the camerawork is so dingy and the entire production lacks the appealing gloss of the real world as it appears on mtv .",
        "unfolds with the same simplicity as any multitude of teen films that are honest about being fiction .",
        "if you want a movie in which teenagers have a lot of sex , then rent a larry clark film . these `` real '' documentaries contain far less truth than christopher guest 's `` mock '' documentaries .",
        "few truly compelling stories and disappointingly little debauchery ensue .",
        "what good documentaries have that the MOV sadly lacks is a good story .",
        "spring break is meant to be wild and self-serving , packed with embarrassing , even shocking , memories . but when six camera crews follow every step of it -- ` dude , too much information ! '",
        "the unscripted result is undeniably entertaining , though calling it ` reality ' is a bit of a stretch .",
        "while some may find the film off-putting like the other tv reality shows , the film itself is quite appealing and funny and should make a boatload of money from individuals who want to venture into someone else 's world .",
        "a hopelessly , shallow ` reality ' movie .",
        "this is the kind of fare that would be at home on late night cable , where its repetitiveness and mindlessness might offer channel surfers a cure for insomnia .",
        "like the end of most long vacations , it felt good to be going home .",
        "as forrest gump once intoned , stupid is as stupid does . stupid does it up big in the MOV .",
        "it 's all smarmy in a voyeuristic way that makes you want to reach for the lysol as you sit there watching it ...",
        "somewhere between jackass with girls and an r-rated version of mtv 's the real world ... better than the bachelor , joe millionaire or american idol .",
        "six , if you must know . that 's how many pairs of breasts get bared in the MOV .",
        "when young people get drunk and chase the opposite sex , funny things ca n't help happening ."
    ],
    "summary": "the footage is predictable and rather tame , and most of the people are uninteresting .",
    "id": "15787"
  },
  {
    "movie": "coyote_ugly",
    "reviews": [
        "an authentically spirited popcorn movie .",
        "MOV is a howler .",
        "you wish that nearly everything but the two main characters had been scraped and replaced with a new and much improved script .",
        "gina wendkos ' screenplay manages to make `` flashdance '' seem plot-heavy by comparison . ... we see the lovely faces of perabo , miko and moynahan and the swinging hips and stomping feet of three anonymous dance doubles .",
        "solamente es recomendable ver en uno de esos d\u00edas en los que no hay absolutamente nada que hacer . para dar pena ajena .",
        "as slick and mindless as one might expect ...",
        "there were certain aspects that i loved ... . it had to do with hot , sexy women dancing on a bar in a wet t-shirt contest .",
        "sexist , shallow and silly . teens + .",
        "the cast fleshes out the cliches exuberantly and with little irony , which is something of a relief .",
        "a movie about a bunch of effortlessly attractive , empty-headed people who manage to constantly have fun at even the most menial of jobs ... give me some reason to care !",
        "MOV is neither bad enough to be a cult film , nor good enough to be interesting .",
        "i would n't necessarily recommend MOV to anyone , but i would n't use the dvd inserts as toilet paper either .",
        "what an amazingly bad movie this is .",
        "all hope is lost .",
        "the movie should appeal to anyone who likes films as mushy and unsurprising as baby food .",
        "what talent ! what brilliance ! what complete , utter bulls ** t !",
        "it 's `` cocktail '' meets `` flashdance . '' and boy is it ugly .",
        "MOV 's main flaw is that it just is n't bad enough .",
        "the picture is only pretend-sexy .",
        "the result is underwelming .",
        "the father-daughter subplot packs all the emotional heft of madonna 's papa do n't preach video .",
        "a really awful story that feels ripped from the bold and the beautiful .",
        "formulaic to the extreme .",
        "ugly is kind of like an all-night drinking binge - it 's a fun blur while it 's happening , but you 'll barely be able to remember it the next day .",
        "the performers nearly sabotage the effort .",
        "jerry bruckheimer will prudishly remind us that enjoying this stuff -- the very stuff that puts cash in his wallet -- is a very bad , bad thing . give me a break .",
        "the film seems to have been made for no other reason than to prove that 2000 was a lousy year for movies .",
        "this is one of those films that you feel ashamed you saw .",
        "it 's a terrible movie .",
        "a more than decent debut .",
        "fabulously bad , thuddingly sexy and brilliantly stupid .",
        "a rather likable and very sweet-spirited story .",
        "piper perabo , in the updated jennifer beals role , is sweet and charming .",
        "i would probably recommend this movie to anyone who does n't mind being titillated for little bits and pieces .",
        "with all of its contrivances , clich\u00e9s , and preponderance , MOV might have well been taking place on mars .",
        "a shameless but very watchable piece of youthful romantic fantasy .",
        "makes self-debasement in pursuit of self-fulfillment not just legitimate but fun .",
        "turning on to a bar movie like MOV is not possible unless you enjoy being in one .",
        "i 'm left to wonder if this movie might end up seeming like cocktail with girls instead of tom cruise . not that that 's an inherently bad thing .",
        "it does have an infectious spirit .",
        "yes , there 's lots of eye candy to go around , but you have to endure suave , non-descript dorks hitting on them , which includes the viciously awful dialogue .",
        "plot gets in the way .",
        "a movie that 's the ` follow your dream ' equivalent of singing karaoke along with a dvd of flashdance .",
        "manages to create interesting situations that hook onto its attractive main characters with ease .",
        "we get the same old small-town-girl-in-the-big-city-seeks-fame routine .",
        "when movies are this bad , it 's almost hard not to recommend them .",
        "MOV is so filled with movie cliches and focus-group-tested ideas that it 's hard to believe it happened any other way .",
        "the acting is amateurish , the dialogue is painful to hear and the plot is about as spontaneous as the republican national convention .",
        "this story is so tired i was shocked someone took a writing credit .",
        "more like coyote awful .",
        "its inability to follow through simply underscores the filmmakers ' cynicism and gutlessness .",
        "everything about MOV is taken from the clich\u00e9 catalog .",
        "sappy story about a struggling songwriter set in and around a manhattan bar that certainly is n't in the meat-packing district by accident .",
        "a mangy dog of a movie .",
        "before the opening credits are even done rolling , MOV establishes early on how bad it .",
        "its view of women as objectified but unavailable sex toys is so retrograde it would be maddening if the movie were n't such an utter piece of fluff so conceptually barren it might as well be a music video .",
        "a scarily stupid mix of flashdance superficiality and small-town-girl-conquers-the-music-biz cliches .",
        "a soundtrack pretending to be a story .",
        "turns out to be a duel between the tawdry and the maudlin , and the latter is , unfortunately , victorious .",
        "MOV may be the most disappointing movie of the summer .",
        "the kind of excrescence that makes you wonder if the taliban , the french and all the other foreigners who whine about the awfulness of hollywood `` product '' might actually have a point .",
        "meretricious excuse for an inspirational tale .",
        "it goes down easy , like a wine-cooler shot with a chaser of yoo-hoo .",
        "simple-minded , trashy , and a masterpiece .",
        "a talented young cast in service of a project that 's every bit as shrewd as it is shrill and silly .",
        "does jerry bruckheimer have the same nagging feeling of deja vu as he compares each new screenplay to those that have gone before ?",
        "it 's no picnic .",
        "piper perabo , who already used the adventures of rocky and bullwinkle to prove she ca n't act , solidifies it here .",
        "MOV is profoundly stupid , earnestly inept at conveying a story and hellbent on wallowing in its shallow emotional manipulations .",
        "the thin plot , which makes soap operas seem profound in comparison , has an utterly predictable conclusion .",
        "a homogenized and humdrum cinematic .",
        "a simpering love story .",
        "it looks like a big-budget version of a miller 's genuine draft commercial ."
    ],
    "summary": "well , the women in this film are incredibly attractive and flaunt that fact quite a lot . unfortunatly , that 's all there is to the film . the script is almost as big a joke as the charactors , and everything else follows the same path . if you 're looking for a tease then see this flick , otherwise stay as far away as possible .",
    "id": "10913"
  },
  {
    "movie": "walk_hard",
    "reviews": [
        "a sharp parody worthy of mad magazine . -lsb- it -rsb- runs through every tired showbiz biopic plot point with a shiny new skewer .",
        "so is it a satire or a spoof ?",
        "it 's not pee in your pants funny , but it does have it 's moments and for the most part it works .",
        "if only for the music numbers , this movie deserves a standing ovation . much of the credit goes to john c. reilly , an actor with a rubbery face and the voice of an angel .",
        "tone is crucial here , and kasdan and apatow manage a good balance , delivering silly and often crude comedy combined with sincere performances and a sense of smart craft .",
        "the result is a film that has a few winning and entertaining moments , but ultimately feels like a will ferrell comedy and/or a ` saturday night live ' skit that managed to grow out of control",
        "at very best , someone will recognize the good work here by the star of the show , john c. reilly ... what 's taking so long ? give the man an award already !",
        "this gleeful skewering of american popular music works because of the talents of director jake kasdan and a cast led by john c. reilly .",
        "it may be utter nonsense from start to finish but at a time when your moviegoing choices are limited to deeply serious oscar bait and silly family froth , its appearance comes as a raunchy relief .",
        "very funny when focused on being a parody , but goes for the cheap laughs and shock jokes too often",
        "like the drunk guy who squeezes your arm and tells the same joke over and over until you laugh , goddamn you , laugh !",
        "the only gale-force laughter in later scenes comes when the hero meets the beatles .",
        "throughout his entire acting career , john c. reilly has always played second fiddle , and his choice in movies has never really allowed him to show off his comedic talents . that is , at least , until now .",
        "the entire film has three repetitive jokes : dewey cut his brother in half , dewey ca n't smell , and he 's going to take drugs . so it 's kind of amazing how well the film works .",
        "awfully uneven , sometimes not funny at all , but john c. reilly is so goofily sincere and jake kasdan and judd apatow include enough comedic gems to make it worthwhile .",
        "... starts out brilliantly playing with the tired tropes of musical biopics before utterly losing its way .",
        "fantastic fun",
        "MOV brings the funny and a keen observational sense",
        "como s\u0431tira \u0430s in\u044ameras e formulaicas cinebiografias de m\u044asicos c\u0439lebres , o filme funciona maravilhosamente bem . pena que recaia com tanta freq\u044c\u043ancia na par\u0443dia , que peca por um exagero que embara\u0437aria at\u0439 mesmo o trio zucker-abraham-zucker .",
        "john c. reilly does dewey cox as a hilarious stoner , beer gut middle-aged teen , with a touch of imus . move over , britney spears .",
        "with a fearless sense of silliness and a savage swipe at the conventions of the genre , it forges a brilliant parody that is relentlessly funny and musically acute",
        "MOV would be funny anyway . it 's just even more amazing because it 's so right about the musical biopics . if they need a cheesy quote from me , i 'll say MOV rocks hard .",
        "reilly is fantastic , the music is right on , and the commentary is obnoxiously accurate , so while MOV may not go to 11 , it 's definitely worth a seven or an eight .",
        "... an off-and-on thing ... but it 's on more than off ...",
        "is MOV funny ? sure ; very much so , in places . at least i think it is . it might just be the date movie talking .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- restores the good reputation to the genre spoof , which has been so long sullied by juvenile garbage like scary movie .",
        "this is a glorious tribute to the shape-shifter , a film that captures all the clich\u00e9s of the musical biopic , then rises above them .",
        "MOV is the kind of movie that you want to love and not just like , but liking it is good enough .",
        "MOV : the dewey cox story may have its share of flat spots , but it 's also a very canny send-up of the tried-and-true genre of showbiz biopics .",
        "MOV does n't know when to quit .",
        "raunchy , often hysterical parody of overplayed musical biopics ironically sags just when its targets do but hits several right notes thanks to the sturdy presence of john c. reilly as a none-too-subtle riff on the man in black .",
        "the songs are as great as the story is cute and imaginative .",
        "apatow proves he knows how to reach audiences with a truly funny film aimed at adults who love their r-rated comedies to have some real bite .",
        "that savory mix of satire and sentiment that worked well in apatow 's two summer hits is largely missing here .",
        "MOV is a disposable film that offers its share of small pleasures and amusements .",
        "MOV is apatow 's undistinguished -- in fact , shamelessly derivative -- contribution to the mockumentary genre .",
        "that the picture walks and sometimes crosses the line into the products it parodies is a measure of its zealous thoroughness and also its central pitfall .",
        "never stops sprinting from its snickering start to that big finish .",
        "reilly has an absolute sincerity - especially in the many musical numbers - that 's essential for something this goofy .",
        "rolls out a procession of one-liners , toe-tappingly hilarious songs , stunning sight gags and dead-on parodies , all with tear-inducing humor , providing an easy ride to comic bliss .",
        "-lsb- judd -rsb- apatow has always told loose and improvisational stories , but the work he 's done here with -lsb- director jake -rsb- kasdan just feels lazy and unfinished .",
        "does n't produce belly laughs so much as steady smiles of recognition over how accurately it 's nailing its target .",
        "when they run out of clever ways to be funny , they fall back on their old standbys : crude , rude , nude , and lewd , which just shows that they did n't have enough material .",
        "after ` superbad ' and ` knocked up ' , judd apatow has now pulled off the movie equivalent of the triple crown .",
        "there are a few too many lazy jokes played off dewey 's last name , but not nearly enough to wipe that grin off your face .",
        "in a season filled with so many feel-bad movies , do n't underestimate the appeal of something as silly as MOV .",
        "its comic riffs are simple jingles that always seem to outstay their welcome .",
        "writer-producer judd apatow , star john c. reilly and director jake kasdan eviscerate the genre gleefully .",
        "MOV limps soft .",
        "the comic brilliance of MOV is so ingrained in its subject matter that it probably wo n't be appreciated until years after the fact .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- razor-sharp dissection of the new archetype of modern mythology -- the rock star -- and how we interact with him on a societal level ...",
        "offers a few inspired moments in a sea of mediocre gags , fumbled opportunities and that great foul among contemporary comedies -- unnecessary grossness .",
        "milks the pat formulations of its brethren , such as walk the line , for all the laughs they 're worth . and then some .",
        "it 's the role of a lifetime for reilly , who plays cox from a teenager to an old man -lrb- older actors playing kids are a running joke -rrb- .",
        "for half an hour or so , MOV : the dewey cox story is hilarious . problem is , the movie lasts an hour and a half .",
        "judd apatow can do no wrong , apparently .",
        "reilly , imitating early beatles , johnny cash , bob dylan and brian wilson , shows more range than ever in the role that should catapult him into the a-list .",
        "there 's a laziness to the entire affair , as if the writers never went further than a first draft and never found anything unfunny enough to trim or remove .",
        "MOV is 100 minutes of fun , and for pure , uncomplicated enjoyment , it 's the movie to see right now .",
        "MOV is one of those fish-in-a-barrel comedies that mine a rich comedic vein but manage to come up with few genuine gems .",
        "in many ways outrageous % u2013 but not outrageous for long enough % u2013 MOV has tremendous appeal and entertainment value",
        "the musical biopic gets a much-needed smackdown in the fitfully hilarious MOV",
        "the latest from the apatow comedy factory abandons the relative realism of ` knocked up ' and ` superbad ' for mad magazine-esque , ` airplane ! ' - style spoofery ...",
        "goes through the motions of a satire with numerous references to pop music history , but remains flaccid throughout .",
        "knocked up hurriedly , you feel , in between apatow 's other projects , MOV is the feted writer-producer 's first fumble . as spinal tap 's nigel tufnel might have put it , this one only goes to two-and-a-half .",
        "reilly , one of our best supporting actors graduating to star status , finally bound for glory .",
        "the one area where ` MOV ' does manage to hold its own against classics of the genre such as ` this is spinal tap ' or ` sweet and lowdown ' is the music , all of which is expertly written and performed .",
        "john c reilly just about holds together a funny but patchy comedy that puts a ten-megaton bomb under the cliched rock biopic - and never detonates it .",
        "for all of the care and creativity put into MOV 's original songs , the rest of the film feels less inspired and maybe a little lazy .",
        "... this is the best batch of songs written for a comedy since paul williams penned the tunes for `` ishtar . ''",
        "MOV is n't merciless -lrb- except for maybe one wicked sequence with the beatles -rrb- , and that 's because it so loves what it 's sending up : the pleasure , ego , and sheer exhaustion of what happens behind the music .",
        "the tricky thing about parody movies is that the jokes get old fast and they 're hit-and-miss . MOV is guilty on both counts . how lucky that when the jokes do hit , they kick major ass .",
        "cox rocks and apatow 's streak continues in this spot-on biopic parody .",
        "in a spoof that contests all the visual and thematic cliches of hollywood musical biopics , from elvis to buddy holly to ray and walk the line , reilly finally gets a lead role , which he plays with gusto .",
        "the pugnacious john c. is gifted and knows no bounds . walking hard , for him ... effortless .",
        "hey , bay-buh ! there 's a whole lot of funny goin ' on in MOV . it 's got sex and drugs and elvis and giraffes and members only jackets .",
        "it 's kind of nice to see -lsb- john c. reilly -rsb- get a showcase role like this .",
        "it 's afraid to leave its comfort zone , and its primary joke wears thin in a hurry .",
        "raunchy biopic parody is n't for younger teens .",
        "call me a cynic , call me a curmudgeon , call me perverse -- i loved every moment of dewey cox 's story .",
        "the glory of the movie is reilly 's performance , which is executed with a perfectly straight face and no hint of self-consciousness .",
        "cox rocks .",
        "reilly is recklessly funny .",
        "there are certainly a lot of laugh-out-loud moments , which is more than can be said about a lot of alleged comedies .",
        "MOV runs down quickly , and suffers further from having the wide-eyed and weightless reilly as its star .",
        "this one pokes some fun at the conventions of the musical biopic genre instead of just replicating famous scenes from other films , and that 's a much more satisfying way to go because it actually has a perspective on the topic .",
        "paul rudd stole this performance in the beatles sequence and had to be one of his best comical pieces to date . the only reason i could recommend this film is to see this scene .",
        "the genius of jake kasdan 's fourth and best film lies in the fact that it starts out as a very faithful spoof of walk the line but then slowly evolves into something much cooler .",
        "a pitch-perfect musical comedy that at long last moves the talented john c. reilly up the billing ladder from second banana to top banana .",
        "borat 's influence shows . perfectly mocks the fantasy of johnny cash 's cinematic life story . the man in black 's fans will be furious .",
        "the film gets some mileage out of mocking fatuous biopic conventions .",
        "a rambunctious and funny musical spoof of musical biopics starring john c. reilly .",
        "do n't MOV , run to see this .",
        "this burlesque of biopic cliches flounders from one setup to the next without the engine that drives the genre : a strong central character .",
        "... not all the bits -lrb- among them a `` yellow submarine '' - like acid trip -rrb- work equally well . fortunately , there 's a general exuberance and fondness for the musical material that eases the rough spots .",
        "making parodies can be easy , but kasdan , apatow and their wonderful cast take their jobs seriously .",
        "reilly is well-cast in this hit-and-miss spoof of both rock singers and american social history from 1950 on .",
        "MOV : the dewey cox story has a good beat and you can dance to it , though mostly you 'll probably just tap your foot .",
        "nothing can prepare the senses for MOV , a parody feature that stumbles around like a maniac , ruthlessly ripping apart the conventions of the musical bio-pic but leaving plenty of breathing room to enjoy a little insanity of its own design .",
        "... almost entirely devoid of elements designed to hold the viewer 's interest .",
        "merrily deconstructs the conventions of the genre with subtlety and -lrb- where required -rrb- blatant outright mockery .",
        "a filthy little pic that seeks to shock and offend it 's audience throughout .",
        "i 'm glad the artform that zucker-abahams-zucker brought us in the 1980 's survives . it 's gotten raunchier , meaner , maybe rougher , but it lives on .",
        "kudos to the hilarious dance moves of john c. reilly and paul rudd 's fabulously goofy take on john lennon .",
        "MOV offers a quantity of laughs that few comedies could match .",
        "one of the awards season 's silliest -- and most satisfying -- surprises .",
        "good ensemble acting , a sometimes laugh out loud screenplay ... great music and staging and a solid performance by john c. reilly are all good reasons to see MOV .",
        "a dismal indulgence .",
        "some laughs , but you expect more from apatow .",
        "this biopic rocks - well , the first half does .",
        "in many ways outrageous -- but not outrageous for long enough -- MOV has tremendous appeal and entertainment value .",
        "the end of a golden run for judd apatow .",
        "another comedy winner ; if you have to ask why , it 's because it involves the knocked up guy . hilarious - even the beatles bit , this looks set to be a hit .",
        "who knew that judd apatow , the master of sex comedies , also spoke jive ?",
        "a perfect storm of incompetent idiocy that might kill off mockumentaries altogether .",
        "you 'll laugh hard during `` MOV . ''",
        "MOV is not making a mockery of the music or the musicians . it only playfully takes the teases the filmmakers and the conventions that have developed in telling these tortured artists ' stories . it 's only matinee price because it is occasionally a l",
        "MOV looks and sounds so much like a real musical biopic that you could make a good drinking game out of naming all the movies that get spoofed .",
        "a bawdy , rib-tickling , anything-goes spoof of such recent music biopics as ray and walk the line , and here 's the kicker -- it 's actually a better movie than both of those .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- erratic , but enjoyable goof from the judd apatow hit-making machine .",
        "apatow and director jake kasdan deliver a fair number of laughs , though nearly every good idea is pressed into service as a running gag . the biggest disappointment is their survey of rock history , which has all the depth of a time-life book .",
        "`` MOV '' is a spoof with wit as well as heft .",
        "reilly is likably goofy , which goes a long way to redeeming the film .",
        "while `` MOV '' makes for a fine soundtrack , it 's less entertaining as a movie .",
        "a movie you can simply walk out of , say ` that was really funny , ' and go back to your day .",
        "john c. reilly is not anyone 's idea of a leading man -lrb- which is part of the spoof , people -rrb- .",
        "an snl sketch may have been a better vehicle for such a spoof . on the big screen , it ends up having a film life of its own becoming a music bio pic in order to sustain .",
        "the songs -lrb- written by a slew of artists , including reilly , apatow , and kasdan -rrb- are genuine , ridiculous , and often very funny .",
        "it 's a one-man show telling one-joke , but it 's a damn talented man and it 's a pretty funny joke .",
        "MOV is funniest in its first half , when you 're not quite sure where it 's going , and drags in the second , by which time you realize it 's going nowhere .",
        "at least it 's not as bad as it could have been .",
        "in a season loaded with serious films about war and loss , there 's bound to be an audience out there looking for some undemanding holiday laughs .",
        "this smart new spoof works because its makers ... obviously love the genre they have so much fun sending up .",
        "instead of sending everything over the top at high energy , like top secret or airplane ! , they allow reilly to more or less actually play the character , so that , against all expectations , some scenes actually approach real sentiment .",
        "jake kasdan and judd apatow lampoon the entire genre of the true-story biographical movies and fall nothing short of brilliant all the while .",
        "chances are , after seeing MOV , it 'll be years before you can sit through a serious musical biopic and maintain a straight face .",
        "it 's the flintstones vitamin of spoofs ."
    ],
    "summary": "a parody that pokes fun at rock stars and reductive biopics alike , this comedy sings in large part because of stellar performances and clever original music .",
    "id": "770675029"
  },
  {
    "movie": "one_true_thing",
    "reviews": [
        "streep shines !",
        "streep 's work elevates what is otherwise a middling melodrama that 's part coming-to-terms-with-your-family story and part ` few-months-to-live ' plot .",
        "streep 's performance mesmerizes , but it is zellweger 's engrossing portrayal as the selfish daughter that sells her as a serious hollywood actress .",
        "MOV has the most honest , layered and authentic family dynamic of any american movie in recent memory .",
        "instead of being just about coping with cancer , it tells an interesting story about a young woman coming to terms with the fact that her parents are not who she always thought they were .",
        "even director carl franklin ... ca n't prevent MOV from descending into chick-movie hell .",
        "the film is helped , by wonderful performances by two of the top talents in the business in streep and hurt , and zellweger stays right with them .",
        "MOV demonstrates that the power of simple things , the transcendent nature of the ordinary , can make for riveting filmmaking .",
        "thanks to carl franklin 's clever direction , which always stays real close to the characters , what could have been a tv movie-of-the-week becomes a thought-provoking and touching film .",
        "brings extraordinary honesty and keen emotional pitch to the family drama .",
        "a heart-affecting film that challenges us to confront some of the myths and meanings we have constructed about our parents .",
        "a well-oiled machine manufactured to tap our welled-up ducts .",
        "zellweger gives a rich performance !",
        "an emotional drama !",
        "a lot less black-and-white than it could have been .",
        "pumps new life into the dying-nobly-of-a-horrible-disease genre",
        "it 's a sad film that deals with tragic events . but the appeals to emotion are wholly honest and not the least bit crude .",
        "the MOV to remember about this film is how worthwhile it is .",
        "poignant , heartfelt and moving ...",
        "we 're here for the acting , and we get it .",
        "the actors are all phenomenally affecting , and carl franklin 's direction and declan quinn 's camerawork make the most of the little moments that pass between people .",
        "its strong cast and restrained direction lift it above the kleenex .",
        "the film rests firmly on the shoulders of streep and , to a lesser degree , zellweger . their performances , and carl franklin 's understated direction keep the tears and life-affirming revelations from congealing into chicken shmaltz for the soul .",
        "carl franklin 's understated direction keeps the tears and life-affirming revelations from congealing into chicken shmaltz for the soul .",
        "probably wo n't appeal to teens .",
        "the script shifts audience sympathies about quite adroitly , though it 's a pity all the men had to be such humbugs .",
        "there is n't one schmaltzy moment in the entire film , and any tears the viewer sobs into their hankies are well-earned .",
        "streep , zellweger , and hurt are outstanding .",
        "there 's a lot of oscar timber here ...",
        "one of those rare films -- a movie that is genuinely sad and moving without being melodramatic , sentimental or hokey .",
        "the movie ultimately belongs to streep , who illuminates the extraordinary soul inside an everyday woman .",
        "as finely wrought a drama as one could ask for .",
        "streep 's performance will probably secure her another oscar nomination .",
        "MOV is real enough to be a film you can believe in .",
        "streep manages to transcend the material and outshine her other fellow cast members to such a degree that you wish they and the material were at least as good as she is .",
        "honest , perceptive and moving !",
        "streep is luminous as the hypermaternal kate .",
        "it 's streep to the max !",
        "in a time when most movie families are hopelessly dysfunctional , it is refreshing to see one that does n't quite fit the mold .",
        "heartfelt acting and imaginative filmmaking transform soap-opera into an affecting screen experience .",
        "franklin is a rare , undeniable talent whose special abilities again shine through .",
        "a convincing but restrained melodrama , at times attaining true emotional power .",
        "typical meryl , as streep streeps her way through another wintry family crisis movie .",
        "streep and hurt , two of the best gestural actors working , let the showboating tics fly fast and thick .",
        "franklin seems ill-suited to this cast and this material .",
        "unfortunately , director carl franklin paces the film with a dirge-like rhythm . and its lengthiness is hardly mitigated by william hurt 's lackluster performance .",
        "renee zellweger , in particular , is captivating ; she is irresistible as an actress , while meryl streep is luminous , perceptive , and courageous .",
        "how effective can a tear-jerker be if you 're waiting for them to be jerked ?",
        "zellweger and especially streep both bring their roles to vivid life with a multi-dimensional blend of warmth , vulnerability , and underlying strength .",
        "yes , meryl streep is phenomenal again !",
        "streep 's performance makes the movie worth seeing .",
        "MOV celebrates the very things you do n't miss , or even know exist , until they are gone .",
        "meryl streep is an actress of such transcendent skill and sympathy that she regularly elevates her material , taking it up several notches and giving us feelings , insights , feelings and textures the original writer may have just missed expressing .",
        "superb cast , excellent performances , well-written script and great direction !",
        "sensitively written , fluidly directed and expertly acted !",
        "it is the craftsmanship that elevates MOV above the level of a soaper .",
        "although the plot rarely excels , the actors bring enough to their roles to transform this motion picture into a satisfying weeper ."
    ],
    "summary": "solid performances lift this drama to a higher level .",
    "id": "14183"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dukes_of_hazzard",
    "reviews": [
        "one big , uninspired failure .",
        "the MOV better have a big opening weekend . once the dukes remake hits thousands of movie screens , it 's got to win its own race .",
        "the MOV is a movie that makes you feel unclean as a result of having seen it .",
        ".",
        "certainly not the worst of the endless stream of tv remakes , but given the unassuming , easy charm of the original , still wide of the mark by a country mile .",
        "after about 20 minutes , you 'll start wondering just how many times we 're going to see our two moronic leads doing handbrake turns and going `` whoooo-hooo '' . i counted at least 30 .",
        "it 's a film made specifically and entirely for the purpose of extracting money out of unsuspecting customers ' wallets , all marketing plan and no artistic vision .",
        "seems to take pride in being as loud , obnoxious and moronic as humanly possible .",
        "satire by satirists who just do n't get it -- approaching the silly outlaw charm -lrb- which satirized itself in the tv show -rrb- with the subtlety of an f5 tornado in a trailer park .",
        "mental garbage , a picture that 's so foul we question its reason for existing .",
        "crass and obnoxious where the show was affable and even rather sweet-natured .",
        "super troopers , club dread , and now this . chandrasekhar can not be stopped .",
        "b-movie pabulum within an a-level marketing plan .",
        "it 's dumb as rocks and thoroughly unnecessary .",
        "big dumb fun . you can actually feel yourself getting stupider while watching it - but it 's such a sunny , upbeat , eager-to-please movie , the silliness becomes infectious .",
        "remember : friends do n't let friends go to the MOV sober .",
        "a black hole of a movie without anything original to do or interesting to say . that it is n't outright terrible only makes its utter pointlessness all the more glaring .",
        "the plot involves the boys ' attempt to thwart hogg 's secret plan to turn hazzard county into an open coal mine , but it 's really just an excuse for endless car chases .",
        "with no plot , character or dialogue worth experiencing , let alone remembering , the film merely occupies space on the screen and hopes for the best .",
        "stupid enough to make smokey and the bandit part 3 and cannonball run 2 suddenly seem like paragons of wit and high comedy .",
        "the film is marginal for what it is -- a takeoff on a farce . there are only so many layers of sendup until the movie simply spins in the mud , kicking up gravel but going nowhere .",
        "too much blah-blah , not enough ` yeeehawww ! '",
        "a weird , moonshine-and - marijuana-fueled yee-haw fest based on the '80s tv show .",
        "straight viewing could result in brain damage .",
        "whether you find all this inane or offensive will probably depend on whether you buy the dukes ' defence of ` never meaning no harm ' ; either way it 's pretty hard going .",
        "jay chandrasekhar -lrb- of the unfunny comedy troupe broken lizard -rrb- directs without wit or style .",
        "instead of the promised lighthearted tone of the tv series , the big screen update avails itself of its pg-13 liberties and comes stuffed with a barnful of profanity and enough marijuana references to satisfy even the most stoned out cheech and chong fan .",
        "the only thing the MOV has in abundance is hate .",
        "n\u0103o \u00e9 apenas sem gra\u00e7a ; \u00e9 , tamb\u00e9m , moralmente ofensivo , sendo povoado por personagens desprez\u00edveis , ignorantes e preconceituosos -lrb- o que inclui os ` her\u00f3is ' -rrb- .",
        "it 's got a few laughs and some impressive car chases , but mostly , it 's just a puzzling jumble of gags and exhaust fumes .",
        "-lsb- jessica simpson -rsb- literally could n't act if her life depended on it - she appears to only be there to provide eye candy and , frankly , she 's not all that attractive in the first place .",
        "a spirited , high energy romp that is naught but yee-haw nonsense , the MOV is a rev a second .",
        "comes reasonably close to -lsb- being -rsb- finger-licking good .",
        "it 's either hell being a hillbilly or a hell of a lot of fun being a hillbilly . here , it 's hell .",
        "`` the dukes '' are back ... and the film happily hits the right balance between stupid and fun : you know , everything we loved about the television show .",
        "a gigantic disaster",
        "escapist entertainment , but little else .",
        "it boasts a few good laughs , a few cool action sequences and a few gratuitous eye candy shots that will have nick lachey punching holes in a wall .",
        "it 's not intolerable or offensive so much as it is just plain stupid .",
        "this foolhardy hazzard upgrade may be appealing to its tv fans . or it could just remind you how ridiculous it was the show ran for six seasons in the first place .",
        "there 's a stink coming off the big-screen MOV that even fans of the tv series -lrb- 1979 to 1985 -rrb- wo n't be able to shake out of their nostrils .",
        "ca n't decide whether it 's saluting the series or spoofing it . ... the yee-haws start to give way to yawns ...",
        "over here , dukes . park the general lee in the weeds between the big-screen beverly hillbillies jalopy and the mchale 's navy pt-73 .",
        "when a movie 's misogyny is battling its racism for screen time , you know the project is in trouble .",
        "` when i sit down , i say , when shall i arise and the dukes be gone ? and i am full of tossings to and fro unto the ending of the movie . ' -- not job 7:4",
        "will the boys fall into boss hogg 's trap ? how will they get past the roadblock ?",
        "it 's simple , kinda crass and more fun than jumping into the creek while daisy is skinny dipping .",
        "a comedy that knows just how smart to be about just how dumb it is .",
        "there were two big boobs i wanted to see in this movie , and they were n't johnny knoxville and seann william scott .",
        "the remake truly represents the most evil of hollywood ideals , and tarnishes a south-of-the-border television treat that is still standing over 25 years later .",
        "i really did n't mind MOV . it 's just a whole movie of almost getting somewhere but staying a little bit behind .",
        "considering how funny it could have been -- either as a faithful big-screen adaptation or as a winking parody -- this sloppy mix of both styles is a disappointment .",
        "anyone who does n't love the dukes and their repetitive adventures wo n't find much of interest , and anyone who does is better off watching old episodes on cmt .",
        "injecting enough solid laughs and car chases to make dukes precisely what it is - an uncomplicated friday night distraction .",
        "two dudes and a cool car is n't a lot to base a tv show -lrb- much less a movie -rrb- on , and it 's no more substantial here .",
        "this is n't the hazzard county i remember .",
        "bo and luke duke were better off when they were replaced by two other unknown cousins for a season than they are being played by seann william scott and johnny knoxville .",
        "for some reason people in massachusetts are supposed to be ashamed of being educated , but the people of georgia are to be proud of their rural morons .",
        "the MOV aims awfully low .",
        "the MOV is a cheap , greasy time at the multiplex .",
        "broken lizard ... brings a subversive streak that sneaks some genuine humor into what would otherwise be an assembly-line collection of car chases and frat-boy ogling .",
        "... intentionally mindless and as reckless as an open moonshine jug left on a steaming heater ... shamelessly uneven and not very smart about its heralded idiocy",
        "at one point in the film , scott turns to knoxville and says , ` there 's a lot of smart people out there . ' with the MOV , warner bros. is apparently banking on the opposite to be true .",
        "has some of the same fratty energy as wedding crashers .",
        "half the jokes land on the screen like dead armadillos .",
        "meanders from one overblown action sequence to the next , without bringing along for the ride the goofy charm of the show on which it 's based .",
        "hard to imagine a movie more mind-numbingly pointless and instantly forgettable .",
        "not even a sexy , toned and blossomed blond can distract from the vapid ugliness that is the MOV .",
        "park your brain in the garage , shift gears into stupid and put the pedal to the metal . then maybe , just maybe , you might find some funny moments in the MOV .",
        "mindless piffle .",
        "for a movie that posits itself as a celebration of rebel excess , dukes is pretty tame .",
        "witless film .",
        "a lunch box in cinematic form : another half-assed excuse to slap a label on something and shill it to the crowd .",
        "the MOV feels like hollywood 's last idea , a wan desperate wave of red meat redneck humor marketed to red state america .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- episodic , cartoony romp .",
        "a series of rowdy antics instead of a sustained storyline , the MOV is all about the car .",
        "there 's no reason for these good ol' boys to be in a movie this bad .",
        "why fans of the series would pay good money to see something they can see free in tv reruns escapes me .",
        "the MOV is the latest evidence that , for hollywood studios at least , there can never be too much of a mediocre thing .",
        "broken lizard 's biggest mistake is to update this story to the present .",
        "flatter than a two-lane blacktop , the movie is awfully unfunny , which it compensates for by being awfully loud .",
        "in the age of media immediacy , well-connected computer systems and helicopter pursuits -- to say nothing of the same watchful government that spawned the patriot act -- all this seems nonsensical .",
        "the storyline is so dumb and predictable it would n't have even made the grade for an episode of the original tv series .",
        "fans of the television show will find a lot to like here . so will fans of the broken lizard comedy troupe .",
        "purports to be a remake of a tv show but is more accurately a remake of jessica 's vapid modeling career .",
        "in lieu of a movie , we get a series of car chases rudely interrupted by the occasional smattering of dialogue .",
        "amazing . incredible . unbelievable . astonishing . painful . all these words come to mind in just the first 10 minutes of viewing this film , none of them in a good way .",
        "bo and luke are played by scott and knoxville with a backwoods brio that makes ma and pa kettle look like alfred lunt and lynn fontanne .",
        "... neither the frantic slapstick nor the we-don ` t - know-what - to-do-so - let 's - have - another-car-chase sequences alter the movie 's gear-grinding desperation .",
        "simpson recites her lines as though english were a language with which she is completely unfamiliar",
        "filming jessica simpson 's *** is easy , but the car was always the real selling point of the show and it 's no different here .",
        "nowhere to be found here is any of the goofy charm of the original .",
        "great it ai n't , but it entertains for stretches .",
        "even by the lax standards of tv show adaptations , though , this one is a disappointment .",
        "so loud , so long , so dumb .",
        "you ca n't blame the millions who will fantasize about gen. sherman burning the movie 's negative , but when it comes to the home market , this will be a good one for its target audience to pass out to .",
        "the film 's ambitions are so low that it 's hard to imagine how it fell short of them .",
        "delivering exactly what it promises -- car chasing , girl gazing and yee-hawing -- it takes the high road to low art by remaining faithful to the tv series that spawned it .",
        "the MOV is just plain awful .",
        "the good-ol ' - boy humor mostly is dated and redundant , the low-tech car stunts are unlikely to thrill today 's jaded audiences and the plot -- the dukes saving the county from being turned into an open-pit mine -- is a yawner .",
        "in stiff competition for the lamest thing ever put on celluloid .",
        "haws follow hees as hayseeds rip around in fast cars , churning dust and making faces very close to the camera .",
        "who can forget jessica simpson ? you will , if you 're lucky .",
        "hillbilly heaven , if you even want to go there .",
        "you ca n't say those involved in the film did n't have fun -- sure looks like they had a blast . shame is as an audience we ca n't say the same .",
        "this must rank as one of the most hollowly formulaic hot-weather blockbusters ever let out of the can .",
        "the movie goes extra lite on the comic fluff , while doing the usual heavy handed thing when it comes to hayseed caricatures .",
        "there 's really nothing to enjoy here other than a lot of stale dialogue , and a pitiful grab for a franchise .",
        "the MOV only works during the chase sequences , and just sits there the rest of the time . there are some moments of inspired visual lunacy , but that 's it .",
        "if rubber-burning car chases and short shorts are your thing , this is the summer remake for you .",
        "good , stupid fun .",
        "... you ca n't say the movie is n't lively , like a big old-fashioned warner bros. cartoon .",
        "do n't bother with this movie . if you 're just itching for more dukes , stick to the original series on dvd .",
        "even as the film tediously tends to its arbitrary plot , chandrasekhar displays almost oneiric reverence for the iconography of the tv show .",
        "heck , suck the exhaust fumes from a 1969 orange dodge charger . but whatever you do , no matter how big a fan you were of the show , do yourself a favor by skipping the movie .",
        "a lapdance , a fifth of cheap whiskey , and a lube job would offer the same elements and be a hell of a lot more fun .",
        "bound to make you smile , even if you do feel guilty about it afterwards .",
        "... offers the same nostalgia value as using the theme song as your ring tone .",
        "the balladeer always sang that the mountain might get the duke boys someday . with this movie , they crash the general lee into it and explode .",
        "it 's every bit as bad as you thought it 'd be . only worse .",
        "a lame-brained , outdated wheeze .",
        "it 's as dumb as a bag of hammers and as cheesy as , well , macaroni and cheese . but it 's a movie that knows how inconsequential it is at the outset and does n't care much whether you can party with it or not .",
        "as a salvo in the culture wars , MOV is a dud , and as an actual movie it does n't rate much higher .",
        "this is one unusual case in which aiming for a middling c grade turns out to be a-plus work .",
        "features low-rent humor and high-speed chases .",
        "a decent-enough rambunctious southern-drive-in sort of time-waster .",
        "bringing this hit tv show to the big screen must have seemed like a good idea at the time . too bad it did n't work out .",
        "car crashes !!! wowzers ! then we get to see daisy in a bikini in order to sexually harass the cops . how cute !!!",
        "the MOV does such a textbook job of pandering to bubba q. public that it ought to run for political office .",
        "should be called dukes of hazardous to your health if you 're forced to watch it .",
        "there 's just not much going on in these 106 minutes of ai n't - it-cool quasi-nostalgia .",
        "burt reynolds fired his agent after boogie nights . if he has a lick of sense in his head , he 'll kill his agent after MOV .",
        "assuming that someone was determined to remake this mediocre but iconic tv show , this is probably as good as it 's going to get .",
        "after the first chase scene , it 's obvious that scott and knoxville do n't have enough charisma to carry the film , or to even make anarchic destruction and evading the law into something if not sexy at least endearing .",
        "prepare to witness an amazing feat of filmmaking : shocked and delighted will you be to see real hollywood actors and real musicians outperformed by your favorite inanimate objects !",
        "herbie for adults .",
        "with a hideously fake tan and an eerie smile , simpson recites her lines with a chipper hollowness that makes it seem like she has just barely memorized them .",
        "like most movies based on old television shows , dukes is all concept , with a few jokes written into its crevices .",
        "it 's a negation of cinema . you would actually become a better , more complete person by not watching it .",
        "as h.l. mencken said , `` no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the american public . ''",
        "i could barely make out a word of the ` dialogue ' them there duke boys kept a-hollerin ' over the roar of the general lee and their movie 's soundtrack of ineptly edited swamp rock .",
        "dumb , mindless filmmaking at its most mediocre . but so was the tv show .",
        "if this is how bo and luke translate to the big screen , i 'd hate to see the movie versions of coy and vance .",
        "like being stuck in the middle of a nascar race ... without a car .",
        "stupid , meandering , generally unfunny attempt .",
        "basically it 's like a rural south edition of jackass . but not as funny .",
        "one broken down lizard",
        "it all backfires worse than the general lee before a tune-up by cooter .",
        "forget the drill core , the dukes should have had willie nelson 's blood analyzed , because every time that guy has a blood test science adds a new element to the periodic table .",
        "fan -lsb- s -rsb- of the ... tv series ... -lsb- will -rsb- likely want to see this just to find out if it 's a travesty ... -lsb- others , however -rsb- will surely wonder what they 're doing watching this movie .",
        "the biggest hurdle for the MOV is that the humor is extremely hit-or-miss .",
        "... a barely-entertaining light action adventure with glimpses of the fun that could have been had .",
        "a coupla times this here 's kinda funny . but the rest of the time it 's dadburn dumb",
        "folks from this side of the mason-dixon line may be more forgiving of this sometimes fun , if often mindless , bit of entertainment .",
        "even as a non-fan of the series , i am fairly certain that the original was never quite as low as this obnoxious celebration of stupidity .",
        "i hated this movie . it represents everything that 's wrong with the studio system .",
        "movie-goers would be better off spending their movie ticket money on the dvd box set of the television series .",
        "the MOV is a movie in the sense that it is composed of recorded events , gets projected on a screen , and can be viewed as a continuum .",
        "this movie is hazardous to your entertainment health",
        "a raunchy hazzard . lame-brained but unpretentious fun .",
        "sure , it 's simple but for a longtime MOV fan , it 's a funny and nostalgic dose of southern comfort .",
        "motorheads who want nothing more than a handful of chase sequences may enjoy the MOV , but everyone else should observe the cautionary yellow flag .",
        "a movie about absolutely nothing -lrb- eat your heart out , seinfeld -rrb- , based on a show made when your target audience was n't even born yet . and they say hollywood is running out of ideas ."
    ],
    "summary": "a dumb , goofy , and vacuous adaptation of a tv show where plot is simply an excuse to string together the car chases .",
    "id": "1971"
  },
  {
    "movie": "american_president",
    "reviews": [
        "neither bad nor unwatchable , the MOV is nevertheless the second straight disappointment from director rob reiner .",
        "when it comes right down to it , high office does not guarantee high comedy .",
        "the MOV becomes a pretty darn entertaining and affecting movie after its first simpering 20 minutes .",
        "a well-modulated charmer .",
        "painless fun .",
        "great entertainment .",
        "got the same zip as when harry met sally .",
        "frothy .",
        "the MOV will make you laugh and make you smile . but it probably wo n't make you change your vote .",
        "you ca n't dislike this movie , but you wo n't be swept away by it either .",
        "rob reiner seems to have found his calling .",
        "the image of a chief executive as moonstruck single guy taps something buoyant and touching in our collective democratic imagination . and douglas , wearing a fast-break smile in place of his usual frown , strikes a tender rapport with bening ...",
        "the MOV is a bright , witty romantic comedy with really good dialogue , but at the same time it is a statement about politics , and about politicians , some who are idealists and some who are opportunists .",
        "douglas and bening are both wonderful .",
        "apart from its too-obvious political bias , the MOV has romance in its heart , smarts in abundance and class to spare .",
        "an extremely savvy observation on politics in the media age .",
        "good romantic comedy . some funny irreverence about the white house , and a well-meaning political message .",
        "predictable and pc , but fun .",
        "light , fluffy romantic comedy , well acted by michael douglas .",
        "a genial and glossy middle-brow rom/com blended together with corny capra-like political drama .",
        "as the 1995 film veers away from the romance , into definable -lrb- and dated -rrb- political issues , it loses some of its magic .",
        "witty , wise , and idealized political romance .",
        "a potentially good adult romance is undone by a preachy left-wing agenda .",
        "part romantic comedy , part capra-corny political drama , this movie exudes so much sympathy , it sweats .",
        "glorious romantic comedy .",
        "sorkin starts his west wing warm-up with a winning political rom-com .",
        "leve , divertido e gratificante .",
        "registers as a polished and delightful romantic comedy about soulmates .",
        "genial and entertaining if not notably inspired .",
        "genial middlebrow fare that coasts a long way on the charm of its two stars .",
        "with great looks , a dandy supporting cast , a zinger-filled screenplay by aaron sorkin and mr. douglas twinkling merrily in the oval office , the MOV is sunny enough to make the real presidency pale by comparison .",
        "the casting is inspired , with uniformly crisp performances all around .",
        "so-so fantasy about what a more courageous bill clinton might have been like .",
        "while there are a lot of funny lines in the film , well-delivered by an all-star cast , the film 's politics are funniest of all .",
        "a shrewd new depiction of ` office sex , ' as well as an utterly positive view of the idea that a president 's character is important .",
        "peppered with terrific performances from a bevy of familiar faces .",
        "a super cast injects it with teddy roosevelt vitality .",
        "as bustling and impassioned as the best sturges and capra movies .",
        "michael douglas is plausible as president , and he delivers yet another solid , if unmemorable performance .",
        "` capraesque ' has inevitably been affixed to the MOV , but that phrase , with its implications of facile hokum , does n't do the film justice .",
        "charming but flawed leftist romantic comedy .",
        "director rob reiner strikes a good balance between drama and old-fashioned love with douglas and bening suitably understated in their roles .",
        "essentially a by-the-numbers hollywood romance in the dopiest melodramatic tradition .",
        "simplistic , full of stock characters and easy solutions to difficult problems , and i absolutely loved it ."
    ],
    "summary": "a charming romantic comedy with political bite , rob reiner 's MOV features strong lead performances and some poignant observations of politics and media in the 1990s .",
    "id": "10129"
  },
  {
    "movie": "alone_in_the_dark",
    "reviews": [
        "thanks for the surgical enhancement , tara reid . as i always say , if saline made you a great actor then sean penn would have gills .",
        "actually has an entire group of adults call out to a lost comrade , ` marco ! ' what does he expect the audience to do when they hear that ? i mean , come on .",
        "-lrb- christian -rrb- slater and -lrb- tara -rrb- reid share quite possibly the most awkward love scene ever recorded on film .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- n instant classic of cheeseball cinema , an orgy of overblown dialogue and hammy overacting , 90-some-odd minutes of cheap-looking , jaw-dropping incoherence ...",
        "they say that even ugly babies have faces their mothers love , but this is truly a film that not even hardcore genre fans could appreciate .",
        "on the short list of worst movies ever made .",
        "there 's a point in the movie where it 's best to stop trying to make sense out of this unintelligible story ... right after the opening credits .",
        "perhaps hoping to be a sort of hybrid matrix meets indiana jones meets alien , unfortunately , MOV is just a bad movie .",
        "worse than you can imagine ... see 1997 's the relic instead .",
        "... asking the viewer to accept tara reid as a scientist is pure insanity , requiring a staggering leap of faith that i ca n't even begin to contemplate .",
        "reid delivers her lines as though she is calling for another round of mai tais for the house .",
        "MOV is n't going to set the world on fire , but it largely succeeds with what it has to work with . just do n't take it seriously and you 'll have a fun time .",
        "obvious dry humping to inappropriate music does n't cut it in a horror flick - at least give us some skin .",
        "so far off the scale bad that the only possible reaction is to laugh at it -- and i do mean at it and not with it .",
        "there are some stupid films that rock , if you turn your brain off and enjoy them . MOV is n't one of these , though it is very stupid .",
        "MOV co-stars perpetual party-girl tara reid as an archeologist . that alone should give you some clue as to how bad this movie is .",
        "as video game adaptations go , even pong : the movie would have a lot more personality .",
        "none of it hangs together enough to make a coherent narrative .",
        "lame monster movies like this adaptation of the popular atari video game are scary for all the wrong reasons .",
        "the horror . the hor-ror !",
        "there 's nothing even remotely entertaining about this film -- audiences should stay home and play the original -lrb- or one of its numerous sequels -rrb- on playstation instead .",
        "the late gene siskel once devised a simple method of measuring a film 's worth : ` is this film more interesting than a documentary of the same actors having lunch ? ' ` MOV ' does n't come close to matching that standard .",
        "any chance for suspense is thwarted by gratuitous violence , heavy-metal-propelled action sequences and laughably flat dialogue between characters who are barely more developed than in the atari version .",
        "christian slater and stephen dorff , the reigning princes of hollywood schlock , join forces in this brain-dead adaptation of a popular video game .",
        "MOV pourrait figurer dans un dictionnaire en exemple frappant de ce que signifie insipide .",
        "better than expected , but , considering the reputation of its author , this is n't much of an achievement",
        "this is pretty close to one of the worse movies that i 've ever seen and having to recap it is making my brain bleed . .",
        "eu devia ter suspeitado de algo quando meu aparelho de dvd pareceu se recusar a rodar este filme . e posso jurar que ele pediu um cepacol depois que a tortura chegou ao fim .",
        "MOV offers ample evidence that house of the dead helmer uwe boll should put down his joystick -- quickly , before anyone else gets hurt .",
        "this is definitely for people who 1 -rrb- love the video game , 2 -rrb- think slater and dorff are eminently watchable , no matter what bad flick they 're in and 3 -rrb- are wearing industrial-strength ear plugs .",
        "this horror film , spun off from an old atari video game , is so inept on every level , you wonder why the distributor did n't release it straight to video , or better , toss it directly into the trash .",
        "laughably bad .",
        "i laughed . i was bored . i could n't believe my own eyes .",
        "the three stars have seen better days , but i 'd like to think they could still do something classier and more dignified than this . like gay porn .",
        "a hokey , recycled collection of mumbo-jumbo that unabashedly steals from a multitude of other horror films .",
        "as silly as it is stylish .",
        "if nothing else , MOV proves that it 's possible to ` dumb down ' a video game .",
        "if you took the 100 worst ideas ever conceived for a science-fiction film , rattled them around in a lotto tumbler and spilled them out onto the screen at random , you could not produce a more asinine hodgepodge than MOV .",
        "it 's just the most inept filmmaking you can catch in theatres right now , or probably all year long .",
        "for as busy as this movie is , you 'd think it would have more going on . instead , it 's just a big , chewy wad of badness .",
        "remember to get your bets in early as the razzie winner for 2005 .",
        "has just about everything a snarky bad movie lover could want -- that is , except a guy and two robots sitting in the bottom right hand corner .",
        "it 's never good when the audience starts laughing as soon as the movie begins -- and nothing has happened .",
        "you start hoping that ashton kutcher is going to come out and tell them they 're punk 'd , because you just ca n't believe this is for real . you feel sorry for these actors ...",
        "boll 's vague x-files rip-off is n't scary or exciting , but inadvertently he 's made a movie funnier than a lot of the purported comedies hollywood cranks out .",
        "as long as director uwe boll is given money to make films , we are guaranteed at least one unintentionally uproarious gut-buster a year .",
        "little of MOV makes earthly sense , but it at least knows how to be bad in original ways .",
        "how uwe boll manages to scrape together enough investment money to give wing to this type of overblown , amateurish gibberish is truly a mystery of the cosmos ...",
        "some concepts are meant to stay in the gaming console .",
        "as an audience-participation midnight movie , MOV has potential .",
        "the acting is awful and amateurish .",
        "a laugh-out-loud turkey .",
        "never trust a movie that opens with a written introduction scrolling by that 's longer than the collected works of tom clancy .",
        "too stupid to watch , too loud to nap through , MOV shows just how tenuous plan nine from outer space 's hold on that ` worst movie ever ' title really is .",
        "ultra-violent , hyper-mindless and bruisingly loud , MOV makes its video game predecessors look like masterpiece theater .",
        "it does n't even qualify as ` so bad it 's good , ' although by that standard it does have its moments .",
        "MOV is no better than whatever you might pick up while wearing a blindfold at blockbuster , even if you happen to reach into a trash can .",
        "MOV is amateurish at best and asinine at worst .",
        "there is a reason to fear being MOV : it 's this movie .",
        "no subtext , no moral , no cultural observation , no substance ; if it had calories , they would be empty",
        "the film is filled with hilariously bad performances , expository dialogue and production values that suggest it could have been a low-budget film-school project .",
        "it 's tempting to call MOV one of those movies so bad that it 's almost good . but that might send the wrong signal to hollywood .",
        "so poorly built , so horribly acted and so sloppily stitched together that it 's not even at the straight - to-dvd level .",
        "frighteningly bad cinema is the only thing scary about MOV , which gives video-game movies an even worse name , if that 's possible .",
        "tara reid responds to the camera like she 's just caught a paparazzo ; every line of dialogue begins with , ` hey guys , ' be it ordering lunch or reacting to mortal danger .",
        "MOV presents splatter fans with garden-variety gore , and gives action-horror fans loud , unscary special effects rather than genuine suspense or bang .",
        "i did n't see director uwe boll 's zombie dud house of the dead , but on the evidence of MOV , he belongs in the pantheon of hopelessly inept directors .",
        "quite possibly one of the worst movies of the decade .",
        "quite possibly the worst of the year . definiately the worst of the month .",
        "MOV does n't even deserve the indignity of going straight-to-video",
        "dear MOV , ... it 's time for me to start seeing other movies . but i will think of you always , when i sit at the movies , MOV , without you .",
        "chances are , you 'll probably find yourself alone in the theater too .",
        "one of the worst movies ever made .",
        "horrific and horrible",
        "if you find yourself alone in MOV , run away as fast as you can . not because this sci-fi horror movie is scary , but because it is so stupid .",
        "if someone recommends you see MOV , assume that person hates you or at least dislikes you .",
        "believe it or not , it is possible to inspire decent cinema from the roots of nintendo or playstation . but you ca n't do it with pong-caliber talent .",
        "woefully murky and meaningless ... the world 's most durable and heavy duty flashlight could n't bring an ounce of brightness to the underwhelming MOV",
        "saying uwe boll 's MOV is better than his 2003 american debut house of the dead is akin to praising syphilis for not being hiv .",
        "... films like ` battlefield earth ' and ` the adventures of pluto nash ' await a film of this magnitude because it gets awfully lonely on the island of misfit movies .",
        "unconvincing leads , nonsensical plot , dumb staging -- this movie has it all .",
        "trying to rehash this plot is like trying to describe a jackson pollock painting while drunk",
        "veers tantalizingly close to being one of those movies that is so bad it 's good , but in the end , it 's so bad it 's just ... bad .",
        "director uwe boll -lrb- house of the dead -rrb- has made a cottage industry out of this kind of junk . maybe it 's time for him to close up shop .",
        "the film looks like it was made for $ 1.05 with its murky cinematography , sloppy special effects , and cheap sets .",
        "once the poorly staged mayhem erupts , there 's no disguising the fact that it 's all been a pointless buildup to 40 minutes of running , shooting and screaming , and you 've wasted whatever time and attention you devoted to following any of its minutiae .",
        "dreadful .",
        "MOV is so awful , anyone who spends 10 bucks seeing it ought to get 11 bucks change and a written apology from the director and cast .",
        "if you are MOV with MOV , be sure to bring chewing gum -- it will provide entertainment .",
        "a film so mind-blowingly horrible that it teeters on the edge of cinematic immortality .",
        "... 96 minutes of pure torture ...",
        "utterly lost by its end , you can just sit back and let yourself be hijacked by the movie 's outrageous dialogue , hyperventilating performances and all-around commitment to overkill .",
        "a violent and incomprehensible piece of gibberish .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he filmmakers have no more ability to tell a story than to create three-dimensional characters . they do n't so much end the film as hit the reset button .",
        "the most entertainment comes from watching slater and dorff and trying to figure out who 's got the biggest forehead .",
        "in this chintzy video-game blow-up , christian slater battles zombies and transmogrified beasties , revealing the horror of a once-promising career turned miserable .",
        "there 's plenty to snicker at .",
        "i 've heard of the suspension of disbelief , but tara reid as an archeologist ?",
        "maybe the only people who can explain this flick 's nonsensical plotline are those who squandered their youth mastering the atari video game on which it 's based .",
        "-lsb- uwe boll -rsb- makes things on the cheap ... so people keep giving him money , even though he does n't seem to know how to point a camera at his actors , let alone operate it .",
        "this is jaw-dropping , awe-inspiring , ` i-can ` t - believe-someone - made-this-crap ' badness we 're dealing with .",
        "if anyone were pondering what ed wood would be like today if he were armed with foreign financing and computer effects , look no further than uwe boll .",
        "you need an actor who can make the words sound smart , and reid wo n't be winning a nobel prize anytime soon -lrb- she 's proof that alcohol kills brain cells ... with a vengeance -rrb- .",
        "terrible beyond belief , like the worst 1940s serial ever made . as for slater and dorff ... well , they 've been in worse movies -- wait a minute , no they have n't .",
        "as predictable as watching a bag of microwave popcorn pop and as terrifying as a herd of dust bunnies",
        "director uwe boll -lrb- is -rrb- a latter-day ed wood who fancies himself a cross between action-sytlish john woo and b-movie horror-ific john carpenter .",
        "grab your funniest smartass friends and have a good time ripping this piece of crap to shreds . i know i did . but if you 're looking for a good movie , stay away !",
        "somewhere , ed wood is resting pretty comfortably right now .",
        "the title is reasonably fitting , since i very nearly was MOV when i saw it .",
        "when the giant , intelligent bees of the future sift through the ashes of our civilization , they will find MOV , and they will understand . it 's so bad it 's postmodern .",
        "the garish editing and stilted , exposition-only dialogue induce the frisson of an america 's most wanted re-enactment that pays unexpected , sidesplitting returns .",
        "wow . what an aptly named movie .",
        "attains a level of awe-inspiring velveeta dunderheadedness .",
        "if ed wood had the opportunity to fall under mtv 's influence , plan nine from outer space would have looked like MOV .",
        "it 's only january , but i ca n't imagine any upcoming film replacing ` MOV ' as my leading candidate for worst movie of 2005 .",
        "anyone who chooses to watch this film will probably be MOV as most theaters will be empty"
    ],
    "summary": "inept on almost every level , MOV may not work as a thriller , but it 's good for some head-slapping , incredulous laughter .",
    "id": "14064"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gunnin_for_that_1_spot",
    "reviews": [
        "the slow-motion footage of these athletes showing off their macho skills is generously underpinned by rumbling hip-hop . great nightclub wallpaper .",
        "this is just a dull promotional video .",
        "ok , so it 's not quite as searching as hoop dreams , but it 's hugely enjoyable all the same and boasts - as you 'd expect - a terrific soundtrack .",
        "unlike the 1994 basketball doc hoop dreams , which investigated collateral issues of education , race and money , this merely sets a twitchy hip-hop soundtrack to an unenlightening parade of eager sporting wannabes .",
        "a ho-hum basketball documentary .",
        "beastie boy adam yauch 's basketball diary is of limited general appeal .",
        "spot provides the basics with foot-tapping , head-bobbing flamboyance , providing the viewer with a serious helping of heart , soul , and scorching basketball action blended up into a taut , explosive documentary .",
        "the extraordinary athleticism and skills of these teenagers , all prime prospects for eventual nba stardom , makes this a game you really want to see .",
        "to concentrate on the film you have to be a basketball fan , or just a basket case .",
        "although this is never less than watchable , you ca n't help feeling that it would have been a better film if they 'd waited a year or so and actually included details of the players ' futures .",
        "the film is well shot and edited , backed with a bouncy hip-hop soundtrack and full of pep .",
        "a cool look at superstars-to-be paying respect to harlem 's rucker park on their path to hoops greatness .",
        "director adam yauch tricks up this eclectic look at all-star high school basketball with so much cool high-def camera work and showy editing it 's sure to satisfy the film 's target youth audience 's appetite for zippy visuals and swift pacing .",
        "beastie boy adam yauch shoots and scores with this documentary that follows eight elite high-school basketball players showcasing their skills along with 16 other prospects in an all-star game at harlem 's -lrb- in -rrb- famous rucker park court .",
        "call it hoop daydreams : a whiz-bang frolic through the lives and skills of eight high-school basketball players who dribble , pass and shoot their way into the ultimate city-park game .",
        "would be more at home on espn than the big screen . but b-ball fans should enjoy it in either venue .",
        "gunnin ' for that # 1 spot is an on-the-fly record of a memorable moment in basketball history .",
        "a conventional exercise in documentary storytelling , not a rich and incisive assessment of youth and sports cultures .",
        "as sports movies go , gunnin ' never feels the slightest bit hokey , and serves up sportscenter-worthy clips in high style , along with the unmistakable feel of real life .",
        "the film covers the game 's highlights with great flair .",
        "gunnin ' for that # 1 spot is a basketball documentary where the climactic game looks like a hong kong wire-fu epic .",
        "i daresay the results would inspire eisenstein himself to proffer an affirming nod from the great beyond .",
        "a spunky , impassioned and resourceful doc on the cutthroat world of us college basketball made for a pittance by adam yauch .",
        "at the heart of everything there 's yauch , directing with remarkable authority for someone who 's pretty new to the director 's chair .",
        "in the opening section of the film , we get to know them through interviews , game footage and scenes of family life . it 's here where the film shines , giving us a glimpse into what it 's like for young athletes being groomed for the nba .",
        "as a tribute to the game and its accessibility to all , gunnin ' is hard to beat .",
        "a funkier , shallower version of 1994 's hoop dreams , beastie boy adam yauch 's doc follows eight high school basketball phenoms as they head to harlem 's asphalt mecca , rucker park , to take part in 2006 's elite 24 tournament .",
        "it 's a fly-on-the-wall look at eight prodigiously talented kids hooking up to play ball in the big city , and as such , it 's a great deal of fun .",
        "shining a light on eight of the brightest stars in american high school basketball , gunnin ' for that # 1 spot is a refreshing and thrilling reminder of why we watch and why they play .",
        "gunnin ' is everything the fatuous , condescending hoop dreams was not .",
        "an impressive feat on every level as yauch brings an unbridled passion to shining a spotlight on some of the country 's finest young basketball players in a way that can be appreciated by anyone and everyone .",
        "as each player 's run through the same routine-hometown meet-and-greet , biographical sketch , hasty interview-the burden of the formulaic structure starts to wear .",
        "adam yauch , beastie boy turned documentarian , turns in a crisp , insightful , but emotionally distant look at the best high school basketball players of 2006 with gunnin ' for that # 1 spot .",
        "although it is n't a particularly deep look at the world of pressures and performance anxieties faced by high-school phenoms , gunnin ' is a welcome treat to anyone who follows the game closely .",
        "after the gimmicky audience-shot concert film `` awesome ... , '' beastie boy adam yauch proves he can make a comprehensive , state-of-the-art docu of interest to basketball aficionados .",
        "hip-hop and basketball have never been so uninspiringly brought together as they are in beastie boy adam yauch 's kinetic but shallow chronicle of the buildup to the first annual boost mobile elite 24 hoops classic .",
        "although much of its archive footage from high school games shows up blurry , pixleated or in an otherwise raw form , it nonetheless clarifies the abilities of thoroughly committed young players executing their most impressive basketball skills .",
        "it 's as much a snapshot of the contemporary basketball scene as it is a love letter to the famed uptown court .",
        "easily the best movie of its kind since steve james ' hoop dreams ."
    ],
    "summary": "beastie boy adam yauch proves his worth as a director with gunnin ' for that # 1 spot , a fun-filled chronicle of the top high school hoopsters of 2006 .",
    "id": "770728301"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_girl_who_kicked_the_hornets_nest",
    "reviews": [
        "much of it still plays like bad thomas harris ...",
        "a pick-up after the second film , if not as assured as the first . rapace sets a high watermark for rooney mara in david fincher 's remakes .",
        "one final course of europudding that may leave audiences feeling less satisfied than simply tired and bloated .",
        "it 's a brisk conspiracy thriller about the moral deformations wrought by sweden 's neutrality during the second world war and the cold war , and the role of leftwing journalists to bring out the truth from a labyrinth of national intrigue .",
        "a more apt title would be ` the girl who sat quietly in a dimly lit room ' .",
        "this is the most disappointing end to a trilogy since sam raimi 's spider-man 3 .",
        "anyone who has invested in the trilogy will savour the mixture of dread and anticipation as the cat-and-mouse game reaches a stirring conclusion .",
        "a bunch of evil old men get their comeuppance in ` the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest , ' but the girl who messes with their nest does hardly anything at all .",
        "the third and worst of stieg larsson 's trilogy is poorly directed , under-energised and unthrilling .",
        "a compelling mix of 70s-style conspiracy thriller , courtroom procedural and psychological drama ...",
        "i said hurrah for the books ; i repeat it for the movies . and most of all , i say hurrah to larsson for the extraordinary scope of his accomplishment and legacy .",
        "larsson is renowned for his attention to marginal details , which gives his prose a rambling , one-thing-after-another pace that many readers find soothing . onscreen , the lack of acceleration makes for one of those long scandinavian winter nights .",
        "where `` the girl with the dragon tattoo '' had taught criss-crossing subplots of boundless significance , the final act of the trilogy is little more than a tepid courtroom drama with some willy-nilly spectacle thrown in for good measure .",
        "alfredson 's empty aesthetics mimic hollywood conventions but merely exacerbate the hollowness of this entire affair .",
        "the widely anticipated , blazing climax of the swedish trilogy .",
        "mostly talk and little action ... actress noomi rapace remains a strong presence as lisbeth and is worthy of end-of-the-year awards consideration for her memorable work in the trilogy .",
        "the movie features a great finish , where three movies ' worth of subplots and characters dovetail into a breathtaking climax and final confrontation that is positively soul satisfying .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "the girl who makes us wish we were anywhere else .",
        "is the millennium trilogy over ? can we go home ?",
        "as well as being conventional , the girl who kicked is also confusing , dull and grubby -lrb- do we really need to see examples from a child-porn site ? -rrb- .",
        "the powerful performances by the leads , unobtrusive direction that is exemplified in a beguiling courtroom clash , and larsson 's deftly interwoven fabric of treachery and compassion all ensure that we are left yearning for more .",
        "the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest falls back on the formula which has brought the series this far , that is , inflicting trauma and abuse on lisbeth .",
        "this remains watchable thanks to nyqvist and rapace but the lacklustre direction , lack of pace and bloated script ensure that it 's closer to the mediocre nature of the second film than the brilliance of the first .",
        "as ever , rapace steals every scene she 's in , maintaining lisbeth 's moody enigma whether she 's lying on her sick bed , making a memorable court entrance in full punk regalia , or taking care of family business .",
        "the final film based on stieg larsson 's bestselling thriller trilogy opens with a whimper but ends with a bang .",
        "punk-goth computer hacker lisbeth salander is such a fabulously spiky character ... that it 's a crying shame her film adventures should conclude so limply .",
        "... could be read as the passion of lisbeth salander , as she undergoes a kind of secular crucifixion at the hands of the swedish establishment ...",
        "it always is a challenge to convert a dense novel to the screen , but hornet 's nest starts so slowly that it has a lot to overcome when it finally reveals some surprises in the last third of the film .",
        "more than the other two , this is rapace 's movie ; michael nyqvist 's ever-rumpled blomkvist has less to do , and their main scene together is just a tantalizing glimpse at the end ; a brief , poignant reminder that we 've come to the end of the road ...",
        "sometimes the girl we love is there , and other times the film chases bad guys who might as well be the bogeyman for all we care .",
        "an extremely satisfying ending to the story of lisbeth salander , the tough swedish cyber punk that actress noomi rapace has turned into an iconic new age heroine .",
        "hornet 's nest proves that even foreign trilogies are not immune to the curse of the disappointing third film .",
        "... not saying that this is bad film , it is just not nearly as intense and intriguing as you 'd expect after watching the original .",
        "it 's predominantly a court procedural and a very redundant one , since all we 're doing is re-capping what happened in the first two films and waiting two and a half hours for the verdict .",
        "there 's simply no urgency to the proceedings .",
        "... seems like a teleplay , all talk and extreme closeups with exactly three action scenes in 148 minutes . noomi rapace does nothing but look remote ...",
        "hornet 's nest is talky but indisputably terrific , and it ends in a dazzling display of courtroom fireworks . rapace is hot stuff in any language . oscar , take heed .",
        "the film huffs and wheezes under the strain of its narrative baggage .",
        "criers and the soft of heart need not apply",
        "anyone who has read larsson 's novels will be sympathetic to filmmakers trying to pare down and distill these books .",
        "although its procedural quality requires an acquaintance with the previous works , it neither refers to nor acknowledges them . rather than refresh the mythology for new arrivals , it preaches to the converted .",
        "as superb as the swedish actress noomi rapace has been up to this point , there 's nothing she can do to bring craft or excitement to the act of texting .",
        "a rousing , grueling , almost operatically scaled finale to the series .",
        "there was no chance that the film adaptation of the third book in stieg larsson 's internationally bestselling millennium trilogy would be as strong as the first .",
        "the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest comes close to self-parody at times ... -lsb- but -rsb- the final chapter has its satisfying turns .",
        "unlike the girl with the dragon tattoo , which can stand on its own , the other two films need to be seen as a set . neither is complete without the other .",
        "since the heroine spends half her screen time recovering from brain surgery , rapace has less to do than in the first two movies , but she 's striking in full punk regalia during a tense courtroom sequence .",
        "while the events are fascinating and entertaining , the film itself is less emotionally involving or viscerally thrilling .",
        "the gap between this and dragon tattoo is pretty big -- this wo n't be on my '10 best ' list and tattoo might -- but as the rest of the story , it does nicely .",
        "at 142 minutes , it 's long with some confusion , but the luminous presence of its star noomi rapace makes it well worth the journey",
        "it 's a story with something to say and a powerful way of saying it",
        "the third and final entry in stieg larsson 's enormously successful series is perhaps the least thrilling , but it 's easily the most satisfying .",
        "lisbeth salander , played by noomi rapace , spends most of the story constrained -- first in the hospital , then in prison . what fun is that ?",
        "finale of dark subtitled swedish trilogy still very violent .",
        "director daniel alfredson goes through the motions of the exposition-heavy plot with more efficiency than excitement ...",
        "lisbeth salander remains the riveting centerpiece of the two films that follow on from dragon tattoo , but , alas , her continuing story has been winnowed down in a way that makes it -- and her -- feel smaller than before .",
        "semi-satisfying , if you can keep up .",
        "while the least satisfying instalment in the trilogy , this still throbs with a slow-burning tension and provides an appropriate farewell to a compelling series .",
        "seeing the first two films -- the girl with the dragon tattoo and the girl who played with fire -- will make the third film more satisfying .",
        "for me the most deadening aspect of these films is the presence of michael nykvist as blomqvist ; he seems to have a personality by-pass , and remains expressionless at all times , no matter what 's going on .",
        "they can not overcome completely the redundant , static nature of much of the novel , but they put up a good fight .",
        "its seems as if the production has taken a bullet to the brain just like its heroine .",
        "the best thing that can be said about the excruciatingly dull , badly made closing chapter in this punishingly bad swedish crime trilogy is that it really whets the appetite for the upcoming american version .",
        "this film ends up being more of a courtroom drama , and yet it 's almost as equally thrilling as the first film in the series .",
        "the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest does n't exactly give the millennium trilogy the explosive send-off it deserves , and stacked against the other two movies in the series , it 's perhaps the weakest story of the three .",
        "unlike its two predecessors , the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest boasts a briskly-paced opening half hour that proves effective at immediately drawing the viewer into the movie ...",
        "will make no sense to those who have n't seen the first two or read the books",
        "one of the knottiest , talkiest tangles of celluloid to roll into theaters this year .",
        "the reason to see this film is -lrb- as always -rrb- noomi rapace , who has brought lisbeth to life for fans of the larsson trilogy . she and annika hallin , who plays her lawyer , are the main attractions here , gripping to watch .",
        "the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest is too akin to the tidying up of a television-series finale - albeit a very classy franchise with fine characters and able performances .",
        "as the end credits of this last dour swedish snooze-a-thon started rolling , i clapped my notebook shut as if it were the last day of school . huzzah ! bring on david fincher . please .",
        "if you have n't seen the first two films , do so and then see this one . if you have seen them , chances are you 're already in the ticket line . hornet 's nest has such a sweet sting .",
        "much of the problem can be traced to the villains of the piece : the snakes in the establishment are a bunch of really old white guys . now this may be true to life , but it 's hell on drama .",
        "it lacks a certain cinematic depth and scale , and plays out more like an epic episode of law & order . there are plenty of smart plot turns to follow , but at this length , the minutiae of the case begins to get a little tedious .",
        "with its `` son of frankenstein '' climax , complete with shambling monster , murky pool , ropes , ladders and lofty ledges , `` the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest '' is a fitting conclusion to the nordic saga of goth heroine lisbeth salander .",
        "despite having less action and more talk than the first two thrillers in this trilogy , noomi rapace 's acting and jacob groth 's score enhance the tension .",
        "despite being packaged as a thriller , `` hornet 's nest '' lacks the urgency and suspense of the previous films .",
        "the final , deeply satisfying conclusion to the trilogy of swedish thrillers based on stieg larsson 's bestselling novels .",
        "expunging the clich\u00e9s , coincidences , flat dialogue and dull exposition will present a challenge for director david fincher as he begins to remake the films in hollywood .",
        "an overgenerous helping of recapitulation , a long procedural that 's more about lisbeth 's persecutors and protectors than about her .",
        "the main thing that storyline reveals is that steig larsson 's books simply are n't very well-plotted .",
        "a trilogies ' worth of seemingly disconnected characters and random plot points merge into an utterly satisfying climax .",
        "the story grows thick with deadly assassins , bent medicos , excitable bikers , a considerable amount of courtroom cat-and-mousery , and a heavy-duty nail gun that 's put to startlingly inventive use .",
        "note to self : when masterminding evil conspiracy with connections to high government offices , store incriminating documents on a laptop without a wireless modem .",
        "` hornet 's nest ' wraps everything up in a nice bundle , even if it takes far too long to get going ; the last two movies could have easily been condensed down into one stronger movie .",
        "feels like the concluding chapter it is , with neatly tied loose ends and closing remarks , though it unfolds as something of a secular passion play .",
        "fans will presumably get what they came for ; what anyone else gets out of it is hard to say .",
        "hornet 's nest is n't particularly stylish . its allure lies with salander , whose mohawk , spiked dog collar and goth makeup belie an introverted yet brilliant mind .",
        "the ending at least offers some satisfying comeuppance , but it 's a bit of a chore getting there .",
        "the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest is mostly an epic rehash of the tale larsson has already told , and that makes it , at two hours and 28 minutes , the first movie in the series that never catches fire .",
        "the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest is far less than the girl with the dragon tattoo , but it is superior to the girl who played with fire .",
        "the last installment in the millennium series of swedish films reveals the dangers of zealots in high places of power and prestige .",
        "lisbeth stuck in a confined space is like superman trapped in a phone booth : it 's a blueprint for a mighty boring superhero movie .",
        "nearly two and a half hours have been filled with the clickety-clack of laptops , extremely polite interrogations and the feverish researching of -- wait for it -- a multipage magazine article .",
        "the swedish trilogy trundles to a wobbly finale that 's heavy on plot and cheap theatrics , but light on the dark , mesmerizing energy that made the first film so watchable .",
        "like the first two millennium movies , this final installment feels thoughtlessly put together , its script unpruned and rushed through , all to capitalize on the staggering worldwide popularity of its dead author .",
        "is lisbeth salander the most fascinating female character of all time ? ... an outstanding underdog story , an exciting suspense tale and a thought-provoking legal thriller .",
        "when your series ' most compelling character remains mute and largely on the periphery of the action -lrb- albeit all decked out in punker regalia , including a big mohawk -rrb- , something is seriously amiss .",
        "this 148-minute movie is best appreciated if you have already watched the first two movies or read the books . it is not intended to be a standalone film . neophytes will find themselves lost and confused without sufficient background to fully appreciate ...",
        "the series is quite satisfying as a whole , in the manner of the type of well-made , limited-episode crime program that might appear on amc or hbo .",
        "moves along at a brisk pace .",
        "at its conclusion you 're nowhere near where you started , nor are you waiting for the twist to drag you back to the beginning to tie up all narrative threads in one neat bow .",
        "it 's enough to see rapace 's salander smile , however tentatively , however briefly , however unlikely . those white teeth framed by black-on-black everything ? they bite .",
        "the millennium trilogy follows a similar pattern as the matrix trilogy , and that 's not a compliment .",
        "the european equivalent of the matrix revolutions , this third chapter finds a once-vibrant saga largely coasting on the fumes of its well-regarded predecessors .",
        "the matrix : revolutions of the millennium trilogy .",
        "while rapace remains a strong and captivating actress in the title role , the film is remarkably bad . in fact , it 's easily one of the year 's worst movies . boring beyond belief .",
        "... something of a dull disappointment , but does ultimately bring the saga of epically abused computer genius lisbeth salander to a satisfying close .",
        "it 's a rather wobbly blend of courtroom drama and loose ends tied , albeit rather leisurely .",
        "alfredson is merely interested in repeating the highlights , recreating the best moments of the book but also the worst , resulting in a film that hits with precision as often as it seems to drag endlessly .",
        "dark and glacially paced way to wrap up a trilogy",
        "usprkos toga to je larsson i kod nas ario i palio po knjiarama , hrvatski distributeri dosad nisu imali razumijevanja za vedsku trilogiju",
        "lifeless , talky series wrap up that induces more of a sense of submission than finality , stumbling through a complicated terrain of exposition without a desirable wallop of blistering suspense .",
        "reasonably satisfying , generating some genuine suspense on its way to a. . . conclusion in which the villains finally get what they deserve .",
        "who wants to spend most of a movie without its best character ?",
        "daniel alfredson recaptures the provocative appeal of the superior first film -lrb- which he did n't direct -rrb- that was strangely missing from the second -lrb- which he did -rrb- .",
        "so what has happened is that this uptight , ferocious , little gamine lisbeth has won our hearts , and we care about these stories and think there had better be more .",
        "the last of the iconic larsson trilogy struggles to keep up the edge but is good entertainment nonetheless .",
        "... a dull summation of the more compelling back story from the first two films .",
        "at least it manages to avoid repeating the most tepid mistakes of its immediate predecessor .",
        "-lsb- m -rsb- ost deliciously realized is the fleshing out of the cold warriors in the swedish intelligence service , whose plotting reaches into the hospital , the police , and the court .",
        "noomi rapace 's performance as the unforgettable lisbeth is likely to stand as a landmark among the decade 's films .",
        "whatever its failings , hornet 's nest allows us to say goodbye to beloved characters . that is , unless those rumors of a fourth millennium book prove true .",
        "it 's only our investment in these fascinating characters and in wholly unraveling the mystery of lisbeth salander 's awful past that keep it compelling .",
        "noomi rapace , once again , is superb as lisbeth salander ...",
        "dull , disappointing , vengeance-filled conclusion to stieg larsson 's intriguing swedish crime trilogy .",
        "hornet 's nest has a steady , bulletlike trajectory ."
    ],
    "summary": "slow and mostly devoid of the stellar chemistry between its two leads , the girl who kicked the hornet 's nest is a disappointingly uneven conclusion to the millennium trilogy .",
    "id": "770854178"
  },
  {
    "movie": "crank_high_voltage",
    "reviews": [
        "both exhilarating and exhausting , it falls just short of a fever pitch .",
        "click for full review",
        "waking up in the aftermath of a meth-lab explosion might be less disorienting than watching this . and if you think there 's no room for more , neveldine/taylor are probably a weekend and a bag of crack-filled pixie stix away from proving you wrong .",
        "see this f % $ & * ing movie , mate .",
        "basically the co-writers and co-directors mark neveldine and brian taylor sneer at any kind of rules , decorum or morality . anything goes , as long as it 's within the realm of exploitation-level `` b '' moviemaking .",
        "yet another d.o.a. for the add era .",
        "plays it to all heights if idiocy where suspense of disbelief is no longer an instrument to the entertainment .",
        "feels like shock for shock 's sake instead of something morbidly inventive like the first one .",
        "copping to how unrealistic your movie is by excusing it -lrb- no , no , it 's a video game ! -rrb- , rather than running with it , is a mistake that taylor and neveldine never recover from .",
        "... an agreeable companion piece to its admittedly superior predecessor .",
        "it knows what it is , almost mindless and totally kick-arse . in fact , it 's my favorite of the crankporter flicks .",
        "if you 're 14 to 18 , hopped up on hormones , fresh off your daily dose of ritalin , and ready to have your short attention span verbally and visually assaulted , you 'll be in for a toxic trip .",
        "MOV delivers everything it promises -- if it were a politician , it 'd have my vote .",
        "have you ever chugged three red bulls right before a game of grand theft auto ? this add-infused action sequel ... is a bit like that . except even less family friendly .",
        "crank : high voltage is a real celebration of the phrase `` why not ? '' . it 's big , loud and brainless - and it 's all the more glorious for it .",
        "the constant escalation to -lsb- the filmmakers ' -rsb- inventive insanity is so breathtaking , it 's like a slap in the face to the tired hacks who make the glossy hidebound junk that passes for an action movie these days .",
        "bigger , dumber and even sicker than the rotgut original ... i had a blast , but do n't say you were n't warned .",
        "so gross , brutal and just plain bad that i may never want to see another jason statham movie .",
        "what you really get here is the same movie all over again -- only more so .",
        "the directing and writing team of mark neveldine and brian taylor have between them a boundless imagination , constantly topping one absurdly overstated moment with another , even more absurd .",
        "adrenaline-propelled and outrageously offensive , it 's a cinematic video game that 's neither coherent nor credible .",
        "grisly , gory , over-the-top action-parody is n't for kids .",
        "... just as sloppily caffeinated as before , with an extra layer of scummy race jokes .",
        "the only shocking thing about it is how dull and predictable the whole enterprise is .",
        "like its predecessor , crank : high voltage is speedball cinema , a pure narcotized rush of blistering action , odious stereotypes , and shock-for-shock 's - sake nastiness .",
        "it 's so amped up that high voltage suffers its own energy shortage well before the finale . it 's also every bit as stupid as it sounds .",
        "not everyone has a taste for gun-wielding strippers and godzilla parodies , but for those who do , MOV is like a 1,000-volt shot to the heart .",
        "crank : high voltage promises something outrageous and then over-delivers , permanently deflowering and deforming the mind of anyone lucky enough to be in the audience .",
        "there 's not enough here for me to recommend it without reservations to anyone outside of that narrow target audience .",
        "this movie is tarantino on speed , and without focus and style . it is in-your-face and proud of it with no apologies .",
        "writer-directors mark neveldine and brian taylor have written their own set of action-comedy challenges , and they slam-dunk pretty much every one .",
        "as usual , statham anchors the proceedings with his simmering charisma and impressive physicality .",
        "for all its add editing , it 's a joyless slog .",
        "the result , an eye-popping strobe of flesh and blood , is as visually stunning as it is absurdly offensive , sure to thrill some while leaving others in a state of outrage-induced catatonia .",
        "stick two fingers up at the moral majority ... then shove them in the high voltage socket and get ready to have your socks blown off .",
        "proof that you can make good movies based on video games , as long as you do n't bother making a video game first . juice us up for crank 3d .",
        "this fest of violence , breasts , sex , swearing and dodgy plot turns can only be enjoyed if you do n't take it seriously .",
        "crank : high voltage is all over the place and not as good as the first flick but still finds a way to deliver the entertainment , shock value and action . check it out !",
        "not quite as much fun as the from-nowhere original , but still , y' know , fackin ' shocking .",
        "william blake may have once stated `` the road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom '' but i 'm guessing that if he ever had the opportunity to see the `` crank '' films , he might have had second thoughts about that .",
        "the chaotic onslaught of gruesomely violent and graphically sexual exploitation is so ugly and ceaseless this time that it eventually numbs , and then bores , the viewer .",
        "watching this movie is like trying to survive on red bull and skittles . it might keep you up for a little bit , but before too long , you 'll just want to throw up .",
        "it is as much influenced by looney toons cartoons and russ meyer movies as it is by the anarchic new wave of action films . and it was edited , apparently , by someone with add .",
        "the whole film is a series of frenetically-edited action sequences and bizarre set-pieces roughly stitched together to form some kind of whole . it 's been made with tongue firmly in cheek and is often funny for it .",
        "the admirably unrestrained taylor and neveldine just about manage to sustain the charge in this fizzing battery of a movie , which only starts going flat towards the end .",
        "if your idea of quality entertainment is a steady diet of video games , porn and mountain dew commercials , crank wants your business !",
        "imagine a gonzo collaboration between jean-luc godard , michael bay and tex avery on a weekend meth binge , and you begin to get an idea of what writer-directors mark neveldine and brad taylor have up their sleeves .",
        "every element comes together to create a piece of gonzo genius we wo n't soon forget ... i dare you not to love every minute of it .",
        "they 've cranked it up another couple notches for crank : high voltage , with mixed results .",
        "yes , it 's supposed to be dreadful , but it turns out that `` crank : high voltage '' is genuinely insufferable ... surely something so gleefully disgusting should n't have to work this hard to make an impression .",
        "tasteless , trashy and totally over the top , crank : high voltage might also be one of the year 's most inventive movies . sometimes , nothing exceeds like excess .",
        "crank : high voltage , starring jason statham as a man with a machine instead of a heart , is boorish , bigoted and borderline pornographic .",
        "in crank : high voltage , statham just looks miserable , as if appearing in this lousy picture just sucked all the heart right out of him .",
        "a self-consciously crazy action romp which overdoses on cartoonish violence and non-pc comedy .",
        "you 're liable to watch the whole thing with an expression of bafflement on your face , surprised , delighted , and alarmed by what you 're seeing .",
        "if someone was charged with creating a graphic , bizarre cartoon for adults , that someone might conceive of ` crank 2 : high voltage , ' one of the most insanely outrageous movies ever made .",
        "better not operate any heavy machinery after an eyeful of crank : high voltage",
        "the movie feels like a form of aversion therapy designed to take the fun out of dumb .",
        "it 's a hyperactive , relentlessly violent and po-faced mean s.o.b. - and i guarantee you 'll 3/4 every minute .",
        "crank : high voltage is the superior of the two films not because it knows it 's a second helping of something that is all empty calories , but because it 's simply more than the other one .",
        "this crank sequel fails to live up to the original in every way and that one did n't exactly set a high bar to begin with .",
        "the stath is pretty much the most bankable name in action movies today , and his unhinged work in high voltage , indulging in an explosion of murder and mayhem with gusto and glee , should certainly see him retain that title .",
        "brash , outrageously inane and chaotically crafty , crank 2 : high voltage is unapologetic in its sheer penchant for graphic-induced ribaldry as its charismatic calling card .",
        "thanks to statham , it 's often tremendous fun - and sometimes just surreal -lrb- check the geri halliwell cameo -rrb- - so it 's too bad its demeaning , indefensible attitude towards women and casual racism leaves such a sour taste in the mouth .",
        "crank 2 : high voltage is still an entertaining sequel but it lacks the spark of the original film and never quite reaches the same delirious heights ."
    ],
    "summary": "crank : high voltage delivers on its promises : a fast-paced , exciting thrill ride that does n't take itself too seriously .",
    "id": "770740096"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fruitvale_station",
    "reviews": [
        "`` an emotionally grounding character study as well as a sobering manifestation of social injustices that surround us .",
        "the real power of MOV is in reminding us all that whenever we hear about a death -- random , accidental , foreseen or otherwise -- that lost life belonged to a real person , with complications , loved ones , enemies , flaws , hopes and dreams .",
        "while jordan is responsible for making oscar grant come to life , coogler deserves equal if not more praise for having so successfully created a sense of the world he lived in .",
        "well intentioned and reasonably well constructed , MOV seems to exist for the sole purpose of making what should be an obvious point : oscar grant did n't deserve to die , and the officer who shot him in the back had no right to do so .",
        "powerful and disturbing.michael b. jordan is brilliant . it shows us we ca n't change the past but with movies like this perhaps we can make a better future .",
        "without ever being forced or false , and with an amazingly honest eye and ear for detail , writer-director ryan coogler 's drama about a young man 's final hours is one of the most extraordinary films you 'll see this year .",
        "the movie is modest in its ambition and powerful in its reverberations . it takes oscar grant 's story and makes it universal - and transforms a sometimes awkward and obvious movie into a work of art .",
        "-lsb- ryan -rsb- coogler is n't exactly an invisible hand . he pokes and prods his audience at every turn : neither the false moments nor the powerful ones leave much mystery about how we 're supposed to feel .",
        "captures the fear that seems to drive too much of race relations in this country , that blend of unease and false assumption that kills communication and leads to tragedy .",
        "the fact that ryan coogler 's film about oscar is being released just as the nation is gripped by the zimmerman trial makes this already stunning picture all the more pungent .",
        "though the film 's ending is no mystery , the personal details are what make this story so absorbing and so moving - more so precisely because his fate is already known .",
        "coogler 's goal is clear - to put a human face on grant , to make him recognizable .",
        "`` MOV '' will emotionally move you and simultaneously make you appreciate the filmmaking abilities of ryan coogler and michael b. jordan .",
        "it 's a heartbreaking story that is so emotionally powerful that , while i may not want to see again , if it 's on i wo n't be able to help but see it 's tragic conclusion again .",
        "bart allowed coogler to shoot on location , and the young filmmaker , working with a score of actors and a crowd of extras , shows more competence in placing the camera coherently than many action directors with access to multimillion-dollar budgets .",
        "there 's great soul to the work , which gives a complete picture of a young man 's life in microcosmic form .",
        "` MOV , ' is one the most endearing and profound films that echoes the essence of humanity . ryan coogler 's feature debut gives michael b. jordan a career making performance .",
        "coogler shows the storytelling maturity and restraint to keep the focus squarely on the characters , not so much on the actual act of bloodshed itself but the wounds exacted upon the direct victims , witnesses , and families alike .",
        "the closeness of family and the feeling of community comes across as genuine in every scene ...",
        "many will respond to the film as a gut-level human interest piece , but it 's as curtailed and nuance-free a character study as it is a political polemic .",
        "MOV 's arrival in theaters corresponds with the outcry over the trayvon martin case . but fruitvale did not need added relevancy to be remarkable .",
        "MOV is a heart-rending stop ; just remember that the line does n't end there .",
        "was oscar grant going to turn his life around ? we 'll never know because of a pointless act of violence .",
        "coogler 's take quietly serves to show grant as a human being , with his flaws and redeeming qualities , and not just as a face in a newspaper obituary .",
        "... a palpably low-key premise that 's employed to continuously engrossing effect by first-time writer/director ryan coogler ...",
        "` MOV ' is a movie people are going to be talking about and it 's a conversation you do n't want to be left out of .",
        "you wonder if coogler would have felt freer had grant somehow lived that night , if the director were n't put in a position where he felt the need to honor the dead by bringing him to dramatic life . but he believes in his ambition .",
        "many recent movies so cavalierly dispense thousands upon thousands of ammunition rounds , you can sometimes forget the effect that one bullet can have on human life .",
        "a tragically relevant and incredibly important film that deserves all the attention it can get from american audiences .",
        "we feel the death on the platform so acutely not because it 's a stupid act of randomness , but hardly untypical racist violence , but because we 've come to love this man .",
        "MOV shows us the last day of a young man , whose life was like a lot of young men 's , who was shot in the back by public servants , his face against a cold subway platform .",
        "empathy and authenticity keep you on the edge of your seat at MOV .",
        "`` fruitvale '' was made with respect for the details of oscar 's life , good and bad , because they help us understand what was lost when he died , unarmed and afraid , on a crowded train platform .",
        "this is n't a movie that grabs you by the throat , it 's one that sneaks up on you and gets under your skin . MOV is an authentically raw motion picture that i wo n't soon forget .",
        "beautifully human at every level , and visually poetic without a hint of pretense , MOV is n't just one of the best films of the year , it may well be the most important .",
        "an eloquent memorial for a man who barely experienced life , and a haunting reminder of how quickly it can be lost .",
        "what 's presented here is good , and it 's an important film to see for its coverage of the subject matter that unfortunately is still making headlines . -lrb- full parental review also available -rrb-",
        "michael b. jordan -lrb- the wire and friday night lights -rrb- plays oscar with the heart and compelling charm required to make us feel close to him .",
        "benefits immeasurably from its piercing lead performances , stumbling only in its over-eagerness to make its points .",
        "it 's a story of one young man 's tragedy , a story that resonates with so many other tragedies . oscar grant was n't some mere symbol ; this film makes him flesh and , unfortunately , blood .",
        "the actual events already serve as a parable of race in america , but coogler 's dramatization does them justice .",
        "although coogler surely wants his movie to serve as a weapon against racially charged police brutality , he 's smart enough , and sensitive enough , to know that this is above all a human tragedy -- and not a political rallying point .",
        "MOV 's wrenching power lies in the specificity of its storytelling and the ordinary human warmth of the world it conjures .",
        "from the moment the arrest begins , the film is blunt and stunning , a completely absorbing , protracted nightmare .",
        "coogler 's film is shaky , sometimes literally slipping out of focus even as its own vision remains resolutely blinkered .",
        "a noble effort to contextualize the life of a man who would become famous for the way that he died .",
        "galvanizing , tense gritty-indie , brilliantly acted by jordan and spencer . very much worth watching even though the too-neat , manipulative screenplay undercuts it artistically .",
        "`` MOV '' is about what we can imagine when we cast our gaze across the longstanding divides in this persistently , cancerously segregated american society .",
        "`` MOV '' is a potent dramatic chronicle of contemporary american life , crackling with energy and possibility , made with the cooperation of grant 's mother and girlfriend .",
        "in the end , what is the meaning of the film ?",
        "as the film plays out , the audience is likely to be overwhelmed by anger and the inability to stop what is coming . opportunities for the story to take a different turn and avoid tragedy loom , leaving a haunting impression .",
        "it 's funny how the bloated , overly lengthy studio blockbusters have far less impact than 90 minutes of a relatively brief , cgi-free ` little ' movie such as ` MOV . '",
        "a powerful acknowledgement of existence",
        "this dramatic story is told in a fair and balanced way , supplemented with excellent acting .",
        "one of the year 's best films .",
        "after seeing MOV you should come away with the impulse to muse on the life behind the next tragic homicide in the news that sparks debate ...",
        "without emotion-tweaking music or too much fictional streamlining and highlighting , he captures a sense of the random and pointless horror of a young man shot in the back while laying on his stomach",
        "as grant , michael b. jordan 's stunning good looks and immaculately restrained acting affects even those who do n't want to be manipulated-who want to watch this story with unfogged eyes .",
        "the slow first hour is more than compensated for by the half hour climax that leaves one in tears .",
        "it 's hard not to watch MOV with a coiled dread ... yet , coogler 's greatest achievement may be in reminding us that grant was a work in progress with people who loved him in spite of his flaws and because of his hopes .",
        "the film is both personal and universal . jordan can be so touching , and his intimidating ferocity is palpable . this is an important picture with a breakout performance .",
        "at a time when the multiplexes are crowded with coarse comedy and inept spectacle , here 's a homegrown movie that honors its subject and the medium .",
        "raw , real and memorable .",
        "the performance by michael b. jordan is authentic and convincing , and helps us stay engaged in a film that wants to be mundane until its explosive finale .",
        "in the wake of the trayvon martin verdict , this compassionate film reclaims the humanity of victims transformed into political symbols and provides context for those who think the media and not zimmerman 's bullet ` injected race ' into the martin killing .",
        "yet , despite being aware of the outcome , the movie is , in its own profane and streetwise manner , a warmhearted and soulful story of a young man 's journey toward self-discovery and determination .",
        "an impressive launch for the film 's young writer-director and a signal that the movie 's leading man will be a major presence in american film .",
        "there are scenes that were certainly fabricated for the movie , but the emotional truth behind them feels real .",
        "an utterly moving and rich slice-of-life fable .",
        "stunning , timely look at the killing of an unarmed man",
        "... takes tragedies that have inflamed a nation - from fruitvale to sanford , fla. - and brings them back down to human scale .",
        "a good first film but not quite deserving of the hype . the best parts have nothing to do with oscar grant 's murder but the quotidian tale of survival by a young man with the best of intentions .",
        "does something more radical ... humanizes the protagonist",
        "it 's an unflinching , 360-degree character portrait .",
        "assured directorial debut of the 26-year-old ryan coogler .",
        "make no mistake : there 's a rage and wrenching sadness here , but ryan coogler has filtered it via a story packed with lingering grace notes .",
        "well-meaning , naturally acted , horrifically unbalanced ... whatever its objectives , the film comes across as an emotionally exploitative , crudely manipulative prayer .",
        "the best thing coogler did was cast michael b. jordan as oscar and octavia spencer as his mother wanda and surround them with an entirely credible version of life in oakland 's black community .",
        "when it reaches that harrowing , inevitable finale , it inspires fury and confusion much like spike lee 's signature work did two decades ago .",
        "riveting , emotionally charged drama , with powerhouse performances to match . jordan is a revelation .",
        "despite its credibility issues , the film is still able to deliver an emotional finale .",
        "it rings true . there is no manipulation or theatrical construct that deflect from the story 's core ; the film ensures oscar 's legacy remains and that we feel as though we have got to know this young man whose loss is a senseless tragedy",
        "thank goodness ... for the performances , all powerful and compelling , from michael b. jordan as oscar to the wonderful octavia spencer as his mum and melonie diaz as his gf sophina",
        "the air of impending disaster -lrb- we open with the notorious mobile phone footage -rrb- culminates in a harrowing final act that is both chilling and heartbreaking .",
        "brilliantly observed and very moving .",
        "even if every word of coogler 's account of the last day in grant 's life held up under close scrutiny , the film would still ring false in its relentlessly positive portrayal of its subject .",
        "if you leave the film with dry eyes , you 're a hell of a lot stronger than me , or than anyone in the eccles theater the night i saw the film .",
        "a viewer may have a heavy heart in wondering precisely just what was fact and what was fiction but there is little doubt at how emotionally effective coogler 's version of the story actually is .",
        "with a sympathetic and not too heavy hand , MOV takes its audience through the constant challenges to black family life - poverty , debt , crime , and the prospect that an encounter with the police can have deadly consequences .",
        "michael jordan 's grant is remarkably sympathetic , and his story develops in a way that adds an awful note to the opening scene , as the arc creeps slowly and painfully towards the final , fatal moment .",
        "one has the sense of a man being slowly , surely written back into being .",
        "it 's a gentle film , with deep reservoirs of empathy and understanding . and so terribly sad .",
        "as well as being a superb piece of filmmaking and writing that tells an important story of what happened , it 's also a thought-provoking tribute to what could have been .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- has a profound emotional impact by keeping things simple .",
        "coogler 's realistic debut recreates grant 's final day with affection , refusing to cast him as either saint or sinner .",
        "there 's a sincere clarity that michael b. jordan achieves from beginning to end . raw and proficient in delivery , his performance places him near the top of the most exciting actors to watch .",
        "flawed though it is by overstating the obvious , MOV is also sensitively acted and well-intentioned .",
        "you might expect a film about the real-life shooting of a young black man by a white cop to burn with outrage and fury , but writer-director ryan coogler 's MOV is notable for its restraint and compassion .",
        "with his debut feature , writer-director ryan coogler recreates a real-life event with remarkable artistry .",
        "fruitvale is easy to see as something more than a movie - a diagnosis , perhaps , or a part of that sticky vortex we call the zeitgeist .",
        "where it could have been angry ... the film is instead clinical ...",
        "in naturalistic and unforced strokes , he allows grant to exist as a complex , even contradictory human , inviting the audience simply to sit with his life , his loss and what they both meant .",
        "a devastating portrait of the fallibility of man and the importance of appreciating what one has while it 's still here .",
        "michael b. jordan portrays oscar grant as a complex and real person , making MOV more than just the story of a death . in fact , it 's one full of life .",
        "sober , even-handed and quite moving .",
        "there 's plenty of riveting drama , including a gut-wrenching climax that elicits a powerful emotional resonance .",
        "by using a fly-on-the-wall approach , coogler is able to tell his story in a straightforward style that gets the message across without seeming preachy .",
        "one of the most powerful and socially relevant movies of the year .",
        "MOV sums up oscar 's life , but the act of summing up can tell us only so much , since a young life is still a maze of promise and indecision .",
        "michael b. jordan wins you over completely before the devastating finale . those pulse-quickening moments at MOV capture the chaos , confusion , fear and hate that provoked the perfect storm for tragedy .",
        "compelling and exasperating ...",
        "it 's not a perfect movie . but you will cry your eyes out anyway .",
        "a harrowing film worth seeing and honoring for boldness and insight .",
        "for a movie about an unjust death , `` MOV '' is bursting with the colorful , messy striving of life .",
        "a restrained but forceful picture that captures some of the texture and detail of one human life .",
        "fruitvale is outstanding , a telling portrait and testament to the life of one man and the complicated relationships to race and class that still exist within america today .",
        "when the full impact of grant 's death comes to the fore for the people closest to him , fruitvale generates tears to express the same rage found in the protests following the tragedy . it makes the cause personal .",
        "coogler , who grew up in the same neighborhoods as grant , evokes a tangible sense of place , and his staging of the climactic incident hits like a fist in the gut .",
        "coogler immerses us in this life , so that when it 's cut short , you wo n't just weep , you 'll cry out in protest . MOV is great political filmmaking because it 's great filmmaking , period .",
        "a runaway powerhouse film packed with emotionally-gripping performances , outstanding direction and a script that challenges viewers like few other films have this year .",
        "not just jordan , but everyone from the likes of octavia spencer and melonie diaz to the crowd of bart-passenger bit players hit it convincingly , consistently .",
        "if coogler were not as sure a directorial hand , or the film less gripping , that weight might be too much for it to bear . but , despite some imperfections , they 're both up to the task .",
        "the intimacy of debut writer-director ryan coogler 's approach to the film and the no-frills , believably real quality of the main performances combine to drive the senselessness of oscar 's killing home with visceral impact .",
        "critically , MOV serves as a morality tale that reminds us not to dismiss anyone without first knowing the full story behind the scenes . every life has value .",
        "writer-director ryan coogler 's -lsb- film is an -rsb- assured and evenhanded debut .",
        "MOV is centered around a tragic event with a powerful message , but just lacks the momentum to actually be impressive .",
        "MOV nos lembra de que somos todos oscar grant .",
        "as a biographical drama MOV works , though you 're not going to pick up anything about the actual shooting that you do n't already know .",
        "michael b. jordan is simply brilliant in his portrayal of grant , whom coogler presents as a generally happy , if complex and somewhat troubled young man .",
        "a viscerally wrenching experience , filled with foreboding from the first frame but stylistically naturalistic .",
        "strives only for an emotional response rather than an intellectual one .",
        "many directors have trouble accomplishing something like this even when they 're throwing character development in your face . to be able to succeed by using a standard `` day in the life '' approach makes it all the more incredible , and makes it a must-see .",
        "a star-making performance by michael b. jordan .",
        "oscar grant had friends , he had a sister and a mother and a grandmother , a girlfriend , a child . in concise measures , MOV shows us these connections , these bonds .",
        "even though we know where this dark road travels , the remarkable MOV still manages to be both sorrowful and suspenseful while also celebrating a life only half-lived .",
        "writer/director ryan coogler 's debut feature , MOV , is one of those first films that announces that a major talent has hit the scene .",
        "grant 's ordinary life seems eminently dramatic even without its place in history .",
        "a gut-wrenching , emotional powerhouse of a film , politically and socially resonant while also standing on its own as a compelling and often-heartbreaking story",
        "coogler could 've settled for an enraging , full-throttle melodrama , designed to boil your blood from beginning to end . but `` MOV '' is better , more heartbreaking , than that .",
        "an exceptional dramatic feature propelled by strong performances across the board .",
        "MOV , is impressive for a debut , and displays the unimpeachable intent to involve us all in the human story behind a headline . and it certainly displays great promise from its director and accomplished performances from its cast .",
        "MOV will rock your world -- and , if the life of oscar grant means anything , compel you to work to change it .",
        "if you are n't choked up at the end , you may have some kind of problem .",
        "the compelling true story of a 22-year-old african-american whose effort to turn his life around was cut short by the unnecessary violence of a trigger-happy policeman .",
        "the movie is the model of decency and respect , and does honor to a life unjustly ended ; it offers few surprises but is nonetheless shocking .",
        "a narrative based on a tragic true story conventionally told",
        "sensitively performed and laced with some forceful , quotidian grit , the film evades the larger questions behind a scandalous shooting death .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- bookended by footage of the killing , as recorded on cell-phones by innocent bystanders , `` MOV '' is a cautionary reminder of how predictably unpredictable law enforcement officers in america are .",
        "whether oscar grant deserves to be remembered as a martyr or a provocateur , this poignant portrait of him as a flawed free-spirit is moving enough to be remembered come academy awards season .",
        "a shrewd script and career-launching performances drive a tragic modern story that carries heavy social weight .",
        "as a first feature for writer/director ryan coogler , it 's pretty remarkable . as a star-making vehicle for michael b. jordan , it 's a slam dunk .",
        "MOV does work , but it 's marred by problematic writing and direction .",
        "an impressive debut by ryan coogler .",
        "potentially blunt dramaturgy turns to something profound -lrb- and not perfumed -rrb- in implication .",
        "a captivating film ...",
        "anchored by what deservedly proved to be a breakthrough turn for jordan , MOV is a devastating and detailed celebration of life .",
        "a tragic , grievous subject matter handled delicately and efficiently .",
        "a deeply moving drama played out on the small stage of ordinary people 's lives .",
        "it 's ragged around the edges , but this remains a stirring tribute to grant . and coaxed by the assured coogler , jordan delivers a performance that will long be remembered .",
        "this chronicle of a death foretold celebrates an individual 's efforts to do better even as it laments his - and his nation 's - difficulties in moving on .",
        "MOV intends to investigate a troubled soul at the very moment of its awakening , but rarely does it feel authentic , and worse , it comes up frustratingly incomplete .",
        "it 's a film to make you weep with sorrow and anger , and one of the most necessary films of the year .",
        "some of this narrative feels cliched , but coogler and his actors make it work by leaning toward understatement .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't just a story of one family 's tragedy , but a wounding snapshot of a society struggling somewhere between melting pot and battlefield .",
        "... a movie as direct and devastating as a point-blank bullet to the back .",
        "the story draws power from the simple rhythms of a day spent with family , friends and strangers .",
        "ryan coogler 's powerful film about the death of oscar grant , the trayvon martin of 2009 . the seeming random nature of the incident makes it all the more horrifying .",
        "`` MOV '' uses objectivity without sacrificing perspective to remind us of the obvious , in case we 've forgotten : that what happened to oscar grant should n't happen to anyone .",
        "together , star and director get you to look at , and think about , a flawed young man you might not give a second thought if you saw him on the street .",
        "MOV is a gut punch of a movie . by standing in solidarity with oscar , it becomes an unstoppable cinematic force .",
        "whatever role prejudice have played a part in the shooting - oscar and his friends were black , and the officers were white - MOV refuses to turn the incident into a statement on race and divisiveness .",
        "coogler immerses the viewer in grant 's world , creating empathy for his struggles while also examining the realities that limit his options .",
        "... an emotionally devastating feature film debut ... yet for all its mastery of foreshadowing amidst the minutiae of daily life , coogler and jordan have sanctified their protagonist just a bit too much to make the film truly great .",
        "in its modest way , the film reminds us that nobody 's life is really that special -- but that we all still deserve better than what happened to oscar grant .",
        "ryan coogler does a remarkable thing with his first feature film . he makes it look like he has been in the business as a director for years .",
        "a sad , touching and subtle film .",
        "just ... no . this is heartstring-tugging hooey .",
        "it 's an emotive film about an emotive incident , but an unmolested account of grant 's demise could have had so much more impact .",
        "jordan does n't beg for our sympathy and is all the more magnetic as a result . the finale is devastating .",
        "the film 's version of grant has been carefully calibrated to be just nice enough to scare up empathy and just mischievous enough to take some polish of his character .",
        "it focuses on its subject 's humanity and assesses the tragedy on a personal rather than explicitly sociopolitical level . however , the way in which it fleshes out oscar 's character makes it an acutely political work .",
        "the problem with MOV is n't that it is so dense with foreboding but that foreboding is the only register it has .",
        "coogler 's spare , sombre style serves the story well , skillfully avoiding cliche and formula to soberly rage against a grave miscarriage of justice .",
        "the emotionally wrenching MOV does n't feel like a call-to-arms so much as a call against them .",
        "there is something almost spiritual in the eerie importance that all the ordinary , banal facts of a life achieve under scrutiny , as time is running out .",
        "why is goodhearted liberal cinema sometimes so dumb ?",
        "made with assurance and deep emotion , `` MOV '' is more than a remarkable directing debut for 26-year-old ryan coogler . it 's an outstanding film by any standard ."
    ],
    "summary": "passionate and powerfully acted , MOV serves as a celebration of life , a condemnation of death , and a triumph for star michael b. jordan .",
    "id": "771324998"
  },
  {
    "movie": "last_king_of_scotland",
    "reviews": [
        "whitaker is astounding in this role , moving easily between the happy charm that made amin champion of his people , and the madness that led this infamous dictator to kill almost half a million of them .",
        "so often the gentle giant , whitaker changes tack here with an intimidating display of girth and guile , mixed in with the outward signals of untouchable nuttiness .",
        "whitaker is mesmeric as the bombastic despot , perfectly capturing his oddly comic but ultimately brutalistic nature .",
        "whitaker commands his scenes as effectively as he did in clint eastwood 's film about charlie parker .",
        "amin , rather discomfitingly , is a marvellous monster .",
        "this is a thoroughly enjoyable , confident , dramatically satisfying movie from macdonald , and incidentally another triumph for peter morgan , for whom the period now seems to offer any amount of rich material .",
        "whitaker fully captures the menace of the man who murdered more than 300,000 of his fellow citizens , but also - and this is the difficult part - his humour , charm and charisma .",
        "it seems certain whitaker will get that oscar nod for superbly conveying amin 's weird mix of buffoonery and cold-bloodedness .",
        "starting as a lively adventure , this film slowly twists into a haunting and unforgettable thriller , using real life events to tell a devastatingly powerful story .",
        "there 's a nihilistic and unmistakeable whiff of apocalypse now about the last wild reel , and the carnage left over by the israeli raid on entebbe airport .",
        "a stinging rebuke to both do-gooder white-man 's - burden fantasies and the disingenuous , africa-exoticizing movies that promote them .",
        "forest whitaker 's performance as idi amin is so good it 's scary .",
        "provides a vivid snapshot of uganda and a tour-de-force portrayal of a creature who is all the more horrifying because his evil is so recognizable , and so chillingly embracing and warm .",
        "mcdonald gets the relationship between the two central characters so right , makes it so fascinating , that more historical detail would have been a distraction .",
        "this politicized faustian tale is a provocative and shrewd blend of fact and fiction in the case of a naive doctor seduced into amin 's political apparatus , but film suffers from problems of other political-horror sagas told from strictly white pov .",
        "an extraordinary piece about naivete caught up in terrible events .",
        "whitaker is a commanding force as he navigates the line between charmer and monster .",
        "forest whitaker checks in with his most powerful performance since tackling charlie parker in bird .",
        "a spellbinding safari into the mind of his excellency the madman .",
        "... whitaker 's superb work remains the highlight of an otherwise routine effort .",
        "historical fantasy rules in hollywood 's africa .",
        "whitaker does n't so much play the ugandan president and charismatic monster , deposed in 1979 and responsible for an estimated 300,000 deaths , as he lights a slow fuse on a highly complex bomb .",
        "pit stop for white liberal guilt and neocolonial pillaging",
        "whitaker pulls off a spectacular thespian coup that has oscar-winner stamped all over it .",
        "captivating hyper-realism , a taut political thriller , and the performance of the year .",
        "the MOV will no doubt be picking up an armful of gongs come award season , and rightly so ; it 's not only lovingly shot and acted , but it evolves into one of the best thrillers of recent memory too .",
        "film postaje daleko mra % u010dniji nego % u0161to su to njegovi autori imali u plan",
        "it 's whitaker that kept the film alive when everyone was handing him best actor statuettes",
        "its ultimate effect is that of shallow self-congratulation .",
        "whitaker portrays amin as funny , vulnerable , tender and enigmatic -- all without ever letting us forget he was a maniacal monster .",
        "whitaker is on fire , and as long as he 's onscreen , king keeps you riveted .",
        "the MOV , and especially whitaker 's performance , provide insight into the troubled psyche of one of history 's most terrifying leaders .",
        "although last king is faithful to the novel , it is superior in almost every way .",
        "-lsb- whitaker -rsb- puts in one of the most amazing acting performances of the year making amin appear to be equally likable and detestable all at the same time",
        "it 's a curious piece of work , part biopic , part history lesson and part hitchcockian thriller . unfortunately , macdonald is not skilled enough to meld the three .",
        "-lsb- forest whitaker inflects -rsb- the character with a recognizably human complexity without soft-pedaling his essential barbarity . it 's an arresting performance .",
        "the performances are universally strong -- though the documentary-like realism is hampered by the fact that the story revolves around a fictitious character like garrigan .",
        "this role is the pinnacle of whitaker 's film career . it is the type of performance that belongs alongside classic characterizations from hollywood 's past .",
        "this is a powerful film . it is beautifully written and expertly acted . it should not be missed .",
        "this is director kevin macdonald 's first feature film , yet along with cinematographer anthony dod mantle , he has produced a motion picture that will become an instant political classic .",
        "by the end of this remarkable , uneven film , we believe that through whitaker we have come to understand the very nature of power and corruption .",
        "forest whitaker that is nothing less than formidable and that most likely will merit an oscar nomination .",
        "forest whitaker gives a titanic performance as the general ... and as he seduces the naive young man into his murderous regime , director kevin macdonald unpacks the ignorance and arrogance that still characterize the west 's attitude toward africa .",
        "recommended for the work of forest whitaker alone , even if the gifted actor was restricted by a screenplay which squandered a golden opportunity to imbue his character with a complex range of motivations and emotions .",
        "the compression of time is a stiff reminder that we are watching , after all , a movie .",
        "in a remarkably restrained piece of acting , whitaker gives us a likable totalitarian madman whose bluster appears more amusing than terrifying .",
        "forest whitaker 's mesmerizing performance as idi amin drives kevin macdonald 's adaptation of giles foden 's 1998 novel about the dictator 's reign of terror , which left uganda 's once-thriving economy in ruins and at least 300,000 of his countrymen dead .",
        "forest whitaker shatters abstraction and replaces it with flesh , blood and unspeakable charm .",
        "... an intriguing hybrid of robert penn warren 's all the king 's men and joseph conrad 's heart of darkness ...",
        "an uneven film not entirely successful in juggling its very different tones , but ... whitaker 's performance is so good that it makes the picture almost insanely watchable .",
        "graham greene it 's not ... whitaker 's striking work aside , the MOV is insipid , obvious movieland history .",
        "a dominant whitaker lords over this flawed mixture of history and intrigue .",
        "see the movie for whitaker alone : he 's possessed by evil and possesses it wholly , rendering the film -lrb- and everyone in it -rrb- his plaything .",
        "a good movie elevated by whitaker 's pitch-perfect performance .",
        "great as whitaker is in this juicy slab of oscar bait , macdonald 's movie does n't have much to offer beyond a pair of stunning performances , propulsive editing , fantastic scenery and the heartbeat rhythms of african music .",
        "it 's whitaker who grabs your attention and sends chills down your spine , as he twists seductive charm into depraved power . he 's electrifying , a classic example of a performer who takes a moderately intriguing movie and elevates it to must-see status .",
        "in addition to a very engaging script , forrest whitaker and james mcavoy amazingly express the tension and the camaraderie shared by amin and garrigan .",
        "whitaker 's acting resurrects the dictator and his deeds with stunning immediacy .",
        "starts well , but trips over preposterous plot developments as it pushes toward its climax .",
        "having cut his teeth on documentaries , kevin macdonald acts as if a shaky-cam aesthetic alone is enough to fuel dramatic tension .",
        "whitaker 's riveting and deserved oscar-nominated performance pretty much dominates -- almost to the point of overpowering -- this fictionalized drama , based on giles foden 's novel .",
        "la pel\u00edcula vale la pena sobre todo por la imponente actuaci\u00f3n de forest whitaker , igualmente encantador o amenazante en la piel de uno de los dictadores m\u00e1s sanguinarios de \u00e1frica .",
        "two terrific performances cap this interesting historical perspective on ruthless dictator idi amin .",
        "whitaker 's incendiary and incandescent performance dominates this movie as much as helen mirren 's performance defines the queen .",
        "exalando um carisma mais do que apropriado ao personagem , -lsb- forest whitaker -rsb- busca seduzir n\u0103o apenas nicholas , mas tamb\u00e9m o espectador .",
        "it 's a deconstruction of idi amin 's persona , played with such dedication by whitaker the surrounding narrative feels without purpose .",
        "there is surprise in whitaker 's step , with a curtain of menace running beneath it . his is one of the fiercest , least predictable performances of 2006 , so fully on edge that he becomes the movie 's edge .",
        "the four highly diverse leads are uniformly excellent .",
        "whitaker brings us close to amin , yet he never allows us to actually become comfortable around the man . his amin is capricious and unpredictable , a personality that can seem volcanic one moment and vulnerable a few minutes later .",
        "a devastating morality tale that shows just how easy it is for a well-meaning outsider to become lost in a culture he does n't understand , and to find himself seduced and corrupted by taking very small and seemingly reasonable steps .",
        "featuring vivid supporting performances from simon mcburney and gillian anderson , the MOV is one of 2006 's best films to date .",
        "whitaker 's dedicated , nuanced performance is excellent and lifts the film from some unsteady early moments .",
        "... if whitaker does n't get an oscar nomination there is officially no justice .",
        "we see idi amin through nicholas ' eyes and it 's a shocking transformation ... he starts out as the people 's hope for a brighter future and turns into the nation 's nightmare .",
        "whitaker 's performance is absolutely spellbinding -- and should land him his first oscar nomination .",
        "in the MOV and through director kevin macdonald 's contrived broad strokes , amin is at first a sitcom character on the receiving end of sophomoric fart jokes , then a despicable villain .",
        "if this genius turn by whitaker -lrb- he starred in bird and the crying game -rrb- does n't earn an oscar nomination , then those little statues will lose what little meaning they have .",
        "with an unsympathetic everyman as our stand-in and an evil despot at the center of the story , the MOV struggles to win our hearts .",
        "approximates through its fictional lead character -lrb- a white doctor who spins a globe , closes his eyes , and plops his finger on uganda -rrb- what it might be like for , well , members of the national board of review to be air dropped into the middle of africa .",
        "whitaker 's boundless performance demands attention and the safest bet in town at this pre-nomination time is that it will earn one .",
        "it 's only the brilliant performance by forest whitaker , which keeps this film from turning too maudlin .",
        "amin 's story is so thick with drama , terror and bloodshed , why create a fictional character to serve as a vantage point ?",
        "whitaker and mcavoy inhabit their roles so fully that the film around them transforms into a major document of 1970 's cultural myopia .",
        "whitaker is formidably compelling as a man whose quixotic temperament and larger-than-life persona both fascinate and repel .",
        "the MOV belongs to forest whitaker . he is the key to making this faustian bargain work .",
        "the movie 's real power , and true greatness , comes from whitaker . whether or not it 's forgotten at awards season , it 's guaranteed to be remembered for a long time to come .",
        "this is n't a history lesson , it 's playing god co-starring idi amin with scully instead of mulder .",
        "a tour de force performance by forrest whittaker makes this idi amin biopic a compelling , challenging , edgy film .",
        "the key achievement , in this vividly shot and superbly cast drama , is to make us fear for the slightly contemptible garrigan but feel mostly for ugandans , even -lrb- a little -rrb- for amin .",
        "the subject is really garrigan , the embodiment of the west and its naive habit of looking at the third world and seeing what it wants to see .",
        "whitaker is so good as to ensure that anyone who sees the film will never forget amin again .",
        "a fascinating look at a violent and disturbing chapter in africa 's history .",
        "the film belongs to whitaker , who in a career best performance charms , rages and murders his way into the history books .",
        "as amin , the actor holds every scene he 's in with a kind of explosive gravity .",
        "macdonald has delivered a masterful tragedy , told in his characters ' wary eyes .",
        "whitaker 's performance dispels most of one 's objections . he is terrifying in a way that we recognize not from old movies but from life .",
        "there must come a reckoning , and in the MOV , the loss of innocence consumes the whole final hour , during which time whitaker appears less often , his screen time stolen by an increasingly weepy mcavoy .",
        "a compelling , though somewhat problematic , story set deep inside idi amin 's brutal dictatorship in uganda .",
        "macdonald knows how to hold our interest , and he gives his movie a dizzying sense of momentum , not unlike the mad whirl that surrounds amin .",
        "whitaker 's portrayal illustrates amin 's complexity -- a study on human nature , rather than an indictment .",
        "whitaker 's chilling , charismatic take on uganda 's general idi amin in the MOV stands up there with the great depictions of unhinged dictators like antony hopkins ' hitler in the bunker or christian clavier in the ` napoleon ' mini-series .",
        "hard to believe that an actor previously renowned for his gentleness could play such a monster , but the transformation is seamless .",
        "it observes the insanity of amin through the eyes of a corrupted soul , leaving just enough space between fact and fiction to flesh out a fascinating motion picture .",
        "whitaker shows him as a man who sees his own actions as perfectly rational . he is not a cartoon villain , but a dangerous madman ...",
        "without the force of whitaker 's presence , scotland is a mediocre , predictable and fitfully engaging tale .",
        "forest whitaker 's performance is n't worth the greatest-of-all-time hyperbole , but the actor is so evil , afraid and human in the role that he turns even a fart joke into nuance . his unpredictable , unstoppable force prevents the film from failing .",
        "at its heart of darkness , the film is about the lure of power . it 's a condemnation of all the dictators ' men over all time .",
        "-lsb- g -rsb- etting lost in all the well-earned love for whitaker is his costar , james mcavoy , the primary focus through which whitaker 's starburst prisms into its brilliance ...",
        "a smart , searing thriller with blistering performances from mcavoy and whitaker . like the best graham greene script graham greene never wrote .",
        "whitaker shifts from jovial teddy bear to maniacal bull in an instant , at once displaying the intimidation and charisma of an evil but undeniably colorful figure .",
        "forest whitaker 's portrayal of the blood-soaked ugandan dictator idi amin in kevin mcdonald 's the MOV is mesmerizingly brilliant",
        "a shrewd commentary on misguided western excursions into the ` dark continent . '",
        "an adequate thriller redeemed by forest whitaker 's sensational turn as idi amin .",
        "the MOV is wrenching to sit through , but in the end , it does n't leave you with quite enough to think about .",
        "whitaker dynamically gets his teeth into amin , capturing the schizoid conscience of a would-be king . given whitaker 's dominating presence , it 's practically a coup that macdonald would keep him waiting in the wings for half the film .",
        "the sheer force of whitaker 's performance guarantees that he remains the central focus even when he 's not in front of the camera . paradoxically , you ca n't take your eyes off him , even when he 's not there .",
        "this is the sort of movie worth seeing for the performances alone .",
        "rare is the actor who can accomplish an instant transformation from beast to buddy , but whitaker makes it look easy .",
        "watching garrigan squirm in his gilded cage has its charms . but whitaker is the one to keep your eyes on , and his work is the stuff of oscar gold .",
        "through its very specific story , the movie illustrates how absolute power can corrupt those who wield it , resulting in a man who , once ensconced as a nation 's leader , uses all his available resources to ensure his own survival .",
        "a terrifically engaging biopic of 1970s ugandan dictator idi amin , who is played with the sort of extraordinary yet restrained force that only great actors like forest whitaker can manage .",
        "we are in awe not that the character is so wildly unstable , but that whitaker has made such a wildly unstable character seem so natural .",
        "-lsb- director kevin macdonald -rsb- captures the energy and exuberance of a young nation in the throes of optimism and works it into a foreboding frenzy .",
        "the MOV is a parable shocking in its truth , jolting in its lack of sentimentality , shakespearean in its vision of the doctor 's catastrophic flaw .",
        "the movie uses a fictional device to get up close and personal , but i 'm not sure the fictional device works .",
        "... may be seen as this year 's `` hotel rwanda , '' but ... its viewpoint from inside the palace walls makes it more intimate , and therefore oddly , less devastating , drama .",
        "a solid dramatic thriller in its own right is lifted into higher territory by superb performances , intriguing subject matter , and impressive direction",
        "a chilling story story of how men become corrupted by power and are capable of the most horrendous evil imaginable .",
        "forest whitaker 's towering performance as idi amin is frighteningly realistic , in his portrayal of the larger-than-life violent , madman dictator president of uganda .",
        "the film itself is not as impressive as whitaker 's performance .",
        "though the film is mostly fiction , idi amin was the real deal , and whitaker revels in the role .",
        "whitaker 's riveting performance as the unraveling amin is where this film wants to be ; instead we 're stuck with garrigan 's jesus christ pose , and the expected out that amounts to little more than , `` forget it , nick . it 's africa . ''",
        "the horror , when it finally moves to the centre of the screen , gives us amin 's barbarity in close-up -- and he 's still smiling .",
        "compositions are dense with beautiful and brutal images ; and when the camera wobbles and the cuts become frequent , the freneticism is justified by the increased fracturing of amin 's sanity and garrigan 's security .",
        "whitaker is electrifying -lrb- i hate it when critics use that word , but seriously , it applies -rrb- , but the film itself is merely agur for his performance .",
        "forest whitaker 's intense , studied performance shows amin not only as a madman responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of his countrymen , but as a charismatic figure capable of winning hearts and minds",
        "the MOV , fitting its brutal subject , is not an easy film . yet in the realm of movies that depict seductive , evil men of power who easily smile as they kill , it 's a bloodstained achievement .",
        "the colonialist spirit is alive and well in the MOV , a return to the pandering celluloid depictions of african turmoil that insist on putting a white face on black suffering .",
        "forest whitaker , uncorking the power that he usually holds in check , gives a chilling , bravura performance as ugandan tyrant idi amin .",
        "a masterfully skewed twist on a connecticut yankee in king arthur 's court ... macdonald has really made his mark as a filmmaker .",
        "a thunderous performance by forest whitaker as ugandan dictator idi amin informs and ignites the MOV so far beyond its limitations as both a biopic and a political thriller that he becomes the movie itself .",
        "i ca n't think of a better actor to toggle between media-savvy jester and stone-cold killer than forest whitaker , who , even dressed in a kilt , conveys serious menace along with mania .",
        "it would all be for naught without whitaker , who makes amin fun , funny , vulnerable and poignant while never letting us forget his murderous monomania .",
        "this is not hyperbole . this is how good whitaker is : he actually makes you feel sorry for idi amin .",
        "featuring an extraordinary , oscar-worthy performance by forest whitaker , this gripping drama interweaves historical fact with fiction into an edgy , eye-riveting tale .",
        "few films this year have been as suspenseful as the MOV , which is due in large part to the tour de force performance of forest whitaker .",
        "as storytelling , it could use some fine tuning , but it keeps its dark premise close to its heart at all times .",
        "whitaker carries the film on his broad shoulders , creating a realistic and frightening portrait of one of the world 's most elusive and notorious figures .",
        "it 's mean girls , with more bloody warlords",
        "kevin macdonald 's queasily enjoyable fiction film creates a portrait of the ugandan dictator idi amin from inside the palace walls .",
        "both an enthralling examination of a horrific time and an adrenalin-filled thriller full of wry humour .",
        "as idi amin , whitaker embodies the spirit of a smiling , deranged , murderous fool . amin is a child with power and guns and a devastating to watch paranoia and inferiority complex .",
        "director kevin macdonald brings his experience as documentary filmmaker to bear on the film , giving us a burnished portrait of uganda 's descent into hell that is heavy on location photography , handheld jerkiness , and zooms .",
        "whitaker ... supplies this pulp bogeyman with a human face and heart , enlisting - for moments at least - our empathy as well as our horror .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he movie 's emphasis on nicholas 's misadventures , as if the audience could n't get into the story of uganda without an educated , white , middle-class european as a protagonist , is a huge let-down in its own terms .",
        "mr. whitaker and mr. mcavoy head a first-rate cast that helps the MOV to illuminate one of the many dark chapters in recent african history .",
        "last king powerfully explores the duality between congeniality and brutality .",
        "powerful academy award caliber performance by whitaker .",
        "the history of idi amin is an intriguing story , but this film tells us too much about its fictional european and not enough about the politics of uganda under an all-too-real tyrant .",
        "flamboyantly chaotic vision of hell that certainly wo n't encourage african tourism",
        "whitaker creates one of the most indelible screen portrayals of recent years .",
        "forest whitaker has been one of our most interesting actors for 20 years , and he gives the performance of a lifetime in the MOV .",
        "powerful drama with whitaker 's performance a career peak .",
        "his sleepy eyes hinting at buried malevolence ... whitaker 's amin will make you flinch in your seat each time he appears .",
        "forest whitaker makes the case for a best-actor oscar or , even better , a best-actor designation from ny film critics online .",
        "forest whitaker shines in this high voltage portrayal of the maniacal and maniacally charming ugandan dictator idi amin .",
        "one of the best films of the year with its depiction of the dynamics of power in politics and the dangers that ensure when paranoia overtakes a leader and those around him .",
        "the film as a whole measures up to forest whitaker 's performance . that 's high praise indeed .",
        "whitaker has done some surpassingly gentle and rueful work in the past , but for this role he has transformed himself -- he 's either sprawled in a stupor or alarmingly mobile , throwing his big body around the room as if it weighed nothing .",
        "the film is phenomenally well directed by kevin macdonald and edited by justine wright to bring out every bit of scary volatility in the most casual interactions .",
        "forest whitaker gives a masterpiece of a performance , the kind of incredible acting that crosses the line into just being .",
        "idi 's got da bling !",
        "the MOV is n't for everyone , but for those who can stomach its brutality , it offers a compelling look into how such a popular leader became known as one of africa 's most vicious dictators of the 1970s .",
        "i would never sit through it again , but for those of you who want to see every movie nominated for an academy award , you 'd might as well go ahead and see this one now .",
        "last king is a wonderful compendium of facts and greater truths . also , a hell of a good movie .",
        "as a metaphor , the fictional nicholas makes clear the insidious means by which the west , and in particular , the caucasian west , exploits and abuses its privilege ."
    ],
    "summary": "forest whitaker 's performance as real-life megalomaniac dictator idi amin powers this fictionalized political thriller , a blunt and brutal tale about power and corruption .",
    "id": "287865404"
  },
  {
    "movie": "better_luck_tomorrow",
    "reviews": [
        "those looking for the gangster movie seen in the tv spots will be seriously disappointed .",
        "a fairly provocative look at teenage life , featuring the kinds of multidimensional characters that are n't typically included in movies aimed at the high school crowd .",
        "... its bolder themes and naked ambition heighten the sense of disappointment towards the film 's end when it fails to deliver on its initial promise .",
        "the picture 's relative uniqueness is what intrigues and compels , marking MOV as important , if not ultimately entirely successful .",
        "a powerful and unpredictable film .",
        "reviewers seem surprised that a young asian-american filmmaker has been reading bret easton ellis and watching quentin tarantino , when in reality the opposite would be startling ...",
        "justin lin 's biggest accomplishment is providing a stereotype-shattering insiders ' view of the angst and rage of a group of asian teenagers ...",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- f the story has some rough edges , well , it 's a first film .",
        "does n't settle for easy thriller plot twists .",
        "at times lin 's story slides into crime cliches , but whatever he lacks in plotting he makes up for in style and brute emotional force .",
        "MOV is an inventively delivered cautionary tale about some smart and upwardly mobile asian high school students who , bored with their lives , embark on a course of violence and self-destructiveness .",
        "it tries to stuff in so many different subjects and genres that you 'll stop caring about what start off to be interesting characters .",
        "a vibrant film which follows a trajectory yet somehow surprises at every turn .",
        "what began as vibrantly original devolves into something suspiciously tarantino-like , strained through the hollow nihilism of bret easton ellis .",
        "it 's a long way from long duk dong .",
        "if ` tomorrow ' has the feel of an afterschool special , it 's a surprisingly good one .",
        "the story gets as melodramatic as anything in amy tan .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- piercing portrayal of american teenagers who are for the most part good-looking , smart , funny -- and almost completely lacking in morals .",
        "smartly photographed and edited , it manages to walk the difficult tightrope strung between the typically loopy coming of age film and a simmering disaster in the making .",
        "all too caucasian in its tired devotion to the bloody , boneheaded tropes of quentin tarantino and bret easton ellis .",
        "like go meets boyz n the hood , this good-teen - gone-bad thriller crackles with wicked authenticity .",
        "this is a different kind of street-gang picture , one that improves your vocabulary even as it teaches fatally bad study habits .",
        "what helps lin 's feature-directing debut is his insight into the dark side of living up to ` model minority ' stereotypes in a materialistic culture .",
        "an accomplished technician and an adept director of actors , lin does n't have a distinctive visual style but he does have the advantage of being as smart as he is slick .",
        "there 's a sting to this film that gets to you .",
        "justin lin 's look at overachievers who achieve bad things is a thriller , a social satire , a character study -- and one of the year 's best .",
        "not just a thriller , not just a social commentary , not just a comedy or a romance , but all of those in a clearly seen , brilliantly made film .",
        "a shrewdly tense piece of storytelling .",
        "being simultaneously proud of and embarrassed by one 's scholarly perfectionism is a trait i find particularly identifiable to young , male asian-americans . MOV draws on this trait for its strength .",
        "though MOV is the work of an intriguing new talent , there remains something amiss about a movie so desperate to legitimize its own daring .",
        "it 's as smart , as sharp and as compelling as filmmaking gets .",
        "it makes you think about the clich\u00e9d pictures of asian kids in the popular imagination and how painful it must be for them to carry the burden of perfection .",
        "it springs from such a good idea that it can be forgiven many faults .",
        "lin starts with the stereotype of the asian-american kid as clean-cut , hard-working and industrious and turns it on its head .",
        "the cycle is designed to resist breaking : even when you think you 're out , you 're in ; if you 're ben , overachieving and banging on the side , you 're caught coming or going .",
        "with none of the smarmy voyeurism that taints larry clark 's teen exposes , MOV manages to get at the truths and the traps of a high-strung segment of today 's youth .",
        "perpetuates another stereotype : the one about affluent suburban teens who have everything they could ever want but so lack a moral compass that even murder seems like just another extracurricular activity .",
        "director justin lin 's dark twist on the coming-of-age tale is a waft of fresh air .",
        "you do n't have to be an honor student to take this ellis-esque expos\u00e9 over the rules of attraction any day .",
        "the dialogue is school-hallway hip -lrb- mtv has a hand in distributing this -rrb- , the humor consistently dark and the stereotypes ready for the puncturing .",
        "mtv -lrb- which bought this movie out of sundance -rrb- believes the target audience to be high school and college students . i would argue that it 's anyone in search of a well-made , thought-provoking motion picture .",
        "feels nearly as hollow and unknowable as its characters ' hearts .",
        "if this is what lin can do for the hollywood equivalent of pocket change , we ca n't wait to see what 's possible when he has an actual budget at his disposal .",
        "it 's as if ferris bueller morphed into goodfellas , and , knowing the transition did n't work , the director tossed in some run lola run to pick up the tempo .",
        "for asian-americans , the perception of their culture takes a new turn in `` MOV '' , director justin lin 's wonderful bold new film that is well acted by an amazing ensemble .",
        "... a worthy movie , but it should n't be the best one justin lin ever makes .",
        "led by a novice cast and director , MOV is a fascinating and absorbing look at the self-destructive ambition of high school life .",
        "unique , highly entertaining , completely uncompromising and terrifically acted .",
        "it 's not a perfect work ... but it is so filled with energy , angst , talent , authenticity and passion that it stands heads above most supposed youth-culture releases .",
        "a savvy , seductive and observationally vivid bit of popcorn culture that is every bit as brainy as its characters .",
        "um filme do qual martin scorsese pode se orgulhar .",
        "you could have replaced everyone in this movie with the cast of some lily-white show like dawson 's creek and nobody would notice the difference .",
        "provides both a searing satire of modern suburbia and provocative insight into the malignant maturation of generally well-meaning and privileged kids .",
        "there 's something refreshing about the violation of ethnic stereotypes , especially when the stereotype is politically correct and the violation is more than a simple counterstereotype .",
        "it is amusing and entertaining , and more than a little thought-provoking .",
        "a enerally absorbing look at a slice of society normally taken for granted , both in life and onscreen .",
        "justin lin succeeds in shocking audiences with a story that breaks the mold ...",
        "MOV , a corrosive , insightful study of the pressure-packed lives of suburban high school students , brings a new variant to gangster movies : gangsters with perfect sat scores .",
        "MOV breathes new life into a familiar story : coming of age in high school .",
        "spends more time avoiding asian-american stereotypes than it does making sense of its characters and plot .",
        "has an optimistic outlook that uses pessimistic results in a manner fitting for a film of such solid morality .",
        "intriguing but dramatically thin .",
        "incisive -lsb- and -rsb- cautionary .",
        "very disturbing but often enthralling .",
        "beyond its mangled morals ... better luck is a riveting and stylized ride from a director with great promise .",
        "the director sacrifices finesse to run around in the baggy duds of a lurid gangsta flick looking for street cred .",
        "an impressively authentic portrait of teenagers who , given too much money and freedom by absent parents , have confused maturity with a veneer of sophistication and blase amorality .",
        "starts out like an asian-american version of the breakfast club , but quickly turns more towards boyz n the hood ... shows what can happen when rich kids at private school and smart kids at public school get bored .",
        "the movie could end up being the asian american version of the breakfast club .",
        "although this movie shows lin 's promising moviemaking sensibilities , its point of view feels coldly amoral and dismissive .",
        "starts with the right intentions but quickly unravels .",
        "like his characters , lin may be an overachiever and the strain of trying to do too much shows .",
        "the problem is that lin is just as seduced by gangster trappings as his characters .",
        "until director/co-writer justin lin navigates that pivotal final turn , MOV has a vitality and novelty rare in any youth movie .",
        "most of writer-director justin lin 's shapeless movie is as bland as the neighborhood .",
        "sublty captures the mood of the fast-track contemporary california teenager and saturates it with poignant black humor .",
        "... consistently in over its head .",
        "while its characters are specifically asian american ... the film really speaks to all young people , about dangerous games and their disturbingly untidy consequences .",
        "about how incredibly stupid the smartest of kids can be , which is inherently watchable .",
        "although directed in a pop-smart style that eschews dark , deterministic melodramatics for an unsettlingly sunny tone ... the film also frustrates for having come so close to being something truly challenging .",
        "as teen angst films go , this is as good as any .",
        "a funny , smart , fearless movie .",
        "a film that merges cocaine , ivy league , college applications , the asian american experience , dark comedy and high school drama while maintaining a personal tone and likable lead characters is just too impressive to knock .",
        "worth a look-see for fans of crime comedy .",
        "marks lin as a talent to watch .",
        "despite giving in to melodrama 's nagging demands , lin displays an arch , nervy style that could serve him well in the future .",
        "solid performances by the cast and lin 's expressive storytelling techniques combine for an absorbing twist on this coming-of-age tale .",
        "lin never gets on a soapbox , and these characters could have walked out of any high school in the country .",
        "shen and tobin are particularly good as the straight-laced , handsome ben and the half-mad virgil .",
        "there is a moral ambiguity to the film that could disturb some viewers , but the film 's clever plotting and intriguing characters will stay with you well after leaving the theater .",
        "lim 's premise is a great idea for a short film , but while he makes several serious points about racial profiling and tokenism , there 's not enough story here for a full-length feature .",
        "the movie so credibly taps into the confusing emotions of adolescence that nothing these kids do ever seems less than spontaneous and uniquely individual .",
        "makes the grade with its youthful pace , sly sense of humor and comments on racial stereotypes .",
        "lin 's assured and electric tale of good kids gone bad might be just another run-of-the-mill exercise in flashy adolescent nihilism were it not for the cleverly atypical way in which he confronts the material .",
        "director justin lin `` gets '' the essence of the kids and deftly handles their story with sharp editing edgy camerawork darkly funny script -lrb- some lines are priceless -rrb- and an excellent punk-pop soundtrack .",
        "... lin infuses even the most cliched aspects of the screenplay with a sense of style that 's never overbearing ...",
        "mean streets meets the chess club .",
        "disturbing and enlightening , MOV is one of the few contemporary films guaranteed to make you think . and it wo n't let go .",
        "the film really rumbles in the undercurrent of race and identity that lin sketches in the margins of their lives ...",
        "what 's most impressive about this movie is how familiar , rather than how different , everything feels .",
        "a coming-of-age film that takes the clich\u00e9 of wanting to be cool and gives it a very particularized spin .",
        "every generation produces its own version of the graduate . chalk up MOV , justin lin 's smart , sometimes raw comedy-drama , as a contender for today 's teens .",
        "it does n't offer audiences easy answers familiar to dozens of mtv-style teen comedies ."
    ],
    "summary": "a promising work by lin , the energetic MOV is disturbing and thought-provoking .",
    "id": "14423"
  },
  {
    "movie": "still_alice",
    "reviews": [
        "moore 's performance is exquisitely nuanced - the only thing worth remembering about this otherwise tone-deaf weepie .",
        "still still hums with humanity in the person of moore , whose towering performance shows a staggering technical proficiency while never losing a whit of emotional resonance .",
        "this thoughtful movie ... raises an issue any of us might face .",
        "jullianne moore is devastating without italicizing anything",
        "when she wins the academy award , i 'm just going to pretend it was for todd haynes ' 1995 masterpiece , safe , and leave it at that .",
        "the focus on alzheimer 's might be off-putting , but do n't let that stop you from seeing julianne moore in MOV .",
        "as films about people with devastating diseases go , MOV is understated , thought-provoking , and written and directed with a steady hand .",
        "a horror movie for gentlefolk : its methodical terrors -- memory loss , disorientation -- seem all too likely , especially for mature moviegoers less worried about things that go bump in the night than the fall of night itself , so to speak .",
        "i 'm saying it could have been more worthwhile and aware than it is . as for the film , it has two strong performances and enough grace notes to make that a solid yes , you should see this .",
        "a mind is a terrible thing to watch waste away and rarely has the horror of losing one 's inner self to alzheimer 's been conveyed as precisely and powerfully as it is here .",
        "it uses enormous and expressive tricks for obvious but fairly effective external signs for subjectivity in the story . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
        "while the relationship between moore and stewart 's characters is interesting , most of the film follows well-traveled roads .",
        "a sympathetic look at mental decline in a middle aged woman .",
        "moore turns alzheimer 's drama into acting master class .",
        "more sincere than convincing , MOV is the rare picture that earns plaudits for its star dimming , not glowing . in a real sense , moore gradually disappears from her own movie .",
        "MOV is not an easy film to watch , but it is a movie well worth seeing .",
        "a brilliant performance by julianne moore manages to overcome some melodramatic pitfalls .",
        "julianne moore 's lead turn is towering and momentous , the work of an actor whose awe-inspiring natural talent knows no limits . watching her in this role provides a thrill that not even some of the best action films could hope to attain .",
        "a very fine screenplay based on a novel written by a neuroscience researcher with a phd from harvard who obviously knew the territory , including the life-style of its mandarin lead character toppled by alzheimers .",
        "the finely nuanced script takes a sensitive look at this disease and its effects , not only on the person afflicted , but also on family members who have to deal with it .",
        "it 's a quietly harrowing portrait of a family losing the woman they know -- and a woman losing herself .",
        "it 's the kind of performance that does n't just support a film , it gives the film its breath of life .",
        "heartbreaking and convincingly told it may be , MOV only hints at the desperation the disease leads to , shying away from depicting the true horror of alzheimer 's .",
        "moore 's own face starts to become as bare a cupboard as her mind . it 's more than the no-make-up look . first , lines of doubt and fear map her face . then starts to come a blankness like infantilism .",
        "moore plays the descent into dementia with notable subtlety . there 's no grandstanding .",
        "the reality of alzheimer 's may be even harsher than its presentation here but that would surely make a film that would only dismay its viewers .",
        "MOV is unquestionably well researched and sincere in its intentions , but at times it feels a little schematic .",
        "-lsb- moore -rsb- almost carries the film beyond disease-of-the-week blandness , but both sarah polley 's away from her and michael haneke 's amour mined deeper and more surprising material from the familial fallout .",
        "never once veering into heavy-handed sentimentality , it 's a film to break your heart .",
        "while moore has deserved an academy award for years ... the surprise is stewart , who has left the twilight zone and burst forth as a creature of brutal honesty on screen .",
        "the material has n't been properly reimagined for cinema .",
        "co-directors wash westmoreland and richard glatzer keep the film simple and straightforward , cutting to the core of the matter without the need to tug at the heartstrings .",
        "in the wrong hands , this is the stuff of disease-of-the-week sentimentality , but MOV stays away from that terrain by focusing less on the illness than on the emotional effects it has on all involved .",
        "competently directed , and delivered with the expected emotional beats , `` MOV '' achieves its modest goals , but one wishes it had a grander vision .",
        "thanks to this brave and gutsy actress ' overwhelming candor and sincerity , you go away feeling educated , enlightened and more compassionate than you can possibly imagine .",
        "the rare film possessed with the courage required to shine a light into that abyss knowing full well that down is the only way out .",
        "a caring and compassionate portrait of a linguistics professor stricken with early onset alzheimer 's . carried home into our hearts by julianne moore 's mesmerizing performance .",
        "the filmmakers and their lead actress never make a misstep ; their approach is both clinical and deeply intimate , and the emotional journey feels true and resonant .",
        "MOV becomes more and more engrossing as it progresses ...",
        "it 's one of those rare films that makes you think and gives you a debate to have with your loved ones . a deep , human movie that does n't shy away from baring its soul and the vast complexities that come with it .",
        "-lsb- this -rsb- film will mean a lot to a lot of people - not just anyone whose life alzheimer 's has affected , but anyone whom it could affect , ever .",
        "this is an effortlessly excellent film , about a horribly hard subject .",
        "`` MOV '' provides a valuable lesson in empathy and understanding , with a message for all of us in accepting what we 've lost , and celebrating what has n't yet gone .",
        "julianne moore 's stunning turn in the deeply emotional drama MOV is head and shoulders above anything else achieved this year .",
        "julianne moore is wonderfully good as alice and her performance will bring a tear to many eyes .",
        "for my dad , who died of complications from alzheimer 's . this is the movie that needed to be made .",
        "moore is the real reason MOV works . she 's so natural and free of vanity . she does n't telegraph the tragedy of her situation . it 's a quiet performance and the uncertainty of how present alice is undercuts everything , even the joyful moments .",
        "moore gives a controlled portrait of emotional implosion ...",
        "... a performance beautifully coloured with varying shades of emotion that also makes clever use of -lsb- moore 's -rsb- porcelain looks to evoke the vulnerability of the eponymous alice .",
        "this is an affecting and thoroughly worthwhile film on a very contemporary topic - with some larkinian reflections on what will and wo n't survive of us .",
        "an absorbing portrait of one woman 's interior landscape .",
        "julianne moore gives the performance of her career -lrb- no mean feat , given the strength of her previous work -rrb- in this heartbreaking yet life-affirming tale of a woman determined to hold onto her identity while under attack from a debilitating mental disease .",
        "julianne moore and kristen stewart 's artful consideration of familial friction acerbated by disease , and vice versa , nearly saves MOV from the banality of its lifetime-movie execution .",
        "`` MOV '' is hampered by both an unimaginative script and ordinary direction , but it 's a serious oscar contender . why ? because julianne moore is in the lead .",
        "all of the actors clearly know they are there to support moore . this is alice 's story and no one else 's .",
        "moore 's portrayal of 50-year-old alice howland , adapted from lisa genova 's 2007 novel , is one of the best of her career .",
        "losing your mind is a terrible thing to watch , but the splendid acting in `` MOV '' makes it worth the pain .",
        "MOV is a movie that addresses a nightmarish circumstance with calm , compassionate sensitivity .",
        "MOV is rarely anything short of compelling , in part because its sense of progression and scale offers such a distinctively unsentimental take on the terminal-countdown tearjerker .",
        "julianne moore is extraordinary at revealing the gradual loss of memory and confidence , and at showing the hulk of physical persistence that remains after intellect and reference have gone .",
        "moore has been a fine actress for a long time and `` MOV '' gives her a remarkable role , and the space to truly live it .",
        "MOV is so busy being compassionate that it forgets to be anything else .",
        "you bet your ass that julianne moore is overdue for academy love . she 's supremely gifted , possessing the beauty of a true star and the intuitive technique of a true actress .",
        "a film that benefits from ms. moore 's lovely performance , yet suffers from glib contrivance and predictable writing .",
        "MOV is a searing portrait of one of the least understood , most frightening plagues of this century .",
        "sorrow-laden and moving , MOV is n't gratuitously grim nor is it easily sentimental . there 's humor here -- vaguely gallows-like , perhaps but also earned .",
        "moore 's performance , with all its subtleties and nuances , demands recognition , even if it 's the only thing about `` alice '' worth remembering .",
        "while -lsb- MOV -rsb- is bleak and incredibly serious , it mostly avoids cheap sentimentality , managing to educate without becoming an after-school special .",
        "the great strength of the film is that it never resorts to cheap sentimentality . the facts themselves are hard enough , crushing enough .",
        "MOV is accurate and compassionate , and anyone who has known someone with alzheimer 's will appreciate the film 's sincere intentions .",
        "movies about slowly dying characters almost never leave us feeling ennobled or uplifted - they make us feel like suckers .",
        "thanks to some intuitive direction from the filmmakers and a truly inspired performance from julianne moore , MOV articulates the very specific type of loss that alzheimer 's and other cognitive disorders represent .",
        "do n't be surprised to find yourself suddenly obsessed with forgotten names and misplaced keys .",
        "it 's moore who really brings the film home . it 's in her expression when the doctor gives his diagnosis and pessimistic prognosis . it 's in the way she looks at her family , knowing there will come a time when she wo n't recognize them .",
        "the triumph of MOV is that it 's not about an illness ; it 's about a person .",
        "even though glatzer and westmoreland 's film occasionally flirts with three-hankie , disease-of-the-week lifetime-network clich\u00e9s , it mostly rises above them thanks to a pair of stunning performances . one that 's pretty much expected , the other less so .",
        "MOV is as powerful as it is crushing . ms. moore delivers a performance that will endure .",
        "profoundly eloquent and empathetic , elevated by julianne moore 's restained , delicately nuanced performance .",
        "in this adaptation of lisa genova 's novel , one is left wondering why anyone would want to be alice to begin with .",
        "this is one of moore 's defining performances , and it is a brave one .",
        "it does have a predictable trajectory -- how could it not ? -- but it 's certainly not movie-of-the-week fare .",
        "but , sadly , it 's not a good movie .",
        "in the absence of the anger and the wildness that are crouched and caged within this most terrible of themes , `` MOV '' is worth watching , for the sake of julianne moore .",
        "-lsb- moore 's -rsb- performance here as the deteriorating alice is restrained and analytical in a way that allows us to see through her eyes .",
        "the older you are , the more sensitive and receptive to the script 's somber material you will likely be .",
        "we 're all familiar with the hollywood clich\u00e9 that playing a character with a disease or disability is an attention-grabbing ploy for oscar glory , but what is remarkable about julianne moore 's performance is just how subtle and un-showy it is .",
        "the subject matter may be tough , and the end-point inevitable , but the message we take away is defiant and ultimately uplifting .",
        "julianne moore 's terror at watching her own emotional and intellectual life slip away is palpable , and much scarier to me than any slasher movie .",
        "julianne moore shows us that she is still in her prime , playing to every subtle nuance of the degenerative disease with precision and respect .",
        "MOV certainly has a superb lead performance in julianne moore , but directors richard glatzer and wash westmoreland focus more on the situation than the story .",
        "not only are there not enough good , smart roles for women , the movies that do contain those roles are too often one-dimensional .",
        "julianne moore does all the heavy lifting in what otherwise feels like a tv movie .",
        "when it 's not fending off an attack of the glums , MOV comes down with a big case of the prims .",
        "writer-directors glatzer and westmoreland have written a rich , multi-layered screenplay that works equally well as family melodrama and as a meditation on language , identity and mortality .",
        "the toll the disease takes on the life of a brilliant linguistics professor is superbly detailed by julianne moore in a career-high performance , driving straight to the terror of the disease and its power to wipe out personal certainties and identity .",
        "julianne moore guides us through the tragic arc of how it must feel to disappear before one 's own eyes , accomplishing one of her most powerful performances by underplaying the scenario ...",
        "-lrb- julianne -rrb- moore ably displays the frustration and fear that most likely is a daily occurrence for most alzheimer 's victims .",
        "this is not an easy film to watch but it 's relevant , courageous and full of grace .",
        "it 's well cast and generally much more sincere than sentimental .",
        "attempting to describe the level of tragedy contained in moore 's performance in the film 's third act brings to mind the limits within alice 's chosen field of study . because no words do it justice .",
        "while a fine showcase of a great screen actor 's talents , and an admirable depiction of an all-too-common disease , it is a grind , and one wonders if the filmmakers had an audience in mind .",
        "moore 's performance as an early onset alzheimer 's patient is arguably her best . and , that takes into account four earlier oscar nominations . she is due .",
        "as lyrical as angels in america may be , it hijacks the focus .",
        "julianne moore deserves all the accolades but the movie wants tears and never quite earns them .",
        "MOV will be remembered for moore 's efforts , with her performance one that audiences wo n't forget .",
        "it 's heart-breaking to watch , made all the more poignant by julianne moore 's largely subdued , deeply moving performance .",
        "not since jeff goldblum succumbed to a purely sci-fi disease in ` the fly ' has watching a great actor gradually lose it being so gutting .",
        "if only the movie deserved moore 's precision work , and if only there were more to this character than the cheap irony of a language professor losing her words .",
        "the combination of a brilliant lead performance and a respectably honest portrayal of alzheimer 's make MOV affecting , even during the times when it feels as though it needs a little more plot .",
        "simple and direct , rather than a discovery .",
        "inherently heartbreaking and miraculously pure , glatzer and westmoreland gift their leading lady with a blank canvas and she returns the favor by pouring her soul on to it .",
        "MOV is heartbreaking but it does n't earn its tears through easy emotional manipulation .",
        "for a film about early onset alzheimer 's , this is a remarkably wry , honest and even hopeful drama , anchored by another staggeringly sensitive performance by julianne moore .",
        "for all the movie 's honesty , the reality of alzheimer 's disease is a lot worse than what you see in `` MOV . '' perhaps directors richard glatzer and wash westmoreland made a calculation as to how much an audience can take . they were right .",
        "a beautiful movie at times , tapping into a pure experience that 's gracefully handled by the production , allowing the work to be educational , dramatically satisfying , and , of course , utterly heartbreaking .",
        "thank god julianne moore got an oscar nod for her new film MOV .",
        "it is impossible not to be affected by this devastatingly sad portrait of a woman , whose reliance on memory and its compilation to communicate in her role as professor of linguistics at columbia university , accentuates the intensity of her loss",
        "there 's a difference between a great performance and a great performance . julianne moore 's turn as a professor afflicted with early onset alzheimer 's easily qualifies as the latter .",
        "paradoxically , even when pulling its emotional punches ` MOV ' ca n't entirely escape the limitations of the disease-of-the-week genre , but largely as a result of moore 's extraordinary skill it largely transcends them .",
        "`` MOV '' is much too clear-eyed to hold out false hope , but it 's a moving testimonial to going down with grace .",
        "ultimately this is a movie built around moore 's performance , and she does n't disappoint .",
        "if it did n't star julianne moore , it would be well worth skipping . but the exceptional way moore plays alice , a renowned columbia university linguistics professor with early-onset alzheimer 's , lifts the film above its morose potential .",
        "sensitive , compassionate storytelling .",
        "moore is sensational -- all the reason anyone might need to see this film , which unfortunately offers little else to command our attention .",
        "without moore 's uncompromising , brilliant work , this would be a mediocre film , so the way she elevates it into a work of art is nothing less than astonishing .",
        "a decent film that 's emotionally raw , worth seeing if only to see how one of the masters of her craft single-handedly manages to rescue -lrb- along with the help of her castmates -rrb- a film from being a maudlin mess into a watchable , moving piece of cinema .",
        "the movie is harrowing , as any story about alzheimer 's should be , but moore gives it an extra layer of gravity and heartbreaking inevitability .",
        "a modest drama , but moore 's heart-wrenching and oscar-nominated performance makes this a must-see .",
        "while it 's no surprise that moore is so good , `` MOV '' has an unexpected trick up its sleeve : the sweetly gentle performance of kristen stewart , as alice 's actress daughter lydia .",
        "in MOV , julianne moore delivers a heartbreaking , emotionally astute portrayal of a woman disappearing in full view of her nearest and dearest .",
        "it 's a heartbreaking performance by moore , who never forgets she 's portraying a woman whose professional success has been built on intellectual rigour and self-discipline .",
        "the kind of movie that exists solely to facilitate a great performance in the lead role , and julianne moore provides one .",
        "`` MOV `` might sound maudlin , or more on the frequency of a made-for-tv movie than what it is . but this is not only sensitive material handled with tact , it 's also sensitive material bolstered and braced by moore 's stunning performance .",
        "MOV works and , at times , with assured , depressing clarity .",
        "julianne moore is the main reason to see `` MOV . ''",
        "a realistic , heartbreaking look at a savage disease so eloquently exhibited by moore given the proper respect by its filmmakers .",
        "julianne moore , as dr. alice howland , evokes the heartbreaking reality of this dreaded condition . yet through it all , she is `` still '' alice , and that 's why moore is a lock for the academy award .",
        "glatzer has cited ozu as an influence , and MOV honors the japanese master 's serenity unto nothingness .",
        "MOV lives or dies on moore 's performance , whose portrayal is nuanced yet never maudlin .",
        "a performance as perfect as moore 's deserves to be seen .",
        "this middlebrow drama presents the heroine 's mental deterioration calmly and sensitively , though it feels pretty thin on the whole .",
        "the movie 's most expressive element is moore 's face , slowly moving from engagement , flecked with worry , to disconnection and blankness .",
        "MOV benefits from solid acting down the line -- kristen stewart is especially fine as moore 's struggling actress daughter -- but it exists in a rarefied world of privilege unknown to most alzheimer 's patients .",
        "julianne moore is n't merely good in the lead role . she 's devastatingly , heartbreakingly good , and she 's a big reason why MOV is as moving as it is .",
        "after showing the audience how much alice has to lose , the film shows her losing it . julianne moore 's finely honed , affecting performance makes her an oscar frontrunner .",
        "yes , julianne moore will win the oscar . and yes , this in one depressing film .",
        "julianne moore delivered the best performance by an actress in a leading role throughout the duration of 2014 . only wild 's reese witherspoon and two days , one night 's marion cotillard came close .",
        "there 's a directness to the production that might feel blunt were it not elevated by moore and baldwin 's heartbreaking duet performance ...",
        "at times -lrb- moore 's -rrb- subtleties feel like a rebellion against the potentially cheesy directions taken by the screenplay .",
        "julianne moore 's oscar clip will likely be an instance of high drama . but she 's at her best during the still moments in between .",
        "`` MOV '' provides a valuable lesson in empathy and understanding , with a message for all of us in accepting what we 've lost , and celebrating what has n't yet gone .",
        "the film is hobbled by a naff , tv-movie aesthetic and jarringly mawkish score . yet moore gives us raw heartache , running the gauntlet from fear to fury to powerless frustration , before she 's barely there at all .",
        "simultaneously rawly realistic and airbrushed .",
        "the tearjerker of the year .",
        "if only the movie were as good as -lsb- moore -rsb- and stewart are .",
        "julianne moore is devastatingly good , charting alice 's decline with subtlety and grace . it 's just a slight disappointment that her oscar-worthy performance is not just the crux of MOV , but also the film 's entirety .",
        "moore 's performance is gutsy , subtle and oscar worthy",
        "glatzer and westmoreland do n't need to stack the emotional deck on alice 's behalf ... they just leave the camera on moore 's beautiful but increasingly faraway face , and our tears come on their own .",
        "it 's a way better movie than it ought to be , but not good enough to escape its pulpy , mendacious roots .",
        "moore handles the role beautifully , emphasizing alice 's fastidiousness and dignity as they unravel against her will .",
        "with a combination of power and grace , julianne moore elevates `` MOV '' above its made-for-cable-television trappings , and delivers one of the more memorable performances of her career .",
        "overall `` MOV '' feels rather incomplete , but the blemishes are overshadowed by some tender and potent moments , a lovely score by ilan eshkeri and julianne moore 's fantastic performance ."
    ],
    "summary": "elevated by a gripping performance from julianne moore , MOV is a heartfelt drama that honors its delicate themes with bravery and sensitivity .",
    "id": "771387088"
  },
  {
    "movie": "drunk_stoned_brilliant_dead_the_story_of_the_national_lampoon",
    "reviews": [
        "worth watching if only for the wonderful clips from the various `` lampoon '' stage shows , and an almost endless parade of covers and comic strips .",
        "a generous and briskly entertaining look at the american humor magazine 's legacy .",
        "the funniest documentary since the aristocrats .",
        "director douglas tirola and his many interview subjects make a strong case for the lampoon itself as genuinely transformative .",
        "douglas tirola 's upbeat doc on national lampoon already feels essential for celebrating a hard-fought moment of american comic subversion .",
        "it mistakes touch-and-go navel-gazing for comprehension , as if speaking to as many subjects as possible produces an inherently compelling take .",
        "the laughs come from the vintage bits , and there 's a little missing context . but any documentary that humanizes chevy chase is a movie making miracle .",
        "douglas tirola 's source material ... is chock-a-block full of the magazine 's oft controversial articles , art work and , most famously , the cover art",
        "full of magic and promise",
        "the doc is a bit more loony than the recent snl film , but it 's still just a bit too tame - i.e. lots of talking heads - to truly represent its subject .",
        "what makes drunk stoned brilliant dead feel particularly vibrant is how the lampoon 's specific art direction is put to use .",
        "tirola finds great archival material , some lively and insightful interviews , and does an entertaining job of reminding us how important national lampoon was in the development of modern american comedy .",
        "the movie is an orgy of boomer self-congratulation -- yet it lacks even that movie 's ironic notation of how a bastion of white-male privilege managed to pass itself off as radical .",
        "a slick documentary , and a vital reminder of the power the magazine once held as it welcomed comedic geniuses and lovable miscreants to help create monthly doses of lethal mischief .",
        "if you think there is nothing funnier than putting a sacred cow in a blender and hitting the pur\u00e9e button , this is the movie for you .",
        "tirola 's documentary is brisk and entertaining , if not especially thoughtful . but then neither was the magazine , whose militant bad taste spawned `` saturday night live '' and so much more .",
        "we can only imagine with glee what these comic geniuses could have done with some of today 's political and cultural figures .",
        "the jazzy drunk stoned brilliant dead is filled with talking heads you actually want to listen to .",
        "the tone is sharp and freewheeling , the craziness is infectious and the pace is cocaine-quick .",
        "pack rats of a certain generation will all but run to their attics after seeing `` drunk stoned brilliant dead . ''",
        "filled with anecdotes and information about this irreverent satirical magazine and the people who made it what it became , with archival film and interviews , i was captivated .",
        "it 's mostly for nostalgic fans of the magazine .",
        "funny like its subject but not nearly as daring .",
        "energetic , laugh-stuffed and very colorful .",
        "it 's dispiriting that a film about a humor magazine that broke and rebuilt the forms of both humor and magazines is itself so staid - and so lacking in sociologic sweep .",
        "drunk stoned brilliant and dead is a reminder that the nl 's reach , scope and legacy is rich and varied ; indeed it might be thought of the putrid petri dish where an entire generation of north american comics were cultured .",
        "film allows for viewing the full extent of the nat lamp comedy empire , with rapid-fire montage of ... boundless energy to offend everyone and everything for 30 years .",
        "douglas tirola 's loving doc captures the anarchic '70s college satire magazine that became a comic force .",
        "an ambitious attempt to follow how the various alumni and side projects of one scurrilous publication variously gave us animal house , the simpsons , saturday night live and the breakfast club .",
        "talking heads , rock n ' roll spirit , and animated elements of the magazine come to life in comedic form . there 's certainly nothing wrong with this approach , but it 's certainly becoming formulaic .",
        "-lsb- both -rsb- a glorious celebration of the lunatic fringe -lrb- led by wild-child doug kenney -rrb- and a cautionary tale of the destructive impact of fame and fortune .",
        "unsparing about the ravages of time , cocaine and lorne michaels , tirola 's film also does what was previously considered impossible : it makes chevy chase seem like a human being .",
        "a frenetic , rough-edged , unapologetic tribute to the lampoon , featuring some amazing archival footage , nifty bits of animation and dozens of straightforward talking-head interviews that crackle and pop .",
        "whiplash-inducing . considering all the scenes of the staff working in a pot haze , the filmmakers might have benefited from taking a hit or several .",
        "offers a great oral history of the publication 's rise and fall , as told by dozens of people who were actually there .",
        "a poignant documentary for a time when nostalgia runs rampant , satire 's under fire , and comedy 's experiencing its own renaissance .",
        "whether you 're familiar with the lampoon magazine or just a fan of comedy in general , this is a thoroughly enlightening and entertaining homework assignment .",
        "pretty rock n'roll , aiming for a fun aesthetic that 's right in line with the brand",
        "what it lacks in specificity it more than makes up for in the articulate emotions of the interview subjects and the remarkable array of archival material .",
        "the film is uproarious , not for what its many talking heads say but for its astonishing procession of brilliant , boundary-breaching illustrations and captions ...",
        "aesthetically it 's meat-and-pototatoes , but what meat and potatoes - all giggled reminiscing and crazy anecdotes , peppered with racy and cutting sights and sounds .",
        "if only drunk stoned brilliant dead was a fraction as intelligent or entertaining as its subject .",
        "a must-see documentary for comedy fans ! more than a simple recounting of lampoon history , drunk stoned gives a strong sense of the players involved .",
        "it 's an engaging and entertaining film , filled with funny anecdotes expertly related .",
        "while drunk stoned brilliant dead is a nostalgic look back at some of the most celebrated funny men and women in the genre , it is one with a sense of finality . what once was will never be again : the industry has forever shifted .",
        "this is just about hanging around talking about the glory days , and as far as reminisces go , you could do worse than the group of people who put out the funniest work of the '70s .",
        "douglas tirola 's doc about the satirical bible 's rise and fall is fascinating , funny , smart , juvenile , tragic , and likely to offend just about everyone . it 's a must-see for anyone who cares about comedy .",
        "douglas tirola 's celebration of the '70s comedy institution does n't know when to put on the brakes . nevertheless , its enthusiasm proves infectious ."
    ],
    "summary": "drunk stoned brilliant dead might not be the definitive doc national lampoon fans are waiting for , but it 's still almost as transgressively funny as the magazine in its heyday .",
    "id": "771411944"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_angels_share",
    "reviews": [
        "as heartwarming and uplifting as any tale could be that features vicious beatings and grand larceny .",
        "whether robbie pulls off his caper should be left for the audience to discover . but loach 's great cinematic switcheroo goes off almost without a hitch .",
        "a fairy tale with its feet firmly on the ground .",
        "director ken loach 's latest glimpse of the u.k. underclass is really two rather different movies , either of which i would 've enjoyed on their own . but they do n't really fit together in any satisfying or even logical way .",
        "charming enough to satisfy even the trenchant-commentary crowd .",
        "a lark , but it 's a serious-minded lark , addressing issues of class and culture , the haves and have-nots .",
        "lead actor paul brannigan , the product of glasgow 's working-class east end , is a natural .",
        "while it has some likable characters , particularly its charismatic lead , it 's impossible to shake the feeling that we 've seen this movie before .",
        "the angels ' share is a stellar bit of activist cinema with a light touch .",
        "the usual loachian elements are all in place , but there is a gentle spirit at work here as well , and not just the alcoholic spirits around which the plot revolves .",
        "as unlikely a fable of redemption as any that hollywood might deliver , elevated by loach 's insistence on naturalism .",
        "they 're a fun bunch of tart-tongued scots , and if their adventures do n't amount to anything of thematic significance , watching them is a pleasure .",
        "mingling the peaty scent of scottish street life with a distilled take on unemployed , at-risk youth , director ken loach serves up a surprisingly upbeat cocktail thanks to a subplot involving rare whisky .",
        "despite its ultimate sense of optimism , the glasgow-set dramedy nevertheless carries a sense of foreboding . and yet , that might not have been the intention .",
        "with this shaggy-dog tale of four petty glaswegian criminals and their improbably successful scheme to steal the world 's most valuable whiskey , loach turns na\u010fvet\u00e9 into a sort of moral philosophy .",
        "... a low key and rather marvelous , sweet-natured heist movie",
        "probably the first ken loach film you could call ` jaunty . '",
        "modest in scale , expansive in emotions , this movie is a rarity : a contemporary tragicomedy .",
        "the film is cocktail of comedy and heist with a large shot of social realism .",
        "slipping back and forth between drama and comedy , the angels ' share initially seems shaggy and unstructured , but that 's part of its appeal .",
        "there is love , laughter and whisky galore in ken loach 's unusually joyful comedy drama about delinquent scottish youths defying the odds society has stacked against them .",
        "some may find the tendons of the story a little slack occasionally , but for me loach and laverty are speaking with an engaging dramatic voice .",
        "like a subtly blended malt , this mixes light and dark to create one of loach 's most life-affirming tales . funny , frank and it wo n't give you a splitting hangover .",
        "this is british comedy at its warmest and most pleasurable ; cask strength , unfiltered and neat .",
        "much like a stiff drink at the end of a long day , `` the angels ' share '' gets the job done , but you 're probably not going to remember it in the morning .",
        "loach 's realism lends an easygoing , ramshackle quality to the film that smoothes over any lack of tightness .",
        "-lsb- ken loach -rsb- and his longtime screenwriter , paul laverty , find a good balance between drama and wacky character moments .",
        "the title , by the way , refers to the distillation process : the 2 % of whisky that evaporates in the barrel is known as `` the angel 's share . '' i 'm afraid there 's more than 2 % evaporation going on in loach 's latest .",
        "if you want to look for it , you 'll find a layer of metaphor -lrb- the distilling process as a symbol of the characters ' evolution -rrb- and social-realist commentary amid the gentle , life-affirming laughs .",
        "drink it up !",
        "the result is a sometimes gritty , occasionally charming highland hybrid , but the final balance feels slightly off-kilter .",
        "loach takes us through the mysteries of whisky making , exploring the subtle tastes and scents in ways that will have audiences wishing they had a dram at hand . but a glass also serves more symbolic purposes ...",
        "a surprisingly warm and heartfelt film about a flawed criminal struggling to start a new life after the birth of his first child .",
        "ken loach walks on the lighter side",
        "the scenes where the angels ' share unexpectedly becomes a surprisingly-tense and innovative heist movie are much more fun than the averagely tiresome bank robbery drama .",
        "ken loach goes full-on feel-good with this enjoyable , rough-edged and well acted comedy drama that 's by turns moving , suspenseful and laugh-out-loud funny .",
        "nowhere in the movie is reality short-changed for story effect .",
        "another likeable but uneven comedy in the vein of looking for eric , -lsb- loach 's -rsb- 2009 film starring eric cantona .",
        "the time is ripe for a great ken loach film . if only ken loach was up for making one .",
        "newcomer brannigan is a real find , though his dramatic weight is splendidly countered by the scene-stealing maitland who provides one of the film 's two unforgettable , ca n't - believe-he-did-that moments .",
        "brannigan is an engaging lead and henshaw offers light relief , but director ken loach , famous for his social realism , and regular writer paul laverty struggle to find a balance between the film 's comic and serious elements .",
        "a wee heart-warming dram of scots spirit ... a rich fermentation of the best of british comedy filmmaking with a greater social agenda .",
        "a whimsical crime caper comedy in the ealing vein about a bunch of delinquent glaswegians who pull off a very unlikely heist - think whisky galore with sweary neds instead of twinkling hebridean islanders .",
        "it is an uplifting tale of redemption with a hint of politics , which is not overstated .",
        "ken loach 's latest cannes fest entry is a light , amiable scottish fable -lrb- with dark tones to be sure -rrb- about how the discovery of whisky can change one 's life .",
        "like good whisky , loach is mellowing and becoming subtler with age - though a swift chug still has a bit of a kick .",
        "the angels ' share is often hilarious , always hugely charming , and carries a wholly appropriate social message .",
        "oddly structured like a whisky tasting , this film cycles through moods from the first taste to the full flavour to the final kick .",
        "it 's the glaswegian specificity that makes this contrived heist comedy mildly enjoyable .",
        "the angels ' share is loach at his most playful and invigorating .",
        "an amiable comedy about young glaswegian roughnecks discovering the world of whisky , `` the angels ' share '' finds helmer ken loach and long-term screenwriting partner paul laverty in better , breezier form than their rebarbative prior effort ,",
        "something 's gone wrong when a would-be cheerful comedy leaves you feeling as if a condescending finger has been wagged in your face .",
        "loach and laverty never fully resolve the yin and yang : the blood and the banter . but it 's still rewarding to see these filmmakers exploring a different ton .",
        "a heartwarming , social-realist fairytale with enough rowdy humour and sweet sentiment to appeal to loach 's dedicated global followers and beyond .",
        "the feel-good comedy of the summer . who knew ?",
        "there is politics underlying every aspect of this funny , warm-hearted , deftly plotted film , and we fervently wish for the caper planned by this endearing quartet to succeed .",
        "it has a spellbinding heft of charm , carrying itself just like a fine whiskey - warm , a little sweet , and unequivocally a joy to return to time and time again .",
        "the redemptive path is paved with laughter and charm , mixes mirth with tears beautifully",
        "if i had to make a comparison , i 'd say it is an unlikely pairing of green street hooligans and sideways .",
        "finds room for some well-earned warm fuzzies .",
        "the spirit and the flesh are willing in this mischievous , bittersweet comedy in which single malt whisky , an ex crim and second chances come together in an interesting blend",
        "ken loach does hope ' could be the headline a fleet street sub might slap on a review of the angels ' share , in which a young scot accidentally finds salvation and a way out of his trapped life of crime and misery",
        "-lsb- loach 's -rsb- latest collaboration with screenwriter paul laverty proves the pair can pull off a genre entertainment with aplomb when in the mood .",
        "the film has a rough and ready look , but the charm of its battler characters shines through and there 's plenty to relish here , even though the plot gets more and more improbable the further it proceeds .",
        "loach brings a warm-hearted poignancy to this feel-good tale of the more disadvantaged in society who , miraculously , find redemption .",
        "i loved this . i walked out of this film just really filled with delight . ken loach is such a socially conscious filmmaker .",
        "scent , fine acting , plus superb cinematography carry you through . however , you ca n't help but feel you 've been cheated out of a truly devastating drama by folks in search of something more commercially palatable and , consequently , less plausible .",
        "ken loach 's breezy scribble about lowlife redemption and drunken buffoonery is n't so much heavy-handed as it is charmingly weightless .",
        "-lsb- its -rsb- fleeting slapstick tendency wins out , regrettably diminishing the film 's social consciousness in the process .",
        "loach 's best film since the wind that shakes the barley .",
        "this is as close to a feel-good film as -lsb- director -rsb- ken loach gets , yet he never loses sight or touch with the reality he is so brilliant at capturing on camera .",
        "the angels ' share is the charming story of four scottish criminals who find redemption - if not exactly rehabilitation - through alcohol . it may not seem like the typical logline for a heart-warmer ; it seems about right for a ken loach flick .",
        "loach 's realism always carries a distinct sense of humor , volatility and , most alarmingly in this hypercapitalist new century , a socialist passion for the people .",
        "although some of the accents are so thick it 's difficult to understand the dialogue -lrb- where are the subtitles when we need them ? -rrb- the performances feel genuine .",
        "i 'm not suggesting the angels ' share is a chock full of bellylaughs , but it 's the first loach film in some time that lacks the sensation of having a plastic grocery bag pulled over one 's face .",
        "ken loach comedy about young glaswegian reprobates fighting for a second chance has charm aplenty , but suffers from occasional portions of cheese and a hard-to-swallow premise -lrb- whisky-tasting as gateway to a better life -rrb- .",
        "some good laughs and a passable air of bonhomie do nothing to cover up the fact that the angels ' share is totally lightweight and distractingly underdone .",
        "while there 's no ignoring the social ills that haunt robbie 's hopes , the movie 's optimism serves as a cheeky , and surprisingly inspiring , retort .",
        "watching it is like receiving a hard slap in the face from someone who expects you to laugh it off , even though the sting lingers .",
        "-lsb- mr. loach -rsb- has gone and directed a comedy from a script by his longtime collaborator paul laverty , and it 's so delightful that his fans will be clamoring for more .",
        "loach films have been funny while making their point before -lrb- see `` riff raff '' -rrb- , but this one is imbued with a little bit of magic ... those offended by four letter words should be warned that even the voice of god slings a heavy dose of them here .",
        "graphically observant about the ease with which young men starved of opportunities can turn their energies inward to destroying themselves and one another .",
        "loach coaxes an endearingly poised performance out of nonprofessional brannigan , and largely sells these scuffling characters as neither hopeless nor heroic-just terribly human .",
        "just how is one supposed to react , in 2013 , to a non-ironic use of the proclaimers ' '' -lrb- i 'm gon na be -rrb- 500 miles '' in a musical montage ?",
        "the plot thickens , but the mood grows lighter .",
        "unexpectedly , and blithely , amusing .",
        "sweet-natured and high-spirited , it 's a fanciful fable with a wee dash of magical realism .",
        "this is one of the most likable movies so far this year .",
        "although the english director ken loach has been making socially conscious movies for close to 50 years , this shaggy comedy unfolds like the work of a young man on a lark .",
        "the film itself vaporizes before your eyes , but it 's likable . given its unstable mishmash of thuggery and whimsy , that 's something of an achievement .",
        "like the spirit it celebrates , `` the angel 's share '' is a neat little jolt of pleasure - and guaranteed to leave you feeling just a mite warmer .",
        "while a few farcical moments fizzle , it 's mostly charming .",
        "`` the angels ' share '' leaves a warm glow .",
        "with the angels ' share , ken loach expertly combines a handful of genres which congeal into an often funny , always charming affair that serves as a salute to whisky to boot ."
    ],
    "summary": "the angels ' share is a surprisingly delightful , uplifting comedy that successfully blends a charming story of redemption with bits of dark humor and a social message .",
    "id": "771303117"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ajami",
    "reviews": [
        "it has a complex , elliptical structure that uses unconventional filming techniques to tell a bleak and fatalistic story conveyed with an unnerving sense of verisimilitude .",
        "good intentions are one thing , of course , and good writing and filmmaking another . MOV is lucky to have all three .",
        "MOV brings its audience into a world where the cultural conflict is fierce , emotions run high , yet the hopeful vision of peaceful coexistence shines through the cracks .",
        "observing the ominous nature of violence and its crushing aftermath , MOV is a striking raw nerve of a feature film , holding to a steady path of dread , but keeping the story on its toes by jolting back and forth through locations and time .",
        "a brutally honest , harrowing and provocative glimpse into the cycle of violence in the middle east .",
        "extraordinarily accomplished and deeply provocative , the film 's appeal among sophisticated filmgoers should remain strong throughout oscar season and beyond .",
        "hollywood -lsb- may -rsb- think that MOV is making a political statement ... given the partnership of the directors . unfortunately , it 's not enough to make this a memorable film .",
        "this is vividly challenging , utterly inclusive and heartfelt cinema . it 's not only gripping to watch , but it 'll open your eyes to the intractable human conundrums behind the blood-stained headlines .",
        "the specifics of the plot in MOV are n't as important as the impact of many sad moments that build up one after another . hatred is like the weather . you do n't agree with the rain but still you get wet .",
        "shani and copti -lrb- who costars as a hipster druggie -rrb- elicit moving performances from their nonprofessional actors , who ground the somewhat breathless action in a streetwise realism .",
        "a bold and serious film about the frail threads that keep -- or fail to keep -- a society from falling apart .",
        "like an israeli amores perros crossed with city of god .",
        "an urgent , immediate , jarring-but-fluid , multicharacter portrayal of arab life in an israel ghetto .",
        "aside from its honesty , i just think it 's a really gripping narrative .",
        "do n't worry if you miss some details ; this is the kind of movie that rewards a second viewing .",
        "MOV is n't a downbeat film , though it is a relentless one . it is alive with energy , if only the energy devoted to survival .",
        "gripping , gritty tragedy of complex families who cross at the wrong place at the wrong time . misunderstood intentions and attitudes sadly lead inexorably to violence .",
        "there are hints at the sort of collective punishment so often rained down by palestinians and israelis upon one another , but really there are far broader concerns here in what is , in effect , a drama of divisions",
        "a poignant drama set in the tense multi-ethnic community in jaffa , israel , where dreams are regularly shattered by violence , poverty , and religious strife .",
        "complex like its nation 's own ethnic and cultural stew , this is bracing cinema even while its implications are distressing in the extreme .",
        "... deft filmmaking and storytelling by the tyro directing team . i can not wait to see their follow up works .",
        "has an honest urgency born from the filmmakers ' very specific personal histories .",
        "it 's a film that rewards close attention , involving disparate characters whose lives intersect over the course of several chapters .",
        "it 's an admirable achievement , taking simplistic , old-fashioned material and passionately adapting it to make it urgent and relevant .",
        "copti and shani are promising talents , but they 're a bit too clever for their own good .",
        "filmmakers scandar copti and yaron shani , who also wrote the story , effectively show how , in a tinderbox fueled by racial and religious suspicions , quiet lives can be upended by mere chance , and how constant , random violence feeds upon itself .",
        "it 's an admirably even-handed portrait of life in an occupied ghetto that is bounded by checkpoints . everyone we meet is a more or less honorably motivated victim of circumstance .",
        "a compelling drama about prejudice and folly .",
        "it does place the audience squarely amid the myriad horrors of a land and a conflict predicated , it appears , on little more than an age-old blood feud and joseph heller 's concept of catch-22 .",
        "the fact that these two israelis from opposite camps worked together to make this movie is as important as the movie itself .",
        "as complex as paul haggis 's film `` crash , '' this one may be confusing the first time around but affords the viewer an emotional picture of life in one of israel 's toughest neighborhoods .",
        "MOV has an appealingly rough-edged , authentic feel to it , thanks to some strong location work and the fact that the cast is drawn largely from non-professionals and real life locals .",
        "a terrific and well-realized first film , one that allows you into a world that very few outsiders have a chance to see and allows you to marvel at the storytelling skills of these two filmmakers .",
        "more impressive as a formal exercise than as a means to deepen our understanding of the characters or their situations .",
        "the combustible movie has had a strangely unifying effect on audiences worldwide ; it deserves to find traction where it counts .",
        "untidy , despairing , oddly exhilarating .",
        "you emerge from MOV moved and also a little worn out , but mostly grateful for the heart , craft and intelligence the movie has shown .",
        "israel 's 2009 academy awards foreign film entry has been getting good buzz and deserves most of it .",
        "rarely has the tinderbox nature of the middle east been so accurately lensed , on such an intimate scale , as in scandar copti and yaron shani 's powerful MOV .",
        "the complexity might require a second viewing , but there is compensation in the realistic acting by a cast of non-pros and the eye-grabbing , hand-held lensing by boaz yehonatan yacov .",
        "a stylish and important step towards forming a more compelling , bravely engaging portrayal of a country in turmoil without disregarding its hypocrisies , corruption and seemingly never-ending suffering .",
        "MOV , nominated for the foreign lingo oscar , captures impressively the entire spectrum of religious and cultural diversity of contempo israel , but the tale is repetitious and unnecessarily convoluted , imitating gomorroah and other multi-layered crimers .",
        "MOV is a powerful crime drama in which all are heroes and all are villains .",
        "contrivances bring this bunch together , and the plotting gets a little too complicated and convoluted . luckily , these are characters that feel real , whose problems are relatable .",
        "while its themes of revenge , mutual resentment and grim fatalism offer little hope for a ready solutions , the movie itself testifies to the power of creative collaboration in finding common ground .",
        "MOV keeps asking : when do people cross the line ? and when does pulling the trigger become a viable option ?",
        "the structure teeters but does n't succumb to the contrivances of crash .",
        "... these young filmmakers show maturity in how they have crafted their script , building layers of perspective that shift and change as they change points of view .",
        "among other things , MOV reminds us that `` israeli '' and `` jewish '' are not perfectly congruent circles in a venn diagram ; and that neither these -- nor `` arab , '' `` muslim , '' `` palestinian , '' and `` christian '' -- describe perfectly homogeneous groups .",
        "by showing how people fail to live together - in a film you could call israel 's city of god , with its sectarian-feuding story lent power and immediacy by improvisation and non-professional casting - MOV shows how they might or should live together .",
        "the performances are searingly intense , all delivered by non-professionals cast to type and extemporizing within the parameters of the script . they take the play out of acting , and the effect is unvarnished realism .",
        "any given half-hour of the film has dramatic impact ; at two hours , it 's a power punch to the gut .",
        "while quentin tarantino used the narrative device to give his film a caffeinated jolt of hipster cool , co-directors scandar copti and yaron shani use it brilliantly to show the chaotic web of violence that traps jews , christians and muslims alike .",
        "a deceptive movie , one that introduces its characters in the heat of violence , allows us to make conclusions based on what we see , then shatters our assumptions in the telling of how that moment came about .",
        "a rare film that will force you to confront your own prejudices .",
        "MOV may be set in israel , but at times it plays more like an american gangster drama . the film does address the ethnic and social tensions that run through the country , but it does so in a nuanced and refreshingly clear-eyed way .",
        "the movie is insightful in revealing how messy life can be with enemies living in close proximity to one another . the press notes point out the ...",
        "its sense of ambiance , most apparent during scenes of simple conversation between characters , more than compensates for the cinematic overdetermination .",
        "una contundente \u00f3pera prima , narrada en forma fragmentaria a la manera de amores perros o crash , que retrata con brutal honestidad la vida en un conflictivo vecindario de jaffa . estupendo elenco de actores no profesionales .",
        "gripping modern-day drama about crime and tensions among the israeli jews and israeli arabs .",
        "... acutely insightful about the social divisions within israel , but it examines them without scolding or sentimentality .",
        "a confident contemporary crime thriller that , yes , may rely on perhaps a few too many plot coincidences to hang together , but otherwise offers a bracing insight into a troubled situation without hectoring us with insipid platitudes .",
        "stories of violence , revenge and corruption smartly told by next-gen foreign filmmakers",
        "the actors , every one of them new to their craft , make the everydayness of the picture indelible and real .",
        "the pattern of connections and coincidences is a little overschematic , but the movie has energy , especially in the grippingly real shooting scene at the beginning ."
    ],
    "summary": "this multi-character drama balances intimate portrayals and broad political implications to paint a bracing and moving portrait of the middle east conflict .",
    "id": "770811529"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1196221-quarantine",
    "reviews": [
        "` MOV ' is a solid horror movie and one of the better to be released this year . the last 15 minutes is hardcore suspense that redeem any cheap movie making flaws .",
        "develops into a legitimately unnerving experience .",
        "... one could surely do far worse as far as horror remakes go .",
        "a respectable , if uninspired , adaptation of ... -lsb- rec -rsb- , a blair witch-style variation on zombie movie cliches that might seem fresher had it not opened after veteran george romero 's grimly pared-down diary of the dead .",
        "i do n't care how dedicated a tv journalist you are : when a rabid , shrieking hellion lunges for your neck , teeth a-gnashin ' , it 's time to hit the standby button and defend yourself .",
        "MOV is symptomatic of a broken industry ; one that would rather remake a perfectly good foreign language film with nice , safe , recognisable american faces rather than plough any money into original concepts .",
        "the best thing about this cheesy rip-off mockumentary-styled horror pic is that i did n't catch its virus or vomit after following its shaky developments .",
        "works as every bit the disposable jolt dispenser it 's assembled to be .",
        "good news for those who missed the spanish zombie horror -lsb- rec -rsb- when it opened here a few months back . here comes the inevitable fast-tracked hollywood remake , which covers the same ground without the burden of all those subtitled hysterics .",
        "real no frills filmmaking . anything that gets in the way of the main idea is stripped to the bone . this includes certain niceties like character , humor , and even story .",
        "not as frightening as it should be , but still better than the average hollywood scare-a-thon .",
        "delivers a pleasingly high quota of decent jolts as the body count mounts and the tv airhead becomes increasingly hysterical .",
        "the spanish film worked better than john erick dowdle 's remake , which is , if possible , even more chaotically filmed to the point that you often have n't got the slightest idea what 's happening -- you just know that it 's nasty .",
        "the premise is n't bad ; i like the fact this hysteria happens in and around people 's homes , because it 's an excuse for the filmmakers to uncover secrets normally kept behind closed doors . a pity there are no great revelations here .",
        "it 's one of those rare movies where you ca n't quite ascertain as to whether the filmmakers are trying to create scares or laughs .",
        "an affair that aims low and succeeds well in such .",
        "the camera bounces along , its path blocked frequently by the back of some fleeing figure , so that you 're never quite sure where you are , where you 're going or what you 're looking at ...",
        "we are saddled with the limitations of the ` found ' film premise - seemingly endless screaming and scrabbling around in the dark , filmed from just a single angle .",
        "an eye-popping both metaphorical and literal genocidal rat race scare scenario made especially haunting when it kicks in , with its post-9 / 11 domestic terror lurking around every corner , hyper-paranoid sensibility .",
        "jennifer carpenter is terrific as the news reporter who gets swallowed up in her own story , and leads an excellent cast , all of whom bring a veracity to this remake in the hands of the talented dowdle brothers",
        "unlike so many other jerky camera horrors , and even zombie film shockers , MOV escalates the tension with a perfect sense of fearful exploitation . one of the best chillers of 08 .",
        "what 's a smart , well-crafted horror movie like MOV doing in today 's marketplace ?",
        "MOV is worth seeing for its solid first two acts , some terrific acting by some favorite character actors , and a several solid spook-show scares .",
        "despite the cronenbergian themes , the film is relentless and singleminded : it just wants to scare you , and it succeeds .",
        "good halloween-type fun for the fans of adult thrillers , ` MOV ' is a cleverly done scare flickt aht will keep you wondering who 's going to get it next .",
        "as a visceral , camera-shuddery ride into foamy-mouthed zombie hell , it 's efficient enough - but if you 've already seen -lsb- rec -rsb- , steer clear ...",
        "an american remake of the spanish horror movie ' -lsb- rec -rsb- ' that adopts the same basic recipe , but removes any hint of flavour or texture , reducing cutting-edge catalan cuisine to bland , bite-sized mcnuggets .",
        "MOV , yet another pseudo-documentary horror movie , delivers the heebie-jeebies with solid acting and perfectly calibrated shocks .",
        "i have seen many execrable films -- plan 9 from outer space , disaster movie , batman & robin -- but never has a movie made me so physically ill .",
        "MOV is based on the 2007 spanish thriller -lsb- rec -rsb- . like any imitation , the quality 's not as good , but this is about cheap thrills , of which there are not enough .",
        "give MOV credit : without resorting to computer-generated monsters or supernatural explanations , it uses consistent logic and confinement to find new ways of being scary .",
        "this is n't as good as cloverfield , but it does a pretty decent job at generating some thrills . unfortunately , the movie is ruined by carpenter 's distractingly awful performance .",
        "MOV is a hugely satisfying film , if you 're the sort of person who likes hanging around on the edge of your seat .",
        "MOV is the type of movie that is made to see in a theatre . the film is brutally realistic and shot in such a way that you feel like you are watching real footage .",
        "a vertiginous , nauseating , unscary mess of a film .",
        "as the first-person pov conceit goes , it 's not the nocturnal nightmare of `` cloverfield , '' but it 's more compelling than the dog-eared `` diary of the dead . '' it 's stylish , and the sound design is superb , but it eventually gets too dumb to be very scary .",
        "in some ways ` MOV ' is better than ` rec , ' not only xeroxing all its shocks but managing to add more .",
        "grows increasingly repetitious and tedious as the same cinematic tricks are played over and over ... the effect is suffocating rather than enjoyably spooky .",
        "actress jennifer carpenter of exorcism of emily rose fame surely deserves some kind of award for giving the most hysterical over-the-top performance in a horror movie since marilyn burns in the original 1974 texas chain saw massacre .",
        "... a movie that did n't need to be made and which no one needs to see .",
        "my suggestion is to see the original first and then skip this one altogether ...",
        "a rote reproduction of a more effective film .",
        "rarely more than competent and never inspired . but it more or less passes for a few cheap thrills if you 're not too demanding .",
        "despite tweaking the format , MOV successfully replicates the claustrophobic tension of -lsb- rec -rsb- and cranks up the sudden eruptions of frenzied violence , making it as much of a white-knuckle terror ride as it was the first time around .",
        "horror movie fans can enjoy the visceral experience . the core purpose % u2013 to make people jump out of their seats % u2013 is executed with intense precision .",
        "too much information in the trailer spoiled some of the suspense of the film",
        "carpenter and harris are able to pull off the whole charade with impressive energy and convincing bursts of sheer terror during some very long , uncut takes .",
        "... this is what the resident evil sequels should have been .",
        "if a remake must be made in lieu of original thoughts and ideas , one could do far , far worse . MOV is the real deal -- a primal , uncompromising vision of insanity run amok .",
        "MOV is a well-acted , competent remake that does n't betray the original , though it 's somehow less scary and slightly longer than it needs to be .",
        "the spanish did it all a little better but carpenter rivals her european counterpart in hollering blue murder .",
        "MOV feels awfully familiar , and it grows less convincing with each passing moment . at its worst , it abandons realism entirely and flirts with gory kitsch .",
        "when the month 's horror options boil down to a modestly clever exercise like this or yet another saw sequel , you know you could do worse .",
        "despite MOV 's theft from nearly every film in the subgenre , there are parts of the film that just plain work , no matter how much it does n't seem like they should .",
        "rather too hysterical to be coherent , but it 's still jittery and thoroughly unnerving",
        "MOV is a lucrative steal by dowdle . the spanish original is arguably the best v\u00e9rit\u00e9 fright movie since the blair witch project . the american version is not quite in the same league .",
        "just like its forebear , this is bluntly effective exercise in first-person horror .",
        "if you did n't catch rec fever first time round , let yourself get bitten by MOV . such brilliance is an isolated incident in modern scary movies .",
        "i raved about the oddly-titled spanish horror -lsb- rec -rsb- , saying it turned the terror up to 10 . now , as night follows day , it 's time for a hollywood remake - and the result is n't half bad .",
        "the downside is that for the final half-hour the camera shakes so badly i started suffering from motion sickness .",
        "underdeveloped and predictable , there is little compelling about the film other than the premise and a few of the kills .",
        "this derivative horror flick can be confined along with its numerous inspirations .",
        "MOV is a modestly inventive , sporadically exciting thriller that nonetheless proves too faithful to its central conceit for its own good .",
        "claustrophobic , jittery at times , and electric in pace , MOV is a stripped-down bloody thrill ride that -- while certainly not catering to everyone 's tastes -- should satisfy gore-hounds looking to step up their theatrical horror cuisine .",
        "no , the script is n't anything special and the novelty long ago wore off in this style of movie making . but the execution in this film from john erick dowdle is amazing , the camera work and cutting perfect .",
        "MOV fails to correct some of the problems evident in its predecessor while also incorporating a few defects of its own .",
        "if you are looking for a film that will scare the wits out of you , even briefly , you ca n't wrong from seeing this one .",
        "disregarding its xeroxed pedigree , it 's easily one of the best american horror films of the year .",
        "even those who despise remakes will have to admit that director john erick dowdle 's furious retread is scary as hell .",
        "there 's never a dull moment in ` MOV . '",
        "visually , this one mirrors cloverfield right down to the dropped camera left to record what happens when the humans in the vicinity have been , uh , quarantined .",
        "... feels as if someone had videotaped their trip through a haunted house run by the local jaycees .",
        "what director john erick dowdie has done is veer away from the supernatural atmosphere of the spanish version and ramped up the bloodletting - it 's more gory than ghostly .",
        "effective scares make up for some dodgy storytelling in this horror v\u00e9rit\u00e9 about a tv crew trapped in an apartment building teeming with plague victims .",
        "MOV director john erick dowdle and co-writing brother drew wisely stick close to the told-from-the-cameraman 's point-of-view template of the terrific original .",
        "MOV is the unavoidable american replica , only this version has ingested a bottle of idiot pills and washed it all down with a full glass of directorial incompetence .",
        "the original spanish thriller -lrb- rec -rrb- is no doubt better acted and executed , but considering the bad `` prestige '' movies recently it 's hard to understand why screen gems decided not to press screen the cheap , quicky horror flick that delivers the basic goods",
        "a solid , suspense-filled 90 minutes",
        "considering how worthless most horror remakes are , the fact that this `` carbon copy quickie '' actually works is fairly impressive ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV uses effective atmosphere and consistent scares to stand above the crop of recent horror films .",
    "id": "770684110"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10012136-winters_bone",
    "reviews": [
        "a tough tale of survival in a harsh environment , this adaptation echoes through the emotional chill and connects with us",
        "the tone and the mood are consistent , the wintry setting forbidding , the characters silhouettes in a world of lean survival . it 's the kind of filmmaking that shows off the talents of all concerned",
        "... a deeply naturalistic brand of high lonesome noir .",
        "a rewarding , richly detailed exploration of the strength of character required when confronted by ugly truths .",
        "it 's the kind of movie that pulls you into its setting and does n't let go .",
        "a masterpiece , and a gem worthy of oscar gold ...",
        "as ree , 20-year-old lawrence is an absolute revelation ; her performance easily ranks amongst this year 's best .",
        "winter 's bone is indeed harrowing , but it is also fun . it 's fun , because it 's excellent , and after enduring the mostly-disappointing hollywood blockbuster season , simply seeing an exquisite piece of work such as this brings a smile to my face .",
        "a southern teen navigates dangerous blood ties , and a new star emerges in the revelatory thriller winter 's bone .",
        "from the moment you meet ree dolly -lrb- jennifer lawrence -rrb- in winter 's bone , you know what she 's capable of .",
        "strikingly unsentimental . winter 's bone has no time for backstory , moral lessons , or other cute stuff .",
        "serious , sensitive and stirring , it reveals a gritty , cruelly uncompromising world within the confines of our own country .",
        "the way lawrence captures a young woman 's fear and resolve , often non-verbally , well ... this is a considerable talent well on her way to a great career .",
        "there is a hazard of caricature here . granik avoids it . her film does n't live above these people , but among them .",
        "chilling as the woods in the dark , this quiet mystery has kindness and humanity sprinkled across hopelessness so constant you forget to breathe .",
        "a riveting exploration of old-society notions of responsibility and obligation , loyalty and betrayal",
        "... slow but fascinating ...",
        "a good deal of the credit goes to actress jennifer lawrence , playing the kind of character you start out quietly rooting for , then end up backing , like some world cup soccer hooligan .",
        "winter 's bone is the best film of the year .",
        "the social detail of a 21st-century mountain community is completely persuasive , heightening the drama immeasurably .",
        "... consciously attempting to avoid clich\u00e9s can erode authenticity . to director debra granik 's credit , realism permeates every frame of digital imagery",
        "a gripping movie that graphically portrays poverty as the worst form of violence in the life of a 17-year-old heroine struggling to save her family .",
        "there is a profound sense of neorealism percolating beneath winter 's bone 's noirish mystery plot .",
        "debra granik 's bleak little film is as tough , unflinching and fascinating as the characters who eke out a life amid its cold , gray hills .",
        "un retrato realista , crudo y duro de ambientes y personajes que viven al margen de la sociedad , de la ley y la moral , y que crece en intensidad como un thriller de suspenso . estupendas actuaciones de jennifer lawrence y john hawkes .",
        "uma narrativa densa e multifacetada que permite que aquelas pessoas desafiem nossos preconceitos e se apresentem como indiv\u00edduos imperfeitos , sim , mas jamais unidimensionais .",
        "an acutely gripping , grimly authentic thriller .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "winter 's bone is boosted by a stellar cast of characters who engender both scares and occasional sympathy .",
        "winter 's bone is as quiet as a snake . it 's a chilling and challenging visit into a remote -- perhaps alien -- world . but while winter 's bone has anguish and fear , the film is ultimately life-affirming and real .",
        "while winter 's bone hardly exploits the poor in its depiction of them , its decision to focus on bree while showing audiences their world seems like an artistic compromise .",
        "take it from a genuine hillbilly that this is a true and powerful statement on the tragedy of ozark life .",
        "it 's a tough , no-nonsense film , with a tough , no-nonsense protagonist , and the kind of slow-burning , ominous atmosphere that gets under your skin and lingers for days .",
        "granik also manages to make viewers care about characters who would n't think twice about betraying their own families for a few bucks or maybe another hit .",
        "kudos to debra granik for making a film that packs as many surprising punches as this one , and doing it in a refreshingly cinematic idiom .",
        "this emotionally scarring , pain-wracked character study/missing person mystery plays in a parallel brick-like environment with its own language and code of conduct .",
        "in an impeccable act of sympathetic imagination , director debra granik has entered into the soul of debt-ridden appalachia .",
        "a scorching drama of grim traditions , meth-cooked justice and a teen 's desire to survive",
        "winter 's bone boasts one of the strongest , most authentic , most fully realized heroines i 've ever encountered . jennifer lawrence is revelatory .",
        "with a level-gazed approach to its milieu , empathetic but clear-eyed , winter 's bone practically makes up for 40 years of deliverance-style hillbilly cartoons .",
        "lawrence is outstanding as the young girl stepping up to do whatever 's necessary to save her family , not allowing herself the luxury of even the smallest smile to deter her from the job at hand",
        "both a whodunit and a coming-of-age tale , dominated by jennifer lawrence 's luminous performance as the resourceful , much-tested ree .",
        "highlighted by a knockout performance by jennifer lawrence , granik 's direction and mcdonough 's cinematography make this tense thriller as compelling as a documentary .",
        "what we 've been waiting for : a work of art that grabs hold and wo n't let go .",
        "the result is a film and a character of unusual strength . pity ree , question her decisions , wonder about her future . but the girl does not quit .",
        "with winter 's bone , granik has morphed from a director worth watching to one who demands our undivided attention . she 's got mine .",
        "a masterpiece of sparseness .",
        "jennifer lawrence gives a stirring turn in a gift-of-a-lifetime role .",
        "the setting , which i do n't recall ever seeing on film , is menacing , unsettling and so foreign-seeming i kept forgetting winter 's bone is set in present-day missouri .",
        "winter 's bone is the kind of film that should be offered to us more often .",
        "deserves to be the major commercial breakthrough for both director debra granik and jennifer lawrence , its luminous , moon-faced star .",
        "the picture offers a rare look at a region that will seem as foreign to most moviegoers as the forest moon of endor .",
        "by its towering ending , the movie feels like a feminist reworking of a classical heroic myth .",
        "winter 's bone sometimes feels like a haunted house , where only extreme deference to scary people will save you .",
        "winter 's bone perfectly captures a hardscrabble setting some of us drive past on two-lane roads , wondering how people live that way .",
        "leavens its worst moments with a sense of compassion and tenderness that reminds us to understand and empathize with , rather than judge , the characters",
        "jennifer lawrence is superb in debra granik 's graceful film about gritty people .",
        "an altogether astonishing film , not in the least because winter 's bone lives up to the hype -- or so nearly that it makes no difference .",
        "` winter 's bone ' is a movie to be experienced , not merely watched . but be forewarned . it 's powerful stuff .",
        "it won both the grand jury prize in the u.s. dramatic category and the waldo salt screenwriting award , and is well-deserving of both .",
        "brilliantly rendered story of a girl falling into a dante-esque descent in search of her prodigal father .",
        "for all the horror , it 's the drive toward life , not the decay , that lingers in the mind . as a modern heroine , ree dolly has no peer , and winter 's bone is the year 's most stirring film .",
        "the film 's succinct , well-paced plot avoids narrative convention and cheap sentimentality . it 's the anti-frozen river .",
        "a coming-of-age story that is not entirely about breaking free .",
        "director debra granik has the grace to approach the film 's grim material and run-down , depressing setting with genuine humanity and curiosity , and the movie offers gripping suspense and uniformly excellent performances .",
        "the main reason for winter 's bone to exist is that it delivers a little voyeuristic thrill -- a bit of poverty porno -- for the critics who awarded it their highest honors at this year 's sundance film festival .",
        "employs a conventional amerindie template ... without ever feeling stale , forced or phony .",
        "if you enjoy good movie-making , excellent characters and a tightly wrought story then winter 's bone is the film for you .",
        "this lead performance -lsb- from jennifer lawrence -rsb- is excellent .",
        "together , lawrence and granik have created a heroine as tough as she is pretty , with a smart mouth and brazen attitude that give way to glimpses of scary vulnerability .",
        "lacks adequate suspense and intrigue , occasionally drags , and leaves you feeling underwhelmed despite strong , well-nuanced performances and a richly atmospheric setting .",
        "winter 's bone is a welcome reminder that thrillers do n't have to be loud and boisterous to grab the attention and keep it captive .",
        "granik makes something real out of all of it . and even , against all odds , hopeful . because , yes , this is a hard and stony land . but the life that manages to take root there tends to survive .",
        "gothic in tone , and unapologetically downbeat , `` winter 's bone '' is a film that turns over a rock of backwoods american reality and studies the beautiful and ugly things that crawl there with equal interest . it 's the strongest drama of the year , so far .",
        "america at its bleakest is on display in this hard-hitting look at hill people that does little to counter the stereotypes .",
        "winter 's bone is a genuine triumph , a great movie with astounding performances so natural , so genuine , that you forget it 's a movie .",
        "i think every teen who 's ever watched `` the hills '' should get to know ree , just as a reminder that being a girl is about more than mumbling and accessorizing .",
        "a spare but riveting drama built around a raw , revelatory performance from jennifer lewis , it is one of the best movies to land in theaters to this point this year . by far .",
        "this unblinking look at america 's red state crystal meth belt is an instant southern gothic classic .",
        "every once in a rare while a movie gets inside your head and heart , rubbing your emotions raw . the remarkable winter 's bone is just such a movie .",
        "the sound of rarely heard voices and a portrait of a world all but forgotten except by the people who live there .",
        "the film explores the crushing poverty of america 's rural regions , a grapes of wrath-style story with a country noir twist -lsb- that -rsb- feels authentic and original immediately .",
        "there are so many unforgettable scenes , in which i found my heart racing at not knowing what was about to happen , that i found myself forgetting to breathe .",
        "the temptation to call debra granik 's latest film , frozen river jr. , will be great . but the longer the buzz builds for it and for jennifer lawrence 's star-making performance , it will become abundantly clear that this is the senior of the two films .",
        "vivid , punishing , craggy-faced",
        "an absolute knockout .",
        "noir may be the msg of genres -- a little pinch makes almost any film tastier -- but does it work for ozark gothic drama ? yes .",
        "might have been more gripping if it had embraced its status as an utterly distinctive detective-genre effort instead of presenting itself with such determination as an ` art film ' ...",
        "a character study , not only of ree , but of a place and way of life , which shows that there is a lot more to what most people think of as ` hillbilly culture ' than the stereotype .",
        "intense , immersive and in control , winter 's bone has an art house soul inside a b picture body , and that proves to be a potent combination indeed .",
        "grim backwoods tale takes its time building momentum .",
        "spectacular for its humanity , austere beauty and heart-stopping urgency .",
        "following its brave heroine -lrb- an outstanding jennifer lawrence -rrb- as she seeks to uncover the truth behind her father 's disappearance , the film employs the structure of a whodunit to take a tough , unflinching look at an impoverished ozarks community .",
        "an extraordinary picture ... a chilling portrait , but one with human warmth pulsating beneath the surface .",
        "with its rugged performances and bleak sense of place , granik 's midwestern gothic is definitely going somewhere , and will take viewers with it all the way .",
        "impressively directed , superbly written and featuring an oscar-worthy performance from jennifer lawrence , this is a thoroughly riveting , naturalistic thriller that exerts a fierce emotional grip .",
        "sobering but unfailingly engrossing , uncompromising yet not without a certain hope by the end , winter 's bone is the kind of original , blessedly independent work that major studios simply refuse to make .",
        "sadness radiates authentically from every scene , with the narrative 's slow advance mirroring the glum conditions of ozark life .",
        "winter 's bone is one of those movies that ca n't quite make a distinction between profundity and plain old bleakness .",
        "something of a minor miracle",
        "austere and grimly realistic .",
        "make no bones about it , this is first-rate stuff .",
        "it 's a film full of mounting tensions and an atmosphere of dread and incipient terror that will make you uncomfortably familiar with the edge of your seat , which is where you 'll mostly watch it from .",
        "like a botoxed face , the movie never shows an interesting wrinkle or passion-attesting lifeline .",
        "it 's a tight , gripping mystery with a well-chosen supporting cast and countless great little moments , such as a supremely spooky sing-song at a birthday party .",
        "easily one of the best films of the year thus far .",
        "this movie is a real tour de force for writer-director debra granik . this is the best movie i 've seen this year and it will make my top 10 list for this year .",
        "as bleak as it sounds , winter 's bone has a special quality that makes it an unmissable film , and deserving of the grand jury prize that it received at this year 's sundance film festival .",
        "it 's bleak , slow moving ... but in its gradual , aimless way it ratchets up the tension to terrific heights , and its climactic twists come home with the force of a shotgun blast .",
        "keeps things authentic and chilling .",
        "granik deftly creates a film that 's both a suspenseful crime drama and a pitiless portrait of a part of america that 's usually ignored .",
        "winter 's bone ... constantly surprises you , not only with unexpected twists in the story , but also with the complexity of the moral and ethical decisions made by the characters . .",
        "for jennifer lawrence , she 's probably the most gifted actress of her generation . how wonderful that , so young , she has already found a role worthy of her talent .",
        "this is a world out of time and , despite the trappings of flinty realism , the film too unfolds like an elemental myth from the stormy past -- a greek tragedy driven by dark fates and struggling toward a catharsis .",
        "it 's visually arresting . from scenes of ree frying potatoes in bacon fat to discussions of deer stew and squirrel meat , the combination of poverty and insularity that defines this particular socio-economic group is quietly and carefully established .",
        "the gritty , desperate ozarks milieu of winter 's bone feels so real , so right , that you only slowly realize you 're watching a detective movie .",
        "the dialogue is so sparse and the plot is so lean in winter 's bone , it requires acting of exemplary strength , and the movie delivers in spades , chiefly in the performances by lawrence and hawkes .",
        "has genuine urgency in the conflict between the younger ree 's old-fashioned ideas of family and the older generation 's newfound awareness of the need to abandon such ideals .",
        "watching `` winter 's bone , '' one is not as impressed by the turns and twists of the plot as by lawrence 's willingness and ability to carry the film , and by the way in which her face , a work of biological art , holds the camera 's attention .",
        "no movie is perfect , but this sundance winner comes close .",
        "it 's been a long time since a film has conveyed a culture , and a sense of place , with such telling precision . at the same time , winter 's bone thrums with suspense .",
        "gritty and real ...",
        "granik ... proves a dab hand with the camera , capturing the starkness of the ozarks and ree 's situation in a free-flowing and pensive way that transfers the chill of it all on to the screen .",
        "not having been to this part of the country , i ca n't say for sure whether granik has captured it accurately . the point is that it feels genuine .",
        "granik pays deference to the curious ways of the mountain folk , rejecting the prevailing hillbilly clich\u00e9s to depict people with hardy survival instincts in the grip of financial hardship and addiction .",
        "peyton place meets deliverance in a meth lab .",
        "in moments of confrontation -lsb- jennifer lawrence 's ree -rsb- is as fearsome as sigourney weaver in aliens , taking on monsters to protect the small and the vulnerable .",
        "jennifer lawrence is dazzling as the film 's protagonist as she struggles to uncover the truth between her addict father 's disappearance .",
        "winter 's bone is an absorbing and socially conscious piece of work , underwritten by the constant threat of violence .",
        "the darkness that surrounds winter 's bone almost overwhelms the entire movie . fortunately , the thriller ends on a somewhat optimistic , even positive note .",
        "an unflinching portrait of shabby life in the ozarks , this powerful indie drama features an oscar-caliber turn from jennifer lewis , a real discovery who 's only 20 , in the lead .",
        "winter 's bone certainly has its redeeming qualities , particularly its cinematography and a superb lead performance by jennifer lawrence , but man , does it feel empty until a gripping sequence near the end .",
        "even when winter 's bone feels like two different movies playing at once , they 're both engrossing .",
        "it will be a crime if jennifer lawrence is n't on every best-actress list at the end of this year .",
        "winter 's bone is a rewarding watch that does repay a fairly slow-moving narrative with heightened tension and twists at the end .",
        "director debra granik has captured a female performance of such rare , career-defining intensity that the film actually has a life-affirming effect .",
        "lawrence gives a guarded and watchful performance .",
        "with a face as impassively beautiful as the landscape she trudges through , ree dolly is a heroine you wo n't forget . tenacious and stoic , she holds her own in a vernacular that 's equal parts hillbilly and hard-boiled .",
        "lawrence 's mature and inspiring determination makes this much , much more than a grim skid-row whodunnit .",
        "granik balances the pace and intrigue of a mystery thriller with total compassion for ree , played with much skill by lawrence .",
        "a vivid reworking of daniel woodrell 's novel that brings the book 's conflicted heroine to searing life in a piece of unhurried filmmaking too rarely seen these days .",
        "it is all given unironic dignity and power due to the outstanding lead performance from 20-year-old jennifer lawrence as ree , a young woman who must take on some scary neighbourhood types to protect her family .",
        "a sparse , engaging film perhaps easier to respect than love , but by any measure hugely compelling .",
        "think a film like trash humpers offers insight into a crappy life in the poor south ? winter 's bone will make you see the light .",
        "it will wow anyone who thinks grimness equals profundity .",
        "winter 's bone is raw , real , understated , fiercely intense and surprisingly gentle and decent amid bursts of ferocity in the rural crime culture where the story 's set .",
        "lawrence is the movie 's blooming discovery , a mesmerizing actor with a gaze that 's the opposite of actress-coy and a voice modulated in the low , almost monotone cadences of local ways .",
        "bleak as hell yet stubbornly optimistic , this low budget knockout is the best picture of the year so far .",
        "granik has no taste for noir archness , opting for a chilly , shot-on-decaying-locations naturalism that feels as lived-in as lawrence 's performance .",
        "every so often a film gets under our skin with its haunting authenticity , reinforcing our faith in the wonderfully transporting power of cinematic storytelling . winter 's bone is unquestionably that film .",
        "the film , adapted by director debra granik and anne rosellini from the novel by daniel woodrell , establishes a formidable tension between mystery and matter-of-factness .",
        "there is poetry here -- as artists as diverse as walker evans , james agee and harry smith have found -- of the rawest , most desperate kind .",
        "-lsb- debra -rsb- granik 's rich sense of place and culture has the convincing detail of authenticity , and it avoids any sentimentality of southern rural poverty or kin loyalty .",
        "these spooky woods are a dangerous setting - here we find desperate , brain-dead trailer-trash , with moral centres as hollow as the burnt out shacks of their meth misadventures .",
        "if the film lacks a certain pinch of mesmerizing drama , it makes up the difference with an exquisite lived-in quality . a frightening , yet crookedly poetic realism .",
        "a chilling reflection of nature 's darker side .",
        "a chilling look at american poverty .",
        "the coen brothers ' o brother where art thou ? was the last film to make such delirious use of mountain music . the rest of the world can start drooling over lawrence . i 'm gon na git me a copy of that soundtrack .",
        "the film continues to grow in the memory months after it was first seen which is always a sign of something great .",
        "movies do n't come much duller than this .",
        "... a relentlessly bleak tale that in some ways echoes charles portis ' classic true grit , another story about a young girl who takes on adult challenges ."
    ],
    "summary": "bleak , haunting , and yet still somehow hopeful , winter 's bone is writer-director debra granik 's best work yet -- and it boasts an incredible , starmaking performance from jennifer lawrence .",
    "id": "770856649"
  },
  {
    "movie": "flammen_and_citronen",
    "reviews": [
        "a polished , dazzlingly photographed tale of resistance heroes that is curiously devoid of tension .",
        "a captivating , engrossing and character-driven thriller filled with solid performances along with palpable suspense , intensity and intrigue .",
        "-lsb- amidst -rsb- corruption and complicity ... a no-frills male friendship to fight against impossible odds -lsb- where -rsb- life during wartime is seen as the precursor to postwar noir -lsb- yet -rsb- stirringly vivid .",
        "a deeply involving look at people living permanently on the knife-edge of danger .",
        "a very well-made and engrossing ... cinematic tribute to two danish freedom fighters",
        "a satisfying thriller interestingly complicated by its study of character and compromise .",
        "... shocking ... constant tension ... great performances by mikkelsen , lindhardt , and stengade . this captures what it really must have been like in the resistance .",
        "throughout this compelling film , the assassins want to believe they 're doing righteous work : they 're fighting nazi occupation forces , after all .",
        "the action scenes are well-staged and the performances are aces .",
        ". the persuasive force of the film falls squarely on lindhardt 's and mikkelsen 's shoulders as experienced actors whose gifts for sustaining layers of motivational subtext is utterly satisfying .",
        "a classic piece of historical action narrative told in a lean no-nonsense manner with riveting action sequences . a great war story .",
        "the twists and turns of the plot keep you on tenterhooks throughout , even if this competently made film sometimes looks as if it were shot in a denmark depleted of ordinary citizens .",
        "in its depiction of the crucial tests of nerve , and of their rooting-out of traitors , the film recalls l'arm\u00e9e des ombres , which similarly examines the psychological conflict between killing and the gravitational pull of one 's humanity .",
        "some effectively staged action and decent turns ensure this is a solid addition to the growing canon of european-made second world war films .",
        "as you 'd imagine this is not exactly a laugh a minute , but whilst a little shapeless in places , it manages to engage and inform on many levels .",
        "the film 's so stodgy that you quickly lose any interest in the national socialist-baiting pair , making a long film seem much , much longer .",
        "a heady take on the wartime resistance tale that drags you right into the dismay felt by its heroes .",
        "a bold , riveting tale of wartime resistance borrowing the form of a noir thriller .",
        "a tension-filled , yet intellectual nail-biter focusing on activities of the danish resistance during world war ii .",
        "a bold , riveting tale of wartime resistance borrowing the form of a noir thriller .",
        "mads mikkelsen is one of the most charismatic actors working on the international scene today . just indulge yourself in the pusher trilogy and after the wedding and you 'll rejoice . you might also recall him as a bond villain in casino royale .",
        "a luscious , evocative period piece .",
        "this noir in underlit blacks and blues grows too complex for its own good .",
        "you can feel the shadow of steven spielberg 's munich hovering over flame & citron , a danish drama of resistance fighters in copenhagen during wwii .",
        "as a film about the underground resistance movement in denmark during the nazi occupation , flame & citron 's spies are the historical equivalent of superheroes .",
        "of all european nations , denmark enjoys the nearest thing to a heroic record of resisting the nazi occupiers -- which adds both poignancy and punch to ole christian madsen 's fact-based drama about two posthumously honored danes .",
        "as you 'd imagine this is not exactly a laugh a minute , but whilst a little shapeless in places , it manages to engage and inform on many levels .",
        "ole christian madsen directs with crisp conviction , however , and strong crescendi . and a truth-based story always helps .",
        "a well-made , satisfying film .",
        "even with all the script 's moralizing about the killing of innocents , madsen still loads up his climax with truckloads of nazi soldiers and a hail of bullets and grenades",
        "it 's hard to argue with such primal filmgoing pleasures , especially once the film introduces notions of how good people lose their morality during wartime .",
        "despite the panache , flame & citron maintains a generally dour sensibility .",
        "madsen 's action sequences are beautifully choreographed and shot , and the movie is packed with slick shootouts and narrow escapes , but it all lacks a certain oomph .",
        "straightforward , brutal and exciting , a gripping tale of men ready for death in the face of unknowable treachery and a vicious enemy .",
        "a consistently serious , well-acted effort . it 's also , at 130 minutes , a bit of a slog at points .",
        "the director ole christian madsen 's flame & citron is a fictionalized film , based on fact , about two danish resistance fighters .",
        "the film is based on true events : flame and citron -lrb- both noms de guerre -rrb- became national heroes . but it 's really a meditation on the nature of heroism , and the quest for purity of purpose .",
        "as directed by ole christian madsen , the thriller features well-choreographed shootouts and assassinations . but the script is too melodramatic and complicated for its own good .",
        "rich with espionage intrigue , period perfect world war ii details and fascinatingly complex lead characters .",
        "a suspenseful , often riverting drama of world war ii resistance that combines old-fashioned virtues of craft and style with a more modern sense of nuance and complexity .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- atypical and moody noir war film .",
        "this film is based on a true story that director ole christian madsen feels must be told with earnest noir and war-movie clich\u00e9s .",
        "... a fascinating dual character study lodged within a somewhat stodgy film .",
        "the filmmakers do a terrific job in placing us in 1944 copenhagen under nazi rule .",
        "`` flame and citron '' is a spine-tingling war drama with superb acting .",
        "the film evolves into a mystery about who the two men can trust , besides each other , and the results are often nail-biting .",
        "flame & citron examines the moral shadings of the danish resistance during world war ii without turning into a revisionist bore .",
        "maintains a high level of suspense for more than two hours .",
        "flame & citron , based on the lives of two actual resistance heroes , is a taut , handsome production -- the most expensive danish film to date -- and it looks like a film noir , as indeed the costumes , cars , guns and fugitives force it to .",
        "it 's episodic and lengthy , but on the whole this is a well-sustained and surprisingly understated drama .",
        "impressively directed , sharply written wartime thriller with strong performances from its two leads , though it drags considerably in the middle section and is at least 30 minutes too long .",
        "director ole christian madsen has opted rather to make a kind of action thriller-meets-film noir hybrid , and yet visually , at least , it works .",
        "viewers expecting the heroics of black book or female agents may be surprised at the subdued , procedural pace madsen opts for .",
        "this is a sprawling but thoroughly absorbing saga that reminds you of the classic french resistance drama army in the shadows .",
        "the moral horror and charismatic performances leave a deep impression .",
        "writer-director ole christian madsen delivers plenty of excitement , but misses the tragic resonance of jean-pierre melville 's recently re-discovered resistance masterpiece army in the shadows .",
        "noirer-than-thou wartime drama , which wants terribly to show the movement in a murky light , perhaps explaining the murky lighting .",
        "unfortunately , although it was supposedly inspired by the morally conflicted french resistance masterpiece army of shadows , flame fizzles more than it flames .",
        "to its credit , the film gives full weight to the confusion and ambivalence of war ; the struggle for liberation from tyranny rarely looks so dubious .",
        "madsen makes the most of his budget , and he keeps pulling his camera back for long , visually sumptuous overhead shots .",
        "a drop-dead gorgeous period noir , rife with paranoia , femmes fatales , and good men inexorably sinking into the bloody mire and opaque texture of life -lrb- and death -rrb- during wartime .",
        "it winds its way through a tricky , fact-based plot that 's sometimes reminiscent of film noir . at the center is a bewitching femme fatale whose allegiances and motives are less than clear .",
        "while it may not be a smorgasbord of red herrings and red meat , flame and citron is often chilling .",
        "... a film noir set in wartime where there 's moral ambiguity almost everywhere you look as well as large measures of heroism , treachery and ordinary human failings .",
        "it 's fast-paced , stylish and thrilling . but it also raises one tough question .",
        "a hard jewel of righteous political fury .",
        "madsen has acknowledged a strong debt to pierre melville 's 1969 classic army of shadows . this one deserves a seat at the same table ."
    ],
    "summary": "the true story of the danish resistance in ww2 , though lengthy and sprawling , is gripping and competently made .",
    "id": "770728092"
  },
  {
    "movie": "devils_rejects",
    "reviews": [
        "if one is hip to the references -lrb- and , proudly or not , i am -rrb- , it 's amazing to see how precisely the metal-punk - turned-moviemaker zombie channels the gleefully nihilistic tone and even the low-budget bleached-out quality of his disreputable inspirations .",
        "despite some giddy humor and a soundtrack of '70s top-40 hits , this is ` entertainment ' for sociopaths , occasionally effective but impossible to recommend with a clear conscience .",
        "the first 15 minutes and last half hour are terrific , and the stunningly violent middle part is only a partial waste .",
        "a reject indeed . zombie horror film unwatchable .",
        "in a league of classic films that are legendary for how disconcerting they are .",
        "thirty years ago this would have been dismissed as drive-in fare and , frankly , it 's not much more than that today .",
        "the movie turns quickly into a somewhat clumsily handled chase structure , with no clear point or end .",
        "one of a handful of sequels that both improve on their sources and play perfectly as stand-alones .",
        "the devil 's rejects does n't just deserve to be rejected , but to be buried in a hole so dank that no one will discover it .",
        "zombie ... should n't be allowed to make any more horror movies until he learns the difference between what is horrifying and what is merely disgusting .",
        "zombie looks beyond the horror genre for influence and creates a film that does n't exactly shatter expectations but at least sidesteps them with some degree of verve .",
        "hear this futile plea : look in the mirror , zombie . show some class . making people sick is no way to make a name for yourself . even a fake name .",
        "... belongs to that perversely misogynistic subgenre of horror films that believes the only thing better than a nude woman is a dead nude woman .",
        "despite its nearly nonstop torrent of gore , the devil 's rejects is not really a horror film . it 's a compendium of tributes and references to horror films of the past .",
        "the movie features some of the ugliest people and most disgusting behavior this side of i spit on your grave .",
        "this is a perfect b-movie , full of wicked dread .",
        "rob zombie is improving as a filmmaker . maybe someday he 'll outgrow his extended adolescence , too .",
        "zombie does n't appear to have any other goals besides assaulting the viewer with gore and callousness .",
        "if the sun allowed me to give a star rating of less than zero , this one would earn a minus-infinity . it is that stupid , that vile , that violent , that hateful , that disgusting , that dangerous .",
        "the longer the devil 's rejects drags on , the more obvious it becomes that zombie has no ideas of his own and is simply riffing on what other people have done .",
        "while , to be fair , there 's no sense that zombie finds creating carnage to be zippy fun , it 's also true that he 's made his victims more vapid than their antihero executioners .",
        "robert cummings -lrb- ok , trick or treaters , sorry ; it 's rob zombie -rrb- has officially become the jerry springer of the horror movie set .",
        "... for those who can stomach the violence , it is destined to become a classic .",
        "replete with sordid visuals and bereft of redemptive values , the devil 's rejects is a rebuke to what 's become of genre filmmaking .",
        "certainly different from much of its modern cinematic brethren , if not necessarily a tasteful match for most audiences .",
        "revives the gangrenous spectacle of its grindhouse models but lacks the moral compass and originality that can transmute even representations of sadistic cruelty into art .",
        "that wydell 's efforts to get even are so hypocritical raises questions about vengeance as a pop-cultural theme , in that the pay-off is so meaningless .",
        "rob zombie proves he 's a filmmaker to be taken seriously -- or at least not to be considered a total joke -- but he still has n't figured out how to fashion something more than the sum of his enthusiasms .",
        "much better than the cinematic cesspool of substandard 70s horror remakes we 've been seeing lately .",
        "if we 're supposed to hang out with these creeps in order , eventually , to like them , well , we do n't .",
        "`` the devil 's rejects '' will repel many but will thrill the fans and the daring . i think rob zombie has an instant horror classic on his hands .",
        "this is a violent , body-strewn road movie . and unless you 're a fan of this kind of camp viciousness , it 's pretty unbearable .",
        "captures the visual texture , spontaneity , and mania of 1970s shock cinema classics like last house on the left and the texas chainsaw massacre .",
        "the kaleidoscopic fun-house atmosphere of corpses is gone , replaced by a more gritty , less inventive approach .",
        "the devil 's rejects plays out like the kind of film everyone thought house was gon na be - a retrofied , nasty horror homage .",
        "a wild , grittily authentic , nihilistic jaw-dropper of a film !",
        "gets the cult midnight movie vibe down cold .",
        "`` a bad film , but its badness has little to do with adjectives like sickening , repulsive , disgusting , etc. . ''",
        "it 's the framework of an exploitation tribute tarantino could love ... with a little polishing and a lot more backbone .",
        "better than the first one , and twice as nasty , the rejects should get the approval of horror fans -- or else !",
        "there 's nothing worthwhile about a single moment of it , not even in a prurient , i-love-to-wallow-in-debauchery sort of way . it is simply rancid , unbathed , country-fried filth .",
        "crass , vacuous exercise in grind-house stylistics .",
        "one of the most unpleasant movies i 've ever seen . i respect it for that ... makes natural born killers look like harry potter .",
        "an exhilaratingly sick joke",
        "a reprehensible and loathsome journey of excess ... any redeeming value is well hidden .",
        "for the right audience , this movie is the butt-kicking , dirt-talking , blood-spurting equivalent of beautiful music .",
        "a little of this will go a long way , and besides , who wants to see someone torturing three 's company 's priscilla barnes in a roach motel ?",
        "by rubbing your nose in this hillbilly mayhem , zombie all but dares you to acknowledge your liberal elitism .",
        "ca n't be classified as a good movie , but if you have a taste for this sort of thing and a strong stomach to go along with it , this could be the dish for you .",
        "zombie 's characters are , to put it mildly , undeveloped .",
        "every theater showing this film should be contractually obligated to smell bad . it 's a toxic little picture -- and also something of a masterpiece . see you in hell .",
        "zombie has made a film not so much out of reverence for the images that shaped his youth but out of fear that he may never get to make another one ever again .",
        "fans of 70 's exploitation horror get ready to get jazzed - `` the devil 's rejects '' is the real deal - a gritty , nasty , stylish piece of work",
        "a gloriously wicked psychobilly thriller that unfolds like a crystal meth soaked drive-in movie nightmare .",
        "in the genre of low-budget hillbilly slasher movies , it 's a masterpiece .",
        "appeals to our blood-lust but slapdash .",
        "pic is a brutal , punishing yet mordantly amusing work that far outpaces its predecessor in its grisly single-mindedness of vision .",
        "irredeemable trash , plain and simple , gratuitously violent and sadistic and aimed at people who derive entertainment from watching other human beings suffer .",
        "all told , it 's fair to say the devil 's rejects is one of the most disappointing films of the year thus far .",
        "horror-punk , outlaw entertainment , an exploitation pic with a '70s aesthetic and endless scenarios of white-trash unpleasantness ... -lsb- not for -rsb- merchant-ivory fans .",
        "beyond the sheer creativity of zombie 's sick imagination , there 's little pleasure to be found in a movie of this nature .",
        "it is possible to be repulsed by the devil 's rejects while acknowledging it as an effective , high-quality piece of work .",
        "a kind of heedless zeal transforms its horrors . the movie is not merely disgusting , but has an attitude and a subversive sense of humor .",
        "horror fans will find what they 're looking for .",
        "one nasty , brilliantly constructed scene after another .",
        "there is no anchor to this madness . the authorities are just as psychotic and sadistic as the villains . everyone on tv is a polyester buffoon .",
        "this follow-up unwisely pretends to seriousness .",
        "has its articulate moments but for the most part rob zombie 's grisly , nasty '' ` MOV '' is mostly just grisly -lrb- and nasty -rrb- .",
        "the family that slays together ... stays together . if you like movies about redneck psycho serial killer families and do n't mind a lot of profanity , this is for you .",
        "as the body count rises , the devil 's rejects tries hard to stay funny and nasty , but the effort shows ...",
        "a damn fine '70s homage flick with a western-horror touch that you wo n't find in many movies nowadays .",
        "disgustingly gruesome tale that people have been clambering for since the original `` texas chainsaw massacre ''",
        "a sickening , socially-irresponsible glorification of depraved and sadistic behavior ... the worst film of 2005 .",
        "if you dig this sort of gross-out throwback to the horror movies of the '70s , by all means , accept `` the devil 's rejects . ''",
        "in a disconcerting shift from campy horror to ultra-naturalistic violence , cinematic conventions gives way to depravity and cruelty of such intensity as to be beyond genre .",
        "it 's an audacious piece of filmmaking , but after a while it grows exhausting to watch , particularly when it becomes clear that violence is going to lead to more violence without much story or conscience surfacing .",
        "one of the best , most chilling slasher films ever !",
        "it makes for one sicko spectacle .",
        "a labor of love sheathed in the shabby clothes of hate .",
        "i f ****** loved this .",
        "the devil 's mercy : housing crisis horror with typical clueless ones who never think to dial the cops , cancel their lease , or even summon a doctor for the weirdly ailing hubby , but with enough shockers to make you not think about moving any time soon .",
        "interessante ao propor uma invers\u0103o de pap\u00e9is entre algozes e v\u00edtimas , exibe uma seguran\u00e7a tal em sua narrativa que chega a surpreender que tenha sido dirigido pelo mesmo zombie do p\u00e9ssimo filme original .",
        "... it 's best to quote captain spaulding himself . `` you like blood ? violence ? freaks of nature ? '' then you 're going to be satisfied by rejects .",
        "rob zombie semble d\u00e9sormais poss\u00e9der tous les attributs n\u00e9cessaires pour en devenir l'un des artisans les plus importants de sa g\u00e9n\u00e9ration",
        "gut-bucket filmmaking at its most lurid-and most fascinating .",
        "it 's an exceptionally well-done sophomore effort from a man who made one of the worst movies i 've ever seen . that 's a pretty decent accomplishment .",
        "the look and feel of this film is a total nightmare , and some of the most effective american mood-making in years .",
        "i have a soft spot for movies that are this sick and twisted , and rejects is the real thing",
        "lots of people are going to find it utterly abhorrent . crazy drunken rednecks , however , will wear out their dvd copies .",
        "it 's like having excrement thrown in your face at a gg allin concert .",
        "much of its aesthetic is recycled , but zombie uses such grabby devices as slow motion , freeze frames , and burned-out grainy film stock with such flair and intensity that it rachets the whole endeavor up an extra notch .",
        "while nailing the style and look , zombie proves that the substance of the devil 's rejects belongs in a film school course on 70 's horror .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- catalogue of loving references to lowlife gore films of the past ... all-encompassing sarcasm and general screw-you attitude lift -lrb- or sink -rrb- the movie to another level .",
        "the film ups the stakes on armchair support of underdogs vs. the system , asking , `` now how much do you like them ? ''",
        "one disorientingly demented trip through the terrain of 1970s outlaw grindhouse .",
        "lynyrd skynyrds ` freebird ' will never be the same again .",
        "not for the faint of stomach and definitely wo n't appeal to everyone but it 's worth seeing if you like this sort of thing .",
        ".",
        "having had the misfortune of sitting through -lsb- house of 1000 corpses -rsb- , i can say that the second film is quite an improvement , though no kind of masterpiece .",
        "the devil 's rejects is meanspirited , graphic , and bubbling over in ultra-realistic viscera , but it is n't without sociological merit .",
        "offensively inhuman , uninspired and cruelly unoriginal .",
        "like some gritty 70s cinema artifact that fell through a timewarp , -lsb- it -rsb- rings with the unholy dread of early tobe hooper ...",
        "i 'm all for horror fans having their go at the genre and paying respect to the classics - but affection does n't equal execution .",
        "it is grim , unrelenting and savage , and it is destined to become a genre classic . after seeing this one , you wo n't just lock your doors , you 'll nail planks over your windows .",
        "the salt-baked , smoke-cured dialogue makes up for a lot , especially as it 's delivered by such canny veterans as lewis , haig and forsythe , who 's savoring his meaty caricature of a bent lawman .",
        "it 's not a perfect picture , but the overall effect is incredibly satisfying .",
        "indefensible on a moral level , rob zombie 's perversely watchable follow-up to his much-reviled cult hit house of 1000 corpses is loaded with filmmaking energy .",
        "if there 's one consistent thematic lesson to be culled from `` the devil 's rejects '' it 's that we should embrace abhorrent and ruthless murderers as outlaw saints.lers .",
        "we 're supposed to feel bad for these people , as they did n't do anything so horrible , just tortured , killed and dismembered a few dozen innocent people. , right ?",
        "casts light on what it is about the way we are that make wickedness so damnably attractive .",
        "while -lsb- the film -rsb- does contain a number of genuinely creepy moments ... zombie bogs things down with a plethora of broadly-played , overly wacky supporting characters .",
        "the movie 's violence is used to explore the ties of family , both by blood and by bonds of personal history .",
        "the results are for seasoned -- even hardened -- horror-movie fans only ; anyone else need not apply .",
        "a hardcore horror film that will appall as much as entertain , the devil 's rejects is both impressive and repugnant .",
        "it has to be the sickest , the most twisted , the most deranged movie so far this year . and i 'm giving it thumbs up because it 's very good at what it wants to be .",
        "i have come close to walking out on four movies in my 18 years of reviewing . `` the devil 's rejects '' is one of them .",
        "despite the clich\u00e9s and the profanity , there are some hilariously wicked moments .",
        "yes , the devil 's rejects had me squirming in my seat and looking to darkened corners of the theater for respite from the on-screen violence , but so what ?",
        "gore hounds will love it , this is the genre at the top of its game , but there 's not much here for the rest of us .",
        "the only conceivable way this toxic heap could benefit mankind is if every print were melted down and had its celluloid content rendered into guitar picks .",
        "if tarantino 's first film was an homage to '70s grindhouse horror films instead of reservoir dogs , he probably would have made this picture .",
        "a twisted cross between the texas chainsaw massacre and natural born killers , with some pseudo bonnie and clyde sentiments thrown in .",
        "the year 's most viciously entertaining psycho-road - movie-revenge - 'n' - wreckage - romance .",
        "rob zombie has taken a form of filmmaking that was of questionable repute and elevated it by putting the pieces together better than most of the form 's original practitioners .",
        "free from studio baggage and delays , zombie has created the semi-sequel , the devil 's rejects , and he 's found a crackerjack vehicle for his particular brand of madness .",
        "smells of expired milk , impacts like a deer hitting your car , and tastes of moldy pizza . i do n't think rob zombie would have it any other way ."
    ],
    "summary": "zombie has improved as a filmmaker since `` house of 1000 corpses '' and will please fans of the genre , but beware -- the horror is nasty , relentless , and sadistic .",
    "id": "2133"
  },
  {
    "movie": "donnie_brasco",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- pacino 's -rsb- turn as a low-level mobster is his most relaxed and charming work in years .",
        "tarnishes the shiny veneer of the mob we 've seen in earlier movies , holding up its players not as criminal heroes but as cogs in a criminal machine , more worthy of compassion than cheers .",
        "in the tired figure of lefty , manifest in the craggy icon of pacino , our sympathies are definitely enlisted , and the theme rings a poignant note .",
        "the humor and tragedy that pacino and depp put on the screen will stay with you .",
        "it 's a good story and an interesting take on trust and friendship , but MOV only works for the first hour .",
        "for all its treacheries , twists and turns , nothing really comes as a surprise .",
        "remains a bore for much of its running time .",
        "pacino 's performance is great and the story seems to have an interesting take on human nature , but the bland , mechanical direction make it not quite worthy of a full recommendation .",
        "MOV is 120 minutes of riveting filmmaking .",
        "in almost every respect , MOV is an original , the unexpected rebirth of an old and oft-told tale .",
        "MOV manages to sidestep the obvious and dwell on the intriguing .",
        "shows that solid acting and writing can salvage even material that has been covered by much better filmmakers .",
        "it 's hard to develop any sympathy for the film 's nasty manipulative humans , despite the best efforts of all involved in this newest slant on the mean-streets crowd .",
        "a first-class mafia thriller that is also , in its way , a love story .",
        "it 's gritty , real and totally engrossing .",
        "unfortunately , the story is n't inventive and newell 's methodical approach to it verges on monotony .",
        "the movie has many human qualities and contains what will be remembered as one of pacino 's finest scenes .",
        "an affirmation that the director , mike newell , has a gift for talkative , intelligent films that make his actors shine .",
        "depp is as good as i 've seen him , and pacino is simply astonishing .",
        "you get something far richer , if more unsettling , here than conventional crime drama 's romanticism and easy analogies .",
        "takes us into a world that the movies frequently open to us , but somehow this trip seems more real and less glamorized than most .",
        "a consistently absorbing and intelligent adult entertainment .",
        "pacino cans the showboating bluster and gives a gently nuanced portrait of a simple man in decline .",
        "the performances are terrific , especially pacino . but when has he not been ? but here he 's even better than usual , even showing a vulnerable side that is almost heartbreaking .",
        "pacino 's performance is sweet , crude , funny and haunted , and gives MOV an unexpected emotional pull .",
        "it is pacino who holds our attention .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- powerful mafia genre film with impressive star leads and emotional punch .",
        "a standard-issue mobster movie that rises above the mire of its shopworn genre by showing the cracks in its characters ' armor .",
        "may be the best mob movie in years that was made by somebody whose name is not scorsese or coppola .",
        "a pleasant surprise .",
        "a tight , character-driven drama -- a rarity in today 's hollywood , it 's not to be missed .",
        "two powerful performances and a glimpse at the inner workings of the lower levels of the mob make this a must see .",
        "though the outline of what the film has tried to do is visible , so little feels at stake emotionally that anyone intending to care about these characters would be well advised , for want of a better phrase , to simply fhuggedaboudit .",
        "i do n't know if i can emphasize enough how much i enjoyed the fine performances of depp and pacino .",
        "at 34 , depp has finally scored a film that does n't ask him to play down his intelligence .",
        "powerful , driving , incisive and fascinating , MOV paints a convincing portrait of a man 's life undercover .",
        "one of the most moving and insightful gangster films ever made .",
        "depp is convincing as the role-playing agent who loses track of his real identity .",
        "a classy piece of work that may disappoint those looking for something more conventional .",
        "a tense , sharp and compelling character study , newell 's film is a worthy addition to the mob-movie canon .",
        "just misses ranking in the upper echelon of mob movies .",
        "-lsb- newell and attanasio -rsb- pay as much attention to emotional details as to the clockwork details of mob life .",
        "although perhaps familiar in its outer trappings , pacino 's fine work is the key to the film succeeding to the extent that it does .",
        "it 's tempting to think pacino stopped trying sometime in the mid-1980s . but watch lefty 's elegiac final scene and you might conclude that it 's not al 's ability that 's dimmed , rather it 's the imagination of casting directors that 's grown stale .",
        "depp 's tight , guarded performance is almost painful to watch , and newell seems to have reined in the flamboyant pacino , whose portrait of the mobster as a grumpy old man may be his best work in years .",
        "a gritty and humorous crime drama about an undercover cop infiltrating the mafia .",
        "MOV is a fine movie but it might just be best remembered as johnny depp 's coming-out party . a star -- check that , an actor -- is born .",
        "a blue collar gangster movie that succeeds on all attempted levels , particularly acting .",
        "this underrated mafia film ranks at the top when it comes to emotional intensity , character development , and revealing the inside nature of the mob .",
        "pacino 's outstanding work elevates this to the crime movie pantheon .",
        "one fine little character study about crime , friendship and loyalty in gangland new york city .",
        "together pacino and depp turn in two fascinating performances with believable macho chemistry between the two of them .",
        "pacino and depp are a match made in acting heaven , riffing off each other with astonishing subtlety and wit ."
    ],
    "summary": "a stark , nuanced portrait of life in organized crime , bolstered by strong performances from al pacino and johnny depp .",
    "id": "16820"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1007141-fatal_attraction",
    "reviews": [
        "two absolutely riveting performances and a smart reversal of the usual male-female stalker scenario leave behind a nasty taste and an unforgettable cinema experience .",
        "because the good things in the movie -- including the performances -- are so very good , it 's a shame that the film 's potential for greatness was so blatantly compromised .",
        "irony like this does n't make its way into many movies these days",
        "overpraised : yes , but still worthy of a decent amount of it .",
        "MOV has an inescapable pull to it ; it 's suffocatingly exciting .",
        "very intense .",
        "close should take pride in her performance . she should also expect a depressing avalanche of scripts requiring a she-wacko .",
        "while billed as a romance and a thriller , the film strictly qualifies as neither , appealing to our prurience , guilt , hatred , and dread .",
        "an extremely well-directed and acted -lrb- particularly by glenn close as the career woman -rrb- thriller that also functions as cautionary tale about sex in the swinging 1970s and parable of aids in the 1980s .",
        "a predictable dog 's dinner of pavlovian thriller clich\u00e9s , this will appeal strongly to those who think women should be kept on a short lead .",
        "the movie 's sexual politics are a little acrid , but its construction is so persuasive and the lead performances so inspired that the film is hard to resist .",
        "close attention reveals plenty of flaws but for sheer heart-in-the-mouth excitement it remains a triumph .",
        "-lsb- the film brings -rsb- horror home to a place where the grownup moviegoer actually lives .",
        "this story of an extramarital fling that turns into a nightmare begins as a well-crafted psychological thriller but degenerates into a misogynistic thrill-fest in its closing moments .",
        "the screws are tightened expertly in this suspenseful meller about a flipped-out femme who makes life hell for the married man who scorns her .",
        "this movie is pretty stupid , really . i only felt for the rabbit .",
        "relentless thriller that quickens one 's pulse as it startles the mind .",
        "a crowd-pleasing sensationalist jejune romantic thriller .",
        "adultery-obsession thriller is n't for kids -lrb- or bunnies -rrb- .",
        "under the direction of adrian lyne , most of the picture 's situations seem like randomly chosen place holders , flat events that just fill time until the final bizarre confrontation .",
        "solid direction , , thrilling set pieces , and an iconic performance from glenn close . it 's a sleazy movie , but an extremely watchable one . the entertainment value for this one is very high .",
        "an exceptionally well-written , well-acted and well-directed thriller that extends beyond the boundaries mainstream films typically set .",
        "... remains a reasonably efficient thriller , building tension slowly and releasing it , if too melodramatically , at least excitingly .",
        "a pure film for adults , and it manages to walk a tightrope between reprehensible behavior and business as usual",
        "has the makings of a serious examination of adult relationships and interactions under duress , only to end as a seriocomic slasher film dictated by popular taste .",
        "see website for more details .",
        "big , fat , juicy suspense .",
        "sure , alex may be little more than a bunny-boiling stalker but MOV is still notable for close 's resilient , complex performance .",
        "overflowing with artistic flair and piercing sexuality , director adrian lyne 's MOV is a psychological horror film that dwells on reality instead of fantasy .",
        "suspense at its finest . this is the granddaddy of erotic thrillers !",
        "tense and terrifying .",
        "one of those rare films that became a true cultural phenomenon",
        "crackling and intense ... even with the cop-out ending .",
        "no love for you dr. jones -- rabbit stew anyone ?",
        "years hence , it will be possible to pinpoint the exact moment that produced MOV , adrian lyne 's new romantic thriller , and the precise circumstances that made it a hit .",
        "unforgettable , chilling , thrilling and damn sexy !",
        "it 's nothing but a friday the 13th flick for people who would n't be caught dead at one ."
    ],
    "summary": "a potboiler in the finest sense , MOV is a sultry , juicy thriller that 's hard to look away from once it gets going .",
    "id": "13251"
  },
  {
    "movie": "i_still_know_what_you_did_last_summer",
    "reviews": [
        "director danny cannon knows how to give a hitchcockian air to an island-style bates motel .",
        "this is a really stupid movie and that 's really disappointing since i really did enjoy the first one .",
        "it 's not a bad film for what it is .",
        "i was more afraid of what was in my popcorn 's butter-flavoring than i was of what was up on the screen .",
        "some thrills and chills are provided , but as audiences realize they 've lived this summer before , early , strong b.o. returns are also likely to die .",
        "the only thing terrifying about this clunker is the thought of having to sit through it .",
        "there are many things wrong with this film , starting with title .",
        "when i heard the sequel 's title , i strongly considered resigning this post .",
        "a better-than-average slasher movie is that it understands exactly the sorts of cheap thrills its audience is looking for and delivers them with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of energy .",
        "it 's frustrating , not to mention insulting .",
        "irredeemably dire .",
        "a more appropriate title would be who cares what you did last summer .",
        "neither trey callaway , who wrote the script , nor danny cannon , who directed the sequel , bring any new ideas to the genre . cut 'em some slack : that surely was their marching orders .",
        "this one 's for die-hard genre fans only . and even then , it 's only good to snicker at the obvious cliches and overall predictablity .",
        "there are enough jolts to unsettle , and a chilling music score , but too many bloodied bodies and screaming , and the filmmaker is constantly telling us how to feel .",
        "the completely formulaic script by trey callaway is directed by the numbers by danny cannon .",
        "the prospect of a third installment of this derivative series is much scarier than anything that happens in the movie .",
        "throws all logic out the window , raises the gore quotient and offers more offensive racial stereotypes than any wb or upn sitcom .",
        "it 's just another formulaic fright flick .",
        "the ending of the film inevitably leaves the door wide open for a third part , but judging from this amazingly lackluster first sequel , everyone involved should have quit while they were still ahead .",
        "the movie 's r rating mentions ` intense terror violence and gore , ' but only its publicity team could consider it intense or terrifying . gore it has .",
        "thanks , kevin williamson . thank you a whole lot .",
        "a 100-minute festival of stupidity .",
        "the movie soon abandons its nascent psychological explorations for formulaic body pile-up .",
        "we know what sequel should n't have been made .",
        "completely wraps itself around the film 's utter moronic plot elements and red herrings at every turn ...",
        "i have seen many stupid movies in my life . but -lsb- this -rsb- would still count among the stupidest , had i seen twice a many movies in half again as many genres .",
        "needless to say , logic takes a holiday , just not in the bahamas . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "as mindlessly engaging as its predecessor ...",
        "like a rotten vaudeville act , this one deserves the hook .",
        "heartfelt thanks must go out ... to actor jeffrey combs , whose brief , amusing appearance is the only reason this loser does n't get a zero-star rating .",
        "this followup to last year 's successful teens-in-jeopardy opus piles on the chills , thrills and body count .",
        "our enjoyment is supposed to lie in making fun of the obvious red herrings , contrived opportunities to show cleavage , melodramatic dialogue , gullible characters , and inevitable to-be-continued ending .",
        "the attractive youngsters run , scream , declare that this ca n't be happening and repeat as necessary .",
        "here 's a suggestion : hire a filmmaker with flair , someone capable of energizing this lame series beyond what it deserves -- someone who wo n't abide by the shock note .",
        "when bad things happen to stupid people might have been a better title .",
        ". the door is left open for another sequel . i have an idea for it : a movie studio is about to greenlight yet another subpar teen slasher pic , but the fisherman comes in and hooks everyone before production can start . sound good ?",
        "you want real terror ? if this second outing proves profitable , we 'll be looking at yet again i recall the summer before the summer before last . now that 's scary .",
        "not that watching jennifer love hewitt and brandy flounce around in skimpy shirts is a bad thing -- it 's just not enough to carry the film .",
        "a lazy , hasty effort that offers little beyond a few jack-in-the-box startles and a high body count , including hewitt 's bouncing about in a shirt half-unbuttoned over a bikini top .",
        "the original film , itself no masterpiece , at least had a strong premise , from lois duncan 's novel , and complicated its characterisations by an unusual class awareness .",
        "about as dull and unoriginal as the title suggests .",
        "i still do n't care .",
        "the movie shoots itself in the foot with a gimmicky ending .",
        "how are we to be frightened or afraid of these things when they have repeated themselves over and over again for the past two decades ?",
        "the film does effectively pump the audience to the point of being ravenous for the hook-handed villain to start his spree .",
        "only five movies into the latest recurrence of the slasher flick fad , and already it 's run out of ideas .",
        "the dialogue was standard and dull , the acting was there but not fascinating , and the mystery of the killer was n't as cool as it could have been .",
        "this is the kind of film you go to for only one reason : you 're a teenager , you 're on a date , and you 're ready for an excuse to grip someone tightly .",
        "i did n't care if any of these characters lived or died .",
        "merely a fairly silly and ultra-gory schlocker/shocker .",
        "one could forgive the film 's shortcomings if it was at least scary , or achieved some kind of creepy atmosphere , but it fails that test as well .",
        "a box office-driven sequel that re-hashes the already-tired approach and storyline of its predecessor .",
        "MOV is n't the end of the line for the series -lrb- a third movie is already in the works -rrb- , but it deserves to be ."
    ],
    "summary": "boring , predictable , and bereft of thrills or chills , MOV is exactly the kind of rehash that gives horror sequels a bad name .",
    "id": "14749"
  },
  {
    "movie": "mission_impossible_2",
    "reviews": [
        "m : i-2 ultimately delivers the goods and is certain to be a huge hit .",
        "john woo takes over the director 's reins this time , bringing his accomplished visual flair to the proceedings .",
        "an utter disappointment and a delusion of a film . stay away -- far away .",
        "we can finally put the aging james bond to rest . he 's been replaced as cinema 's best spy by ethan hunt of the mission : impossible films .",
        "trust me , this is the real thing .",
        "they blow up things real good and cruise can cruise into my garage any old day !",
        "breezy , breathless , brainless fun .",
        "a thoroughbred racehorse of a movie : sleek , fast , graceful and utterly devoid of intellectual content .",
        "just like with the first film , the action sequences are stronger than the actual story .",
        "defiantly brainless , but it 's still big-time eye candy .",
        "anyone who 's followed woo 's career knows he 's better than this material .",
        "a quantum improvement on mission : impossible 1 .",
        "if pyrotechnics and chases are all it takes to satisfy a summer movie audience , no one can accuse ' 2 ' of shortchanging its viewers .",
        "starts off with a bang , downshifts into some pretty long and surprisingly tedious exposition , but ultimately regroups and punches you in the face during its last 30 bone-crunching minutes .",
        "cruise se juega sus mejores cartas y sale victorioso gracias a su carisma y al talento y visi\u00f3n de john woo",
        "mission : impossible-2 is such a feast of outlandish pleasures it 'll send you home steam-cleaned and shrink-wrapped .",
        "an overload of non-stop , gravity-defying action sequences .",
        "m : i-2 more than meets the challenge of summer sequeldom .",
        "m : i2 is mighty sexy , especially in the first hour , when even the cars appear to be making love .",
        "a dizzyingly enjoyable retro rollercoaster .",
        "brains will be checked at the door ; a good time will be had by some .",
        "once woo unleashes his bad self and ignites the proceedings here , once the glass shatters , the flames erupt , the gunshots ricochet and the doves fly , all is well with m : i-2 .",
        "woo is a singularly graceful filmmaker , a true believer in the power of elegant stunt choreography and the infinite allure of the human face .",
        "the action sequences are truly breathtaking , and woo 's attention to detail pays off in a film where computer keystrokes are as vital as huge explosions .",
        "the bottom line is that it delivers all the excitement and adventure it promises .",
        "to his credit , woo milks every last ounce of poetry from this mission , filling out robert towne 's anemic script with his trademark doves , slo-mo acrobatics , and double-fisted gunplay .",
        "cruise has hit his stride as an action hero with such confidence that he can completely take over any scene the script requires him to .",
        "the script , by robert towne is n't just coherent , it 's also occasionally funny in self-referential ways .",
        "woo beats brian de palma 's direction of m : i all to heck .",
        "mission : impossible 2 lacks emotional punch and the center section sorely tried my patience , but the film remains a hell of a ride .",
        "the movie plays better than its predecessor to audiences that are not turned off by human emotions .",
        "mission : impossible looks poised to take over as the spy series moviegoers can get excited about .",
        "check your brains at the popcorn stand and hang on for a spectacular ride .",
        "if you 've ever wished that a really good action director -- john woo , say -- would make a james bond film , you can stop wishing .",
        "mission : impossible 2 is pure escapism and never pretends to be anything else .",
        "cruise makes a convincing hero .",
        "while there is n't anything in m : i-2 as memorable as the first film 's scene with cruise dangling over a computer terminal , it 's a more visceral experience overall .",
        "a very good summer movie .",
        "i generally do n't like my action movies so action-free .",
        "a sleek , stylistic adventure thriller , a fun-filled popcorn picture that will not self-destruct .",
        "an extremely entertaining vehicle , a testosterone-filled escape . it 's a slam-bang way to begin the summer .",
        "there are graceful woo touches even outside the action scenes , like the swaying of sheep as a helicopter buzzes their pen in the outback . but it 's not enough to get over the blandness .",
        "it\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s hard to generate suspense when the audience has no reason to believe a character is ever in danger .",
        "if mr. cruise peeled off his face and turned out to have been chow yun fat all along , the picture might be saved .",
        "best of all about mission : impossible 2 is that its story is actually easy to follow , and therefore what happens means more to the viewer .",
        "the action and the intended-to-be-graceful moments are more silly than stunning , prompting more laughter than applause .",
        "where cruise 's deference helped elevate his previous two films to artistic heights , his egotism has deflated his latest .",
        "without any suspense the film just looks like it 's an extended commercial for dudes who think they look cool in throwaway sunglasses .",
        "at times he gets carried away , still true , woo is cool . this mission would have been next to impossible without him .",
        "woo is not able to make the action scenes believable or enjoyable .",
        "... yet another routine action thriller designed to showcase the star appeal of tom cruise .",
        "as a complete film , it 's not as great as one would hope and ca n't help but come off as not much more than a revved up , but nonetheless , mediocre bond wannabe .",
        "the problems here can be summed up thus : ` produced by tom cruise . '",
        "the silliest movie you 'll see this summer .",
        "god bless john woo .",
        "MOV offers a bit of escapism and a hefty shot of cinematic adrenalin .",
        "woo outwits , outgadgets , outstunts and outdirects the original with one hand tied behind his back .",
        "rather than a groundbreaking piece of new gadgetry , this thriller is like an old , well-oiled machine .",
        "a more coherent and romantic script .",
        "this sequel seems afraid of confusing people , so much so that it dumbs down the plot to an insulting level .",
        "tom cruise 's superspy outing is pure summertime satisfaction !",
        "by any reasonable measure mission : impossible ii is a successful action-adventure film .",
        "despite cruise 's attempts here to be byronic , there 's something strenuous about his soulfulness ; he turns everything , even repose , into calisthenics .",
        "fans of straight action/adventure may enjoy this film ; fans of tv 's mission : impossible may not recognize it .",
        "a disappointing foray , a generic piece of very expensive filmmaking that lacks the james bond wit and eclat while at the same time highlights a romance that is as sexless as it is inconceivable .",
        "a coy and hollow parody .",
        "even the most spectacular things woo unleashes here feel strangely impersonal .",
        "mi2 not only has minimal action , but minimal gadgets , which are essential to any spy film .",
        "kimball 's work is always appealing to the eye yet never too noticeable so as to draw attention away from the movie 's plot .",
        "a few nice moments does not a movie make .",
        "m : i-2 does have a more understandable story than its predecessor -- robert towne gets sole credit for it . but it is n't told well .",
        "ends up being just another schlock fest with high speed hi-jinx and more stunts than anybody should ever throw money at .",
        "-lsb- john woo -rsb- sacrifices logic and narrative coherence with less hesitation than one of his villains would display in shooting an accomplice to avoid apprehension .",
        "had there not been a battlefield earth i 'd say this was the biggest turkey of the summer .",
        "if not the worst movie of the year , the most insulting and infuriating .",
        "capraesque . hitchcockian . add wootastic to the lexicon .",
        "becomes disastrously bogged down in an interminable second act that is joyless and inert and from which it does n't begin to recover for over an hour .",
        "a strained sequel to a feature rip-off of an old television show with a stealable theme song . on screen and off , no one 's getting marks for originality here .",
        "tiene malas actuaciones y dilogos que pudieron ser extrados de cualquier comic , pero ... qu bien me la pas vindola !",
        "john woo utiliza a hist\u0443ria como uma mera desculpa para brindar o espectador com seq\u044c\u043ancias de a\u0437\u0433o absolutamente eletrizantes .",
        "it 's fun . it 's laughable . it has moments of excitement , moments of sheer idiocy and moments of sheer idiotic excitement .",
        "everything has fallen into place for an action megathriller that should please everyone except those still smarting over the jim phelps betrayal .",
        "if you 're into movies that constantly make you grin like an idiot and mutter `` oh yeah ! '' over and over , you 'll be satisfied .",
        "m : i-2 takes itself far too seriously .",
        "any minute now , it 'll stand up and pull off its mask and voice chip and be revealed for what it truly is : a rejected bond script .",
        "once again , so many talented , smart , wealthy people are selling the slam-bam of sadism and an idiotic plot that could be the senile fantasy of klaus barbie .",
        "the plot lacks the deftness of the first film .",
        "m : i-2 is just another summer stock item , like sunscreen and barbecue coals .",
        "in the end , mission : impossible 2 is really the tom cruise show , and it 's not an entirely successful endeavor .",
        "the sequel has exposition to spare , but it resembles someone talking to a person who does n't speak their language and thinks he can make them understand by talking louder and slower .",
        "kimball 's work is always appealing to the eye yet never too noticeable so as to draw attention away from the movie 's plot .",
        "dull , routine , and not much fun .",
        "this flick has little intrigue to tie it to its namesake and it comes off more like a very expensive john woo spoof .",
        "the movie as a whole is a leap backwards , assembled out of a story as thin as noodles , and stunts so overproduced and bloated that they leave us staring on in disbelief .",
        "those hoping for a solid flick using the full talents of people like woo , cruise , rhames , etc. will sadly be disappointed .",
        "the crashes , action sequences and effects are all accomplished pretty much seamlessly and professionally though one criticism of this movie is overabundance .",
        "how the mighty have fallen .",
        "m : i-2 's visual assets triumphantly lift its otherwise stock material to grade-a levels .",
        "woo is in fine form .",
        "this is the action movie of the year , maybe the best in several years . it is trying to be the next bond-type franchise series and if the next one is anywhere near this good , it may succeed .",
        "as popcorn thrillers go , mission : impossible 2 has set the bar high for the summer blockbusters .",
        "is n't bad as summer action fare goes .",
        "it 's eye candy that detonates .",
        "forget 1996 's often-confusing series kickoff . even without the lit match and fuse , this sequel is a distinct improvement .",
        "woo 's hysterically hyper visuals and boytoy gimmickry ca n't camouflage the emptiness of the enterprise .",
        "for all my profound reservations about the whole project , i wound up liking it more , or , at least disliking it less , than i had anticipated . thandie newton is the biggest reason .",
        "with all this having been done before , making mi2 interesting or suspenseful truly is an impossible mission .",
        "here , woo just seems to fall back on slow-mo whenever he gets bored , which apparently is often .",
        "woo lays on his own particular high-octane stylishness so thick the results edge perilously toward self-parody .",
        "this will go down on my list as the better sequels .",
        "good thrill ride of a movie for teens and older .",
        "still a fun movie even if it does n't match the high standards of the rest of the series thanks to woo bringing his trademark over the top action sequences .",
        "the makers do n't go out of their way to make this original in any way , but the quality comes through .",
        "it does n't matter how many extra months the director spends creating impressive action scenes . if the audience is not emotionally invested in the fate of the heroes , no amount of explosions will make them care .",
        "a vaguely absurd epidemiological thriller filled with elaborately superfluous setups and shamelessly stale james bond riffs .",
        "the movie is good for its minimal escapism , but little more .",
        "m : i-2 ai n't bad , but it sure is n't as great as it could have been .",
        "second-string woo .",
        "mission : impossible 2 suffers from the imbalance produced by excessive action and little drama .",
        "with every fiery explosion , m : i-2 moves further from its source inspiration and closer toward a preadolescent action orgy .",
        "loud , technically proficient , very expensive , and pretty much soulless .",
        "the film continually halts the action to repeat the plot to us , sometimes word for word .",
        "instead of being the next great john woo masterpiece , it is yet another in the growing roster of action flicks that merely seem to reek of his influence .",
        "m : i-2 is , at its best , more like two-hours of x-games highlights , with an extremely flaccid story and visual fun .",
        "quite simply , woo is to action what fred astaire was to dance and john wayne was to winning the west . nobody does it better .",
        "old-fashioned entertainment liberally coated with flair , style and an explosion of action .",
        "it 's still entertaining and fun , in a check-your-brain-at-the-box-office kind of way .",
        "if you 're the type of person who is drawn to action movies and james bond thrillers , then i hope you 're going mostly for the adrenaline , for the action , and for the fun of it . if so , i feel safe in recommending mi2 .",
        "a terrific thrill ride of a movie .",
        "dazzling spectacle in high-tech and hand-to-hand combat , compelling romance between gorgeous leads , and well-crafted story make mi2 a highly satisfying action film .",
        "m : i-2 is the ultimate summer blockbuster , a giant spectacle of shooting and smooching with action sequences so magnificently put together that they alone are worth the price of admission .",
        "action fans will get a kick out of it . mark this one as strictly for the testosterone set .",
        "bottom line , m : i-2 seems destined to create the kind of excitement and box-office punch that insiders have been predicting since the turn of the century .",
        "an effective spectacle of violence .",
        "entertaining in its own wacky way ."
    ],
    "summary": "your cranium may crave more substance , but your eyes will feast on the amazing action sequences .",
    "id": "10840"
  },
  {
    "movie": "casino_jack_and_the_united_state_of_money",
    "reviews": [
        "abramoff and a few others landed in jail , but there 's little joy to be had from this saga , since a long list of other crooks from the bush-cheney glory years never served time for their crimes .",
        "disheartening though , at times , dizzyingly entertaining , . .",
        "alex gibney pulls the same feat he achieved with `` enron : the smartest guys in the room , '' making complicated financial chicanery first understandable , then entertaining , then completely maddening .",
        "picture a dry powerpoint presentation , divided into chapters with a fade-to-black screen scrawled with cutesy titles . are we short-changed with this doc ? you can bet on it .",
        "abramoff documentary is appalling , entertaining",
        "that the film is overlong ultimately testifies to its importance , though after a while , the outrageous details start to run together like surreal satire . except , of course , that it 's all true .",
        "a lot of the film is rambling . points are n't connected very well , and it feels needlessly convoluted . worse , the tone seems completely inappropriate . if gibney ca n't take the subject of human slavery -- in the marianas islands -- seriously , how can we ?",
        "gibney takes a labyrinthine , detail-laden story and crafts an attention-holding film , polemical without ranting .",
        "most of the anecdotes -lrb- and there are many -rrb- are as juicy and compelling as they are plain-old horrifying .",
        "gibney laudably launches a withering attack here on the pay-to-play relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers . but this viewer felt withered , too , by the end of his battering ram of a movie .",
        "you ca n't make this stuff up , folks . gibney does a fine job laying it out on the table for what it is .",
        "move over , tea party revelers . abramoff 's already been there , done that in this political porn in the raw . nearly casting himself as loathsome lobbyist in his own favor factory reality show , with a perpetual smirk and a blackberry in each hand .",
        "audiences already numb to the staggering amount of america 's ongoing governmental corruption will have a tough time digesting the cynical climate of greed that allows abramoff 's brand of manipulation of congressmen and senators to still go on under a radi",
        "it makes plain , from the outset , its position as an expos\u00e9-cum-condemnation of our political system as inherently flawed with regard to the relationship between lobbyists , politicians , and policy .",
        "if the inner workings of washington , d.c. interest you , especially in terms of how politicians and lobbyists work the system to make money , gibney 's latest can be accepted as a fine addition to his filmography .",
        "invokes as much mild outrage as a presentation of lobbying gone wild can . it 's not exactly an earth-shattering revelation .",
        "it 's a story well told , but abramoff 's voice is missing : gibney interviewed him in prison but could not film him . you wonder what this sweet-talker might say for himself , looking back over that long , ugly money trail .",
        "superlobbyist , republican wheeler-dealer , and convicted felon jack abramoff may seem like old news right now -- he 's been trumped by bernie madoff et al. -- but what he represents , alas , is all too evergreen .",
        "the snarky tone , use of musical puns and jokey graphics -lrb- was keith olbermann an executive producer ? -rrb- undermine the impact of the story .",
        "the picture is briskly edited , and the energy never lags . but the amount of information the viewer is asked to process is voluminous -- and never stops coming .",
        "it 's an informative , interesting documentary that just barely comes together enough and tells an important enough story to merit a look , but it 's not the film that it could have been .",
        "casino jack is designed as an indictment of a whole culture of influence peddling , a beltway way of life where a pat on the back often comes with a kickback .",
        "had someone fire-bombed an annual college-republicans ' meeting in the early 1980s , he would have spared this country a lot of pain and strife .",
        "almost two hours in length , academy award-winner gibney 's documentary - archival footage , re-enactments , talking-head interviews , new footage - is a devastating indictment of the greed and malfeasance perpetrated by convicted lobbyist jack abramoff , the c",
        "gibney is a busy boy , and he draws the lines between abramoff and his friends -- and his friends ' friends -- with the documentary equivalent of a highlighter .",
        "alex gibney 's new documentary on how jack abramoff sleazed his way to power is not just an incisive look at an insurgent branch of the conservative movement , but a strong return to form .",
        "if alex gibney 's documentary on the notorious lobbyist jack abramoff is a little dense , it 's with good reason . this now convicted felon mover and shaker played his power in a lot of arenas . and his story is not an easy one to tell .",
        "casino jack and the united states of money is indispensable viewing .",
        "gibney has enough material for a dozen movies here , but his attempt at an overview , however unwieldy , paints one hell of a nauseating picture .",
        "it should be required viewing for anyone who wants to vote in the 2010 election and has teabags stapled to their person .",
        "i do n't know about you , but the moment i hear the word lobbyist , my brain glazes over . casino jack and the united states of money woke my brain , and my outrage , right up .",
        "the big absence here is the man himself ; gibney could n't get the jailed abramoff on camera , either due to unwillingness or a justice department intervention . whatever the reason , it 's crippling .",
        "watching casino jack and the united states of money made me sick to my stomach .",
        "i do n't know which is worse , how much money was taken from the unsuspecting clients or how little it took to get crucial support from key members of congress .",
        "gibney is as good as it gets at making complicated political material come alive on screen .",
        "fascinating viewing as you start to root against the dastardly villains who had more ego than ethics .",
        "offers a wide-ranging look at abramoff 's antics , from promoting sweatshops in saipan to cheating indian tribes out of casino revenues .",
        "the subject matter is likely to enrage and for all the appropriate reasons .",
        "you need to see this movie . you need to see it not just from an historical perspective of hypocrisy laid bare , but as a cautionary tale .",
        "there 's not much new in casino jack and the united states of money , but it is a lucid , entertaining documentary .",
        "a morose but instructive story about the destructive influence of money -- and fanaticism -- on american government .",
        "the narrative trots all over the globe , including stops for labor exploitation in the marianas islands , dealings with russian mobsters , ripping off indian tribes in the desert southwest , and jetting to scotland to golf with impressionable politicians .",
        "auds will feel info-glut over the course of the two-hour-plus film , which is hardly the desirable response for a piece of reporting on the vital issue of the corrupting effect of money in american politics .",
        "a filthy toad of a human being whose every wart is revealed in this hard-hitting documentary .",
        "dully tells the blood-boiling story of the convicted disgraced conservative superlobbyist jack abramoff .",
        "buying votes in congress , illegal then , legal now .",
        "with considerable attention to detail , the doc takes the view that congress is influenced by cash . what a surprise !",
        "ultimately , it becomes a rorschach test of the viewer 's cynicism : does it shock you ? you must not live in washington , read the newspaper or follow politics . are you horrified ? congratulations , and now wise up .",
        "mr. abramoff may be in prison , but there are no signs that his kind of high-powered lobbying , which one talking head describes as `` legalized bribery , '' is a thing of the past .",
        "those compelled by secrecy in washington will find a devastating , disturbing examination of political back-scratching .",
        "the crimes of conservative superlobbyist jack abramoff are already receding into the hopeless murk of congressional history , so this epic documentary by alex gibney is even more welcome for its reach .",
        "it really is compelling .",
        "unable to film jack abramoff in prison , casino jack finds a series of ingenious solutions -- elegant , funny , and preposterous ways to sort out the man 's thinking and contexts .",
        "casino jack is audience-friendly without turning into a michael moore-ish clown show .",
        "it 's very entertaining as well as appalling .",
        "entertainingly and usefully ties all the far-flung pieces together to comprehensibly show his consistent pattern of corrupt operations that was n't the lone rotten apple .",
        "occasionally drags and offers nothing surprising or new , yet it remains intriguing and provocative thanks to gibney 's easy-to-follow and comprehensive assessment of abramoff 's rise and fall to power ."
    ],
    "summary": "casino jack 's subject matter is enraging , but in the hands pf director alex gibney , it 's also well-presented and briskly entertaining .",
    "id": "770859269"
  },
  {
    "movie": "marine",
    "reviews": [
        "low-budget , logic-free action shlock...explosion-laced , fisticuff-heavy , utterly brainless stuff .",
        "a big , hilarious , stupid meathead of a movie , destined to be a huge hit on the violence channel .",
        "this is a supersize movie : supersize guns , supersize knives , supersize muscles , supersize boobs and supersize explosions !",
        "harmless , tongue-in-cheek , mayhem-filled fun .",
        "the MOV will trigger a strong sense of deja vu for anyone who recalls the slapdash , slam-bang action fare that was standard-issue drive-in fodder during the 1970s .",
        "kicks *** at being totally lousy",
        "the genius of the film is in its unapologetically obvious crowd-pleasing moments .",
        "such bizarre touches remind one of the appeal of wwe televised bouts .",
        "if there ever was a reason why studios do n't screen films , this is the rosetta stone .",
        "the MOV proves a poor showcase for the homeboy charisma cena shows week in and out with the wwe .",
        "there 's not much about the MOV that 's even slightly diverting . including , alas , john cena , the film 's villain-dispatching star .",
        "there are people who will see `` the MOV '' just because it features john cena , and those people will not be disappointed : the movie does , in fact , feature john cena .",
        "cena 's dialogue is held to a monosyllabic minimum ...",
        "the MOV often feels like an oddball black comedy about a dysfunctional band of sociopaths , just masquerading as an action movie about one tough ex-marine .",
        "it is not particularly a bad film . it is just nothing special .",
        "the MOV subscribes to the notion that there 's no such thing as a gratuitous explosion .",
        "it has the air of garbage , but is kind of cute , despite the awful dialogue .",
        "derivative in the extreme , but some good stunt work and humorous touches make it a lot more tolerable than it could have been .",
        "the story is minimal and the action is preposterous , but it does n't try to be much else .",
        "some crazed jewel thieves get trigger-happy in a gas station , and kidnap john cena 's wife . this is useful , as it adds the dangerous excitement of having an angry pro-wrestler chase them through south carolina forests .",
        "it 's a shame that the MOV did not receive a theatrical release in australia . not only was much of it shot here , but as an action popcorn adventure , it has reasonable merit .",
        "already used to bad acting , lame action , and unbelievably stupid stories cena 's fans will love it .",
        "absurdly over-muscled wwe star john ` the franchise ' cena makes his bid to be the next schwarzenegger in this lunkheaded but entertaining action flick .",
        "while the MOV 's real-world connections to the war in iraq are brief and incidental to its minimal plot , that fact does n't make its reductive attitudes any more pleasant to swallow .",
        "what 's a muscular guy like john cena doing in a flabby movie like this ?",
        "an unrepentant b-movie , the MOV features the sort of bare-bones plot that would in previous years have served as a vehicle for the likes of charles bronson .",
        "the MOV proudly admits that it 's junk . who am i to disagree ?",
        "if you 're the kind of fan who digs movies like road house and waxes nostalgic for the heyday of seagal and van damme , you owe it to yourselves to at least rent this one someday .",
        "it 's as fast and loud as you 'd expect , but where it catches you off-guard is in its breathtaking stupidity .",
        "these guys do n't much about making movies , but they know how to stage a smack down .",
        "apparently -lsb- cena 's -rsb- some wwe superstar ; for the uninitiated , he looks kinda like matt damon , if matt damon got freakishly buff .",
        "the MOV settles for action pieces performed by broad character types . in other words , it 's a lot like a night of wrestling .",
        "so bad that it 's very nearly sublime .",
        "a delectably bad '80s - style actioner .",
        "brimming with testosterone , `` the MOV '' explodes and punches its way onto the screen .",
        "a movie so dumb it may actually cause brain damage .",
        "a happy surprise .",
        "a movie so dumb it may actually cause brain damage .",
        "yes , virginia , there is a john rambo . but he lives now only in our memories .",
        "it 's not a good film by any practical standard , but the MOV is bad in just the right way , a mindless throwaway that 's at least smart enough not to take itself too seriously .",
        "this brain-damaged action mistake is about as understated as a mortar blast ."
    ],
    "summary": "overblown in every possible way , the MOV is either so bad it 's good or just really , really bad .",
    "id": "314387382"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_dreamlife_of_angels",
    "reviews": [
        "as raw and immediate as it is heartfelt .",
        "film portraiture of rare intelligence and subtlety",
        "while that 's not enough to make me go crazy over this one -lrb- like some people -rrb- , it is enough for me to genuflect quite a bit in awe of good characters and good details done .",
        "using decidedly unglamorous locales and stars , director erick zonca has given the story what amounts to an almost documentary feel ; isa and marie seem so true-to-life at times you might feel a bit voyeuristic .",
        "it mopes around most of the time with not much to say .",
        "just a bunch of uninteresting characters who spend their time co-existing in an uneasy friendship , smoking too much , and having sex with people who are even worse than them .",
        "it 's a compelling work about loneliness and two ways of dealing with it .",
        "we are n't just watching isa and marie endure the tiny triumphs and hardships of their lives ; we 're experiencing those ups and downs alongside them .",
        "completely absorbing , almost rudely poignant .",
        "heralds a humanist cinema that neither shortchanges our minds nor cheapens what 's in our hearts .",
        "zonca shows an extraordinary ability to get into the female psyche .",
        "bouchez and r\u00e9gnier manage to make every scene ... crackle with a static charge .",
        "there 's not a single encounter in MOV that is n't vivid and emotionally full .",
        "at once an intriguing mix of naivete and world-weariness , bouchez and regnier make us care about two young women .",
        "these days it 's so rare to find a movie that even works on anything more than a superficial level that it 's a real moviegoing pleasure to discover one that works on many levels .",
        "the two gifted young women -lsb- bouchez and regnier -rsb- are the best thing about this quirky drama of friendship and survival .",
        "frank , intimate , touching , with an emotional immediacy that is killing .",
        "an engrossing , occasionally revelatory experience .",
        "zonca 's lyrical cinema verite style magnifies the small tensions and flare-ups that can blow apart a friendship in the blink of an eye .",
        "MOV -lrb- la vie r\u0119v\u00e9e des anges -rrb- is a story of capitalistic and sexual exploitation , rage , rebellion , and the search for meaning in everyday things .",
        "two unforgettable characters are revealed , and the truth resonates powerfully through their stories .",
        "allows the viewer to not only see , but experience the pain of these characters .",
        "remarkably well-acted and poignant .",
        "it 's so graceful and intelligent and complicated in its depiction of human interaction that it takes the notion of a remarkably assured directorial debut to a new level .",
        "-lsb- bouchez and regnier have -rsb- fleshed out portraits of a depth rarely seen on screen .",
        "the movie understands what few american movies admit : not everyone can afford the luxury of following their hearts .",
        "this slow-moving film would have been a sleeper-literally -- were it not for leads bouchez and r\u00e9gnier .",
        "a sensitive , straightforward film that thankfully avoids sentimentality but nevertheless leaves a visceral impact on its viewers .",
        "who finds in life what they dream ?",
        "in an american indie , the two girls would be cute slackers ; in dreamlife , they 're imbued with the inchoate sadness of feminine existential loneliness .",
        "sad and thought provoking , and the performances of its leads make it well worth watching .",
        "there is an inspiring freshness to the film , even with the real-life pain and angst the characters endure .",
        "not overly bad , just not a lot going on in this sleepy melodrama ."
    ],
    "summary": "showcasing excellent lead performances , MOV is an intelligent , absorbing character study of two women .",
    "id": "15518"
  },
  {
    "movie": "field_of_dreams",
    "reviews": [
        "together with moments of dry humour and fine performances , the political element lends the film gravity sufficient to counterbalance any sense of whimsy . pure magic .",
        "the conception is sentimental , but the storytelling remains assured and effective .",
        "instant baseball classic for whole family .",
        "too idiosyncratic and witty merely to wallow in sentimentality , MOV will surely stand as a classic update of what made old hollywood so magical . it 's still a wonderful life .",
        "one of the best films of the 80s",
        "widely regarded as a modern populist classic , the film is both a fabulist fable and a celebratory baseball movie that acknowledges scandal within the sport but also the game 's transcendent ability to rise above attempts to damage its integrity . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "the life-equals-baseball masterpiece still packs an unexpected kick .",
        "that rare thing , a poignant movie which manages to drain the tear ducts without ever resorting to cheap manipulation or clich\u00e9d sentiment .",
        "MOV sustains a dreamy mood in which the idea of baseball is distilled to its purest essence : a game that stands for unsullied innocence in a cruel , imperfect world .",
        "a rare choke-up movie for guys and one of 1989 's biggest hits .",
        "a manipulative but still moving look at the power of myths .",
        "quaint , amusing and charming little baseball parable .",
        "if you 're in the right mood this movie will bring a tear to your eye .",
        "the finest and most sentimental baseball movie ever made . if the ending does n't bring tears to your eyes , you are made of stone . a must-see .",
        "a dedicated cast acts out this gooey fable in deadly earnest .",
        "an engaging film that uses baseball as a launch pad for musings on human aspirations , righting old wrongs , and going the distance .",
        "the themes of this movie are dreams , family , and baseball .",
        "kevin costner nunca esteve t\u0103o bem como em ` campo dos sonhos ' .",
        "this film is n't just for baseball fans and soft touches . it 's also for people who 've experienced loss and want , just for a few minutes , to dream of regaining what was lost .",
        "MOV -lrb- 1989 -rrb- is a fairy tale celebration of the love of baseball .",
        "jones 's performance is quirky and brilliant . mann 's first meeting with ray is worth the ticket price all by itself .",
        "MOV will not appeal to grinches and grouches and realists . it is a delicate movie , a fragile construction of one goofy fantasy after another . but it has the courage to be about exactly what it promises .",
        "the movie may steal a base here and there , but there are no homers .",
        "a magical , often funny , utterly delightful movie , one that will stay with you for some time to come .",
        "poesy , pointlessness and baseball worship aside , the movie is easy to get along with .",
        "directed by phil alden robinson , who treats the fantastic story with admirable conviction but allows the action to become so sugary that it 's hard to swallow after a while .",
        "quite simply one of the best sports movies ever .",
        "whether you view it as capracorn or capraesque would depend on your values , but there 's no denying the film evokes the vastness and grandeur of middle-america",
        "the best baseball film of all time .",
        "a movie for a thorough tear-duct cleansing - the only film that makes tears stream down the cheeks of this hardened critic , and it gets me at least twice every time .",
        "robinson 's whimsical sports saga is nostalgically engaging ... guaranteed to load the bases with sentimentality",
        "anyone who loves their father or baseball -- or both -- will find it difficult -- no , impossible -- to resist this hokey , wonderful film .",
        "say what you want about kevin costner , but you ca n't say he never played jesus christ .",
        "original and moving fantasy about the things that make guys tear up .",
        "it seems much easier to fall into MOV than to resist its warm , intelligent , timely appeal to our most idealistic selves .",
        "one of the best baseballmovies off all time",
        "despite a lovely cameo turn by burt lancaster , MOV is the male weepie at its wussiest .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- special experience , sort of an it 's a wonderful life for the late '80s .",
        "alden 's script goes from charming to preposterous to preachy .",
        "MOV is n't a home run . it 's more like a suicide squeeze : if it had n't been perfectly executed , it would n't have worked . but as they say in baseball , a run is a run .",
        "the sentimentality , of which there is plenty , is nicely balanced by a humor of ironic pragmatism , as when ray , having built his baseball field as a monument to human dreams , decides to charge tourists $ 20 a head to visit it .",
        "all of this would work better if robinson built up the reality of the town more , made the citizens a more palpable presence , as frank capra did in hollywood 's greatest fable-fantasy , it 's a wonderful life .",
        "if you like to think of every time at bat as a new hope , if you can taste a kind of poetry along with the hot dogs they serve at the ballpark , if you like to imagine that life is meant to be good , and miracles are n't out of the question ... go see -lsb- it -rsb- .",
        "... view baseball as much a business as a sport and ca n't imagine getting gushy over such mush .",
        "this fantasy drama from director phil alden robinson is a delightful blend of the blind-fate story and the more fanciful feel-good corn of frank capra .",
        "rightfully a ballgame classic , this is sentimental nonsense , sure , but charmingly so ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is sentimental , but in the best way ; it 's a mix of fairy tale , baseball , and family togetherness .",
    "id": "11618"
  },
  {
    "movie": "meeks_cutoff",
    "reviews": [
        "this is the sort of film critics love to praise because the filmmaker has done good work before ; and well , there must be something there . well , there 's not .",
        "thanks to brilliant directorial decisions matched by a cast that was clearly inspired by this unique effort , this will surely be one of the most memorable films of 2011 .",
        "a promising , intermittently entrancing film that the viewer wishes could have made more of an impact than it does .",
        "we watch them trudge for miles , growing tired of listening to the squeaky wheel of a wagon .",
        "an existential nightmare of maddening uncertainty , a notion only emphasized by reichardt 's commitment to ambiguity .",
        "whatever allegory of pre-feminist roles that reichardt hopes to achieve is slowly put to sleep along with the rest of the audience with a less-is-less narrative style that , like meek , is too stubborn to realize how lost it is .",
        "a film ponderously slow in pace yet kinetically charged with insight ; starkly realistic yet allegorical too ; psychologically astute yet politically resonant .",
        "stripped of hollywood embellishment , meek 's cutoff examines issues of leadership , trust and ` the other ' in ways that suggest it could be taken as a metaphor for the american way of thought , then or now . well , maybe that 's just us .",
        "those with the courage to explore uncharted territory will be rewarded with a rough gem of a movie .",
        "`` meek 's cutoff '' is more an experience than a story .",
        "a mesmerizing cinematic journey that is often as arduous and spare as the lives of its hard-bitten protagonists .",
        "if there 's a genre even more suited to political allegory than horror , it 's the western . and if you can make it through this grim , grimy wide-open-space odyssey without thinking of iraq then it 's because you 're not thinking hard enough .",
        "there are stretches that are , frankly , boring . but the vivid details and intimacy you develop with these travelers sticks with you , leaving you in awe of the insane feats people had to accomplish in order for us to enjoy the world we know today .",
        "-lsb- rides -rsb- a thin line between the intangibly graceful and the merely frustrating in its rejection of narrativity .",
        "returns to the craft of the deconstructionist western , ... stripped bare of the mythmaking , shiny spurs and hero worship , leaving a reality so stark it makes the coen brothers ' harsh take on true grit seem like an episode of gunsmoke .",
        "the subtle ways in which reichardt explores how these characters have been playing their socially and religiously assigned parts throughout the movie , and likely their entire lives , is the core of an absolute masterpiece .",
        "yes , it 's sharply shot , and its stark realism is refreshing . but meek 's cutoff never gets anywhere .",
        "it will definitely divide audiences . some may find it a graceful and understated master class in observation . others may be put to sleep .",
        "greatly enhanced by the performances of michelle williams and bruce greenwood , director kelly reichardt 's film quietly becomes engrossing - it almost sneaks up on you .",
        "imagine a collaboration between john ford and wallace stevens and you might get a sense of what kelly reichardt pulls off here : a sincere re-creation of the pioneer experience , brought to life through careful , often unexpected detail .",
        "at once gossamer and purposeful , it 's terrence malick with a map .",
        "amounts to a master class in the power of observation .",
        "`` meek 's cutoff '' is earnest and sober to the point of suffocation , which often happens when the decision is made to shut off the air of entertainment .",
        "the cinematography , by chris blauvelt , captures the rugged landscapes and rainless skies with a homespun elegance .",
        "told largely in long shot , it 's a painfully , beautifully slow film , which is understandable given the time , place , and situation .",
        "reichardt serves the broccoli of historical pedantry , deliberately withholding the delicious cheese sauce of entertainment .",
        "this is the arid equivalent of werner herzog 's aguirre , wrath of god . reichardt offers the minimum of genre conventions and none of the genre 's satisfactions or resolutions .",
        "the prose of jack london has been effectively translated to film via the sparsity of reichardt 's intensely detailed neo-western .",
        "violence -- potential and inevitable -- shapes each moment in this extraordinary film . rarely visible and never cathartic , this violence is instead like the land that offers possibility and lays down limits for the emigrants .",
        "williams also starred in reichardt 's last , and best , film , wendy and lucy , and she clearly has a special affinity for the director , for whom she shows off her subtlest shades .",
        "vast and mysterious , the american west of kelly reichardt and jonathan raymond 's `` meek 's cutoff '' is not quite like any other landscape .",
        "boring .",
        "of time and place : an interview with john raymond on meek 's cutoff",
        "it 's the anti-western western , a story stripped of zane gray romance , sagebrush and mythic heroes .",
        "meek 's cutoff , certainly a deliberate title for a story touching on fear of the unknown , is the human experience stripped to its bones .",
        "if you allow its windswept silences to work on you , `` meek 's cutoff '' gathers its own snakelike sense of momentum ...",
        "i guarantee you that , in a decade or two , it will be regarded as an enduring film classic .",
        "this revisionist western -- intellectually , aesthetically , and narratively absorbing -- rattles to the bone , but never quite rends the heart .",
        "demanding , ultimately mesmerizing variation on an antique theme wanders off into a wilderness of its own where the essential stoic loneliness of what we call the american character comes into focus .",
        "the movie gives thoughtful viewers plenty to ponder , and plenty of situations in the story have two right answers , but no definitive one .",
        "a cinematic immersion of both modest and cosmic proportions , beautifully enacted by a cast that makes you fully believe that they are these beleaguered characters , and make you glad that you are n't .",
        "it challenges patriarchy and racism , but it never risks questioning received political ideas .",
        "with its mythic , dreamlike atmosphere , hints of feminism and a subversive touch of political allegory , meek 's cutoff is a bold new take on the old west .",
        "a monumentally awful movie . pretentious , uninformed , boring , and enough to drive one to a steady diet of adam sandler movies .",
        "recalls jim jarmusch 's dead man and even werner herzog 's aguirre : the wrath of god in its evocation of frontier surrealism and manifest-destiny madness ; the reichardt approach is , however , more stringent and pointed in its weirdness .",
        "austere and unforgiving ... a picture of extraordinary detail and deliberate execution , rewarding the brave with a rare screen realism that 's hypnotic .",
        "who goes to the movies for 104 minutes of punishment ? where is john wayne , now that we need him ?",
        "meek 's cutoff may not match reichardt 's previous two works in emotional heft , but it continues to cement her as a young director to watch closely .",
        "a slow , methodical , carefully researched look at traveling the oregon trail before stagecoaches became extinct .",
        "a more subversive than revisionist feminist western , and with a title intimating iconic macho cowboy metaphorical castration . while touching on current persisting and troubling questions about imperialist incursions , labeled manifest destiny back then .",
        "it delivers a patient , swoony account of itinerant tribulations in which conflict and intrigue bubble up only occasionally , and always gently .",
        "simultaneously a compelling allegory and a hallucinatory fable , meek 's cutoff is the most ambitious and accomplished film reichardt has yet made .",
        "kelly reichardt 's gaunt , mysterious and superbly calibrated movie about pioneers and the old american west appears to have come from another age - from the early days of malick or antonioni .",
        "under oregon skies , there 's political subtext for the taking in this terrific , unsettling film .",
        "not an easy journey for the characters or their audience , reichardt 's film demands respect for its sheer bloody-minded determination to leave its own questions frustratingly up for debate .",
        "reichardt 's boldness in eschewing a sprawling retelling of how the west was won should be applauded , but she has n't yet earned the right to take this long saying so little .",
        "the ending will divide opinion between `` hauntingly ambiguous '' and `` cop-out . ''",
        "it 's an intriguing take on actual diaries kept by women pioneers of the time , but their journey may be as punishing for some viewers as it was for them ...",
        "reichardt 's parched tale builds up a pressure cooker of tension and loyalties are strained and doubts are sewn ... but then does n't seem to know what to do with it .",
        "while i would love to fully appreciate this circular , feminist , counter-cinema perspective , no payoff makes for an audience that feels cheated .",
        "... a maddeningly dull drama ...",
        "presented people who were so devoid of personality , humor and interest that i did n't care if any of them made it out alive",
        "beautifully shot and impressively directed , this is a haunting , contemplative western with terrific performances from bruce greenwood and michelle williams , though reichardt 's relentlessly minimalist approach might prove hard going for some .",
        "reichardt 's film is - to put it simply - a masterpiece .",
        "filmed with a rapt severity worthy of ermanno olmi 's the tree of the wooden clogs , hers is a horror-western where the minimalist subtly grows into the hallucinatory .",
        "i was hypnotized from the opening sequence .",
        "meek 's cutoff is a thoughtful , and intimate narrative that is beautifully shot and has outstanding direction .",
        "a better complement than ` the big trail ' would be ` the blair witch project , ' another film that taps into an american unease with the wilderness that is the shadow twin of the country 's bold sense of manifest destiny .",
        "i felt like i was trapped on a slow-moving wagon train to nowhere with a bunch of people i wanted to escape from .",
        "the film 's most powerful performance belongs to williams , who shows a spirit and resolve seldom seen before . her scenes confronting meek are explosive and give the film a strong emotional core .",
        "i rarely feel the heart-in-my-throat suspense that i felt as reichardt 's characters sent a covered wagon down a steep hill ...",
        "a story about people facing both physical adversity and adversity within a group",
        "reichardt puts such an unequivocal spin on this well-trod territory as to make it feel heretofore uncharted and of her own reckoning .",
        "offbeat and most interesting western about emigrant pioneers lost in the prairie .",
        "in this quiet , beautiful and terrifying fable about a group of lost pioneers , reichardt combines epic ambition with a focus on intimate , personal detail .",
        "you might be tempted to call meek 's cutoff an exercise in feminist , multiculturalist piety if these two latter characters had any clear idea of what they were doing , or an overriding motive other than self-preservation ; but they do n't , and you wo n't .",
        "reichardt has stripped `` meek 's '' down to bare essentials and careful emotions . the cast captures that quality beautifully - like the water that is running out , everything is conserved .",
        "like the bits of home life its pioneers have brought with them to an alien landscape , the careful craft grounds the film in a reality that is as much felt as it is observed .",
        "it 's reichardt once again subtly overturning the myths that have sustained american cinema for decades ...",
        "reichardt trusts her audience , encourages her viewers to feel comfortable in the stillness and the quiet , and to draw their own conclusions from an ending that 's as profound as it is enigmatic .",
        "... a reinventing of the -lsb- western -rsb- genre where nothing seems to happen but lots does .",
        "meek 's cutoff is simultaneously cerebral and astonishingly cinematic , a historical road movie that stretches the inhospitable landscapes and marginal living of wendy and lucy in intriguing directions .",
        "in reichardt 's latest , she takes the great american film genre - the western - and makes it her own by making the point of view distinctly feminine .",
        "it enlivens and illuminates a genre that once dominated the american cinema and still holds a considerable grip on our imagination .",
        "a sterling effort , determined to tell some of the truth of the times .",
        "at once an intimate drama about a group of emigrants led dangerously off-course in 1874 oregon , and an epically ambitious think piece about nothing less than the fate of western civilization .",
        "highlighted by precise performances , simmering tensions and unforgiving landscapes , this odd rarity - an arthouse western - will help broaden reichardt 's rabid but select fanbase .",
        "a realistic slice of pioneer life that offers a disquieting alternative vision of america 's most mythic location .",
        "the film , which clearly owes a debt to terrence malick 's days of heaven , proceeds at a snail 's pace .",
        "one of the finest american films of the year , and one that 's going to infuriate as many people as it enthralls . that does n't matter , as long as they see it .",
        "may well be truer to what the migration west was like for many settlers than hollywood 's romanticized and sanitized version of such stories .",
        "michelle williams is now the only dawson 's creek cast member with a chat-worthy film career .",
        "`` meek 's cutoff '' works wonders even if you do n't buy the political metaphor , instead appreciating the film as a historical survival tale and a meditation on the nature of trust - how others win it from us and why we give it to them .",
        "exhausting and ambiguous , it 's for moviegoers who relish a quiet , arduous chronicle of bleak hardship , seemingly portrayed in real time .",
        "... a primal piece of filmmaking , wrought from dirt and rock , calico and splintered wood , and illuminated by natural light and campfire .",
        "be warned . some stretches are almost as much of a slog for the viewer as they are for the pioneers ... but meek 's cutoff conveys a far more realistic account of what life was really like on the frontier trail than john wayne or clint eastwood ever did .",
        "this is a film where life and death decisions are made at every turn ; where the very concepts of religion and humanity are dissected in gorgeously subtle yet devastating ways .",
        "kelly reichardt 's extremely modest film is slow , but it is also intriguing , moving and meaningful .",
        "sparse , uncompromising and bewitching . reichardt has stripped back all but the bare essentials , scattering the characters across the sun-bleached landscape like marbles .",
        "by privileging the dynamics between the characters over story , reichardt has created an extremely rewarding cinematic experience that is rich in political commentary , pathos and visual beauty .",
        "meek 's cutoff is an ambitious feat of visual storytelling that 's alive to both its landscape and the actors who people it . this is a big movie masquerading as a small one , fully awake in even its quietest , slowest moments .",
        "a meditative western that focuses on the spiritual transformation of a female settler into a leader as she journeys west in a covered wagon caravan .",
        "forget that old computer game you may have played in middle school : kelly reichardt 's fourth feature is a beautifully evocative portrait of life on the real oregon trail .",
        "kelly reichardt has crafted a haunted dream of a movie to get lost in .",
        "it is an american independent in the true sense of the word , and it may well be the best homegrown movie we 'll see this year .",
        "less western or anti-western than it is a masterful bad trip littered with foolish expectations and `` we should have '' regrets",
        "it 's a deceptively small piece of onscreen art that resonates afterward with such insistence that i felt positively nagged by it .",
        "one way or another , there will be blood .",
        "a bracingly original foray into territory that remains , in every sense , unsettled .",
        "meticulous and immersive , meek 's cutoff feels like history in three dimensions .",
        "the film is both evocative and provocative ; atmospherically and conceptually , respectively .",
        "meek 's cutoff is an act of inversion , a western that reverses the genre 's traditional forms and dynamics to create something new and startling , yet still familiar .",
        "without exception , the actors give understated but compelling performances .",
        "reichert really captures what it must have felt like to venture off the edge of the world in search of a new life",
        "upgrading her production values without compromising her minimalist style , kelly reichardt has nonetheless made her most accessible movie .",
        "our interest is constantly stoked by reichardt 's choices as a director .",
        "fans of kelly reichardt 's minimalist portraits will adore her stark western , but others may be taken aback by the bold lack of traditional filmmaking .",
        "-lsb- kelly reichardt has -rsb- taken on her biggest budget -lrb- essentially a thicker shoestring -rrb- and most recognizable cast yet , while fully retaining her patient , deliberate approach to narrative and attentiveness to nature as a character .",
        "there is n't a fully developed storyline , and there are n't enough ideas in a movie that film snobs will congratulate themselves for adoring . pshaw .",
        "reichardt 's westward-ho is a world of confusion , geographical and moral , a dislocation beyond the remedy of water or bibles .",
        "it 's a pleasureless , anti-sensuous aesthetic , but the movie , in its thorny , grudging way , is stirring , with many startling details .",
        "this impressionist western wo n't be everyone 's slug of bourbon but it 's a slow burn that will richly reward the patient ."
    ],
    "summary": "moving at a contemplative speed unseen in most westerns , meek 's cutoff is an effective , intense journey of terror and survival in the untamed frontier .",
    "id": "771203826"
  },
  {
    "movie": "house_of_the_devil",
    "reviews": [
        "the MOV is really a romance : a love letter to the kind of gal we thought had given up the ghost .",
        "west 's assured way with widescreen framing , long takes and silences followed by sharp if explainable noise are almost cruelly funny in their heart-stopping pleasures .",
        "more concerned with stretching nail-biting suspense to the breaking point than finding new ways of making heads explode .",
        "although the payoff is creepy , it takes a little too long to arrive -- and when it does , it 's about as worn-out as the movie 's title .",
        "part of the film 's off-kilter surreality comes from its retro look , tone , cinematography , and even music .",
        "the MOV is not only set in the early '80s , but director ti west chose to shoot and structure the film in a way so as to make it feel like it was made in the early '80s . in a way , this throwback style is reminiscent of what quentin ta",
        "the MOV could have certainly turned out stronger with a shorter buildup and a more drawn out climax , but who am i to argue ? i have n't been this scared watching a horror film in years .",
        "those of us who remember that strange and marvelous era when the grindhouse gave way to vhs pajama parties are apt to see a kindred spirit at work here .",
        "as much as the slow pacing , the out-of-time quality creates a sense of dislocation , that makes what 's coming for her even more unpleasant .",
        "impressively directed with impeccable production design , this is a note-perfect pastiche of a 1980s horror film that 's both suspenseful and scary without resorting to cheap tricks .",
        "a first-rate chiller .",
        "it may not completely succeed as a horror film , though i would take its deliberately funky and low-key vibe over the hard-sell nonsense of `` paranormal activity '' any day of the week .",
        "even the familiar tropes of the MOV are familiar in the right way , like an old , bloodstained sweater .",
        "the cinematic equivalent of foreplay . it 's all about building mood , teasing us , and , in between the lines , promising an eventual payoff .",
        "if you like horror movies that actually have some artistic merit to them , this is definitely one of the more noteworthy pictures of the year .",
        "the film may provide an introduction for some audience members to the hitchcockian definition of suspense : it 's the anticipation , not the happening , that 's the fun .",
        "if you love a nerve-stretching build up to a seriously creepy payoff , you 'll want to see for yourself .",
        "the film is a perfectly pitched old-school horror homage to a '70s / '80s - era of cinema that should have been .",
        "... there is one scene early on with mr. a.j. bowen that is as creepy as anything you 're going to get this summer .",
        "ti west knows how to set up his prey for the kill",
        "in keeping with his models , west is concerned with not suspense exactly but the ritual withholding and ultimate lavishing of bloody chaos .",
        "fans seeking the immediate gratification of random shocks and sudden gore will be disappointed , but anyone savoring a sense of dreadful anticipation and menace will be enthralled .",
        "west , a rising young director of minor cult pleasures , comes clean here about his love for all things bava -lrb- mario -rrb- and carpenter -lrb- john -rrb- .",
        "less is more , and writer/director/editor ti west knows it -- until he forgets near the end of this babysitter-in-peril nailbiter .",
        "al\u0439m da excelente ambienta\u0437\u0433o de \u0439poca -lrb- e da pr\u0443pria est\u0439tica setentista -rrb- , west concebe uma narrativa bem constru\u043dda e tensa , resultando num filme tenso e eficiente .",
        "in today 's ironic age , a movie like the MOV that wears its homages proudly % u2014and wears them this well % u2014is something to be celebrated , and this blu-ray release should attract it the fanbase it deserves .",
        "a very impressive formal exercise in style and restraint ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "the heroine walks about campus doing errands for about 20 minutes , then some semblance of a plot begins . just too slow for horror fans . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "there 's a payoff in the MOV , if you have the patience . some of the scenes seem draggy , but the characters are complex , and their motivations are explained .",
        "there is a lot about the MOV to admire but west ultimately likes the slow burn a bit too much and it fizzles out .",
        "not a bad venture into the `` girl meets devil '' genre but a few rock songs short of a hit .",
        "yet another of this year 's homage-facsimiles , the MOV forgoes campy self-awareness in favor of reverential faithfulness -- and in doing so , implicitly critiques contemporary horror cinema .",
        "puts to shame most major studio horror releases . classy even while getting down-and-dirty , unusually savvy about the importance of tension and character nuance over viscera and a soulless body count .",
        "director west gets credit for delaying the mayhem to the last 20 minutes , but fails to evoke a necessary tension until then .",
        "made for those who have fond memories of low-key '70s devil chillers that focused on mood and atmosphere",
        "west is going to do something outstanding someday , as soon as he figures out something to say .",
        "the problem with it , and with MOV , is that it 's mostly pedestrian stuff leading to a pay off that 's just not enough .",
        "sam 's end is disturbing but also banal , even silly , but the end is not the point . the point is your anticipation .",
        "the MOV is n't just a movie : it 's an experience . it joins the league of rosemary 's baby , the exorcist and the omen as one of the most diabolical entries in the modern horror library .",
        "in this era of torture porn and slasher pics , MOV is a shining example of how to build atmosphere and tension the old-fashioned way .",
        "if you do n't get a kick out of watching doomed babysitter samantha put on that portable cassette player and dance around that creepy house to the strains of the fixx 's `` one thing leads to another , '' you might need a course in horror appreciation 101 .",
        "laden with dread and executed with a musician 's sense of timing , the MOV is better than a substantial number of the films it resembles .",
        "a virtual refutation of all of the conventions of contemporary horror that manages to be terrifying precisely because it refuses to give you that gratification until you 've almost given up wanting it .",
        "the sudden climax is a gore-drenched bonanza of satanic delirium that seems to be making up for the calm that came before , if not spoofing the very idea of cinematic payoff .",
        "a truly superb throwback to eighties horror . .",
        "while its furnishings may be old and not a little worn , in this house , genre fans will feel right at home .",
        "slow-building dread rather than all-out splat , house keeps you guessing which way the sneaky plot is going , all adding up to a satisfying shocker .",
        "like paranormal activity and let the right one in , ti west 's shocker favours old-school tropes - plot , character , suggestion and suspense - over gorno extravagance . seems like the devil has great taste in films too .",
        "both an authentically scary turn of the screw and a stunningly meticulous retro homage .",
        "the film 's nostalgic design is subtle enough not to dampen the seriously sinister atmospherics .",
        "things quickly get silly and unscary .",
        "although the last reel is a little disappointing , the twist ending is a scream .",
        "by trading in loud and increasingly low-dividend `` shocks '' for well-earned dread and fear , west immerses the audience in a genuine shared experience .",
        "it favors tension over spectacle while delivering a palpable sense of helplessness .",
        "... despite his fine attention to detail , a great cast and a deliciously edgy build , west ca n't bring his film to the finish line .",
        "slow , yet oddly spellbinding , horror film ... a living , breathing nostalgia piece oozing period authenticity",
        "start -lsb- s -rsb- to add up after a while to a faintly unbearable level of dread .",
        "this pitch-perfect genre throwback would be right at home among the creaky and weird supernatural thrillers of the 70 's and 80 's . -lrb- and yes , i mean that as a compliment . -rrb-",
        "that 's the problem with this sort of homage : unless you 've got a startling new take , you wind up with a movie that 's been done hundreds of times before , to much better effect .",
        "a horror film with no punch .",
        "carefully , perfectly , beautifully built occult horror follows the roadmap of the early '70s and '80s indie screams with reverent precision and the occasional , wise reference to the cannon .",
        "an old school vintage terror yarn that comprehends how horror rules when simmering to a slow boil percolating in its own solidly crafted narrative juices , as opposed to a kneejerk reaction slice 'em up overcooked brew .",
        "call it the best '80s babysitter-in-peril movie never made .",
        "a group of people old enough to remember vhs parties may very well have flashbacks of the old days - for better and for worse - should they visit the MOV .",
        "recreates the feeling of 80s horror ; less cgi , more imagination and a whole lot of corn syrup .",
        "it 's full of meat and marrow . i 'm going in again .",
        "the MOV takes itself and its cinematic heritage seriously , and is made better by this earnestness .",
        "now this is how you make a scary movie . the MOV is a delicious throwback to the golden era of hollywood horror -- one that is unapologetically earnest and overwhelmingly committed to the task at hand .",
        "the power of this film lies in the approach to the inevitable final act , rather than the realisation of the act itself .",
        "the finale descends into predictable mayhem , but it 's the build-up that 'll haunt you .",
        "... there 's simply never a point at which the almost distractingly uneventful narrative becomes as compelling as one might 've hoped .",
        "the pay-off is a little far-fetched , but by then we have had our emotional workout .",
        "a master of the slow-burn , west carefully creates an atmosphere of clammy dread through noonan and woronov 's off-kilter performances and dialogue , and direction that encases donahue in shadow or squeezes uncomfortably close-in .",
        "imagine a bad ken loach film invaded by monsters from a george a. romero movie that 's run out of cash , and you 've already visualised a movie better than this one .",
        "you have to wait for the MOV to deliver on its promises -- but when it does , holy crap .",
        "ti west has been building a reputation among horror fans as an expert in the art of the slow burn , and more power to him for exhibiting something that seems to be increasingly rare in filmmakers in any genre : patience .",
        "70s-savant writer/director ti west has come up with a satanic-panic stroke of genius with the MOV .",
        "in the end , this homage to '80s horror is little more than a faithful flashback -- authentic in execution but about as scary as something you saw again and again way back when .",
        "gravely gorgeous in the style of a storybook snow white , donahue gives eloquent reaction shots and nails west 's pi\u010dce de r\u00e9sistance -- a bounding , walkman-soundtracked , jazzercise dance through the house .",
        "from his era-appropriate soundtrack to the visual style of his opening credits and his slyly reverential camerawork , west gives his movie the look and feel of a 25-year-old relic , yet nothing about ` devil ' seems stale .",
        "the main reasons to see this deliberately retro and derivative flick , which borrows freely from satanic cult and babysitter-from-hell subgenres , are iconic actors tom noonan and mary woronov in their first teaming .",
        "a fine example of how a talented filmmaker can tackle a horror sub-genre in a way that 's stylistically reverential but also original in its own way .",
        "the classical structure slowly builds tension before erupting into a decisively gory finish , harkening back to a smarter and more nuanced era of spooky storytelling .",
        "written , directed , and edited by ti west , this movie is an old-school tension builder , slowly ratcheting up the anxieties of the audience who , of course , is fully aware that something bad is going to happen .",
        "when the karo syrup finally hits the fan , the film loses its footing some , but only because no concrete explanations could possibly do justice to west 's expert buildup .",
        "writer-director ti west 's crisp , economical , satisfying little horror pic reclaims the pleasures of the kind of old-school formula that the jokey scream franchise deconstructed into satire .",
        "this is scary in a way that unrelenting brutality could never be .",
        "west avoids clich\u00e9 and cheesiness with wise casting choices . donahue 's naturalistic performance is as persuasive as the subtly sinister portrayals by tom noonan and mary woronov .",
        "after years of vivisectionist splatter , here is a horror movie with real shivers .",
        "with the suspense cranked so high , it 's almost inevitable that the bloody finale comes as a bit of a letdown .",
        "skims away so much of the noisy and excessive clich\u00e9s of today 's terror flicks that it feels like a breath of fresh air",
        "devil is generously unassuming , making the film more of a secret handshake than a blood-spattered , deafening gorefest . the attention to mood and setting is marvelous .",
        "from the opening statistic about documented instances of devil-worship , west aims for a mix of the plausible and the ridiculous ...",
        "a slightly faster set-up , and slightly more drawn-out climax , would make this even better ."
    ],
    "summary": "though its underlying themes are familiar , MOV effectively sheds the loud and gory cliches of contemporary horror to deliver a tense , slowly building throwback to the fright flicks of decades past .",
    "id": "770806327"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10008621-run_fat_boy_run",
    "reviews": [
        "the film is better than expected . it 's directed with warmth , humor and intelligence .",
        "there 's much too much of everything in run , fatboy , run . every ounce of comedy is so forced and full-on ridiculous that when characters express even a smidgen of sentiment , it feels like a parody .",
        "the sort of flat-footed studio film that takes the basic ingredients of an underground hit , drains them of personality and style , and spits them out as a situation comedy .",
        "this is a romantic comedy light on romance but heavy on comedy , and it 's well cast to skew in that direction .",
        "tere 's nothing edgy or new about run , fat boy , run .",
        "run fatboy run is largely content to follow the formula , guide us on a sunny tour of downtown london 's tourist hot spots and transform pegg from paunchy schlub to runderella with a few decent laughs along the way .",
        "thanks to a jaunty brit-rock score and likable characters all around , the movie 's easy to watch and occasionally pumps up the emotions .",
        "the kind of movie that 's apt to be dismissed a goofy lark . it is that . but it 's also a rare comedy that believes in its own message , and that could inspire the depressed and the demoralized to grit their teeth and keep running .",
        "enough already . i mean , i do n't have anything against comedies about dopey guys who win the love of a good woman by competing in ridiculous olympian contests . but if i wanted to see a really funny one , i 'd rent a rocky movie .",
        "the humor tends toward the mildly crass -- bare buttocks and inappropriate scratching are schwimmer 's go-to comedy staples -- and the story is ridiculous .",
        "pegg has staked out a peculiar slant on genre material that ventures beyond irony toward rehabilitation -- and nobody plays blithe humiliation with more style .",
        "i would n't believe that MOV was co-written by simon pegg if he were n't up there on the screen in teeny briefs and with his gut stuck out , trying to endear himself to the american audience in material maybe a notch above rob schneider 's .",
        "-lsb- star/writer pegg -rsb- ladles a deeper understanding of why men screw up into dennis than we usually see in romantic comedies ...",
        "it has meaning and sentiment and a nice pay-off for its finale . but without more laughs , run fatboy run is awfully winded by the time it crosses the finish line .",
        "the presence of simon pegg and dylan moran elevates what might have been merely a pleasant , harmless but ultimately forgettable romantic comedy .",
        "clumsy and inept in demeanor but a whirlwind of comic energy , with an air of self-congratulatory winsomeness , simon pegg steals this otherwise minor but enjoyably unpretentious little comedy and pockets it like a mars bar .",
        "a thin premise undermined by rampant stupidity at every turn .",
        "predictable losers-are-people-too jesting raised a notch by the quality work of consummate professionals .",
        "director david schwimmer bloats this slapdash concept into dim , witless overkill .",
        "brit romcom mixes laughs with swearing , smoking .",
        "thin-on-laughs fatboy stumbles more than sprints .",
        "there 's a cheeky , cross-continental exuberance to run , fatboy , run that lifts it over its predictability and keeps you laughing louder than you know you should . it 's an upfront guilty pleasure without pretense ; what a pleasant surprise .",
        "this is not a film with blazingly original ideas or a groundbreaking script - i guessed the ending before the movie even started - but it has a sweet nature , an abundance of laughs and plenty of pegg to spare .",
        "from storyline to characterization to style of comedy , everything about the directorial debut of former friends star david schwimmer is a nod to accommodation , compromise and consensus .",
        "while this movie lacks the screaming energy and consistency of shaun of the dead and his hysterical hot fuzz , pegg is able to keep things interesting .",
        "a movie that is smartly written , boasts plenty of funny lines and rides hard on pegg 's ability to look and act like the most stoically put-upon person on the planet .",
        "pleasant but unfocused , a romantic farce , trying very hard to be sweet when it needs to be a bit more cheeky .",
        "the material is n't any more inspired than the protagonist is inspiring . run , fat boy , run should have been whipped into better shape before the starting gun sounded .",
        "run , fatboy , run is n't going to win any prizes for fresh questions . but it 's just fleet enough to hold its own in the middle of the pack .",
        "MOV might as well have been written by a rushed piece of software . the program calls for a surprise engagement , a street fight complete with crotch punches , an apartment eviction , and a runaway child -- all in about five minutes .",
        "for all its faults however , this is a romantic comedy that works - if just barely .",
        "deserves credit for not working us over the way so many modern comedies too . it brings us to the finish line with energy to spare , instead of leaving us feeling sapped .",
        "an overlong over-conventional under-funny romantic comedy . to put it in its own terms , it might make it as a 100-yard-dash , but does not have the stamina for a marathon .",
        "a near-miss , a film with some funny scenes that will probably work significantly better on dvd , but , ultimately , it quite simply does n't have enough laughs to elevate it to greatness .",
        "it runs out of steam - and you 'll likely run out of interest - long before the finish line .",
        "MOV would n't make it to the finish line without simon pegg 's winning performance .",
        "simon pegg is almost brilliant with his slapstick comedy and dedication to goofiness .",
        "outside of a couple of moments of self-conscious shock humor , the most surprising thing about the film is how square it really is .",
        "ends up feeling like a boring limerick told over and over again .",
        "this brand of unfailing comic timing and expressive physicality is rare , and it 's why pegg , in particular , is a star . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "the project represents an uncertain britification of a script by chicago native michael ian black , and the result finds itself stranded somewhere out in the atlantic , mid-crossing .",
        "so pathetically average that you can barely muster the energy to have an opinion about it .",
        "... lacks the invention of -lsb- simon -rsb- pegg 's comedies with edgar wright , which buzz and crackle with ideas and energy . this one simply plods through ...",
        "run fatboy run is n't particularly hilarious or moving , but it 's got just enough humor and pathos to render its myriad flaws almost forgivable . almost .",
        "could a better combination of collaborators have produced something greater ? definitely . but this cheerful mix of juvenility and grown-up-relationship angst goes down smoothly enough to be worth watching .",
        "MOV is hard to love , thanks to the tedious romantic-comedy cliches to which it subjects its characters -- and us .",
        "schwimmer is wise to keep his camera trained on pegg at all times , as the actor can make any sequence worthwhile with his unexpected , jittery retorts and reactions .",
        "fatboy may be more welcome than the latest matthew mcconaughey-kate hudson vehicle , but only by a nose .",
        "while -lsb- pegg -rsb- gets some mileage out of this sketchy material , he 's undermined by story and character problems , as well as the limp , uninspired direction of actor-turned-filmmaker david schwimmer .",
        "it looks like british writers simon pegg and michael ian black have been studying the romantic comedies of adam sandler .",
        "this feeble premise limits the movie to perfunctory gags about the hero 's sloth and some canned underdog drama .",
        "far from the gut-busting brilliance of pegg 's other , self-made starring vehicles .",
        "nothing to be embarrassed about here . though the kick-in-the-balls scene does run on a bit .",
        "about as funny as ross on `` friends . '' david schwimmer -lrb- ross on `` friends '' -rrb- directs .",
        "schwimmer completely lacks what it takes to ever get this movie off the ground . the story is fairly formula and the actors are basically on mark , yet the jokes -lrb- most of which are so predictable they are telegraphed a mile in advance -rrb- land with a virtually",
        "... cuter and sweeter than i expected , a mildly pleasant surprise .",
        "the picture manages to juggle both the silly and the sentimental without falling flat .",
        "the film , like its flabby aspiring marathon runner protagonist , feels shapeless and exhausted from the sheer effort of trying to please audiences .",
        "it 's a good formalic romantic comedy . nothing more .",
        "it 's a generation x movie in a way very few movies are any more ; it is unseemly to admit that our generation is about as slackery as we had promised to become . go with your ex and smile .",
        "it 's a lazy effort that offers little encouragement for the future of schwimmer 's directorial career .",
        "run fatboy run n'offre rien pour r\u0439volutionner le genre , mais pr\u0439sente assez de bonnes intentions pour justifier son existence , et nous faire passer un bon moment",
        "run , fatboy , run winds up being as immature and exhausting as its protagonist .",
        "turn and run , no matter what size you are .",
        "em sua estr\u0439ia na dire\u0437\u0433o , schwimmer atira para todos os lados : com\u0439dia f\u043dsica , escatologia , estere\u0443tipos , besteirol , e por a\u043d afora , falhando consistentemente todas as vezes . e pegg jamais esteve t\u0433o artificial , o que \u0439 uma surpresa desagrad\u0431vel .",
        "-lrb- run , fat boy , run -rrb- is your nice , fun , romantic film that is not necessarily worth spending your money to see in theatres .",
        "-lsb- the protagonist is -rsb- a petty , unlikable loser .",
        "schwimmer offers generic rom-com conventions in his feature directorial debut .",
        "warm/funny film about a man trying to re-win his true love by running a race",
        "it is neither as funny nor as wickedly subversive as ` shaun of the dead , ' but it respects its characters enough to make them thoughtful and surprisingly complex , unlike the sitcom stereotypes inhabiting lesser romantic comedies .",
        "friends star david schwimmer proves that nothing wins over a crowd like a barking underdog and bags of below-the-belt humour - his directing debut is a wheeze .",
        "what should be dreadfully synthetic actually plays as a pleasant time-passer , thanks to a goodly supply of one-liners , and pegg and newton 's facility for investing a string of hokey plot devices with genuine warmth . formulaic , yet disarmingly enjoyable .",
        "pegg pitched shaun of the dead as `` richard curtis shot through the head . '' run , fat boy , run comes on more like `` richard curtis kicked in the nuts '' - a refreshingly honest britcom that never really threatens the ribs but which is amiable company throughout",
        "enjoyable , sharply written and frequently hilarious comedy with strong comic performances from its cast . this should strike a chord with slightly overweight men everywhere .",
        "predictable sitcom but delightfully feel-goodish .",
        "this is yet another parody that falls victim to the desire to become what it 's intending to satirize .",
        "pegg is brilliant , pratfalling his way through heartbreak and indignity",
        "pegg 's dennis is lazy , insensitive and unhygienic . yet his most defining quality is blandness . i could barely rouse myself to dislike him .",
        "depends on the charm of its leading man . but that proves a commodity which , in pegg 's case , proves to be not only in short supply but positively out of stock .",
        "it may be the kind of film that will make you smile more than laugh , but you 'll smile a lot . and although it practically forces you to root for its hero , you wo n't mind a bit because the hero is played by simon pegg .",
        "anyone hoping for the lean meat of the fast , furious , and riotously funny shaun of the dead or even the popcorn fancy of the lesser hot fuzz will do best to look elsewhere .",
        "there are so many scenes of him running , it 's surprising pegg did n't just take off and never come back to the set after he saw how things were going .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- david schwimmer takes the sow 's ear of a script given him by -lsb- simon -rsb- pegg and michael ian black and deep-fries it into a burnt pork rind of a movie .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- schwimmer shows some skill by keeping the mood light and making no notable missteps , but he still comes away looking like someone trying , and failing , to play judd apatow , the reigning champion of realistic , emotional comedy .",
        "snarkiness and sentiment are in constant battle for supremacy throughout MOV with no chance of a comfortable draw .",
        "... a bit rude and uncouth , but sweetly affecting ...",
        "simon pegg gives it the old college try , but his character is n't worthy our cheers . maybe pegg should resurrect his most famous character , the resourceful , much funnier shaun , and do battle with the zombies of london rather than the marathon runners of lo",
        "certainly not the worst movie of the year , not in a year that brought us over her dead body , one missed call , fool 's gold , snow angels and mad money . it could be the most mediocre though .",
        "predictable and clich\u00e9d as run fatboy run is , it is an entertaining romedy that , unfortunately , does n't have much staying power after credits roll .",
        "neither original nor packed with surprises . it is , however , entertaining and thoroughly likable .",
        "simon pegg has a great face ! not since jerry lewis has anyone been able to look pathetic , adorable and stupid , all at the same time .",
        "a fine work of craftspeople both in front of the camera and behind ... whose chief mistake is that every one of them appears to have forgotten that it was in fact a comedy .",
        "a fry-up of american , british and irish comedy sensibilities that will have no trouble satisfying mainstream movie appetites .",
        "give me this type of writing any day over some of the inane scripts that plague a will ferrell or adam sandler flick . simon pegg can hold his own with any comic working today .",
        "schwimmer 's sliced cheese mediocrity gets him off the hook ; not so for the usually inventive pegg and black and their arms race of bland jokes and cheap male nudity",
        "an enjoyable if patchy and predictable ride , but simon pegg shows he 's more than capable of going the distance .",
        "pegg exudes his usual air of faint self-congratulation playing an unlikeable prat whom nobody in their right mind would prefer to the high - flying azariah or indeed to anyone .",
        "schwimmer often resists an easy laugh in favour of a poignant moment and thereby heightens the sense of urgency during dennis ' last dash for glory .",
        "you 'll laugh a bit , but not much , while your interest in the storyline will hover between mild interest and vague indifference . needless to say , all memories of this movie will evaporate on contact with daylight .",
        "... despite lacking marquee stars could do well with the date-night mainstream .",
        "predictable and conventionally anti-american .",
        "... excessive product-placement has turned the film into one enormous ad for nike , with all the chilling humourlessness that this implies .",
        "there are no surprises here -- just broad , frequently slapstick gags that do n't avoid but do tamp down a bit on the bodily-function school of yokkery .",
        "when schwimmer managed to get pegg on board , his good fortune became ours .",
        "pegg proves agreeable company in a lightweight britcom whose biggest laughs emanate from its supporting cast .",
        "amiable . bland . cute . formulaic . inconsequential . run fatboy run goes down with ease , but it 's awfully slight .",
        "while some moments rely solely on pegg 's natural on-screen goofiness , he & m. i. black have simply written a very funny script that spreads the fun evenly throughout .",
        "pacing is brisk , the laughs frequent . with an ending corny and capra-esque , ` run , fat boy , run ' charms right to the finish line .",
        "seldom laugh-out-loud funny and the script does n't have the witty insight of pegg 's last few films , but pegg 's bumbling charm is just enough to make this movie run .",
        "simon pegg is a wonderful physical comedian . and he 's able to take off with his talent in `` run fatboy run , '' a comedy that 's not up to par of his other starring roles but one that nonetheless provides quite a few laughs .",
        "it 's clear in the scene where they try to scam the marathon officials that dylan moran would be a good candidate to play the grown harry potter in the harry potter and the deathly hallows film . somebody take note !",
        "the jokes land softly , but run fatboy run moves at a sitcom-like clip that keeps it watchable even when it is n't especially funny .",
        "when all is said and done , you 're better off renting the friends season four finale ... that was brilliant . this is like a bad farrelly brothers movie .",
        "overcomes its occasional stumbles , thanks almost entirely to the charm of its cast ...",
        "sure it 's predictable . sure it 's a slight effort , but i still think it 's pretty funny and charming .",
        "formulaic and thoroughly conventional .",
        "it is an immensely likable , big-hearted romantic comedy that has a wide-ranging appeal as unpretentious feel-good escapism and a perfect date movie choice .",
        "run , fatboy , run is the type of romantic comedy apt to be described as `` nice '' or `` sweet , '' both of which are codewords for `` unexceptional '' and `` useless . ''",
        "it 's not hysterically funny , but this british comedy is sharp enough to keep us chuckling right to the predictably sappy conclusion .",
        "simon pegg 's considerable skills can only do so much to enliven the mediocre text of actor david schwimmer 's feature directing debut , a mildy humorous trifle with some heart but not enough hilarity .",
        "run , fat boy , run shows that simon pegg ca n't rescue a derivative dud .",
        "schwimmer and pegg have scored a win -- largely due to tasteful choices in the subplotting and providing such a rich ensemble to tickle the shenanigans to a higher level .",
        "it 's as if -lsb- director david -rsb- schwimmer managed to shoot himself in his foot with the starter 's pistol .",
        "seems to lack the aspirations necessary to overcome its failings .",
        "... a mess of sentimental cliches ...",
        "amiable , consistently amusing and surprisingly affecting , it has the flavor of a nick hornby novel , with its focus on an overgrown boy struggling to grow up and be a man .",
        "run , fat boy , run is the directorial debut of actor david schwimmer , who is much better behind the camera than in front of it . here , he 's taken material best suited to sketch comedy and turned it into a feature of no small heart and humour .",
        "although you can see the finish line from the starting shot , pegg elevates the movie from eye-rolling to forgivably genial with his ace delivery and genuinely entertaining pratfalls .",
        "it ambles along pleasantly , produces a few chuckles , and is forgotten by the time you pass the popcorn counter on the way out of the theater .",
        "i wish the script credited to michael ian black -lrb- the pleasure of your company -rrb- and -lrb- simon -rrb- pegg had a little more intrigue along the way to its predictable finish .",
        "a hackneyed slacker scenario reduces this film from an entertainment marathon to a plot treading water . the feel-good message comes around , but there is too much packaging for the product .",
        "-lsb- the movie -rsb- may not -lsb- provide -rsb- an onslaught of gut-busting laughs , but the humor that does come forth is heartier and more authentic .",
        "for his debut directing role , schwimmers steers a safe `` pg-13 '' date movie that roots for the underdog and has a good overall message .",
        "it would have been funnier if , instead of pegg , his frequent collaborator , nick frost had taken the role . then we would have a film worthy of its name . and maybe even a few more genuine guffaws .",
        "one thing schwimmer does do right is keep the story moving swiftly . you 're in , you 're out , no harm done -- unless you want that hour and a half back .",
        "this is an amiable film that will provoke some chuckles .",
        "run , fat boy , run stays out of sitcom quicksand long enough to make you think that schwimmer has a knack for this comedy-directing thing .",
        "well enough crafted to keep you in stitches while on the edge of your seat for the duration , even if this laff-a-minute escape is more mindless than cerebral .",
        "`` run , fat boy , run '' is a cut-and-dried formula comedy slightly elevated by its more than competent cast .",
        "pacing and suspension of disbelief aside , i had fun with the heart-felt moments and the sheer comedy . plus , it\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s great to see pegg jump out of his edgar wright-zone for a bit and try making a movie with a different group for a change .",
        "credit pegg for inserting his smart brand of character-driven humor everywhere the script needed him -lrb- he polished up an old script by michael ian black -rrb- , and credit schwimmer for keeping things moving quickly and efficiently .",
        "an unapologetic throwback to the days when comedies did n't have to be all that original -- just as long as they were funny .",
        "using conventional slapstick gags and inventive crosscutting , david schwimmer scores as a creditable , if not memorable , director ... but the innocuous script is totally predictable .",
        "although i did enjoy the incongruity of the characters , this well-intentioned low brow co-production does not quite make it to the finish line .",
        "schwimmer just does n't have the directorial wit to elevate the intermittently amusing script , and none of the cast seems dedicated enough to raise the bar either ."
    ],
    "summary": "run , fat boy , run features sporadic laughs , but is ultimately too formulaic and predictable .",
    "id": "770670572"
  },
  {
    "movie": "good_hair",
    "reviews": [
        "who defines good ? this doc never quite finds the source , but it sure shows us the damage it 's done to wallets , egos and follicles .",
        "the subject matter would still be fairly interesting without rock 's involvement , but the comedian brings a accessibility to the material that no amount of facts and figures can replace .",
        "chris keep the action rocking , the beautiful women and not so handsome men in the cast sometimes matching his humor , joke for joke .",
        "rock never misses a beat and here 's hoping he continues the documentary chapter of his career . there 's nothing wrong with a little competition for michael moore .",
        "MOV is a raucous and rigorous inquiry into the subject of african-american hair -- the stigmas , the secrets , the shocking price of maintenance -- that gets at universal but rarely discussed truths about black femininity .",
        "a wise and wacky dye-laughing doc about black female high maintenance hair that is no laughing matter , the movie finds a pg-13 rock channeling michael moore , while nearly tumbling into a jumbo vat of processor goo .",
        "that many of these hairstyles derive from standards of beauty laid down by white tastemakers is a question that hangs over MOV .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- breezy , superficial doc .",
        "whether you have MOV or not , there 's plenty to appreciate in chris rock 's rollicking documentary about what goes on when african-american women hit the salon .",
        "rock takes aim at the truth and humor of this potent cultural question with a sharp wit and lively curiousity , even if he does n't pursue vigorously enough its uglier side .",
        "a surprisingly fascinating subject that ... yields lots of laughs .",
        "MOV , directed by longtime rock collaborator jeff stilson , is such a rollicking , thoroughly entertaining ride that it 's easy to take for granted just how easy rock makes it look .",
        "unlike most documentaries with a message , ` MOV ' invites moviegoers to a conversation , not a lecture .",
        "full of sweetly sardonic observations , the docu-comedy is one of the funniest movies of the year .",
        "chris rock 's MOV is one of those rare documentaries that works on two seemingly incongruous levels at once : it 's both social commentary and pure delight .",
        "rock is not only funny , he 's an affable and intelligent host in a documentary that is accessible , breezy and highly informative .",
        "one of the best movies of the year seems to be lost in the halloween-time shuffle .",
        "it 's an inside look at an offbeat , under-examined corner of american life -- one of the things that documentaries do best , and MOV does it well .",
        "despite the padding , there 's enough interesting sociological digging here -- not to mention the easygoing presence of comic chris rock -- to keep us entertained and even enlightened .",
        "MOV ... uncovers a multibillion dollar industry relying on misinformation , misrepresentation , and misguided personal opinions about fashion to maintain its beauty salon stronghold .",
        "hair-larious !",
        "the `` girlfriend , ya got ta see this movie ! '' of the year for an entertaining and provocative tour of some of the permutations of african-american women with their hair .",
        "MOV stands as an informative and entertaining documentary , and one that 's pulled off with no small measure of style .",
        "educates more than it entertains , even though there 's plenty of colorful subjects -lrb- chris -rrb- rock could have gently lampooned .",
        "provocative and funny at the same time ... a window into a world most white people -lrb- or most people in general -rrb- know nothing about , one that is not quite what it seems to be .",
        "part of the fun here is the way our narrator gets at complicated questions in his characteristically glib way . ... -lsb- but -rsb- real answers will have to be teased out elsewhere . MOV is n't selling anything but a good time .",
        "MOV is certainly no arid anthropological study . rock 's queries are loose and quippy , but his instincts are as sharp as an investigative journalist 's .",
        "superficial doc .",
        "some of this , a lot of this , is preaching to the choir . but it 's still pretty compelling no matter what perspective you 're coming from .",
        "scattered as it sometimes seems , MOV is a real eye-opener ...",
        "should be seen by everyone , especially mothers and daughters , to remind us that all hair is MOV and that beauty is more about how we feel than how we look .",
        "though its production values are on the low side and it flounders a little as it bounces from hollywood to india , overall it 's a fascinating , energetic and enlightening film that 'll ensure you 'll never look at hair the same way again .",
        "rock imparts a comical look at the desire to keep the natural state of black hair a distant memory . funny stuff , though a few nuggets of information he stumbles upon introduce a semi-horror film element to the documentary .",
        "MOV is a film that will make your head itch to know more .",
        "chris rock 's deeply funny and very serious documentary about the african-american obsession with straightened tresses .",
        "-lsb- rock -rsb- conveys a lot of information , but also some unfortunate opinions and misleading facts . that does n't mean the movie is n't warm , funny and entertaining .",
        "funny , fascinating docu explores african-american culture .",
        "a wonderfully insightful and entertaining , yet remarkably serious , documentary about african american hair culture .",
        "an amusing , poignant and surprisingly candid look at the topic with a disarming rock coaxing answers and opinions from an eclectic cross section of african americans .",
        "in chronicling the permutations of black hair , the filmmaker ends up making a breezy statement on the universality of narcissism .",
        "... a surprisingly in-depth documentary in which a niche subject - black women 's hair - turns out to touch upon all type of societal issues from self-esteem and ideals of beauty to economics to sexual intimacy .",
        "quite brilliantly , rock skillfully peeled back archaic layers , opening up a dialogue that could 've been volatile . his natural talent made the doc hilarious and thought-provoking , rising above race and gender .",
        "a generally superb model of how to make a pop documentary",
        "a funny , head-scratching doc with a few loose ends .",
        "rock takes his MOV job as a documentarian seriously enough to be interesting , but not so seriously that the film groans with earnestness .",
        "it 's funny , clever and marginally educational . you can tell your friends you went to a documentary without having felt as if you saw one .",
        "whatever rock 's impetus for exploring the wallet-busting , day-consuming , sometimes chemically dangerous desire of black women to achieve european hair , he 's never wanting for laughter .",
        "it 's rich food for thought , though you wonder why little attention is given to the idea that perhaps some women relax their hair because it 's easier to style that way , or that elaborate attention to hair is hardly exclusive to black women .",
        "in the end , all we 're sure of is that vanity makes people do idiotic things .",
        "hair is personal . it 's also political .",
        "rock sheds new light on this old story through a poignant mix of interviews , investigation and his trademark satire .",
        "... subject is interesting , -lsb- the -rsb- treatment is entertaining , and the movie has thoughtful things to say ...",
        "`` MOV '' rocks ! one of the year 's best documentaries .",
        "the result is a pop documentary in the morgan spurlock mode , cheeky and smart without being too serious .",
        "a stylishly-edited , often amusing and funny documentary that 's too euphemistic and poorly synthesized to be truly enlightening or revelatory .",
        "rock 's impressive multitasking pays off in a lively and entertaining documentary about the styling conventions , beauty-product companies and flamboyant hairdressers that make up african-american hair culture .",
        "morgan spurlock , look lively . sacha baron cohen , watch your back . chris rock 's bright , wisecracking expos\u0103 -lrb- c -rrb- MOV is the mane event .",
        "if you arrive at MOV never having thought about the complexities of black hair , bring a notebook . if you are a black woman wearing a weave , bring a tissue .",
        "it 's more tv special material that theatrical release . but thanks to rock 's laid-back humour , MOV is also good entertainment .",
        "... an amiable and mostly funny spotlight on a part of black culture ...",
        "mr. rock and mr. stilson do n't beat you up with a tiresome polemic a-la michael moore . never does he put himself at the center of the film , condescend to the audience , or insult his interview subjects regardless of their views ...",
        "parental content review",
        "who would have thought that chris rock would make one of the best documentaries of 2009 ?",
        "the film succeeds as a vehicle for rock 's personality .",
        "chris rock hosts this exploration into hair issues in the african-american community , talking to celebrities , experts and hairdressers . what 's surprising is that this is such a big issue , although the film is n't much more than entertaining fluff .",
        "all christopher guest-allusions aside , this is a crucial documentary about race and gender today .",
        "though rock 's affable nature and probing comic instincts ensure the tone is always light and jocular , his discoveries are sometimes jaw-dropping ...",
        "it 's an eye-opener , if a blatantly chauvinistic one : rock 's main beefs seem to be that men have to pay for it , and upkeep of such a coveted accessory is a barrier to intimacy in the bedroom .",
        "it 's just about sharp and funny enough to make you wish it was a bit sharper and funnier .",
        "this entertaining exploration of black hair issues will get your dander up .",
        "despite dozens of interviews and rock 's personal agenda , this is n't the hard-hitting expose it should have been .",
        "rock fronts this informative rummage through the $ 9 billion us black hair industry in a style much like his stand-up comedy : hilarious , insightful and charming enough to let him get away with the flammable stuff .",
        "i 've never been much of a chris rock fan , but i was riveted by the on-screen interviews he conducts with celebrities like nia long and al sharpton , as well as regular folk , to explore african-american women 's very complicated relationship with their hair .",
        "rock is our quick-witted empathetic guide in the film about black women 's hair , a topic you might think would be of interest only to black women . you 'd be wrong .",
        "spirited , probing and frequently hilarious , it coasts on the fearless charm of its front man and the eye-opening candor of its interviewees .",
        "this movie just does take what seems like a kind of a superficial topic and really does go into it with great depth .",
        "rock and his director jeff stilson have clearly touched a nerve that was ready to blow ."
    ],
    "summary": "funny , informative , and occasionally sad , MOV is a provocative look at the complex relationship between african americans and their hair .",
    "id": "770802637"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hidalgo",
    "reviews": [
        "every time someone opens his or her mouth , out comes something asinine .",
        "it 's a bit of an oddball story , but surely there was a less plodding way to elaborate on it .",
        "delivers great-looking people and animals and action to stir your most youthful blood .",
        "it 's not as if we have n't seen movies like MOV before -- the cowboy , the horse , the hat -- and yet there 's something fresh about it all the same .",
        "although MOV is frequently exciting and has been handsomely produced on a grand scale , you ca n't help but wonder what either spielberg or cameron could have done with this material .",
        "a rousing popcorn adventure , old-fashioned and rather innocent .",
        "it 's an extremely handsome movie , and it has an abiding love of horses .",
        "`` MOV '' is a barely entertaining movie ; what it does best is prove that viggo mortensen has legs",
        "suffers from weird shifts in tone , offensively outdated stereotypes , a cumbersome subplot -- and a supposedly fact-based story that bears only a nodding acquaintance with reality .",
        "it 's a flaccid affair , a movie that could stand to lose about 30 minutes right off the top .",
        "MOV 's often-sweeping vistas of a foreign land commingle with the beauty of its star , viggo mortensen , to deliver an interesting , multi-genre yarn .",
        "total cheese .",
        "if you 're in the right mood , this can be diverting , partly because viggo mortensen is ideally cast as MOV 's owner .",
        "falls far short of the epic grandeur to which it so obviously aspires because it ca n't shut up .",
        "opulent , overlong and uneven .",
        "too hokey and predictable .",
        "feels like an old-fashioned western , but not in a good way .",
        "the touches of shocking physicality impart a genuine sense of consequence to a potentially trivial horse opera .",
        "this primitively plotted family action adventure is one of the few movies that seem to be making up their plots as they go along .",
        "... will probably be good for the kiddos who see that there 's a ` horsey ' movie playing at the cineplex , but for any adults wanting a sweeping epic , look elsewhere .",
        "the action is often gorgeous , but the screenplay is a collection of clich\u00e9s , and mortensen 's performance hits one note at the beginning and stays with it for the whole movie .",
        "all the characters ... are either saints or devils , with no attempt to explain why any of them behave the way they do .",
        "a big , beautiful film that 's thoroughly enjoyable even if it never tries to be meaningful .",
        "an exciting , colorful and very appealing movie .",
        "slow , plodding and arduous , though spiked with occasional hiccups of excitement .",
        "it is pure popcorn fun , whether there is a grain of truth in the story , or if it is merely an entertaining western tall tale .",
        "an entertaining western adventure that radiates simplicity .",
        "it 's a widescreen saturday matinee movie gloriously resurrected .",
        "the picture plays out with the robust character of the old flash gordon movies .",
        "the stereotypes and blatant propaganda would n't irritate so much if the action itself was n't so relentlessly dreary -- a desert of imagination , parched of original ideas .",
        "an adventure that never met a cliche it could n't saddle , mount and ride for a butt-numbing two hours and sixteen minutes .",
        "completely lacks the nobility , statue , and credibility due such an amazing story , even if it is an old man 's folly .",
        "certainly has its problems , but they 're outweighed by the simple pleasures of a picture that takes its cue equally from old-fashioned adventures like gunga din and newfangled ones like the mummy .",
        "fans of viggo mortensen 's performance as aragorn in the lord of the rings will find at least one thing to like about MOV : the movie 's a veritable viggo-a-go-go .",
        "like last year 's seabiscuit , the movie spends too much time harping on ancillary bustle , and not enough watching the title character put his hoofs to work .",
        "an entertaining but far-short - of-epic popcorn romp that 's equal parts indiana jones and the last samurai .",
        "dances with seabiscuit of arabia ... of the rings",
        "mortensen attempts to channel the ghost of clint eastwood westerns past .",
        "a thrilling race with cartoon contestants .",
        "the hero feels old poop to find out how far behind he is . he steals water from evil military guys , but ... the sandstorm turns his water to mud.these are all intriguing elements .",
        "a rousing if occasionally overwrought adventure saga that plays like a cinematic buffet table , piled high with seabiscuit , bite the bullet , lawrence of arabia , the last samurai and the black stallion .",
        "the events of hildago are so far-fetched you wonder why the filmmakers maintain the pretense this story was based on fact .",
        "an intermittently savory stew of pecos bill , laurence of arabia , and spirit : stallion of the cimarron .",
        "one horse movie that 's just lame . and that 's straight from the horse 's mouth .",
        "there is a lot for the eyes , but not enough for the heart .",
        "hokey though it is , with a horse-hugger ending thrown in to boot , MOV has a sweet-natured appeal that welcomes sentiment without overdoing it .",
        "as sheer popcorn-munching fun , it 's an often-rousing action-adventure that confirms mortensen as a star .",
        "MOV could have been a real eye-roller in the hands of a director of less sincerity and dexterity , but in johnston 's hands it 's crowd-pleasing gold .",
        "mortensen does an exquisite job of revealing just enough of the bottled-up angst to make us aware of the internal turmoil his character battles .",
        "... why were n't the disney folks content simply to tell a good story ? could it have been because they knew they did n't have a very good story ?",
        "the film 's most harrowing scenes are predictable and utterly unoriginal .",
        "... the movie is best when mortensen keeps it on the level of a genial , saturday-afternoon serial .",
        "the event around which the movie revolves is a desert mirage , since there is no record of any such race ever being staged . nonetheless , those able to ignore this outrageous historical distortion might enjoy this triumph of an underdog aganst the odds .",
        "even if the story were true , the film 's events have been fictionalized beyond belief .",
        "whether or not the events depicted really happened to hopkins , it 's still a damn fun story .",
        "formulaic , overly simple , too violent for tweens .",
        "fitfully entertaining hokum as long as it is n't taken too seriously ... remarkably , disney does n't whitewash the more politically incorrect elements of hopkins ' tale .",
        "this is grand cowboy fun , a wild adventure with a glorious sense of excitement and wonder .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- so careful about being inoffensive that it never has the guts to suggest much of anything except ` be nice to others and especially to horses . '",
        "will MOV survive the brutal desert to demand more creative control over his next film ?",
        "starts like last samurai , looks like mummy , and ends a la seabiscuit ; gorgeous-looking hokey horsey drama high on ambition but low on plausibility despite its true-life tale .",
        "far too tolerant of cliches and too seduced by its own special effects and battle scenes .",
        "a horse is a horse , but MOV is a legend . the movie almost lives up to his name . it 's just too much of the same thing , it becomes a test of endurance for the audience .",
        "an old fashioned grade b action pic at heart , MOV tries too hard to be an important epic .",
        "a popcorn movie of unexpected depth and a rare blockbuster that wo n't cause much eye-rolling when it does cash in .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- s grand as old hollywood and as fun and as breathtaking and as touching as anything you 'll see at the movies today ...",
        "MOV is like the desert itself -- long stretches of boredom occasionally interrupted by brief oases of frenzied activity .",
        "like frankenstein 's monster , stitched together from parts of so many great movies that director joe johnston wishes this overstuffed movie could be .",
        "can viggo mortensen carry a movie the way his trusty steed MOV carries him across the desert ? you betcha , partner .",
        "mortensen ... carries himself like gary cooper here , radiating earthy charm and easy humor , as well as a quiet determination .",
        "so long as he 's on the horse the movie works , but whenever he dismounts so does the story .",
        "long on adventure and short on logic , but kudos must be given to the filmmakers for making a horse movie that really celebrates the horse .",
        "never quite settles into its paces .",
        "MOV is the sort of old-fashioned popcorn entertainment that has become increasingly rare on the current movie scene .",
        "bogs down in its midsection with a needless kidnapping subplot that ultimately becomes quite tedious .",
        "a fun/schmaltzy action adventure disney flick .",
        "it 's hard these days to associate viggo mortensen with words like ` adequate , ' ` competent , ' or ` workmanlike . '",
        "why am i so surprised that a movie about a grueling endurance race takes so long to reach its own finish line ?",
        "a facile tall tale of race and a race made by disney in decline .",
        "leave it to hollywood to turn an amazing true story about courage and self-redemption into a shameless action extravaganza .",
        "popcorn for us and oats for the horses , delivered by the tall drink of water that is mortensen .",
        "chose certaine , apr\u010ds le film , vous aurez aussi l'impression d'avoir parcouru chacun ... des ... 3000 ... p\u00e9nibles ... miles de cette suppos\u00e9 course ...",
        "viggo mortensen nails the archetypal cowboy .",
        "mortensen 's charisma ca n't tame MOV 's runaway plot",
        "this is the film seabiscuit should have been .",
        "a hybrid of both traditional and revisionist contradictions .",
        "the visual effects are almost seamlessly integrated and very effective , especially in the claustrophobic brutality of the dust storm sequence . it 's brief , but terrifying .",
        "... filled with cliches .",
        "rarely has a horse race movie been so lethargic .",
        "MOV '' only stumbles when it tries to be something its not -lrb- an indiana jones type of action film -rrb- .",
        "it 's a manqu\u00e9 of a rousing adventure tale and not the real thing . you 're constantly aware of the gulf between how the movie wants to excite you and the halfhearted execution .",
        "it could have been a good adventure story . disney should have stuck to hopkins 's story whether it was true or not .",
        "horses ca n't act .",
        "sidesteps most of the pitfalls of the genre while delivering thrilling action , vivid characters and a memorable story .",
        "the screen language of MOV invites nostalgia for adventure films without satisfying it .",
        "at its most effective when it distills everything down to the love story between a man and his horse",
        "entertaining , although it suffers from uneven pacing , one tangential and overlong plot development near the climax , and several mediocre process shots .",
        "memories of movies past trot through MOV , but with all the substance of a mirage ... mortensen plays hopkins , a cross between the marlboro man and indiana jones .",
        "`` MOV '' does n't even come close to `` seabiscuit . ''",
        "you know exactly where the story 's going , and you know exactly what frank 's going to do in any given situation , though i admit he generally does it with panache .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- n spite of the scenic desert vistas , this is a cliche-ridden film about the feisty upstart who beats the establishment .",
        "it 's certainly not an embarrassment to anyone , but it 's the sort of cinema that evaporates from your mind - like a mirage - when you walk out of the theatre .",
        "bogs itself down with overplotting and a languid pace .",
        "one rousing , if rote , adventure .",
        "... for those who do n't mind a bit -- well , more than a bit -- of cheerfully preposterous hokum , MOV offers a rip-snortin ' , sporadically diverting ride .",
        "lawrence this ai n't ; not by a long shot , and certainly not by a dromedary 's nose hair .",
        "limited by one-dimensional , even stereotypical characters and a predictable and drawn-out plot .",
        "mortensen 's charisma makes hopkins ' ` aw-shucks , ma'am ' mannerisms surprisingly palatable , but he 's still in constant danger of losing the spotlight to the personable MOV .",
        "whether it 's true or not has little to do with whether it works as a movie , and overall it does , thanks to mortensen 's slightly hesitant charm ... and some dazzling visual work from director of photography shelley johnson .",
        "... essentially seabiscuit minus the cheering crowds",
        "if you are in the mood for an old-fashioned adventure in exotic locales with magnificent equines and lots of familiar action , then this may be the movie for you .",
        "overwrought , overacted , overlong .",
        "an enjoyable ride , as long as you do n't take it seriously .",
        "capitulates to weak dialogue , poor pacing , and a half-hearted performance from mumbler viggo mortensen , leaving it to be remembered more for a few scenes than as a total film",
        "had it not been pg-13 , this would be classic disney-brand entertainment .",
        "i know seabiscuit . seabiscuit was a friend of mine . MOV is no seabiscuit .",
        "a big old chunk of horse poop .",
        "director joe johnston ... screenwriter john fusco ... and god knows who else have packed it with clumsy endorsements of america 's current adventures in the middle east .",
        "worth seeing just for sharif , too long gone from the screen .",
        "true or supersized to legendary proportions , the story is n't especially well-told , and it 's definitely void of nuance and depth .",
        "bold , exuberant and swashbuckling , it has the purity and simplicity of something douglas fairbanks or errol flynn might have bounded through .",
        "it takes a thoroughbred star like mortensen to make the bond between man and horses believable , and to keep MOV from straying too far into fields of corn .",
        "little more than a subpar rip-off of the indy films with some mild -lsb- david -rsb- lean flavoring .",
        "even considering its derivative nature , MOV offers adventure , exotic locations , magnificent horses , a love story and heroics at every turn and that 's what great matinee-style entertainment is all about .",
        "johnston definitely does justice to the moroccan desert vistas . just remember to bring some cold bottled water .",
        "intermittently entertaining slog .",
        "even when it stretches credibility to the breaking point , MOV is a larger-than-life adventure with a brisk pace and a charismatic star .",
        "an excruciatingly long 133 minute rough-cut with little truth and little meat between the bones",
        "the dunes flow but the narrative lurches in this based-on-fact tale striving for grandeur .",
        "like most movies about men and horses , MOV spares no expense in matters of corniness .",
        "the american western becomes a middle-eastern in this otherwise routine horse opera .",
        "i do n't object to ` MOV ' because it may fudge facts ... i object to it because they are used in the service of a story that is , frankly , quite boring .",
        "there is a fun , scruffy little b movie buried under the expensive packaging , and it surfaces just enough to make MOV a reasonably diverting popcorn event .",
        "a crowd-pleaser .",
        "this is a bigger-than-life , feel-good yarn with just enough dramatic charge to keep it from floating away .",
        "a popcorn film in every way , those who are already struck by mortensen 's charm and good looks will have a hard time saying neigh to MOV .",
        "if i bought tickets at arlington park and made a wager , the last thing i want to see is a jockey leave his mount to go rescue someone 's daughter",
        "if there 's one thing i learned from MOV , it 's that americans are better than arabs .",
        "`` lawrence of arabia '' locations , `` the mummy 's '' sandstorm , a rescue a la `` raiders of the lost ark , '' and a scrappy horse besting bigger thoroughbreds like `` seabiscuit . ''",
        "MOV is an old-fashioned adventure yarn that works well and will appeal to equine lovers ."
    ],
    "summary": "the scenery looks great , but this overstuffed horse story contains too much cheese .",
    "id": "10229"
  },
  {
    "movie": "catwoman",
    "reviews": [
        "here 's a movie that has nothing going for it except good bone structure .",
        "maybe if MOV did n't take itself so seriously , the filmmakers might have been onto something .",
        "benjamin ` box office ebola ' bratt is in this movie . the last time ben was in a star vehicle it was julia roberts ' cadillac escalade .",
        "instead of basking in the considerable charms berry has to offer , the director , pitof ... treats them like accessories to the picture 's flashy , senseless cutting and overused special effects .",
        "overall , the performances of berry and stone are the only things one can sink their claws into here .",
        "utterly devoid of merit , fantastic or otherwise , a more exasperating descent into the feline world is difficult to imagine .",
        "MOV should be a fantasy fest enjoyed by every fetishist and dominatrix in the country .",
        "the worst superhero movie to date .",
        "goes on my ` worst ' list for the year , and quite possibly for all time .",
        "it 's a spiderman ripoff , where commerical artist is bitten by a radioactive ***** ... okay , breathed on by the egyptian cat goddess bescht . same damn thing !",
        "oops ! a costume catastrophe .",
        "this hilarious , sexy , exciting farce is instead so consistently surprising and dazzling that i 'm still not sure if it 's a good-bad movie or a good-good movie .",
        "having self confidence is one thing , but MOV commits burglaries and constantly assaults people , whether they deserve it or not .",
        "the summer that gave us what is arguably the best comic book movie of all time -- spider-man 2 -- has now choked up what is arguably the worst .",
        "much better than it had to be and a lot better than many internet critics , eager to hate it , wanted it to be .",
        "get out the kitty litter .",
        "MOV is dragged down by a paper-thin story , the predictable number of fight scenes executed at equally predictable intervals and stock , unmemorable characters .",
        "an odd , idiosyncratic movie -- dark in look and dark in spirit -- that plays as a kind of pop culture investigation into the meaning of feminism and the options open to women in the modern world .",
        "most respectable comic-book plots rely on a genius scientist gone insane , an alien invader or the like as villainous foil . in MOV , the bad guy is a cosmetics company .",
        "this film is just awful . a kitty cat-aclysm .",
        "this hairball on the soiled rug of the summer blockbuster schedule is gruesome enough to have been ejected from the esophagus of bill the cat ...",
        "watching claws being scraped against a chalkboard apparently is n't any more enjoyable than listening to it .",
        "MOV is almost unbelievably dumb .",
        "halle berry 's MOV is a dog . and no amount of tight black leather outfits , nauseating cgi effects and good-looking actors and actresses is going to change that .",
        "this MOV 's super power is dressing up halle berry in a sexy leather number and still leaving audiences snoozing .",
        "MOV is fully as terrible as you guessed it might be .",
        "MOV is n't really bad enough to be one of those awful movies we ca n't resist , nor is it incompetent enough to be the female daredevil .",
        "this wretched film is nothing but an excuse to show -lsb- halle berry -rsb- wearing that skimpy leather suit .",
        "so bad that i actually recommend you see it . it 's the movie you and your friends will rip on all summer long .",
        "there is nothing redeeming about this film .",
        "widely considered a terrible movie , but if you enjoy the camp genre , it 's a must-see . it is , in fact , camp on a catnip high .",
        "watching -lsb- halle berry -rsb- run around in that getup i felt embarrassed , the way i do for people who put on makeup before climbing a stairmaster -- it 's too much .",
        "-lsb- provides -rsb- a safety net for every person who ever directs a superhero movie for the rest of time : `` well , that completely sucked , but it was no MOV '' .",
        "a soulless amalgamation of quick edits , computer images and swooping , nausea-inducing dolly shots .",
        "from the looks of french director pitof 's poorly realized effort of bringing dc comics ' `` MOV to the big screen , it seems unlikely that a sequel for the feline superhero/villain .",
        "this movie is kitty litter .",
        "if cats , those snootiest of creatures , went to the movies , they would be appalled and mortified . what did they ever do to deserve having their good name and mannerisms dragged through such dingbat fluff as this ?",
        "a flashy but uninvolving batman spin-off -lrb- of sorts -rrb- with halle berry starring andone-named french talent pitof directing .",
        "relentlessly gaudy and in love with its pg-13 approximation of kink , MOV is essentially an excuse to pose berry in ever-skimpier outfits . it 's all too pre-fab to register as sexy , though , and even the fight scenes look like fashion shoots .",
        "another hundred million dollars down the drain .",
        "a dopey , confused production .",
        "swordfish ; gothika ; this howler . best actress winner halle berry is getting dangerously close to exhausting her nine hollywood lives .",
        "most of the movie has the cruddy lighting and generic , death-by-franchise atmosphere of a third-rate spectacle that 's been worked over by too many hacks .",
        "over-the-top and mostly preposterous , MOV just might be the mommie dearest of comic-book-based movies .",
        "a feline rehash of the spider-man origin story , with a whole lot more rump-shaking . -lrb- tomato squeaks by as edible . -rrb-",
        "this cat does n't purr .",
        "this plodding , by-the-numbers superhero flick has all the feline grace of a walleyed mastiff .",
        "feels as if it 's been pieced together from a dozen or so ally mcbeal parodies posing as hip-hop videos .",
        "it is just , for the most part , another run-of-the-mill craptacular destined to be forgotten in a couple of weeks ...",
        "another phony story of female empowerment .",
        "so much talent wasted . so much money squandered . so much opportunity missed .",
        "after gothika and now her turn in this MOV , it seems like berry 's career may be headed toward the litter box .",
        "the screenplay is flat and predictable , and bad dialogue prevails .",
        "plays like a lifetime movie on estrogen overdose , barely held together by a script that should have been tossed out with the kitty litter .",
        "as for the story , which details how meek , gentle patience philips -lrb- berry -rrb- came to be MOV , met a sexy detective -lrb- benjamin bratt -rrb- and defeated a skin cream empire , it goes down -lrb- and comes back up -rrb- like a hairball .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- laughable disaster .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- sloppy , dull , brain-dead waste of a movie .",
        "MOV mixes its messages , but it mixes them with style .",
        "the film drags at 91 minutes , filled with dead air that should be crackling with pulp energy .",
        "they had me at the random basketball scene .",
        "eww , it smells like cats in here . not that i do n't love cats , but i do n't want my supposed-to-be sleek and stylish comic-book movies reeking like that .",
        "if you 're a drag queen and loved `` showgirls , '' your newest source of inspiration has arrived . everyone else : skip it !",
        "MOV has nothing on its mind but random movement and the airing of every lipstick shade from revlon 's fall collection",
        "the latest comic book adaptation is marred by contrived plotting , self-indulgent direction , a campy vibe and a weak villain .",
        "the movie is deadening because it 's visually and aurally overdone in a lazy , scattershot manner .",
        "-lsb- the early -rsb- segments of the film are deadly dull , but once berry suits up , the movie enters mst3k territory and never looks back .",
        "when is a cat a dog ? when it 's MOV .",
        "the kind of movie that almost guarantees the loss of a few i.q. points .",
        "i 'd rather change a dirty litter box than think about this movie anymore .",
        "what 's not to love about a gal with a whip , stilettos , and sharp rhinestone claws ? guilty pleasure be thy name !",
        "it 's not nearly as awful as batman & robin , but it 's worse off than , say , steel . so you can see we 're in a fairly terrible area here .",
        "los fans del personaje se tendr\u00e1n que enfrentar -lrb- duramente -rrb- al hecho de que se trata de una versi\u00f3n - muy - libre que la aleja del todo de batman .",
        "the haphazardly cut-together action scenes have been ` enhanced ' with laughably bad digital effects ; you could find screen savers with better animation .",
        "tired and dated .",
        "law & order : feline investigations unit .",
        "yes , this is a movie about killer cosmetics . once you stop laughing at that , there 's much more nonsense to endure .",
        "when you have berry in a MOV costume and stone in a catsuit , and you ca n't even stage a decent catfight , why make a MOV movie at all ?",
        "if you like `` van helsing '' and `` the punisher , '' then you 'll enjoy this . MOV is worth seeing for its camp value and is better than it has any right to be .",
        "every odorous frame before and after -lsb- the ` outfit ' -rsb- can be safely consigned to the litter box .",
        "... makes me long for the quiet dignity of arnold schwarzenegger 's performance in ` batman and robin . '",
        "french director pitof exhibits an approach to filmmaking as one-dimensional and pretentious as his own name .",
        "hate is a strong word , but nowhere near fierce enough to describe the ear-steaming loathing MOV deserves .",
        "MOV does n't belong on the big screen . it belongs in the litter box or to be scraped off the bottom of our shoes as we head quickly for another theater .",
        "the complete absence of a distinct visual style robs MOV of its imagination and wonder . it looks and feels utterly flat , which is the kiss of death in this genre",
        "MOV is not necessarily the year 's worst movie , but it is 2004 's most pathetic .",
        "not beautifully bad so much as just plain terrible .",
        "this flick is so giglicious ... i laughed so much i almost forgave pitof for being in heat and spraying this cinematic violation all over dc 's trademark vixen",
        "-lsb- berry -rsb- is giving a performance much too earnest to have been intentionally campy , setting herself up as a veritable shoo-in for this year 's ` worst actress ' razzie . me-ouch !",
        "overtly bad -lrb- and unintentionally funny -rrb- enough to become a camp classic .",
        "me-ouch ! this is going to hurt halle berry 's reputation as a serious actress .",
        "an adolescent fantasy run amok that owes more to drummer peter criss than to julie newmar .",
        "this is barely a film -- it 's more like a music video-slash - tv-commercial - slash-computer game .",
        "halle is berry , berry sexy even if the script is less than purr-fect",
        "not even the sight of halle berry brandishing a whip while wearing a barely-there black leather catsuit is enough to excuse this campy exercise in bad filmmaking .",
        "cheesy special effects , under drawn characters , simplistic writing -lrb- by a committee of scribes -rrb- and music video direction will likely draw the attention-deficit crowd",
        "those looking for anything approximating a storyline along with their jigglefest will just have to keep dreaming .",
        "any way you look at it , MOV disappoints .",
        "this movie is not dark enough , campy enough or smart enough to succeed on any level .",
        "the showgirls of superhero movies .",
        "cartoonish effects and overacting make this more corn than catnip .",
        "there is n't an original bone in its body , but that is n't even the problem : no one in the production had any idea how to rip off better films with any degree of competence .",
        "MOV is destined not for a mystery science theater 3000 fate but for immortality as one of the subtlest , most thorough parodies i 've ever seen .",
        "halle berry is doing herself no favours with a screenplay so routine it seems to be trying to go unnoticed .",
        "MOV looks and feels like something culled together by a committee of greedy and inexperienced first-time producers . and horny 14-year-olds .",
        "you got ta be kidding me .",
        "exactly as awful as it was rumored to be .",
        "a milking of the mediocre but after this fall from grace , berry 's got eight career leaps to go .",
        "a thriller you would n't inflict on a laboratory rat .",
        "a profusion of typical comic book storyline clich\u00e9s we have all seen a thousand times before in other films .",
        "halle berry parece estar numa daquelas aulas de teatro em que o professor insiste para que os alunos finjam ser \u00e1rvores , nuvens ou bicicletas ergom\u00e9tricas .",
        "gratuitous action , ill-defined characters , goofy plot . and moments when it 's great fun .",
        "badly directed , horribly scripted , dismal mess of a film that is every bit as bad as you 've heard . poor , poor halle berry .",
        "this is only worth seeing if you can handle shallow characters and dull , plastic action scenes for the sake of unintentional laughs .",
        "for about 40 minutes MOV is campy , trashy and fun . then it 's just trash : dull and depressingly empty .",
        "... does n't quite cut it as the escapist comic caper ... this tepid and tired movie has all the appeal of a box of stale tender vittles",
        "if one good thing can come out of this film , it 's that this should provide an everlasting blueprint for what not to do with a comic book film .",
        "big-budget cheesiness built around the idea of getting halle berry into a sexy outfit",
        "you 'd never know berry is an oscar-winning actress -- her performance as patience is downright amateurish .",
        "seems destined to join showgirls and its ilk as a fast-starting and even faster-fading theatrical release that could enjoy an afterlife as a midnight movie and video/dvd item where viewers supply alternate dialogue .",
        "the movie suffers from the opposite of a syndrome affecting most comic-book spin-offs .",
        "the result may appeal to berry 's fans but is MOV in name only .",
        "the stench of the litter pan is all over this big-screen $ 90 million disaster-in-waiting .",
        "if things begin to go south for the actress careerwise , berry can use MOV as an audition reel to land a part in a road company of cats .",
        "MOV is stillborn in this resurrection , no matter how sweet the berry .",
        "a sloppy , schlocky piece of work .",
        "not everybody will be able to swallow its heady romanticism , yet its french director , pitof , has brought sophistication to a comic book sensibility .",
        "i 've never cared much for cats anyway , but this clinches it . next time i see one , i 'm going to kick it into the river .",
        "MOV meows , purrs , and hisses , but mostly just sucks .",
        "french visual-fx expert pitof directs , so the overuse of cgi is understandable , though even that ca n't conceal the insipid plot or berry 's ham-fisted performance .",
        "... a monumental waste of your time to see .",
        "so much emphasis is put on style and coolness that good , honest storytelling goes down the drain .",
        "if movies were kitty litter , MOV would be the kind that does n't absorb very well and fails to clump . and it would be stinky . really , really stinky .",
        "as i said , i know most people do n't like this flick , but i think it is worth at least catching the matinee .",
        "touches on feminist ideals that are all but contradicted by a pair of skimpy leather pants .",
        "obviously , no one involved in this disaster cares anything at all about MOV .",
        "another story of female empowerment written and directed by guys who think `` empowerment '' gives a woman the courage to shop from a fetish catalogue .",
        "it 's really painful to watch .",
        "dump it off at the dumb friends league",
        "it 's painful .",
        "its over-edited style smacks of panic , the cgi cat woman is plainly not real , and the broadside it fires at the beauty industry is only limp at best .",
        "MOV is worse than bad -- it 's boring . so boring it 's not even laughable .",
        "bereft of excitement and with action scenes similar to those we 've seen a dozen times before , this is a very poor effort indeed .",
        "not as over-the-top as you might hope , but also not as bad . daft and moderately entertaining .",
        "halle berry is a lovely woman with charisma to burn and definite acting ability -- but even the best actors sometimes need to be told when they 're making fools of themselves .",
        "a lumpy , unexciting mel\u00e9e , as satisfying as a bowl of sour milk .",
        "poor special effects -lrb- with weak echoes of better superhero outings such as spider-man -rrb- and an uneven central performance contribute to what was one of the flop blockbusters of 2004 .",
        "MOV 's director , a visual-effects specialist named pitof , is not contained by the rules of filmmaking . scenes that make sense ? nonsense . characters with inner lives ? utterly passe .",
        "the screenplay 's a hodgepodge of witchcraft , ancient egyptian lore , pulp feminism , and a dash of s&m .",
        "spayed and declawed update of the oft-told dc comics tale .",
        "halle just hacked a hairball all over the summer boxoffice . and it ai n't pretty .",
        "berry , bodacious bod on constant display in a variety of odd contortions , moves as though she were choreographed by a low-rent version of bob fosse",
        "worst of all is how it never defines MOV - is she fighting for good and balancing that with cattish outbursts of bad , or just looking for an open can of tuna ?",
        "despite its feline pretensions , MOV belongs to another animal family -- it 's either a dog or a turkey . take your pick .",
        "a cynical and taxing trip through a thoroughly artificial world of obnoxious action , empowerment cliches , r&b cross-marketing and teeth-gnashing asides .",
        "pure catnip for people who are partial to campy , stylish chick-flicks ...",
        "entertaining , if not the cat 's meow .",
        "directed by a frenchman with the single , not uncatlike name of pitof , MOV is a howlingly silly , moderately diverting exercise in high , pointless style .",
        "she can do everything a spider-man can , but worse . much , much , much , much worse .",
        "i 'm pretty sure an actual cat could have made a better film .",
        "if you 're going to junk the character , then why not just flip through a dictionary and pick a new animal altogether -- say , aardvarkwoman , or buffalogal ?",
        "you 're left with flashes of mis-spent promise : the feline mysticism ; the cosmetics-industry intrigue ; the idea of electrocuting lambert wilson 's unctious corporate cad .",
        "one life down , eight to go .",
        "hide this MOV on a hot tin roof -- or anywhere else no one is likely to see it .",
        "rated nfd -lrb- not for the discerning -rrb- .",
        "where is batman when you really need him ?",
        "an almost unmitigated disaster , this major studio production with a major star in the lead -lrb- the oscar-winning halle berry -rrb- comes across like a direct-to-video production , complete with ultra lame computer-generated effects and clueless direction ...",
        "an avalanche of de-clawed idiocy .",
        "` claro ejemplo de la forma en que no se debe gastar el dinero en caprichos de productores a los que les importa un comino la inteligencia de la audiencia '",
        "it 's bad enough that not only are careers over , but somebody should be slapped .",
        "... a repeat viewing of spider-man 2 would undoubtedly be a better idea ...",
        "MOV is not destined to have nine lives .",
        "putting halle berry in a tight leather suit is a good idea . the rest of the movie is not .",
        "less like a comic-book movie than a feature-length s&m video ... let 's just hope warner bros. gets this feline spayed to prevent a sequel .",
        "MOV has all the appeal of a hairball .",
        "wildly entertaining -- but for all the wrong reasons .",
        "campy , smart-and-dumb fun .",
        "a purr-fectly ridiculous and boring cat-astrophe .",
        "a movie needs more than a few sexual innuendos and throaty purrs to keep us from taking a catnap .",
        "it 's not even campy enough for a good laugh .",
        "the cinematic equivalent of a cat box .",
        "i was pleasantly surprised with this new outing for halle berry .",
        "if halle berry keeps this up , she 's going to have to give that oscar back .",
        "a clawless cross-breed of comic book movie cliches .",
        "she stands on ledges , peering at all the buildings , or at the moon ... she might be hoping one of those places holds a better script .",
        "the story is n't bad , but the script -lrb- for which three people get credit , john brancato & michael ferris and john rogers , always a bad sign -rrb- is occasionally bromidic .",
        "if ` the star has a great rack ! ' is the best one can say for a movie , it better be a porno .",
        "tries to be funny , tries to be s&m . directed by a guy called pitof . me-owwww !",
        "silly but not-nearly-campy-enough .",
        "no other MOV has looked so good in a cat suit . beyond that , the whole affair is pretty dumb , even by the goofy standards of superhero flicks .",
        "the least i was hoping for was something so bad it would entertain me on a whole different level . i was disappointed on both accounts .",
        "the main question to ask is why did we need this project ?",
        "arguably the worst superhero film ever made .",
        "the cosmetics at the plot 's centre do at least serve as a convenient metaphor for everything which is wrong with this shallow , superficial film .",
        "and what would the film be without its performances ? better ."
    ],
    "summary": "halle berry is the lone bright spot , but even she ca n't save this laughable action thriller .",
    "id": "10994"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ne_le_dis_a_personne",
    "reviews": [
        "slick , deliciously complex murder mystery .",
        "it feels like an american movie , dubbed in french ... or perhaps , better put , it feels like a bunch of french people trying to act like americans .",
        "a french thriller that teases the intellect , shocks the senses and is sometimes simply too suspenseful for comfort .",
        "these classy people are put to the trashiest ends , and , for the most part , it 's a pleasure to see them rooting around in the garbage .",
        "tell no one is a classic modern-hollywood thriller , a movie with a layered murder mystery , a frame-up , gangsters , conspiracies and one dazzling chase .",
        "tell no one feels like a novel , rich with character and incident , unafraid to demand attention from its audience while unspooling a twisting , suspenseful story .",
        "actually too clever by half , but also so skillfully played that it carries you breathlessly along for the duration .",
        "cluzet 's brooding performance propels the movie , and writer-director guillaume canet ... skillfully orchestrates the cascading revelations .",
        "a man wakes from unconsciousness to find his wife dead and himself the center of suspicion as strange forces and deadly assassins close in from all sides . so many twists and turns it would hard to encapsulate spoilers for this one .",
        "if hollywood has all but given up on making clever genre exercises for adults , let 's be grateful that a few filmmakers from across the pond have n't",
        "tell no one is an intricate puzzle for a summer evening ; a thriller with a rare touch of bittersweet romance .",
        "for all of its insanity of supposition , familial discord and the often-explored theme of the corrupt nature of the rich , tell no one is something rare and original .",
        "a story of upended love with a mystery that exerts its power till the very end .",
        "canny , refreshingly emotional and intuitive thriller .",
        "the story becomes so convoluted and contrived -lrb- pursued by police , alex just happens to run into a patient 's father , who owes the doctor a big favor -rrb- that much of the tension dissipates .",
        "`` more twists than a barrel of pretzels '' ? take that barrel and put it through the zigzag of a taffy-pulling machine and those results might be able to straighten out the labyrinth of circumstances in tell no one .",
        "i think it 's one of the best movies of the year .",
        "a thriller with no missteps .",
        "tell no one maintains a rewarding balance of genuine emotion and high-tension entertainment . see it and tell everyone .",
        "tell no one darts its way past all the improbabilities and clich\u0103 -lrb- c -rrb- s that weigh down most mysteries , shooting toward a conclusion that 's both endearingly old-fashioned and satisfying .",
        "blending the hard-boiled and the innocent with a sly dexterity , this is a riveting piece of filmmaking that never relies on the obvious or the clich\u00e9",
        "an over-plotted , 2 hour crime caper offering those blessed with patience a denouement well worth the wait .",
        "thriller , love story , whodunit ; an unwieldy trio made whole by an up-and-coming mastermind .",
        "i have n't enjoyed so much pleasurably intrigue-laden suspense in ages , and it is charismatically acted , too .",
        "under the direction of guillaume canet , who adapted harlan coben 's english-language best seller with philippe lefebvre , this is a splendid ensemble doing its level best to keep the audience guessing all the way through an increasingly knotty narrative .",
        "a terrific mystery , equal parts haunting love story and nimble thriller .",
        "there will be times you think it 's too perplexing , when you 're sure you 're witnessing loose ends . it has been devised that way , and the director knows what he 's doing . even when it 's baffling , it 's never boring .",
        "the sometimes confused story % u2013 with so many players , a who 's who checklist is needed to keep things clear % u2013 is aided with the oft-thrilling chases that punctuate the film .",
        "now that i have let it settle in my head for a few days , i have come to sort of embrace it after all , not despite the lunacy of its plot but because of it .",
        "it attempts no improvements on the basic suspense formula . it just does everything really well : perfect pacing , lovely camera work , spot-on acting and an ingenious plot .",
        "hardly anyone can make good old american suspense thriller like the french .",
        "a sharp , efficient package .",
        "although it might make your head spin , this case of vertigo in cyberspace keeps us spellbound .",
        "canet has a good feeling for lowlife atmosphere and he works up a few fine hitchcockian twirls .",
        "by and large , tell no one is more interested in telling a knotty story than pondering its meaning , but in those rare deeper moments , canet evokes how a tragedy can gather around a man and linger there , like a cloud of gnats .",
        "easily one of the best films of the year .",
        "initially complex , the piece 's grip loosens with the introduction of a transparent villain , but it remains an entertaining thriller bolstered by cluzet 's appropriately angst-driven performance .",
        "tell no one has shades of hitchcock 's vertigo -- and not to its detriment . -lsb- an -rsb- extremely gripping and fascinating suspense film .",
        "canet has covered his bases with enough swooping camerawork , narrative smoke-and-mirrors , and quick-sketched supporting characters for a dozen thrillers",
        "this twisty yarn is meant to leave you as discombobulated as its hero , an innocent man on the run from cops , thugs and killers . hitchcock would have liked seeing him squirm .",
        "while it 's hardly a great film , tell no one is the rare convoluted thriller that actually makes you want to keep up with its far-fetched twists and turns .",
        "until an exposition flood so mammoth it has cresting waves , `` tell no one '' is as eloquent as it is intricate - a superior depiction of crime , corruption , shame and secrecy . a french-language `` fugitive '' with wind-sprint intensity and immediacy .",
        "this superbly acted and directed french thriller is eerie and suspenseful . but it 's convoluted , complicated storytelling with an abrupt , anti-climactic resolution .",
        "this twisty thriller nicely avoids hollywood formulae , keeping us gripped to the complicated story and characters",
        "among the movie\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s many delights are the fluctuating rhythms of its pacing , an atmospheric volatility that sets off the doctor\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s blooming paranoia against his sunlit , leafy surroundings , and a terrific cast .",
        "hot-blooded , haunting and packed with the pleasures of the unexpected .",
        "a crackerjack thriller . a stylish and riveting nail-biter that holds us in its spell from start to finish .",
        "the film delivers the requisite twists and turns , along with car chases , gun fights and soup\u00e7on of thug life , paris style .",
        "guillaume canet 's delicious contemporary thriller tell no one is vertigo meets the fugitive by way of the big sleep . that is meant as high praise .",
        "all the clues make sense when pieced together -- but only on the surface .",
        "a classy and sophisticated french murder mystery that is well-acted .",
        "tell everyone about tell no one . not just because this is a top-notch thriller so twisty you may forget to breathe , but because for a long time it looked like you would n't be able to tell anyone at all .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he best movie i 've seen this year .",
        "overpacked ... technically proficient and will be sure to delight mystery fans , but despite cluzet 's centering performance , the film moves too fast to engage with the lives at stake .",
        "hitchcock 's `` wrong man '' scenario gets an invigorating french update in tell no one , a long-winded but gripping thriller based on american author harlan coben 's bestseller .",
        "you 'll leave wondering why hollywood ca n't seem to make a romantic thriller so simply satisfying .",
        "thrillers are n't always so thrilling , but tell no one is -- and absorbing , sometimes perplexing and often stirring as well .",
        "never comes to grips with its standard-issue plot mechanics , delivering neither the icy thriller that its cool detachment edges towards , nor the pulse-quickening potboiler that its story would seem to demand .",
        "this hollywood-level suspense thriller never goes where you expect it to go , but often gets bogged down in over-exposition as the plot thickens ... and thicken ... and thickens ...",
        "even when tell no one 's story gets a bit too convoluted for its own good , the cinematography , the acting and especially the action will keep you glued to the screen .",
        "this smash-hit french thriller starts slowly -- and builds into a sharp action flick , though an overload of plot twists threatens to bog things down midway through .",
        "we know the material is artificially -- even deviously -- constructed , and we enjoy being manipulated by people who know what they 're doing . but it 's cluzet 's intense performance that makes this genre piece a heart-wrenching experience .",
        "an intricate , intelligent , and very watchable thriller .",
        "in short , tell no one is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller with a cracking plot , superb performances and exciting action sequences . how come hollywood ca n't make thrillers this good anymore ? highly recommended .",
        "... a superb and entertaining thriller .",
        "... a top-drawer thriller ...",
        "a gem of a thriller , the best film i 've seen this year , by far .",
        "a delicious outpouring of upper-crust malevolence , hovering cynicism and ever-deepening ambivalence that zigzags dizzyingly among its many characters , locations and plot turns .",
        "an ingenious puzzle driven by the need to recover the central emotional connection of one 's life . the author and the auteur captivate the mind with a firm grip on that theme .",
        "thanks to the style in which -lsb- director canet -rsb- carries off every unlikely twist , it 's a lot of fun all the way to to the decidedly creaky denouement .",
        "it becomes an intriguing game of chess with each of the players making moves we ca n't always follow but in which we 're always interested . it 's a murder mystery , but the murder -lrb- indeed , murders -rrb- is not what it seems .",
        "it 's refreshing to see a thriller in which all of this information makes sense , falling into place as pieces of a coherent puzzle .",
        "tell no one retains all the slick dynamism and tension of a classic hollywood thriller without ever seeming anything but french .",
        "christophe offenstein 's fluid camera tracks the action well enough , but any pretence to subtlety or sophistication seems lost in translation .",
        "the supporting cast of nathalie baye , kristin scott thomas and francois berl\u00e9and supply gloss to the picture , though its plotting becomes so convoluted that tension drains away",
        "chopping back and forth in time , it 's dynamically shot but overreaches with a flurry of dramatic revelations .",
        "shot-through with emotional intensity , a muscular , brooding direction , and a plot that -lrb- just -rrb- stays on the right side of ludicrous .",
        "an array of gallic stars who fill small roles and know how to make the best of them .",
        "a gripping thriller , this deserves to cross over from the subtitled bracket into mainstream cinema .",
        "brilliant action set pieces .",
        "the supporting cast , including kristin scott thomas and nathalie baye , are strong . it 's a watchable thriller",
        "it 's exhausting but enthralling from start to finish . once you 've seen it i guarantee you 'll want to tell all your friends .",
        "this is one of the most intelligent , satisfying , beautifully plotted adrenalin boosts you 're ever likely to experience at the movies .",
        "as brisk as things become , clarity wins out , as the hand-held camerawork bourne for many a chase sequence has no place here .",
        "... the pleasures here are more visceral than cerebral or emotional . it 's really more of a thrill ride than the sort of art-house talkie you might expect",
        "an absorbing thriller , one that works its narrative complications over a genuinely moving emotional foundation and is spiked with just enough dark humor to keep it from becoming overly serious .",
        "the french thriller tell no one shows hollywood how to make a knotty mystery that 's both logical and deeply satisfying .",
        "a whodunit so nicely crafted that you 're tempted to forgive the byzantine plot -- hell , you 're even tempted to pretend you actually understand its twisting obscurities .",
        "a well-paced journey through knotty conspiracies and ever-shifting alliances , executed with great style and grace .",
        "tell no one is a thoroughly absorbing whodunit with more twists and switchbacks than the le mans racecourse .",
        "it 's a potboiler -- not groundbreaking or brilliant , but solidly entertaining .",
        "canet stages some breakneck chases , particularly one where alex crosses a busy freeway , and corrals an array of fascinating characters to populate this twisty but entirely logical plot .",
        "tell no one is good enough to warrant not only a long run in art houses , but considerable attention for a director who dared to tweak a hugely popular novel and made it work .",
        "tell no one , french director canet 's excellent adaptation of harlan coben 's bestselling novel , has everything a great personal-paranoia/persecution movie needs .",
        "a wonderfully entertaining , occasionally very funny , always involving thriller that never insults your intelligence .",
        "feels like an episode of the fugitive turned more darkly into the big sleep .",
        "it has a terrific setup that keeps us interested -lrb- it 's based on a well-regarded novel by harlan coben -rrb- , and there 's at least one really great , thrilling action scene that makes the whole thing watchable .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- engaging , well-acted french thriller based on a novel by american writer harlan coben .",
        "constructed like a calling card for hollywood employment , as when a montage of funeral and wedding memories is underscored with ` lilac wine ' by jeff buckley .",
        "sews us tightly into a story that not only challenges the brain but engages the heart .",
        "tell no one is a french action thriller and murder mystery that does n't cheat .",
        "a stylish , commercial , tautly paced thriller ."
    ],
    "summary": "an intense , well-crafted thriller , tell no one is equal parts heart-pounding and heart-wrenching .",
    "id": "425745053"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fletch",
    "reviews": [
        "far too silly",
        "a snappy , inventive comedy with chevy chase .",
        "one of the more quotable comedies of the 1980s",
        "a lightweight , breezy experience that , by never pretending to be anything more than what it is , disarms criticism .",
        "moments of humor that still have legs today . and many moments that do n't .",
        "if you like chevy chase , you 'll like this movie . if not , it 's just a time killer .",
        "one of chase 's best",
        "whenever the move threatens to work , there 's chevy chase with his monotone , deadpan cynicism , distancing himself from the material .",
        "a quick , smart , slick piece of comedy filmmaking that features a once-great comedian at the very top of his game .",
        "this could be bob hope material c1942 and chase does acquit himself well -lrb- though with cool reserve -rrb- in the gags-to-plot transitions . what dulls the enterprise is that ritchie so keeps his distance from every character .",
        "michael ritchie 's 1985 mystery comedy has the pleasant , modest feel of a fox b picture from the 30s .",
        "twenty-two years later , i get all the jokes , but i remain only pleasantly amused , nothing more , nothing less",
        "a breezy , peppy frolic and a tour de force for chase .",
        "fast-paced and witty , this is chase 's best solo venture to date , and will hold almost anyone 's attention for its well-edited 98 minutes .",
        "what truly holds MOV together is n't the somewhat off-putting chase -- whose screen presence was always defined by a love-it-or-hate it smugness -- but his time-tested collaborators : screenwriter bergman ... and director michael ritchie ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "it 's not all about wacky disguises and goofy aliases . at its core , the film is a top notch mystery thriller .",
        "a sparkling light comic mystery of the kind that hollywood does n't make anymore -- pity .",
        "one of chevy chase 's better comedies , which admittedly ai n't saying a whole lot .",
        "my favorite comedy of all time"
    ],
    "summary": "quotably funny -- and fast-paced enough to smooth over the jokes that do n't land -- MOV is one of the best big-screen vehicles for chevy chase 's brand of smug silliness .",
    "id": "10276"
  },
  {
    "movie": "valiant",
    "reviews": [
        "as education by anthropomorphism goes , maus this ai n't .",
        "... serves its purpose as end-of-the-summer entertainment for the young ones ... it will likely be viewed once and forgotten in favor of other films with better repeat value .",
        "the slapdash construction and narrative inconsistencies , however , are n't nearly as damaging to this aerial adventure as the general mediocrity of its animation .",
        "a cornucopia of british character actors enliven this flashback to the war movies of yesteryear .",
        "a nice half hour documentary on the discovery channel would have sufficed quite nicely and been much more entertaining .",
        "people who liked the shrek flicks may actually try to prove their sophistication amongst themselves by rejecting this pale imitation of an embarrassing cultural artifact .",
        "modern kids wo n't get any of the world war ii references , and to be honest , the rest of the adventure is mediocre at best .",
        "will engage your little ones minimally while in the theaters but will leave them without any desire to get the dvd later in order to see it again .",
        "doomed by its script to a sort of tedious mediocrity , this pigeon 's as dead as a dodo .",
        "this movie 's aesthetics seem governed by its bottom line : the cg is on the rubbery side , and the backdrops are jarringly 2-d . but MOV is n't so hard to look at -- it 's hard to listen to .",
        "... this spunky little film does n't let the minor matter of a bland central character and a lackluster script get it down .",
        "an ok kids ' movie with a decent story",
        "a mildly engaging but thoroughly forgettable piece of work .",
        "vanguard animation anda volando bajo .",
        "not the finest hour-and-a-half of british animation .",
        "unoriginal , boring , and not all that cute .",
        "the film soon proves to be not only unfunny , but something worse : boring .",
        "a computer-animated movie from disney about the contributions of carrier pigeons in world war ii . good topic , fair animation , but the story quacks like a duck .",
        "where are the real fairy tales -- the ones without the relentless number of jokes aimed at grown-ups ?",
        "unfortunately , the dazzling colors and inspired vocal performances are n't enough to make the whole thing soar like an eagle .",
        "it 's a movie that will be good enough , but not memorable or worth seeing again -lrb- like a date with me -rrb- .",
        "so $ 40m will buy you a film good enough for cable ... well , that 's depressing .",
        "adults will be bored and irritated by this thin film .",
        "the movie dashes through its obstacle course plot run with all the refinement of a straight-to-video rescuers down under spin-off .",
        "strictly for the birds .",
        "MOV does the job of providing some suitable entertainment for youngsters but not much more .",
        "the depth of vocal talent squandered in ` MOV ' is staggering .",
        "` fall in , featherbrains ! ' it 's a funny , high-flying , family-friendly flick .",
        "MOV is sadly boring , and while its rote mechanics may function nominally on children , it 's going to be a long 76 minutes for the adults .",
        "no matter how hard the cgi animators try , the idea of ricky gervais as a bird is not as funny as the idea of ricky gervais as a human being .",
        "-lsb- e -rsb- xactly as cozily silly and as charmingly touching as you 'd expect from a nation that gives medals of valor to birds .",
        "too dependent on a knowledge of raf-inspired cinematic derring-do like ' 633 squadron ' -lrb- or at least hogan 's heroes -rrb- for the average tyke , yet too tepid for their taller counterparts , MOV is ultimately one strange bird .",
        "MOV is n't up to the computer-animation standards of pixar -lrb- finding nemo -rrb- or even dreamworks -lrb- madagascar -rrb- .",
        "poorly plotted , suspense-free film .",
        "lightweight and easily forgotten about once it 's over . while it last , though , it is congenial and pleasingly innocuous .",
        "too inoffensive to engender the hostility once reserved for howard the duck .",
        "an unconscionably dreary and amateurish-looking thing , and the rote plot and annoyingly predictable script -- a compendium of bird puns , mostly -- do n't work nearly hard enough to make up for the hammy awfulness of the images .",
        "the presence of a-list british vocal talent ... work wonders to make the film seem better than it really is .",
        "the animated feature MOV , a story about the carrier pigeons that ferried messages from france to england during world war ii , takes wing but never quite manages to soar .",
        "MOV may not fly in the stratosphere of pixar or the best of dreamworks , but giving these plucky birds their due is not a bad way to wind up the summer .",
        "this animated wwii story may not engage all kids .",
        "a fun simplistic cheeky british cartoon that entertained me consistently .",
        "you 're are much better off renting `` chicken run '' for an evening of entertainment with your progeny .",
        "a MOV effort .",
        "for parents who are tired of the hip , stupid bombast of films like shark tale , it 'll do .",
        "it 's a tale with plenty of spirit and a good heart , and yet , this story does n't so much soar across the screen as it does waddle .",
        "will probably keep youngsters entertained for its short 76 minutes running time .",
        "i think history will remember it as the usher to the mid-list cgi feature .",
        "pode n\u0103o ser uma obra-prima -lrb- n\u0103o \u00e9 mesmo -rrb- , mas \u00e9 suficientemente bem realizado para merecer uma conferida enquanto o novo projeto da pixar n\u0103o chega aos cinemas .",
        "it 's a happy and welcome debut , showing not only a genuine sense of humour and technical brilliance , but a clever ability to combine serious themes with family entertainment .",
        "a passable animated feature that will entertain small children , but feels as if it was thrown together quickly .",
        "though it 's made with wit , style and sweetness , it may be a tricky match for american audiences .",
        "it 's watchable . but try explaining all of this not-particularly funny adult history , humor and clutter to a child .",
        "the picture often lacks the essential wackiness needed to please young audiences .",
        "stick to the genuinely delightful chicken run -- this one 's for the birds .",
        "apart from the puns and regurgitation jokes , the story of a group of carrier pigeons on a death-defying mission in 1944 europe will fly over the heads of actual youngsters .",
        "it 's no shrek , but what MOV lacks in looks , it makes up for with its perky winged heroes and high-flying concept .",
        "MOV is a movie that is trying to be an homage but winds up a pale imitation .",
        "take all the movie money you 've just saved and buy the kiddies a good book .",
        "MOV is amiable enough , but there 's little in the humor or story that could be considered fresh .",
        "one complaint i have with MOV is the lack of humor - there is some but not enough for a kids ' animation",
        "animated pigeons ? british wartime humor ? disney ? the mixture is ripe for something amiable , if unremarkable . sadly , the production forgot the amiable part .",
        "aside from some fun voice casting ... , the movie is a stodgy and slow affair .",
        "harmless but generally uninspired .",
        "ever noticed how many pigeons look like john cleese ? me neither .",
        "very short and very slight , MOV still carries a dainty , retro charm amid heavy technology . a fine effort with a sweet message kids will be happy to hear only once .",
        "it 's tempting then to call this u.s.-british-produced endeavor an odd duck . except that MOV uses nearly every pun in the book .",
        "the thought of this motley crew in the recording studio , laying down vocal tracks and cracking each other up , is far more entertaining than anything in the film .",
        "even young viewers will recognize MOV as second-tier disney .",
        "well-intentioned but woefully bland and forgettable , this oddball concoction might appeal to pre-teen military buffs , if there are any out there .",
        "this bird 's got no wings .",
        "the movie 's takeoffs on old war-movie and raf-flyboy cliches will certainly not connect with the knowledge base of america 's current youngsters , which will only cause MOV to seem that much more foreign .",
        "here 's a not-so-valiant attempt to recreate the charm of `` shrek . ''",
        "so mediocre it ca n't even be called a MOV effort",
        "it feels obligatory , like the boss barged in and said , ` i want a movie about pigeons who help the british war effort on my desk by monday ! , ' and so everyone had to do it .",
        "this is not a top grade animated effort , but it is a sweet , enjoyable one .",
        "arguably the blandest of the burgeoning crop of big budget digitally animated films , MOV aims to prove that the death of traditional animation has simply pushed lackluster screenplays into the digital realm .",
        "tedious and unfunny computer-animated film .",
        "disney sticks to that formula of goofy nonchalance - this time without music",
        "a film with a story that little kids will find to be too obscure and older viewers will find too juvenile and which is told with a visual style that viewers all ages will find drab and uninteresting .",
        "a disarmingly enjoyable movie with a lively cast of characters and an action-packed plot based -lrb- very roughly ! -rrb- on real-life events",
        "MOV is the plucky little outsider with a lot of heart",
        "the soundtrack is good too - it only has a few songs but it uses them in interesting ways and also features the sight of an all-pigeon mis-teeq performing shoo-shoo baby at the end .",
        "of all the animals to be immortalised by cartoons , there are few less fluffy and endearing than the pigeon .",
        "a plucky little bird that just wo n't fly .",
        "not a laugh riot , but it is an amusing and sweet diversion with a dash of dry wit and the courage of its convictions",
        "this cleverly told animated world war ii adventure aims high and scores a pretty lofty goal .",
        "not only is the pacing less hyper , the humour less pop-cult savvy and the story almost creakily old-fashioned -lsb- than a pixar production -rsb- , it even looks like it was made in a cloudier climate : the dominant colours are muted blues and greys .",
        "despite its formulaic trappings , ` MOV ' proves that great heartfelt storytelling will almost always win out over big budget brawn .",
        "it has enough laughs and close calls to keep the target audience entertained for an hour or so .",
        "there are far more aspects of the film that may leave younger viewers confused and may not even be fun after lengthy parental explanations .",
        "an animated war epic - it does n't sound like it would fly but it does .",
        "these pigeons do n't fly .",
        "MOV never takes flight . this disney animated war film is dull and ugly .",
        "even though its historical references and battle scenes may fly over their heads like so many homing pigeons , kids will enjoy MOV , too , if only for its nonstop action and lively visual design .",
        "despite a handful of good aerial ` birdfight ' sequences , ` MOV ' fails to get off the ground due to a by-numbers script and dodo-ugly character design that add up to less than one would expect from ` shrek ' producer john h. williamsjohn h. william .",
        "a lame-duck movie about pigeons .",
        "it 's not at all clear which audience director gary chapman has his eye on .",
        "the script is typical family-flick underachievement , with feeble puns and other stabs at birdie personification .",
        "like its title character , this little animated film has heart and charm . what it will have trouble finding is an audience to appreciate it .",
        "-lsb- the vocal talents -rsb- and some meticulous period details make up for the film 's unsurprising plot and occasional tepid stretches .",
        "MOV seems built merely to distract and divert for a brisk hour-and-small-change .",
        "a mix of top-notch voice talents , standard computer animation and several missed story opportunities .",
        "unlike the terrific claymation film chicken run -lrb- 2000 -rrb- , here the jokes largely lay eggs .",
        "the animated tale of misfit recruits accomplishing a heroic mission lacks an integral component - humor .",
        "what MOV does most is give pigeons a break from the nasty ` flying rat ' reputation . aside from that , it 's does n't ruffle any feathers ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has a good collection of voice talents , but the story is strictly by-the-numbers .",
    "id": "5080"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paul_blart_mall_cop",
    "reviews": [
        "the shot of blart quietly crawling into a hostage situation inside the mall 's bank and walking through a roped line is a moment of absurd grace , only it 's shot with the vulgarity of a crash test dummies commercial .",
        "james and mays are engaging and a handful of moments do generate genuine laughs . not enough to justify a paid night at the movies ...",
        "tv 's king of queens working stiff james relocates to jersey in an even larger than life silly but good natured big screen laughathon , as the corpulent crimefighter who 's more than a little obsessive about cornering anyone shopping around for trouble .",
        "james makes a funny , likeable doofus , and the expansion of his girth since his hit sitcom the king of queens is used to great comic effect .",
        "there 's no doubt that james is a fine comedic actor and the role of paul blart fits his big frame like a well worn glove . as writers , however , he and bakay rely too heavily on slapstick ...",
        "the numerous making-of featurettes includes a treat for those of us in eastern massachusetts with the burlington mall highlighted ...",
        "an unfunny comedy with a limited imagination and a steady diet of fat jokes .",
        "about ten times funnier than the similarly-themed observe & report , though this silly , slapstick adventure is aimed more at kids than adults .",
        "the title and premise alone sound like every stupid comedy you 've avoided for decades . something was different % u2013 something was done right . three other friends shared my secret shame enjoying this amiable , broad % u2013 and subtle % u2013 romantic act",
        "i found myself really quite enjoying this film , partly for its cheerful guying of mall culture . the heroine , amy , works on a hair extension stand called unbeweavable .",
        "y si , b\u00e1sicamente se trata de re\u00edrse del gordo . pero como es el propio gordo quien sirve la broma , uno no se siente tan culpable y se r\u00ede con \u00e9l .",
        "what 's most disappointing here is that kevin james appears capable of far more rich and subtle comedy than he 's ever likely to be part of in a happy madison production .",
        "... a genial , inoffensive little comedy that coasts on the charm of its `` king of queens '' star james ...",
        "an almost shockingly amateurish one-note-joke comedy on which the star also shares writing and producing credit .",
        "-lsb- kevin james -rsb- proves to be a warm leading man who grounds the movie as it morphs into a loopy heist thriller after a promising start as something entirely different : a gentle comedy of suburban underachievement .",
        "paul blart : mall cop is a slapstick comedy with a hero who is a nice guy . i thought that was n't allowed anymore .",
        "give this to paul blart : mall cop : it delivers on everything it promises . which is to say , nearly nothing .",
        "somewhere beneath its mediocre comedic trappings , there 's a decent action movie trying to fight its way free .",
        "the end product wo n't win any oscars , but the edges of this slapstick action film retain james 's blitzkrieg sense of humor , making for a light comic adventure i 'm positive kids will flip for .",
        "if you are a kevin james fan you probably will want to see him rolling around , otherwise you can pass on this one to save a few bucks .",
        "-lsb- james -rsb- plays yet another misfit , but one who 's so two-dimensional , needy -lrb- and frankly annoying -rrb- that it 's difficult to root for him .",
        "like the movie 's sad-sack hero , this comedy never comes close to achieving its real potential .",
        "the thin comic appeal of kevin james is laid on a bit thicker in paul blart : mall cop , his first solo star vehicle for the big screen .",
        "a good-natured , but awkward and often unfunny comedy that bounces from sad-sack pathos to slapstick action parody",
        "you ca n't be too hard on a film that blows up a rainforest cafe , can you ?",
        "an ` arresting ' comedy . james ' best work .",
        "paul blart : mall cop is a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek force to be reckoned with .",
        "with only some scattershot scenes of physical humor , ` paul blart : mall cop ' does little to keep viewers safe from boredom .",
        "to my surprise , once the action part of the story kicked in , `` paul blart : mall cop '' transformed into a rather enjoyable comic adventure .",
        "men of a certain size will love paul blart - and his pursuit through the centre is remarkably inventive . truly for all the family .",
        "although juvenile , predictable and utterly forgettable , has an endearing central character in kevin james",
        "thanks to kevin james ' earnest portrayal of an earnest guy , i was won over by the film 's goofy charms .",
        "i know this is january , the month where dreadful movies go to die , and i know we have to take what we can get . but this ? spring has rarely seemed so far away .",
        "mall cops everywhere should sue . the movie is trash .",
        "kevin james is hard not to like . he 's a big , goofy , personable doofus better suited for a half-an-hour tv show like the king of queens than trying to carry a 90-minute movie .",
        "`` i just love this guy , '' james says of paul blart in the movie 's production notes . for the sake of humanity i hope and pray that barely anyone else shares his affection .",
        "kevin james ' slapstick comedy will amuse older tweens .",
        "a couple of segway jokes stretched to an hour and a half running time .",
        "... this is a masterpiece compared to anything rob schneider has put out only it suffers from the same form of stereotyping .",
        "the film 's drawback seems to be -lrb- kevin -rrb- james ' indecision on a tone as well as how to present blart .",
        "just one long pratfall ... an avalanche of really dumb action comedy that aims to be a variant on the inspector clouseau formula but fails miserably .",
        "forget the rocky character development . give me a fat guy falling down , and i 'll start to laugh .",
        "the road from tv star to movie leading man is loaded with ill-conceived films .",
        "like a mall , has long stretches where you see nothing of interest and a generally stale air to it . unlike a mall , you ca n't just browse and then move on to a better section .",
        "i really , really like kevin james . but this is disappointing .",
        "kevin james throws his weight around as the dedicated mall cop , but sometimes his actions are more silly than funny .",
        "there 's nothing quite like the words ` happy madison productions ' appearing on the screen to diminish my expectations concerning the movie about to unfold .",
        "james takes a segway , a cheesy mustache and the comic idea of die hard in a mall and bumbles his way to a lightweight but frequently funny film for the whole family .",
        "this is n't brain surgery ; this is daffy entertainment that plays to its strengths , with director steve carr trusting in james ' deadpan earnesty",
        "james gives it everything he 's got , totally committing to the character and delivering clean comedy which often times is often more difficult than creating just a raunch-fest .",
        "once you 've seen about the first 20 minutes of the movie , you 've got a sense of what all of the jokes were going to be .",
        "it 's a trivial pursuit , slathered with peanut butter .",
        "the hero is named for a disgusting bodily function that 's hardly pg material , but the movie itself seems to be aimed at grade schoolers .",
        "just as james struggles to make unfunny material tolerable , so too does the supporting cast fall flat .",
        "paul blart tepidly goes through its motions , but that does n't mean you have to .",
        "an inoffensive way to spend 90 minutes , unless of course you 're on the husky end of the spectrum , in which case they 're all going to laugh at you .",
        "it 's just not particularly funny . that segway , alas , only goes so far .",
        "as cheapo larks go , it 's a winningly unassuming one : no stars , no big action set pieces . just a fat guy , a near-empty mall , and a lot of really ridiculous ideas .",
        "paul blart : mall cop is like the many variations on tuna surprise that show up at potlucks : generic but with a little something added to differentiate it .",
        "it 's surprisingly okay , in a january kind of way .",
        "the last name blart may be the funniest thing in the movie , so that 's a hint as to just how bad this shopping-center saga can be .",
        "directed by steve carr , a man who knows how to put a camera in front of things , if little else , and written , sort of , by nick bakay and mr. james .",
        "i suppose the food equivalent would be that nacho cheese that comes in a can with little chunks of jalape\u0144o mixed in .",
        "... a hopelessly underwhelming comedy ...",
        "does n't offer anything new but it is an ample addition to the comedy genre , and after a mostly rip-roaring 91 minutes , you 'll understand how the film did so well in america .",
        "shoot me now !",
        "neither good enough to to really cheer for nor bad enough to really care about trashing it , it exists in that room-temperature middle where nothing feels like it matters .",
        "james is much better than a lot of his contemporaries at this , eschewing over-the-top clowning for actual humanity . but it all gets thrown out the window in the second half . maybe he 'll do better next time .",
        "in places the plot sags a bit and some jokes do n't quite hit their mark or tickle the funny bone as much as they 're obviously meant to .",
        "save for its dalliance with the everyman action movie , there 's no surprises in paul blart : mall cop , another largely listless comedy from sandler 's happy madison production company .",
        "unmemorable , unfunny and unoriginal .",
        "it 's only almost the making of a comedy classic .",
        "unfunny , unoriginal and tedious - mall cop is successful only at living up to the standard set by past films that have begun with the words ` a happy madison production ' .",
        "avoid this mall cop and just go shopping instead .",
        "perfectly inoffensive and almost entirely unfunny .",
        "it 's a juvenile motion picture designed primarily for a juvenile audience . but there 's a little more here than one might reasonably expect .",
        "laughs occasionally ensue .",
        "some people really love goofy comedy , and for those people there 's paul blart : mall cop . you can bring the kids .",
        "james , at his best when he lets loose , plays his character a little too straight and so loses some of the movie 's comic potential .",
        "-lsb- the film -rsb- oo often settles for easy , lazy jokes , most of which revolve around either food or running into stuff .",
        "paul blart : mall cop is so inconsequential you forget about it even before the movie is over .",
        "sensationally stupid , haphazardly made and qualifying as unmitigated trash by any standards , paul blart : mall cop also manages to be consistently hilarious , thanks to star kevin james .",
        "this comedy from adam sandler 's happy madison production company takes itself too seriously for its own good .",
        "never delivers the big laughs this star in this promising premise really should .",
        "parental content review",
        "so , as much as i hate to be mean , it is my solemn responsibility as a movie reviewer to award MOV a frowny face . -lrb- do n't hate me , kevin james ! or you either , steve carr ! -rrb-",
        "adept at physical comedy , kevin james -- who co-wrote the ` paul blart : mall cop ' script -- emerges the king of his retail domain .",
        "who could have imagined that , mere days into 2009 , we 'd already have a formidable contender for the worst film of the year !?",
        "boring and predictable in both its narrative and its aesthetics , paul blart : mall cop is dumbed-down , low-rent slapstick with stereotypes galore and a violent undercurrent that does n't sit well .",
        "it 's die hard meets home alone on a segway ! except , kevin james is not as cute as macaulay culkin and not as tough as bruce willis .",
        "james , who co-wrote , endows the title character with such piercing sweetness that even his geeky pretensions are endearing .",
        "this dim-bulb , family-oriented slapstick film benefits greatly from james ' knack for physical comedy , but it 's ultimately too bland and uninspired .",
        "... after a dismal first half hour , it changes from a piteous low intellect attempt at humor to a light-hearted takeoff on bruce willis and the `` die hard '' movies .",
        "paul blart delivers laughs , yes , but it 's only one great slapstick actor and a little bit of heart away from being just another truly idiotic comedy .",
        "paul blart : mall cop is a perfect display of clich\u00e9s and predictability but i could n't help but laugh at kevin james riding the scooter and his addiction to pixie sticks .",
        "... a silly film that exists primarily as a vehicle for james ... this marks the emergence of a comedy star who may get to fulfill the promise he shows here in films to come .",
        "producer adam sandler must have though so little of the film that he did n't even see it fit for a rob schneider cameo .",
        "oh my goodness , it 's a ripoff of die hard . a shameless ripoff that gets more and more shameless the longer it goes on ...",
        "you 'd better shop around % u2014you could probably find an unfunny comedy with an unappealing hero and clumsily shot action choreography for much less than retail price . maybe the straight-to-dvd bin ?",
        "to call this kevin james comedy fatuous might be misinterpreted as an attack on the star 's girth -- so how about inane , tepid , lazy , puerile , phony , and unfunny ?",
        "surprisingly winning .",
        "you might chuckle occasionally as the film drones on to a close , but mostly you 'll be wondering when it will all end .",
        "it 's unlikely that even wall-e could bring himself to scoop up this movie and leave it on his post-apocalyptic junk heap .",
        "not a bad premise , but most of the comedy just dies . hard .",
        "co-produced by adam sandler , mall cop has an innate sweetness that 's reminiscent of sandler 's 1998 romantic comedy the wedding singer , although the laughs do n't quite reach those levels .",
        "a senseless hollywood comedy .",
        "unfathomably unfunny ... centered around mean-spirited fat jokes",
        "the film is completely forgettable , frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a jersey loser gets respect kind of way .",
        "unlike james himself , the movie is a few bricks shy of a load , which explains why a movie obviously ticketed for a holiday release has backed up to mid-january .",
        "a shamelessly sentimental comedy with a few crude gags thrown in arbitrarily .",
        "-lsb- has -rsb- such obviously humble intentions that busting on it is a bit like harassing the junior high school outcast who just wants to eat his tater tots in peace .",
        "-lsb- james ' -rsb- remarkably winning performance turns blart into the ultimate underdog -- a decent guy who 's finally having the kind of day he deserves .",
        "mostly this film spins its wheels not unlike the way that paul spins the wheels of his mall-issued segway % u2122 ."
    ],
    "summary": "paul blart : mall cop has some laughs , but its plot is flimsy and lacking in any sustained comic momentum .",
    "id": "770782196"
  },
  {
    "movie": "four_weddings_and_a_funeral",
    "reviews": [
        "some of the funniest scenes bounce off the nightmares of every bride and groom before the wedding .",
        "MOV provides us with a taste of drama , a bunch of laughs and , most importantly , some restraint .",
        "a high-spirited romantic comedy of intoxicating fun .",
        "grant at his bumbling , fumbling best .",
        "harmless entertainment , but overpraised .",
        "a grocery store would sell this on its generic shelf : the brittle upper-class british cleverness is strictly standard issue .",
        "a witty romantic comedy with a sardonic edge .",
        "macdowell 's dull drawl drags doings down .",
        "the comedy in the film is howlingly funny . but as the title suggests , there is also a funeral , which has some very poignant scenes .",
        "comparisons to another grant named cary are not entirely out of place .",
        "entirely charming ... and i half-expected to hate this flick .",
        "not everything works out neatly for everyone , but life seems a little better by the end of two hours ' struggle , for the characters and for the audience . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "conveys everything that is hilariously and poignantly true about the ceremonies we use to tie the knot and bid loved ones farewell .",
        "the movie dazzles with its slick lines , but there 's a situational intelligence at play too .",
        "the setup is too arch to support the movie 's detour into poignance , though john hannah does give a moving reading of w. h. auden 's `` funeral blues . ''",
        "there are movies so breezy , even flimsy , that you can enjoy them as genial providers of an evening 's entertainment yet forget all about them by the time you leave the multiplex .",
        "the infectious charm and sunny goodwill of MOV can so immediately buoy a soul ravaged by winter weather and winter movies .",
        "british films are rarely as funny or as charming .",
        "sexy , funny , romantic comedy at its finest .",
        "if anyone asks if you want to see MOV , just say `` i do . ''",
        "hugh grant 's body english captures every nuance of his character 's confusion precisely and hilariously .",
        "MOV is a rare movie commodity , an adult comedy that takes a mostly smart , mordant approach to such topics as sex and romance .",
        "the pitch-perfect profanity , bumbling romanticism and hugh grant 's floppy-fringed charm remain enduringly , endearingly funny .",
        "most of the acting is first-rate , with special credit going to grant as the hero and simon callow in a memorable supporting role .",
        "MOV is one of those rare films that have you smiling from the get-go , and keep you that way -- with a few well-earned poignant interludes -lrb- including , of all things , a reading of w.h. auden -rrb- -- right to the end .",
        "deftly written by richard curtis and directed by the versatile mike newell , four weddings is as good as its word , breezily following a small circle of friends through every one of the events the title promises .",
        "although the film is basically a light romantic comedy , it could n't be more psychologically astute in its portrait of a man who defines himself by his bachelorhood , which empowers him to get past his fear of commitment .",
        "this is a decidedly lightweight film but well made and one that has occasionally very funny gags .",
        "as directed with a light touch by mike newell , there 's little doubt as to where it is going or how it will be resolved . that 's all right , since getting there is so much fun .",
        "neatly structured and full of genuine warmth for its characters , richard curtis 's oscar-nominated screenplay is superbly observed and well served by mike newell 's deft direction .",
        "it 's bright and spirited and well-paced .",
        "a very good viewing experience .",
        "the simplest and most honest expression of praise that i can offer mike newell 's latest movie is that it represents two hours of solid movie magic .",
        "if ever a film resembled a wedding cake it is MOV , a multi-tiered confection with a romantic spirit and an enchantingly pretty veneer .",
        "a very funny and warm effort , four weddings strives to recapture the screwball sensibility of another era , succeeding to a surprising degree .",
        "an intelligent romantic comedy that appeals to our love of happy endings , without making it too trite .",
        "funny , agreeably sweet and exceptionally well acted and directed .",
        "the movie is funny . it 's mostly entertaining .",
        "take a date ; it 's great fun .",
        "four weddings is more a romantic screwball comedy , one is as intoxicated by words , dialogue and characters as by love .",
        "delightful and sly .",
        "the players , who include simon callow , kristin scott thomas , rowan atkinson and sophie thompson , exude comedic brightness as they go about their gossipy , farcical , self-deprecating , sorry-about-that-old-chap , just-being-english business .",
        "light-hearted english comedy with a hilarious wedding ceremony filled with bloopers .",
        "overhyped , overrated , overdone ...",
        "what can we say . a classic is a classic is a classic .",
        "a perky , funny ensemble comedy that perversely pushes its great cast out of the way so andie macdowell can snooze on center-stage .",
        "a british comedy that 's classy and commercial -- and , most important , very , very funny .",
        "richard curtis ' screenplay nicely blends humor with drama , ensuring that some of the more serious moments never seem jarring or out of place .",
        "the colorful cast brings it all home , and the film has become something of a minor classic in its genre .",
        "courting stardom , grant delivers an engaging performance in mike newell 's romantic comedy about the horrors of flying solo in a married world .",
        "truly beguiling romantic comedy is one of the hardest things for a modern film to pull off , but a winning british team has done it in MOV .",
        "this elegantly shot , well acted british comedy is an updated version of hollywood screwball comedies , boasting an intriguing narrative structure ."
    ],
    "summary": "while frothy to a fault , MOV features irresistibly breezy humor , and winsome performances from hugh grant and andie macdowell .",
    "id": "15959"
  },
  {
    "movie": "affair_of_the_necklace",
    "reviews": [
        "a crass , often ridiculously misguided period drama that spells everything out in nice , big block letters so even a small child could comprehend it .",
        "a cheap bauble of a flick .",
        "jeanne is no fun at all .",
        "... takes a fascinating footnote and reduces it to a mediocre and fitfully entertaining film .",
        "swank 's honest mistake is in trying to be worthy of a project that 's beneath her .",
        "i felt as if i was at an yves st. laurent fashion show and the actors were modeling the latest in 18th-century fashions .",
        "... what really sinks the film is its script ...",
        "much of the dramatic juice and intrigue have been drained out of this old-fashioned costume drama , that in the hands of director charles shyer and actress hilary swank becomes stiff , stuffy , and banal affair .",
        "-lsb- swank 's -rsb- out of her league here and her tendency to underplay -- as if she were afraid of the material and did n't want to risk anything flamboyant or bold -- makes her performance seem tentative , half-felt .",
        "the kind of movie made bearable only by uttering snide comments to a friend .",
        "the film has a desperate , disjointed feel that suggests the filmmakers realized it was n't working and kept trying , ineffectually , to fix it .",
        "the MOV drags and meanders when it wants clarity and clockwork , and bogs down in hazy , vague emotions .",
        "a general air of petulance and decadence fails to give the piece much resonance .",
        "the storytelling is hopelessly compromised by the movie 's decision to sympathize with jeanne .",
        "this sumptuously designed film ... has all the ingredients of a juicy historical romp . but it 's bloodless , fussy , and undermined by hilary swank 's stiff , one-note performance .",
        "it may not be dangerous liaisons , but it 's a rendezvous that 's largely worth risking .",
        "hilary swank and simon baker make an especially attractive couple who have several electrifying moments onscreen .",
        "though necklace might be pretty much useless in every other respect , at the very least , it 's proof that swank has the stuff real stars are made of .",
        "as a history lesson , the movie is entertaining enough , but at times you long to get out of versailles and join the rabble in paris .",
        "while this fact-challenged period piece has all the glam of a good costume drama -lrb- think amadeus -rrb- , there 's nothing underneath the corsets .",
        "there 's no fury to the movie , repressed or otherwise , which may be why when the revolution arrives , it has all the impact of a guillotine with a deadly dull blade .",
        "the MOV improves as it rolls along , owing much to its eminently appealing cast .",
        "feels like it 's been clintonized in order to achieve some degree of non-gallic interest .",
        "no matter how ornate or magnificent a strand of jewels might be , it 's not the most effective device to pin a story on .",
        "an impressive achievement on the part of the writer , john sweet , as well as the director , charles shyer .",
        "while director charles shyer ... may have succeeded in creating an appropriate environment for all this skulduggery , he does so at the expense of coherent storytelling and drama .",
        "the psychology is muddled , the badinage is bad and the acting is inadequate .",
        "it is a pleasant , but forgettable film , worth seeing for the tale itself and for baker 's and price 's performances .",
        "watching it is rather like strolling through an overstuffed museum exhibit in the company of a dry-as-dust , long-winded guide constantly chattering into your ear .",
        "valois has the potential to be a great character -- a woman who refuses to stay in her socially prescribed feminine role , but swank instead highlights her passive characteristics and domestic longings .",
        "oddly cast and ploddingly executed .",
        "shyer 's film denies us the double dip of vice and virtue . it 's moralistic .",
        "a discombobulated , transparently fictionalized french revolutionary melodrama .",
        "an endless illustrated harlequin paperback of mawkish backstory and corset-popping purple prose .",
        "far too sodden to light my fire .",
        "it 's all about as elegant as jewelry from a home-shopping channel .",
        "the MOV has costume-drama snob appeal in spades , 't is true , but this is pure bodice-ripper romance , done up right .",
        "memo to hilary swank : fire your agent .",
        "shyer could have tightened the actors ' creative reins a bit , along with the meandering story , but alas , we instead get an all-too-much affair to forget .",
        "this ham-handed period piece could cast oscar winner hilary swank back to the ranks she came from .",
        "the intrigue is stretched out long beyond when it remains intriguing and it all grows quite dull .",
        "beautifully acted and mounted .",
        "sadly , oscar-winner swank is completely miscast and seems every bit a 20th-century woman , even in a corset and silly wig .",
        "the result is a mess , but a fairly enjoyable one , with some gorgeous period detail .",
        "little more than sexed-up soap opera in powdered wigs .",
        "shyer ... fails to whip the production into anything very special , and swank seems hopelessly miscast and weak at its center .",
        "shyer ... exhibits little flair for the ebb and flow of a costume caper movie .",
        "hokey , embarrassing costumer .",
        "this is a good example of what can happen when a bunch of grownup humans who really ought to know better get funny ideas about art .",
        "rolled out in limited release in the hopes of making some lists -- the last and cruellest irony of the MOV is that it will succeed",
        "-lsb- after 90 minutes -rsb- the film drags on for another half-hour and unnecessarily pads the finale until it seems interminable .",
        "both swank and shyer sink without a trace into the fog of the story trying to be told .",
        "i 'm sure that it 's sort of a ` fractured fairy tale ' version of the real events that happened , but the fact that it was inspired by real-life events made me enjoy it all the more .",
        "the entire film seems a series of disjointed pieces , a screenful of iron filings waiting in vain for the magnet that will line them up in a unified field .",
        "the performances are really good , and if you 're into clothes , this is fascinating , but the film itself is pretty much a bore .",
        "the MOV is no paperback romance or swashbuckler it at first appears to be , but rather the remarkable odyssey of a young woman who lived to tell her amazing story herself ."
    ],
    "summary": "a film about court intrigue , the MOV turns out to be more dull than juicy . swank seems flat and miscast in the central role of jeanne .",
    "id": "14830"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wordplay",
    "reviews": [
        "the film succeeds by following the spellbound format and formula .",
        "the competition is less interesting than the revelation of a crossword culture in which fans can identify the style of professional puzzle constructors -lrb- ` that 's a merle reagle ' -rrb- the way music buffs might recognize a guitar lick -lrb- ` that 's steve cropper ' -rrb- .",
        "a fun documentary about those who make puzzles and those who do them .",
        "as diverting as it is derivative ...",
        "creadon 's inventive visuals turn puzzle-solving into a spectator sport .",
        "... fills in the blanks with genial zeal .",
        "an affable , lightweight documentary about crossword puzzle aficionados .",
        "how do you make an entertaining film about a solitary and cerebral pastime , however popular ? that 's the puzzle that creadon never really solves .",
        "enough of this curiously fascinating subject is in play in the film , and the range of fans creadon interviews -lrb- from yankee pitcher mike mussina to the indigo girls to president clinton -rrb- demonstrates the broad appeal .",
        "a playful , informative and very sweet documentary about the world of words ` across ' or ` down . '",
        "MOV has no subject , finally , besides the puzzle you could be solving instead .",
        "niceness ... takes the edge off patrick creadon 's otherwise revitalizing documentary .",
        "there are seemingly few subjects less cinematic than poindexters filling out grids and boxes , but the filmmakers create a palpable sense of excitement by dividing the screen into split screens that invite audiences to fill out puzzles alongside the film 's",
        "what is an eight letter word for a totally engrossing and entertaining documentary about crossword puzzles , those who create them and those who obsessively solve them ?",
        "first , spelling bees , then , penguins and now ... crossword puzzles ? unlikely as it seems , this warm-hearted , star-flecked inquiry into the word-game habit could very well be this summer 's hit documentary .",
        "here is yet another documentary built around a competition -- in this case the 28th annual crossword puzzle tournament in stamford , conn. .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- amiable brainiacs-are-cool documentary .",
        "a playful documentary about crossword puzzle-heads that is a total delight from start to finish .",
        "creadon manages to find the tension in the sight of a bunch of people frantically penciling letters into small boxes .",
        "whether or not you enjoy word puzzles , it 's hard to resist this eager-to-please documentary about crosswords and the people behind them .",
        "this movie is done so well that even if you 're like me and do n't do crossword puzzles , you 'll still be entertained .",
        "similar in structure to the recent movie spellbound , MOV is a fun documentary about an american institution and national habit .",
        "boy , was i wrong . there 's more palm-sweating suspense in one minute of this baby than in all of the omen .",
        "director patrick creadon has turned crossword puzzling into a spectator sport .",
        "as pleasant and good-natured as MOV is , it 's not exactly potent stuff ''",
        "a poignant inside look into the world of crossover puzzles of the ny times .",
        "patrick creadon 's documentary about the new york times crossword puzzle 's creators and fans is a positively joyful movie that will appeal even to audiences who have little affinity for the mind-bending puzzles .",
        "if the movie emphasizes anything , it affirms that common-interest societies like this ... all survive by sharing the traits of community , devotion , and mutual dedication .",
        "where MOV wins is not so much in the contest footage , but in its interviews with average , everyday crossword puzzle junkies .",
        "a five-letter synonym for this movie : zzzzz .",
        "enticing , delightful and any word for ` highly entertaining ' that will fit in a bunch of little boxes on a page .",
        "this is like finding the spellbound kids trapped in perpetual mania .",
        "MOV functions as a playful celebration of brain power , and in that respect , it gets its point across . and down .",
        "it 's so rare , and so delightful , to see a film that unabashedly celebrates folks who are supersmart and feel no need to hide it that that alone is reason to check out this unexpectedly riveting film .",
        "a rousing endorsement of the principles of fair play and communication .",
        "creadon approaches his subject with the same respect and intelligence shortz credits his audience .",
        "the fact that MOV works as a film at all is a testament to its skill .",
        "less than riveting filmmaking , but if you 're a puzzler , you 'll probably enjoy it .",
        "brain-busting and amusing , it does for puzzlers what `` spellbound '' did for spelling bees and `` mad hot ballroom '' did for dance competitions .",
        "insight into an intriguing little world bound by a grid and the human imagination",
        "using a slew of interesting interviews and a brilliant visual device , filmmaker patrick creadon treats the ordinarily solitary pursuit of ` crossword-puzzling ' as a kind of spectator sport .",
        "it 's entertaining , brainy and eye opening .",
        "engaging without being especially insightful or compelling .",
        "this is so joyous , without being condescending , that one ca n't help but feel good .",
        "while the handling of the matter may seem slight , this is crossword puzzles we 're talking about here , not rocket science - you enjoy them , throw them away , and move on .",
        "one of the great nerd docs about nerds in recent years .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- cheerfully and winningly celebrates the passionate practitioners of crossword puzzles .",
        "less interested in reinventing the non-fiction wheel than in providing a rousing , addictively brainy good time .",
        "a fitting tribute to ambitious thinkers who see life as a series of blanks waiting to be filled in .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- charming documentary from first-time director patrick creadon .",
        "MOV gave me new respect for the intelligence of those who solve them well , and admiration for those who create them .",
        "intriguing , surprising and stimulating , MOV is much more than a documentary about a crossword tournament . anyone who is remotely interested in the english language will be fascinated",
        "even though these puzzles are mapped out with utmost precision -- and even though logic is an extremely useful tool for solving them -- they 're still , somehow , objects of intrigue and mystery .",
        "their world of puzzles is like an alternate universe and this film offers a window into it .",
        "is n't the nail-biter that the 2003 spelling-bee documentary ` spellbound ' was -lrb- but -rrb- creadon and editor doug blush successfully build suspense and find unexpected drama and comedy in the competition .",
        "a wonderful little documentary that seems fascinated with humanity .",
        "cleverly devised and creatively made in ways that ought to make its subject accessible to anyone .",
        "so there 's this new documentary about crossword puzzles ... wait , get back here !",
        "i have to admit that for me these self-proclaimed nerds are more interesting and impressive than anything that i have ever seen in a nfl documentary .",
        "it 's a movie about crosswords , as seen through -lsb- puzzlers ' -rsb- eyes , and it makes us one of them as we learn how to do crosswords by their side .",
        "whatever the documentary 's flaws , the filmmakers should be saluted for giving us a rare glimpse of life in these trenches .",
        "i have never so badly wanted to finish a crossword .",
        "what 's an 11-letter phrase for fellowship ? the answer is ` camaraderie ' -- and it 's on view in every scene in this film .",
        "with affectionate humor and quirky , low-key charm , first-time documentary filmmaker patrick creadon leads us on an engaging tour of the world of new york times/npr puzzle guru will shortz .",
        "affectionate , smartly done promo for puzzling .",
        "it has a charming protagonist in will shortz , the crossword editor of the new york times .",
        "oh , beckham can bend it and shaq can dunk , but , in the annals of spectator sports , nothing can compare with the sight of rugged down-and-acrossers strutting their stuff on the vast playing field of words .",
        "this is an odd and endearing look at the minds behind those tricky puzzles as well as the minds on the receiving end of all that down and across .",
        "now you may be thinking that crossword puzzles would a pretty thin idea to hang 80 minutes of movie on ... and you 'd be right .",
        "bright , concise and to the point .",
        "a light , breezy documentary that introduces us to a genial gang of crossword puzzle fans whose passion for the pastime is gleefully infectious .",
        "a film so crammed with characters and quirks that you 'll smile all the way home .",
        "the film is made with a lot of style and visual ingenuity .",
        "the most minor entry in the brainiac-doc genre to date , it 's nevertheless a perfectly entertaining hour and a half for crossword adepts .",
        "creadon has a lively , jazzy touch , and he enjoys an embarrassment of engaging subjects .",
        "even if you 've never done a crossword in your life or been frustrated by the attempt , you will likely be drawn into this intriguing world through the enthusiasm expressed by its adherents .",
        "just like its predecessors , MOV is likable and engaging . it 's even , at times , a cut above .",
        "... it 's hard to resist the charms of MOV , particularly if ... you have a touch -lrb- or more than a touch -rrb- of the puzzle geek within .",
        "MOV is geared towards those fanatics who ca n't get enough of the so-called sport .",
        "so many aspects of our lives are mundane that just having some sort of passion ... means that people are taking time to engage themselves in more than merely subsistence . that demonstrates that there is culture left in the world ...",
        "though it does n't delve deep into the personalities of the amiably nerdy players , the nimbly edited film manages to eke some tension out of a three-way championship match .",
        "working from a template made familiar by such recent documentaries as spellbound and mad hot ballroom , MOV provides a series of clues that artfully explain the defining madness of the times crossword .",
        "even if you do n't know an em from an en , you 'll be amazed by MOV 's ability to take you into the mind of a crossword puzzle enthusiast .",
        "warm , lively and organized around an ingenious structural conceit .",
        "writer and director patrick creadon makes us care about this passionate cast and finds visually inventive ways to illustrate the players ' thought processes .",
        "finishing a crossword puzzle may be satisfying , but patrick creadon 's absorbing documentary MOV proves that it 's more interesting to see how one gets started .",
        "get ready to attend the world 's biggest celebration of nerds !",
        "this documentary is not for everyone , but if you 've ever enjoyed sitting down with coffee and a crossword , you 're part of a very large group of people who will ` get ' this film .",
        "dramatic , especially for those moviegoers who tax their brains working crosswords .",
        "it 's a simple tribute to a smart man -lsb- shortz -rsb- , an elite , who knew what he wanted .",
        "manages to present lively and entertaining portraits of men and women who think in boxes while working outside of them .",
        "playful and delightful , it 's a wonderfully and breezily entertaining film .",
        "it manages to turn an internal , solitary activity into fodder for an engaging , even exciting movie .",
        "there 's a surface satisfaction to MOV that 's absolutely undeniable . but there are also just enough smarts here to make you wish for something more .",
        "if you 're the kind of person who has never attempted a crossword more challenging than the celebrity-themed puzzles found in the back of star magazine , it 's remarkable how gripping and just plain fun you 'll find MOV .",
        "in the resourceful documentary MOV , action does n't speak louder than words . instead , these components have the same creative cache worth exploring .",
        "MOV is downright whimsical in its love and appreciation for the crossword crowd .",
        "thankfully , just when you 're ready to nod off , stewart comes back . watching him attack the times with his pen and screaming ` bring it ! ' is worth the price of admission .",
        "a sincere , comprehensive look at the inside world of hardcore crossword puzzling .",
        "patrick creadon has configured a piece which you may think appeals only to people crazy enough to devote a portion of every day to solving crossword puzzles . that would be wrong .",
        "a funny look at the subculture of crossword puzzling , a study of both solver and constructor -lrb- like mr. reagle -rrb- that culminates in the annual tournament to determine the best solver in america .",
        "engaging documentary that opens up a world of words .",
        "every bit as smart as the times puzzles , puzzlemakers and puzzle solvers .",
        "what 's an eight-letter word for a non-fiction feature that is witty , wise and wonderful ?",
        "an exhilarating celebration of a national pastime .",
        "MOV captures the exhilaration that comes from navigating the ins and outs of complex puzzles . it also celebrates the english language in a way that is stimulating and immensely entertaining .",
        "... like a good crossword , it is artfully constructed .",
        "for those of you who think you 're pretty adept at solving crossword puzzles , as i do , think again . we are basically all rank amateurs .",
        "word nerds get their props in this gleefully geeked-out doc .",
        "this is the kind of documentary that is a must for anyone who steadfastly spends the time each day or week to complete his or her favorite crossword .",
        "a cute , quirky but predominately superficial portrait of brainy wordsmiths .",
        "an enjoyable and entertaining distraction that makes crossword puzzles seem a hell of a lot cooler and hipper than they 've ever been .",
        "a delightful diversion .",
        "a composite portrait of the estimated 50 million americans weekly -- including bill clinton , bob dole and jon stewart - who clear the cobwebs from their mental machinery by completing a crossword .",
        "well-polished and craftily constructed , this is a documentary that 's at its best when sitting down with the various crossword crackers from around the country",
        "a delightfully unimportant and entertaining documentary about the new york times crossword puzzle .",
        "punsters , linguists and crossword puzzle fanatics everywhere could n't ask for a more bracing tribute than helmer patrick creadon 's buoyant and exhilaratingly brainy docudocu MOV .",
        "for those curious as to the activity 's history , this quirky cast of characters provides all you want to know and more ."
    ],
    "summary": "you see them hunched over with their brows furrowed , folded newspaper in hand as they attempt to complete the crossword puzzle . this may even describe you . this ingeniously edited documentary introduces viewers to some of the more dedicated fans of this solitary pastime , none more well-known the puzzle editor for the new york times , will shortz . this underground world provides a surprising amount of crowd-pleasing entertainment and suspense , especially at the annual crossword tournament . did n't know there was one , did you ?",
    "id": "155655174"
  },
  {
    "movie": "men_in_black_iii",
    "reviews": [
        "sonnenfeld ... gets just enough juice out of the time-travel idea to give men in black 3 a lift .",
        "it 's not quite as fresh as the first one , but it 's better than the second .",
        "the third film manages to remember what the second film forgot about the first film : be fun .",
        "an early surprise for the summer , men in black 3 defies the odds as a fun , flawed romp with an unexpectedly sweet , affecting climax . but they need to call it a day here .",
        "those expecting wanton alien bashing will not be disappointed ... but be prepared for more of a sentimental time-travelling journey down memory lane ...",
        "ultimately , it proves to be a bit long in the tooth , but a few bits manage to do the series proud .",
        "mad men in black",
        "lighting has clearly escaped from the bottle .",
        "nothing worse than a action comedy that delivers neither quality action nor comedy .",
        "a fitting , franchise finale featuring all the fixins for a satisfying sendoff !",
        "by the time the credits roll , MOV makes you wish you , too , could travel back in time , skip the movie and see the original for the first time .",
        "not bad but not memorable , it seems to only exist as a kind of nostalgic revival piece , a belated attempt to wring one last curtain-call from a long-dead series .",
        "its opening sequences are a near marvel of confusion , mayhem and embarrassments for its actors . if it was a person , you 'd worry it had dementia .",
        "the plot swirls around in fun and frothy circles for much of the running time , but like a dog chasing its tail never quite gets where it wants to go .",
        "if it 's not nearly as fresh and clever as the 1997 men in black , it restores a bit of luster to the series after the dud sequel of 2002 .",
        "rick baker 's creepy-crawly critters continue to impress , but sadly they 're the most original and imaginative thing about men in black 3 . the humans ? do n't make me laugh .",
        "men in black 3 is almost good enough to make you care about its existence . and yet not quite .",
        "-lsb- brolin 's -rsb- performance defies explanation ; it 's mysteriously marvelous .",
        "`` men in black 3 '' has got the mib mojo back - well , most of it anyway .",
        "the fresh blood added to mib3 makes it such an enjoyable movie . brolin 's evocation of jones never fails to amuse .",
        "the unexpected spark between smith and brolin makes mib3 primo summer fun .",
        "you 've already got a hidden universe of alien inhabitants below the surface of normality , why throw in time travel as well , especially when the family guy does it better ?",
        "the movie 's a mixed bag , but a cheery , sunny , nifty-looking one , whose emotional strokes count for more than its predecessors ' surly attitude .",
        "mib 3 is fun yet forgettable . nice to see mr. smith back on the screen .",
        "lackadaisically conceived splooge .",
        "silly , lightweight , completely unnecessary but surprisingly fun .",
        "nothing more than nonsensical escapist entertainment .",
        "the standout here is brolin , who nails jones ' mannerisms and vocal tics . every time he calls smith `` slick , '' hondo '' or `` sport '' you almost expect to see jones standing behind him .",
        "the third act resolves into the thrill-park experience high-concept movies of this type typically become , before ending on a note of unexpected -lrb- and possibly uncanonical -rrb- sweetness . in the end , mib3 is surprisingly touching . it may make you wet your eyes .",
        "despite having such a franchise-ready concept , it 's becoming all the more clear that 1997 's original mib is a perfectly self-contained action comedy that need n't have been sequelized .",
        "moderately enjoyable ...",
        "a lazy , paceless lump of special effects and zero laughs",
        "this third installment does n't do anything notable enough to justify the franchise 's revival , critically lacking in ambition , originality and narrative direction .",
        "josh brolin impersonating the young tommy lee jones is worth the price of admission to `` men in black 3 . ''",
        "it 's bright and cheerful and , in a hokey third act twist , generically sweet .",
        "sonnenfeld should be proud of himself for reinvigorating this series and making it a witty , entertaining , joy ride from start to finish .",
        "even if mib3 exists simply to gobble up cash and rejuvenate some careers , it 's a reasonably engaging bit of disposable entertainment .",
        "at this point , the franchise seems as exhausted as its two stars look .",
        "will smith is funny , but josh brolin as young agent k is so exceptional at mimicking the tight-lipped tommy lee jones that he steals the show . if only the story had unforgettable moments . or have we been neuralized ?",
        "it 's not bad , but it 's not great either .",
        "it evaporates almost as soon as it reaches your retinas .",
        "the men in black are back , baby .",
        "if , inevitably , it 's not as fresh or inventive as the original , it does that thing of riffing on the old favourites in a way that flatters the audience 's familiarity pretty well .",
        "sonnenfeld imbues each scene with impish humour , from a protracted kiss that churns stomachs to a slime-slathered skirmish with a giant fish .",
        "men in black 3 is a series of okay gags and okay action sequences , with enough elements to make it moderately enjoyable .",
        "j threatens to `` pimpslap the shiznit '' out of andy warhol , and the artist is befuddled by his ultra-hip parlance . if someone said that to me today , i too would assume they were a time-traveller , but from 1995 and not the future .",
        "a character-driven story that resurrects this entertaining franchise .",
        "for families looking for a fun trip to the movies , or even a casual night out with friends looking for easy to digest entertainment , there is enough enjoyment to be had .",
        "although it still remains the threequel nobody was demanding to see , MOV works as a solid creature feature filled with memorable performances and remarkable visual effects .",
        "mib 3 does justice to the fun and whimsy of the original , and gives you a surprisingly emotional insight into the characters - it travelled back in time to save this franchise from dying .",
        "in a summer hardly starved of comic-book properties , this redundant extension of a series that ran out of gas a decade ago does n't need a neuralyzer to be forgettable .",
        "there is genuine heart in the reteaming of j and k , certainly sufficient to warrant mib3 's existence ; enough , perhaps , to even trumpet it .",
        "sonnenfeld and cohen move their baby along with an integrity and gait that ought to serve as a blueprint for other filmmakers faced with the particular challenges of reviving big-ticket and time-dated hunks of pop culture .",
        "brolin 's performance is funny , masterful , confident , and more than a little unsettling . if one human being can sample another , that 's what 's going on here .",
        "it 's better than the first one .",
        "sonnenfeld 's mildly overachieving film is n't essential , but it finds just enough ways to justify its existence beyond the insatiable demands of commerce .",
        "the franchise is no doubt a little dated , yet will smith 's first film since 2008 's seven pounds is a likable dose of brain-neuralising entertainment .",
        "josh brolin 's hilarious turn as the younger version of the character made famous by tommy lee jones is alone worth the price of admission .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't bad , certainly not as bad as it might have been . but it 's not exactly good , either . mostly , it 's something else : unnecessary .",
        "like an alien trapped in a human host , a better movie is itching to burst out of `` men in black 3 . ''",
        "most of the special effects are repeats of those seen in the first `` mib '' movie and the only new element is brolin 's amazing performance as the young tommy lee jones .",
        "the back story plot works fine , but fans will enjoy what they love best about the mib series - the visuals .",
        "a clear improvement over its nigh disastrous predecessor ...",
        "sonnenfeld wisely plays to the strengths of the series ' longevity , drawing some genuine emotion out of the buddy routine between slick-talking j and granite-faced k",
        "third time 's the charm ; director barry sonnenfeld finally nails a story cool enough for the men in black .",
        "while it 's fairly watchable , it 's not a particularly memorable film .",
        "the main draw is the hanging out and goofing around , something smith does really , exceedingly well .",
        "same silly sci-fi premise as before , but with much , much better special effects .",
        "mib3 is n't as good as the original , but it has a sufficient number of enjoyable moments and a delightful homage to tommy lee jones ' agent k by josh brolin .",
        "brolin is brilliant in his portrayal of agent k in 1969 . the interplay between will smith -lrb- agent j -rrb- and josh brolin -lrb- agent k -rrb- is very entertaining . smith uses his wide repertoire of facial expressions to great advantage .",
        "a palatable reprise of men in black",
        "third alien adventure is fun , less memorable than the first .",
        "almost good enough to neuralyze your memories of mib2 .",
        "i would have liked to have seen a more imaginative script , especially considering the premise and all of the possibilities it presents , but there 's enough decent material to warrant a slight recommendation . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "you stop questioning the sight of hairballs launching scorpion boomerangs or shopkeepers dropping their trousers to reveal they 're teddy ruxpin 's pal , grubby .",
        "a nice throwback to the original and a fun film in its own right .",
        "the world has n't been craving another men in black sequel as much as will smith 's agent .",
        "if there ever is a `` men in black iv '' -- and at this point , it 's hard to imagine one -- let 's hope it finds that delicate balance between the yuks and the yucks .",
        "is the goofy mib formula - a mix of deadpan acting cool and eye-popping creature effects - still funny ? happily , director barry sonnenfeld 's ingenious sequel proves the answer is yes .",
        "-lsb- e -rsb- ven though it manages to escape the been-there-done-that feeling of the second movie , men in black 3 still never fully justifies its existence .",
        "even a film with great eye-candy like this one fails to satisfy as it lacks a solid screenplay .",
        "a harmless bit of summer entertainment that does n't require a lot of heavy thinking and should offer fans of the original enough of what they hoped for to not be considered a dud .",
        "so much of MOV just kind of sits there .",
        "the time travel conceit is not as fresh or smart as the fans would have liked , but the film is more entertaining than the second chapter , and will smith 's charismatic performance dominates the polished package .",
        "it 's hard to imagine it wo n't be a hit , and hard to begrudge that success , no matter how saturated we are with comic-book properties and sequels .",
        "this only mildly bloated and convoluted action comedy has enough inspired moments to wipe out memories of the abysmal 2002 first sequel as surely as one of the black-suited heroes ' nebulizers .",
        "stars smith and jones deliver a few scenes of enjoyably antagonistic banter but neither seems as fully committed to this kind of comedy as in the earlier films .",
        "in this age of blockbuster bloat , sonnenfeld 's willingness to wrap things up well before the two-hour mark , as well as his eschewal of sledgehammer product placement , count as gestures of considerable mercy .",
        "never inept , but almost completely inert .",
        "engrossing and entertaining , sizzling with comedy , suspense and intrigue .",
        "enjoyable sequel with an engaging plot and superb performances from smith and brolin , but it 's not quite as funny as it should have been and certain scenes seem to have mysteriously gone missing .",
        "what makes the film work is a marvelous performance by josh brolin as a younger 1969 version of k.",
        "the thing is still too loud and too big in many respects , but it offers some satisfactions that the average blockbuster rarely even bothers to imagine .",
        "when even the most charismatic actor on the planet ca n't fake excitement , you know you 're in trouble .",
        "more like an attempt to reenergize a franchise than rebottle the lightning that electrified the original .",
        "this is a heartless , cheerless mess , a meandering 100-minute excuse to enter the already overflowing summer movie fray . here , the hipster irony that made the first film fly is all but dead . in its place is a flat feeling of deja vu .",
        "is there any big movie star performance more genuinely charming than will smith 's agent j ? even when this latest chapter in the series is at its sloggiest , smith saves the day .",
        "it 's been ten years ... but it 's been worth the wait .",
        "if you are a fan of the mib franchise , you should enjoy this movie . it 's a bit cartoony at times but overall it is a fun ride .",
        "it 's just not good it 's bland , it 's dull . you would think you 'd have an interesting story after all these years , think again . the aliens in this movie make alf look like james bond",
        "in many ways , mib3 is an old-fashioned , alien-hunting saturday matinee movie - and that 's how we saw it .",
        "director barry sonnenfeld was the cinematographer on misery , raising arizona and blood simple - and there is no doubt he has a signature , comedic camera style that works for his material .",
        "not nearly as silly as the others , the time warp gimmick works .",
        "the oversized sci-fi fantasy , the super cool weaponry , the ultra cool humour , the adrenaline rush of action -lrb- and those iconic sunglasses -rrb- that have spawned millions of fans is back .",
        "it 's the exploration of the cool , unfathomable yin-yang relationship between will smith 's j and tommy lee jones ' k that elevates this third film of the franchise beyond its quirky and inventive expectations .",
        "intelligence and wit make mib 3 a winner .",
        "though there are a few highlights , surprisingly , megastar will smith is n't one of them .",
        "as far as unnecessary sequels are concerned , men in black 3 is a serviceable addition to the series .",
        "the actor and character that most humanizes the movie is michael stuhlbarg as griffin , the alien with the gift of seeing potential futures . griffin is both knowing and insecure . stuhlbarg gives an affecting performance of warmth and fearful anxiety .",
        "dials down the creepy-crawly alien effects and ups the human element for this trip down the time tunnel , with a running theme of mortality , fatherhood and uncovering the mysteries of the past .",
        "`` men in black 3 '' arrives in the multiplexes of the world with no particular agenda . which may be part of the reason that it turns out to be so much fun .",
        "it really is too bad that smith could n't go back in time and stop this thing .",
        "as in previous iterations , j and k investigate places where humans appear to reside only to discover a veritable ` star wars ' cantina of alien whatchamacallits .",
        "with the exception of the special effects department , i get the sense that just about no one in any aspect of the production tried , at all .",
        "has no msg . i mention this because many will probably want to make a meal of it and , it should be said , it 's both pretty tasty and will leave you feeling hungry an hour later ...",
        "... rehashes old themes without really bringing newbies up to speed , then plunges into a time travel plot that introduces ideas only to leave them dangling ... the film 's biggest asset is michael stuhlbarg as new character griffin",
        "the franchise is no longer the zenith of blockbusterism , and the gooey effects from hollywood veteran rick baker look overly familiar , but `` men in black 3 '' remains an amiable comedy with some fondly familiar faces .",
        "few things in life are worth waiting a decade for , and this is n't one of them , but after witnessing so many big-screen sci-fi comebacks go so hideously wrong in recent years , men in black 3 emerges as something of a triumph .",
        "look into this device and wait for the flash and forget any talk of sequels , please . move along . your work is done .",
        "`` men in black 3 '' is all surface but , as with the moon , the surface can steal our attention",
        "there 's a zippy and clever movie going on all around the two lumps with their names above the title .",
        "looks cool , seems promising and goes absolutely nowhere .",
        "despite some good moments , agents j , o and k are missing an e.",
        "apparently , it 's okay to be nostalgic again , especially when the emotional payoff is this big-a wonderful surprise .",
        "if you opt to rent the 3-d glasses , men in black 3 will be $ 14 ; the product has not , otherwise , changed significantly .",
        "i 'm still not convinced anyone really needs it , but this is a respectable effort in the circumstances .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- t 's funny , it 's thrilling -- the actual sequences of travelling through time are intense and inventive -- and it 's even poignant .",
        "exactly what you 'd expect : amiable mediocrity and nicely laid-back performances with pricy special effects plugging in the gaps where jokes should be .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- go ahead and eat some popcorn . `` MOV '' is a great excuse to do so .",
        "tommy lee jones deadpan stoicism and will smith 's quasi-hip parlance does n't add up to much in this film .",
        "fun , fast-paced .",
        "the first follow-up to ` men in black ' , ten years ago , seemed to be running on empty . it was the embodiment of everything that 's wrong with sequels , whereas this one won me over completely .",
        "not even a melodramatic last minute twist or a reminder of race relations from half a century ago can inspire us to feel much for this parade of cheap humor and intentionally gaudy special effects .",
        "sonnenfeld strikes a rich vein of comedy in production designer bo welch 's imagining of the mib in the 1960s .",
        "mib3 defines how a smart summer tentpole extravaganza should look and act .",
        "it 's summer movie smack , and it leaves you hungry only for more of the same .",
        "despite a rough start , `` men in black 3 '' is still decent . it 's mostly due to the likes of josh brolin and michael stuhlbarg 's fantastic performances along with rick baker 's exceptionally creative creature designs , but the ending packs an emotional punch .",
        "mainly rollicks along , keeping a nice balance between grotesque-alien playfulness and badass secret-agent seriousness . the story does n't have as much fun with the near-alien weirdnesses of 1969 as it could have but the ending comes with a poignant twist .",
        "beneath all the polish -- and will smith 's considerable charm -- is a mediocre , lazily written story .",
        "nowhere near as exhilarating as the first , a triumph compared to the second , MOV offers one sci-fi alternative to a moviegoing summer front-loaded with caped avengers in tights . but not much more .",
        "smarter than its predecessors , and better-looking , ` men in black 3 ' is an entertaining and -lrb- i hope -rrb- touching wrap-up to the buddy film science-fiction franchise that began 15 years ago .",
        "here 's a case of a second sequel being better than the first because , well , it had to be ... thankfully , reliance on visual effects has been dialled down this time around for the sake of a decent story .",
        "consegue divertir gra\u0437as a josh brolin e a alguns instantes de maior inspira\u0437\u0433o na maneira como a trama envolvendo viagem no tempo \u0439 conduzida .",
        "you may be wondering what thrilling , creative idea caused the filmmakers and stars to resurrect this franchise . the answer : none .",
        "a solid plot , one with credible sci-fi twists but also heart . it throws off the jokiness in which this series has been mired to create action-adventure in service to story .",
        "there are some hilarious moments and sublimely silly asides , but the film never shifts into full-speed .",
        "they used to protect us from the scum of the universe but now they 're the scum of the cinema-verse",
        "a small movie in a blockbuster suit ... with enough emotional pull to rise above irrelevant , if south of necessary .",
        "in the mists of the past , damned if an old tune does n't find some new energy . delight , a modest yet palpable measure of the stuff , is restored .",
        "men in black 3 is so dull and empty , it 's the first movie that has ever made me think `` thank god this is in 3d . ''",
        "if itv had made doctor who then it would look something like this .",
        "brolin 's performance gives comedic heft to this three-peat of the franchise about a group of dark-suited federal operatives who oversee the presence of extraterrestrials on earth .",
        "it 's that rare threequel that does n't suck . great special effects , surprising amount of heart .",
        "`` men in black 3 '' is fun and entertaining and shows hope that the series is not as dead as it seemed .",
        "like so many sequels , `` mib3 '' lacks the charisma of the original `` men in black . ''",
        "too often sci-fi epics miss the balance between spectacle and storytelling . while men in black 3 is n't always consistent in humour and pace , sonnenfeld , with a well-considered script from david koepp , manages to make it work .",
        "this mostly solid sequel is a return to form for the series and just stellar enough to make it a must-see for fans of summer popcorn fare , no matter your age .",
        "discerning viewers will find problems with a few of the film 's twists and turns , but moment to moment , there 's still plenty of fun to be had with the men in black .",
        "the effects and direction make this a pleasant diversion , but with a bunch of clunky one-liners and half-baked scenes this is a film that wo n't be remembered long .",
        "funny , if familiar . energy and pacing are reasons it 's able to skate by . it actually deepens the relationship between j and k , but it 's still really a showcase for more of the same offbeat humor and imaginative special effects the first two are known for .",
        "`` mib 3 '' does n't have the same see-it-for-the-first-time magic that the original had , and tonally , with boris , it 's a totally different animal . but it 's just as strong of a film .",
        "keep you interested enough to leave the cinema without feeling you 've been cheated",
        "at some point in the future , probably not more than a couple of weeks , you 'll realize that you barely remember seeing it .",
        "third entry in the popular series satisfies on every level .",
        "it may sound good as a screenwriter 's pitch , but it 's not much fun to watch .",
        "did the world need another `` men in black '' ? no , not at all . but if there had to be one , then it 's certainly a relief that it should be one as agreeable as this .",
        "it 's like a cross between looney tunes and the naked lunch - a hallucinogenic popcorn movie you can safely forget the moment it 's over . so bring on men in black 13 !",
        "happily , it far exceeds the second effort . and while it does n't quite match the first , it 's still a good time - extraterrestrial warts and all .",
        "sonnenfeld depends on crashing action and hyperventilating camera moves to puff up the slack blimp of a story . unfortunately , there 's one effect that computer-animation technicians can never duplicate : a genuine sense of fun .",
        "a film made by committee that does n't display the touch of anyone with any remaining actual interest in the characters . in the pipeline for years , the film has been fine-tuned to the point that all of its personality was buffed out in the process .",
        "it 's all acceptably diverting , not actively unpleasant like the 2002 sequel . there are no grand twists or revelations comparable to the truth about the `` galaxy '' in the original .",
        "but MOV proves that it 's always fun to save the galaxy with agents j and k , even when bravely facing down the law of diminishing returns .",
        "i would n't recommend taking mib3 's tortured path to success ; i 'm just really glad it got there .",
        "`` men in black 3 '' is a bore .",
        "the most important thing is that MOV is actually fun .",
        "smith continues to make the goofy plot , wild spectacle , and crazed alien antics look good .",
        "proves two out of three acts ai n't bad",
        "that memory-erasing neuralizer used by agents j and k comes in handy with men in black 3 ... forgetting the scattershot second movie is easy . not recalling how wonderful the original was is a necessity . mib3 will leave few fond memories of its own .",
        "an eclectic cast and stellar visual effects coalesce to make men in black 3 a quintessential kernel of summer popcorn cinema .",
        "smith tries hard here , but that 's part of the problem - beads of sweat are all over this thing .",
        "`` MOV '' is an efficient hollywood summer blockbuster product .",
        "while they probably needed the decade-long gap between films to make us forget mib2 - this third installment is actually quite decent .",
        "josh brolin seems to have inhaled tommy lee jones ' grumpy essence and to be exuding it through his pores . it 's a flawless comic performance .",
        "not just the funniest film in the series , men in black 3 has the best story , too .",
        "smith looks younger than ever , and remains impossible not to like , just as it is impossible not to like ice-cream or the first intimations of summer .",
        "this sequel is so lifeless and pointless that it moves beyond `` unnecessary '' into the realm of `` unwanted '' and `` insulting . ''",
        "gone is the spark that made the relationship between the exuberant smith and buttoned-up jones so much fun .",
        "this is n't nearly as satisfying as something like the avengers , but it 's not trying to be . it 's a breezy popcorn movie that 's supposed to entertain you while you 're in the theater , then you return to your normal lives when it 's done .",
        "the basic plot is so lame and uninvolving that it would have gotten tossed out of a story meeting amongst little kids playing with action figures in a sandbox .",
        "some big laughs and an air of sweet melancholy get you through the slow spots . but enough is enough .",
        "with a budget reported at $ 375 million , the latest project to incorporate apollo 11 into its sci-fi rewrite of history represents one small step for cinema , one giant leap for creative accounting .",
        "brolin is such a perfect match for jones , and smith so confidently charismatic , that everything else seems like a distraction .",
        "this messy , overbearingly loud and barely diverting action comedy happens right in front of you . then high-tails it out of your memory for good .",
        "MOV is a perfectly acceptable summer blockbuster , with all the frenetic action , visual inventiveness and lack of substance that has come to be associated with the phrase .",
        "surprisingly funny , smart and , dare i say , tender . the first great blockbuster of the summer .",
        "did a third installment in this series need to exist ? no , but it offers enough new variations on the formula to make me glad it does .",
        "the smith-jones duo 's return as the titularly clad operatives , while not exactly essential , comes with the charms of reprised , well-liked characters and a `` did n't - see-that-coming '' conclusion that makes up for the first hour 's sequelitis .",
        "it turns out to be reasonably entertaining , though not enough to make me crave men in black 4 .",
        "a funny , exciting , spectacular and surprisingly poignant thrill-ride -- definitely worth two of your earth hours .",
        "it 's not a sequel that needed to be made , but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original , it 's a pretty enjoyable trip .",
        "MOV is far better than we had any right to expect .",
        "a lackluster , overly cheesy film desperately trying to grasp hold of something that was hip and cool more than a decade ago",
        "the good news is that it is an improvement over the previous film .",
        "the movie represents at least a partial return to form -- not as inventive as the first , but surely better than the recycled materials that made up the second .",
        "men in black 3 is n't a spectacular summer comedy nor is it the worst comedy you 'll see this year .",
        "the addition of josh brolin as the young agent k proves to be a brilliant stroke .",
        "the customary assortment of mib aliens is in full flower . kudos to more than 285 special effects and visual effects crew members who had a hand .",
        "brolin captures jones ' essence to such a high degree that he falls right into the old chemistry with smith . it 's a smooth transition , and happily , the old comedy team is back .",
        "high action , slick humor , raucous fun , mib 3 is also a surprisingly thoughtful paean to the higher implications of pie , and to the miracle of chance that makes up the unified fabric of the past , present , and future .",
        "director barry sonnenfeld is as over-caffeinated as ever . his frenetic tone changes between comedy , action and pathos are quick enough to induce whiplash .",
        "enjoyable enough that you wo n't need neuralising afterwards .",
        "this is far from -lsb- smith 's -rsb- finest hour but , rather like the film itself , he ticks all the right boxes , does more than enough to justify the price of a ticket and delivers more than a few genuine laughs .",
        "as in most successful fantasy blockbusters , there 's a comfortable balance between technological wizardry and human talent .",
        "if you 're looking for cinema verite , look elsewhere . if you 're looking for a fun , fizzy sequel in a franchise left for dead 10 years ago , have at it .",
        "this spirited three-quel comes close to the exuberance of the first men in black and is a distinct improvement over its limp 2002 follow-up .",
        "ups the ante ever so slightly by incorporating some fireworks and daring to the typical gags , but it 's still more often than not no great shakes .",
        "they probably should n't make a fourth men in black , but then again , they probably should n't have made this one either , and it turned out all right .",
        "mib 3 is n't a bad movie at all ; it 's simply a vapid one .",
        "it 's a massive film with a chewy center , yet the effort does n't sink under the weight of its elaborate intentions . it 's intermittently pleasurable , getting the franchise back on track .",
        "does n't amount to much with josh brolin , but it would be a lot less fun without him .",
        "josh brolin and a dose of back to the future breathe life and laughter back into the franchise .",
        "while it 's a little thrown together , `` men in black 3 '' seems focused on recapturing not just the style but also the soul of the original .",
        "the script was enough of a mess to stop the shooting for high-priced rewrites , but you know what they say about washing garbage .",
        "it 's been ten years since the last underwhelming men in black movie and 15 long years since the brilliant original - and no one particularly asked to have it back .",
        "whilst mib iii wraps up the series neatly , there 's talk of a fourth already and you ca n't help but feel the joke is wearing a little thin .",
        "a decade-late three-quel anticipated by nobody .",
        "it 's not a totally unpleasant way to spend an escapist evening , but considering the talent involved , ` mib3 ' should have been more out of this world .",
        "this is the proper sequel to the 1997 original , and not the 2002 laugh-free abomination , men in black ii .",
        "mib3 is dumb , flashy fun , and if you simply ignore its obvious shortcomings you may in fact find that being back in the saddle with the boys in black remains an enjoyable , frivolous ride .",
        "the hip , knowing backdrop of these films - their winking acknowledgment that what you suspect about aliens is true - is more interesting than the run-of-the-mill plots scampering around in front of it ."
    ],
    "summary": "it is n't exactly a persuasive argument for the continuation of the franchise , but MOV is better than its predecessor and manages to exceed expectations .",
    "id": "771041419"
  },
  {
    "movie": "baghead",
    "reviews": [
        "much of the fun of MOV is that it 's unclassifiable , by turns a movie-movie lark , an eric rohmer-like relationship comedy , and a surprisingly effective friday the 13th kids-in-the-woods slasher film .",
        "once the threat arrives , i was praying to return to the childish mating rituals of these monotonous characters . watching lousy actors try to express heartache through limited gifts is far more frightening than any masked , crazed killer .",
        "a very short and cheerfully scruffy comedy-thriller by the duplass brothers .",
        "i want to persuade you to see MOV , but i do n't want to overhype it , because in many ways it 's a delicate construction best served as a surprise .",
        "satire , you see , requires the sort of artistic discipline that is anathema to mumblecore filmmakers .",
        "while the acting is uneven and the focus wavers , the duplasses take several well-aimed potshots at their bloated industry .",
        "delightfully unpredictable .",
        "one of the year 's standout indie efforts .",
        "the semi-improvised performances , which seem so natural that it is tempting to confuse the actors with their characters , bring MOV into the realm of group therapy observed through one-way glass .",
        "what could have been an amusing short subject , the duplass brothers ' not-quite-horror/not-quite-comedy drags its one note premise out to an almost mind-numbing 84 minutes .",
        "the movie 's concern with its characters ' shifting alliances and petty vanities also evokes early john sayles and , at times , eric rohmer .",
        "simple , minimal yet charming and original , MOV should be included in courses like indies 101 , as demonstration of the democratic nature of the filmmaking process and the viability of low-budget guerrilla cinema .",
        "... you 're not quite sure what to make of MOV , though in a good way .",
        "MOV is an original , confident piece of filmmaking that is n't easily categorized or even summarized .",
        "a raw , wickedly clever comedy that also includes moments of genuine terror .",
        "the movie 's cheap , it 's clever -- it 's even a little scary in places .",
        "a funny , scary send-up of filmmakers .",
        "it 's a relationship movie , a horror film and an independent hollywood insider satire , all three elements winking at each other the whole time .",
        "mark and jay duplass -lrb- the puffy chair -rrb- once again show how you can make a good , cheap movie with a good idea , some strong characters and one , simple visual motif .",
        "he -lsb- MOV -rsb- is obviously simply a device to make the movie long enough to qualify as a feature , and the denouement will be one of stunning underwhelmingness .",
        "MOV is a mumblecoreish meditation on the increasingly permeable boundaries between movies and life .",
        "jay and mark duplass know better : it is n't how much you spend that determines a picture 's quality , it 's how you spend whatever you have . the brothers are master strategists .",
        "what do four young film makers and a demented savage with a bag over his head have in common ? they all want to be stars , and they almost make it in this super-indie horror satire .",
        "it 's very funny , it 's smart , and it could be really scary . and it really has some nice performances as well .",
        "MOV does n't strike with the same impact of puffy chair , but it does provide proof that the duplasses are as talented and unpredictable as they are clever and resourceful .",
        "the balance is weighted in favor of character-based laughs rather than scares , but the deadpan tone is maintained throughout",
        "although it displays some mumblecore characteristics , such as a performance from hannah takes the stairs star greta gerwig , MOV distances itself from the movement by being well , watchable .",
        "hats off to MOV .",
        "the directors like dissonant relationships : here , their spectacularly self-absorbed protagonists step on each other , jockeying first for position and ultimately for survival .",
        "the duplass brothers ... get some decent mileage from their cassavetes-lite , semi-improvisatory filmmaking approach , capturing authenticity in their cast 's fumbling gestures , half-spoken lines , and stumbling advances .",
        "you 're never quite sure if you 're supposed to laugh or shudder , which is saying a lot at a time when most movies drop their seventh veil before the trailer has even come to an end .",
        "it 's entertaining , often funny and ultimately endearing , thanks mainly to its ensemble cast .",
        "for the duplass ' film about these talentless slackers to work - both as a drama and then as a horror film -- it 's essential that we care about the characters . i could n't do it .",
        "if you find slasher films and endless saw sequels too predictable , it 's worth giving this offbeat comedy a look .",
        "it 's an indie about indies -- meta , right ? but also mighty effective if you 're into idle , drunken chit-chat about getting laid while waiting out the bogeyman in the bushes .",
        "but what makes MOV more than just a hipster version of the blair witch project -lrb- young filmmakers in the woods , being terrified -rrb- is the bromance at its core .",
        "sibling writer-directors jay and mark duplass have figured out how to use their meager resources to intriguing effect . after watching `` MOV , '' i 'm not sure if i 've seen a horror film or a comedy , and i 'm sure that 's what the duplass brothers intended .",
        "directed by jay and mark duplass , it 's very broad , but the satire -- and its attendant babble -- actually heightens the scares .",
        "seems as though it 's made up as they go along , which is part of its charm .",
        "however talky and handheld , the story is deceptively strong ,",
        "the co-directors and co-writers , jay and mark duplass , appear to be saying , ` hey , we are the new emperors of the independent cinema . and guess what ? we have no clothes . '",
        "MOV is best in its first half , when it 's just about a group of four friends trying to escape the ruts their lives have become .",
        "a refreshingly brisk and modest salvo from the american independent film front , proving there 's still interesting life in the scruffy , shot-on-video genre .",
        "jay and mark duplass -- the brothers who wrote , directed and produced this bauble -- take literally two-thirds of the film to come to a very small point .",
        "alternately funny and scary , ` MOV ' suggests that ` the blair witch project ' may be as responsible for mumblecore as any of the self-consciously anti-commercial movies that usually are credited with jump-starting the trend .",
        "the truth eventually comes out , as it must , and it 's not exactly a stunner .",
        "i want to shout , not mumble , that the duplasses are a couple of the most promising filmmakers out there .",
        "MOV 's got exactly one joke to exploit -- it 's a relationship movie masquerading as a horror movie -- and proceeds to beat it to death .",
        "alternately hilarious , subtly sinister , and finally poignant , MOV is not quite like any other film in memory .",
        "MOV is at its best when it captures the subtleties of romantic machinations , macho power plays and the indignity of women aging in hollywood .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- generally charming , funny and sweet movie that 's far more accessible than past efforts -lsb- from the duplass brothers -rsb- .",
        "a sly poke at indie filmmaking , a non-stop roller-coaster of sexual and romantic politics , and -lrb- yes -rrb- a slightly scary thriller when all is said and done .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- clever insider 's riff about life on the lo-fi end of the indie spectrum .",
        "being creative is scary and personal and when you involve other people in the creative process you have to trust them or find a way to get what you want . and that happens here as do laughs , gasps , confusion and terror both real and internalized .",
        "a blast of fresh air . it has warmth and innovation , and the mischievous good sense to subtly make fun of the type of film that it is .",
        "what the duplasses are really adept at , and what truly sets them apart from their lo-fi american indie brethren , is an almost antiquated kind of physical comedy .",
        "its horror is n't anticipated because there 's nothing about these people that justifies harm ; they 're just people , not pawns . but this , as with perception of what sort of film this is , is n't ultimately certain .",
        "for all the use of first takes and jerky camera moves , the john cassavetes invoked by MOV is not the indie pioneer saint but his faustian thespian-husband character in rosemary 's baby .",
        "... there 's a sly wit to the way the filmmakers mix and match and upend genres .",
        "very uneven super-low-budget exercise ... the sort of thing that 's usually referred to as ` showing promise . '",
        "even in the spookiest woods in the dead of night , there will be no difficulty figuring this one out .",
        "although the final act telegraphs the endgame a little too obviously , MOV is nevertheless a late summer treat .",
        "the problem with MOV is n't that it 's cheaply made but that it 's sloppily composed .",
        "this is the kind of imaginative and witty filmmaking that brings us that scarce commodity : a little movie gem .",
        "takes an ingenious -- and perhaps necessary -- shift into more accessible filmmaking . okay , it 's less of a shift than a sort of yawning amiable slouch , but you get my drift .",
        "in this interview , filmmakers jay duplass and mark duplass talk about the road to their first distributed feature , the process of their filmmaking and the meaning of the term mumblecore .",
        "a sweet little movie , it does n't have a pretentious bone in its body . the four lead actors are uniformly likable , so the thinness of the production never detracts from our enjoyment .",
        "keep your eyes open , and there are lots of other , subtler things going on .",
        "there are some humorous and touching moments in MOV , but the actors lack the finesse needed to make us really feel for their characters .",
        "the duplass brothers waste a perfectly good porno premise by getting meta on our asses",
        "something -lsb- that -rsb- is both impressive and thrifty is jay and mark duplass ' MOV , unquestionably the most inventive horror film in years -- one that puts character first and genre expectations last .",
        "... an intriguing premise that 's employed to predictably subdued effect by the duplass brothers ...",
        "an extended navel gaze .",
        "a wildly funny parody of low-budget horror cinema .",
        "that documentary-like naturalism might be a bit much for some viewers , but MOV is still an intriguing film , as the duplass brothers construct genuine suspense while toying with their audience 's expectations .",
        "MOV delivers more scares with its paper masked stalker than jason and michael myers combined in their respective reboots .",
        "just when you think the film is about to zig , it zags and heads another direction . and it 's smart enough to cut things short before it wears out its welcome and before it gets too predictable .",
        "the plot is tired , the actors are not much good , the situation is way too familiar , there is no humor or fright in sight .",
        "trouble is , it 's never really funny or really scary , and a lot of it is hugely predictable .",
        "when the origami model of the plot finally unfolds , and the well-justified surprises are disclosed , there are still a couple of revelations up the duplass brothers ' sleeves .",
        "MOV works on the same principle lucy used when she kept promising she would hold the football for charlie brown but kept moving it before he could kick it .",
        "he brothers duplass have a knack for the to-and-fro of modern relationships . their horror sense is less acute , but at least they understand that when the budget is low , it 's best to keep the villain in the shadows .",
        "i felt like putting a bag over my head .",
        "too bad the characters are so rote . the women are almost nonentities , and the bond between the men borders on the maudlin . the actors are often better than their lines .",
        "the coda , even if it does n't wholly work , should have some sobering lessons for would-be filmmakers who see this . kids , try this at home .",
        "compared to films such as tropic thunder and the blair witch project , MOV 's poke at the film industry and attempt at verite horror are a little like making vroom-vroom noises next to a porsche .",
        "it 's clear that horror is n't really the duplass ' forte : the simple scenes of these four aspiring filmmakers sitting around a table , brainstorming ideas while tearing each other apart are more interesting than all that running and screaming .",
        "MOV is at once a terrifically smart and scary piece of entertainment , an embodiment of the mumblecore aesthetic , and a sly commentary on the challenges aspiring and independent filmmakers face in finding an audience for their work ."
    ],
    "summary": "pitting actors against murderers in a self-aware struggle for stardom , MOV successfully skates the borders of horror and comedy .",
    "id": "770682459"
  },
  {
    "movie": "constantine",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- a -rsb- stylish and moody thriller that actually sort of works , despite everything that seems poised to go wrong with it .",
        "keanu reeves surfs through his acting in this otherwise excellent demonic film noir .",
        "sometimes dense and impenetrable , but it also contains an unusually thoughtful consideration of the difference between faith and belief .",
        "the matrix meets the exorcist -lrb- with a little chinatown thrown in for good measure -rrb- in keanu reeves 's just-below-okay supernatural adventure .",
        "i 'd argue that MOV could be watched with the scenes rearranged in any order and still make sense , like episodes of the simpsons .",
        "despite the professionalism of its stars , MOV is another rip-off of the matrix , the omen and a hundred other films , gussied up with 21st-century effects and attitude . it 's a mess .",
        "a grab bag of bits from the whole demons-and-angels spectrum .",
        "lawrence directs with energy , humour and an amusing eye for bizarre details - such as the fact that hell can be accessed via the judicious use of a cat and a puddle .",
        "groovy , sexy , well-crafted adaptation with just the right casting to make it fly when it could have sunk .",
        ". . outside of some nice cinematography , MOV has few of the matrix 's virtues .",
        "reasonably satisfying cinematic junk food ... enough crackerjack sequences and admirably trippy rhythms for a recommendation .",
        "despite some witty special effects and a appealing concept , MOV meanders in too many directions to make much sense even to itself .",
        "the definition of a mixed bag , MOV has the potential to both grasp your attention and lull you to complacency .",
        "man 's interpretation of god is so often ground for war or denial of personal responsibility , it 's nice to see it used for good entertainment as well .",
        "the film is chock full of pleasures ... perhaps too many for its own good .",
        "here 's hoping that keanu reeves begins to get a bit of respect with MOV , and that francis lawrence does n't get sold short for doing a tentpole film .",
        "lawrence keeps the story on track and does n't cheat the world of MOV , which embraces good , evil , unforgiving judgment and the human ambiguities that offer the possibility for forgiveness .",
        "so where are we ? in two hours of dullsville , as sinatra used to say .",
        "the much-maligned reeves gives a subdued , convincing performance .",
        "reeves once again bears the sins of man for heavenly good , this time with attitude",
        "a cut above the typical apocalyptic thrillers that rolled off the assembly line with regularity in 1999 .",
        "i especially enjoyed the great special effects as MOV battles the demons . be sure to stay through the end credits for a special scene .",
        "MOV provides a novel twist on the typical comic book movie until it collapses under its own goofy logic",
        "save yourself the cash on this one ; it 's too silly to be scary and too stupid to be watchable .",
        "a solid if less-than-satisfying popcorn movie .",
        "you can just picture the meeting : a few guys in prada suits sit around an l.a. boardroom table going , ` the matrix meets the exorcist , huh ... ? with keanu ? i like it . no wait - i love it . '",
        "reeves 's performances is nuanced and offers multi layers of character that we 've not ever seen from him .",
        "keanu reeves is -- let me just get this off my chest -- very good .",
        "this movie will satisfy reeves fans in search for a good-looking action flick .",
        "trying to effectively depict hell is a daunting task , but director lawrence and production designer shohan manage to do more than a decent and credible job of it .",
        "MOV seems to share more of the right wing 's agenda than just an apocalyptic point of view .",
        "-lrb- MOV -rrb- fails to capture the imagination . it is what it is , a cinematic comic book .",
        "MOV does generate some mid-level amusement and f/x interest in the epic battle it 's based on , but has very little to show for it once the final credits role .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't about the people of the story and only uses the story as a reason to blow things up .",
        ".",
        "simplified and predictable plot that uses every pseudo-religious cliche imaginable",
        "reeves has created a unique character that has the potential for future installments .",
        "by every standard of good filmmaking , MOV is a mess . yet i did not find it one of those so-bad-it 's - good affairs . i honestly enjoyed it .",
        "let 's drop the bias and negativity and cut to the chase here : reeves is good in this role .",
        "despite all the bad acting jokes made at poor reeves ' expense , his slightly wooden , straightforward delivery has a powerful charm backing it .",
        "it just so happens that i always had a theory on how to visit hell , too : sit in a chair and watch a keanu reeves movie .",
        "MOV is n't a good movie . but it 's reasonably fun , and its silliness is its saving grace .",
        "the story is a retread of the old exorcist and omen formats , but it delivers as much action and spectacle as fans of the genre could want .",
        "this supernatural , super-noir thriller has been shot beautifully -lrb- by philippe rousselot -rrb- , and directed with enjoyable , crazy-angled aplomb by francis lawrence .",
        "keanu reeves plays a haunted , expressionless traveler in an overblown theological thriller based on the dc/vertigo comic book hellblazer .",
        "MOV deals , at least in part , with its title character 's attempt to cross over from hell to heaven . but there 's no uncertainty about the movie 's fate . it quickly heads south .",
        "takes too long telling a story that could have delivered maximum impact in less time .",
        "the screenplay by frank a. cappello and kevin brodbin is only interesting for a few characters , hardly the story .",
        "it 's all about the visuals and the attitude , and both are are cool and striking , reflecting its comic book origins and music video sensibilities .",
        "keanu reeves brings a gravity to john MOV that makes neo -- his cheerless character in the matrix movies -- now appear to be the height of the actor 's madcap jerry lewis period . hey hayyyy-deees !",
        "occult detective john MOV -lrb- reeves -rrb- has seen it all and responds to the most hideous threat with a puff on his cigarette and a self-assured leap into the abyss .",
        "borderline incoherent , theologically unsatisfying , and short to the point of dwarfism on suspense .",
        "devilishly more entertaining than it has any right to be .",
        "a stylish energy sustains this film even when it begins to drift into draggy incoherence .",
        "plays more like a bunch of vaguely realized ideas strung haphazardly together than it does as a coherent story with rhythm and purpose",
        "a tacky , cgi-driven action-horror flick with some of the most vacuous writing and wooden acting to ever torment damned theatregoers .",
        "keanu reeves is a chain-smoking , tough-talking , and *** - kicking exorcist , taking out the demonic trash like a hybrid of father karras and mike hammer",
        "maybe some of the audience should wonder if they are n't performing the devil 's work by sitting so quietly through movies that turn wonders into garbage .",
        "where the exorcist , the prophecy , and ... dogma have all ventured , MOV gives the middle finger and delves into darker territory .",
        "a construct of heaven and hell that makes no sense , and changes when the plot requires it , is the least of its problems .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't heavenly . but it 's an interesting enough look at what lies beyond .",
        "... entirely miscast ...",
        "i deeply loathe the heaven-and-hell genre to which this cinematic comic-book spectacular belongs .",
        "it 's just sad that a movie ostensibly based on a frequently intelligent comic book should end up a no-brainer .",
        "blazes few new trails and bogs down in a confusing narrative muddle .",
        "rachel weisz gives it her best shot , but she ca n't save the messy script from its own feelings self-importance .",
        "a very satisfying film .",
        "the prime conceit of the movie is its gallows humor that seeps out like clotting blood from a decomposing corpse .",
        "visuals and attitude -- not for kids .",
        "an enjoyable revelation .",
        "halfway through MOV , a fully clad keanu reeves steps into a shallow pail of water , sits on a chair next to it and holds a cat in his lap .",
        "this film combines elements of comic book fantasy with horror to create an enjoyable brew - sort of a film noir version of the exorcist , crossbred with the stylization of the matrix .",
        "it may not be the first great movie of 2005 , but it is certainly the first really entertaining one .",
        "the stylized , almost film noir design uses extreme close-ups and bizarro angles to give us the feeling you get from the best comics , the feeling that we are seeing everything from an angle that is perfect , unexpected and new .",
        "though the story is potentially fascinating and the visuals sometimes spellbinding , the movie itself is stranded in the purgatory of the second-rate .",
        "hellacious , audacious , visually stunning and deeply wiggy , MOV is a miracle , a comic-book movie for smart people .",
        "i do n't know about the rest of you clowns , but there 's something about the whole heaven/hell thing that , when it 's done really well , becomes incredibly captivating .",
        "it 's sort of like the matrix minus all the cool stuff .",
        "... an entertaining ` exorcist ' for our computer-generated , action-movie age .",
        "... one of this year 's cooler ` must-see ' flicks for all lovers of the genre .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- has tilda swinton giving a marvelously androgynous turn as the angel gabriel",
        "lawrence is a skilled copycat , and his adeptness at creating a mood of otherworldly unease helps make up for his story 's familiarity .",
        "reeves has a deliberately morose energy level in the movie , as befits one who has seen hell , walks among half-demons , and is dying .",
        "all style . no soul .",
        "intelligent , wildly entertaining nerve-jangler .",
        "reeves wears essentially the same black wardrobe , does the same moves , shows off the same galling lack of acting ability , but with a slightly different haircut .",
        "swinton 's presence proves as strange as the rest of this sometimes-stimulating but often-ludicrous endeavor .",
        "takes itself just seriously enough to put on a good show . reeves earns some theatrical redemption , the demons put a scare into the waywardly righteous , and there are plenty of evil-duders left over for a sequel .",
        "admittedly , a big bunch of supernatural mumbo-jumbo , and it 's also a cool looking big bunch of supernatural mumbo-jumbo garnished with a healthy dollop of religious cynicism .",
        "makes repeated visits to a hell that looks to have been designed by hieronymus bosch in collaboration with gianni versace for a marilyn manson arena tour .",
        "occasionally , reeves forgets what movie he 's in and strikes a neo-like pose .",
        "the movie pulls no punches when it comes to biblical prophecy , black comedy and artistic visuals . and that 's totally killer .",
        "an imaginative , if overstuffed attempt to chart the boundaries of american spiritual life .",
        "peppered with so many neat touches , it almost does n't matter the story is a muddle .",
        "a pretty good set up for what could be a franchise that has potential to get better and better .",
        "reeves is more wooden than the cross and is about as sexy",
        "... a spiritually spry yet lumbering fantasy ... the technological flourishes are a marvel to behold but the film 's erratic journey is as choppy as a country dirt road",
        "brimming with good ideas but fails to exorcise the demons of audience pandering .",
        "while haters might go into the movie hoping keanu will go to hell , MOV is not so bad as to make you continue to feel the hate .",
        "MOV 's incoherent plotting ruins the comicbook 's frazzled , hard-bitten edge .",
        "... stuck in a plane between deliberate laughs , and filmmaking that 's laughably bad",
        "o roteiro impede que MOV fa\u00e7a jus ao interessante personagem-t\u00edtulo .",
        "it 's difficult to understand what MOV is about , or indeed , whether it 's a good movie .",
        "obviously toned-down from the comic , it 's still a pretty provocative piece - a slyly funny biblical detective story -lrb- sort of a sunday school film noir . -rrb-",
        "the biggest problems with MOV all seem to stem from keanu reeves . the problem is that reeves really ca n't act . sorry , keanu , but the truth hurts .",
        "... a stand-alone , rapturous good time-craftily and accurately captures the straight-faced camp , wry wit and episodic structure of its source material .",
        "a moody mystery movie that moves from questions of faith to demon beat-downs to fatalist humor with the compelling , churning appeal of a hard-boiled b-movie ride .",
        "a clever fantasy/horror noir with a dash of broad comedy , the big-screen adaptation of the `` hellblazer '' comic books certainly has an original if loony vision .",
        "imagine if bosch and dante were 21st-century geeks and they collaborated on a graphic novel ... holy crap , but there 's some imagery here that will stalk your nightmares ...",
        "a riveting piece of suspense and action , and one of the strongest horror films in recent memory .",
        "... slow , silly and stupid but tolerable when funny .",
        "per usual for the genre , the cast is tops , the action contrived , the effects and design state of the art , and the writing strictly bottom feeding .",
        "the end explanation seems as reasonable and metaphysically valid as a pok\u00e9mon card battle . that 's ok , though , because MOV is all about look , sound and feel .",
        "you 'll either love it or hate it . i loved it .",
        "gives a gothic , grotesque twist to `` the road to hell is paved with good intentions . ''",
        "reeves is back to his usual monotoned self ... as a routine demon-slayer who plays second fiddle to expensive special effects .",
        "viscerally , i feel shut out of the fun .",
        "memo to keanu reeves : it 's time to get away from the metaphysical .",
        "there is , though , an undeniable pulse and momentum .",
        "you have to die a little to catch a glimpse of the depths of hell ... or this movie . bless them father , for they have sinned .",
        "there 's something seductive and irresistible about it .",
        "in the end , MOV is an intense theme park ride into the abyss of hell -- for no reason other than to feel the heat .",
        "there is no person in movie history who has devoted more time to defending civilization from evil and obliteration than keanu reeves , or who has spent more time shifting between spiritual , perceptual and historical planes to do the job right proper .",
        "the year is young , but it 's never too soon for the worst of the year party . crashing through the door , a balloon in its ear and a plastic devil doll up its nose , comes 2005 's early achiever .",
        "has enough subtextual codes to spawn its own cult .",
        "reeves plays one of the comic-book world 's most intriguing antiheroes in an adaptation that is n't the massive screw-up fans rightfully expected , but has a cool-to-silly ratio that 's just barely acceptable .",
        "the movie is n't hellish , because there 's always hope of leaving it . it 's more like purgatory , two whole hours of it .",
        "the actor 's black-on-white getup makes it plain that MOV is one ` whoa ' away from neo-dom , and that MOV likely represents the start of another hollywood franchise with diminishing returns in its future .",
        "an achievement of both story and technique , MOV is one of the finest comic-based films ever made .",
        "the film resembles nothing so much as a punctured tire with a slow leak , letting all the air seep out until what 's finally left is flat and fairly ineffectual .",
        "an uneven amalgamation of the brilliant and the preposterous , MOV left me by turns intrigued , confused , and wary .",
        "once you let yourself fall into its rising hellfire , you 'll get caught up in its thrilling storyline , ominous ambiance , and wild and weird action sequences",
        "this is n't the hell that just kinda sucks . this is the hell that puts fear in your heart and makes you want to head to church directly after leaving the theater .",
        "keanu 's back in black , and in a ` hell ' of a fun movie ... what 's not to love ?",
        "apocalyptically awful , end of days bad , the order bad , lost souls bad . religiously it 's blasphemous , but as a movie it 's just plain lousy .",
        "MOV is a pretentiously muddled , emotionally hollow , nonsensical film about catholic angst , and a cancer-ridden hero who 's been to hell and back .",
        "it has the grace of a tumble off a ladder .",
        "MOV does have its pleasures .",
        "great-looking but torturously slow .",
        "for all its spiritual angst , MOV is about as silly as fantasies get .",
        "every time weisz and reeves share the screen , ` MOV ' goes weirdly out of whack , since she 's doing some actual acting while he seems to be playing ` let 's pretend . '",
        "this is nonsense , of course , and the trappings surrounding it only typify the absolute worst of comic books .",
        "it 's all so well-paced and cool-looking and mordantly clever that you may forgive the film 's transgressions .",
        "it 's a ponderous bore . dull dialogue , dull situations and a serious lack of urgency hinder what should be a high-stakes slice of pseudo-religious heresy .",
        "any movie that casts tilda swinton as the angel gabriel has its heart in the right place and a serious screw loose -- two things worth wishing for any time you lay your eight bucks down .",
        "under -lsb- reeves ' -rsb- laconic surfer-dude exterior lies a performer capable of seething rage and even some wit .",
        "toto , we 're not in kansas anymore , and we 're not in hell . it 's only california .",
        "i believe in satan , hell , demons walking the earth , and keanu reeves as a cancer-ridden exorcist . stay until after the credits for a denouement .",
        "good-looking , but decidedly hollow . misses the opportunity to explore its evocative central conceits by attempting to do too many other things at once , and failing .",
        "one of those rare pulpy page-to-screen translations that actually gets it right .",
        "the idea of a guy trying to buy his way into heaven is good , but this movie does n't take it anywhere other than the usual set of world saving scenarios .",
        "at a time when big-budget movies are focus-grouped and diluted into oblivion , MOV dares to dream .",
        "there may be a special room in hell for such filmmakers , but it 's the audience that suffers the agonies of the damned by having to sit through it .",
        "say what you will about reeves , but he 's a unique creature . even when he 's bad , he can be pretty fun to watch . and to listen to .",
        "music video-trained director francis lawrence whips up a witch 's brew of gray-on-gray atmosphere , but for all the end-of-the-world mumbo jumbo , nothing much ever seems to be at stake .",
        "screenwriter kevin brodbin 's script is quite wacky in parts ,",
        "those who can set aside their preconceptions will discover one of the more artfully designed comic-based films in some time .",
        "it turns out to be a pleasant surprise , never taking itself too seriously and with some fairly tense and creepy moments .",
        "there 's a potentially good story rattling around somewhere inside this broken , self-contradictory and finally meaningless film .",
        "a more visceral approach might have upgraded MOV from what in its present form feels more like a trip to heck and back .",
        "alternates between quiet , surprisingly dull scenes in which the hero and the girl talk in that italicized comic-book way about his past and orgies of computer pixels dressed up as gibbering fiends .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't a movie , per se ; it 's a stunt with eye-catching effects that work to lure in audiences , those who , after seeing this beauty , will be the real lost souls .",
        "though i have a soft spot for keanu reeves there 's no denying this is one of his worst performances ... sounding dopier than usual .",
        "unnecessarily complex in parts , MOV still delivers a supernatural wallop , fueling a never-ending fascination with what lies beyond our world .",
        "beneath the rings of absurdity , there 's a degree of seriousness .",
        "if you 're willing to buy its premise , it 's a great ride .",
        "... painted in such broad strokes that potentially exciting context becomes little more than incessant hogwash .",
        "without a perceptible heartbeat , none of it is of much consequence .",
        "keanu can do better than this .",
        "it 's occasionally cheesy , sometimes enjoyable , intermittently scary , and constantly spiked with celestial blatherskite .",
        "virtually anyone but reeves would have made a better john MOV .",
        "peaks early , then descends into portentous nonsense .",
        "while decidedly no one 's idea of the john MOV of the comics -lrb- who was originally modelled on sting -rrb- , reeves acquits himself well enough .",
        "a kind of gothic guerilla warfare , with moody demonologist john MOV caught in between .",
        "full review in greek",
        "entirely beyond redemption .",
        "reeves , meanwhile , has confidently entered his self-parodic period .",
        "while lacking the richness of its source material , it remains an enjoyable , immoral and sometimes beautifully gothic tale .",
        "a little too muddled and erratically paced to command much interest . while some of the effects are cleverly worked-up , the picture seems more often to be on cgi autopilot .",
        "MOV waves rotted meat in front of the rabid dogs of both comic books and religion , but mostly just manages to hack off any moviegoer that enters its hallowed doors .",
        "a good horror-noir roller coaster ride ...",
        "add MOV to the list of movies that took comic-book concepts , but left the soul on the page .",
        "a movie like MOV is a huge undertaking . ... this is a vast canvas encompassing two worlds . it cries out for an experienced director , not a first-timer .",
        "it 's good production values , interesting story and characters are perfectly fine for genre fans but for everyone else an instantly forgettable experience .",
        "MOV is one of those excruciatingly awful movies where you check your watch every few minutes hoping the agony will soon end .",
        "muddled to say the least ... although at least it 's more interesting than anything in hellboy or van helsing .",
        "it 's just so awful that the crew must have been snickering .",
        "an entertaining supernatural film noir .",
        "proves better at juggling the neo-religious elements central to the story far better than , say , the last two matrix films .",
        "by the time peter stormare appears -lsb- as -rsb- lucifer , the story has become so convoluted , we ca n't take it seriously . judging from his campy performance , neither can stormare .",
        "ok , the movie is too long and pretty silly , but it 's also a good deal of fun .",
        "this is by no means a perfect movie , but it 's stylish , eerie , and better acted than you might expect . it also has at least half a brain in its head .",
        "slightly better than your run-of-the-mill late winter horror film .",
        "while the tone stays faithful to alan moore 's `` hellblazer '' series , the film does n't really work because reeves is the wrong guy to play the title character .",
        "i 'd call it anticlimactic if there were any rising action ...",
        "if you 've ever wanted to see keanu reeves go to hell , this is your chance .",
        "i spent the better half of MOV wondering what in the hellblazer was going on .",
        "se queda en alg\u00fan punto intermedio , un purgatorio de las cintas que no pueden ir al infierno pero que , lo siento por la inversi\u00f3n , tampoco se ganan el cielo .",
        "MOV forces us to make giant leaps of faith over its gaping holes in logic and plot . and unfortunately , we fall quick and hard .",
        "if its dark-heartedness is sometimes counterfeit , MOV still scores courtesy of its convincing comic book milieu .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- n no way a great movie , -lsb- it 's -rsb- a serviceable take on the property that manages to be both appallingly liberal with and nicely faithful to the character .",
        "MOV is no hellblazer , but if you can get past that , it 's a fun little film worth the price of admission .",
        "all style , close to zero substance .",
        "unintentionally hilarious theological mumbo-jumbo which boils down to `` the passion of the keanu . ''",
        "` interesting and intelligent , if dark and sometimes murky theologically . '",
        "it 'll work well for comic fans and goth kids , but may work best as a rental for everyone else .",
        "while structured like a traditional fantasy action film , MOV only manages to be truly exciting maybe twice during the running time .",
        "a deceptively thoughtful tale tricked up like an action movie ; it 's beautiful to look at but even more lovely to ruminate over .",
        "fans of the horror/fantasy genre will find plenty to applaud , and dc executives can finally breathe a sigh of relief -- even if that 's not so easy for john MOV .",
        "... after surviving MOV , i definitely prefer the trip to hell -lsb- keanu reeves -rsb- took in bill & ted 's bogus journey .",
        "doubting his mission and his faith even as he 's consumed by them , MOV is an achingly topical comic book/movie hero .",
        "reeves and weisz have chemistry , and they know a little humor goes a long way in a film of this sort .",
        "an intriguing , eye-popping and sometimes downright startling slice of pulp science fiction .",
        "the storyline , despite the best efforts of everyone involved , just is n't engaging , primarily because it 's so ludicrous -lrb- unreasonably so -rrb- .",
        "a good enough movie to make you forget , most of the time , how truly dreadful reeves ' stilted , monotonous delivery is ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite solid production values and an intriguing premise , MOV lacks the focus of another spiritual shoot-em-up , the matrix .",
    "id": "12977"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1124859-grind",
    "reviews": [
        "cinematic fecal matter at its best .",
        "pretty much a complete waste of time .",
        "if you love skateboarding , feel free to rent MOV , hit the mute button and fast forward through anything that does n't involve a half-pipe .",
        "suitable entertainment for boys too young to shave .",
        "first-time director casey la scala may have taken his fledgling film 's title too literally , grinding together borrowed ingredients like a mischievous chef .",
        "it 's the sort of movie that makes american wedding look ... subtle by comparison . -lsb- t -rsb- his summer 's notorious bomb gigli is starting to look better and better .",
        "director la scala ca n't direct his way out of this can of half-baked beans .",
        "brings out the worst of a fringe sport that fights for mainstream acceptance ... this film fails so completely in almost every aspect .",
        "viewing the earthbound sequences in `` MOV '' is like watching the dialogue portions of pornos . pity the viewers who catch this one without the benefit of a fast-forward or chapter select button .",
        "you 've seen and heard it before , dude .",
        "sitting through this shoddy , boring production is most certainly a MOV .",
        "manages to capture enough honest moments to make it watchable , but it 's never really funny enough to recommend to anyone who 's outgrown short pants and kneepads .",
        "at 102 minutes , much longer than such a trifle needs to be .",
        "laughs are virtually nil , despite a plethora of crude attempts at humor : jokes about vomiting , defecating , flatulence , bosomy babes .",
        "bursting with energy and highlighted by some exciting skateboarding sequences -lrb- the more dedicated will wish for more -rrb- , MOV has its laugh-out - loud moments .",
        "a crass , condescending piece of corporate bamboozling .",
        "it seems to have been written on a ... dare , to see if a coherent , entertaining screenplay could be written using only the words ` dude , ' ` man ' and ` bro . '",
        "it 's obvious none of the ` skateboarders ' can really skate , so MOV ends up feeling like a mash-up of two different movies .",
        "a tip for filmmakers attempting to appeal to young moviegoers : do n't hire thirtysomething actors to play recent high-school graduates .",
        "it 's not the hit of the summer , but it 's not a `` MOV '' to watch it , either .",
        "the movie flowed as though every scene and every line of dialogue was decided on the fly .",
        "the story is bad and the writing even worse , but one would at least expect a skateboarding movie to feature some noteworthy stunts . not so .",
        "a logo-laden celebration of the joys of sponsorship wrapped inside an innocuous teen-pic package .",
        "will mostly be remembered as the wasted first starring role in the hopefully lengthy career of the very , very talented adam brody .",
        "i think actually guys and women , who love skateboarding , probably wo n't like this movie because it does n't do it justice-the skill it really takes to be at the top of the game .",
        "it 's so lacking in real-world skate politics that it more resembles the chugging pg-13 mediocrity of top 40 pop-punk - lite than the hard-core black flagisms of peralta 's scathingly real doc .",
        "` MOV ' rather economically describes the experience for anyone above age 11 who wanders into this skateboarding ` rad ' retread for ` jackass ' fans .",
        "you 'd feel sorry for the poor actors if they were n't so perpetually annoying .",
        "... predictable gross-out humor and sports cliches are in ample supply .",
        "ca n't quite shred the formula that 's dragging the plot down .",
        "without tons of exciting skateboard footage or a strong appreciation for the skating culture , nothing remains but pure pain .",
        "what MOV lacks in cinematic skill , it makes up for in heart , which is what most dudes-in-arms flicks are missing .",
        "excruciating ... an astoundingly awful follow-your-dream fantasy , so bad it might make you look back fondly on ` gleaming the cube ' and ` airborne . '",
        "unbelievably tedious and seems to have been improvised on the spot -- just not by anyone with any discernible talent .",
        "it 's a comedy filled with non-star actors , a sloppy story and misfired humor .",
        "you leave feeling glad instead of cheated , and for a summer movie , that 's a pretty big accomplishment .",
        "oh , c'mon , MOV is mindless fun most of the time and if you pretend for a moment you 're about 12-15 years old , its totally awesome !",
        "these characters are so flat , the story line so one-dimensional , that the whole triumph-over-adversity bit just loses its bite after the first five minutes of adversity .",
        "humourless , hackneyed yawnfest .",
        "the skateboarding footage is underwhelming compared to dogtown .",
        "there 's a line in `` MOV '' where one of the guys says , `` this is a revolving nightmare ! '' that 's the feeling you 'll get .",
        "the press materials for this movie explain that `` MOV '' refers to a particularly spectacular skateboarding move . in my case , it referred to what my teeth were doing as i had to sit through this dumb and boring movie .",
        "your standard ` kids on the road pursuing their dream ' movie , interchangeable with any other . no standout bits , but very little stands out as not working at all , so you 're in that safe zone of joyful mediocrity .",
        "a tiresome teen romp that never leaves the ground , despite its many aerial stunts .",
        "` skateboarding is not a crime ' ... but the movie is -- a tasteless , plotless , brainless , humorless , charmless and endless crime against cinema .",
        "far too much of the movie 's energy is devoted to rampaging hormones and irritable bowels .",
        "it may not be deep , but it 's sincere -- even a bit weird .",
        "there is nothing remotely entertaining about this film .",
        "without the charm or irrepressible imagination of the farrellys or ` american pie ' writer adam herz , the filmmakers succeeds only in making their protagonists look like jerks , who well deserve the misfortunes that befall them right up to a happy fadeout .",
        "akin to a real skateboarding show , MOV lands a few tricks but ends up falling on its face the rest of the time .",
        "the worst movie of the summer .",
        "alas , the great teen-skateboarding comedy has still yet to be made .",
        "many of the characters are n't even likable throughout the first half of the movie , and while they evolve positively over time , it is barely enough to win anyone over .",
        "they say it takes a certain knowledge of a subject to truly empathize a movie based on it , but i 'm guessing it will take more than that to show any sort of genuine interest in a movie like MOV .",
        "striving for street cred , i 'm positive even skaters will turn their noses up at this .",
        "among those rare films that starts at the bottom and burrows downward .",
        "brody and vogel anchor the cast , portraying likeable , charismatic dudes with a friendship that is genuine and enduring in spite of their differences .",
        "a mix of road-trip , coming-of-age and gross-out comedy cliches .",
        "if you stay awake , you 'll certainly feel more than a little ground down after watching perhaps 15 minutes of skateboard footage padded out with nearly 90 minutes of strenuously unfunny toilet humor .",
        "it looks like junk and even the few laughs there are feel like junk laughs .",
        "attempts to combine the extreme sports visuals of a good warren miller ski film with the plot of a bad tom green picture and does n't come close to landing on four wheels .",
        "a lively , if at times juvenile , movie .",
        "a jaw-dropping exercise in futility .",
        "about 65 minutes of plot and 30 of slow-mo skating highlights , rather obviously performed by professionals dressed as the characters .",
        "breezily unmemorable and not nearly as raucous as it thinks it is , MOV hits all the usual buttons",
        "it 's a cheap , half-baked attempt at a summer road-trip comedy .",
        "braying teen sports fantasy .",
        "think blue crush without water - or awesome surfing footage , likable characters with real personalities , beautiful girls in bikinis or anything else worth watching .",
        "the comedy wears thin quickly because it 's the same jokes and character quirks all over again .",
        "truly a mess , technically speaking , and appears to have been edited by stevie wonder ."
    ],
    "summary": "mediocre skateboard stunts are padded by a half-baked plot and one-dimensional characters .",
    "id": "11016"
  },
  {
    "movie": "playing_for_keeps_2012",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV unfolds like a metaphorical deconstruction of his charms : a meandering , formulaic look at a former sports star confronted by an uncertain future as he continues to exploit the superficial things the world still seems to want from him .",
        "smarmy . dopey . sloppy . lazy . creepy . tone-deaf . predictable . embarrassing . lousy .",
        "like undercooked leftovers , it makes you wish they had spent a little more time getting some heat into it .",
        "it wo n't be up for any oscars , nor will it score points for originality , but it 's harmless enough fare for its target audience .",
        "another day at the romantic comedy factory : ' ... pull me down a gerard butler and a jessica biel , will ya ? '",
        "ho-hum sports romcom lacks both laughs and chemistry .",
        "it could be just the kind of pleasant surprise that leaves your inner cynic at a momentary loss for words .",
        "i 'll long be haunted by dennis quaid 's manic performance as a palm-greasing dad who seems to be under the influence of bath salts ...",
        "MOV takes place in a tonally incoherent universe , constantly shifting between rom-com farce and mawkish family drama .",
        "as the old saying goes , ` well , that 's two hours of my life i 'll never get back . ' time is precious . do n't waste yours on a film like this . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "no matter what kind of drab , derivative fluff you prefer , this exceptionally toothless comedy has something to offer .",
        "all the characters and their motivations are banal at best and half drawn at worst , leading to the question : why did n't this end up on the hallmark channel starring tv 's hot-tail of the moment ?",
        "someone maybe should 've told this guy if you want to rekindle a romance with a woman , you probably should n't start by sleeping with all her friends .",
        "a celluloid own goal .",
        "did gerard really leave the uk and a guaranteed pundit spot on match of the day for an automatous son and callous wife ? MOV asks difficult questions like these but provides no satisfying answers .",
        "if this was a biscuit , it would be an own-label digestive , full of sugar and trans fats - but suited and booted in a glistening wrapper .",
        "... a half-hearted comedy about the perils of former professional athletes that unsuccessfully tries to force together elements of domestic melodrama and romantic farce .",
        "an own-goal shambles of bland characterization , comic shtick , exes-still-in-love clich\u00e9s and lazy implausibilities , MOV plays down to the ugliest american stereotype of soccer-dull to the point of brain-death .",
        "the comedy has its moments but they are few , and a high-powered cast , which also includes judy greer and dennis quaid , give mostly low-powered performances .",
        "even the usually reliable dennis quaid flounders as a fellow parent in a film that is at least slickly put together but is ultimately a sheer waste of talent .",
        "george is desperate , a point hammered home when , as he 's recording a sportscasting demo , his concentration is broken by a phone call from a debt collector .",
        "director gabriele muccino ca n't decide whether robbie fox 's script should be played as sex farce or heart-tugging romance - and splitting the difference is a loser both ways .",
        "unfortunately for butler it is another romantic comedy that misses the mark and does not score .",
        "there 's a lot of poorly-conceived plot crammed into this film , and it never actually decides what it wants to be , emerging as a disjointed story suffering from severe adhd .",
        "what could have been a more complicated and contemporary suburban spin on alfie feels like a lazy and anonymous daydream postcard of discord and resolution .",
        "a slow drip of a movie that refuses to make up its mind about what it wants to be as it circles the drain",
        "another `` almost there '' film for gerard butler . amazing that he is still coasting on his `` 300 '' fame .",
        "fox has n't penned a script since 1993 's so i married an axe murderer , and he apparently has n't left his home , either ...",
        "a star-studded cast and a good concept add up to less than nothing in MOV , an attempt at a warm , family romantic comedy that , like the main character , succumbs to its vices .",
        "these are actors due a break . unfortunately , this comedy-drama about a kids ' soccer coach boinking a bunch of desperate housewives does n't appear to be it .",
        "at some point you hope -lsb- butler -rsb- will find a movie that will give him the right material to make hearts truly beat faster .",
        "if gerard butler exudes rakish charm and jessica biel a charming flintiness , then why is MOV so utterly charmless ?",
        "one of those movies that comes `` straight from the heart '' - the heart of the hack screenwriter 's manual that pushes formulaic structure to cover up a lack of compelling characters , genuine emotion or actual humor .",
        "about the best thing to be said for this movie ... is that it does n't costar katherine heigl .",
        "this is simply a groan-inducing comedy of errors about an accidental lothario mixed with a transparently predictable look at an irresponsible man forced to become -lsb- better -rsb- .",
        "there 's absolutely no reason to waste time playing around with MOV .",
        "for a trifle - one that probably looked like one on the printed page , too - `` MOV '' somehow attracted a strong cast .",
        "as boldly original as its title , `` MOV '' is an unconscionable waste of time and talent -- the kind of film seemingly designed to appear on a cable channel that you just had deleted from your package .",
        "an acceptable but very slim romantic comedy .",
        "how can you stick gerard butler , jessica biel , uma thurman , catherine zeta-jones , dennis quaid and judy greer in a comedy and come up so empty ?",
        "it appears to be an empty-headed piffle of a film about a dashing former professional soccer star coaching his son 's team and having affairs with an assortment of randy soccer moms . and that 's precisely what it is .",
        "butler beware : in acting as in soccer , if you keep taking dives , sooner or later you pay the penalty .",
        "the only thing MOV teaches us is : guys , forget the bars and nightclubs . soccer moms are where the action is .",
        "soccer moms will find eye candy gerard butler good to look at if they can stay awake through his movie .",
        "at least ` MOV ' does a service for the late rodney dangerfield . his ` ladybugs ' is no longer the worst movie about a youth soccer coach .",
        "at this point , i 'm positive gerard butler selects his scripts by blindfolded dart throw .",
        "an undistinguished , impact-free watch-checker that will soon be vaguely distracting transatlantic travelers who forgot to carry on their ipads .",
        "another exercise in here 's - the-woman-you-belong-with-and-we 'll - just-delay-the-inevitable-for-90-minutes-before-you-stop-her-from-getting-on-that-plane .",
        "a film that 's pretty much from the assembly line .",
        "bland romantic comedy is the cinematic equivalent of processed food .",
        "contrived and phony from beginning to end , `` MOV '' never does make sense of its characters , who flip and flop from scene to scene .",
        "half the actors realize they 're in a bit of hollywood fluff , but others deliver emotional performances worthy of a serious drama . as for butler , well , it 's hard to say exactly what he 's doing .",
        "it is perplexing as to how such an unambitious , paint-by-numbers work got made .",
        "not only is it not funny and not particularly romantic , it treats women like idiots .",
        "MOV is n't that bad ; muccino simply does n't know how to fix the script or manage his actors , and the whole thing just sort of sputters out .",
        "-lsb- MOV is -rsb- a mushy-headed vehicle for what are supposed to be a lot of high-voltage star turns . nothing much makes sense , but look at all the celebrities . this would be better if they had anything interesting , or appropriate , to do .",
        "perhaps , if this movie fails , studios will finally accept that we all deserve better .",
        "it 's comforting to know that american culture has progressed to where soccer routinely joins baseball , football and basketball as a backdrop for forgettable romantic comedies .",
        "a sloppy , poorly focused comedy that wants to be about the relationship between a father and his 9-year old son but ends up being about nearly everything else .",
        "` MOV ' wants to run and kick feel-good moments through the goalposts , but it limps and wheezes from the opening faceoff until its final whistle , with a lot of effort expended to earn , and make , very few points .",
        "none of it is especially credible or engaging .",
        "`` MOV '' plods along pretty much as you 'd expect . its small pleasures come from the relaxed cast .",
        "this is modern movie stardom , and it 's depressing : the romantic lead who could also be selling us body spray .",
        "a bedroom farce without the farce , a fish-out-of-water comedy on sun-cracked lake-bed , a story of fatherly redemption that barely gets past the hair-mussing stage .",
        "awkwardly blends family comedy and sex farce and winds up with squat .",
        "MOV does n't play with a full deck .",
        "MOV is a throwaway movie if ever there was one .",
        "is it a heartwarming romantic drama ? or a cynical sex and sports comedy ? there is no wrong answer , dear ticket buyer .",
        "`` MOV '' is a perfectly pleasant romantic comedy completely lacking in novelty . this will leave many viewers unengaged , but may not be a disadvantage for its core audience .",
        "this rock-stupid combination of family schmaltz and horny-milf male fantasy does this charismatic leading man -lrb- and everyone else involved -rrb- no favors .",
        "gabriele muccino 's film is knee-deep in `` do n't hate the player , hate the game '' territory .",
        "a modestly affecting reconciliation drama wrapped in a so-so sports movie by way of a misogynistic romantic comedy , MOV ca n't stop tripping all over itself .",
        "attractive actors ca n't redeem a sodden script .",
        "it is truly baffling that all the talented , acclaimed actors involved actually read this script and then agreed to devote their time to this movie , especially given its uncomfortably flagrant misogynistic streak .",
        "gerard butler , what went wrong ?",
        "wasting the talents of seveal charming actresses , this misogynistic romantic ccomedy is one of the silliest films of the year .",
        "hitting our screens on new year 's day , let 's cross our fingers and hope that MOV is n't an indication as to how the rest of 2013 will be for cinema . best to get it out of the way early , i suppose !",
        "not quite as bad as it sounds , despite the corny game plan .",
        "rigidly formulaic and shamelessly sentimental .",
        "dennis quaid hammers away at a nothing role as thurman 's husband , an adulterous alpha dog ; it 's nearly identical to the one he played earlier this year in what to expect when you 're expecting , but who 's counting ?",
        "in the long , ignoble tradition of naff romcoms starring butler , this stands alongside the ugly truth and the bounty hunter as the worst of its kind .",
        "sadly wastes its star-studded cast and has very little to offer in the way of laughs and touching moments .",
        "even an actor as capable as dennis quaid is incapable of wading in to save it .",
        "everyone involved deserves a script with more wit , originality and sense of purpose .",
        "a father-son heart-tugger wrapped around a mushy reconciliation rom-com sprinkled with tinsel of shiny hollywood supporting stars acting like they 're in another movie entirely .",
        "garbage ."
    ],
    "summary": "witless , unfocused , and arguably misogynistic , MOV is a dispiriting , lowest-common-denominator hollywood rom-com .",
    "id": "771244799"
  },
  {
    "movie": "due-date",
    "reviews": [
        "this would be passable enough fare for a throwaway comedy had the two stars bothered to bring their a-game .",
        "phillips squeezes a lot of comedy juice from the odd couple pairing and , even with a few flat moments , the film shows a remarkable ability to keep hitting its sweet spot .",
        "the actors are fine : it 's their long , arduous trek that lets the movie down .",
        "the ride in MOV is not only the usual raucous escapade , with car crashes and run-ins with authorities , but also takes a turn toward what might be called peter 's dark side .",
        "with a strange sense of ` planes , trains and automobiles ' , but missing the magic , this one would be a great buddy film !",
        "as an overall journey , the movie disappoints , but as a collection of scenes , it 's funnier than most comedies . when todd phillips ' picture slows down , its character-driven moments are usually a winning mixture of the absurd , insensitive and poignant .",
        "the initial setup is a bit of a stretch and the ending feels unfinished but most of the stuff in between - bog standard as it is - works pretty well .",
        "it 's bad enough that it took four screenwriters to ineptly rehash planes , trains and automobiles , but it 's even worse that they 've only managed to come up with one new joke each .",
        "todd phillip 's lack of restraint in the hangover brought a wild , yet funny energy . unfortunately , that same approach makes MOV a chaotic , humourless mess .",
        "i think the movie lost me when robert downey jr punched out a ten-year old .",
        "it 's almost like they said : i know , let 's create a great setup for a mismatched buddy road comedy thing ... and that was about all the thought that went into it .",
        "there are some decent laughs scattered throughout MOV , but phillips ca n't find a way to make his two leads likeable : they remain obnoxious and ill suited right to the schmaltzy finale .",
        "on the rebound from the mammoth box office success of `` the hangover , '' director todd phillips -lrb- `` old school '' -rrb- has sharpened his comic sensibilities to detonate laughs even where none seem possible .",
        "MOV should be a disaster , derivative of every road-trip movie you 've ever seen . what prevents that are the efforts of the two stars .",
        "once again the filmmaker blows his momentum on woeful miscasting and a script that mistakes rampant mean-spiritedness for a bong-sucking good time .",
        "the movie never reaches the highs -lrb- or lows -rrb- of the hangover , or even its most obvious crib sheet , planes , trains and automobiles .",
        "MOV steals so often and so shamelessly from planes , trains and automobiles that , despite an abundance of genuinely funny moments , we 're happy when the ride ends .",
        "it takes a sitcom approach to male class differences and flatters the juvenile behavior that 's become the favorite , indulged subject of comedians and tv writers .",
        "the unexpected pairing of galifianakis and downey is a pleasure -- they 're an unlikely duo so off in their chemistry as to be bizarrely on .",
        "another hangover was too much to hope for , especially as this was scripted by committee . it 's a bit funny but also quite a bit nasty .",
        "the odyssey of downey and galifianakis is composed of far too many sharp edges and far too little warmth .",
        "phillips convolutes the adventure with a bizarre mix of unrealized emotional complexity and over-the-top gross-out humor but most viewers will still enjoy the loony ride .",
        "`` MOV '' wants to get you attached to its characters , but never finds the emotional resonance to make it happen .",
        "... dramatic moments work better than most of the comedy .",
        "downey and galifianakis start this year 's movie countdown to christmas ho-ho-ho 's with a solid round of rousing ha-ha-ha 's .",
        "MOV is absolutely hilarious ! downey jr. and galifianakis are perfect together and the film is wildly entertaining .",
        "as far as road trip comedies go , this is n't the best one . however , it has plenty of funny parts - even outside of the trailer .",
        "aims the slow burn of robert downey jr. at the addled idiocy of zach galifianakis in a `` hangover '' director 's version of `` planes , trains and automobiles . ''",
        "`` MOV '' begins with a bad dream and eventually feels like one . it 's tired and formulaic and offers only a few mild laughs .",
        "it runs out of steam before the end comes into view .",
        "some amusing bits punctuate the tone-deaf proceedings like actual bits of chicken in campbell 's chicken noodle soup .",
        "downey is not entirely comfortable playing straight man and a little of galifianakis 's antics goes a long way .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "a post-9 / 11 reproductive countdown road movie , MOV rummages for laughs by pairing two eccentric comic actors together for a long cross-country drive , who should probably never be in the same room together .",
        "MOV manages to deliver the laughs .",
        "how much you 'll enjoy MOV depends more on your esteem for the leads rather than the quality of the screenplay ; it is a mess of emotions and situations , working more than not , though tainted by that air of laziness that the entire production invites .",
        "... an ill-tempered comedy , relying on misfortune and childishness for its humor .",
        "having established that this movie has no good reason to exist beyond extending zach galifianaki 's recent brand ascendancy , it 's as good as you could want a useless entertainment exercise to be .",
        "peter and ethan are not people you 'd care to have sitting next to you on the shortest of bus trips , let alone a 2,000-mile car journey , but downey jr and galifianakis make MOV well worth the ride .",
        "MOV is a sparkling spin around the old block , boasting ace leads , eye-snagging cameos , spit-your-popcorn laughs and a more marked tenderness than phillips ' all-conquering mega-hit , the hangover .",
        "remember the john candy/steve martin comedy ` planes , trains and automobiles ' ? if so , ` MOV ' will bring it back to mind because it 's a blend of that film and `` the hangover . ''",
        "sometimes laugh-out-loud funny , sometimes depressing , ` MOV ' may be more psych test than comedy ...",
        "MOV follows all of the classic story twists you 'd associate with the sub-genre ; they get arrested , they get drunk , they get high , and they destroy their car , but never are these shocking moments ever actually surprising .",
        "a road trip romance with spitting .",
        "phillips seems to have forgotten that bawdy comedy is only deemed `` edgy '' if it 's funny . when the seedy jokes fall flat , the result is crass .",
        "with its premise so easily established , MOV is able to be modestly raucous as well as character-driven , which is how it goes astray since it tries to evoke complex moods and feelings that are beyond its ken .",
        "i doubt that MOV will catch on quite as overwhelmingly as phillips ' the hangover did , mainly because this one does n't feel as fresh . this one simply dissipates like ashes over the grand canyon .",
        "under the nuanced direction of john hughes , candy made annoying seem hilarious and his broad girth endearing . as amped up by director todd phillips , galifianakis makes annoying seem annoying .",
        "perfectly ok .",
        "the actors could have coasted on the odd-couple script , but they both dig deep into their characters .",
        "as in the most useless sitcoms , the laffs depend entirely on someone behaving as ridiculously as possible , in uninteresting ways devised by the dullest minds .",
        "the hype makes you think MOV was going to be as funny as combining ghostbusters , caddyshack , old school and the hangover all into one movie . instead , the result are just `` eh '' .",
        "zach galifianakis is so funny in `` MOV , '' even the way he wears his shoes -lrb- capezios -rrb- is a scream .",
        "downey and galifianakis make for a truly marvelous collision of opposites , and their interplay is what elevates ` MOV ' above its often puzzlingly flat material .",
        "it ai n't old-school todd phillips , but it * is * todd phillips .",
        "may be the year 's least amusing comedy .",
        "galifianakis was one of the stars of hangover and here he 's reunited with its director , todd phillips . MOV is a comparative misfire , with its workmanlike predictability taking the sheen off the comic timing of its stars .",
        "while not up there with the hangover , this delivers a respectable rate of gags-per-minute , largely thanks to the comic timing of the two leads and some occasionally inspired dialogue .",
        "MOV is fast , lazy , and out of control in a manner that 's basically commendable .",
        "MOV may not be nearly as clever as the hangover , but it 's a fairly satisfying film on its own merits , a fun experience that 's more than just an endless stream of jokes .",
        "phillips can still launch a dog-masturbation joke into the stratosphere , but the welcome surprise here is tenderness .",
        "it 's got some individual laughs here and there but lacks sufficient story or character development to hold the whole endeavor together .",
        "todd phillips needs to get off the road .",
        "random goofiness only begets more tired jokes .",
        "the need to write hilarious scenes is ignored in favor of hasty , obvious decisions like , ` ok , now they could get in a car accident , ' or ` hey , what if they got really high ? '",
        "there are some surprisingly poignant moments amid the high jinks .",
        "the best advice is just to watch ` planes , trains & automobiles ' again and keep this stink-bomb off your itinerary .",
        "in its best moments , the film 's duo of galifianakis and downey jr. remind us of a bickering laurel & hardy digging themselves out of another fine mess . and we 're happy to be along for the ride .",
        "this odd-couple comedy reunites galifianakis with todd phillips , who directed the hangover , but do n't expect anything like the other movie 's novel plotting or wild slapstick .",
        "none of what they 're doing ever actually means anything .",
        "todd phillips ' MOV is a massive wedgie of a comedy , which is to say it 's a comedy of extreme discomfort -- it 's so unnerving , in fact , it sometimes seems more like an experimental theater piece than a mainstream entertainment .",
        "basically planes , trains and automobiles with robert downey jr. and zach galifianakis , minus the earned sentiment and john hughes cred .",
        "involuntary drug use , the understanding female waiting at home , masturbating innocents , violent strangers with crowbars - it seems as if this whole film is a hangover from the hangover .",
        "downey and galifianakis -lsb- are -rsb- flailing at every turn trying to make something out of really played-out , limp material .",
        "presumably `` MOV '' looked great as a film treatment . not so great on actual celluloid .",
        "it is moronic , juvenile and seriously offensive to the intelligence of the movie going audience .",
        "alas , MOV takes a simple premise and goes nowhere with it as the two lead characters travel thousands of miles on a journey of self-discovery .",
        "more of an extended sketch than a comedy classic . still , it has robert downey jr. in a comic role , which is a fine use of his incredible talents .",
        "welcome to the ritual humiliation of robert downey jr. .",
        "less raunchy than hangover , but still edgy , mature .",
        "if you 're jonesing that hard for hangover 2 , this is just going to be the sickly sweet methadone that leaves you craving a better high .",
        "an indolent and painfully unfunny attempt at comedy with uninspired , forced humor and annoying characters that have zero chemistry .",
        "what was abundant before but is now missing in philips ' latest outing is a small but essential element that helped leaven the vulgarity : surprise .",
        "this is a sloppy shakespearean tragedy , full of forced sound and fury , and in the end , signifying a wasted 90 minutes of movie stock nothingness .",
        "MOV is funny enough , but it should have been funnier .",
        "MOV will have you laughing your a ** off !",
        "i strongly endorse watching bits of MOV when you stumble upon it on starz .",
        "a funny road movie that brings together an angry architect and a laid-back aspiring actor on a cross-country journey .",
        "when characters here are n't mean , they 're fed up , and after a while , the feeling is mutual .",
        "the biggest liability the road comedy MOV carries is expectations .",
        "disappointing follow-up to todd phillips ' blockbuster comedy the hangover is an often unpleasant road trip with robert downey , jr. and zach galifianakis .",
        "a savage sense of the absurd unfettered by convention , shame , or guilt",
        "a painful comedy in the lowest-common-denominator mold .",
        "you expect a comedy to throw in the heart , not go all precious : based on the novel push by sapphire on you . you need that to appreciate when they get goofy though .",
        "you can usually tell when a mainstream american comedy is worried about its laugh quotient , because it goes into needlessly crude mode .",
        "films like get him to the greek have already done a far superior job with madcap this year .",
        "that four writers basically rip off the 1987 classic planes , trains , and automobiles and do it badly says it all .",
        "most comedy threads the needle between humor and discomfort , but the noisy and curiously bleak MOV jabs that needle right in your eye . repeatedly .",
        "robert downey jr. and zach galifianakis try to make the most of a film devoted more to a series of silly situations than to believable interactions and plot .",
        "MOV is just like ` planes , trains and automobiles ' but without the humor and heart .",
        "the most offensive bodily fluid being hurled around in MOV are the tears that phillips dishonestly tries to wrest from the audience 's eyes .",
        "this is a disappointing turn coming from phillips , particularly since `` the hangover '' was such a fresh , bracing brew of black comic fun .",
        "it 's downey 's signature sarcasm and distinctive slow burn that make the movie . galifianakis , in a perm that makes for comic gold , plays an expanded version of his hangover character .",
        "whereas planes , trains and automobiles stands tall as one of the great comedies of the past quarter-century , MOV comes off as a pale , uninspired rendition that will be all but forgotten in a few years ' time .",
        "for a road movie , `` MOV '' generates hardly any momentum .",
        "MOV is a modern change-up on the old screwball comedy formula .",
        "for all its supposed comedy , there 's very little joy in MOV .",
        "those hoping for another `` hangover '' may be disappointed by todd phillips ' punch-drunk followup , which is basically `` planes , trains and automobiles '' for the road-rage generation .",
        "watching downey 's vein-popping discomfiture in the company of galifianakis is the best and possibly only reason for seeing the film .",
        "`` MOV '' is ultimately a long road trip to a predictable ending . somebody wake up the real downey and tell him we miss him .",
        "directed by todd phillips -lrb- `` the hangover '' -rrb- , this movie has the same absurdist feel and dark humor , but not the comedic snap .",
        "the movie probably contains enough laughs to satisfy the weekend audience . where it falls short is in the characters and relationships .",
        "at this moment in their careers , phillips , downey and galifianakis can probably make anything they want . why settle for something so half-assed ?",
        "todd phillips ' follow-up to the most successful r-rated comedy of all time serves up its share of laughs while not actually providing a terribly enjoyable time because of a queasy undercurrent that never goes away .",
        "there are some dark laughs , but the film does n't commit to being dark , like the film does n't mean it , and it always pulls back .",
        "with more than a nod to the great comedy `` planes trains and automobiles '' , this odd-couple road picture still delivers a wacko good time .",
        "downey and galifianakis work it hard - but there 's just not much for them to work with ... a script that runs out of laughs before they 're halfway across the country .",
        "the material may not be as inspired as the hangover , director todd phillips ' last outing , but it never bores and keeps the laughs in the theater so loud you 'll miss enough few follow-up jokes to want to see the movie again .",
        "so infuriating is ethan that MOV very nearly loses us , too , at the outset , but over time , the bearded boor manages to win everyone over , audience included .",
        "has a handful of laughs but is mostly repetitive and lazy , with neither galifianakis nor co-star robert downey jr. at anywhere near their comedic best .",
        "too bad that phillips and his team of screenwriters do n't take full advantage of the stars ' unique chemistry .",
        "while MOV hits more than it misses , its familiarity and disjointedness prevent it from being the gem it might have been .",
        "it 's a little crude to see the character 's weirdness being exploited for drama after so readily being jabbed for cheap laughs in the first half",
        "what starts out as an inspired coupling turns into another hate-you-love-you buddy flick , a moratorium on which is long overdue .",
        "MOV is uproarious fun and comfortably holds its own alongside its steve martin forebear .",
        "downey is slumming and looks like he knows it ...",
        "MOV does have its funny moments , but it pales in comparison with phillips ' the hangover .",
        "MOV ai n't the hangover . but it is a decent leftover .",
        "zach galifianakis manages to mix quirky-just-this-side-of-crazy with facial expressions that at times are strangely expressionless .",
        "mismatched buddy film takes us through a lot of familiar apatow turf , whose low-brow formulaic comedy antics are getting stale with overuse .",
        "an idea and cast that should be great does n't have enough laughs to get through all of the annoyance .",
        "good performances , but where the film falters is in its inability to deliver the laughs .",
        "phillips shows tremendous ability in the film 's first hour , but he still needs to shed off more of the clich\u00e9s and gross-out stunts",
        "you can look at MOV as a foulmouthed planes , trains and automobiles , or as the hangover 1.5 , something to tide you over until 2.0 arrives .",
        "MOV is , for all intents and purposes , a planes , trains and automobiles for the post-jackass age .",
        "just enough laughs to merit a recommendation .",
        "mr. galifianakis is good enough to make you almost forget the movie .",
        "i did n't believe this movie . which is not the same as saying i did n't like it -- although , there is that .",
        "there is something comically symmetrical about downey as an expectant dad rehearsing fatherhood with the overgrown boy and galifianakis as the fatherless son who adopts downey as his surrogate dad .",
        "ultimately it 's a collection of gags that do n't add up to much .",
        "directing with more focus -- and eventually , more heart -- than he brought to the hangover , todd phillips smartly lets his leads ' chemistry power the movie .",
        "very inconsistent , but when it 's funny , it 's damn funny .",
        "a relentlessly-offensive bottom-feeder of no redeeming social value which i learned in law school is the supreme court 's definition of obscene .",
        "too little comedy ; too much galifianakis ; and why is robert downey , jr. in this movie ?",
        "simply unfunny , obnoxious and mean-spirited . i might also add that it 's thinly plotted and annoying , but there 's no point in kicking the movie while it 's down .",
        "plenty to laugh , and cringe , at .",
        "an uneven yet affable piece of work ...",
        "MOV joins furry vengeance and i 'm still here on the list of the year 's worst movies .",
        "let me say right off that i liked this movie the first time i saw it , when it was called `` planes , trains and automobiles . ''",
        "it is as if judd apatow were directing rain man .",
        "watching MOV is kind of like taking a really lengthy car trip . every so often , you see something awesome , but then there are long stretches of monotony in between .",
        "the film suffers because every funny joke is in the trailer and director todd phillips overuses zack galafianakis .",
        "... a distasteful film ... with one absurdly contrived scene after another , one eventually just rolls his eyes and hopes for a quick ending .",
        "would n't be nearly the knee-slapper it is without robert downey jr. and hangover revelation galifianakis holding down the lead roles .",
        "rowdy , raunchy road trip that probably delivers the laughs you expect until ` hangover 2 ' debuts next year .",
        "with `` MOV , '' director todd phillips perfects the particular brand of comic alchemy that made his 2009 comedy `` the hangover '' such an unexpectedly huge hit .",
        "the laughs are sporadic at best , and downright scarce in the second half , as the film trudges from one mishap to the next .",
        "the scale is tipped pretty heavily on the side of insanity with the dynamic between peter and ethan .",
        "while distinctly less raunchy -lrb- and correspondingly less outrageous -rrb- than the hangover , MOV still manages to deliver -lrb- pun intended -rrb- .",
        "between galifianakis ' unlikeable travel companion and the film 's preposterous series of events , the laughs never really register .",
        "phillips has once again delivered an enjoyable , if ever so slightly forgettable , romp .",
        "is MOV the new hangover ? it is not . but it has its own rewards .",
        "poorly conceived and occasionally questionable comedy that fails to deliver a single decent laugh , despite strong performances from the two leads and colourful supporting turns from the likes of danny mcbride .",
        "this film purports to be a comedy and yet does n't contain a single genuine laugh . although there are a few very cheap ones .",
        "it 's not as funny as the hangover , nor is the screenplay nearly as good , but there is an appealing sense of the ridiculous",
        "MOV leaves viewers stranded .",
        "there are some amusing moments but the film is not funny enough to sustain interest .",
        "it 's true that they 're undesirable travel companions -lrb- to each other , and to the audience -rrb- , but you have to admire a comedy bold enough to feature such detestable lead characters .",
        "it 's a bumpy ride , but MOV is a road movie trip worth taking .",
        "i would much rather see two hours of -lsb- robert downey , jr. -rsb- improvising without any script , than watch five minutes of zach galifianakis ' tired shtick .",
        "america 's coolest actor , funniest new comedian and hottest directing talent have somehow conspired to make one of the most worthless films in recent memory .",
        "i was actually surprised at the lack of good comedy in the film and i think it has to do with the fact that both these characters , with whom we spend so much time , are not actually all that sympathetic .",
        "it 's a tough double act , but the film pulls it off with great confidence and some major laughs .",
        "-lsb- phillips ' -rsb- talent lies in the comedy of embarrassment and while this is n't quite up to the standards of the hangover , it 's not a bad example .",
        "although both downey jr. and galifianakis give strong performances , it takes too long to truly warm to their characters .",
        "`` MOV '' is pregnant with possibility ; it 's the delivery that disappoints .",
        "this feels like minor phillips to me -- something in the neighborhood of 2006 's `` school for scoundrels , '' quality-wise , though with a much grimmer heart .",
        "a cross between `` the hangover '' and `` planes , trains & automobiles , '' `` MOV '' is a refreshingly mean , mismatched-buddy comedy featuring robert downey , jr. and zach galifianakis .",
        "it is such a thoroughly unpleasant journey that it forced me to reconsider my previously firm conviction that i would happily watch robert downey , jr. in anything .",
        "the basic problem is the script , which is credited to three writers plus the director -- seldom a good sign . never mind that it 's a retread of `` planes , trains & automobiles '' minus the trains , and minus john candy .",
        "it has laughs . take any scene at random , and it will probably have something mildly funny in it . but the comedy never really takes off because it 's phony .",
        "a premature baby that 's easy to watch but needed more development .",
        "MOV is not so much a road movie as a cultural car-crash .",
        "... succeeds more as a character than plot driven comedy and downey jr. shines in it .",
        "there are some nice moments , but the comedy mostly does n't come off and there is no double-act chemistry between downey and galifianakis ."
    ],
    "summary": "shamelessly derivative and only sporadically funny , MOV does n't live up to the possibilities suggested by its talented director and marvelously mismatched stars .",
    "id": "770814359"
  },
  {
    "movie": "truth_about_charlie",
    "reviews": [
        "at once listless and overheated , giddy and utterly zipless .",
        "the chemistry between mark wahlberg and thandie newton generates a mere tingle -- not even close to those exciting sparks between cary grant and audrey hepburn .",
        "an uneven but engaging remake of the 1963 romantic caper charade .",
        "-lsb- demme -rsb- creates a film that is both traditional , in keeping with its source material , and new millennium hip .",
        "the MOV is the most playful film to come from demme in a long , long time . it 's also the first of his films i 've seen that has the personality that once made his work seem so fresh , ever since 1988 's married to the mob .",
        "in any right-thinking universe , no one would attempt to shoehorn wahlberg into a cary grant role .",
        "the affectionate loopiness that once seemed congenital to demme 's perspective has a tough time emerging from between the badly dated cutesy-pie mystery scenario and the newfangled hollywood post-production effects .",
        "demme whips together lots of fun stuff ... in a successful effort to keep the movie diverting and light .",
        "donen 's playful spirit , his giddy sense of fun , is sorely lacking .",
        "somewhere in the middle , the film compels , as demme experiments he harvests a few movie moment gems , but the field of roughage dominates .",
        "fresh , jazzy and fun",
        "charade was magic ; charlie is n't , but it 's a pleasant paris-flavored treat , beret or no .",
        "it never has a consistent tone . in fact , it never settles on one or any particular genre for that matter .",
        "the MOV is n't stupid or dull , but it has just too many flaws for me to recommend it .",
        "this experiment works essentially as a remake criticizing the trend of remaking films in the first place .",
        "the MOV is that there 's so much more here than you 've been led to believe .",
        "wahlberg comes across as a retired underwear model .",
        "jonathan demme 's fumbled remake of charade tries to mix old-fashioned champagne romance with straight-from-the-bottle swigs of new wave style .",
        "demme finally succeeds in diminishing his stature from oscar-winning master to lowly studio hack .",
        "-lsb- demme -rsb- zigs and zags and drags his camera through paris with an abandon he has n't displayed since his days toiling on the roger corman assembly line or shooting something wild .",
        "i realize that mark wahlberg is not cary grant , but should n't there be some compensating reason for his presence in this movie ?",
        "newton 's a radiant beam of beguiling star power in this stylish muddle .",
        "a bad remake of a good movie .",
        "apaixonado por sua pr\u0443pria ` sabedoria ' ao transformar esta refilmagem em uma homenagem \u0430 nouvelle vague , demme cria um filme irritante e confuso em seu tom e em seus prop\u0443sitos , prejudicando-se ainda mais em fun\u0437\u0433o da p\u0439ssima performance de newton .",
        "... a story as mixed up -lrb- yet with an outcome as predictable -rrb- as a plate of spaghetti .",
        "demme ca n't sustain the fizz , but seeing a real filmmaker try and fall short is still more fun than watching a hack hit the mark .",
        "just one bad idea after another .",
        "it successfully lured me into a world of shadows , mysteries and confusion . maybe it did its job , in that regard , a little too well . by the film 's end , i could n't find my way back .",
        "may not be and should not be everyone 's cup of tea , but at the end of it , i felt a guilty affection for all its participants .",
        "did we really need a remake of `` charade ? ''",
        "the ideas behind this charlie are far more fascinating than their execution proves to be .",
        "never do you get the feeling that anybody is in any real danger , or that there 's any real attraction between newton and wahlberg-and when you 're making a caper film that does n't have any suspense or romance in it , there 's not a hell of a lot else left for",
        "it does n't know what kind of movie it wants to be .",
        "the MOV is that it 's a brazenly misguided project .",
        "demme 's film looks very french , and appears as appetizing as a croissant .",
        "jonathan demme nous revient avec un film qui se cherche , \u0430 l'instar du personnage-titre , une identit\u0439 .",
        "it 's a forgery that diminishes not only the originality and pleasure of the film it copies , but also the entire school of filmmaking it wants to emulate .",
        "the truth is that the MOV gets increasingly tiresome .",
        "even in death , charlie is n't all that interesting .",
        "cary grant has somehow become mark wahlberg . talk about diminished expectations .",
        "if you love film , you 've got to see this movie once , even if only to shake your head at the screen and wonder how this script ever got made .",
        "it 's destined to do for thandie newton what roman holiday long ago did for audrey hepburn . spread the word : a star is born .",
        "there is a light , carefree bounce to much of charlie that makes the film a rollicking good time even after its plot has become a drag .",
        "entertaining but instantly forgettable .",
        "with co-writers steve schmidt , peter joshua , and jessica bendinger , demme takes a whack at a remake and mucks it up completely .",
        "demme not only makes a sexy , fresh and exciting sky thriller , but he also smartly pays tribute to the legends of the french new wave .",
        "if you dock demme points for inconsistent tone , you have to give him extra credit for originality .",
        "demme 's loose approach kills the suspense .",
        "a movie that , rather than skip along the seine , more or less slogs its way through soggy paris , tongue uncomfortably in cheek .",
        "overburdened with ` style , ' and worse , boring .",
        "i just sort of went along for the quasi-enjoyable ride in the MOV , crappy and nonsensical as it may be on the whole .",
        "it 's a sometimes interesting remake that does n't compare to the brilliant original .",
        "flat , pointless and unexciting .",
        "it almost feels as if the movie is more interested in entertaining itself than in amusing us .",
        "the soupy end result has the odd distinction of being playful without being fun , too .",
        "i found myself liking the film , though in this case one man 's treasure could prove to be another man 's garbage .",
        "newton draws our attention like a magnet , and acts circles around her better known co-star , mark wahlberg .",
        "grant and hepburn treated `` charade '' as if it were a working vacation , clearly having a wonderful time as they maneuvered around the plot 's many turns ; wahlberg and newton have been encouraged to take the whole thing much too seriously .",
        "boring and meandering .",
        "the camera whirls ! the camera twirls ! oh , look at that clever angle ! wow , a jump cut !"
    ],
    "summary": "newton has star quality , but this exercise in style ca n't hold a candle to the original .",
    "id": "98836435"
  },
  {
    "movie": "inkheart",
    "reviews": [
        "this children 's fantasy flirts with the dark side , though family values win out .",
        "a fantasy film intended as an adventure flick that requires this disclaimer : do not operate heavy machinery after viewing .",
        "the ending needs to soar like a winged monkey , and instead it flops around like a landed fish .",
        "MOV has an engaging premise in its notion of a silvertongue and a refreshing love of books .",
        "if you can ignore fraser and his trademark lumpishness , MOV is imaginative and entertaining .",
        "meh .",
        "'' ... unconvincing characters and uncompelling action . ''",
        "there are moments of absolute wonder to be had . just not enough to make the film anything more than a painless misfire .",
        "last action hero for books . by proxy , it 's also kind of the purple rose of cairo for books , but it 's not as good as either ... it would really amuse me if it ended with the family deciding , after all this trouble , let 's never read again .",
        "much less cringe-worthy , juvenile and bland than bedtime stories , it lacks the awe-inspiring thrills , brilliance and imagination that makes superior films like harry potter so exhilarating and unforgettable .",
        "absolutely adorable and enormously entertaining .",
        "the movie has no personality . it flops from scene to scene and crisis to crisis with no passion , no intensity and % u2014worse % u2014no fun .",
        "any grown-ups deputized to accompany kids to this picture should find the usual watch-checking squirm factor to be surprisingly minimal .",
        "brendan fraser needs to make a serious movie and get his career back in gear .",
        "movies like ` MOV ' are one of the reasons i list fantasies as one of my least favorite genres .",
        "i understand this is the first offering in an ` MOV ' trilogy . if so , color me hooked .",
        "this folklore-filled children 's story about the love of literature is disappointing because of its poor execution .",
        "chaotic , wildly unevern kids ' fluff .",
        "tween-targeted fantasy adaptation is no harry potter .",
        "... an agreeable fantasy epic that 's generally elevated by the strength of the various performances ...",
        "over and over again , characters in MOV wax eloquent on the power of books . but there 's nothing in the movie as haunting or as compelling as the sound they make when they speak for themselves .",
        "even though brendan fraser might be one of the worst actors out there , his co-stars and a clever script keep this movie alive and entertaining .",
        "the aesthetics of MOV are part of what make it such a surprisingly enjoyable experience to watch .",
        "-lsb- has -rsb- plenty of thrills , a smart although oft-confusing script , delightful scenery-chewing scenes from stalwarts like helen mirren , jim broadbent and andy serkis , and a gorgeous high-concept visual style .",
        "keep your expectations reasonable , and you 'll have fun .",
        "seemingly intended as a celebration of the power of books , it 's an occasionally incoherent , sleep-inducing picture that reduces narrative to mere mechanics .",
        "a whimsical , exciting and entertaining family flick .",
        "for the effects spectacle , the film works to a degree , but the vast majority of the humdrum plot might leave more kids asleep rather than engaged .",
        "MOV finds brendan fraser getting out-acted by flying monkeys and toto the dog .",
        "parental content review",
        "the film 's message that books are the doorway to learning and adventure is not overplayed even if the pic cheats a bit at the end for a tidy denouement .",
        "this is one of those adaptations that tries to keep you watching with its sheer busyness . at times , though , you just want it to stop and catch breath with the aid of some rather better lines and deeper characterisations .",
        "a brisk , overstuffed adaptation of cornelia funke 's international bestseller .",
        "even if it ca n't quite conjure up the movie magic it intends , MOV does serve as public service announcement promoting literacy . and as such , your kids could do a lot worse at the cineplex .",
        "as an adventure flick , MOV is not all that adventurous . it goes to places and falls on tropes that many fantasy films -- most notably but not exclusively the lord of the rings trilogy -- have covered .",
        "the film 's storybook alpine vistas are lovely to behold , and bits of humor pop out in welcome moments . other than that , it never quite springs to life as intended -- not in your kitchen , and not on screen .",
        "taken far too literally from the best-selling trilogy by cornelia funke , MOV is a passable , but prosaic and remarkably humourless kidflick that all but sucks the magic out of fairy tales by rendering the characters ordinary .",
        "despite strong production values and a cast of heavy hitters , MOV never hooks us as it should .",
        "the movie never achieves the sort of transporting fantasy that formed the backbone of the novel : the limitless potential for adventure and excitement that books provide , given physical form when transplanted into our reality .",
        "the overqualified cast gives its all , but logical lapses and sober-sided direction siphon off the fun .",
        "a flea market of fairy tales and hocus-pocus , MOV makes as much sense as an inkblot .",
        "MOV takes a great idea and then refuses to do much with that idea -- including , i 'm afraid , explaining it clearly to the audience .",
        "a few of the creatures , as well as one startling moment , might unsettle little ones in the audience . but the greater danger is that they 'll fall asleep .",
        "there is loads of action and an amusing turn from helen mirren as meggie 's aunt . most important , MOV performs the trick of encouraging our kids to love both books and films .",
        "adapted from the best-selling novel by cornelia funke , this makes a splashy fuss about `` the magic of books '' , and yet undermines our imaginative instincts by monstering the screen with special effects .",
        "a convoluted story but otherwise this is solid fantasy fare , nicely performed and handsomely made .",
        "MOV shows why books are wonderful yet dangerous places ; how a well-told story unlocks the imagination ; and how words unleash the most unpredictable emotions .",
        "magical , if messy - this gets by on a good heart , high adventure and an unashamed love for books .",
        "it 's a familiar tale , but one told with gusto , wit and visual flare .",
        "gamely played and impressively filmed -lrb- in the liguria area of italy -rrb- , it 's good , saturday matinee-type fun . if it were a book ... you could n't put it down . word up .",
        "MOV the novel is intended to be the first of a trilogy , but - like the golden compass , but even more so - it falls well short of convincing me that the next two films would be a worthwhile investment , financially or emotionally .",
        "cgi fantasy adventures in the post-potter , young-adult , old-child mode are not quite my taste , but this one is likably boisterous , and iain softley directs with flair .",
        "MOV is cheerful and amiable , and in the absence of a harry potter film this winter , it fills a gap neatly .",
        "there 's nothing terrible or offensive about MOV , but until a hero decides to read letters from penthouse forum , let 's can it with the ` things coming alive ' stuff .",
        "does n't fill us with a sufficient sense of awe for the spectacular visual concepts that we 've come to expect in big-scale movie fantasy .",
        "this shrill , moronic and often ugly family adventure feels cobbled together from spare parts , with a script that ca n't even be bothered to follow its own rules or internal logic .",
        "MOV was a busy , crowded , hugely successful book to start with ... the film version retains nearly all of author cornelia funke 's story complications . it 's a mixed bag and a serious load for a movie to carry .",
        "MOV gets a pass for making books seem cool -lrb- if scary -rrb- : if only it could have done the same for movies .",
        "whimsy should n't be overwhelming .",
        "MOV illustrates an obvious problem with making a movie about the joys of reading when the movie made is labored and sludgy looking : why bother seeing it if you can stay home and read a book instead ?",
        "cold , bland and gimmicky .",
        "much of this comes across as a labor of love , with a classy cast frolicking in iain softley 's whimsical direction of a lushly imagined adaptation by david lindsay-abaire .",
        "it 's handsomely mounted , with supporting turns by helen mirren as the girl 's flinty aunt and jim broadbent as the author of the book that caused so much fuss .",
        "better an adventure movie for families that -lrb- however paradoxically -rrb- extols the value and wonder of books than yet another movie that celebrates violent revenge or asinine behavior .",
        "another fantasy adventure story based on a bestselling book that turns out to be a dud .",
        "MOV is a fantastic read , and i was n't expecting the film to live up to it at all . much simpler than the book , the film is still a pretty fantastic ride . the story is changed around a bit but the main characters are there , exactly as you remember them",
        "for a movie about the power of books and stories , it 's a bit ironic that MOV is itself so poorly thought through .",
        "enjoyable fantasy adventure in which the strong cast , likeable characters and impressive special effects provide just enough distraction for you to ignore the plot holes .",
        "whatever made the german novel MOV by cornelia funke so popular that it got translated into 37 languages is nowhere in evidence in its film version .",
        "MOV is a case of a good children 's tale assigned to the wrong director , iain softley , who 's unable to bring the magic of the german best-selling novel to the screen .",
        "it all smacks of that overdone ` passion for literature ' common in english teachers who send any healthy-minded kid running from books .",
        "winged monkeys and a minotaur you do n't get a good look at make up some of the mediocre special effects in an unsatisfying kid 's movie .",
        "the real problem with MOV is n't that it 's badly made but that it simply should n't have been made at all .",
        "it 's the limitations of the film when considering the nearly limitless possibilities suggested by the premise that make MOV a disappointment .",
        "while we can appreciate the decent effects , the bang-up settings and a good cast , we can only hope they got some sight-seeing in on their days off . whatever magic there was on this shoot is probably in their home movies .",
        "filled with the prerequisites of talking animals , an appealing young heroine and some heinous villains , all the ingredients are there , although an overly complex plot makes for an altogether middling experience .",
        "bit by bit , MOV gets backed into a very moribund soundstage finale with loose ends either rapidly wrapped or abandoned entirely .",
        "it 's not that MOV is horrible or stupid or has something about it that scars you so badly and deeply you will never want to go to the movies again . it 's just not special .",
        "its countless missteps earn nothing but scorn even as its wonderful intentions make us ashamed to voice them .",
        "despite its interest in creative expression , MOV 's hurried pace , shorthand characterizations and regularly scheduled set-pieces obliterate all but the faintest traces of lucid thought .",
        "beautiful cinematography , good direction , solid supporting actors , interestingly enough story , despite its predictability , but the main character was absent .",
        "it 's an interesting idea , but instead of imagining an equally clever conclusion , the film eventually collapses into a series of chases and fights with a big raiders of the lost ark-style special effects blowout ending .",
        "the concept of ` MOV ' is worthy but the execution leaves viewers ' heads caught in the library and their feet in the cineplex .",
        "brendan frasier 's mo may be able to conjure magic , but the same ca n't be said for this film .",
        "a movie that can produce the image of helen mirren astride a unicorn has some claim on the audience 's interest , and a movie that can make that image seem perfectly uninteresting is in some serious trouble .",
        "... focused on giving the film a palpable threat of potentially fatal consequences and the characters an emotional foundation .",
        "the story shimmers with imaginative details .",
        "MOV feels as though it has been pulled apart and put back together several times over , leading to a viewing experience that 's equal parts bewilderment and tedium .",
        "entertaining enough for young teens , but a little more thought could have made it appealing to adults as well .",
        "no child seeing MOV will ever want to be read to again .",
        "MOV is entertaining enough , if not always easy to follow . and if it does nothing else , at least it may inspire kids to read , if for no other reason than to help make sense of it all .",
        "a literary fantasy with a charm deficit .",
        "a visually overstuffed but emotionally undernourished piece of whimsy ... yet another big , overblown fantasy movie that never takes flight .",
        "una aventura entretenida sobre todo para p\u00fablico adolescente , y para todo aquel que haya disfrutado alguna vez de un buen libro de fantas\u00eda .",
        "the message is so muddied by the film 's dizzying changes in pitch and tone that a lot of young readers are n't going to know what to think .",
        "readers who want to exercise their imaginations may prefer to stick to the written word . if a story gets boring , you can always skip a few pages and move on . in the cinema there is n't much choice .",
        "as far as movies based on books about books go , it 's anything but a pageturner .",
        "when you have to question every other scene and a ferret steals the show , you know you 're in trouble .",
        "for all its problems , it 's a sweet , clever work .",
        "if there 's a problem for me with MOV , it is one of scope . this feels like it should be an epic movie , but it 's not .",
        "brendan fraser 's boyish face usually oozes charisma , but here he just looks plain bored . which is kind of how the audience looked too .",
        "kind of a neverending story-lite , MOV never makes full use of its strengths . the ideas about reality and fiction have already been explored better elsewhere , even in light family films .",
        "cobbled-together fantasy about a dad who can `` read '' characters in and out of books .",
        "much is made of the magic of literature in MOV , but the joys of losing yourself in reading are undermined by the movie 's barrage of special effects and a convoluted plot .",
        "making a movie about the magic to be found in reading books , is a little like general motors singing the praises of riding a bike instead .",
        "purposefully confusing and , on occasion , downright indefensible",
        "bettany 's wonderful performance is as compelling as the movie itself is lackluster and downright dull .",
        "despite his name , -lsb- director -rsb- softley plays it with a heavy hand , distracting viewers with lots of action , hideous makeup and garish costumes , but the effect is more perplexing than enlightening .",
        "plot holes notwithstanding , MOV is a well-timed and well-made family film that seems too good for the traditional january dumping grounds .",
        "while the story proves the pen is mightier than the sword , this flaccid adaptation proves the book is mightier than the film .",
        "MOV is a valentine to books mainly by negative example -- the leaps of imagination it does n't achieve .",
        "a kids ' adventure movie can be a lot of things -- wild and woolly , loosey-goosey , full of foolishness -- but they should never be shabby . and that 's the best word for MOV .",
        "MOV may not be rotten to the core -- instead of maggots , the fantasy adventure seethes with good intentions -- but the overripeness of its special effects ca n't be overstated .",
        "similar to the movie adaptation of philip pullman 's the golden compass -lrb- knopf , 1996 -rrb- , the filmmakers shoehorn most of the book 's plot into a small amount of time , leaving little room for character development or nuanced acting .",
        "-lsb- u -rsb- nquestionably for children , but unlike many children 's movies , it does not assume kids are stupid or will respond only to toilet humor or slapstick ...",
        "take some bits from `` harry potter '' and `` arabian nights , '' loads from `` the wizard of oz '' and mix with an original story that we never even get to hear and you get the torturously tedious `` MOV . ''",
        "the story is a whirl , a jumble , an effusion -- sometimes flowing smoothly , other times jerking along as if the filmmaker has been given advice he resents regarding pacing and the balance of sweetness and danger .",
        "MOV was shot in and around liguria on the italian riviera , and it looks absolutely ravishing . but the most resonant and , frankly , wonderful aspect of the film is its unabashed love for books and the wonders to be found within .",
        "a brisk and engaging adventure for kids who love books as well as for those who do n't .",
        "the finished product teases , but does not fulfill , with what could have been . having seen MOV only days ago , its details have already begun to fade from memory . great literature and cinema is not this easily forgotten .",
        "MOV wo n't make people forget princess bride , but it may give them pleasant flashbacks while it rollicks through its own bookish adventures .",
        "we leave doubly convinced that words are better left squat , inert , and black on the page",
        "there is nothing that resembles fun anywhere . no sense of emotional involvement by anyone on screen , and certainly no breathtaking and/or lurking sense of doom",
        "this adventure-fantasy film does n't have the special effects depth of a lord of the rings movie , nor the charm of the harry potter franchise , but it is still quite enjoyable .",
        "a diverting excursion into fantasy gothic territory .",
        "it 's a familiar tale , but one told with gusto , wit and visual flare ...",
        "gaping plot holes aside , MOV is a lovely little film , aimed at the bookish among us , and peppered with a love of the literary .",
        "kanones bebaia poy agnooyntai , prospernioyntai , lygizontai , i spane horis kamia egnoia , otan to apaitei i formoylaiki ploki gia na ftasei stin epomeni pista mias asymmazeyta asynartitis sto desimo tis plithorikis se ypoplokes kai deyteroys haraktires isto",
        "there 's a shortage of magic in this adventure fantasy , and despite some good elements including its spectacular italian settings and a solid cast , this adaptation about storybook characters prised from their world , is a bit of a blot",
        "there 's nothing terribly wrong with MOV but it just does n't quite engage us , ''",
        "not ghastly , but not exhilarating either .",
        "the main attractions are the serious british thespians cutting loose and having fun while still displaying convincing commitment to the fanciful material .",
        "this fantasy-lit film is too intense for young ones drawn to its books-come-to-life story and not sharp enough for potter fans ."
    ],
    "summary": "heavy on cliches and light on charm , this kid-lit fantasy-adventure does n't quite get off the ground .",
    "id": "770673032"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1046060-high_noon",
    "reviews": [
        "flaws do n't negate the strong impact this film would have on the viewer , the impact that inspired many future filmmakers and made MOV one of the most important pieces of american film legacy .",
        "the western may be one of the few truly american art forms , and MOV shows exactly how much potential it can embrace .",
        "a film about what it means to be a man that manages to avoid the musk of machismo , MOV is truly a film that improves with each and every viewing .",
        "just a good guy , a bad guy , and a clean-cut ending that leaves you shrugging the whole thing off .",
        "this outstanding drama ticks by in real time , only 84 tense minutes long .",
        "o primeiro filme a ensinar que um faroeste poderia ter densidade dram\u00e1tica sem perder suas pr\u00f3prias caracter\u00edsticas .",
        "one of the best westerns ever made . had me on the edge of my seat the entire time !",
        "there 's no reason to upgrade if you own the previous dvd release . ... -lsb- but -rsb- if you do n't have this movie , you should pick up a copy . it 's a classic .",
        "meaningful in its implications , as well as loaded with interest and suspense , MOV is a western to challenge stagecoach for the all-time championship .",
        "regarded as '50s melodrama , it 's nearly perfect .",
        "a simple , somewhat creaky tribute to defiant courageousness .",
        "drop-dead brilliant western noir .",
        "one of the most overestimated westerns in film history , MOV is schematic and more of a reflection of the times in which it was made than the classic it 's considered to be , though gary cooper and grace kelly are excellent .",
        "MOV won a fistful of oscars , but in these days of pasteboard screen machismo , it 's worth seeing simply as the anatomy of what it took to make a man before the myth turned sour .",
        "more than a half-century later , foreman was right after all : MOV is a scorching and sour portrait of american complacence and capacity for collaborationism .",
        "... plays on the psychology of its characters and situations ; an oater with insight and introspection ... thought over action .",
        "generates claustrophobic suspense by focusing on three images : kane 's increasingly tense , pained expression ; implacably ticking clocks ; and the ominous , empty train tracks .",
        "can be enjoyed simply because it 's so well done .",
        "the great american western .",
        "quintessential western that transcends the genre",
        "MOV -lrb- 1952 -rrb- is possibly the all-time best western film ever made - a successful box-office production by stanley kramer",
        "not a frame is wasted in this taut , superbly directed , masterfully acted film .",
        "arguably the classic western .",
        "the film works remarkably well as a simple but powerful parable .",
        "some of the results ring false , but the memorable theme song and some equally memorable character acting -lrb- by thomas mitchell and lon chaney jr. more than lloyd bridges and katy jurado -rrb- help things along .",
        "one of the essentials",
        "MOV is n't really a masterpiece , and if you 're a fan of more honest westerns , it 's hard not to notice zinnemann 's general lack of interest throughout . but it is a tense , effective little film .",
        "file under ` classic ' .",
        "deserving of its label as a true classic , and essential viewing .",
        "MOV combines its points about good citizenship with some excellent picturemaking .",
        "tense 1950s western is still a cinema classic .",
        "zinnemann carefully and deliberately makes the most of the mood cast by the threat of impending violence .",
        "carl foreman 's brilliant screenplay pays due respect to each character , no matter how sad or loathsome .",
        "one of top five westerns of all time w/cooper 's oscar winning role . powerful ."
    ],
    "summary": "a classic of the western genre that broke with many of the traditions at the time , MOV endures -- in no small part thanks to gary cooper 's defiant , oscar-winning performance .",
    "id": "22011"
  },
  {
    "movie": "exorcist",
    "reviews": [
        "a film of such horrifying power that audiences are apt to be visibly shaken .",
        "at once an honest , disturbing exploration of the darker aspects of religion and the spiritual world , it is also an unabashed horror movie",
        "i simply see no justification for such sacrilege . you know what scene i mean .",
        "it never was a great film , but it 's still effective -- the 2000 version is nearer greatness",
        "the film turns out to be a superior horror story , very ably directed by william friedkin whose last film was the french connection .",
        "there is nothing dated about the MOV , which remains an effective excursion into demonic possession more than a quarter of a century after it was first unveiled to the public .",
        "the MOV -lrb- 1973 -rrb- is the sensational , shocking horror story about devil possession and the exorcism of the demonic spirits from a young , innocent girl",
        "no matter how many times viewed , the MOV never fails to deliver the goods .",
        "the film is an intense rollercoaster ride , a marvel of audience manipulation , with director william friedkin pushing all the right buttons to make this a genre landmark .",
        "this notorious battle between good and evil , nominated for eight oscars when it was originally released in 1973 , is both a hysteric scream and an intentional as well as unintentional hoot .",
        "essential viewing for anyone who loves cinema . if you can endure it ...",
        "it 's good stuff but , basically , the MOV is a museum piece , something to be enjoyed for its historical value , its datedness and its almost quaint shock value .",
        "friedkin 's MOV holds up remarkably well .",
        "the MOV is what it purports to be , no less than one of the best horror films , one of the best films , of all time .",
        "i loved it .",
        "a brilliantly constructed , chilling tale of demonic possession and medical torture",
        "a finely crafted thriller that benefits immensely from william friedkin 's controlled direction , william peter blatty 's thematically fruitful script , owen roizman 's imaginative camerawork and dick smith 's startling makeup designs .",
        "an expert telling of a supernatural horror story .",
        "it stimulates and rewards , time and time again .",
        "succeeds best in developing its characters",
        "some movies are n't just movies . they 're closer to voodoo -- they channel currents larger and more powerful than themselves .",
        "aall the MOV does is take its audience for a ride , spewing it out the other end , shaken up but none the wiser .",
        "the MOV not only tops the horror genre but transcends it , resulting in a profound experience where moviemaking horror , thrillingly dramatic storytelling and deeply felt spirituality of the catholic kind make for pivotal viewing .",
        "-lsb- friedkin -rsb- knew he was n't making art ; he was concocting gross-out pop -- a movie so `` scary '' it borders on being silly .",
        "von sydow , blair and mercedes mccambridge -lrb- the originally uncredited actress who dubbed regan 's gross mutterings -rrb- are flat-out terrific .",
        "less a cleverly spun story than a disjointed collection of shockeroos , surrounding a few ghoulishly effective moments with overcooked plot twists and in-your-face vulgarity .",
        "william friedkin 's adaptation of william peter blatty 's novel , with a screenplay by the author , is a dead-serious meditation on the struggle between good and evil .",
        "the MOV , with its excellent cast , mounting intensity , and ingeniously constructed surprises , is still a commanding achievement .",
        "the movie that launched a new era in horror films , and which , for one generation , remains one of the scariest experiences of their lives .",
        "the MOV , like most memorable hollywood movies , gains its power from the way it mixes opposites : new-style realism and sexual radicalism , old-style horror and religion .",
        "when i first saw the MOV , i saw only the literal side of the story . but as i watched it again , i began to view the movie as a dark fairy tale about a parent whose child is experiencing a painful trauma .",
        "provocative , thoughtful horror",
        "arguably the most troubling factor is the lack of true redemption in the twist ending , which resolves the demon possession without allowing good to triumph over evil .",
        "the scariest movie i have ever seen . so scary , i refuse to watch it again .",
        "barbarism and exploitation here parade as something deeper . abominable .",
        "this 1973 horror thriller is highly instructive as well as unnerving .",
        "this is the dark frightening place where modern horror cinema began .",
        "one of the few horror films that hold up well , the MOV is still scary due to the visual and sound effects , but it 's also well-written by blatty , well-directed by friedkin , and well-acted by ellen burstyn as the mother and linda blair as her daughter",
        "totally ludicrous .",
        "absolutely timeless horror in its purest form . seeing this recently with a bunch of rambunctious college students , not even they were immune . exorcism time came around -- you could hear a pin drop in the cinema .",
        "a sour odor of spiritual guilt wafts through every fascinating minute of the MOV .",
        "it just never gets un-scary . that 's the best part .",
        "but , is it just me , or is karras 's the only story that 's really compelling ?",
        "the MOV is likely just as disturbing today as it was 25 years ago .",
        "there 's something new to be discovered in every viewing of the MOV .",
        "if it failed on all other levels -lrb- which it does n't -rrb- , the MOV would nevertheless be an excellent family horror story .",
        "... the movie is right up there with the cinema 's better chillers .",
        "an unforgettable horror film that does n't just get under my skin - it stays there .",
        "trendsetting shocker about a possessed child .",
        "... a crude religious exploitation piece -lrb- although poor linda blair - required to urinate , swear and vomit on cue - is exploited more than anything else -rrb- .",
        "from the day of its first release in 1973 , `` the MOV : was the greatest horror film ever made , and it remains so to this day .",
        "the overall film has a well-developed sense of atmosphere that most films of today are missing .",
        "friedkin and blatty seem to care nothing for their characters as people , only as victims-props to be abused , hurled about the room , beaten and , in one case , brutally murdered .",
        "the MOV is not an unintelligently put-together film , which makes one all the more impatient with it .",
        "if movies are , among other things , opportunities for escapism , then the MOV is one of the most powerful ever made .",
        "a story whose archetypal pull and sheer visceral power ca n't be negated by even the worst audience behaviour .",
        "there 's something elemental about the MOV ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV rides its supernatural theme to magical effect , with remarkable special effects and an eerie atmosphere , resulting in one of the scariest films of all time .",
    "id": "15615"
  },
  {
    "movie": "pokemon-heroes",
    "reviews": [
        "subjecting kids to such shoddy junk when they could be watching ` spirited away ' or ` finding nemo ' should count as cinematic child abuse .",
        "grown-ups may have to scrub the sugar from their frontal lobes . but it 's not about them , is it ? never was . never will be .",
        "the film 's traditional cel animation seems to have reverted back to the lackluster standard of television-quality cartoons .",
        "it 's one of those little ironies that as interest has flagged in the animated pok\u00e9mon movie franchise , the scripts have actually gotten better .",
        "having settled into a formula of maximum action and minimal whimsy for its battery of feature releases , the makers of MOV : latios & latias barely raise a ripple as they tread water in this fifth entry .",
        "the story 's better but there 's still the animal cruelty that 's disturbing - the trainers have pok\u00e9mon battles that resemble ` cockfights for kids ' and the wild pok\u00e9mon are kept captive in pocketsize pok\u00e9balls when they are not being used for entertainment .",
        "those less obsessed with the colorful creatures will squirm as the the uninspired story -- which could have easily been condensed into a half-hour series episode -- unfolds over the course of 80 long minutes .",
        "a tedious , unimaginative affair .",
        "the plot is paper-thin , supporting players like the bumbling team rocket baddies are mere window dressing and the devious designs of annie and oakley are generic at best .",
        "surely a form of child abuse .",
        "this one 's for kids and no one else .",
        "judged purely as a movie for young children -lrb- 10 and under , tops -rrb- , this latest feature spinoff from the card-game , toy and tv-animation empire is , surprisingly , not bad .",
        "a reasonably entertaining entry that , thanks to its exotic setting and several new characters , should prove engaging for the small fry and not too painful for their adult chaperones .",
        "the pied piper of shameless kiddie-marketing strikes for the fifth time in as many years .",
        "if you think of it as the cinematic equivalent of a dental appointment that 's less painful than you 'd anticipated , you 'll have a fairly accurate notion of its quality .",
        "the same old grab for the wallet .",
        "it looks cheap and feels slapped together .",
        "the story is also less violent and combative .",
        "with the same vocal talent and weak combination of computer and hand-drawn animation , the film is about on par with the previous entries in the series .",
        "if you still have pok\u00e9mon fans at your house , i suppose there 's no harm in taking them to see this movie ; but with pixar 's finding nemo set to open in a couple of weeks , surely you can find something better to do this weekend .",
        "you 'd have to classify MOV as an action movie , but with the static long shots and inert faces , it 's more like an inaction movie .",
        "those who have n't fallen under the pok\u00e9mon spell will find little here to convert them .",
        "kids will revolt , parents will snooze , and i will be downright giddy if i never encounter another pok\u00e9mon movie as long as i live .",
        "nothing can save this sinking ship of a film series .",
        "parents , only you can prevent another pokemon .",
        "at worst , you 're paying to see something you can basically see on television .",
        "an easily avoided waste of time .",
        "it 's a pointless exercise in animated tedium .",
        "we 've seen it all before , and too many times .",
        "there are , alas , the requisite new characters and this round it 's a pair of winged critters with high-pitched grating ` voices ' that sound most awfully like mr. bill from saturday night live .",
        "the result is impressive but does little to further the experience .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- t seems these things are being made and released by rote . if no one went , would the next one come out anyway ?",
        "below-average for series and too violent for younger kids .",
        "all that a piece of product like MOV will inspire is the urge to nap .",
        "the new characters ' voices are even more grating and annoying than in previous installments , and some of the animation seems downright archaic .",
        "directors kunihiko yuyama and jim malone pull off a few striking visual effects . but it 's still a pokemon movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "this series is n't getting any better .",
    "id": "9595"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wedding_date",
    "reviews": [
        "you know how some movies just ring so utterly true that they defy your expectations and take a predictable genre to new and unexpected places ? this is not one of those movies .",
        "some films are ripped from the headlines , others are ripped from the pages of cosmopolitan .",
        "a great excuse for staying single .",
        "this is a charmless , lifeless affair that had me leaving the theater in a mood more appropriate to a funeral than a wedding .",
        "you could call this horrid romantic comedy one wedding and a funeral , with stress on the funeral .",
        "one wedding . no funerals . a pretty woman . lots of borrowed somethings , but nothing new .",
        "following this botched ceremony , anyone fond of debra messing and dermot mulroney will be left standing at the altar in tears .",
        "` the MOV ' does n't exactly resurrect romantic comedy , but it proves there 's still life in the genre .",
        "clare kilner 's cast frolics in the countryside in an appropriately british-romantic-comedy fashion , and at times the characters trade silly snaps , but dana fox 's screenplay is structurally shaky .",
        "to say that the script is bottom-of-the-barrel would be too kind ; this one was already decomposing under a mountain of mulch before debra messing unwisely fished it out .",
        "perhaps the movie should have been called `` four bridesmaids and a hookah . ''",
        "should n't romantic comedies be a little more romatic ? or maybe at least likable ?",
        "messing and mulroney have wonderful chemistry -- too bad they frequently have it long before their characters should .",
        "the film is made by women , which just goes to show female moviemakers are equally capable of insulting female audiences .",
        "... plays like a hollow and manipulative gimmicky lifetime channel television movie . alertly , one should decline the cheeky invitation to this senseless ceremonial event",
        "yearn , dammit ! the movie screams at you , as you turn your eyes to the wristwatch and lament that , like kat , you 've just wasted your money .",
        "the MOV 's ending is one of the most contrived in recent memory ...",
        "the shenanigans that first-time screenwriter dana cox concocts from this lame scenario fluctuate from stupid to lazy and back to dull",
        "there 's no clich\u00e9 from any romantic comedy of the past twenty years that this movie is n't afraid to borrow , water down , and then recycle .",
        "flashes of engagement mired in starry-eyed pabulum with a bubble-gum score to match .",
        "so many body parts from other engineered romantic comedies have been crudely harvested and stitched together in the making of this weird robotic lark that maid of honor of frankenstein might be more useful a nickname .",
        "tv movie level fluff . yawn .",
        "the MOV presents the curious case of two appealing performances surviving a bombardment of schlock .",
        "... the only possible happy ending involves your escape from the theater with a few precious brain cells intact .",
        "there is not a single memorable joke or line of dialogue in it , something that even the dumbest of comedies usually delivers .",
        "this is a movie that wants to break out and be tepid . it would like to dare to be tepid . but it just ca n't find the energy .",
        "call this will & dis-grace .",
        "you wonder if the filmmakers intended you to utterly despise everyone in the story . probably not .",
        "a fairly mediocre film , not nearly as funny as it should be , nor as heartfelt .",
        "from the look of it , poor debra messing 's first starring vehicle was an unmitigated disaster even before the cameras started rolling .",
        "the film 's generic nature extends to everything about it : the unengaging cinematography , haphazard editing , emptily jaunty score , even use of locations .",
        "there 's no real tension , because kat and nick are more surely fated than a pharaoh for his tomb .",
        "the writing shows occasional wit and the performances are charming enough , but there is too much working against them .",
        "my suspicion is -lsb- the filmmakers -rsb- started out making a raunchy , r-rated bridget jones 's diary sort of movie , but ... the suits got nervous and demanded a pg-13 cut .",
        "confuses sex with romance",
        "if there 's anything truly scary about this time of year , it 's the typical appearance of the ghastly beast known as the sitcom star feature hiatus project .",
        "simple and tiresome , as well as unoriginal , borrowing bits from any number of like-minded movies .",
        "clever lines , chic sets , appropriately incorporated cloying songs , and a sympathetic debra messing keep the film enjoyable .",
        "directed with muddled confusion , the movie goes through its stock characters and obligatory plot points without enthusiasm or charm .",
        "the film is just not very funny or original .",
        "inexplicable fantasy romances for the harried modern gal 101 is a more fitting title for this shameless mediocrity .",
        "seldom has a movie so blatantly illustrated the need for genuine star power in the lead , especially considering the MOV 's obvious comparisons to not one , but three more successful julia roberts movies .",
        "debra messing ... is a nightmarish golem-creature constructed , frankenstein-monster style , from the worst stereotypes of modern femininity ...",
        "yes , it 's another romantic comedy with the happy moral that single women are miserable and worthless .",
        "going to see MOV is like going on a date with me . it is moderately pleasant , but you are not going to do it a second time because you know you can do better .",
        "mulroney contributes virtually nothing save a convincing profile and makes the transition to lover-for-life feel about as shallow as a single-tiered wedding cake .",
        "surprisingly adapted from a novel , date is saccharine , uninspired entertainment , eventually collapsing into a flat-out mess .",
        "there 's a bizarrely republican message , asserting that `` every woman has the exact love life she wants , '' which strikes me as kind of unsympathetic .",
        "just why jeffrey dumped kat is a revelation so unsavory that this initially breezy movie sinks beneath its weight , despite the frantic efforts of first-time screenwriter dana fox and director clare kilner .",
        "elicits a handful of smiles but not many laughs as it approaches a finale that comes as a foregone conclusion .",
        "same ol'",
        "the movie goes wrong from the start by simply throwing us into the action and asking us to identify with messing 's desperate scheme .",
        "the film has an energetic grace , directed with fluid efficiency by clare kilner .",
        "why kat must be so emotionally clueless or her sister so selfish is a mystery that invites an essay about what women think of each other these days .",
        "an epic comic miscalculation .",
        "it is in no way a match made in heaven .",
        "not a single scene connects smoothly with the next , characters make head-scratching choices that come out of nowhere and logic consistently proves itself an enemy to be avoided at all costs .",
        "although the trappings are familiar , writer dana fox has contributed a lean but clever script , and director clare kilner keeps the story moving .",
        "admittedly , no part of the year is immune to bad romantic comedies . but what distinguishes the MOV , what qualifies it so impeccably for turkey season , goes way beyond generic foulness .",
        "like a bridal shower , it 's probably more fun if you have some champagne first . perhaps some enterprising theater manager will consider this .",
        "a movie of utter inconsequence -- a cinematic listerine strip that evaporates from the brain before you even get your popcorn tub to the trash .",
        "a bit like cheap champagne : it 's better if you revel in its bubbly fizz and do n't think about the finish .",
        "romantic comedy is a tough genre to pull off in this crass and explicit day and age . this movie gives it a perky try , but its formula , unlike its hired-for-the-occasion leading man , just is n't the right package .",
        "it might be best to discreetly misplace your invitation to these strained festivities .",
        "even if the material is terribly formulaic and derivative , it 's still such a simple , by-the-numbers romantic comedy that only a herculean effort could mess it up . and the filmmakers have managed to do exactly that .",
        "do n't bother asking how an ivy league guy would end up hooking . such a query could only lead to some dark answers , answers that the filmmakers have no interest in dealing with but which would make for a much more interesting movie .",
        "messing should know this is precisely the kind of movie grace would ridicule will for dragging her to see .",
        "even if we could buy the contrived setup -lrb- right : debra messing needs to buy a date -rrb- , there is no thought to fleshing out the characters .",
        "hardly worth an $ 8 ticket , however , especially since you can see messing play the same character in a better-written venue every week . after all , that 's one of the central messages of the film : never pay for something you can get for free .",
        "is true love with a prostitute the best valentine 's day fantasy hollywood has to offer ?",
        "this particular wedding-cake walk does feature the excellent comedic timing of debra messing and the charm and sex appeal of dermot mulroney , which will likely combine to make this film a hit with the date crowd .",
        "my best friend 's picture perfect wedding , er , i mean the MOV ... is surprisingly engaging -- mostly ...",
        "but i think that if you 're a guy you would be best to avoid this like the plague !",
        "the MOV reveals no trace of recognizable human behavior in it .",
        "as forgettable as a hollywood couple 's marriage vows .",
        "the main problem with the film is that it seems to be missing a sequence where we see kat and nick actually falling for each other - the script pretty much expects us to take it for granted just because they 're the leads .",
        "messing-mulroney romantic comedy has `` something borrowed '' in its plot -- and a sense of missed opportunity that 'll leave you blue .",
        "perfectly watchable even if it 's deeply lazy filmmaking .",
        "as predictable as a church ceremony and witless as the pastor 's blessings , leaving one to ponder this wedding 's `` reception . ''",
        "as stale as last week 's wedding cake .",
        "a dupla principal at\u00e9 que se esfor\u00e7a -lrb- principalmente mulroney , que vem se especializando neste tipo de personagem -rrb- , mas o roteiro repleto de clich\u0119s frustra suas tentativas .",
        "while there are many of the right ingredients here -- a likable cast , plot potential , a dreamy english countryside setting -- i still ca n't say `` i do '' to this fluffy flick .",
        "this was a fun film that told a good story without getting ridiculous like some of these have been in the past .",
        "trite , but , dermot mulroney , i took an exit poll . you are definitely worth the extra three hundred .",
        "mulroney is like a young stallone - and he 's got half the acting ability to prove it .",
        "a distillation of so many rom-com formulas and conventions it 's hard to know whether the filmmakers even realized what they were actually doing .",
        "know this from the get-go : i 'm one of a dozen or so women scattered throughout the world who didnt like pretty woman .",
        "`` the MOV '' has a few good laughs and appealing leads , but it never achieves the lift off of a real sparkling romantic comedy .",
        "tonight a very special `` will and grace . '' grace goes to london without will . dermot mulrooney guest stars .",
        "messing seems to be searching in vain for some shred of credibility , while the amiable mulroney moves about in his tuxedo as if he 'd been strapped into a straitjacket ...",
        "most of the time , it 's as flat and lifeless as debra messing 's hair .",
        "i refuse to believe that there 's anyone on the planet , starved enough for romantic affection , that they 'd find something likable about this movie .",
        "focus-grouped to such a precise dot that everyone in the audience will not only be able to name each brand of luggage the characters use , but will do so with joy and pride .",
        "a tossed bouquet full of dead flowers and bad jokes that belongs in the nearest trash receptacle .",
        "mulroney , best known as the title character in roberts ' comedy my best friend 's wedding , is by far the best thing about this gaggingly unromantic comedy . his character 's bio , divulged in a thumbnail , is the least convincing thing .",
        "this is a MOV that would have benefited from a different designer , a more knowing caterer , and -- most of all -- a whole new guest list .",
        "it 's telling that we do n't find messing 's character worthy of a male prostitute 's love .",
        "it 's all the actors can do to race through their lines before their gag reflexes kick in .",
        "dana fox 's script is all setup , skimping on the quirky character touches and comedic flourishes that could make a predictable outcome gratifying .",
        "scenes do n't build momentum , and i do n't think i 've ever seen a feature where so many lines of dialogue were delivered by actors hovering off-screen or standing with their backs to the camera .",
        "too bad the filmmakers felt compelled to give this sufficiently charming doodle some emotional heft by veering into four weddings and a funeral territory . it only distracts you from the MOV 's own modest charms .",
        "all the romantic comedy gloss in the world ca n't save a script as stale as last week 's wedding cake .",
        "meandering , occasionally funny , wannabe fanciful .",
        "the movie is so elementary , so simplistic , offering stock situations and cardboard characters who ... remain unchanged that it plays like an extended version of a sitcom ...",
        "the movie is being sold as a buoyant confection , i think mainly because its distributor does n't quite know what to make of its neither-fish-nor-fowl film .",
        "aimed squarely at the single-and-over-35 demographic , the MOV is a guilty pleasure that is perfect for a girls ' night out .",
        "dermot mulroney , portraying a very expensive male escort , provides enough eye candy and mystery to save this movie from being a total disaster .",
        "an embarrassingly bad comedy .",
        "-lsb- the MOV -rsb- should really berelegated to video where you wo n't have to shell out $ 20 + to see it at a theater .",
        "the MOV is a manfest extravaganza and for that i salute it !",
        "mulroney is a stealth actor : whenever you see him in a picture , you 're not just reminded of how good he almost always is -- you have the sense of discovering it for the first time .",
        "it 's not romantic , it 's not comic , the performances are weak , the writing is amateurish , and even at 90 minutes it will feel like a long time in the theater .",
        "it 's a blessing that the MOV does n't try too hard , but it 's a curse that it does n't try hard enough .",
        "debra messing and dermot mulroney star in a romantic comedy that struggles to capture the charm and ebullience of four weddings and a funeral .",
        "with la debra finally in the picture , all i can say is , `` give us more messing . '' our first date might have been a dud but i 'm willing to go out again .",
        "all surface and no soul . come to think of it , the surface is n't so darned hot either .",
        "kilner 's light touch keeps the romantic pair dancing around their romance without tripping , but as the film reaches the inevitable happy ending , the steps look all too familiar .",
        "how does kat feel about falling in love with a high-priced escort ? what prompts nick 's lightning-bolt conversion to unpaid monogamy ? what kind of work can a former comp lit major expect to find in the world ? these and other questions are left unanswered .",
        "even the most ardent evacuees from super bowl madness will recognize the familiar road map that the screenplay diligently follows .",
        "like a wilted bridal bouquet ... a movie that arrives dead on the vine and then asks you to spend eighty minutes watching it wither .",
        "what good is a uniquely photographed dance scene if the characters dancing together are barely two-dimensional ?",
        "as far as big day experiences go , a drunken speech from a distant relative would be far more entertaining -- and funnier -- than the MOV .",
        "with blinders on to deflect the obvious - that this movie is n't remotely believable - the MOV skates by on the charm of its actors .",
        "it takes about 10 minutes to figure out every major plot twist in this cheap-looking romp involving a collection of obnoxiously quirky characters .",
        "even some much needed logic would n't have been able to save this awful mess .",
        "unlike pretty woman , and most other successful romances , we have absolutely no reason to understand why either of these empty vessels would ever find themselves attracted to the other .",
        "glides along with the unself-conscious assurance of a deodorant commercial , confident that the presence of attractive actors in gowns and tuxes will sanction any idiocy .",
        "`` the MOV '' is slight and it knows it . it has no pretentions . it 's an odd little fairy tale about a single woman and her paid stud . messing is a movie star .",
        "laudably manages to avoid the inherent sordidness of `` pretty woman '' and the underlying sadness of `` my best friend 's wedding . ''",
        "nothing says true love like a movie about a desperate , neurotic woman who hires a male whore to take her to her sister 's wedding so she can make the ex-fiance jealous . i wonder if they have a vermont teddy bear for that ?",
        "the first problem the MOV runs into is that the whole `` converting a hooker '' fantasy skews mainly male .",
        "part romantic comedy , part soap opera , part travelogue , the MOV fails to deliver on all counts ."
    ],
    "summary": "critics are leaving the MOV at the alter , calling it shopworn , bland , and lightweight .",
    "id": "10051"
  },
  {
    "movie": "kisses2008",
    "reviews": [
        "kisses feels like a decent little short film padded to feature length for the purposes of fulfilling some local funding body 's film-making quota for the year .",
        "kisses regards the world through fearful , foolhardy preadolescent eyes .",
        "there 's nothing so frustrating as a small movie , made by a clearly gifted filmmaker , that flies close to magic only to be sternly jerked back to earth .",
        "dorothy parachutes into dublin in search of the wizard but there is no place like home .",
        "a blend of gritty realism sand magical fantasy that 's undoubtedly calculated but still deeply satisfying .",
        "a marginally sweet movie about two woebegone irish kids .",
        "it 's arresting .",
        "terrific non-pro actors kelly o'neill -lrb- kylie -rrb- and shane curry -lrb- dylan -rrb- are the backbone of the film , directed by lance daly , who says as a kid he thought of running away .",
        "rewarding tale of two kids loose on dublin 's mean streets with outstanding performances .",
        "a xmas where neverending nightmares instead of sugarplums dance in children 's heads",
        "exquisitely-shot and deeply affecting with just the right balance of humor , sweetness and grittiness . newcomers kelly o'neill and shane curry shine in raw , heartfelt and charismatic performances .",
        "a pedestrian picaresque that trivializes the suffering and yearnings of hardscrabble youth .",
        "the immediate sympathy evoked by dylan -lrb- shane curry -rrb- and kylie -lrb- kelly o'neill -rrb- creates a lasting impact solely with the sorrow and confusion that crosses their faces .",
        "what begins as a painfully bleak portrait of life in the slums on the outskirts of dublin transforms into a lovely , if dark , love story .",
        "the movie 's ending may be less satisfying than that of slumdog millionaire , but kisses is truer to the tragedy of a generation of children whom we have utterly failed .",
        "captivating and poignant portayal of life on the edge for the disregarded of our societies .",
        "devoid of colour and up to its eyeballs in domestic turbulence , kisses fosters a painful , monochrome melancholy .",
        "the child actors are first rate , though the movie should be shown in a double bill , possibly with shane meadows 's 72-minute somers town .",
        "a minor work notable only for the strong performances of two non-professional actors .",
        "charming without being precious .",
        "a touching , tender coming-of-age drama which balances gritty realism with an intriguing sense of the fantastic .",
        "while the film 's compassion is never in doubt , it 's sometimes a bit too cute for its own good .",
        "a surprisingly genuine and sweet film .",
        "lance daly 's ireland is not the scenic irish wonderland of ondine .",
        "when it 's not trite , kisses can be refreshing in its realism .",
        "cute but foul-mouthed , tough but vulnerable and obviously crazy about each other in a reticent way , these kids are a wonderful presence , giving the most contrived scenes genuine emotion and a veneer of realness .",
        "sincere and vulnerable , aching with youthful insight",
        "what the writer and director , lance daly , means as some kind of transporting urban adventure for them is a disenchanting slog for us .",
        "a darkling , modern-day fairy tale and lyrical coming-of-age story , irish filmmaker lance daly 's 2008 film `` kisses '' is a small gem .",
        "there are undoubtedly more dark days ahead for kylie and dylan , but in kisses , we see the beginning of character forged by circumstance .",
        "it 's exciting , sweet , gritty and generally just a joy to watch .",
        "in writer-director lance daly?s lens , downtown dublin is like a modern-day oz ? and the movie even starts by showing the kids ? dreary home life in black-and-white , slowly moving to full color .",
        "a coming-of-age drama so irish you 'll want to take out your pogues ' lyric sheets beforehand to brush up on gaelic mumbling .",
        "it 's just a shame the plot was n't fleshed out more to enable a more complete cinematic experience , rather than a handful of inspired components .",
        "curry and o'neill are adorably unadorable , and though the film ultimately leaves them as we found them , buried alive in beautiful b&w on a dead-end estate , we know their worlds have changed forever .",
        "the dialogue throughout this touching , though never sugary , film is delivered in the language of the streets and the performances from the two young stars are nothing short of remarkable .",
        "beautiful black and white photography -lrb- also handled by daly -rrb- slowly evolves into color once the adventure is underway -- it 's a nice gesture to the wizard of oz .",
        "kisses is a short and beautiful movie . and i loved it . it made me cry .",
        "only 75 minutes long and made in ireland for what had to be a micro budget , this sweet , savvy and heartfelt film will impact you more and stay around longer than many more elephantine productions .",
        "kisses is an interesting look at the side of a famous city we do n't often see . and at the sort of unhappy childhoods that perhaps we see far too many of -- if we only dare look .",
        "an engaging and well-acted irish film about two pre-teens who escape their oppressive life in a slum for an adventure in the city of dublin .",
        "an unexpectedly tart juvenile drama that trusts in the emotional purity of life .",
        "a superior lyrical ragamuffin irish drama about neighbor kids in a dingy outpost of dublin who run away from their crummy home situations at christmas and spend a picaresque night on city streets .",
        "a serendipitous journey worth taking .",
        "no one would claim that director lance daly delivers an emerald isle version of the spirit of the beehive , though this scrappy film does have a knack for capturing the elation and confusion of late childhood in their ragged glory .",
        "compelling and amusing , breathtaking at times in its ability to put these kids in harm 's way and slip them out of it with imagination and nerve",
        "like arthouse roddy doyle it 's ambitious and phoney in equal measure .",
        "a worthwhile film with real acting and directing talent , though probably best regarded as an extended short .",
        "the sharply written script is refreshingly free from sentimentality and the developing relationship between the two leads is both well written and extremely moving .",
        "both sweet and tough , with vivid characters and an unnerving sense of danger .",
        "this delicate , charming low-budget irish film is a gem worth discovering . a thoughtful and whimsical film .",
        "the unknown child actors are appealing but kisses tries too hard to pluck at the heartstrings ."
    ],
    "summary": "although admittedly sleight , this gritty but tender coming-of-age irish drama features some impressive work both in front , and behind the camera .",
    "id": "770789898"
  },
  {
    "movie": "elite_squad",
    "reviews": [
        "subtle shades of friendship are lost in a melee of violence , which quickly crescendos and then maintains a one-note intensity for the duration of the film , punctuated only by an ill-advised narratorial voice that serves to keep the viewer at arm 's length .",
        "... for all the glorification of the mercenary methods of this MOV , it 's still a fascinating portrait of a nightmarish police and crime culture and a vivid narrative .",
        "it 's just a pity the story is so slipshod - it only really gets going halfway through .",
        "it 's a bit like a latin american episode of the bill written by richard littlejohn and directed by chuck norris .",
        "nascimento 's penchant for rambo theatrics is unfortunate , because elsewhere MOV has interesting things to say .",
        "here is the biggest , fattest , dampest squib of the week : perhaps the most disappointing film ever to have won the golden bear at the berlin film festival .",
        "it is impressively made , but leaves a nasty taste in the mouth .",
        "an action-drama that 's fascinating for its insights into rio 's social structures . but while it 's compellingly intense , it 's also morally muddled .",
        "you 'll swear you smell gunpowder during the earthshaking gunfights of `` MOV . '' forget john woo 's hong kong , or sergio leone 's west . with bullet-slinging gusto , director jose padilha -lrb- `` bus 174 '' -rrb- proudly pronounces rio de janeiro the bloodiest onscree",
        "despite the voiceover , padilha has created a shocking insight into a world in which corrupt cops slug it out against drug dealers but , ultimately , nobody wins .",
        "an instruction manual of sorts that does n't illuminate police corruption and violence so much as it revels in it .",
        "pois \u0439 infinitamente mais recompensador assistir a um filme que estimula a discuss\u0433o e a auto-an\u0431lise do que um que , por covardia ou falta de ambi\u0437\u0433o , limita-se a seguir a corrente do politicamente correto .",
        "a tough and realistic cop story that stays believable from beginning to end while delivering the truth about loyalty , courage and gut-wringing fear on an inner city military mission with no second chances .",
        "a very compelling movie that 's almost ruined by a horrible narration track .",
        "-lsb- jos\u00e9 padilha -rsb- recariously pitches the squad 's brute force as less a necessary evil than the outgrowth of an existing evil -- a no-win situation that mocks liberal ideals and warps conservative pragmatism into domestic terrorism .",
        "it bears a resemblance to viscerally exciting seventies urban thrillers like the french connection , in which only the fascists could do what needed to be done .",
        "the film 's message is that all of society is corrupt , so it does n't matter who gets killed . it 's a propaganda movie that shows no empathy for its characters or for its audience .",
        "padilha succumbs to monotonous , hollow flamboyance with his city of god clone .",
        "the moral dilemmas are gripping , but the film takes itself far too seriously to ever connect with us .",
        "a film that simply does n't have enough cinematic flair to make it a better than average cops and robbers thriller .",
        "padilha gets as close to the daily violence as city of god , though this feels more like a documentary than an epic .",
        "padilha 's style , honed in his hijack documentary bus 174 , is verismo with a vengeance . for two hours the viewer feels as hand-held as the camera , hauled about by the neck .",
        "as for the plot , flashy editing and an over-reliance on jittery handheld cameras mean you 'll struggle to tell what 's going on - if you have n't already given up by then .",
        "nothing is clear-cut in this intense brew of brutality , stupidity and genuine tragedy . we 're left lamenting that it will go on , unless brazil engages its brain before its fist .",
        "MOV ca n't decide whether it wants to pull the lid back on what urban decay has wrought or simply open up a can of whup ass .",
        "MOV succeeds at putting the worst of the violent spectacles on screen , primarily through a series of nicely staged shootouts and torture sequences .",
        "a poor man 's city of god that suggests the only answer to the problems of brazil 's slums are blazing guns wielded by a neo-fascist police force .",
        "trying to address important and serious social issues in this violent world rather than just creating something sensationalistic or exploitative gives MOV an edge over normal police thrillers .",
        "with no star names and a tough subject , it will be hard sell despite being a runaway hit on its home turf .",
        "MOV is a relentlessly ugly , unpleasant , often incoherent assault on the senses from brazil .",
        "a depressing film that celebrates brute strength as the only means to stem the tide of violence and crime in rio de janeiro .",
        "for nearly two hours , padilha bombards viewers with senseless , sickening violence for its own sake .",
        "a satisfactory enough cop movie , but not one that people will still be name checking years hence",
        "given that brazil , as a latin american moviemaking powerhouse , steadily produces vibrant , vital films of real impact and humanity , it 's a crime itself that MOV may be the only brazilian film that american audiences see this year ."
    ],
    "summary": "brutal , action heavy , brazilian cop film with a pointless voiceover . lacks flair , overdoes the violence and is never quite sure where its morals lie .",
    "id": "770677558"
  },
  {
    "movie": "benhur",
    "reviews": [
        "a majestic achievement , representing a superb blending of the motion picture arts by master craftsmen .",
        "... fairly defines the word ` epic . '",
        "mr. wyler and his money-free producers have smartly and effectively laid stress on the powerful and meaningful personal conflicts that are strong in this old heroic tale .",
        "predictable but magnificent and satisfying .",
        "widescreen biblical epic is bloated with spectacle and thin on plot .",
        "one of the most exciting action epics ever made , blustery `` ben-hur '' is filled with over-the-top performances , but memorable scenes .",
        "charlton heston plays charlton heston , but his charismatic macho woodeness carries the film like no other actor of his day .",
        "a defini\u0437\u0433o cl\u0431ssica do \u0439pico .",
        "shows how difficult forgiveness is once the heart has hardened in hate .",
        "if we later came to realize that movies could be a whole lot better than ben-hur , that still does n't detract from the enjoyment the film still provides .",
        "an entertaining and compelling drama that may be shallow , but is too exciting and appealing for that to be much of a concern .",
        "a chariot-race classic .",
        "a masterpiece of epic filmmaking , a profound religious experience and one of the greatest films ever made .",
        "there is no reason to feel guilty about not loving this mammoth epic .",
        "some critics believe that william wyler 's box-office smash is no match for the 1925 silent version , but there 's no denying that the race that forms the famous climax is one of the most iconic sequences in hollywood history .",
        "epic in both length and stature , ben-hur goes on for-bloody-ever ... but the action set-pieces remain unrivalled , even in the age of cgi .",
        "1959 biblical epic has fierce blood-spilling , cruelty .",
        "at 212 minutes it is far too long , and large swathes of the action appear redundant or unnecessary . `` bigger than ben-hur ! '' they say . that may not be a compliment .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- it 's worth sitting through four hours of charlton heston 's hammy pregnant pauses of strained dialogue and toothy grimaces just to savor the legendary larger-than-life marathon where single rider chariots ...",
        "although it is a spectacle film , the story of how a man takes on the tyranny of the romans , with all sorts of horrible consequences to himself and his family , is powerful and gripping .",
        "the biggest and the best of hollywood 's super-spectacles .",
        "mostly tedious sunday school tale .",
        "the film moves with an assurance and majesty hardly seen in modern movies .",
        "the movie could be trying to say that for some people religion is an escape from their sexuality , but it seems unlikely .",
        "a movie that has come to define biblical epic .",
        "an absolute classic hollywood epic !",
        "it 's very much of its time , overblown and overlong -- but ben-hur is rightfully lodged at the forefront of hollywood history .",
        "entire new frontiers in boredom were opened up by this mgm whopper from 1959 .",
        "the kind of sweeping pseudo-biblical epic that hollywood was famous for . if not for heston 's weak performance and boyd 's ludicrous one , the film might have been better .",
        "in the lead , heston is stiff , and the writing is uneven , but overall , it 's a rousing epic done on a massive scale with hundreds of sets and extras , and a priceless race scene .",
        "the mgm production is a lavish , colorful spectacle that will linger long in the eye of the beholder .",
        "still making waves in movies today -- from the phantom menace 's podrace to the whole of gladiator -- little can come close to captivating the grandeur and epic quality of william wyler 's magnificent bum numb-er .",
        "ben-hur -lrb- 1959 -rrb- is mgm 's three and a half hour , wide-screen epic technicolor blockbuster - a biblical tale , subtitled a tale of the christ .",
        "ben-hur is not great art . but it is great fun .",
        "awesome spectacle , unforgettable story , heston 's best",
        "the grandest of hollywood 's classic biblical epics ... does n't transcend its genre , with its spectacle and melodrama , but it does these things about as well as possible .",
        "opening with a full overture played against michelangelo 's ceiling of the sistine chapel , you know that you 're in for something unembarrassed by its own grandiosity .",
        "it is one of the most resplendent films you 'll ever see ."
    ],
    "summary": "uneven , but in terms of epic scope and grand spectacle , ben-hur still ranks among hollywood 's finest examples of pure entertainment .",
    "id": "9402"
  },
  {
    "movie": "of_gods_and_men",
    "reviews": [
        "a ponderous crowd-pleaser with stray moments of grave beauty",
        "... leaves you with both a feeling of hope and of sadness . the hope is that such men of pious faith exist . the sadness is that there are so few such people .",
        "a really strong , really well put together , intense , b film in a monk 's habit .",
        "director xavier beauvois keeps the drama hushed and expectant as the monks themselves .",
        "a beautifully filmed story of self-sacrifice . however , if you want flashy dialogue , do not invite monks to the party .",
        "... quiet , unassuming and honest about the very difficult decision of putting your spiritual principles before your physical life .",
        "by largely limiting the action to the monks ' ascetic daily lives , beauvois helps the their musing become the audience 's own .",
        "`` MOV '' is a quiet , austere film that is more electrifying than a dozen action movies .",
        "the air that `` MOV '' breathes is so clean and so cold that it feels like a fresh beginning .",
        "beauvois ' camera is watchful and unobtrusive , panning the monastery and its spartan rooms , documenting the brothers ' quotidian tasks , but also the modest ritual , the beauty , the illumination .",
        "beauvois deliberately avoids nationalist reproach , seeking commiseration that goes deeper than the acquiescence for which french liberals are typically known .",
        "french monks face evil and their own decisions in the first truly brilliant film of 2011 .",
        "beautiful , somber and rigorously intelligent .",
        "be prepared to be shaken .",
        "austere yet provocative , this is not only a film about faith , it also has faith that the power generated by complex moral decisions can be as unstoppable as any runaway locomotive .",
        "a lacerating elegy",
        "MOV is that rarest of films : an illuminating , pro-religious meditation on faith and courage in the face of certain death .",
        "gravely serene and suffused with tenderness , MOV takes the simple , profound stand that how a person of faith lives matters more than the circumstances of his death .",
        "in spite of its subject matter , the film has a scant feeling for spirituality , which mainly surfaces in the monks ' fatalist hymns . beauvois admires the monks ' steadfastness , but does n't seem to understand it .",
        "... perfect best foreign-language film oscar bait , offering viewers a frisson of spirituality with none of the demands of actually believing in a creed .",
        "sensitively written and directed ... bears similarities in plot and tone to 1986 's `` the mission . '' the cast is exceptional .",
        "poignant , haunting and profound with thoroughly captivating performances . it 's one of the most powerful and unforgettable films of the year .",
        "just as the monks live an austere , thoughtful life , beauvois ' direction is low-key and reflective .",
        "MOV takes a subtle , respectful approach to the material , adopting the pace and rhythm of monastic life .",
        "beauvois channels the pace of the monks ' life , which is both his film 's strength and its weakness .",
        "the problem is that a whiff of saintliness envelops the cistercian monks right from the start .",
        "begins and ends as a testament not to god but to brotherhood , and as a portrait not of war 's violence but of love 's endurance .",
        "considering the movie is based on the real-life murder of these monks 15 years ago in algeria during the civil war , it is a calming and spectacularly life-affirming picture .",
        "both a moving , almost abstract parable of faith and an all too real episode drawn from recent history .",
        "MOV , a transcendent drama of uplift and inspiration , reveals the cavernous divide between heaven and earth .",
        "beautifully acted by its ensemble cast -lrb- especially lambert wilson and michael lonsdale -rrb- , it immerses us in its subjects ' rituals , everyday tasks and spiritual dilemmas .",
        "the way it dramatises anxieties , expressed and unexpressed , is enthralling and quietly provocative ...",
        "this is a deeply humane and compassionate film , frightening because we know the probable outcome but moving because it tells us , often in the quietest detail , what basic decency and goodness really means .",
        "it 's a remarkable tale of bravery , tolerance and self-sacrifice , made all the more powerful by the understated lyricism of beauvois 's compositions and the steely , naturalistic performances of the cast",
        "it 's spare and meditative in that way that one viewer responds to as profound artistry , while his neighbour -lrb- that would be me -rrb- feels shushed into submission , and almost guilty for questioning its tactics .",
        "MOV strives for simplicity ; cinema is usually about dynamism , attraction , ego , but this movie concerns the renunciation of these things , in art and life . but it is also about the question of how to act when this life is violently challenged .",
        "it is not often we are swept up , even exalted , by earnest simplicity .",
        "moves at its own pace , luring you in before delivering an ice-cold hammer-blow of an ending .",
        "some viewers might find the pacing over-deliberate , but it 's clearly part of the film 's plan to immerse us in these lives of devotion , and it works beautifully .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- quietly powerful drama ...",
        "i was stirred by the emotions expressed in this film-and the wonderful performances of its cast . filmmaker beauvois chose great faces , as well as great actors , to bring these characters to life , and they manage to convey an enormous amount with very ...",
        "a wonderfully humanist film about a tragic story .",
        "... a movie that made me sad and proud to be human , to belong to a species capable of such cruelty and such kindness , and possessed of the power to choose to love those who hate us , and to die with peace in our hearts as the world burns down .",
        "more than anything , we come away remembering the monks ' frightened-to-serene faces ... and the sublime music .",
        "monks ' faith is tested by religious extremists next door",
        "it is a thoughtful film , a serious one , and one that is sneakily affecting .",
        "one of those increasingly rare things in modern cinema -- a deeply-felt , powerful film about religious faith that has no interest in peddling the gospel to the viewer .",
        "slow moving but gripping true story based on a terrorist incident of religious violence that shook up the french in 1996 .",
        "audiences will be spiritually moved by the beautiful voices singing the liturgical gregorian chants . the cinematography is outstanding , capturing the natural beauty of the surroundings .",
        "the movie warns against rash judgments , harmful hate mongering and ugly stereotyping -- a film ultimately as much about rush limbaugh and his ilk as it is about osama bin laden and his .",
        "rather than serving up a historical film inflated with importance and flash , beauvois keeps things hushed and spare , adopting a style that reflects the ritualized lifestyle of his characters .",
        "masterfully directed by xavier beauvois .",
        "contemplative as it means to be , MOV is not without generic excitement .",
        "a sublime bit of filmmaking that explores faith and history without the pandering that often comes with the former and the hollywood clich\u00e9s that normally comes with the latter .",
        "a taut drama of bravery among the monks .",
        "beauvois never loses sight of the monks ' interconnectedness-what affects one inevitably affects the others .",
        "my question is not so much the reason why the film was made , but how in the world did anybody get someone to finance something like this ?",
        "agonizingly long and slow .",
        "a deeply human and spiritually enlightening french film about the mission of seven catholic monks serving a poor muslim community in algeria . one of the best films ever made about christian life !",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- `` of gods & men '' is a chamber piece tragedy trapped in a bubble of naive optimism . a little cynicism could have gone a long way .",
        "confirms without really challenging our readily held beliefs about the nobility of selflessness and sacrifice .",
        "... as powerful a film you 'll ever see about faith , commitment and the courage of one 's convictions .",
        "a deeply moving and profoundly beautiful film about a group of monks working in the mountains of algeria who are faced with the most difficult personal and collective decisions when the country erupts in brutal civil-war",
        "beauvois takes his time limning the daily rhythms of the monastery , lingering on its most lyrical and sensuous moments , so that when violence finally reaches its gates the effect is all the more chilling .",
        "in a world in which faith and ignorance are often yoked together , MOV lifts faith from just the throbbing heart to the thinking mind as well .",
        "alternately harrowing and humbling , this is a story of ordinary men whose compassion is tested in the cruelest , most profound fashion .",
        "una pel\u00edcula dura , hermosa y conmovedora sobre un episodio tr\u00e1gico que fue , ante todo , un acto de sacrificio y resistencia ante la violencia y el miedo . desde ya , una de las fundamentales del a\u0144o .",
        "MOV has a slow , introspective quality that gives the viewer plenty of time to mull over the monks ' quandary , but it also has a feeling of constant dread .",
        "quietly compelling , if not as emotional as you might have hoped",
        "beauvois shows respect for all of the characters and cultures involved -- the monks , the community they served , even the enemies that the monks remembered in their prayers .",
        "the camera barely moves , and most of the scenes are lit by whatever light happened to be available , which helps `` MOV '' achieve a feel that is as pure and plain as its characters ...",
        "one of the few pictures to take religious belief seriously without getting maudlin or sanctimonious about it ... stark and unsentimental , it 's a quietly powerful piece that encourages reflection rather than tears .",
        "... a deeply moving docudrama based on a true story which uses music in provocative ways .",
        "this is really a story of finding peace and purpose in a chaotic world .",
        "one of the best films i 've seen this year is also one of the most unusual i 've encountered in a long , long time . while it 's inspired by a true story , it deals with something ...",
        "that almost unheard-of film that you do not judge -- it judges you .",
        "beauvois provides an illuminating look at life inside the monastery .",
        "it is a portrait of the healing power of faith and community that also demonstrates its powerlessness and futility in the face of well-armed fanaticism .",
        "when you think of monks , you might think of martyrdom , fresh baked bread , 24/7 hoodies , unrelenting devotion or tony shaloub . well , what about balls and bravery ?",
        "forgive me , father , for i was bored .",
        "there are numerous sequences of tremendous emotional power here , none more so than one in which the monks gather together to sing an ancient gregorian chant as an algerian army helicopter gunship hovers threateningly overhead .",
        "some nice performances , but the sad , harsh truth is that two hours spent inside a trappist monastery turns out to be achingly dull .",
        "the rare movie that treats religious commitment with respect and regards nonviolence as a legitimate , honorable response to brutality ...",
        "i ca n't recall the last film that so wholly , honestly and movingly explained what it means to be a christian .",
        "uma obra comovente e respeitosa que faz jus aos homens que a inspiraram .",
        "it 's an attempt to capture the essence of monasticism : self-sacrifice , introspection , obedience and achingly lovely moments of quiet brotherhood .",
        "the film , directed by xavier beauvois , moves back and forth between the monks doing their daily chores and the decisions they must face as a group .",
        "fascinating and affecting .",
        "beautifully expressed and measured , men seizes a tumultuous state of mind with captivating cinematic control , making flashes of resistance and companionship all the more heartfelt and devastating .",
        "for a nation that swears by its christianity , it amazes me how frugally that righteousness is wielded . ... beauvois reminds us of those who see their faith as a reason to serve , as a calling to embrace mankind in all its flawed grandeur .",
        "a superb and austere drama in french and arabic ...",
        "the movie has a mournful electricity , as we come to realize it 's about accepting the inevitable .",
        "MOV can be a little heavy-handed in its storytelling at times , but the confident direction and strong performances ensure it is an absorbing experience , and the beautiful final shot ends the film on a haunting note .",
        "xavier beauvois 's cannes winner is a spellbinder drama about courage and faith and a fascinating take on global extremism .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "inspired by a true story set in 1996 , this spiritual meditation on conscience , religion , and values is intriguing , haunting and relevant in todaly 's world of turbulent politics of religion ; it should be a frontrunner for the 2010 foreign-lingo oscar .",
        "i thought the depth of field was amazing .",
        "incredibly moving",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- moving , elegantly made spiritual docudrama .",
        "breaking up its quiet , contemplative tone with occasional fevered outbursts of activity , MOV maintains a tension borne of uncertainty while paying proper respect to the hushed , unhurried lifestyle of the monks .",
        "one of the most austerely beautiful movies about the monastic life that i 've ever seen .",
        "a transfixing meditation on religious conviction , post-colonial strife and the force of actors who elevate every gesture to a loftier domain .",
        "this is a beautiful film , full of gray - and white-haired men who grow in stature before our eyes .",
        "beauvois tells the story he wants to beautifully , and it 's a success in that it shows us a depiction of the monks that does n't feel exploitative , but he seems to equate austere minimalism with depth .",
        "the climax is both misty and unforgettable : a sacrifice that looks like a ghost story .",
        "a succinct , heart-wrenching distillation of why confusing religion with politics by the ignorant and the cynical , have made darkness",
        "loses some power by letting the central debate fizzle out ... but rallies in the end with an eloquent post-climactic testament by christian , an attempt to respond rationally to the irrational .",
        "the moral and spiritual dilemma at the foundation of xavier beauvois 's award-winning MOV is a fascinating one that drives this complex drama in a way that sears it into memory .",
        "i found myself resisting the film 's pull of easy emotion . there are fundamental questions here , and the film does n't engage them .",
        "the monks do n't speak their minds often , but when they do , the actors infuse their utterances with bottomless grace and humility yet very human dread and doubt ."
    ],
    "summary": "patient and restrained , MOV asks deep , profound questions that will linger in the audience 's mind long after the movie .",
    "id": "770808657"
  },
  {
    "movie": "final_destination_3",
    "reviews": [
        "whether conscious or not on the part of the filmmakers , the gory logic follows america 's understandable desire to rationalize the effects of such physical violence that its invisible soldiers are suffering in afghanistan and iraq .",
        "it 's here to up the ante from final destination 2 -lrb- which featured a beautiful car pileup , a barbecue explosion and a fire-escape impaling -rrb- and instead it creates poetry out of the filmic slaughter .",
        "more teenagers dying gruesomely .",
        "the people in this movie are some of the stupidest people in the history of movies .",
        "`` MOV '' does n't strive to be anything more than a loose collection of cool killings .",
        "once more , wong raises questions of fate and predestination and , while throwing in a tasteless reference to 9/11 , fails to address them . it 's an orgy of cheerful carnage with no context or purpose and , worst of all , no suspense .",
        "with inventive ideas like this , the series can clearly run and run . but they really need to take it to another level now .",
        "wong goes on auto-pilot to plot even more despicable ways of killing off the survivors , preferably minus their clothes .",
        "the notion of horror movie as thrill ride is cannily literalized in the bravura amusement-park opening sequence ...",
        "this third installment of the final destination franchise is the most disgusting , and viscerally enjoyable movie blood-bath in years .",
        "depends on your tolerance for some very ... uh ... juicy deaths and flying viscera . face it , you 're not watching this for deep meaning .",
        "like saw ii -lrb- 2005 -rrb- , another grisly sequel to a film that seemed to have hit on a foolproof formula , this third destination blows it , big time .",
        "as a horror flick , MOV is literally laughable .",
        "some good special effects but the story cannibalizes its own predecessor .",
        "convincingly pointless and breezy in its hedonistic hokum ... hence , the third time around is not the charm for this foolish and faceless fright flick .",
        "it 's deja vu all over again",
        "death may not be quite as creative in past films , but the trick is n't in merely using a tanning bed or a nail gun to kill somebody . it 's how you do it .",
        "fans of the series wo n't be terribly disappointed , but if there 's an fd4 , i hope they have the sense to scale things back just a little bit . comparing fd3 to the original proves that a modicum of restraint is most effective .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- wong and -lsb- writer -rsb- morgan honed their skills on the x-files , millenium and the commish and it shows in their ability to create suspense and tension as well as carnage .",
        "... is n't for everyone , but those in the know who like their horror served up r-rated and over-the-top , MOV delivers ...",
        "the final destination series caters to its target audience without insulting it -- which is why the flicks make so much damn money .",
        "the film starts to pick up after it begins borrowing liberally from the omen , even more liberally than the film 's two predecessors which , as freak-accident horror films , are by definition omen clones .",
        "this one regresses the series to what roger ebert , back in the splatter-film '80s , dubbed the dead teenager genre .",
        "even hostel showed more respect for the dead",
        "a boring and repetitive sequel ...",
        "so lazily plotted and poorly written , one wonders why new line did n't just release a half-hour version consisting of nothing but death scenes .",
        "director james wong enjoys organizing dangerous objects and circumstances into precariously menacing rube goldberg arrangements .",
        "as a forced , unnecessary addition to the series , it lacks a satisfying relationship to its predecessors while simply rehashing the original 's plot ...",
        "i 'm not sure how much more overkill this franchise can take ...",
        "a great date movie for couples who like to share their revulsion at squelchy death scenes and hug each other in dread . not recommended for the squeamish .",
        "vapid , pointless and wholly predictable .",
        "after a fiendish start , filmmakers james wong and glen morgan approach their task with all the subtlety of a hammer to the head -lrb- or a knife to the gut , or an ax to the back -rrb- .",
        "keeping this series of black-comedy skits fresh is a challenge that the writers do n't always meet , and their expository scenes need to be nail-gunned .",
        "the plot has more holes in it than the victims , but the shocks make up for the flaws . do n't think , just watch , and expect a wild ride .",
        "might this be the final final destination ? do n't bet on it .",
        "these movies have never been my cup of tea , and contemporary horror movies ' appetite for pointless sadism leaves me unmoved and not a little alarmed .",
        "the picture returns to the biting humor of the first fd and , in fact , improves and deepens the rube goldberg-ian deathtrap scenarios .",
        "if you 're a final destination fan , it 's unlikely that # 3 will disappoint . if you like horror/thrillers with plenty of cartoonish blood and gore , this will hit the spot .",
        "fans of cheap thrills can enjoy fd3 for what it is : a ridiculous teen horror movie that piles on more than enough dry humor and freshly moistened gore to satisfy its lowbrow audience .",
        "the final destination movies may be pointless and crass , but they play on that fascination with malicious efficiency , and 3 is no exception .",
        "3 suffers in comparison to the insanely inventive 2 , which found wittier ways to exploit the idea that laughing and screaming are closely linked methods of relieving tension .",
        "death finds gloriously grisly new ways to deal with teenagers who dare to spit in his face .",
        "it 's disturbing by not being disturbing at all .",
        "if you 're willing to overlook some plot holes big enough for a conductor to drive a subway train through and all you want is total , complete and grisly annihilation , then ` all aboard ! ' you 'll love MOV .",
        "MOV has plenty of giddy gore and a couple of suspense-driven scares , these days that 's really all you can ask from a horror movie .",
        "the notion of butchery as a spectator event notwithstanding , there 's an almost admirably workmanlike quality to the way co - scenarists glen morgan and james wong set up their characters for carnage like so many fleshy bowling pins .",
        "i 'm a fan . the guys in the audience shouted at the clever , cruel deaths : `` nice ! ''",
        "the plot 's pretty lame , the dialogue is downright hokey , and the characters are a bore , but somehow MOV -lrb- an oxymoron if there ever was one -rrb- still delivers a certain degree of over-the-top amusement .",
        "a desultorily plotted affair that feels less like a thriller than a homicidal checklist .",
        "a reminder of how low a filmmaker will sink to pander to our most corrupt tendencies .",
        "it 's an escalating contest of can-you-top-this brutality , with each death staged as the final link in a rube goldberg chain reaction .",
        "the original film had pathos and humor ; this is gratuitous and silly rather than engaging and funny .",
        "week in and week out , horror movies cheat us , so it 's wonderfully cathartic to watch a bunch of kids cheat death in what turns out to be the best installment yet in the final destination franchise .",
        "if this film makes money , and it probably will , there may never be a final final destination . and that is the most disturbing thing about this movie .",
        "MOV still falls squarely into the category of guilty pleasure , but it 's fashioned with a fair amount of craft . if fate should bring us another installment , let 's hope it 's at least as fun as this one .",
        "let 's just hope that MOV really is the final entry in this successful but intellectually bankrupt horror franchise .",
        "the third time around is not the charm , but we can only hope this will be the final final destination .",
        "if you 're into state-of-the art depictions of human pureeing , this is indeed your flick .",
        "MOV is junk , and proud of it , but it certainly delivers what it promises .",
        "an uninspired splatterfest that wears its vulgarity on its blood-caked sleeve and is cynical enough to use 9/11 in its vapid story line .",
        "at least the audience i was with laughed more than it screamed .",
        "morgan and wong 's snarky iterations on their initial premise do n't show much development ... a fair diversion but , make no mistake , a waste of time .",
        "granted , nothing here is going to go down in history as a horror classic . but as far as dead-teen flicks go , this is one pretty lively affair .",
        "... there 's no suspense or tension and little gallows humor , merely dead space between the next spectacular spray of blood and body parts .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- n unredeemably sadistic film that makes a joke of horrific death . there is absolutely no point to this film except inciting audiences to new levels of bloodlust ...",
        "the third film is pretty much what you expect : heads popped and brains yuckily visible .",
        "this gory sequel begins with a promising thrill ride , but by the end has become little more than a merry-go-round , spinning pointlessly in circles .",
        "MOV should n't be mistaken for a good film -lsb- but -rsb- there is an important difference between this and truly odious films like saw ...",
        "wong and morgan : your diminished returns are ready . get 'em while they 're hot .",
        "james wong makes his return to the series he started , after bowing out for 2003 's lackluster sequel , only to essentially remake the first film .",
        "it 's easily the funniest movie of the year",
        "if you have seen the first two final destination movies , you know what you are getting into . if you have n't seen the first two , why start now ?",
        "it 's official : this is a horror series that actually wo n't disappoint .",
        "to get to the good stuff , you have to sit through atrocious dialog , amateur acting , and a snail 's pace , and maybe there 's 15 minutes of good material here .",
        "finally , the first great movie of 2006 is here . final destination is the only franchise that always delivers everything it promises ... i 'm so happy .",
        "robustly embodies the cathartic pleasures of shared scared silliness .",
        "after the third body is completely crushed into salsa chunks , someone from the audience should be allowed to scream ` seen it ! '",
        "the series has made it work with macabre humor and devilishly clever setups .",
        "the law of diminishing returns is in full effect here .",
        "pure , 100 % grade-d gunk",
        "the gnawing familiarity of the formula has caught up with the series . perhaps it 's time that morgan and wong took the first word of the title seriously and moved on .",
        "you ca n't cheat death . -lrb- but apparently you can cheat audiences over and over . -rrb-",
        "it 's more dead teenagers and lunatic determinism in this grim third installment of the enjoyably preposterous final destination franchise .",
        "gore fans will doubtless enjoy the film , which could spin off several more sequels . after all , death is the one villain you ca n't ever kill off .",
        "at its heart , this second sequel is standard slasher stuff , though director james wong does rise -lrb- or maybe sink -rrb- to the occasion with grisly staging .",
        "it 's a surprise , really , that this entry is as much fun as it is , but trilogy looks about as far as this destination can go .",
        "the series has gotten to the point where there is now effectively nothing to see here .",
        "with a premise as cavalier as this , perhaps director james wong could have found a tone more original than post-wes craven cynicism . instead , he panders to viewers , allowing them to take gleeful comfort in the destruction of the stupid and doomed .",
        "the problem with fd3 is since it is clear to everyone who must die and in what order , the drama is reduced to a formula in which ominous events accumulate while the teenagers remain oblivious .",
        "MOV manages to push all the requisite buttons and then some .",
        "there 's nothing new , but in the case of the final destination films , new is not necessary .",
        "... the sick kind of comedy that involves laughing at stupid people being ripped in half , but we know there are plenty of you out there .",
        "in its own morbid little way , this is very much a stand-up-and-cheer -- or shriek , as the case may be -- kind of film .",
        "this film is the least of the three : it lacks the novelty of the first film and the cleverly morbid humor of the second one .",
        "who needs an intriguing story line when an everyday piece of equipment can be used to splatter someone 's head like a festering zit ?",
        "with its third outing , the final destination series surprisingly gets a second wind .",
        "you know , the `` final destination '' movies contain characters who are self-obsessed , cheap , profane and mean-spirited . maybe that 's why it 's so much fun to watch them get taken out , one by one .",
        "enjoyable threequel which delivers handsomely on the demands of the franchise : an attractive cast , inventive direction , a dark sense of humour and increasingly nasty death sequences .",
        "you wo n't be scared one bit , but that 's not exactly the point here . the murder is the only message .",
        "... an entertainingly shallow , undeniably mindless horror flick .",
        "if you like splatter flicks , this is for you .",
        "easily the best of the series , -lsb- it -rsb- blends serious fright with funny situations ... as in the deaths that occur at the phoenix tanning salon .",
        "the movie gives you the fun and fright of a roller coaster , which is nice , since you may not be riding those anymore after watching this .",
        "not having seen final destination -lrb- 1 or 2 -rrb- , i am perhaps not in the best position to judge MOV . on the other hand , i know a stinker when i see one .",
        "all we can say is : death be not proud . if you have to work this hard to take down these dim-witted kids , you do n't deserve to be a cosmic force .",
        "you have all the ingredients here of the pernicious id roiling in the secret think-pan of most thoughtful americans .",
        "do the producers of this overdone trilogy understand the concept of ` final ' ?",
        "you could condemn such a movie for being such a smirking , calculatedly cheesy gore-fest . but that would presume that the movie aspires to be anything else .",
        "each demise serves as a testament to a refreshingly old-fashioned villain -- not another nut-job human with a saw , but a dedicated ghoul with a job to complete .",
        "absent of the edgy suspense , creativity and thoughtful moments of existentialism that had previously made this horror series more than just a cheap study in evisceration and decapitations .",
        "les amateurs de morbidit\u00e9 y trouveront un plaisir ind\u00e9niable"
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is more of the same : gory and pointless , with nowhere new to go .",
    "id": "19049941"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_wrestler",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's a hell of a performance -- and a hellish one -- in a film that is n't entirely sure what to do with it .",
        "the balance and nuance of this portrait hold realities that perhaps only rourke can fully understand .",
        "rourke and tomei bring a tender , lived-in honesty to their sad roles .",
        "director , darren aronofsky , and the writer , robert d. siegel , have turned the story of this washed-up faux gladiator into a film of authentic beauty and commanding consequence .",
        "the movie feeds off rourke , who plays a genuinely decent guy who never lets his dawning self-awareness interfere with his responsibility to give the fans a show .",
        "MOV is about one thing - mickey rourke - and that makes the movie both fascinating and limited .",
        "darren aronofsky tells a solid character-driven drama with simplicity and impact .",
        "director aronofsky gets all the details right in a movie that feels like a tribute to so many who were gone too soon : curt hennig , road warrior hawk , rick rude , et al. . . this one 's for you .",
        "the best wrestling movie ever made . i 'm sorry , no holds barred , you 've been topped .",
        "director darren aronofsky puts himself up as a major contender with this film , based on a really excellent and uncompromising screenplay by robert d. siegel .",
        "to put it simply , this is the best film i 've seen this year .",
        "with swelling lips to rival pete burns 's , and long blond locks shorn from marilyn -lrb- the '80s pop singer , not monroe -rrb- , rourke sails above the freak show to give his greatest performance yet .",
        "MOV is well worth catching . against all of the odds you end up caring deeply for this battered and lonely man ... plus mickey rourke is astonishingly good .",
        "i watch very few movies which could n't have been improved upon , but this is one of them . i loved every mythic moment of it .",
        "aronofsky 's most authentic film refuses to ridicule the amateur wrestling circuit , while rourke 's portrait of a has-been will surely be the comeback of the year .",
        "randy 's climactic recreation of a former glory befits a film about someone unable to prevent himself spinning out of control , and is a smackdown conclusion to a mature , powerful tearjerker .",
        "it 's rourke 's display - crushed , hopeful , almost unbearably poignant - that 'll stay with you after the ring lights fade . his light has n't died just yet .",
        "the characters may be stereotypes to us , but they 're played here with a love and tenderness and resignation that could break your heart .",
        "the platitude-intensive script by robert siegel would have been laughed off the screen without rourke 's dogged grandeur .",
        "but rourke is so brilliant even iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad would be cheering `` ram jam '' by the end .",
        "MOV is , in essence , an excellent b-movie centred upon a defiantly top-rate performance from rourke .",
        "a beautifully etched , touching essay about a damaged , desperate brute hoping for one taste of dignity and real fatherhood before his life goes down for the count for the final time .",
        "there was no character to root for more strongly in spite of himself in 2008 than randy the ram , and `` MOV '' spat and bled his physical poetry - an elegy of emasculation and exhaustion building , in its final shot , to all the exhilaration he needed .",
        "-lsb- rourke 's -rsb- performance here is so good and unshowy that you wind up almost happy to keep watching that mangled mug struggle for redemption .",
        "i would much rather have seen a movie about the devastations of the real mickey rourke . by comparison , the ram seems like a stand-in -- a screenwriter 's pseudo-hard-boiled concoction .",
        "darren aronofsky 's sensational MOV marks a major comeback for mickey rourke and '70s style filmmaking in general .",
        "has a lot to say about america 's entertainment and celebrity culture , and it tells a poignant story in the process .",
        "the most interesting aspect of the film is its depiction of the irreconcilable difference between someone 's public and private personae .",
        "the movie is populated with real wrestlers , and it makes sure to nail all the little details .",
        "darren aronofsky 's filmmaking in MOV is the most subtle and nuanced he 's ever done .",
        "pro wrestling fans are the obvious target audience for `` MOV '' but rourke 's fine performance , aronofsky 's craftwork directing and the well-written script by robert d. siegel should garner interest from others , too .",
        "emotional and engaging , MOV is a masterful piece of work that deserves every award the academy can throw at it .",
        "savour one of cinema 's rawest talents finally powerslamming his way to glory and be grateful that aronofsky dragged himself off the ropes on countless occasions to convince the money men to finance the movie with such a seemingly unbankable lead actor .",
        "the mick is back .",
        "rourke makes you feel every ache , disappointment and battle scar , both inside and out .",
        "MOV is like rocky made by the scorsese of mean streets . it 's the rare movie fairy tale that 's also a bravura work of art .",
        "represents a perfect match of actor to character and back story to script ...",
        "rourke 's performance is worth the price of admission ... it 's a portrait of a man 's life , and one you wo n't soon forget .",
        "whatever rourke has been through since his early movie-star days ... it translates seamlessly into the ordeal of randy the ram .",
        "it must have been extremely hard for rourke to play the ram because he had to revisit some of the most difficult moments of his life , but it actually ends up helping his performance because it feels so genuine and sincere .",
        "emotions ooze slowly out of -lsb- rourke 's -rsb- creased and battered face in darren aronofsky 's latest heart-wrenching , hard-to-market drama .",
        "... strong , affecting stuff that can stand as a comment on the actual actor 's career as much as that of a fictional grappler .",
        "if rourke does n't grab the oscar , there 's no justice on this planet , simply for crushing the collective audience soul with the often wordless torment of aronofsky 's abrasive but brutally wounded roughneck muse . silence of the ram , we feel your pain .",
        "mickey rourke is indebted to darren aronofsky for casting him as a washed-up has-been in this emotionally-engaging character study , even if the role was n't exactly much of a stretch .",
        "this is rourke 's big comeback role , and he definitely deserves the academy award nomination he received .",
        "you will feel pinned to your seat watching rourke 's characterization of a broken man in this modern take on the old-school boxing movie .",
        "this is a case where an actor makes the difference .",
        "the resurrection , renovation , and reinvention of mickey rourke",
        "but rourke 's work in the film transcends mere stunt-casting ; his performance is a howl of pain that seems to come from a very real place .",
        "do n't believe the hype -- or , more importantly , look past it ; MOV offers viewers far more than just rourke 's performance -- which , it must be said , is excellent -- if they 're willing to not flinch from what it has to say .",
        "the absolute key to the movie 's success is that it 's mainly one actor playing one man in a way that we can join him inside his skin , and that 's all the movie needs to be about , just pure pathos .",
        "rapturously enthralling and deeply poignant , one of the year 's best . mickey rourke gives the performance of a lifetime .",
        "pleasantly trite script , predominately uninspired directing , barnburning central performance that turns the movie into one of the most transcendent character dramas of the year .",
        "mickey rourke , who has been flying under the radar for nearly two decades , makes this a comeback to remember .",
        "the scruffy , almost accidental beauty of MOV comes as even more of a surprise than the greatness of mickey rourke 's performance .",
        "rourke delivers a performance that seems to start and end in the cardiovascular system , making everything rourke actually does seem effortless . as if he 's just breathing it .",
        "present in every scene , if not each shot , rourke gives a tremendously physical performance that MOV essentially exists to document .",
        "fine as the writing and direction are , it 's no insult to say that they are overshadowed by the performance of mickey rourke , who brings unequalled life experience to the title role .",
        "MOV transcends professional wrestling as requiem for a heavyweight transcends boxing ... -lsb- it -rsb- raises the broken figure of the ram to the level of a tragic hero ...",
        "pro wrestling is not an easy subject to take seriously , but director darren aronofsky displays it well as a spellbinding muscle ballet , sweaty and bloody , but graceful and addictive all the same .",
        "one wonders if the star 's limping , heavy breathing and dulled senses are all a show , or an upshot of a tortured boxing stint that transformed his face from cover boy-worthy to catcher 's mitt quality .",
        "the film demands to be seen , thanks to the deceptively simple artistry and humanity aronofsky brings to the story and to the indelible performances .",
        "who better than rourke to sell the idea of a battered , yet proud pugilist in search of redemption ?",
        "it lines up nicely with my only other four-star pictures of 2008 -lsb- milk and the dark knight -rsb- , collectively presenting a portrait of the uncertain , often unhappy america in which we presently reside .",
        "it was almost worth the malaise of watching mickey rourke squander years of potential just so he could make his grand comeback .",
        "you 've heard the buzz -- and in this case , it 's safe to believe it . fresh from the flames of whatever hell he 's been lost to for so many years is mickey rourke , who is back in a major way in darren aronofsky 's `` MOV . ''",
        "what sentiment is in MOV is fought for and is rarely more than tenuous .",
        "aronofsky appears to be on an impressive trek to discover his humanistic filmmaking reflexes , and `` MOV '' is a stupendous achievement of tone and emotional fullness to be pored over long after the end credits roll .",
        "rourke is harrowing ; tomei is devastating .",
        "finally , a movie has come along that depicts the business as it is , recognizing that the potential for drama comes not from the pretense of competition , but in the lives of those who work toward that pretense .",
        "while the director was essential in collaborating with rourke to create that memorable performance , it remains real work in an essentially fake film , and there is nothing anyone can do about that .",
        "the actors ' flawless performances are nothing short of major achievements . ram is the role rourke was born to play .",
        "aronofsky inflicts as much pain on the audience as self-flagellating ram jam does when brutalizing/mutilating himself in and outside the ring .",
        "MOV shows that , in both movies and wrestling , the line between reality and play-acting may be less clear than we assume .",
        "MOV offers something to pretty much everyone in the audience . much like the sopranos , it creates a world that might make you feel utterly at home or exhilarated by strange horrors . maybe both .",
        "it 's no raging bull , more like rocky shot with a handheld camera . but rourke 's wounded tough guy is undeniably captivating . he smacks you in the gut and wrenches your heart .",
        "mickey rourke makes an amazing comeback , delivering an iconic , oscar-caliber performance .",
        "mark your oscar ballot : in a major comeback , mickey rourke gives the year 's most dramatically impressive , not to mention iconic and self-reflexive performance in aronofsky 's haunting sports film , full of allusions to the star 's career and life offscreen",
        "to say this is a great comeback for an actor whose talent was exceeded only by his self-destructiveness is obvious .",
        "annihilation and resurrection are the twin axes upon which MOV turns .",
        "a compelling and poignant anatomy of an over-the-hill wrestler 's encounter with the excruciating pain and isolation of loneliness .",
        "aronofsky pulls all the usual strings in MOV . but in the end the movie works , maybe because the best things about it are things that aronfsky is n't even conscious of .",
        "the movie is simply , stellar , an american parable and moving drama found in an unlikely place .",
        "` MOV ' meshes the spectacle entertainment of cinema and sports with the tale of a man who without apology does what he does best .",
        "this tragicomic portrait of ` god 's lonely man ' is the dark horse contender for best film of the year , although i 'm sure its star would n't have it any other way .",
        "as painfully truthful as siegel 's closely observed character construction is , the film is not without flaws -- but they take nothing away from what touches us .",
        "rourke brings a staggering amount of emotional weight to the role of randy .",
        "aronofsky invokes a fierce blue-collar integrity that supports the idiosyncrasies of the story 's pro wrestling milieu ... `` MOV '' is an independent gem .",
        "although the film teeters on the brink of sentimentality , it never topples into the slush , and this is a tribute to the rigorous direction as well as the astringent performances .",
        "... \u0439 nestas similaridades entre realidade e fic\u0437\u0433o , int\u0439rprete e personagem , que o lutador ganha uma dimens\u0433o adicional que o torna ainda mais forte e impactante .",
        "a conventional sports movie with an oscar-worthy performance by mickey rourke .",
        "great art is sometimes difficult viewing , and such is darren aronofsky 's MOV , a film that will be remembered as mickey rourke 's greatest screen triumph .",
        "mickey rourke 's mesmerizing , road-wreck performance as -lsb- a -rsb- washed-up wrestler ... is the only reason to sit through MOV 's cliches",
        "the best thing about director darren aronofsky 's realization of robert siegel 's original screenplay is mickey rourke 's portrayal of randy `` the ram '' robinson .",
        "el luchador es una de esas pel\u043dculas que reivindican toda una carrera llena de altibajos , o que justifican la mera perseverancia de un actor , por m\u0431s bueno o malo que hayamos cre\u043ddo que era .",
        "topping off an outstanding production , director darren aronofsky 's ending to MOV is sheer perfection .",
        "rourke 's performance is gritty and real for sure and the tender moments ring true . but let 's not go overboard . it 's practically a reality show .",
        "-lsb- rourke -rsb- turns out a fine , sensitive , dramatic performance",
        "it 's not the comeback , it 's the writing and the characters",
        "rourke creates a galvanizing , humorous , deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great , iconic screen performances .",
        "in his least gimmicky film yet , aronofsky ditches his usual skittery stylistics in favor of a relaxed atmosphere of seediness and a comeback-kid performance from mickey rourke .",
        "the most haunting sports film , or at least the most haunting film about the margins of a sport , since fat city",
        "imagining someone other than the beatifically battered mickey rourke in the title role of MOV would be like picturing someone other than john malkovich in being john malkovich .",
        "randy will stick in your mind as stubbornly as the chorus of ` round and round . '",
        "although suffering from a formulaic story , mickey rourke will make you believe that randy ` the ram ' robinson really existed .",
        "mickey rourke in MOV is one of the all-time exalted examples of an actor meeting a character and of each redeeming the other .",
        "aronofsky handily debunks any of the previous , common criticisms of flash over substance .",
        "will work best for you if you have any residual affection left for mickey rourke .",
        "MOV offers mickey rourke a chance at redemption with the role of a lifetime . it 's safe to say that he body slams it .",
        "aronofsky 's film demands much from its audience but , unlike the great majority of films , it repays with its tenderness of heart and soul , its wrenching and disarming sincerity .",
        "... a scrupulously-controlled exercise in humiliation and expurgation , where both aronofsky and rourke look to cleanse themselves of past excesses with their tale of transcendent pain .",
        "a quiet , intimate portrait of a troubled soul -- someone at odds with himself and with life in general whose every ounce of pain and virtue is measured onscreen .",
        "rourke , in a role that could have invited outsized characterization , instead offers modesty and understatement . this small performance , in a small film , is by far the biggest of his career .",
        "the characters seem to live and breathe between the margins of the story , and to exist for more reasons than just driving the story forward .",
        "overly sentimental but a must-see for mickey rourke 's astonishing performance as a pro wrestler seeking a comeback .",
        "rourke shows a charismatic sensitivity formerly hidden . he 's got nothing to lose by holding back and it shows .",
        "the slow-burning engine at the heart of the film is rourke , whose tender , subtle turn is a revelation .",
        "manages not to make this washed up wrestler a joke , just an `` old broken down piece of meat '' for whom we feel tremendous empathy .",
        "mickey rourke gives a spectacular performance , heart-rending and true , which should induce showers of awards on this comeback kid .",
        "aronofsky has devised one of the most gritty and intensely authentic sports flicks in recent memory . rourke is absorbingly raw and reflective ... deeply affecting in its razor-like observations",
        "what rourke offers us , in short , is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer : a rounded , raddled portrait of a good man .",
        "mickey rourke delivers a tremendous performance in a film that explores how one man can wrestle for his conscience , his soul and his life at the same time .",
        "the 57-year-old rourke makes a triumphant comeback .",
        "an intimate insider view to the world of professional wrestling",
        "a nearly perfect portrait of a lovable loser who leaps to a place among the screen 's most unforgettable underdogs .",
        "there are great , pulsing moments of matched-medium nostalgia here , but the finale overreaches . still , rourke delivers a mesmerizing , melancholically observant performance .",
        "in MOV , rourke -- with a scraggly mane of dyed hair -- portrays `` the ram , '' a once-adored wrestler , who is living in a trailer park , working menial jobs lifting boxes and behind a meat counter , trying to hawk signed memorabilia in nearly de",
        "fluctuating eloquently between hope and sorrow , tenderness and isolation , ` MOV ' packs an emotional punch - a deeply personal story of one man 's search for truth , love , and life outside of the ring .",
        "rourke props up a standard story about a loser trying to recapture the glory days ...",
        "have you gotten the picture that rourke is ridiculously good yet ? you have ? okay , good .",
        "what do you get when a fantastic director encourages a sort-has-been to play a has-been ?",
        "gripping , realistic ... mickey rourke brings everything he has to it , and it 's perfect for him ... if the violence hurts you , that means aronofsky 's doing his job .",
        "aronofsky leaves it all on the mat with MOV .",
        "the perfect melding of actor and role . go , mickey , go !",
        "MOV is n't a perfect movie , but rourke 's performance gives it the impact of an atomic elbow drop .",
        "randy 's climactic thank you to the fans who have stood by him sounds eerily like an oscar speech ; expect a reprise at the actual ceremony in february .",
        "it 's bleak , credulity straining and often stomach-turning , but it definitely works as a heart-tugging character study , and rourke 's performance as the has-been title character is golden .",
        "mickey rourke is heart-breakingly good .",
        "rourke is sensational , but for me it 's aronofsky 's handheld takes that steal the show ... achingly , effortlessly evoking the time that hangs on every choice and missed opportunity .",
        "mickey rourke delivers such an unexpectedly moving , charming and physically impressive performance that he deserves some other award than guy who gets asked ` what the hell happened to you ? ' most often .",
        "brings mickey rourke back to the screen in larger than life mode , with a performance that breaks our hearts",
        "the film belongs to mickey rourke as a washed up wrestler whose entire life is a mess , but still revolves around the ring . it 's difficult to watch , yet it is so compelling , it is impossible to look away",
        "welcome back , mickey . it 's been too long .",
        "the famously downbeat aronofsky captures the grimy texture of life at the bummed-out bottom of the wrestling circuit , but the center of the movie is rourke 's unimpeachable performance as a man who exults in self-punishment .",
        "like a rehabilitated race horse or disgraced sports star who makes the most of a second chance , rourke gives MOV the temperament of a sentimental favorite .",
        "like randy 's matches , the movie hits a lot of familiar beats ; like randy himself , it gets the maximum impact out of each one .",
        "emotionally engaging , superbly directed drama , with a terrific script and a powerful , award-winning performance by mickey rourke .",
        "if MOV does n't get the oscar attention it deserves i 'm going after someone with a staple gun .",
        "see the rise of mickey rourke to reclaim his much deserved spot in hollywood .",
        "the chance to play that poignant confusion is the real prize that rourke and tomei earn in MOV .",
        "rourke 's golden globe award is as richly deserved as it was popular . like the sport it celebrates , his performance does n't hold anything back .",
        "like jack palance in requiem for a heavyweight , the man you 're watching not only has the role of a lifetime ; he seems to be living it , too . the result is the most brutally honest performance of the year .",
        "this is a film that you have got to see . you wo n't be disappointed .",
        "... a deliberately-paced yet consistently compelling character study that undoubtedly marks the high point of darren aronofsky 's career .",
        "rourke 's mesmerising performance is the heart and soul of an existential exploration of self-definition locked on a sports flick .",
        "rourke inhabits the role like an old lion , his mane of golden hair cascading behind him as he prowls the ring .",
        "it succeeds as a character study , as a drama , as a comedy , and as a sports film . this is a remarkable achievement by any standard .",
        "darren aronofsky 's most personal film in years is a small character study , featuring a ferocious , career-capping performance by mickey rourke .",
        "MOV turns into a piece of wildly uneven inspiration ... it 's as if a zero-degree work of realism -- like lance hammer 's magnificent ballast -- gets body-slammed by the classical three-act structure .",
        "in addition to the pungent writing and direction , the film features a truly stunning performance from rourke",
        "mickey rourke plays the battered , broke , lonely hero , randy -lrb- ` the ram ' -rrb- robinson . this is the performance of his lifetime , will win him a nomination , may win him the oscar .",
        "out of the fake world of theatrical wrestling comes one of the most real performances of the year . rourke seizes on to this role from the first frame forward , never letting up until the screen fades to black .",
        "the movie is a bracing demonstration of how much art can be made with very little money . aronofsky and his editor , andrew weisblum , keep the story coming right at you , fast and raw .",
        ". . a sad and eloquent tale of what once was crumbling to dust , a final roar against the oncoming inevitability .",
        "MOV contains what is hands down the best performance of the year .",
        "it is a pleasure to see rourke finesse this amalgamation of the champ , marty , rocky and a dozen other movies to his supreme advantage .",
        "MOV is about the seductions of superficiality and the dull ache of living beyond one 's moment . it stares with compassion at the man pinned on the mat and wonders how he 'll ever get out of this one .",
        "a natural awards contender and audience-pleaser without feeling overtly manipulative on the way .",
        "darren aronofsky 's character study -lsb- has in mickey rourke -rsb- an actor unusually in sync with a role , indeed what seems to be the role of his career .",
        "an enormously moving , beautifully acted film , MOV honors its characters by showing how hard it is for them to reach out to each other .",
        "` that became a big reason why i wanted to make the film : the forgotten talent of mickey rourke , ' director darren aronofsky said in an interview with hollywoodchicago.com . ` no one had gotten to see him be sympathetic and lovable in a role for a while . '",
        "tour de force may be a cliched reviewer 's phrase for performances during oscar season , but it 's the only one that can be applied to rourke here .",
        "MOV is strong , confident filmmaking . it shows you everything you need to know , and never whispers in your ear what you 're supposed to feel about it .",
        "with uncommon intelligence and brutal honesty , MOV examines the cost , and need , of battle .",
        "aronofsky 's unadorned portrait of a pro-wrestling has-been is built around a fantastic , physical performance by mickey rourke , captured with a style that renders his dingy world all the more strange , funny and heartbreaking .",
        "a strong shot at becoming a sports movie classic . feels so rich and lived-in that its standard set-ups turn into universal truths that bleed and heal .",
        "as far as i 'm concerned , you can keep your sean penns and your brad pitts and your frank langellas ; if there 's any justice in the world , this year 's best actor academy award will be going home with rourke .",
        "a tough , bloody , enthralling movie that makes rourke a sure bet for an oscar nod , and even money to win the whole thing .",
        "MOV has the intimacy of a fly-on-the-wall documentary . no stunt men were harmed -- or used -- in the fight sequences . but the drama makes for vibrant art .",
        "the movie presses too hard and too often , but the performances are strong enough to withstand the melodramatic impulses , and the themes of isolation and self-destructiveness are too sharply realized to be trivialized .",
        "if this ragged but near-brilliant movie is about a guy trying to resurrect his career , so too is the performance at its heart .",
        "la r\u00e9ussite de MOV repose \u00e9videmment sur la performance ph\u00e9nom\u00e9nale d'un mickey rourke que nous n'aurions jamais cru capable d'une telle intensit\u00e9 dramatique",
        "it 's a testament to mr. rourke 's talent that randy 's life and attempted redemption never devolve into maudlin , unearned sentimentality .",
        "it 's brutal yet sincere , funny yet solemn -- darren aronofsky has made a remarkable film that expertly depicts the reality of a sport it both honours and berates .",
        "any film that can make you feel the utter loneliness of a character like mickey rourke 's is one that you can totally endorse . yes , he 's as good as they say .",
        "the best film of 2008",
        "gran actuaci\u00f3n , gran pel\u00edcula , 109 minutos sin desperdicio a dos de tres ca\u00eddas . recomendable sin duda alguna .",
        "rourke does n't need makeup to look this permanently damaged these days , and some of the emotional scars in his performance probably run painfully close to reality as well .",
        "despite the low-tech feel , MOV is very tight and disciplined . the score is spare but effective , nothing is wasted in dialogue or action , and the fight choreography and stunts are incredible . rourke is phenomenal .",
        "thanks to both aronofsky and rourke it proves an honest and moving portrait of a man in the twilight of a career that 's both made and destroyed him .",
        "rourke wears his scars -lrb- both physical and emotional -rrb- with such naked humanity that his performance becomes a kind of on-screen outpouring of his own grief and waylaid potential",
        "i do n't know if i 've ever seen an actor more honest and vulnerable on screen .",
        "a rich character study ; rourke is a wonder to behold .",
        "the story is raw and often tough to watch , but rourke is so good that you ca n't look away .",
        "the excesses are easy to forgive , both for the humour and charisma of rourke 's outsized performance and aronofsky 's canny low-key direction , which make for a combination that is irresistible .",
        "MOV is aronofsky taking a step back and giving you a full on actor driven flick that will make you cringe and weep and contains the year 's best acting performance .",
        "rourke is convincing and honest , marvelous and touching , but he 's not required to channel emotions that linger far and away from the man he has become .",
        "parental content review",
        "MOV is suffused with sadness , yet also the wonder of a spirit that refuses to be snuffed out , and it 's a lesson to us all .",
        "director darren aronofsky and his ensemble transcend the melodrama of the genre to present something heartbreakingly real . you wo n't soon forget MOV .",
        "scott fitzgerald once wrote that , `` there are no second acts in american lives . '' the ram would have to agree . but rourke may be living the second act his character never could .",
        "the bleached blond hair , the self-tanning and the hearing aid all create one of the most memorable characters of the year . plus , there is a surprising amount of subtle humor .",
        "rourke 's work is both the best performance seen by an actor in 2008 and tops even his `` sin city '' turn as the very best thing he has done in his entire career .",
        "... handily his best leading performance in years ... possibly ever ... . director aronofsky ... plays it straight , giving us a clear , linear narrative , interrupted only by one intercut flashback . the step away from pyrotechnics becomes him .",
        "this is not an easy movie to watch , but what a performance by mickey rourke !",
        "whatever mistakes and indignities and turmoil led mickey rourke to where he is now , whatever demons have plagued him -- they all lead to the 1 hour and 55 minutes of magnificence that is his performance in ' MOV . '",
        "as the film points out , wrestling may be fixed , but it certainly ai n't fake . this may be a film , but it certainly ai n't fake either .",
        "it 's a wonderful , career-reviving performance , and you ca n't imagine the movie without him . welcome back , mickey .",
        "rourke is utterly convincing on both the physical and emotional levels , and the result may be the most fully formed characterization seen in any movie that opened in 2008 .",
        "predictable as it is , this sad , strong beast of a film keeps us pinned to the mat with the strength of its compassion and the overpowering force of its central performance .",
        "rourke is the one who saves MOV again and again .",
        "an emotional smackdown . rourke 's never been better , and the change of pace and texture suits aronofsky perfectly . the raging bull of wrestling movies ? oh , go on then .",
        "aronofsky directs with unfussy candour , alternating between the intensity of the wrestling and the drabness of randy 's ` real ' life .",
        "aronofsky has pulled off that rare feat - he 's made a great film about a niche subject that will delight wrestling fans and cineastes alike . and rourke 's performance is a knockout .",
        "the weakness of aronofsky 's film is that these various sentimental crises are framed with as much subtlety as randy 's wildly overdue heart attack . the film lurches into a predictable panic about dying alone .",
        "MOV runs on what are admittedly pretty traditional lines for a sports film , yet runs on them with exhilarating speed and attack . i was waiting for a cop-out ending , but it never arrived .",
        "not only has he hauled rourke from his self-pitying slump , but , working from a screenplay written by robert d siegel , he has created an often-brutal , always-compelling portrait of a decent man trying to peel himself off skid row ."
    ],
    "summary": "mickey rourke gives a performance for the ages in MOV , a richly affecting , heart-wrenching yet ultimately rewarding drama .",
    "id": "770680582"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dope_2015",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's got a lot of heart , more than you 'd expect from a comedy and less than you 'd expect from a drama . that genre switching is its main failing , though .",
        "MOV is a smart urban homage to the legacy of john hughes films , but still manages to distinguish itself as something uniquely special .",
        "MOV is , at its very best , a throwback to that time when the joyful hip-hop of kid 'n play bumped up against the social consciousness of n.w.a. , and all of it mixed together to create something whose force could n't be denied .",
        "`` MOV '' is MOV thanks to famuyiwa 's deft touch and his blast of a cast .",
        "rick famuyiwa has transposed john hughes ' teen angst to the black inner-city experience .",
        "balances the basics of a clever , coming of age comedy with the equally important elements of a -lrb- minor -rrb- action film",
        "i 'm not sure MOV offers anything more than a good time , but it offers a very good time .",
        "MOV 's biggest strength lies in its affectionate and honest portrait of a different kind of young urban blackness than we 're used to seeing on movie screens .",
        "a curiously refreshing combo of harold & kumar plus menace ii society .",
        "the lively performances and funky comic energy keep it hopping , even as it 's busily hopping all over the place .",
        "fresh and original movie where geeks meet street with very funny consequences . a terrific cast and smart script make this sundance sensation a summer winner .",
        "a coming-of-age tale with bite , introducing a talented new cast to the world in what may be the summer 's freshest film .",
        "MOV is a mess of styles and mixed signals , a pulp fiction that mostly tend to its loyalties to other cine-odysseys through the streets of los angeles .",
        "MOV shines with '90s attitude , classic hip-hop tunes and a star-making performance by shameik moore .",
        "the result is a vital film that 's by turns funny , tragic , exciting and thought-provoking .",
        "again and again , MOV puts us in malcolm 's air jordans , letting us sweat or fear or hope right with him .",
        "the unexpected comedy bits , great music and an insightful point of view all contribute to making `` MOV '' something special , but it simply would n't fly without moore .",
        "a game , up-and-coming young cast and kicking retro soundtrack just about get it over some tricky tonal swerves and problematic plotting .",
        "it 's about kids who we 're generally not asked to care about : a cast almost entirely made up of actors of colour .",
        "like an urban risky business . i got ta say it - MOV is MOV !",
        "even as famuyiwa acknowledges the preconceptions that malcolm 's blackness engenders , he invites audiences to identify with the character on the basis of his relatable interests , aspirations and vulnerabilities .",
        "the movie , frankly , is a mess in terms of story . its themes , though , are clear and resonant .",
        "`` MOV '' may be the perfect movie for the summer of 2015 .",
        "when so many black movie characters are simple stereotypes , it 's a pleasure to see a film with real wit about the benefits and pitfalls of playing to and against those expectations .",
        "who could have imagined that a movie that so boldly challenges perceptions about race and class in america could also be so much fun ?",
        "brilliant , mature coming-of-age story explores race , class .",
        "the film feels off-kilter more often than not , though it is n't without its inspired , successful moments .",
        "moore , in his `` house party '' high top fade , grounds the film as the nice , unassuming young man whose ingenuity paired with a useful buddy from band camp squeezes him through some hilarious scrapes .",
        "MOV is a funky-fresh take on today 's `` hood '' culture that 's surprisingly empowering when malcolm 's coming-of-age story steps front and center .",
        "`` MOV '' is too smart and lively to be dismissed . it 's even original in its mixing of ingredients , however unoriginal those ingredients may be . but it 's also unfeeling and , beneath its in-the-hood surface , as much a bit of artifice as a wes anderson movie .",
        "shameik moore gives a smashing breakout performance in a comedy of social expectation that plays like an exhilarating gift .",
        "while famuyiwa deserves the lion 's share of acclaim for making `` MOV '' such an inventive , hyperactive and electrifying comedy , it is moore who gives `` MOV '' its big heart .",
        "a brisk , funny tale in neo-hughes mode ... energetic and quick .",
        "as a comedy , the film is n't especially funny , and as a screwball drug caper a la `` go , '' it 's raggedly plotted , with ridiculous coincidences popping up everywhere .",
        "ambitious , smart , funny -- kind of loses itself in the violent drug trade portion of the story , but easily the most daring comedy of the summer .",
        "a rollicking roller coaster ride around the ` hood that 's basically a hilarious cross between kid and play 's house party -lrb- 1990 -rrb- and harold & kumar go to white castle -lrb- 2004 -rrb- .",
        "without cgi , superheroes or recycled dinosaurs , thus far , MOV is the best film of the year .",
        "shameik moore is a forceful , sympathetic locus , with an appealing gentleness of spirit that in no way seems entirely innocent . there 's a drive there . as for zoe kravitz , she is having one terrific year .",
        "a completely refreshing take on the coming-of-age comedy that succeeds by hewing closely to the subgenre 's tropes while deftly turning them upside down .",
        "a fantastical , slight , and occasionally fun , hip hop-scored romp .",
        "no wonder ` MOV ' was a favorite at sundance .",
        "the first half of MOV is grounded in infectious authenticity ; the second half is haphazard .",
        "it 's spectacularly ambitious and only intermittently successful .",
        "feels a lot like someone 's first movie , even though it 's famuyiwa 's fourth ... . but it mostly hangs together pretty well .",
        "this MOV coming-of-age comedy is about dopes and MOV dealers , but it 's also a heartfelt and perceptive examination of cultural trends with style and energy to spare .",
        "pointed social agenda elevates `` MOV . ''",
        "even when it threatens to fall apart at the seams , the movie 's good will and heart save the day and , as for moore , scene for scene , the guy 's never less than right on time .",
        "famuyiwa 's fifth film sets itself apart from gritty urban dramas with its non-conformist leads , bounce and cheerful aesthetic that skilfully fuses the retro and contemporary .",
        "the movie is overly ambitious but never dull , and the ensemble cast is fun to watch .",
        "MOV feels like at least four different movies crammed into one .",
        "MOV is a high-school comedy written with wit , brio and the unexpected twist of a geeky hero who wants to go to harvard , but finds himself in -lsb- a -rsb- drug-dealing snakepit .",
        "this coming of age story set in south central la may not know quite what it wants to say , but it sure has fun saying it .",
        "the stakes are high , but MOV is far from grim : it 's a fast , funky and good-hearted take on the urban heist movie .",
        "fast , loose and smarter than it looks , MOV has a point to make and has fun making it .",
        "a smart riposte to the ` hood drama stereotype . MOV is funny , stylish and mostly exuberant fun .",
        "an authentic inner-city parable that fails to live up to its initial promise .",
        "the film 's primary colour palette provides a satirical antidote to cinema 's more familiar gangsta hues .",
        "fresh and funny and mercifully free of angst-ridden navel-gazing .",
        "the setting and these traits - including diggy 's slippery sexuality - ensure that MOV never becomes just another laddish adventure pivoting around a bag of drugs .",
        "what is refreshing about MOV is its cheerful irreverence .",
        "raw and raucous , it 's an irreverent riff on the duality of race relations in america ...",
        "MOV may know what identities it wants to subvert , but it 's not quite sure what identity it wants to have .",
        "a smart bag of references , to both modern meme culture and bygone music and movies , MOV is neither pastiche nor misty-eyed nostalgia .",
        "... borders on the desperate , but its brash , ca n't - box-me-in spirit wins out in the end .",
        "all the ingredients for something special coalesce , including an outstanding performance from a fresh-faced shameik moore as malcolm , a fragile everyteen sporting a flat-top straight out of kid 'n' play .",
        "MOV is not only one of the most vibrant films we 've seen this year , but the most tender .",
        "the film 's rascally kineticism very nearly compensates for its underdeveloped ideas .",
        "moore gives a performance layered with energy , and famuyiwa 's direction is equally charismatic .",
        "the film 's ability to confound expectations while delivering some big laughs may be its most crowd-pleasing characteristic but the anti-stereotype message rings clear as a bell throughout .",
        "flawed but fresh , MOV revolves around an appealing cast",
        "MOV is a smart if not hefty comedy by a filmmaker who has a lot to say and yet still much to learn .",
        "MOV does n't seem like it has much discipline or focus , but its frantic forward momentum and haphazard mixture of styles , although demonstratively entertaining , should n't distract from a rather pointed political message about race in america .",
        "`` MOV '' is about the dreams and aspirations of outsiders . and while a little swollen narratively , it 's supercool vitality is much like the blithe will smith `` summertime '' song the character 's references : something very close to a new classic .",
        "a fast-paced throwback that is a little like a mix of house party and boyz n the hood",
        "it 's an incredibly smart hybrid film that captures the modern life of an american teen in inglewood , california in a way that we 've never seen before .",
        "a funny and often intelligent crowd-pleaser about three geeks who get smart about drug-dealing .",
        "the cast , drawn from comedy , rap , tv , modeling and other spheres , is sharply on form throughout , as is famuyiwa 's direction ; the pic 's esprit is amplified by every editorial trick in the book , from split-screen to freeze-frames .",
        "it 's a remorselessly entertaining , frankenstein 's monster of pop-culture borrowings and appropriations . so much so that it becomes very much its own thing .",
        "MOV is a movie about '90s hip-hop and black culture , but it feels like a throwback in other ways too .",
        "`` MOV '' is the bomb .",
        "`` MOV '' is funny , slick and sharp .",
        "all three leads are charming , and together , they convey a real sense of camaraderie , the kind that only develop between misfits who find each other .",
        "the tone of `` MOV '' is very interesting - funny , but rarely stupid-funny . the film does not wear its serious observations , about aspirations and realities and hypocrisies of all kinds -lrb- not just racial -rrb- , in a heavy fashion .",
        "it 's downright dainty as far as plot , but a mostly tasty layer cake of drugs , jokes , sex , jokes , cool young cast members , jokes , 1992 hip-hop , cartoony characters , a heist and a lot more jokes .",
        "here is the rare movie overstuffed with memorable moments that would have been better if there had been fewer of them .",
        "this is the first feature film role for moore and he delivers a performance that is sweet , smart , naive and -- when needed -- tough . his performance comes across as strong as many veteran actors .",
        "a liberating , full-throttle comedy not about the ethics of selling drugs , but about the ability of one smart black kid to do the math , and reconfigure MOV into a slippery slope of hope .",
        "`` MOV '' has so much going on , and accomplishes so many things , that it 's practically a miracle .",
        "the film works best in its first 30 or so minutes as we 're introduced to the various characters and watch them interact . -lrb- full content review -- sex , profanity , violence , etc. -- for parents also available -rrb-",
        "with a script that wears its wistfully reflective heart on its sleeve ... MOV is one of those gems buried in the summer box office .",
        "it 's not always a perfect movie , but it really knows what it feels like to be alive , and there 's a good chance it will push you out the theatre door reverberating with its potent and particular energy .",
        "fresh and vibrant , mixing old-school attitude with youthful intelligence and vigor .",
        "mr. famuyiwa ... shoves disparate genre elements together as if pulling jigsaw puzzle pieces from a half-dozen different boxes , and if the finished work is n't quite convincing , it 's still fun to look at .",
        "this vibrant film is a bit of a mess , but it 's a beautiful one .",
        "`` MOV '' is , in the end , just another unfunny grab bag of stereotypes . do n't believe the hype .",
        "writer-director rick famuyiwa ... doubles down on an applying-to-harvard satire that both upends demographic expectations while insisting -lrb- at times a bit strenuously -rrb- that we all aim a little higher .",
        "a narrative as freewheeling as this one might ordinarily daze and confuse . but malcolm makes for such a forceful character , it 's easy to go along with whatever direction he 's headed in .",
        "MOV digs into racial culture in a real way with malcolm struggling with the fact that he does n't fit being a geek or a menace to society , and it 's a hoot to root him on as he finds his place somewhere in between .",
        "despite jarring shifts in tone , the film deftly raises important issues about socioeconomics and race in america without sermonizing its audience .",
        "whatever definition of `` MOV '' you prefer , it applies to rick famuyiwa 's movie . MOV is a drug caper involving teenagers doing stupid things for the geeks they are , the kind john hughes might have written if he allowed black people in his movies .",
        "equal parts righteously pissed and anxious fun - a film to debate but only after you 've laughed your ass off .",
        "although there are too many story strands thrown in for good measure , rachel morrison 's cinematography and lee haugen 's editing keep the film fluid and buoyant .",
        "it has style and caustic , primitive screenwriting , but its soullessness seems at odds with its cheery ambition , delivering a whole mess of unappealing behavior in a movie about an underdog .",
        "decently entertaining but uneven and full of thinly drawn characters .",
        "mixes winning comedic moments with serious , life-or-death situations , often at the same time .",
        "`` MOV '' has energy and smarts and a heart in all the right places .",
        "moore , who 's done some tv work and is also a singer and dancer , emerges as a genuine movie star in `` MOV . '' he 's very good looking and has charisma to burn , and he controls the screen in every scene he 's in . which is practically every scene .",
        "in an era full of indifferent , cookie-cutter indies , an excess of ideas and personality is hardly a bad thing .",
        "while it ca n't quite escape the limits of that formula , it is an inspired , entertaining wild ride enriched by engaging characters .",
        "exhilarating , terrifying , and terribly funny .",
        "mixing pep and purpose , MOV lands with the punchy immediacy of its title .",
        "MOV is a film that you find yourself longing to like , but the strain of disappointment takes its toll .",
        "MOV maybe has something to say about race and racism and masculinity -- but the film rarely takes a moment to actually listen to itself .",
        "MOV is an effective celebration of friendship , sculpted hair and sweet bike rides .",
        "rather than judging his characters for turning to crime , famuyiwa makes society the target of his anger ; implying that in an unequal world , even a kid as bright as malcolm has little chance of succeeding by honest methods alone .",
        "pulsing with a loopy , anything-goes energy truly unique to itself , MOV bounces all over the screen as one of the freshest releases of 2015 .",
        "combined with a sugary-pop sensibility and dialogue that constantly feels a beat behind , MOV feels more like the fun of yo gabba gabba ! than a serious exploration of street life , leaving less bark and even fewer bites .",
        "the mood is restless , the tone is energetic , and influences are embraced and discarded quicker than you can say : `` we are the best adolescent pulp fiction on the go this year '' .",
        "it 's refreshing for sure , but the movie is tonally erratic , leaving the viewer with a mixed message .",
        "the acting is uniformly good . this is moore 's first big role , and he delivers a performance both entertaining and believable .",
        "if you like your comedies scripted rather than seemingly improvised or if you thrill to see stories at war with clich\u00e9 , MOV is the feel-good , crowd-pleaser of the summer .",
        "if `` MOV '' were as earnest as malcolm seems to be , you might expect it to be a bit of a bore . no worries on that count , though .",
        "points for being different ; points off for being sloppy .",
        "the movie itself coasts on energy , even if its presentation teeters between charming and amateurish .",
        "a freewheeling comedy about sex , drugs and identity politics .",
        "the tone is fast and funny , with a modern `` risky business '' or `` ferris bueller 's day off '' vibe , but there 's an additional layer that stems from the violence of the neighborhood .",
        "MOV is interesting to observe as a movie that takes a relatively simple idea and overburdens it with a few too many plot points , characters , and/or thematic concerns .",
        "be sure to stay for the end credits . no other summer-movie credit crawl is going to get audiences dusting off their old running man and cabbage patch dance moves like this one . take that , jurassic world ."
    ],
    "summary": "featuring a starmaking performance from shameik moore and a refreshingly original point of view from writer-director rick famuyiwa , MOV is smart , insightful entertainment .",
    "id": "771412133"
  },
  {
    "movie": "boarding_gate",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV 's surfaces are often so staggeringly beautiful that its superficiality becomes forgivable , with the pleasant distractions of assayas ' multi-layered frames , argento 's sinewy allure , and snippets of brian eno ambience on the soundtrack .",
        "the picture grows on you , as does its laconic leading lady , whose slurry delivery conceals an ever-alert mouse handily equipped to beat the cat at his own game .",
        "call it a cinema of guilty pleasure , and do n't worry if you fall asleep in your seat after the sex scene is over . you wo n't be alone .",
        "MOV plays with various genre codes and conventions very differently than most run-of-the-mill modern thrillers .",
        "this one is just murk .",
        "MOV 's decadent fancies are appalling .",
        "it 's not a perfect movie . at times , it 's not even a movie . yet the overall taste MOV leaves behind is intriguing enough to appreciate the whole elongated enterprise .",
        "MOV , b-movie heir to phil karlson and ingmar bergman , screws any pretence of naturalism for hallucinatory confrontations .",
        "if this is the effect mr. assayas wanted to achieve , he has succeeded admirably .",
        "a mostly dull and nonsensical attempt at a revenge thriller that trips and falls flat on its face far too many times to stand up to some of -lsb- assayas ' -rsb- stronger work .",
        "riveting to watch largely due to asia argento 's presence , assayas ' new film , suitably placed at the midnight section , displays visual fluency and other innovative devices deiberately applied to a lower-level subject that some will dismiss as trash .",
        "argento never engages us as a character ; she 's like some porny dress-up -lrb- or , rather , dressdown -rrb- doll with a plastic visage and hollow head .",
        "did you ever want to like a movie and wish it were better so that you could ? on the other hand , you could say that any sighting of asia argento showing off her thighs ca n't be all bad .",
        "the film has n't much substance beneath its showy surface .",
        "thrills and drama are left standing on the tarmac in MOV , a limp , sleazy inanity .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- rocked me pretty hard .",
        "-lsb- director assayas -rsb- may have something serious to say about the brutal impersonality of global capitalism , yet he 's caught somewhere between insight and exploitation .",
        "there 's basically only one reason to see olivier assayas 's self-consciously hypermodern , meta-sleazy , english-french-chinese-language globo-thriller MOV , and her name is asia argento .",
        "though graced with a performance by the fascinating asia argento , this noir film is difficult to follow .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- assayas is out of his element here , and the encounters have no snap : it 's like one of those two-character plays in which the frequent pauses are filled with the audience 's coughing spasms .",
        "even an ultra-feral performance by asia argento -- the art house angelina jolie -- is n't enough to suffer through MOV , a draggy and incoherent thriller by french director oliver assayas .",
        "seriously flawed and not for every taste , the film was shot quickly and on the cheap , and is driven by argento 's slurred , scratchy voice and bette david eyes .",
        "the latest entry in this perplexing preoccupation with lowlifes is MOV , an astonishingly un-thrilling thriller .",
        "a ridiculous poseur thriller that seems to be made up of the slow moments from hong kong action films and euro-flashy stuff like run lola run .",
        "this hypnotic , angular thriller about sex , murder , betrayal and money takes you on a feverish journey from nowhere to somewhere .",
        "there are long , droning bouts of dialog about nothing meant to link scenes together , but all MOV really does is fixate on watching asia argento do stuff .",
        "boring gate .",
        "writer-director olivier assayas must have been working out some personal demons to make something as embarrassing as MOV , the most trite and trivial piece of sleaze since abel ferrara 's snake eyes .",
        "we do n't want to see asia argento talking about her history of drugs and wild sex , we want to see her doing it .",
        "absolutely silly",
        "what it all means is up for grabs , but for connoisseurs of sadomasochistic nastiness , it 's a must-see .",
        "as for argento ... yeah , she 's got something . now we 'd like to see her in a movie that makes sense .",
        "when all the nonsense of MOV ends , only asia remains in memory . she can light up the best and the worst of 'em .",
        "distills genre tropes -lrb- and their consequent pleasures -rrb- to their lean , potent essence .",
        "like just about everything in MOV , the finale suggests that its creators have been watching too many other movies with similar premises and payoffs .",
        "could have been an exciting and inventive film , if only it were n't so bland and familiar .",
        "in the `` b '' movie days , a story like this would shoot by in about 70 minutes without time to pick holes in the motives . but assayas takes a bloated , boring 106 minutes .",
        "the main thing interesting about MOV is the spectacle of assayas ' effort -- the attitude and the international backdrop -- not the story itself .",
        "-lsb- assayas -rsb- has concocted a plot that is dizzying and annoying at times , and it 's hard to care about the characters in the shifting story . but b-movie veteran argento 's portrayal of sandra is like watching a car careening down an incline .",
        "the plot may be murky , but actress asia argento is a clear and commanding force throughout .",
        "chock full of elements that never spark beyond one-sheet dimension ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has little substance beneath its faux-thriller surface , and marks a step down from director olivier assayas ' usual work .",
    "id": "770676314"
  },
  {
    "movie": "transformers_the_movie",
    "reviews": [
        "gets this critic 's seal of approval as another overblown michael bay extravaganza , for it succeeds in bringing a cornucopia of beloved robots to life for a concatenation of epic battles worthy of a bombastic summer blockbuster .",
        "you have to appreciate the technical achievements even if the movie as a whole is not something that will stick with you for long .",
        "it 's goofy fun with a lot of stuff that blows up real good , and it has the grace not only to realize how preposterous it is , but to make that into an asset .",
        "in bay 's world , which is more about metal than people , every action sequence must be edited like a cinematic seizure and every extreme-telephoto image must be jammed headlong into the next .",
        "i came away convinced i 'd had the most sheer , loud fun of any blockbuster in a summer that has delivered too little of that quantity .",
        "the visual effects are marvellous , -lsb- and -rsb- the acting is better than it needs to be in a film of this nature .",
        "though it 's at least 20 minutes too long and uneven dramatically , the acting is sharp , and it features some of the most spectacular action and effects sequences of any movie of its kind .",
        "the effects are put to brilliant use . ... bay even allows the humans their humanness , too -- elsewhere , john turturro and anthony anderson are very funny in smallish parts , and -lsb- julie -rsb- white steals the movie .",
        "bay 's movie is the grandest proof so far that , when it comes to movie characterization , flesh and blood have had their chance . from here on , it 's up to metal and plastic .",
        "great special effects + shia labeouf - flimsy story = lotsa fun .",
        "the film suffers from a second-half degeneration into cgi battles devoid of human interest - but it 's still a high-speed , energetic , must-see action flick .",
        "transformers has some of the best action sequences you 'll see all summer .",
        "click for full review",
        "michael bay can build a universe in a bottle . he can install a pump in the tin man 's chest.and he can call it a heart .",
        "it 's outrageous , stupid fun and you should see it on the biggest screen you can find .",
        "o mais longo an\u00fancio publicit\u00e1rio que j\u00e1 fui obrigado a testemunhar .",
        "so , here 's a surprise . the summer 's first blockbuster action film worthy of its hype has nothing to do with pirates , spider-man or the fantastic four . instead , it comes down to michael bay 's `` transformers . ''",
        "the effects are jaw-droppingly good and if all you want is giant robots blowing stuff up , then transformers delivers .",
        "punishingly boring .",
        "a mad rush of blood to the adolescent head .",
        "for a michael bay action film , transformers was surprisingly entertaining and not as heavy handed .",
        "it 's a big , cool , dopey , noisy , non-stop action powerhouse . it 's also too long by a half hour and it left my ears ringing , but it 's a lot of fun .",
        "for the many transformer fans out there : have fun . for everyone else : see anything , absolutely anything , else .",
        "what keeps transformers watchable is labeouf and the computerized effects , which are often startling . when sam 's camaro muscles up into the bumblebee bot , it 's like watching every boy 's fantasy of his first pair of wheels .",
        "in this tricked-out retake on the much-loved contraptions , director michael bay brings his usual chest-thumping , combustive bombast , but he also brings some clever pacing and a genuinely snappy wit . it is not all stupid and not all loud .",
        "taken for what it is , a crowd-rousing summer blockbuster inspired by a children 's mechanical toy , michael bay 's transformers is some kind of mess ... terpiece .",
        "an unexpectedly witty and exciting movie quick on its feet .",
        "an overly long , repetitive jumble of a movie that is n't nearly as much fun as it should be .",
        "whatever chance transformers might have been a decent movie disappeared the moment bay was hired to direct .",
        "only those undemanding inner 8-year-olds are likely to find anything here to appreciate .",
        "transformers may be the most spectacularly stupid film ever made , and with modern-day hollywood being what it is , that 's quite a feat .",
        "an unexpected summer surprise . not only is it full of way-cool machinery , epic robot fights and mind-dazzling effects , it also has more than its quotient of actual wit and fun .",
        "if you love playing with action figures , transformers is made for you . otherwise , this loud and ridiculous film is more likely to be painful than enjoyable .",
        "director michael bay appears to have neither a sense of timing nor an awareness that , as a movie draws to its conclusion , simple logic suggests it 's time to put a move on .",
        "bay 's notion of excitement is to smash up bunches of stuff on screen , with no rhyme or reason , no characters to care about , and no clarity or structure to the action .",
        "this director knows his bay-bots audience as one that will give him all the space and self-indulgence he needs to carry out his high-volume boxoffice mission .",
        "when it 's on its fun , exciting , and epic , and when it 's off , it 's flat , unfunny , and painful .",
        "who better to make the ultimate boys-with-toys movie than the world 's most gleefully destructive filmmaker , michael bay ?",
        "i loved it .",
        "there are humans in transformers , but bay treats them with his trademark mixture of indifference and syrupy sentimentalism .",
        "when it 's not too far over the top or redundant , transformers is a fun summer-movie ride .",
        "be sure to have some headache pills handy when you go see transformers . while it may not necessarily be the best action movie of the year , it is definitely the loudest and you 're sure to walk out of the cinemas with a throbbing headache ...",
        "to be honest , it 's easy to forgive a lot in this movie because the 12-year-old in me is absolutely in love with all the jaw-dropping transformations . it would have been more rewarding if the adult in me had something to enjoy as well .",
        "it 's got action , romance , incredible cgi , convincing performances , a loud and lively musical score , way cool robots , and an adorable chihuahua in a cast . what 's not to like ?",
        "it 's a sickening force-feeding commercial frenzy to sell cars , toys and war in the same breath that it pawns itself off as `` cinema . '' this is not cinema . this is acid kool-aid for children . do n't drink it .",
        "flat , loud , flashy spectacle that 's been fine-tuned and sanded down to appeal to the widest global audience possible . all in all , pretty generic .",
        "bay , at heart , is n't a fantasist ; he 's a literal-minded maestro of demolition . but then , that serves transformers well during its climax , a spectacular clash of the heavy metal titans , and a primal reminder of why boys love their toys .",
        "as a movie , transformers is mostly muscle car , but it has enough of a brain under its hood to know how , and when , to be funny .",
        "though he has a way with cgi toys and action set pieces , director bay does not have a noticeable gift for making human beings come to life . transformers ' multiple earthling story lines are tedious and oddly lifeless .",
        "the most surprising thing about michael bay 's much-anticipated , blockbuster-bound transformers is how funny the movie is . i do n't mean funny in an unintentional , pearl harbor kind of way .",
        "it 's a gearhead 's dream come true , with cool robots , hot girls , big explosions and broad jokes .",
        "there is so much action packed into every second of transformers that by the time it 's over , you may be tempted to go outside and give the box office another 10 bucks .",
        "an uneven , overlong and at times overbearing flick .",
        "a movie of epically assaultive noise and nonsense .",
        "the surprising transformation here is not from machines into enormous robots but from a modest saturday morning cartoon based on a line of toys into 2007 's most exhilarating summer movie , able to transform audiences of all ages into 12-year-old fanboys .",
        "a dizzying summer adventure , transformers is a film to worship for its set pieces and chastise for its inscrutable storytelling .",
        "we knew it would be dumb . but we had no idea it would be so much dumb fun .",
        "every time transformers threatens to collapse under the weight of its ridiculous plot and boring characters , bay and his team pull a visual trick that will blow many summer movie fan 's minds .",
        "with transformers , director michael bay has once again claimed the year 's top honors for loud , stupid filmmaking .",
        "everyone in the likable cast grasps the spirit of this grand , cheesy adventure , which bay presents as an action-effects comedy with the emphasis decidedly on comedy .",
        "it 's a hasbro ad . it 's a chevy commercial . it 's a pitch for homeland security . -lrb- a pretty ineffective one . -rrb-",
        "the average hollywood action picture is aimed at 12-year-olds of all ages , but michael bay and steven spielberg 's feature-length come-on for hasbro 's much-loved toy series -lrb- and its spin-off cartoons , video games and comics -rrb- aims even lower .",
        "not a movie , just one gigantic commercial for hasbro .",
        "director michael bay and his ilm team have , in fact , achieved something pretty impressive in the world of cgi and modeling .",
        "the action sequences are so turgid it 's sometimes hard to tell which ` bot is doing what , but with bay steadily hurling fireworks you wo n't really pause much to think about that , or about how truly inane the story is .",
        "the die-hard old fans should be happy .",
        "... forgive me if transformers , the movie , strikes me as rather mechanical .",
        "an overwhelming and indistinguishable deluge of flying wreckage , sporadic explosions , and gnarled heaps of metal .",
        "transformers is probably the rosetta stone of bay 's career . all of his favorite elements are here : military fetishism , vehicular fetishism , hot chick fetishism , explosion fetishism , sweaty machismo and a brutal disregard for an interesting story .",
        "a sort of ambien/no-doz cocktail likely to send all but fanboy brains into self-protective shutoff mode .",
        "the bloated mid-section of bay 's overlong extravaganza -lrb- clocking in at a punishing 144 minutes -rrb- will test the patience of casual transformers fans",
        "you 'll find yourself rooting for computer-generated robots that magically transform into cars , trucks and fighter planes . it 's selling the movie short to say the special effects are amazing -- they are out of this world .",
        "transformers is way better than anyone could have expected from michael bay , the director who gave us armageddon and pearl harbor .",
        "cars turn into robots . so do trucks . and planes . if you need more to recommend transformers , there are big doses of humor and an appealing lead performance by shia labeouf .",
        "-lsb- g -rsb- loriously , emphatically meaningless and cheerfully , genially brainless . it 's like a big dumb dog -- you just ca n't hate it .",
        "no one presumes to apply artistic criteria to the sight of a high-rise being demolished . why should transformers be any different ?",
        "there is no scope to bay 's big city battle , no one wow moment that will have people talking and no more excitement than watching the implosion of an old building on tv .",
        "logic suggests that even the most inept filmmaker would have a hard time turning a movie about enormous fighting robots into an unwatchable and flat-out dull piece of work , but that 's precisely what michael bay has done with transformers .",
        "it 's like spending a day at the state fair : a little bit of actual entertainment , a lot of embarrassingly cheesy attempts at entertainment , and the faint whiff of bull crap everywhere .",
        "this is made by the fans , for the fans . outsiders need not apply .",
        "while bay succeeds in creating a seamless mix of computer-generated effects with live-action , the real treat of his film is the flesh-and-blood labeouf . he is labomb .",
        "for transformers fans , i suppose this is a dream motion picture . for everyone else , it 's a nightmare .",
        "after bay piles on a dozen -lsb- action -rsb- scenes ... , your brain may feel pummelled . not that your brain had anything to do in the previous two hours .",
        "-lsb- d -rsb- irector michael bay makes a wise move : he comes out with a movie that simply does n't have to be good .",
        "a full-out assault on the senses that confuses bludgeoning a viewer with noisy spectacle with actually entertaining them",
        "big , loud , empty ... just another dumb michael bay movie .",
        "... in doing so , bay has crafted one of the best action movies of all time .",
        "a kick-butt action film with nearly non-stop action and amazing computer-generated special effects .",
        "indulging in the playground of technology at his disposal , bay makes transformers ' hugeness personal .",
        "is it a commercial or an action movie ? you could go either way with `` transformers . ''",
        "for some , the movie went on a little long , but true fans did n't mind . -lrb- you can tell the true fans , they 're the ones who cheer optimus prime like a rock star whenever he comes on the screen . -rrb-",
        "too bad the filmmakers do n't let these bots take over the spectacle .",
        "michael bay does n't merely pander to the lowest common denominator , he redefines it by lowering it .",
        "to paraphrase montgomery burns : i 'm no art critic , but i know what i hate ... and i did n't hate transformers .",
        "see transformers . but do n't expect anything more than a big , dumb summer action film with hot chicks , shia labeouf and a lot of robots blowing things up .",
        "despite the sheer ineptitude of transformers , there 's a crassness behind it that 's even more disturbing .",
        "although the film ca n't quite eclipse the glorious saturday morning cartoon silliness of the 1986 animated `` transformers '' movie , it more than stands its ground .",
        "they fight -- these giant robots . they fight a lot . and it 's awesome .",
        "transformers is smart enough to know how incredibly stupid it is .",
        "the illusion is shattered whenever the ` bots start talking or the action stops . bay tries to gloss over the infantile plot , but it would take a lighter , wittier touch to square the movie 's pedestrian script .",
        "this is one fun summer movie . totally ridiculous . big and loud . senseless . campy and dumb . but great fun .",
        "it ... fulfills every teenage boy 's fantasy to make out with a hot girl on your talking camaro while a giant friendly robot watches over you .",
        "declaring his absolute judgment and the intrinsic virtue of bringing democracy to all planets , optimus prime announces , `` freedom is the right of all sentient beings . '' except , of course , the decepticons .",
        "bay 's direction ultimately bothered me less than the messy screenplay . as an old-school fan , i was quite disappointed though not necessarily offended .",
        "it 's the transformation of robots that will blow your mind ... add that to the eye-popping robot smackdowns and good old fashioned car chases , and you have a movie that is going to get your blood pumping and your heartbeat racing",
        "the film 's hurtling visuals and snappy pace -lrb- even at two-plus hours -rrb- allow many a postmodernist to escape overreaching tendencies .",
        "bay 's lack of perspective , combined with steve jablonsky 's overblown score , do everything they can to convince you that this is a very important movie . it is n't .",
        "divorced from reality , even movie reality , transformers becomes an action film in traction . its relentless product placement makes it seem like a 2 hr . 22 min . general motors commercial . and the film has just enough collisions to be a crashing bore .",
        "it 's the toys ' r us in this awesome sci-fi blockbuster . it 's bound to produce several inferior sequels but the pure joy of discovery from this kick-ass original is not-to-be-missed .",
        "hell may have frozen over . not only has michael bay directed a movie that works , he has directed one of the most satisfying films of the summer . this is the cinematic equivalent of washing down a mouthful of sugary candy with a bottle of mountain dew .",
        "a rocking action movie with some campy humor that succeeds despite the drawbacks of being overly long and repetitious .",
        "as a fan of the 1980s saturday morning cartoon and hasbro toys the film is based on , i was saddened to see characters i grew up with transformed into a corporate ad tool .",
        "there is so much action packed in every frame of this bombastic blockbuster , that the ludicrous plot and silly script went nearly unnoticed .",
        "bay and an army of visual designers have successfully re-imagined a photorealistic world in which these titans can believably clash .",
        "the effects are socko , as variety used to say : the big , loud transformer battles go on forever , but they 're more entertaining than usual for this kind of film .",
        "merde that meets the eye .",
        "hated the robots and their funny voices , hated the humans , and the cereal box story .",
        "it is as corny as it is magnificent and i have to admit that it is the most fun i 've had at the movies all year .",
        "michael bay 's best film to date offers plenty of fun , but not much more than meets the eye .",
        "better than sex .",
        "in a summer that 's seen underperforming tre-quels and more than its fair share of warmed over sameness , transformers is offering something similar , but in a much more exciting and evocative guise .",
        "for sci-fi excitement and escapist , fast-paced action , you ca n't beat this . it 's spectacularly loud , fun-filled and wicked cool .",
        "like so many of bay 's films , transformers suffers from a form of cinematic prostatitis .",
        "both visually stunning and utterly shrug-inducing , transformers begs the question : can a live-action centipede , pac-man or donkey kong movie be far behind ?",
        "given the combined involvements of michael bay and steven spielberg , call it a ka-blamblin production , filled with many jaw-dropping marvels . eventually , this vehicle runs on fumes , but only because it revs the gas so hard and so well for so long .",
        "the quintessential big , loud , dumb summer action movie , this nonstop thrill ride is thunderously entertaining .",
        "transformers sinks to the level of '50s b-movie sermonizing and never fully recovers .",
        "the cast members seem to be game for what 's at stake here , especially shia labeouf , who 's on something of a roll .",
        "the welcome mat is out for michael bay 's cheerfully dopey saga inspired by the popular shape-shifting toys from the '80s .",
        "bay 's best effort by far . the robot thespians are better actors than the cast of armageddon and the plot is probably more historically accurate than pearl harbor .",
        "admirers of great special effects ... will find plenty to appreciate . ... -lrb- but -rrb- for every truly funny joke -lrb- and , admittedly , there are a few -rrb- , there are a dozen duds .",
        "transformers is supposedly about robots who turn into cars and back again ; what it 's really about is big hollywood turning money into stupid and back again",
        "when the humans slow things down , and they do , bay cranks up the gobots -lrb- excuse me , transformers -rrb- for earth-shattering battles that pound the ground mightily ...",
        "fun , but a bit too serious .",
        "at one point , bumblebee essentially urinates on an annoying federal officer . it 's hard to believe bay or spielberg think this is funny ... this is pandering at its worst , and it reveals a lack of respect for the audience , kids and adults alike .",
        "above all , transformers is the biggest-budget kaiju movie of all time ... one of those godzilla versus other monster-suit guys trashing mini-tokyo flicks . only with robots",
        "transformers is long and loud and should not be ... compared with some dramatic work . just let it stand on its own and transform you into a kid for a couple-plus hours .",
        "transformers twiddles its big , fat , stupid robotic thumbs for the better part of two hours before jabbing them into your eye socket and finger-f *** ing your brain in the last 20 minutes . yes !",
        "the story is essentially about hunks of scrap metal blowing each other up .",
        "has hell actually frozen over ? are pigs now taking to the sky ? i only ask because michael bay has achieved the unthinkable : he 's directed a crushingly entertaining movie .",
        "transformers delivers the thrills we 've been waiting for all year long .",
        "you might as well be watching a car compactor at work in a junkyard .",
        "all you can do is grin , shake your head and let transformers steamroll you into having a blast .",
        "... a screeching metal , smash-and-crash , extreme-action movie lover 's dream come true . it 's also a wildly absurd , visceral fantasy and far more fun than it ought to be .",
        "a melting pot of astonishing ineptitude . amazing , how hundreds of millions of dollars can go into making a finished product that does n't offer one solitary second of wonder , momentum , tension , or authentic emotion .",
        "this film is soulless and heartless but at the same time it 's a lot of fun and contains a lot of `` wow ! '' moments . i feel dirty for liking this movie so much . michael bay is a mad genius .",
        "transformers is so hot and bothered over its reassembling robots that it can barely muster the energy to develop even an up-front text that makes sense .",
        "transformers is n't just dorky , it 's gloriously dorky .",
        "ridiculously awesome -lrb- or awesomely ridiculous ? -rrb- sequences of mass destruction , lost in a lot of uneven dramatic or comedic material .",
        "director michael bay , never known for subtlety , transforms the popular 1980 's toy line into a loud , flashy , goofy mashup of a movie that plays like `` gremlins '' as really big hardware .",
        "reaction in taormina fest signals popular franchise , and artistically what might have been like a big , noisy amusement park with lots of attractions -lrb- subplots , robots -rrb- is more unified and involving due to spielberg 's creative input and labeouf 's acting",
        "it 's long and loud and everything about it is big : from the massive stunts , the pounding orchestral score and the transformers themselves , which tower above everything and everyone in this mega-budget sci-fi adventure .",
        "there 's not much under the hood , but ` transformers ' roars with power and style thanks to awe-inspiring action and flawless effects",
        "this is a transformers movie , so why do the humans take up so much of the time , story and heroics ? it should be robots with maybe a few humans on the periphery , not the other way around .",
        "... high-octane nonsense for those who suffer from permanently arrested development . the fact that it is a big-budget blockbuster based on a toy really says it all .",
        "even folks who would n't know a transformer from a teletubby can expect to have a good time at transformers , which easily emerges as the biggest surprise of the summer thus far .",
        "the whole movie has a lightness of tone , an affection for its own cheesiness .",
        "a big , dumb , special effects-laden action flick .",
        "transformers is in a stellar class of seamless fx films populated by genre classics like jurassic park , twister and titanic",
        "kids may just love this film . but for adults , there 's not much of a story . and what little story there is eventually devolves into virtual nonsense .",
        "okay , i 've been reminded that i do n't like michael bay 's directing style . that 's the last reminder i will need for the next ten years or so .",
        "transformers is n't a movie , it 's a software program , into which quirky personality has been inserted like a line of computer code .",
        "citizen kane , it is n't . but for 140 minutes in the dead of summer , it 's a ton of dumb fun .",
        "a high-octane symphony of machine battling machine and stuff blowing to pieces .",
        "this is a movie to see on the big screen .",
        "transformers is about as clever as an unplugged blender : take away the many effects crews who so clearly gave their all , and what you 're left with would n't pass muster in georges m\u00e9li\u010ds ' time .",
        "no one should be expecting much from michael bay except fast pacing and decently choreographed explosions . with transformers , he does n't even make it that far .",
        "who needs all that noise ??",
        "do we really need an action film in the middle of summer to remind us how `` good '' some americans can be ?",
        "audiences are liable to be in a state of utter bewilderment .",
        "the action scenes are too chaotic to be exciting .",
        "when transformers is going strong early on , it 's the grandest -- in every sense of the word -- entertainment in years .",
        "if you take transformers with a grain of salt ... you 'll have a pretty fun time checking out both the robotic -lrb- transformers -rrb- and human -lrb- megan fox -rrb- eye candy",
        "an overachiever of a film that practically defines the term summer blockbuster .",
        "` transformers ' is a loud , unsophisticated testament to the visceral thrills of effects-driven mayhem .",
        "transformers is the best action movie i have seen since the matrix .",
        "although it strives to appeal to the whole family , it winds up emerging as a kiddie flick on steroids - a big-budget , effects heavy , feature film version of a saturday morning cartoon .",
        "director michael bay 's bigger than life version of the cartoon i grew up loving pretty much ruined one of my favorite childhood memories .",
        "come to think of it , i was pretty stupid when i was six years old . so is this film .",
        "... if you are an adult and not already a fan , you may find the movie more than a bit long , loud , and frenzied .",
        "it is a teenage boy 's wet dream . the girls are insanely hot , the lead is awkward/funny and the action sequences are top notch .",
        "works for more than just the built-in fan base who grew up on the old cartoon series and the toys . this is a fantasy for which suspension of disbelief is a pleasure . sleeker , spiffed up , and daring to rely on solid storytelling",
        "probably the worst computer-generated-special-effects-driven summer blockbuster to ever disgrace the screen .",
        "one silly , overblown movie , skillful but bombastic eye-candy for the adolescent-minded , with the cinematic i.q. of your average household appliance .",
        "horrible ! hey , i did n't poop on your childhood . michael bay did .",
        "transformers delivers on its promise of stunning visuals and well-crafted action sequences , but it 's not remotely worth the slog it takes to get there . once the novelty of the robots wears off it 's hopelessly insipid .",
        "hat was delivered will no doubt send merchandising sales spiralling into orbit , but sadly at the cost of countless brain cells popping through after nearly two and a half hours of tedium .",
        "transformers leaves very few blocks left un-busted .",
        "for the bot-neutral rest of us , two-and-a-half hours of mostly incoherent special effects may be a bit much .",
        "transformers is a rollicking , rousing experience .",
        "thank god the transformers speak primarily in proper nouns -- if they had n't shouted `` optimus ! megatron ! '' every time they struck a blow , i 'd have no idea what was happening .",
        "morphs from army-enlisting ad to toy ad -lrb- on its way passing through a panoply of car ads , computer ads , beer ads -rrb- without ever becoming a movie",
        "bay , of course , ca n't resists temptation to use as many explosions in the film as possible",
        "when you get a good view you 'll probably be thrilled . but the thrills vanish with the next quick cut . there should have been more that met the eye .",
        "a slam-bang sci-fi action drama with exploding cars , razzle-dazzle battle sequences , a bling-wearing dog , robots with heart , and a secret agent with silly underwear .",
        "a fairly rip-roaring piece of rock 'em , sock 'em robot mayhem that 's more entertaining than it really has a right to be .",
        "it 's as juvenile as it exhilarating , as staggeringly-stupid as it is keenly well-crafted .",
        "giant robots drop from the sky and transform into colossal structures of suck . stuff blows up . the talking gadgets attempt to save humanity , but changing a flat tire provides more of a thrill than this flick .",
        "maybe if ... you spent a lot of time playing with the toys you 'd instantly recognize the robots . for the uninitiated , it 's merely cgi creatures hitting each other ...",
        "one of the stupidest movies on record . but hey , it 's also , you know , really , really fun .",
        "most directors would be content to retire with armaggedon as the stupidest film on their resume . let it not be said that michael bay does n't know how to top himself .",
        "there 's less to this picture than meets the eye .",
        "if it 's true that there 's an 8-year-old boy inside every man , transformers is just the ticket to bring the kid out .",
        "surprisingly , bay actually subdues his usual , attention-deficit style for this sometimes rewarding , science-fiction action thriller .",
        "transformers is the comic-book movie on steroids , a fusion of sound and fury and sci-fi plotting that leaves plenty of room for a franchise .",
        "grab some popcorn and make a pit stop , then sit back and enjoy it . you signed up for a movie about giant robots .",
        "the script may have rubbery legs , but the action is rock-hard . the surprise is the lightness of touch : treat as a comedy for best results .",
        "there are sights on show here that i promise the likes of which you 'll have never seen .",
        "... bay and his team know what we want from a transformers movie : cool transformations , over-the-top chase sequences , and senseless destruction .",
        "a sensory attack that drives us into tiny little fetal balls on the ground , whimpering that we must have liked it because the car effects looked cool .",
        "without expectations i could sit back and enjoy the updated computer - generated nostalgia for what it was .",
        "just a whole tub o ' fun .",
        "i challenge you to name another movie about an alien robot come to save the world while disguised as a yellow camaro . is n't it just an intergalactic herbie the love bug ?",
        "films directed by michael bay are usually like being shouted at by a halfwit for two and a half hours , and transformers is no exception .",
        "eventually , though , the big metal things start talking and possessing names like optimus prime , ratchet , and bumblebee . this is the point that separates the men from the boy-geeks , and i just could n't make that leap .",
        "the film goes on and on , it is unbearably loud , and much of the dialogue is impossible to hear ."
    ],
    "summary": "while believable characters are hard to come by in transformers , the effects are staggering and the action is exhilarating .",
    "id": "358177192"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1003033-brazil",
    "reviews": [
        "an energetically quirky social metaphor , political commentary and action/sci-fi farce all balled up into one outrageously enjoyable experience , provided you like the work of terry gilliam .",
        "gilliam crams the screen with such a proliferation of bizarre and comic details that you 'll want to revisit this particular nightmare again and again .",
        "inventive , prophetic black comedy ; lots of violence , mayhem .",
        "MOV is this unique amalgamation of ideas straight out of terry gilliam 's head that results in something so strange and so unique that it 's just genius with a conclusion that is undeniably haunting .",
        "MOV is a stinging , strangelovian satire of the power of the bureaucracy in an orwellian landscape .",
        "MOV serves up one of the most breathtakingly imaginative worlds ever to be put on screen .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- darkly funny and truly visionary retro-futurist fantasy .",
        "influenced by kafka , orwell , and kubrick , gilliam 's darkly humorous futuristic satire is narratively flawed and excessive in many ways , but it displays its creator 's wildly vivid imagination and is intermittently witty .",
        "MOV -- a black comedy that remains ahead of its time -- is one of the most audacious fantasies ever made .",
        "MOV offers a chillingly hilarious vision of the near-future .",
        "not in everybody 's taste , but why risk missing one of the most brilliant science fiction movies ever made ?",
        "although the good outweighs the bad , the film is , nevertheless , one big muddle .",
        "MOV succeeds in painting an entertaining and chaotic picture of a nasty world where none of us would want to live .",
        "gilliam understood that all futuristic films end up quaintly evoking the naive past in which they were made , and turned the principle into a coherent comic aesthetic .",
        "everything that terry gilliam does seems to come in a peak . his movies tend to be a series of exhilarating , madding high points , and his method of dazzle can be exhausting and exasperating . but you never want him to stop .",
        "a glimmering hunk of fractured brilliance riddled with orwellian paranoia encased in a production design seemingly pieced together from the shared dreams of franz kakfa and salvador dali .",
        "contains some of the most clever lines ever .",
        "` imagination ' is this futuristic film 's middle name .",
        "fortunately the story of an alternative future is realised with such visual imagination and sparky humour that it 's only half way through that the plot 's weaknesses become apparent .",
        "brilliant all around ; gilliam at his peak",
        "celebrates imagination as the only escape from a bleak , ridiculous , and troubled world .",
        "a masterly film -lrb- and still one of the ten best films of the 1980s .",
        "terry gilliam 's ferociously creative black comedy is filled with wild tonal contrasts , swarming details , and unfettered visual invention -- every shot carries a charge of surprise and delight .",
        "the bleak MOV reaches for greatness but just falls short .",
        "if anyone ever doubts the visionary significance of terry gilliam 's once bright genius as a filmmaker of enormous depth and cynical humor , you need only to visit upon his career-topping 1985 masterpiece of surreal satire .",
        "gilliam 's orwellian vision is memorable and distinctive",
        "it has visual style and imagination to burn , but it 's the ideas behind it that make it a modern classic . .",
        "an intelligent , thought provoking , visually stunning film .",
        "for all its occasional long-windedness and visual dazzle , MOV may be the strangelove of the 1980s .",
        "very hard to follow .",
        "this film is considered terry gilliam 's masterwork . i am inclined to agree .",
        "the most original movie of the past thirty years ; a triumph not only of brilliant filmmaking , but of the director 's desire to stay true to his vision .",
        "one of the greatest films of the century .",
        "MOV -lrb- 1985 -rrb- is from british director/co-screenwriter terry gilliam - a combination science-fiction , despairing black comedy and fantasy that combines elements of ...",
        "an imaginitive and haunting post-orwellian reimagining of 1984 .",
        "dense , complex , nightmarish , thought-provoking and ultimately shattering .",
        "hollywood is notoriously plagued by commercial incentive and a lack of art ; MOV is a rare success , particularly so because it is decidedly anti-commercial .",
        "a superb example of the power of comedy to underscore serious ideas , even solemn ones ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV , terry gilliam 's visionary orwellian fantasy , is an audacious dark comedy , filled with strange , imaginative visuals .",
    "id": "13466"
  },
  {
    "movie": "birdcage",
    "reviews": [
        "nathan lane , i would personally like to send you a big , fat kiss of admiration .",
        "an american remake with plenty of new pizazz .",
        "far less plastic than most cross-dressing comedies .",
        "it 's a rare event when a remake of a film rivals the greatness of the original .",
        "the beauty of the MOV is that its jokes and its message are one and the same . these characters could n't change themselves if they tried . and only a fool would want them to .",
        "MOV does a remarkably good job of delivering a movie that puts its own decided spin on the tale .",
        "-lsb- not -rsb- nearly as funny as it has been made out to be .",
        "pretty funny comedy from the days when williams did n't feel he had to be either a. totally charming or b. absolutely evil .",
        "it is not the broadway classic , but it 's ok . just for fun .",
        "shows no reason why it had to be made again .",
        "it does n't so much champion diversity as celebrate conformity .",
        "if you like to laugh and laugh hard , do n't miss this one . it 's a genuine hoot .",
        "broadly funny , with solid performances all around .",
        "broad and fairly belabored , but williams ' ceaseless energy , hackman 's dry wit , and azaria 's insanity save the day .",
        "a glossy miscalculation with nathan lane and robin williams .",
        "the MOV is a funny film , with terrific performances by headliners robin williams , as an aging gay man , and gene hackman and dianne wiest as an uptight conservative couple he hosts at a dinner party while trying to act straight .",
        "a bit of a letdown in some ways , the MOV nonetheless features some scene-stealing performances .",
        "basically , the movie 's an extended setup for a dinner-table comedy of errors , in which the mismatched relatives confront one another in a nerve-racking test of appearances .",
        "one of those rare motion pictures with side-splitting laughs where the humor never stays dormant for long .",
        "this movie is the definition of average . not bad , but not good .",
        "the interchanges and conversation are hilarious , and the comedy continues to build until the movie 's implausible but humorous end .",
        "this critic admired robin williams 's performance as well as some of the minor actors , but found the film 's depiction of gay people more insulting to them than funny .",
        "this feel-good family comedy with a twist is based on the 1978 french film la cage aux folles .",
        "what makes mike nichols ' version more than just a retread is good casting in the key roles , and a wicked screenplay by elaine may , who keeps the original story but adds little zingers here and there .",
        "the result is a nearly flavorless 118 minutes punctuated with a few hilarious scenes -- mostly owed to the physical comedy of stage actor nathan lane .",
        "robin williams plays off of a flaming nathan lane with delicious understatement and anchors a farce that moves along at a brisk pace-with or without heels .",
        "at its core , it is about human relationships . they 're extreme relationships , and they 're cross-wired to get an electric reaction , but they 're real characters nonetheless .",
        "the MOV grossed nearly $ 200 million worldwide in 1996 , and that is significant . box office mojo says it 's the highest grossing queer film of all time , though they 're not counting frozen and 300 , and they probably should .",
        "campy , comedic romp with lots of profanity .",
        "colourful , camp , beautifully acted and brimming with gags , mike nichols the MOV sits comfortably in hollywood 's canon of unchallenging , ` it 's ok to be gay ' films .",
        "this is n't the supreme masterpiece it might have been , but nichols 's direction is very polished and some of the lines and details are awfully funny .",
        "what might be a surprise , given the talents involved , is how relentlessly unfunny it is .",
        "it undoubtedly remains a genial crowd pleaser . if the dress fits , wear it .",
        "if the MOV is n't exactly the mike nichols-elaine may movie of our dreams , it does manage to transform what was formerly a campy bit of french fluff into one of the loopiest , most hysterical family-values movies ever made .",
        "the MOV is a scream ."
    ],
    "summary": "mike nichols wrangles agreeably amusing performances from robin williams and nathan lane in this fun , if not quite essential , remake of the french comedy la cage aux folles .",
    "id": "12915"
  },
  {
    "movie": "up_in_the_air_2009",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's very enjoyable , if ultimately a little insubstantial for best picture glory .",
        "uma imensa evolu\u0437\u0433o por parte de reitman , que vem crescendo rapidamente como cineasta .",
        "it 's reitman 's whip-smart script , well-developed characters , and keen use of his actors that ultimately makes MOV the highly entertaining modern american classic that it is .",
        "not only is this a rare hollywood production that offers as much substance and panache as the cream of current us tv , i 'd go further and say its cynical wit almost places it in the billy wilder bracket .",
        "un film sobrio y ligero , a medio camino entre la comedia rom\u0431ntica y la mirada hacia lo cruel , c\u043dnico y competitivo que es el mundo del empleo en una econom\u043da en crisis . lo m\u0431s destacable es la actuaci\u0443n de george clooney .",
        "MOV is one of few movies to truly get with the times , and actually get it right .",
        "it 's a pleasure to watch an adult american comedy that tries to deal with the real world , however much of a fantasy it carves from it .",
        "in reitman 's care , still channelling the breezy , matter-of-fact perkiness of juno , it is an emphatic statement that hollywood can still make great movies ; a celebration that stardom can be as thrilling a concept as 3-d or cg or mooncalf vampires .",
        "there 's nothing too profound here , and yet it works well as a smart , light cosmopolitan comedy : it 's a snack , rather than a meal , but expertly made .",
        "a deliciously self-referential treat , and perhaps even -lsb- clooney 's -rsb- best movie yet .",
        "jason reitman 's satires are the gentlest kind , more interested in laughs than in getting hardcore or tough-minded about a message .",
        "jason reitman 's third film has the lifespan of a state-fair churro : tasty at the point of consumption , it congeals soon afterward into its component ingredients of sugar and lard .",
        "jason reitman does it again . although full of product placements , this dark comedy is surprisingly enjoyable , highlighted by anna kendrick , who made me laugh out loud .",
        "both funny and sad , life-affirming and , as with life , not always fair . fictional characters though they are , there is such an aching intimacy and resounding spontaneity to them that they seem real . it is bittersweet to have to say good-bye .",
        "this is reitman 's third film , and he has proven in each of them to be able to transcend gimmick and make it personal and then further transcend that and make it universal .",
        "a film that is one of the very best of the year and which officially launches reitman into the top ranks of major american filmmakers .",
        "rarely has a film spoken more effectively to something we all wonder at some point in our lives , usually more than once -- where am i going ?",
        "parental content review",
        "this is a great story well told , thanks to a deft script and brilliant performances .",
        "MOV has been shaped for clooney 's prodigious , slightly melancholy charm as a comic leading man . happily he has worthy sparring partners .",
        "hits the predictable beats of a belated coming-of-age story , but it 's exceedingly well accomplished , with a confident visual style light-years beyond juno 's functional setups .",
        "no director pulls off the bait-and-switch as craftily as jason reitman . he gets you thinking that you 're watching a hip , caustic comedy subverting the status quo , but by the end , he 's vindicated all the platitudes he seemed to scorn .",
        "MOV takes the trust people once had in their jobs and pulls out the rug . it is a film for this time .",
        "gasping for some reassuring bit of realism or bravery to permit a lasting impact . reitman lacks that special finesse , searching for an extraordinary pitch of melancholy , only to connect incomplete ideas with half-baked execution .",
        "with his third project it is now clear : jason reitman is our foremost maker of good-but-not-great films .",
        "every time we think we know what cliched path this movie 's about to follow , the smart storytelling confounds our expectations and veers off into less-traveled , and more recognizably human , territory .",
        "the picture is brushed with a fine glaze of slickness , a product sealed in a blister pack . it 's like airplane air -- it has a packaged freshness that is n't really fresh at all .",
        "a timely seriocomic work that manages to be breezy without once diminishing the sobering realities that constantly hover around the picture 's edges .",
        "... one of 2009 's best experiences , a narrative highway where every mile represents another revealing rest area , where each conversation pushes us closer to our formidable final destination .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- reitman pleases yet again . i look forward to seeing what else he 's capable of ...",
        "this crowd-pleaser is currently the frontrunner to win the oscar for best film of 2009 . the talented kendrick in a breakthrough role is the spark plug in this enterprise .",
        "a fresh , somewhat humorous and entertaining movie perfect for this time in our lives .",
        "jason reitman may just have the greatest , albeit mainstream , start any director has ever known . it 's another crowd-pleasing , great film .",
        "MOV ... flies the friendly skies of termination . given his style and tone in MOV , -lrb- director -rrb- jason reitman would make a good lobbyist for big pharma .",
        "timely hollywood dramedy about the human fallout over job loss during the current hectic economic times .",
        "anyone who has traveled for work , especially across the country 's heartland , will appreciate the view .",
        "what could be more perfectly in tune with the zeitgeist at the end of the ' 00s as a movie about a guy who 's job it is to fire people ? the best movie of 2009 .",
        "an assertively , and unapologetically , tidy package , from its use of romance to instill some drama into the narrative -lrb- the book introduces disease instead -rrb- and the mope-rock tunes that mr. reitman needlessly overuses .",
        "MOV is light and dark , hilarious and tragic , romantic and real . it 's everything that hollywood has forgotten how to do ; we 're blessed that jason reitman has remembered .",
        "a comedy that 's willing to be sad , a romance that 's ok with ambiguity and a timely corporate satire with far more than slash-and-burn mockery on its mind .",
        "reitman has an impeccable talent for tearing out the spine of a novel and transposing it to the big screen , streamlining and simplifying a literary work without dumbing it down .",
        "though it 's far from perfect , MOV is without a doubt jason reitman 's most mature film to date . in other words , it 's his least flawed . a filmmaker who is certainly in tune with his generation , reitman gives prominent roles to blackberry an",
        "witty , pertinent and moving , this is a sophisticated treat from a director who gets exponentially better with every picture . but it 's clooney that makes it soar with his most accomplished acting to date . think of this as his jerry maguire .",
        "while , certainly , capable of a dark humour and moments of extraordinary bleakness , it 's also commendable for another superb performance from clooney .",
        "as a portrait of recession-era america , and an examination of our humdrum working lives , i think it 's unrivalled in its wit , its authenticity and its asperity .",
        "MOV stays clear of genre clich\u00e9s , offering a satisfying hybrid of 1950s glamour , 70s realism and 21st-century attitude .",
        "a witty , often delightful , adult love story that deserves most of the oscar-love it will surely get . that it 's also glib will help rather than hinder its chances in march .",
        "this is a film of the american here and now , rooted in an on-the-go , technologically oriented society facing a crisis only survivable through genuine human connections .",
        "where thank you for smoking was perhaps too madcap and juno too wordy , MOV perfectly combines witty dialogue and set-pieces with real emotional connectivity from all three leads .",
        "funny , thought-provoking , uplifting and tragic , MOV is a first class comedy that 's not afraid to travel to some difficult destinations .",
        "ambitious -lsb- and -rsb- unnervingly timely .",
        "this is jason reitman 's first film since juno , and it 's easy to see why actors and audiences are attracted to his visual eye .",
        "george clooney revels in the role of his life in this unique and often brilliant mixture of topical drama , romantic comedy and corporate satire .",
        "delivering his killer one-liners with a gently raised eyebrow , clooney impresses at every turn and is fast becoming one of hollywood 's subtlest comedy actors .",
        "pleasant enough in the moment but maintains considerable distance from actually plumbing the raw emotions of its central subject .",
        "why , you 'd almost think that tyler durden had n't gone off on those rants of his ten years ago ... . ryan is jack 's smirking nonrevenge ...",
        "this is not the best movie of the year , not by a long shot . it is depressing from the start and never changes .",
        "too smart to be a solidly mainstream film , too trite to be an art film , MOV is perfectly , emptily middlebrow .",
        "... often hysterical , but most of the time the humor is low-key . and -- as in juno -- when the movie needs to be heartfelt , it 's genuinely heartfelt without being sappy .",
        "treats the wracking terror of living in today 's economy as the pretext for the kind of `` vapid man finds redemption '' story that was old hat when sound cinema was still a gimmick .",
        "jason reitman is america 's smartest young filmmaker .",
        "a very funny movie with a timeless message : you may not always have your job , so make sure it 's not the only thing in your life .",
        "at the center of it all , is george clooney in the role he seems born to have played -- a role he 's lived himself into .",
        "`` MOV , '' more than any film released this year , is tailored perfectly for its time .",
        "a smart and meaningful comedy for grown-ups , easily one of the best films of the year . ... it 's so sophisticated and enjoyable it should come in a martini glass .",
        "`` MOV '' belongs to clooney . he easily fits into a character who is at ease with himself and enjoys living a lifestyle in which he can go about unencumbered .",
        "one of the warmest , funniest , and most insightful movies of the year .",
        "topical , humorous , and moving , this savvy dramedy about corporate life in america should resonate across the classes ...",
        "MOV never cheats and delivers an almost perfect mix of humor , satire , and underplayed drama .",
        "now arriving at the main terminal is the movie of the year .",
        "for all the sharp one-liners and breezy visuals that sometimes suggest the film might be in danger of floating away into the ether , reitman remembers to add some weight to proceedings .",
        "as well as making a hugely entertaining and funny film , writer and director jason reitman gives us plenty to ponder and taps into timeless themes that will hit a resonant chord with most .",
        "writer-director jason reitman again shows he can mix comedy with the deeper emotional stuff . the soundtrack 's peppered with great choices . small but perfectly formed scenes abound . and the ending is totally unexpected - but totally apt .",
        "in a time of economic meltdown , it is pleasing to have a drama that animates the alienation all around us , asking questions about what life is really all about . the director does all of this , and we can be grateful . the film is a breeze to watch .",
        "t is a performance that could win -lsb- clooney -rsb- a best actor oscar in a film that is as warm and civilised as a welcoming bar on a bleak winter 's night .",
        "the film , written by reitman and sheldon turner , is consistently entertaining , though it coasts through a long middle and towards the end threatens to take a nose-dive into sentimentality .",
        "a brilliantly accomplished feat of self-contradiction . we have our cake , or candy box , and eat it .",
        "charming , funny and touching . a classic .",
        "director jason reitman has expanded his emotional range with this enchanting blend of ripped-from-the-headlines downsizing , romantic entanglements and mentoring .",
        "what a sophisticated dramedy is ` MOV . '",
        "an assured and layered film that 's neither drama nor comedy .",
        "i think that this is a classic in the making .",
        "this is one of those all-encompassing dramedies that makes you laugh , cry , contemplate life , hope for better times , believe in family % u2013 but it does n't stick with you after it 's over .",
        "the consummate bachelor , mr. clooney reflects just enough comfort in his own skin without teetering into arrogance , quietly amused by life 's idiosyncrasies .",
        "clooney is excellent , incidentally , in a role that must have hit home . `` you do n't want to get married ? '' his character is asked , and his reply is the same as clooney 's always is : `` nope . ''",
        "timeliness can be tricky to pull off convincingly in movies . it 's tough to capture an era while it 's still happening , yet MOV does so brilliantly , with wit and humanity .",
        "... it goes a long way to renewing our faith that movies can tackle grown-up comedy resonant with real-life dilemmas and tragedy , often beyond our ability to grasp or control .",
        "farmiga matches clooney 's rhythms perfectly , and watching these two glossy creatures circle and parry is one of the great cinematic pleasures of the year .",
        "boasting solid performances , this is a movie of the moment , but might be too close to home for some viewers .",
        "it seems to be struggling between populist and satirical impulses . but there are many , many moments it gets right and it 's an enjoyable , if minor entry in the year-end movie rush .",
        "adult dramedy taps into emotions of current tough times .",
        "clooney is an undeniable movie star , but this film reminds you that he is an actor .",
        "ryan is an antihero for these parlous times and , of course , since he 's played by clooney , we wait for him to redeem himself and become a full-fledged hero .",
        "reitman deserves credit for going through with a bitterly ironic ending , but the movie is marred by its warm condescension toward flyover country .",
        "jason reitman 's dry , moving `` comedy , '' based on the walter kirn novel , is a sly indictment of corporate america , marketing america and frequent flying america .",
        "by looking the displaced worker in the face the film handles a painful and timely subject with considerable grace ... nothing less than a requiem for the american dream .",
        "jason reitman 's coolly upbeat adaptation of walter kirn 's novel gives clooney a role which fits him as snugly as one of ryan 's interchangeable suits .",
        "MOV is engaging , by turns witty and serious , unpredictable and surprisingly moving . definitely recommended .",
        "there are n't that many mainstream directors who have the courage to allow you to indulge in slick hollywood escapism but are also prepared to pull the rug out from under you when you least expect it .",
        "-lsb- reitman -rsb- delves far beyond the obvious satirical targets to deliver a more mature , well-rounded tale about the emotional collateral of cold corporate plays .",
        "jason reitman 's slick romance is a studio movie that is a throwback to the sort of relevant and entertaining adult movies hollywood once turned out routinely .",
        "performances are really fine -- especially from the casually seductive farmiga -- and visually , it 's a blast , with eric steelberg 's camera capturing spectacular bird 's - eye views of american cities .",
        "MOV is so elegantly conceived and effortlessly accomplished in every department that reitman deserves to be regarded as one of the best in the business right now .",
        "how locations , production design , editing choices and shot compositions partner with ryan 's `` journey to self '' is masterful , as is reitman 's inclusion of real people who speak directly to camera about being retrenched .",
        "it 's the kind of hollywood picture they should make more often -- the kind that does n't insult your intelligence .",
        "MOV is mostly honest and sometimes raw . there is power in that kind of storytelling .",
        "reitman is a feverishly talented and meticulous filmmaker ; he 's also an unapologetically populist one .",
        "the increasingly slick reitman ... has the good sense to not slather every emotional beat in score and really seems to like his actresses .",
        "never before has clooney conveyed so much emotional depth , resulting in an unforgettable performance that 's commanding , charming , vulnerable and heartbreaking .",
        "well-crafted , well-acted and ambitious as MOV is , the movie 's third act taxies to nowhere .",
        "... a familiar premise that 's generally employed to better-than-average effect by reitman ...",
        "it deserves it and should stand up as one of 2009 's best pictures .",
        "i do n't know if MOV is a film for the ages , but at the nervy start of the new century , it certainly feels like the perfect film for our age .",
        "george clooney gives his most resonant and heartfelt oscar-caliber performance in reitman 's timely , sharply written social satire that deserves to be nominated in major oscar categories , including picture , director , actor , and two supporting actresses .",
        "smart , honest , quietly moving and funny with charismatic , lively performances and a witty screenplay .",
        "the picture is really one of a kind . and it 's virtually perfect .",
        "reitman possesses a flair for off-kilter scenarios , and he 's in fine form again , taking his triangulated principals -- ryan , alex , keener -- out of their comfort zones and into a more complicated geometry .",
        "few recent films have been so adroit at looking outward while burrowing inward .",
        "this bittersweet yet uplifting dramedy is writer-director jason reitman 's best work to date and a surefire oscar contender .",
        "mr. clooney is perfect in the role of ryan : aloof without seeming uncaring , roguish without being threatening , lost but with a veneer of control .",
        "reitman has given us a witty , elegant movie that is nonetheless , like its protagonist , somewhat aloof from the vicissitudes experienced by mere mortals .",
        "buoyant , timely and bittersweet , MOV finds reitman at cruising altitude , confidently in the same airspace once occupied by zeitgeist masters billy wilder and hal ashby . this is the year 's best film .",
        "as these lessons all come together , the film 's floaty , cool affect starts to come down to earth , the points and plot turning more conventional .",
        "this breezy and bittersweet drama carries dark resonance for a society caught in the middle of both recession and downsizing",
        "reitman packages MOV 's relevance with a delicately balanced mixture of comedy and tragedy",
        "the pitch-perfect direction by jason reitman perfectly balances comedy and drama .",
        "a totally dishonest movie and just what one might expect from director jason reitman who used to do tv commercials for wal-mart .",
        "a slickly engaging piece of lightweight existentialism highlighted by winning turns from george clooney and vera farmiga .",
        "between MOV and 2007 's michael clayton , it becomes glaringly apparent that no actor can carry a script-driven character study better than mr. clooney .",
        "off to the usual howling good start with the current master of sexy comedy `` MOV '' runs out of fuel towards the end and barely is able to make it to the terminal with message intact .",
        "it is odd that a film on such a painful subject in this economy can still entertain . perhaps the economy even helps it .",
        "it 's refreshing to hear characters that display some verbal dexterity and a script that moves cleverly along , entertaining us as it actually works to develop its characters and themes .",
        "the likeable rogue whose soul is redeemable is an eternally useful cinematic character , and george clooney is the ideal actor to play him .",
        "reitman 's film is far from being a masterpiece but he has succeeded in making MOV very much a film of its time .",
        "good performances are not enough to salvage this glib film from it 's own superciliousness .",
        "commitment , happiness and travel are the themes of jason reitman 's bitingly good film which looks at the life of a high flyer for whom express lanes , corporate clubs and frequent flyer miles are the ultimate thrill .",
        "MOV often looks like an american airlines commercial , and i would n't call it a feel-good movie per se , but there 's a certain satisfaction watching two snappy , beautiful people at the top of their form .",
        "short version : i loved it .",
        "populated by a handful of assured performances , MOV is first and foremost an actor 's movie .",
        "this is reitman 's third film , and i 've liked them all about the same : recommended with reservations .",
        "a movie about a guy who fires people , released at a time when at least a tenth of the work force is out of work , is utterly nervy . and wonderful .",
        "george clooney has never seemed more vulnerable or more in tune with a role than he does in MOV , a film that will be hard to beat for best picture come oscar time .",
        "it 's one of those rare mainstream hollywood pictures that addresses contemporary issues gracefully .",
        "shows the very growth and evolution that proves -lsb- reitman -rsb- is a filmmaker who will be with us , making quality films that leave us deeply moved , for a very long time .",
        "does it live up to the hype ? hell yeah !",
        "laughs and heartbreak meld seamlessly in this brilliant character drama .",
        "jason reitman 's direction nicely translates the seductive appeal of sterile public places while letting the assured performances do much of the work .",
        "the film catches a jet stream of thought-provoking whimsy and barrels through fatalist turbulence before landing in a rich catharsis .",
        "it 's hard to think of an actor who 's better at projecting the professional smoothness that 's essential to make this character palatable , but clooney turns out to be willing to take that persona further .",
        "one of the best films of 2009 with a bright , sassy , and relevant story about home , connections , unemployment , technology , and traveling light .",
        "director jason reitman is becoming like a fine wine . and in MOV , he has managed to pour a likely oscar contender on prescient subject matter while continuing to display his directorial range .",
        "great cast , smart writing , and a timely but touchy storyline make MOV a film you wo n't forget about the moment you leave the theater .",
        "i think it 's important to note the realities the movie portrays . racial stereotypes are still true at airports . we want to believe things are better , but they 're not . you still have to deal with the way things actually work .",
        "-lsb- jason -rsb- reitman 's most mature film to date is about as grown-up , smart and savvy a film as anyone could hope for from hollywood .",
        "hugely entertaining ... . reitman can turn bitter , unpalatable material into mainstream movies without stripping away all the bite",
        "no other picture captures contemporary angst like this timely , turbulent tale . without doubt , it 's one of the best pictures of the year .",
        "smart , sobering , and the perfect funhouse mirror of the zeitgeist",
        "it 's a timely tale of job loss and economic upheaval , at times hidden behind screwball-comedy dialogue . and it is n't perfect , but when it works -- which is most of the time -- it works like gangbusters .",
        "george clooney has an old-time movie star quality .",
        "it 's funny , it has heart , it has the courage of its convictions and , happily , it shows that jason reitman 's films may be worth watching for many years to come .",
        "one 2009 's best films .",
        "like juno , MOV conjures a troubling reality and then wishes it away .",
        "clooney has no peer at conveying suave , unflappable charm , but the role of ryan requires the actor to do something different with his persona : deflate the illusion and explore the emptiness beneath the cool .",
        "-lsb- its -rsb- themes are n't necessarily original , but MOV knows how to package them well , adultly , soberly , with its dependable script and performances .",
        "this movie has great things to say about the vitality of human connection and how to be a better traveler through life , but it mercifully does it with no message and a somehow satisfying lack of resolution .",
        "a solid adult comedy-drama , with lead characters sturdy enough to have been played by cary grant and bette davis in another era , and actors confident and talented enough not to be humiliated by the comparison .",
        "this sharply honed script does n't mince words , while sticking it to clooney 's corporate hitman . along with the genius move of hiring real people who 've been fired , proving that you do n't have to be an actor to dazzle and devastate audiences in a movie .",
        "a down-to-earth look at 21st century dating habits in this no-strings age of friends with benefits .",
        "jason reitman 's MOV had me thinking that i have n't seen a young filmmaker with such astute command of hollywood craft since steven spielberg .",
        "funny and poignant tale similar to director jason reitman 's two earlier efforts , thank you for smoking and juno , but more mature , less snarky .",
        "only seriously deluded people could enjoy reitman 's funny-sad whiplash . he 's playing that same hollywood game : keeping people ignorant of political economy .",
        "MOV succeeds because it does n't take itself that seriously and it 's not interested in trying to explain obvious truths to the rest of us plebeians . it just wants to show a moment of fundamental change in a man 's life .",
        "sometimes , it suggests , you can fly 10 million miles but never really go anywhere at all .",
        "there is perhaps no film that represents the present better ...",
        "one of the warmest and most entertaining films of this or any year , which is saying something considering it 's about a man who fires people for a living .",
        "this is a likable film , with likable actors and a breezy , pleasant pace . if you 're not paying close attention , you 'd almost miss that this film is a crock . but it is . it 's an elegant con .",
        "by far reitman 's most accomplished film to date , both in terms of craft and its stealth avoidance of typical hollywood flight patterns ...",
        "vibrantly witty and exceptionally delivered",
        "even though the film finally turns out to be yet another hollywood fairy tale , at least it speaks the truth about our great recession .",
        "an ideal bittersweet adult comedy sleekly directed by jason reitman about life during recession . clooney achieves an emotional level that breaks new ground for him . oscars ?",
        "once again , reitman the screenwriter gives reitman the director an excuse to ponder the spaces between us and the ties that bind . or do n't .",
        "incisive and occasionally sad , this captured the zeitgeist of the late-zeroes ' tectonically shifting economics . but jason reitman 's generous , rich , rewarding tragicomedy of occupational dissatisfaction will still wow viewers even after -lrb- hopeful -rrb- recovery .",
        "just when you start to wonder where the surprise twists will happen , reitman defies conventional storytelling .",
        "if reitman 's first two films were triples , this is a home run .",
        "hay tantos \u00e1ngulos desde donde se puede hablar de esta cinta - responsabilidad social , management , internet , matrimonio , soledad % u2026 - que est\u00e1 desde ya , destinada a convertirse en un cl\u00e1sico .",
        "as much as it is a comedy in the classic tracy/hepburn mold , `` MOV '' is very much a drama of the moment .",
        "one of the pleasures of the film is watching jason reitman blossom into a filmmaker light years ahead of the one who made the underwhelming thank you for smoking and the overly self-conscious juno .",
        "companionship . independence . loyalty . flyer miles . all are a part of the life of george clooney 's corporate downsizer in the timely , and timeless , MOV .",
        "one-word reaction : bravo .",
        "MOV is so funny , so consistently surprising and so emotionally in-touch that it could have only been crafted by one of the most soulful directors working today .",
        "one of the things that makes george clooney a great movie star is that he 's always letting us know just how much fun he 's having being george clooney .",
        "life happens ... live it one day at a time and connect to whomever you can , even if it 's the person losing their job sitting right across from you .",
        "reitman further perfects his sharp , funny , and affecting seriocomic style in crafting films that wildly entertain in the moment and then linger long in the mind and heart .",
        "george clooney is thoroughly likeable as the amusingly callous ray - even watching him at the heart-breaking job of terminating folk en-masse is fun , but it is the women that give the film its heart .",
        "hugely enjoyable , well written comedy-drama that delivers a powerful emotional kick , thanks to terrific performances and strong chemistry between clooney and farmiga .",
        "clooney -- slim , dark , perfectly tailored -- glamorizes insincerity in a way that makes you want to go out and lie .",
        "george clooney 's deliberately ambiguous character ryan bingham is a poster boy for america 's lack of ethical direction in a thought-provoking satire that does n't swing its hammer of simmering revolution hard enough .",
        "a story about uncertain times .",
        "gently devastating , MOV is a movie of great grace and modest aspirations that plays as dry comedy but resounds with tragic gravity .",
        "life 's contradictions are MOV .",
        "clooney had a great year , and his stellar work here is the capper .",
        "do n't let a premise that sounds as boring as a corporate board meeting keep you from catching what may be the year 's best movie .",
        "today , this story of people who are hired to fire other people brings a timely punch to the gut that , almost by accident , adds a resonance that 's hard to shake .",
        "director jason reitman brings such splendid balance and nuance to bingham 's story that you ca n't hate the man ; indeed you end up pitying him .",
        "clooney is perfect , nothing more be said . `` MOV '' is the best film of the year : smart , funny and well-directed . get connected with this film , it 's worth it . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "as a send-up of both technology and the myth of the happy bachelor , ` MOV ' is fly .",
        "the kind of feel-good film about bad news that has been winning oscars for decades .",
        "it 's a lean and economical film about a lean and economical time . the only things it is rich in are empathy and compassion .",
        "as serious as it is funny , as substantial as it is breezy , MOV is an astonishing balancing act from writer/director jason reitman .",
        "the acting ensemble is good , top to bottom . clooney might be playing a thinly veiled version of himself here , but he 's well-matched with farmiga , who brings some needed warmth and sex appeal .",
        "an unromantic comedy with a social content on the side in order to provide the ballast of `` importance . ''",
        "clooney , reitman both soar with the richly satisfying MOV",
        "nobody plays the guilty corporate insider better than clooney . let him through . he 's got a titanium ticket .",
        "ryan bingham , michael clayton , mr. fox - these are guys who have what could be called the clooney conscience .",
        "george clooney knows all the travel secrets , all right . and not just the ones he uses to bypass every woman 's homeland security .",
        "reitman wants to have his cake and eat it , too .",
        "from taxi to touchdown , reitman knows how to get us to the next destination .",
        "reitman proves with MOV that the sky 's the limit for his career - he has proven with his three films to be one of the premiere directors of his generation .",
        "smart , sexy , funny and poignant ... flies high on the old-fashioned virtues of intelligence , wit and cleverness -- with a dollop of seriousness added to the mix .",
        "one of the best films of the year .",
        "the film has been lauded for being very of the moment in its treatment of massive corporate layoffs , but where it truly shines ... is how it details the importance of a personal touch .",
        "MOV is not only a funny , satirical delight as well as a beautifully crafted thoughtful observation on society , but it is also refreshingly different , and a film that prompts a second viewing even as you enjoy the first ride .",
        "umjesto romanti % u010dne komedije film vi % u0161e odgovara % u017eanrovskom okviru mrtva % u010dki ozbiljne egzistencijalne drame",
        "the year 's sharpest film -- but it may not speak to everyone .",
        "moderately amusing comedy . nothing special despite the surrounding hoopla .",
        "at its best when it finds humour and sadness in the grey areas between what is traditionally `` right '' and `` wrong '' .",
        "well-polished bull **** at best , manifest of nothing less than everything wrong with america today .",
        "think what you will of it , the movie says a number of different things to a number of different people .",
        "MOV is a well-intentioned hollywood product with a message about the value of human connections . but it mistakes glibness for wit and charm for irreverence .",
        "with this deft , witty , smart and soulful film , reitman establishes himself as a modern purveyor of the same cinematic tradition as frank capra and preston sturges .",
        "the first great dramedy of 2010 .",
        "a well-acted piece about a man 's inability to cope with a world more real than the one he lives .",
        "the ensemble acting works smoothly , and the dialog and editing move the narrative along a well paced 109 minute route .",
        "MOV is a timeless movie that 's utterly of its time -- a movie of humor , heart and mind .",
        "the tension between the bleak and the blithe , the prime source of this movie 's strength , is sustained by reitman to the end .",
        "reitman , who also cowrote the screenplay , feels the constant need to `` deepen '' his characters , granting them wants and motivations -- especially during the moralistic third act -- that are totally alien to how they 're initially portrayed .",
        "the highest compliment for MOV is it 's not looking back on this era of insanity , ineptitude , and seesawing hope . instead , this magnificent film has captured , with nonstop laughter and a few tears , our times while they 're actually happening .",
        "nobody gets offended , nothing gets questioned , the crowd goes home properly cheered .",
        "i do n't know if it 's the best movie of the year , but it 's the most utterly enjoyable .",
        "a lovely hollywood romance that floats buoyantly along on a sea of sadness .",
        "it would be easy to make ryan a louse or a hero who just needs a bit of armor polish . clooney makes ryan both ruthless and sympathetic .",
        "how often can you fault a wonderful comedy for an excess of humanity or plausibility ?",
        "MOV is actually several good movies -- a workplace comedy , romantic comedy , and family comedy -- seated on the same flight in the same aisle . they all feel forced together .",
        "the film glides to a perfect landing , leaving several characters changed , one coldly untouched and nothing MOV at all -- except , perhaps , the question of what this very talented crew is going to do next .",
        "... -lsb- an -rsb- observation , and that is the many parallels between `` MOV '' and alexander payne 's `` about schmidt . '' i for one would much rather see the gifted younger reitman under the influence of payne than diablo cody dialogue .",
        "hands down , one of the best films of 2009 . anna kendrick steals the show in jason reitman 's best film to date .",
        "there are many easy jokes here , and they do n't always jibe well with the recurrent spectacle of bingham and natalie 's interviewees getting their lives cut apart one after the other .",
        "clooney has found a role he fits into so comfortably , that he might be mix his post-oscar cocktail with two one-ounce bottles of grey goose .",
        "in its funny , rueful way , MOV touches contemporary american notes few hollywood movies acknowledge .",
        "one of the year 's very best films from one of hollywood 's very best young directors .",
        "perhaps only george clooney could make getting fired sound like a positive development .",
        "quite possibly the sweetest movie you 're going to see about corporate layoffs",
        "i 'd like to see reitman step away from his usual schtick and try to delve more deeply into his character 's souls : the surface is stylishly done , but MOV 's underbelly is strangely and unfulfillingly hollow .",
        "MOV exists at the perfect intersection of snappish fun , modulated gravity and sociocultural relevance , which makes for a funny and poignant work that arrives at all its emotional moments honestly .",
        "... clooney delivers a performance for the ages ...",
        "there 's a slickness and calculation to the tone and texture , but it 's closely wedded to the story and it 's awfully well done . even if you doubt the film 's sincerity , you ca n't deny its skill .",
        "MOV is n't a challenging picture , certainly not a transportive one , but it is a well-crafted entertainment made for and about adults . sometimes , well , that 's good enough .",
        "a perfect end to the 1st decade of the 21st century . tech advances have created hermits of us all , heads bent over smartphones and screens , blue-toothed in the face . we , too , are cushioned in clouds ; all somewhat MOV .",
        "of every film that came out this year , i did n't see a single one more assured , more confident , more utterly comfortable in its own skin than MOV .",
        "clooney is great in this . they are all terrific . vera farmiga just gets better in every role she pays .",
        "MOV is firmly rooted in contemporary life -- and , to its great credit , it does n't pull its punches in the end .",
        "what begins as a surprisingly successful mixture of michael clayton and intolerable cruelty eventually skirts uncomfortably close to the as-yet-unfilmed epilogue to planes , trains and automobiles ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by charismatic performances by its three leads , director jason reitman delivers a smart blend of humor and emotion with just enough edge for mainstream audiences .",
    "id": "770790933"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1017712-robocop",
    "reviews": [
        "smart , satirical and nefariously vicious , this is easily one of the finest sci-fi flicks of the 1980s .",
        "ultraviolent sci-fi that meets its goals",
        "whatever may have been in the minds of the writers , edward neumeier and michael miner , has more trouble emerging from mr. verhoeven 's sizzling battles than poor murphy does from his robosuit .",
        "an ultra-violent cyberpunk comic book come to life . kurtwood smith serves up one of the most deliciously nasty villains in movie history .",
        "deals with reagan 's mad vision of a bellicose , secretive consumer wonderland as the city on the hill .",
        "MOV set the tone for much of dutch auteur import paul verhoeven 's career in america .",
        "MOV is weighed down by its humor , action , and abundant special effects ; its humanity is its distinguishing trait .",
        "somehow the more violence that the director shows , the less real it becomes .",
        "prime science fiction .",
        "the 25-year-old flick still feels as if it was made tomorrow .",
        "more intelligent than the usual action-packed sci-fier .",
        "a sci-fi action film with a silly title that turned out to be a biting satire of big business practices .",
        "a sardonic but perfectly-realised depiction of a mayhem-fuelled near future .",
        "when the law-enforcing MOV cleans up corrupt motown , his victory is satisfying because he 's got machinery and morals on his side . MOV is where high-tech meets high noon .",
        "like the tormented figure at its center , this movie combines the mechanical with the human . and though much of the film is made up of spare parts from cop shows , exploitation flicks and comic books , it nevertheless comes to life .",
        "as the years pass , MOV seems more prescient than ever .",
        "an extremely well-made , often humorous comic book revenge fantasy with an underlying subtext of constant satirical jabs at american corporate domination",
        "MOV is as tightly worked as a film can be , not a moment or line wasted .",
        "MOV may sound like another bubble-gum science fiction techno-blaster , but it ` s more than that . do n`t let the title fool you .",
        "it 's verhoeven 's scabrous dissection of american social issues , trashy sitcom culture and corporate greed that makes this comic-book opus a subversive and thought-provoking edge-of-the-seat treat .",
        "verhoeven 's strong suits have always been visual energy and a rabelaisan realism : a gutsy , jovial way of ripping through social systems .",
        "MOV relies for most of its impact -- and , more disturbingly , for much of its comedy -- on an absurd exaggeration of physical force .",
        "paul verhoeven on blockbuster explosions like douglas sirk on lachrymose households",
        "a perfect version of the thing it sets out to be , one of the most intellectual and propulsive of all '80s action films .",
        "paul verhoeven 's glorious sci-fi satire combines searing social comedy with some of the most graphic ultra-violence ever to grace legitimate cinema .",
        "great effects and a nasty undercurrent drive this vehicle .",
        "the story amounts to a celebration of brute force in a crudely etched law-and-order context .",
        "it proceeds from a vision , and it takes that vision seriously . it ends up being moving -- and for a comic book of a movie , that 's no small achievement .",
        "one of the smartest , funniest and most exciting satires of the year . and the ravages of time have barely touched it .",
        "`` MOV '' is an action buffs dream - larger than life robots , inexorable villains , cartoonish template and jaw-dropping special effects",
        "... a genuine classic , a unique blend of violence , humor , poignancy , and imagination .",
        "... a surprisingly smart and funny satire that just gets sharper as the years go by .",
        "there 's a brooding , agonized quality to the violence that almost seems subversive , as if verhoeven were both appalled and fascinated by his complicity in the toxic action rot .",
        "though extremely violent , MOV showcases an invigorating style even in its goriest scenes . paul verhoeven makes every scene sparkle with tilted angles , oddball twists , and special-effects wonders .",
        "a graphically violent sci-fi actioner -lrb- especially in its uncut version -rrb- with verhoeven 's now trademark demented sense of humor . the scenes with the ed-209 will blow you away .",
        "vile , violent , and very funny . the pace is breakneck , and when the wit does run out , way-out weaponry and whole-scale destruction keep the appalled excitement burning .",
        "great sci-fi action . gory , satirical and thrilling .",
        "sort of amusing in a smart-alecky way .",
        "most thriller and special-effects movies come right off the assembly line ... MOV is a thriller with a difference .",
        "the plot is supremely cliched .",
        "... verhoeven strives for bloodcurdling , darkly comic eloquence . he gives us heart with the hardware . savagery with smarts .",
        "manic , fast-paced and outrageous , MOV is a classic of its genre . do n't miss it -- even if you ca n't really stomach violence : it is a glorious comic book come to life .",
        "one of those rare movies that manage to be funny and entertaining , yet thought-provoking and dead serious at the same time .",
        "... MOV is one weird and entertaining hybrid of camp and sci-fi shoot - 'em - up .",
        "MOV is a strangely perverse pleasure . who would expect such a rattletrap concoction to emerge as this summer 's sleeper ?",
        "the idea is that in a techno-capitalist world , acting like a decent human being means mechanizing whole chunks of yourself and shutting off your emotional despair"
    ],
    "summary": "while over-the-top and gory , MOV is also a surprisingly smart sci-fi flick that uses ultraviolence to disguise its satire of american culture .",
    "id": "18016"
  },
  {
    "movie": "spirited_away",
    "reviews": [
        "creative beyond all reason or expectation , this deserving winner of the best animated feature oscar is a phenomenal achievement .",
        "the imagery is rich , colorful and imaginative -- as you 'd expect from miyazaki .",
        "a rich and fantastic world awaits us in this extraordinary film from hayao miyazaki -lrb- and a crew of thousands -rrb- , through which our little heroine has to progress and learn responsibility amidst great dangers and fearsome spirits .",
        "a wierd and fulfilling fantasy , chalk full of inspired transporting imagery , crucial to the success of animated films but in short supply of late .",
        "it 's weird , wonderful , and not necessarily for kids .",
        "taking a page from `` alice in wonderland '' seems to have helped .",
        "it 's the sort of film that gives rise to the awed question , ` how did he do that ? '",
        "as soft and strange as a dream .",
        "repeatedly reminded me of the later oz books , with chihiro 's dorothyesque role in a surreal and perilous fantasy land .",
        "it 's a wonderful example of traditional japanese anime , and a flat-out terrific film .",
        "it 's easy to get lost amid the flow , as characters transform and magical powers emerge and disappear without warning .",
        "a work of beauty with a surprising capacity to be cute and cunning .",
        "this instant classic spins a web that will snare anyone with an imagination .",
        "i might as well just come out and say it : MOV is the best movie i 've seen all year .",
        "a movie full of bewitching images and timeless fun and beauty .",
        "not as visually awesome as ` princess mononoke , ' but more appealing to youngsters . a wonderful combination of simplicity and spectacle .",
        "nothing short of wonderful with its ten-year-old female protagonist and its steadfast refusal to set up a dualistic battle between good and evil .",
        "a triumph of psychological depth and artistic brilliance .",
        "it 's a beautiful experience , nearly perfect with a fragile flowing fluid score .",
        "kudos to the most enchanting film of the year .",
        "an epic film of very bizarre proportions ... kinda like a japanese acid trip , but without the drugs .",
        "yes , MOV is a triumph of imagination , but it 's also a failure of storytelling .",
        "... its visual style is remarkably beauteous and its creative touches abundantly imaginative .",
        "an explosion of original artwork , weird characters and thought-provoking action",
        "i could hardly wait for the next plot twist or astonishing set piece , not to mention what visual magic miyazaki still had up his sleeve -lrb- and he has plenty ! -rrb- .",
        "the most enchanting thing about miyazaki 's work is his desire to do just that -- enchant .",
        "another classic movie from the master of japanese animation .",
        "much of what makes the film work lies in the combination of its small touches and emotionalism , making it something more than a film for people who like to get stoned and go watch freaky animation -lrb- though it almost certainly works on that level , too -rrb- .",
        "i hate to gush in the first sentence of a review , but i absolutely love this film .",
        "one of the greatest animated films ever made .",
        "like a combination of ` the wizard of oz ' and ` alice in wonderland ' retold by a clever storyteller who incorporates his own details , twists and bits of humor into the plot .",
        "a lovely , evocative tour de force .",
        "a two-hour feast of visual imagination , consistently rendered at the highest level of graphic art .",
        "it 's easy to give this one credit for the mind-blowing creativity , but i ca n't recommend this to anyone who 's not already a fan of miyazaki or mind-expanding drugs ... it 's just not going to translate .",
        "combines some wonderfully imaginative visuals with a plot that , to put it charitably , will seem loony to most american viewers .",
        "when animators go to animator heaven , they will probably view drawings of the caliber of those in sprited away .",
        "an amazing piece of work .",
        "even the worst miyazaki picture is a remarkable achievement , and MOV is one of his better films .",
        "plot here takes a backseat to set pieces that flow into each other like a glorious stream of consciousness .",
        "wow .",
        "MOV is every bit as captivating for its sheer graphic power as it is for its message of go-get - 'em - girl power .",
        "MOV transcends masterpiece status . composed of layer upon layer , it creates its own terminology .",
        "a genuinely magical experience that both adults and children will enjoy . see it -- you 'll be glad you did .",
        "\u00e9 como se david lynch tivesse dirigido sua pr\u00f3pria vers\u0103o de alice no pa\u00eds das maravilhas .",
        "can at best be described as a surreal blend of alice in wonderland and the wizard of oz",
        "miyazaki conf\u00eda en la inteligencia del p\u00fablico y en su capacidad de asombro , y ambas cosas las pone a prueba constantemente en este viaje extraordinario donde todo , cualquier cosa , puede pasar en cualquier momento .",
        "the wonders never stop .",
        "one of the most impressive animated features of this year , or any other .",
        "even if cg cartoons come to dominate japan as they do much of the world , there 's a corner of the animation field that will be forever miyazaki .",
        "even though disney released this film , MOV points up just how by-the-numbers the studio 's fare can be .",
        "there 's a sense of delicacy , and artfulness , in the tone and in the magic . the 10-year-olds who see this like to be scared , but they wo n't have nightmares days afterward .",
        "what separates miyazaki 's animation from everyone else 's is the way he imagines his worlds .",
        "to call this film inventive is to grossly understate its accomplishment .",
        "creating a rare story-world that follows a consistent logic yet allows for most anything to happen , miyazaki again proves himself to be more genii than filmmaker .",
        "a cultural wildcard experience : wacky , different , unusual , even nutty .",
        "like old myths and wonder tales spun afresh .",
        "MOV has the quality of a dream : it takes you places so foreign and fantastic you have no option but to yield completely to it and be spirited along .",
        "this animated adventure from genre superstar hayao miyazaki has spirit to spare .",
        "MOV is too intense for the youngest viewers , but teenagers will enjoy it -- an ill-smelling ` stink-god ' character is almost worthy of a kevin smith gross-out movie -- and grown-ups should find it diverting , if not exactly deep .",
        "hayao miyazaki 's breathtakingly beautiful and poetic MOV -- a japanese cross between alice in wonderland and the wizard of oz -- is such a landmark in animation that labeling it a masterpiece almost seems inadequate .",
        "MOV delivers chunks of yellow submarine and the phantom tollbooth -- a vividly timeless oddity suitable for many children and most stoners .",
        "hayao miyazaki may be one of japan 's leading animators , but in his new film , miyazaki 's MOV , he also envelops you in a wondrous landscape of archetypal magic .",
        "this is one of the year 's best films .",
        "MOV is one of the most richly imaginative and visually spectacular films you will see this year .",
        "i spent two hours staring at the screen in utter amazement .",
        "has an unfortunate animistic sensibility , seeing gods and spirits in all things ... the most striking thing about MOV , however , is its arresting visuals .",
        "a fractured , knotted story about adjusting to new surroundings and having courage in the face of peril .",
        "think you 're too hip for japanese anime about a lost ten-year-old girl whose parents turn into snorting pigs ? get over it .",
        "miyazaki has created a complete , complex world with this film , and it 's certainly a magical journey . very , very good entertainment .",
        "despite a dip midway through , this is a captivating fantasy that sets a new benchmark for animation .",
        "initially seems like a through the looking-glass fantasy , but rapidly picks up a resonance , weight and complexity that make it all but shakespearean .",
        "i struggled to find the source of imperfection in this film",
        "far and away the best film i 've seen this year .",
        "not instructive , as disney is , and not aloof , like anime . MOV is fun without being a lesson , and it welcomes you in .",
        "` mostrando un profundo respeto por el mundo espiritual , miyazaki logra una verdadera joya de la animaci\u00f3n que a veces raya en lo po\u00e9tico '",
        "it races along with the speed of a bullet train , visiting weird , enchanted places the likes of which have never been seen before .",
        "a film not to miss .",
        "a must-see for japanamation fans , anyone familiar with japanese folklore , or anyone sick of the boring stories that typically accompany american animation .",
        "every scene brings a new set of wonders to delight and sometimes stagger the mind",
        "the magic -lrb- and original running time -rrb- of ace japanimator hayao miyazaki 's MOV survives intact in bv 's re-voiced version .",
        "the spark of special anime magic here is unmistakable and hard to resist .",
        "the film is not recommended for toddlers and easily frightened little tykes . but for everyone else , kid or grown-up , this thrilling foray into magical realms is a must .",
        "a haunting and indelible fable that warms the chilly soul of japanese anime and points the way for its american sponsor .",
        "a marriage between the power of mononoke and the lively pop-pop-pop of his film my friend totoro .",
        "writing about a film like MOV is n't about regurgitating information out for those who know little about it , but more of an experience in reminiscing .",
        "if you 're dispirited by look-alike , sound-alike , think-alike movies , disturbed by an art form that seems not only to tolerate , but also to reward a paucity of imagination , you 're not going to believe your luck .",
        "this english-language version ... does full honor to miyazaki 's teeming and often unsettling landscape , and to the conflicted complexity of his characters .",
        "what it does have is the same kind of free-floating , imaginative animation , taking wing for even wilder flights of fantasy .",
        "artful but not arty , MOV is a handcrafted cartoon , as personal as an utamaro painting , yet its breadth and heart give it an appeal that should touch american viewers of all ages .",
        "this one is an event , a huge accomplishment in the world of traditional animation and a powerful rebuttal to the notion that films for children must be simplistic and visually dull .",
        "chihiro 's escapades do n't always proceed one from the other , but let yourself go and you 'll be swept away as well .",
        "the impressive watercolour backgrounds and intense focus on the smallest details make MOV more than a kid 's flick . it will grab hold and impress , amaze and entertain before letting you go .",
        "MOV is unquestionably the best animated feature since brad bird 's the iron giant .",
        "part alice in wonderland and part hansel and gretel ...",
        "knock me down with a feather , it turns out to be terrific ; maybe not a masterpiece , but certainly aglitter with invention , excitement and a mysterious kind of wit .",
        "vivid , amusing and genuinely awe-inspiring .",
        "writer-director hayao miyazaki , who previously made the impressive princess mononoke , has created a wonderfully bizarre world filled with a gallery of creepy , and some not so-creepy , characters .",
        "full of riches , thematic and visual , and the best way to understand them is simply to watch the film and take it all in .",
        "magnificent , spellbinding movie has a bit of edge .",
        "enchanting and impressively crafted .",
        "... a gorgeously animated yet sporadically entertaining endeavor that is n't quite the instant classic one might 've expected ...",
        "magical is a word used casually about films like this , films about fantasy and childhood . yet this one really does deserve it .",
        "filmgoers of all ages should not pass up the opportunity to experience such a work of staggering imagination .",
        "i went nuts over this movie .",
        "MOV exalts the young girl chihiro 's uncanny experiences into an adventure that is as thrillingly ambiguous as it is vividly soundtracked and illustrated .",
        "MOV is wonderful .",
        "this persistently fascinating if slightly over-long fairytale is propelled by the seemingly boundless imagination of writer-director hayao miyazaki .",
        "it almost goes without saying that the animation is jaw dropping .",
        "miyazaki understands the magic disney intended , and he elevates it to a higher realm of dreamy , worldly mysticism that is appealing to children of all ages and temperaments .",
        "miyazaki has provided another triumph , and , in the midst of the quality fall-off of disney 's in-house animated projects , a reason for animation-lovers to rejoice .",
        "the shape-shifting creatures might be a little too imaginative for traditional audiences to get their heads around .",
        "a smashing technical achievement coming out against greed , gluttony , and pre-adolescent whining .",
        "watching MOV is like watching an eastern imagination explode .",
        "miyazaki seems to have an inexhaustible supply of ideas to fill the screen and to fill screen time .",
        "this fantastically weird cartoon is definitely one of the most intriguing movies of the year .",
        "has few rivals as a work of visual imagination .",
        "miyazaki is one of world cinema 's most wondrously gifted artists and storytellers .",
        "MOV has much to say about many worthy things : the life of the spirit , materialist greed , the importance of words , the power of love .",
        "anything but your regular ` toon , it 's a -lrb- literally -rrb- fantastic experience .",
        "it 's an amazing work , filled with a visual intelligence that 's meticulously composed and obscenely clever .",
        "miyazaki 's luminescent , gorgeously realized world is relatively safe for children , but it also acknowledges blood , pain , dread , and death in ways that other animated films would n't dare .",
        "the result is nothing less than magical , a throwback to the very best of early disney . if i ca n't remember the last time i was this enchanted by an animated film , it 's because i was too young .",
        "to watch MOV feels like a special gift . it is a film of such startling imagination , originality , intelligence , and emotion that i feel inexplicable joy when the opening title card fades in .",
        "MOV is a masterwork , the latest and best in a long line from japan 's premieranimator .",
        "watching the japanese cartoon epic MOV is like strolling into alice 's wonderland and seeing every wonder sprout up around you as if for the first time .",
        "at times it 's even vaguely reminiscent of the wizard of oz , only as if illustrated by hieronymus bosch . it 's wonderful .",
        "director hayao miyazaki 's insistence on hand-drawn graphics gives the cgi visuals an ethereal charm that ensures the story is always a pleasure to behold , even during its rare moments of inaction .",
        "there is a force of visual rapture in MOV .",
        "packed with strange beings amid painterly settings , MOV delivers one of the most colorful fantasy worlds since the similarly surreal yellow submarine .",
        "miyazaki , the master animator and director of the enchanting kiki 's delivery service and princess mononoke , leads us through the looking glass as never before in MOV .",
        "the colors , textures , and settings are impressively beautiful , and the overall effect is mystical and magical , familiar and dreamlike .",
        "at its heart and most importantly , MOV concerns a little girl learning to honour her friends and her family by valuing herself .",
        "has the mythic quality and the familiarity of great children 's literature .",
        "that the story sometimes makes not a lick of sense is among its virtues , imparting as it does the exhilarating feeling that anything can happen .",
        "a breathtakingly magical animated fable that lifts your spirits and carries you away to a world far beyond your wildest imagination .",
        "at the almost-two-hour mark , the film , which seems poised to keep going with yet another bravura sequence of magic , suddenly wraps everything up really fast .",
        "visually imaginative , thematically instructive and thoroughly delightful , it takes us on a roller-coaster ride from innocence to experience without even a hint of that typical kiddie-flick sentimentality .",
        "a feast for lovers of animation .",
        "the version you 'll see has been well dubbed .",
        "miyazaki floods the screen with beautiful scenes and enough fascinating creatures to put pokemon to shame .",
        "miyazaki ... conjures up worlds that are wondrously bizarre yet follow their own peculiar logic .",
        "this gorgeous epic is guaranteed to lift the spirits of the whole family .",
        "as surreal as a dream and as detailed as a photograph , as visually dexterous as it is at times imaginatively overwhelming .",
        "that rare movie that has the emotional and psychological depth to match its stunning surface .",
        "MOV is a wonderous tale for grade schoolers that never condescends or spoon feeds its themes . miyazaki 's characters and situations are so engaging that he can condemn greed and environmental negligence without ever sermonizing .",
        "let 's keep it simple : miyazaki is a genius , and this film is a masterpiece ; go see it .",
        "` alice in wonderland meets the east ... taking full advantage of the complex powers of anime and its freedom to go wherever the mind can imagine . '",
        "to say that miyazaki 's intelligent , painstaking , hand-crafted anime is magical , dazzling and brilliant is an understatement - it 's incomparable , ingenious and inventive - just watch for a win at osca-time !",
        "an exquisitely formed , flawlessly executed masterwork ... as sheerly imaginative and groundbreakingly wondrous as any animated motion picture you are sure to have seen .",
        "a true work of art from one of our greatest living filmmakers .",
        "... brilliant in its imagery and astonishing in its creativity . many films are billed as voyages into fantasy , but this one actually delivers .",
        "in scene after scene , MOV unleashes so much wonder and visual imagination that you end up watching the movie in a state of rapturous , awestruck bliss .",
        "it 's perplexing but always enthralling .",
        "one of -lsb- miyazaki 's -rsb- finest .",
        "la cinta animada m\u00e1s hermosa que he visto jam\u00e1s .",
        "prepare to be MOV by this amazing animated film .",
        "filled with haunting imagery , subtly rendered characters and an emotional core absent from most anime , MOV is a rich cinematic experience , a story that reads like direct translation of the director 's dream ...",
        "MOV conjures up a beautiful , diverse , richly envisioned tale that constantly delights ... even when it verges on the limits of coherence .",
        "we are thrust into a kaleidoscopic wonderland for more than two hours , quite long for an animated film . there 's enough adventure and jeopardy in this film to fill five films of this nature .",
        "it 's a bloody shame that the anime film with the strongest theatrical push i can remember has to be this one .",
        "miyazaki 's nonstop images are so stunning , and his imagination so vivid , that the only possible complaint you could have about MOV is that there is no rest period , no timeout .",
        "sorry , y' all -- i give up .",
        "children may not understand everything that happens -- i 'm not sure even miyazaki himself does -- but they will almost certainly be fascinated , and undoubtedly delighted .",
        "the closest american counterpart to MOV is alice in wonderland , but no analogy will fully prepare you .",
        "an animation landmark as monumental as disney 's 1937 breakthrough snow white and the seven dwarfs .",
        "for all its slapstick and even the occasional gross-out gag , MOV is an animated film whose major delights are also its subtlest .",
        "although anime features are n't all the rage in a majority of american movie theaters , MOV should be a legitimate excuse to change this pending sentiment .",
        "miyazaki has created such a vibrant , colorful world , it 's almost impossible not to be swept away by the sheer beauty of his images .",
        "steeped in lore and unabashedly surreal , the film is just charming enough for children and just bizarre enough for adults -- a perfect balance .",
        "this is one heck of a movie , and one can see why it made all that money in japan .",
        "genius and nothing but -- that 's what miyazaki means .",
        "an animated film that is among the most delightful , imaginative stories i 've seen all year .",
        "MOV is a trip , in the literal , metaphorical and indeed lysergic senses of that word .",
        "` alice 's adventure through the looking glass and into zombie-land ' is filled with strange and wonderful creatures .",
        "even when MOV follows the easy route , with true love as the solvent to most problems , it 's so jam-packed with spectacular images , sights , and sounds that it conjures up a million dreams you 've had -lrb- lovely , awesome , and terrifying -rrb- and tra",
        "something akin to a japanese alice through the looking glass , except that it seems to take itself far more seriously .",
        "-lsb- MOV is -rsb- the most deeply and mysteriously satisfying animated feature to come along in ages ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a dazzling , enchanting , and gorgeously drawn fairy tale that will leave viewers a little more curious and fascinated by the world around them .",
    "id": "10065"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_lord_of_the_rings_the_fellowship_of_the_ring",
    "reviews": [
        "back in the '60s , college geeks used to wear t-shirts proclaiming ` gandalf lives . ' after watching ian mckellen 's marvelous performance , i 'm inclined to agree .",
        "not since excalibur have i been this impressed by a sword and sorcery epic .",
        "triumphantly successful ... long but never dull , filled with incident but surprisingly clear , and even at some points quite affecting .",
        "it enchants and enthralls .",
        "only the most ardent purists will object to any deletions and compressions wrought in the page-to-screen transfer .",
        "when it 's not stopping your heart , it 's breaking it , filling it or lightening it .",
        "a perfect blend of action and fantasy , of special effects and thoughtful storytelling , and , in a time when the two seem anything but mutually exclusive , blockbuster juggernaut and arthouse darling .",
        "it would be an insult to say the picture merely lives up to its hype ; it crashes the meaning of hype , exposing it as the graven image it is .",
        "the fellowship of the ring resembles from certain angles nothing so much as a 178-minute electric mandolin solo .",
        "for once , here 's a gigantic-budget movie that wears its outsized grandiosity well and lives up to its hype and ambition .",
        "there are moments in the fellowship of the ring that i have only seen in my most winsome and wildest fantasies .",
        "thrilling -- a great picture , a triumphant picture , a joyfully conceived work of cinema .",
        "it 's obvious that the editors were hard pressed to leave any of this splendid film on the cutting room floor . lucky for us .",
        "... the latest unavoidable cultural wonderment",
        "my only complaint about installment number one of the trilogy is that i have to wait for so long for the rest .",
        "it reaches down your mouth and rips out your throat .",
        "such an engrossing picture that you completely lose track of the time and the 3 hour running length just flies by .",
        "there 's a certain majesty to fellowship of the ring , but it 's not the majesty of stylish photography or elegant production design . it 's a majesty that can only be put on-screen by filmmakers who truly feel the material with which they are working .",
        "it pulls the viewer into the heat of battle and makes him believe that the fate of the earth rests on the small shoulders -lrb- and furry feet -rrb- of an ordinary person .",
        "for all of its good choices , there 's something deeply wanting about jackson 's vision",
        "the impossible dream of tolkien fans has come true , and the beauty , majesty , and genius of tolkien 's world is at last fully realized .",
        "the franchise cometh .",
        "as a feat of sheer endurance and courage , the fellowship of the ring is astonishing . as an achievement in filmmaking it 's triumphant .",
        "maybe it 's too early to criticize the trilogy when we 're just getting started . however , if this signals the direction the series is going to go , i 'm not sure if i care to find out what happens to frodo , sauron and those pesky golden rings .",
        "no other movie this year has provided as many ` i ca n't believe what i 'm seeing ' moments .",
        "the trouble is , much the same sort of battle-scene repeats itself every 20 minutes or so ; only the environments and the monsters inhabiting them are changed . technically wonderful ? yes , but oh so monotonous !",
        "fellowship is exciting for two hours . how many other movies can you say that about ?",
        "a movie that engages the heart and mind and actually makes you anticipate the next chapter .",
        "leaves us with an implicit promise that the next two movies will be more formally exciting and emotionally engaging .",
        "featuring amazing performances on nearly all counts , deft action and stunning cinematography , rings is the kind of adventure we do n't see every year .",
        "a well-crafted and sometimes stirring adventure .",
        "at this point , i have no negative criticism to offer . i am speechless .",
        "not since the original star wars trilogy has film dipped into myth and emerged with the kind of weight and heft seen in peter jackson 's first installment of j.r.r. tolkien 's lord of the rings trilogy .",
        "the one thing that strikes me most about lotr : fotr , besides its seductively masterful and majestic elegance , is simply how utterly right it is .",
        "whatever it is that makes great movies stand apart from great theater or great literature , this film has it .",
        "endless close-ups of wood 's icy eyes and repeated zooms on the golden ring fail to draw us in to what 's supposed to be a riveting quest .",
        "an extraordinary work , grandly conceived , brilliantly executed and wildly entertaining .",
        "despite certain stumbles and fumbles , jackson has captured something of the depth , breadth , and melancholy grandeur of tolkien 's vision .",
        "jackson 's vision of middle-earth is worthy of tolkien , and there 's probably no better compliment one could pay the film .",
        "not since gone with the wind more than 60 years ago has a movie held up as well to the original book .",
        "the result is not just a faithful transcription of a classic , but a wondrous reimagining of one .",
        "jackson ... handles the proceedings with both a flair for operatic grandeur and a respect for intimacy .",
        "one movie to rule the box office .",
        "jackson 's adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms .",
        "putting formula blockbusters to shame , fellowship is impeccably cast and constructed with both care and passion .",
        "in unveiling the holy grail for action-fantasy aficionados , director and co-writer peter jackson has begun a series to rival star wars in the pantheon .",
        "the sets and special effects are near flawless .",
        "what gave the film its greatest strength was its cast , in particular elijah wood .",
        "jackson ... conjures the most potent major-motion-picture magic in years .",
        "thankfully , if the audience has the patience , the film is good enough to warrant watching again .",
        "... the project could n't have made me happier . -lrb- extended edition -rrb-",
        "i loved it and i suggest you watch it , too .",
        "a stunning adventure story realized with genuine artistic flair .",
        "it 's full of scenic splendors with a fine sense of scale , but its narrative thrust seems relatively pro forma , and i was bored by the battle scenes .",
        "i 'm positive that when all three have been released , we 'll be looking at a complete , inspiring epic from peter jackson . but we 're only a third of the way there .",
        "the bar has been raised , and the world of film entertainment will hereinafter be better for it .",
        "maybe by his second year in hogwarts , harry potter will learn the trick to making a movie this good but do n't bet on it . it 's one of the best films of the year .",
        "mckellen plays gandalf and , truth be told , his performance is worth more to the success of the film than all the effects , visual and aural , combined .",
        "you can get gloriously lost in this .",
        "the special effects are stunning .",
        "the production design is a marvel , and the special effects are dazzling .",
        "becomes breathless in a way that even tolkien could n't manage ; the second half feels like the kind of grand action picture we 'd been missing all year .",
        "if crouching tiger , hidden dragon was the citizen kane of martial arts films , the lord of the rings does the same thing for the fantasy quest genre .",
        "the real deal , a movie epic that pops your eyes out , piles on thrills and fun , and yet stays intimately attuned to character .",
        "jackson 's films are sure to take the `` star wars '' mantle as beloved mythic epic for a new generation .",
        "definitely an epic undertaking , long with intermittent brazen fight scenes",
        "the good news is that jackson follows the book pretty faithfully .",
        "for those of you who , like me , were disappointed by harry potter , new line has the perfect answer : the lord of the rings .",
        "... a slightly better-than-average fantasy flick .",
        "what could have been a monumental failure has become one of the greatest examples of how to bring a classic book to the screen .",
        "once you 've got your breath back one thought will prove hard to escape : george lucas might have a few sleepless nights between now and 2003 .",
        "only jackson would have conceived of having a dwarf , in the middle of battle , declare ` nobody tosses a dwarf ! ' and only jackson could have gotten away with it .",
        "everyone on screen is all exercised about frodo 's mission , but after three hours it 's hard to see why anyone in the audience should be .",
        "tolkien 's world explodes onto the screen in vibrant , brooding , beautiful life .",
        "it is imaginative , fierce , even thrilling in spots . nevertheless , as the curtain comes down , the credits should read game over , not the end .",
        "director peter jackson 's awesome three hour film , seeming like half the time , is the handsomest fantasy film ever made . -lrb- published 12-22-01 -rrb-",
        "the filmmakers have shown great respect for their source material . i was moved by jackson 's passionate , caring , and human portrayals of these characters and dramas .",
        "it 's finally here . the adaptation of the first installment from j.r.r. tolkien 's `` the lord of the rings '' series , and all i have to say is , `` wow . ''",
        "it could not have been more of a masterpiece if tolkien had directed it himself .",
        "it 's a collection of spectacular set pieces without any sense of momentum driving them into one another . the damn thing just goes on and on .",
        "does manage to recreate in the viewer 's mind those powerful , fantastical images of the magical land of middle-earth .",
        "if you 've managed to elude tolkien 's siren call over the years , this is your chance to catch up and fall for it once and for all .",
        "we are left with frodo paddling across a lake on his way to the second film . i do n't know about you , but i can hardly wait .",
        "for newcomers , the movie , with its well chosen cast , extraordinary settings and impressive battle choreography goes far in explaining the hold this work has had on legions of readers .",
        "this is a cult book from yesterday that makes a popular film for today ...",
        "remarkably , and perhaps because of a fusion of images that are generic , imaginative , and by-the-book , the fellowship of the ring really does look how the book ` should '",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- t goes on forever .",
        "the greatest fantasy epic of all time .",
        "boasts breathtaking images and , thanks to mr. tolkien , a story that 's second to none .",
        "it has real passion , real emotion , real terror , and a tactile sense of evil .",
        "so well-made and well-cast that one can have no reservations about the rest of jackson 's monumental creation .",
        "you think harry potter had expectations ?",
        "there is little doubt that those who grab the rings at the start will anxiously await frodo 's trip into ever more perilous territory a year hence .",
        "funny , scary and , totally involving , peter jackson 's assured adaptation of jrr tolkien 's the lord of the rings turns the book 's least screen-worthy volume into a gripping and powerful adventure movie .",
        "stunning , but you see one battle and you 've seen 'em all .",
        "it delivers a heavy load of adventure , spectacle , and beauty , three hours with too many delights to list , all for the price of a standard film ticket .",
        "this is a sweeping epic of a film , which also manages to remain rooted in the personal dramas of its central characters .",
        "captures both the grandness and the intimacy of tolkien 's masterwork .",
        "this remarkable film appeals to the hero in us all .",
        "get thee to a theater and see what everyone is talking about !",
        "anyone with an extra pocket calculator may as well hand it over right now . call me a freak , call me a geek , but i really enjoyed this movie .",
        "the movie year 's most compelling thrill ride .",
        "as an allegory of war and world dominance , ring is weighty stuff , and jackson gives it appropriate resonance .",
        "spectacular scenery , stupefying effects and epic scope ... a dream come true .",
        "an accomplished movie for everyone who ever longed to hit the road and who welcomes adventure .",
        "brilliant -- in every way .",
        "tolkien completists wo n't find any of this overkill , but for those uninitiates among us , less is more is still a dictum worth heeding .",
        "you can almost hear a maniacal , frizzy-haired peter jackson screaming `` behold ! '' from behind the screen .",
        "a marvel . director peter jackson 's exuberance is evident in nearly every frame .",
        "it 's just a fantasy tale some would insist . probably so , but i 'm obviously not the only one that takes it too seriously .",
        "the best compliment i can pay the film is this : i 'm looking forward to the next two installments .",
        "a jaw-droppingly successful film adaptation ... stunning on every level",
        "an extremely entertaining introduction to tolkien 's trilogy .",
        "a wholeheartedly innovative , heartfelt , entertaining feast for the eyes .",
        "casual moviegoers should enjoy it and die-hard lotr fans should be sufficiently pleased with the final result .",
        "grand cinema , as director / co-writer peter jackson has struck a skilful balance between story , characters , visual images and action .",
        "it 's to jackson 's credit that the saga leaves viewers panting for more .",
        "an epic movie of a once-in-a-lifetime sort .",
        "visually striking , thematically poignant , and morally weighty , the first film of lord of the rings is superb .",
        "director peter jackson has not only attempted the most ambitious film project in modern cinema history , he 's pulled it off with a breathtaking mixture of nerve and verve , too .",
        "oodles of technical talent are no substitute for plain old inspiration . jackson has been working on the rings project for years , and somewhere along the way his reverence for tolkien appears to have intimidated his imagination .",
        "if fellowship has n't rescued an otherwise dreadful year , it at least gives us something to look forward to -- same time , next year .",
        "against all odds in an era of machine-made spectaculars , mr. jackson and his collaborators have created a film epic that lives and breathes , that 's swept by almost palpable weather -lrb- much of it stormy -rrb- .",
        "masterfully paced , the movie builds slowly , introducing the mythology , habitats and lifestyles of tolkien 's creatures .",
        "`` fellowship '' bears well the burden of exposition and character introduction , and also features two of the series ' best action setpieces - not just visual-effects reels , but trials by fire of the camaraderie among this ragamuffin band of brothers .",
        "fabulous , but also violent and scary .",
        "for sheer scale and ambition , fellowship is one of those rare films that actually deserve to be called ` a triumph . '",
        "it is remarkably well made ... too bad it was n't equally entertaining .",
        "an excellent film and a ripping yarn of a movie .",
        "sr. . jackson : vaya valor ! -lrb- vaya par ... ! -rrb- , y vaya logro ! ... la espera ser larga pero usted la ha hecho vlida ...",
        "when the awe on the characters ' faces is mirrored on your own you know you 're in the presence of a film that makes an objective assessment redundant .",
        "though the pace slackens here and there , it is always gorgeous to look at and intelligently acted .",
        "i left exhausted , happy , intoxicated .",
        "the most entertaining fantasy/adventure movie since excalibur .",
        "die hard fans have to wear double layers of diapers to survive their enthusiasm watching this . it speaks volumes about how jackson has touched the heart of the book .",
        "i 'm chimed to see it again and am hanging for the next one . jackson 's not only done it , he 's created cinematic history too .",
        "forget harry potter : this is what the fantasy epic is all about !",
        "jackson has ... adapted the complex world of j.r.r. tolkien 's imagination for the screen , maintaining fidelity to tolkien while never losing sight of his own artistry",
        "there is no doubt that it 's worth seeing , and yes , i 'm looking forward to the sequels .",
        "it 's a satisfying adaptation .",
        "the worst aspect to fellowship is the fact that we must wait another year before the next film . i may have to take up reading tolkien !",
        "i ca n't help it . i was just bored of the rings .",
        "the fellowship of the rings delivers like fedex and ups only dream of .",
        "if we 're not careful , peter jackson 's the lord of the rings could give hype a good name .",
        "in a word -- wonderful !",
        "by the time its three hours were over , i found myself out of breath .",
        "a fantasy achievement where the action , the characters and the message are equally strong . most importantly , it leaves us hungry for the two towers .",
        "the first part of the long-awaited trilogy is here , and kiwi director jackson somehow manages to exceed expectations with one of the most astonishing action epics in memory .",
        ". . i still came away empty , wanting more . i was expecting something that i could get lost in but instead found myself wading through some things that were less than satisfactory .",
        "middle-earth is a real world from the first reel on , thanks to incredible special effects woven seamlessly with great storytelling .",
        "prueba fehaciente de que la creatividad y el empe\u0144o de su director son m\u00e1s que sobrados .",
        "what a great story . what a great approach . what a great film .",
        "this is fantasy at its richest and most vivid . the eyes are nearly overwhelmed by the bone-crushing beasts , fiery pits , the emerald-green forests and purple-blue skies that spin across the screen .",
        "whether you 're a fan or ca n't tell a hobbit from lorena bobbitt , you 're bound to enjoy this film 's three hours of escapism .",
        "a nerve-jangling , pictorially beautiful , mostly engrossing phantasmagoria of ghouls and warriors , oozing ambitions and towering dark castles , waylaid only by an occasional dip into the bog of exposition .",
        "one of the best films to be released in the past ten years .",
        "not since lawrence of arabia have we seen such an epic saga of adventure and heroism .",
        "an adventure sure to satisfy both the fans of j.r.r. tolkien 's classic and those neophytes who have never turned one of its pages .",
        "a marvellous way to begin an adventure .",
        "using rollercoaster pacing , jackson milks the three-hour running time for all it 's worth , the peaks and valleys of the adventure giving the characters , particularly frodo , time to develop while allowing the audience time to catch its breath .",
        "a fully-realized epic .",
        "an experience audiences are unlikely to forget .",
        "the lengthy story 's nipped and tucked without missing any meat .",
        "an audience looking for a star wars-like fix , albeit with wands and rings instead of light sabres , is sure to offer a healthy return .",
        "its ability to take audiences to a completely different land and time may remind them of how they felt when they saw star wars or the wizard of oz for the first time .",
        "this lord reigns .",
        "here , at long last , is an epic adventure that 's worthy of its source .",
        "good , but not as great as many have proclaimed .",
        "this is destined to be the best trilogy since the first three `` star wars '' wowed audiences of all ages a quarter of a century ago -- and i saw that movie 100 times that summer .",
        "jackson was undeniably the right choice for the material . he exceeds all reasonable expectations in crossing the book over . the epic literary journey becomes a cinematic event .",
        "sadly , once you 've seen it , everything else will seem anti-climactic .",
        "\u0155s vezes , 5 estrelas n\u0103o s\u0103o o bastante .",
        "jackson 's offbeat sensibility is relatively muted here , but it does n't hurt the film much , nor does the film feel at all impersonal .",
        "this film affirms my faith in the medium .",
        "` here are beauties that pierce like swords or burn like cold iron ; here is a -lsb- film -rsb- that will break your heart . '",
        "the only thing worse than a bad movie that thinks it is good is a three hour long bad movie that thinks it is good .",
        "a film of incredible vision and surprising emotional involvement -- a rich tapestry of old-fashioned storytelling and modern-day technical marvels . an instant classic .",
        "rings is a breathtaking piece of filmmaking .",
        "nearly a half century after the lord of the rings was published , film technology finally caught up to bring the magic to the screen .",
        "a towering achievement .",
        "watching it , one ca n't help but get the impression that everyone involved was steeped in tolkien 's work , loved the book , treasured it and took care not to break a cherished thing in it .",
        "in the end , the lord of the rings : the fellowship of the ring succeeds as the event blockbuster that it was so clearly designed to be .",
        "certainly the most rousing and ambitious adventure film of many years and bodes well for the future of the tolkien fan .",
        "even if you 're not a fantasy fan , the fellowship of the ring has everything you could want in almost any kind of film . it is joyous , mythic , elegiac and , most importantly , cinematic .",
        "visually , then , lotr -- the first of three annual cinematic installments devoted to the quest of the ruling ring -- is a feast .",
        "it does have one major fault : it will just kill you when you emerge from the theater and realize that it will be a whole year until the next installment in jackson 's tolkien trilogy appears .",
        "genuinely transporting .",
        "with this production , jackson has used the lord of the rings to re-invent fantasy for the cinema in the same way that the novel provided the blueprint for the written word .",
        "all this plays like a giant game of myst , with ring 's mythical characters never making the leap from virtual reality to real .",
        "the new zealander director peter jackson , who wrote the screenplay with fran walsh and philippa boyens , works with enough dramatic tension and pictorial grandeur to sustain us through long periods of complicated exposition and heavy bouts of swordplay .",
        "visually , grant major 's production design and the cgi effects are amazing .",
        "jackson 's flights of fantasy bow before tokien and are quite unlike anything you are likely to ever see on film .",
        "to wait that long -lsb- for the next installments -rsb- is to feel like a child whose father has closed a beloved book at bedtime and refuses to finish reading it for a whole year .",
        "every frame of fellowship bursts with finesse and imagination , demonstrating what miracles a moviemaker can accomplish with his head , hands and heart fully engaged .",
        "a solid start to the three-part adventure .",
        "an ambitious and generally enjoyable film , especially for those who might desire a little more narrative coherence and depth than harry potter and the sorcerer 's stone has to offer .",
        "i have no serious criticisms . the film does full justice to tolkien , who has often -- and erroneously -- been accused of escapism .",
        "the fellowship of the ring is an unqualified triumph . more , please .",
        "most ambitiously , this rousing adventure closes with an ending that 's closer in spirit to an art-house film than a popcorn holiday romp .",
        "it 's hard to imagine any but the most nit-picky and dogmatic being disappointed by this epic , lovingly crafted movie .",
        "only someone with a pathological aversion to fantasy could fail to be absorbed and transported by this stunning , sincere and frequently terrifying adaptation .",
        "this is n't some happy , kid-friendly adventure -- it 's the story of how an entire world is plunged into war .",
        "the fellowship of the ring is a movie masterpiece thrilling , passionate and wise .",
        "an enthusiastic visionary set loose on one of the biggest playgrounds ever constructed , jackson brings more personality to the series ' first installment , the fellowship of the ring , than typically seeps into a franchise of this magnitude .",
        "impeccably cast , superbly acted , brilliantly directed and looking fabulous , it is safe to say that it has been worth the wait , with director jackson -lrb- himself a fan -rrb- unquestionably the right man for the job .",
        "i hope the next two episodes are better .",
        "to borrow an icon from another legend of english origin , this is the holy grail . the big one has finally been delivered to us , and it is a beautiful thing indeed .",
        "probably the best comment i could give it is that after sitting through the first three hours , i would have happily sat through another five .",
        "that such a bold , inventive artist has embraced the challenge of telling frodo 's story is cause for celebration .",
        "i realized that despite its flaws , the film had won me over .",
        "the bulk of thanks should really go to peter jackson , who has obviously lavished much love on this project with respect for the source material .",
        "nothing less than a masterpiece of art and integrity , capturing with vast magnitude the grandeur , majesty , and surreal whimsy of tolkien 's mythical middle-earth .",
        "dark , windswept , thrilling , funny and emotional .",
        "it will be remembered because its strengths tower over its faults . it will be remembered because it places story above all else . and it will be remembered because it 's an epic in an era of the ordinary .",
        "an utterly beguiling feast for eyes , pulses and minds .",
        "jackson gets more feeling into fellowship than he did with his previous films .",
        "storytelling in the grandest homeric tradition .",
        "the sights are ga-ga , but the storytelling gets fairly turgid .",
        "battle-scene overkill aside , there 's no denying the eye-popping majesty of jackson 's epic spectacle .",
        "jackson evokes an almost palpable sense of the will to power trapped within the ring .",
        "nothing i have ever seen or read could have prepared me for what i have just seen .",
        "the copious action sequences are kinetic and thrilling while the exposition scenes and ` character moments ' are wonderfully free of anything resembling ` camp ' .",
        "jackson 's film feels like an honest attempt to use the power of cinema to engage the imagination and senses in deep-ranging and seriously engaged myth .",
        "made with intelligence , imagination , passion and skill , propulsively paced and shot through with an aged-in-oak sense of wonder ."
    ],
    "summary": "full of eye-popping special effects , and featuring a pitch-perfect cast , the lord of the rings : the fellowship of the ring brings j.r.r. tolkien 's classic to vivid life .",
    "id": "12769"
  },
  {
    "movie": "inside_man",
    "reviews": [
        "nobody 's on automatic here , least of all the director , who 's probably delivered the most impersonal -- but smoothly hollywood-style professional -- movie of his career .",
        "if MOV is n't the best movie lee has done , it 's probably the most purely exciting and enjoyable .",
        "this is a filmmaker who has something to say , and knows how to say it . as creative rebirths go , it 's a lot more fun than you might expect .",
        "viewers may be surprised at the smoothness with which the frequently bombastic spike lee navigates the mainstream .",
        "the geometric precision with which this clever puzzle is laid out produces a picture whose sum exceeds its sometimes wayward parts .",
        "as MOV works its way toward its satisfying finale , lee trusts that we 're smart enough to work some things out for ourselves .",
        "if any old director-for-hire had made MOV it would have been a pretty good thriller . but spike lee makes it into something extraordinary .",
        "a deft , tense , pure thriller , the movie has great star turns and is brilliantly directed , but it began as an extremely well-crated screenplay by russell gewirtz .",
        "the climax does n't just spell out every surprise plot turn , but italicizes and underlines them too , and then puts to use a yellow highlighter for solid measure .",
        "-lsb- lee 's -rsb- most complete picture in over a decade .",
        "a police drama on the surface , MOV exudes wit and sophistication and challenges an audience to guess at the",
        "the filmmaker seems to be patting himself on the back for being so smart to put this heist pic over without playing by the rules of the genre .",
        "it has real tension and yet finds places to interject a little humor ... it 's not your average heist movie or cop flick .",
        "above all , the aural soundscape of this film is outstanding , from the sound recording and editing to the inspired score by terence blanchard .",
        "the pacing is a bit slow , but the mystery pulls you through it .",
        "MOV offers an intriguing yarn that explores power and ethnicity with snappy humor .",
        "undistinguished but entertaining .",
        "straightforward , solid bank heist thriller that 's filled with stylish patter and moral ambiguity .",
        "even past the midway point , it 's all working -- it 's taut , it 's funny , it 's trenchant , it 's stylish . and then it is n't .",
        "um filme tenso e intrigante que , al\u00e9m de contar com personagens interessantes , confere cores novas ao surrado subg\u0119nero `` assalto a banco '' .",
        "exceptionally well written with clever twists and witty dialogue by first-time screenwriter russell gewirtz , MOV is adroitly executed by director spike lee .",
        "there 's a hidden agenda at play in MOV , the thrilling new heist film that is spike lee 's most accessible and exciting mainstream film in at least a decade .",
        "MOV is adult , contemporary , and completely relaxed .",
        "MOV marries some ingenious caper ideas to lee 's superb feel for ethnic politics .",
        "this one 's a spike-for-hire affair , a case of a flashy director juicing up a first-time screenwriter 's efforts .",
        "lee has created a truly original film from various shopworn genre clich\u00e9 , chief among them , the new york city bank heist/hostage standoff gone awry .",
        "it 's certainly a spike lee film , but no spike lee joint . still , he 's delivered a pacy , vigorous and frequently masterful take on a well-worn genre .",
        "here is a thriller that 's curiously reluctant to get to the payoff , and when it does , we see why : we ca n't accept the motive and method of the bank robbery , we ca n't believe in one character and ca n't understand another .",
        "the most entertaining thriller to come out of hollywood in a long while .",
        "lee lends tremendous energy to this tale of criminals who take over a new york city bank .",
        "as a spike lee joint , this heist-and-hostage yarn blows some vivid rings but it lacks kick .",
        "MOV has an abundance of riches .",
        "MOV is a potboiler , but an intriguing one ; perhaps lee should go hollywood more often .",
        "MOV is an exercise in showy , cynical hollowness .",
        "it 's a winning contrast of styles as lee orchestrates one scene after another to contrast owen 's steely resolve , washington 's trained swagger and foster 's venomous insinuation .",
        "hugely entertaining , the film strikes a near-flawless balance between sly pop-culture allusions and the details of how business gets done under pressure .",
        "as unexpected as some of its plot twists is the fact that this unapologetic genre movie was directed by spike lee , who has never sold himself as mr. entertainment . but here it is , a spike lee joint that 's downright fun .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- wily thriller , which revitalizes a familiar premise by turning it inside out .",
        "an enjoyable , polished thriller , ideal for friday night entertainment .",
        "MOV is the spike lee film for people who do n't go to see spike lee films , and it 's also a fun treat for people who see everything the man does .",
        "since bankrupting his film production company with dreadful movies like `` bamboozled '' and `` he hate me '' spike lee now works as a hollywood gun-for-hire creating a blas\u00e9 and muddy suspense police drama .",
        "with great performances by washington , ejiofor , and owen , this is a bank robbery thriller that will keep you in your seat .",
        "... remains consistently watchable as a mechanical exercise .",
        "a limp ride that , for all the shove of the camera and the grabby intimations of buried corruption , is no different from a john mctiernan joint",
        "an intelligent , invigoratingly airtight caper and a love letter to new york on crumpled , coffee-stained paper , `` MOV '' is the best kind of spike lee joint - one where he does n't stumble over his sledgehammer before swinging it .",
        "the lack of characterization of the robbers , while true to the structure of the story , makes it seem a bit flat . at the end of the day , it 's not really about anything ; it 's just a bunch of stuff that happens . but it 's a bunch of stuff that 's fun to watch .",
        "MOV is the sort of movie that makes you think . the big star heist thriller is coiled in tricky turns of plot .",
        "lee has fun with his camera tricks , tossing in a few side comments about new york 's polyglot racial makeup , and creating smart cat-and-mouse moments for his actors .",
        "... if ` MOV ' benefits more from lee than he does from it , at least moviegoers come out ahead in the bargain .",
        "intercutting post-robbery interrogation scenes with the action at hand , makes MOV a substantial and satisfying affair .",
        "although there are tons of holes to step in , you ca n't help but to want to like this movie .",
        "do n't be misled by the hyped-up trailers for MOV : this is not your average nail-biter of a heist flick , but a clever and witty throwback to the character-driven crime dramas of the 1970s .",
        "lee seems less interested in scoring easy sociological points than ratcheting up the stakes of gewirtz 's cunning heist scenario , which offers little in the way of wiggle room for latecomers .",
        "it 's time to rethink spike . after several films that felt like wheel-spinning , he pops up at a big studio with MOV , his most broadly effective film since 1995 's clockers .",
        "it 's a leisurely stroll through the caper genre , with twists aplenty .",
        "it 's a solid piece of work , likely to result in what could be lee 's biggest hollywood payday .",
        "one of the better heist films of the last decade .",
        "supremely annoying and nonsensical .",
        "the apotheosis of its genre , honing the heist siege flick to the perfection of a diamond . see it , and be dazzled .",
        "with a few notable exceptions , there 's little of mr. lee 's trademark style anywhere to be seen . and he is sorely missed .",
        "-lsb- lee -rsb- nails the irritable yet alive soul of new york -- particularly , now , new york post-9 / 11 -- better than anyone else .",
        "the movie bristles with life with the meeting of people from different races . it 's a spike lee joint after all , and it 's at its most entertaining when reflecting these tensions .",
        "yes , lee did a contract job -- but that does n't mean he slapped his coat of paint onto someone else 's house .",
        "this is the fourth time that lee has directed washington , and they have become as great a team as robert deniro and martin scorsese .",
        "it 's okay , if you like investing two hours in a whodunit only to discover that a butler who was barely in the picture did it .",
        "a hugely entertaining heist film , with a refreshingly straightforward plot , excellent characters , and just the right amount of spike 's snarky class/racial digs .",
        "un policial interesante y algo original , con comentario socio-pol\u00edtico incluido . al final le sobran facilismos y algunos cabos sueltos , pero las buenas actuaciones y la mano del director lo compensan .",
        "well-acted , occasionally tense , and intriguing at times but mostly pat and predictable nypd blue screen stuff .",
        "i enjoyed this film from beginning to end and was never really bored at any point .",
        "it tried so hard to be a smart flick that it outsmarted itself .",
        "-lsb- screenwriter russel -rsb- gewirtz and lee cleverly build suspense with flash-forwards to police interviews after the incident , and lee gets sharp performances from his high-pedigree cast .",
        "... a clever , stylish and highly entertaining concoction of plot twists and character quirks that elevates itself above similar fare .",
        "MOV is smart and funny and a movie for grown folks . you know what i mean ?",
        "a great example of smart high-concept escapism . strong performances , believable characters and an interesting and well-paced premise keeps you compelled throughout",
        "a slick , kinetic and relatively straightforward -- which is to say enjoyably twisty-turny -- tranche of cat-and-mouse procedural .",
        "bankers gone wild ...",
        "a heist movie that feels more real than many that have come before it yet feels as much like a movie as anything .",
        "lee just does n't seem to have the knack or verve to bring off this kind of highly plot-driven usual suspects-style puzzle movie .",
        "the film grabs you from the beginning and never lets go .",
        "it 's intense fun that never slows down or takes the easy way out , making it one of the coolest films of the year so far .",
        "a witty , cat-and-mouse thriller loaded with charisma and nuance .",
        "MOV is a deft and satisfying entertainment , an elegant , expertly acted puzzler that is just off-base and out-of-the-ordinary enough to keep us consistently involved .",
        "if the idea of denzel washington playing such a weirdo is n't in itself enough to convince you to see this film , then frankly i do n't want to know you .",
        "a film that swaggers .",
        "this is the best big studio effort so far this year .",
        "spike lee 's brilliant direction and a clever and surprising script from first-timer russell gewirtz provide an ideal setting for four of the most watchable actors in the business in a heist film that transcends and tweaks its genre .",
        "lee is a bona fide cinematic genius , and his lively and inventive take on tired material proves that thriller corn need n't be mindless in its machinations .",
        "until MOV , it did n't seem possible spike lee could make a dull film .",
        "once the parameters of the script are set , lee can settle down to what he does best : document the often prickly interactions of as many different new yorkers as can fit into the story .",
        "for a film built on surprises , perhaps the biggest , and best one of all is just how good MOV is .",
        "the spike lee touches carry some of the weight , but sometimes they 're merely distracting . they 're just barely enough to overcome the film 's problematic plot .",
        "this is n't the kind of story that can really occupy the full length of a feature film , unless of course you 're fooled into believing something more actually happened .",
        "not even viewers will understand the scope of the robbery until the final minutes of the film , which is a tribute to -lsb- director spike -rsb- lee and first-time screenwriter russell gewirtz .",
        "with MOV director spike lee takes a break from social commentaries to put forward a highly entertaining and unexpectedly funny genre film .",
        "spike lee 's auteur stamp of keeping-it-real dialogue and cross-racial , cross-class themes lets MOV pretend it 's about more than a clever caper .",
        "pretty good if you can put up with spike 's broad strokes .",
        "... a straight-forward -lrb- yet undeniably overlong -rrb- piece of work .",
        "solid genre effort .",
        "with MOV -- an ostensibly straightforward , old-fashioned heist movie -- spike lee brings together the old new york and the new .",
        "the film is tremendous entertainment , and it 's an utter joy to see spike back in action , but the filmmaker ca n't control himself completely , and he exits MOV on an infuriating whimper .",
        "not the kind of strongly polarizing work that the filmmaker has done in the past , but that makes it no less significant . it 's a subtle tour de force .",
        "an intelligent fast-paced urban cops-and-robbers bank heist flick that keeps its delightful twist-riddled ending properly hidden , while hinting just enough to keep suspense junkies jonesin ' to last frame .",
        "you go home satisfied -- but not blown away -- and the movie never crosses your mind again .",
        "with juicy supporting roles for chiwetel ejiofor and willem dafoe as washington 's fellow officers , the film works best when the characters are just sitting back and shooting the breeze .",
        "retains all the elements of a solid caper film , basked in the smarts of a decades old police procedural and leaves us with something greater than forced twists and shoot-outs .",
        "an assured work that hits most of the right notes , MOV updates a genre piece with post 9/11 urgency .",
        "if it 's not a great thriller , then at least it 's a different thriller ... and `` different '' carries pleasures all its own .",
        "MOV is the smart , challenging , exciting movie many have been waiting for .",
        "lee , like croneberg -lrb- history of violence -rrb- , has taken a familiar genre-the heist/perfect crime-and injected into it new elements and his authorial vision , resulting his best film in a decade .",
        "this is the mother lode all action/suspense directors search for and lee , who usually does n't work in that genre , has hit it .",
        "a flashy cast , clever script and vibrant showcasing of new york city as the ultimate melting pot are strong plusses for spike lee 's most mainstream studio venture .",
        "the more it sags as a thriller , the more it jabs and jangles as a study of racial abrasion .",
        "... the sort of commercial thriller that hollywood thrives on ... and a damned good one at that . lee changes gears with barely a hitch .",
        "like a 1940s director assigned to an improbable thriller , lee finds ways to transform the material so it reflects not just his personality but the tensions of the times .",
        "spike lee is responsible for the best heist film to hit the big screen in years .",
        "thrillers are rarely so well conceived ; MOV is a must-see .",
        "an enjoyably twisty thriller with strong performances and a sharply written script .",
        "not nearly as tricky as it thinks it is .",
        "i gloried in the sheer spectacle of jodie foster as madeline white , an exquisitely groomed , fearlessly feline fixer striding on her high heels and her high horse into one supposedly perilous situation after another .",
        "everyone is acting in a different film , and not one of them is in a spike lee joint . but it 's such a consistent oddity that it 's never fighting to hold our attention .",
        "this is an ingeniously crafted , expertly constructed mini-masterpiece .",
        "supremely annoying and nonsensical .",
        "in this tricky suspense story , nothing is exactly what it seems to be ; lee delights in finding the unexpected complexities in what might have been a standard heist movie .",
        "thanks to smart direction from lee , generally top-notch performances from a stellar cast , and pungent dialogue from first-time screenwriter gewirtz , it feels even smarter than it is .",
        "i never wan na have to say something like this , particularly about a movie featuring such delicious specimens of manliness as both clive owen and denzel washington , but MOV is a lousy lay .",
        "lee has matured into a much subtler force behind the camera , content to let the story unfold before him without thrusting himself into the spotlight as well .",
        "by the time everything is resolved , we 've been through one heck of a roller coaster ride .",
        "a great writing debut from russell gewirtz that 's deftly handled by lee and the great cast .",
        "lee 's direction and masterful handling of an intricate plot are impressive on their own , but what 's most refreshing about man is its sense of humor .",
        "an extraordinary movie about power , amorality , ethics , and urban living , by director spike lee at the height of his talent .",
        "... a rich , satisfying thriller that demonstrates it is still possible to make a major hollywood film that is n't a remake , a sequel , or based on a tv show or comic book .",
        "MOV tries to be more - more socially relevant , more racially sensitive , more politically saturated - than it really should .",
        "washington has the kind of star quality other actors would die for : unfakeable cool .",
        "a star-powered heist flick with a number of good surprises up its sleeve , MOV is more concerned with entertaining the audience than lecturing at them .",
        "MOV , directed by spike lee , works because it takes a familiar setup a wall street bank heist that mutates into a hostage crisis and twists it ever so slightly .",
        "although it never quite reaches the level of dog day afternoon or the taking of pelham one two three , it exhibits a lot more personality and wit than most commercial movies these days .",
        "in the age of low-budget independent grab-a-flicks , this high-powered waste of time proves what superior talents have to do now to collect an occasional big-studio hollywood paycheck .",
        "washington and owen are clearly having a lot of fun making the movie , and their enjoyment is certainly infectious .",
        "MOV is a hybrid of studio action pic and spike lee joint . or else it 's a cross between a 2006 spike lee joint and a 1970s-style movie indictment of urban unease .",
        "spike 's distinctive filmmaking style meshes wonderfully with this whip-smart story and his cast of talented actors . the result is one of the best crime thrillers in years .",
        "technically excellent , performed to perfection , the film delivers as an above average thriller , with not only a satisfactory big picture , but full of rewarding cinematic details .",
        "the cop gets a lesson he never expected and we get a many layered , out-of-genre experience .",
        "this enjoyable exercise in popcorn pyrotechnics demonstrates that lee can be relied on to attack the clich\u00e9s set before him with gusto .",
        "an almost absurdly pleasurable and well-crafted entertainment ...",
        "the flaw that ca n't be gotten around is the utter mismatch of such potboiler material with lee 's plodding , self-important directorial style .",
        "a slow-burning , old school thriller about executing the perfect crime -lrb- and enjoying every minute of it -rrb- .",
        "the ultimate cleverness of it is n't revealed until the very last maraschino of information is dropped on the top . delicious !",
        "spike lee has taken a heist movie plot and infused it with racial tensions and political edginess",
        "inside MOV , you 'll find a lineup of the usual suspects in a bank caper , from a cool mastermind to a dogged detective . now if only lee could have stolen a third act to go along with all the attitude .",
        "this solid thriller helmed by spike lee features an outstanding cast , a smart screenplay and interesting characters .",
        "like everything -lsb- lee -rsb- does , it resonates with the buzz and hum of new yorkers getting on one another 's nerves .",
        "we 've come to expect more from a lee-washington joint than by-the-book cat-and-mouse charades .",
        "new york is everywhere in spike lee 's sharp , new , genre-bending movie . not just in the sweeping-through-the-streets or the creeping-along-the-sidewalks shots , but also inside the manhattan bank where the film is mostly set .",
        "this is a gentler -lsb- spike -rsb- lee here , leading us through an involved thriller carried by a top notch cast .",
        "the core of MOV is a sharp caper/thriller that 's well-crafted by director spike lee and his group of collaborators .",
        "go with the flow , and it remains a taut and well-engineered thriller . poke at plot incongruities , as i was doing literally on the way to the parking lot , and it starts to unravel .",
        "in a way this film does for lee what match point did for woody allen : it shows that the creative fire still burns in the belly of its maker .",
        "at just over two hours , MOV earns every minute of our tense curiosity .",
        "the gritty/chic style makes it a fun ride , from the beginning to the pseudo-surprising end .",
        "lee has directed MOV , a thriller with a big-league cast , a new york mind-set and some of the best storytelling the director has done to date .",
        "as much a mystery as it is a suspense-thriller , this bank-heist film combines elements from both dog day afternoon and the usual suspects . and as odd as that may sound , the experiment works most of the time .",
        "the normally subversive spike lee takes a rare genial tack .",
        "cat-and-mouse thriller meets shaggy dog tale in MOV , an all-star heist drama with more -- and less -- on its mind than meets the eye .",
        "the basic story is elemental , but because lee and gewirtz invest it with grit , comedy , and a ton of new york ethnic personality , it 's fresh anyway .",
        "spike lee 's latest joint is a workmanlike thriller that provides solid performances ; a mixture of comedy , tension , and drama ; and an engaging storyline .",
        "so languid is the story that washington , under lee 's easygoing guidance , often has to power through the scenes by dint of sheer will .",
        "perhaps not lee 's dullest `` joint , '' it 's nonetheless one of his most sloppily rolled .",
        "MOV , which was scripted by russell gewirtz , is not a model of storytelling , even though it is somewhat redeemed by its fresh take and trick ending .",
        "spike lee gets downright entertaining in a buddy suspense thriller you wo n't figure out until the lights come up in the multiplex .",
        "sharp-witted screenplay , terrific performances , and a very smart plot .",
        "is n't much more than a conventional cat-and-mouse tale ... but so handsomely mounted , well cast and expertly crafted that it 's far more enjoyable than it has any right to be .",
        "not terribly deep as insights go , but when spike connects on one of his roundhouses , it feels like the gospel .",
        "spike lee knows how to coax novelty out of conventional drama .",
        "an over-clever , underwhelming caper that 's largely undeserving of its director and cast .",
        "lee is less interested with the machinations of the heist than he is with making MOV both an indictment of the old money that built his beloved city and a love letter to the melting pot 's residents .",
        "MOV is not only one of spike lee 's best films to date but also his most sure-fire attempt at catching that elusive mainstream audience .",
        "i still want spike lee to make the challenging independent features for which he has become well known . however , as a detour into more mainstream filmmaking , MOV is genuinely satisfying .",
        "it 's very satisfying .",
        "may not be the incendiary filmmaker 's best , but it just might be his most purely enjoyable and sophisticated .",
        "while delivering the goods with a thriller premise , lee is once again more interested in making astute observations about contemporary society , especially as it relates to a post-9 / 11 mind-set .",
        "the dog-eat-dog hustle is an interesting backbone for lee , but the movie is too understated for its own complexity .",
        "hallelujah ! spike lee is back to his old tricks with MOV , his own quirky vision of a classic heist movie , complete with that certain big apple flair .",
        "entertains , but the plot is holey , holey , holey !",
        "great direction , acceptable amount of implausibilities . grabs the viewer from the outset , strongly engages , but slips in intensity nearer to the end .",
        "MOV , a crackling , twisty thriller about a bank heist that shows he -lsb- spike lee -rsb- can make an expensive , mainstream movie that 's every bit as well-crafted as the personal , arty films to which he has devoted most of his career .",
        "lee takes the usual potshots at this stewpot of race , power and politics . only here it 's effective as part of the story , as opposed to when it 's wielded like a tire iron in the context of a polemic .",
        "there is a first time for everything , and MOV is the first best film of this year .",
        "unexpectedly funny , leisurely paced and oblivious to the demands of its genre , MOV has a loose , playful vibe that 's at odds with its grave life-and-death scenario .",
        "MOV crackles with intelligence while never insulting yours , serving up a how 'd - they-do-it caper you 'll love trying to figure out .",
        "as caper movies go , MOV is a botched job . but it 's almost always interesting until the end and that counts for something .",
        "a throwback to the classic heist flicks of the '70s but with a 21st-century sensibility , MOV is the kind of twisty , cerebral thriller that they do n't make any more .",
        "MOV may be a genre flick , but its direction is certifiably lee -- sprinkled with trademark themes and visual cues , including his specialty , the strapped-to-a-factory-belt dolly shot .",
        "MOV brings lee back into the mainstream while still letting him have some fun , and he passes that fun on to the audience .",
        "MOV gives us back the stuff that once made lee 's movies entertaining : the snappy , sassy dialogue , the hip attitude , the obvious insight into the racial divide ."
    ],
    "summary": "spike lee 's energetic and clever bank-heist thriller is a smart genre film that is not only rewarding on its own terms , but manages to subvert its pulpy trappings with wit and skill -- and denzel washington is terrific as a brilliant hostage negotiator .",
    "id": "126518499"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bruce_almighty",
    "reviews": [
        "a fun summer flick , but it 's certainly not god 's gift to comedy .",
        "often quite funny .",
        "at the end of the day , carrey is far more palatable and sincere under a devil 's mask than a cardboard halo .",
        "like his early work , it 's not a particularly good film -- insipidly staged , inanely plotted , too weak to withstand the weight of any inquiries into logic or continuity -- but carrey 's energetic mugging , particularly early on , makes it relatively painless .",
        "when carrey is using his power to make a pompous news anchor break wind while on air , god 's in his heaven , and all 's right with the world .",
        "your tolerance for bruce will depend on the sensitivity of your cinematic sweet tooth . sweet to one viewer is sappy to another .",
        "the script became as gooey as the bounteous torso of marlon brando .",
        "when carrey is doing his thing as the almighty , histrionically whipping up one miracle after another and relishing the power , bruce has you spring-cleaning your lungs with laughter .",
        "rambunctiously funny .",
        "although the movie never quite explores all the heavenly possibilities , it does provide some wicked chuckles .",
        "there 's something to be said for a film that keeps us smiling rather than one that has a few funny moments before disappearing from memory forever .",
        "in the beginning , there was a comic talking out of his butt . and it was good .",
        "would have been better if keifer sutherland had reprised his role as the voice of god .",
        "todo poderoso \u00e9 capaz de fazer rir , \u00e9 verdade . mas est\u00e1 longe de ser a milagrosa com\u00e9dia que sua interessante premissa poderia ter gerado .",
        "compared to `` oh , god ! , '' `` MOV '' does n't have a prayer .",
        "carrey 's latest is a return if you will - albeit only a slightly more mature one - to the slapstick that made his the biggest name in big-screen comedies .",
        "even though carrey tries to make bruce a real , likeable -lrb- albeit madcap -rrb- character , shadyac encourages him to shamelessly go over the top in the godlike scenes , which undermines the whole film .",
        "carrey manages to balance the film 's often outlandish humor with a surprisingly touching , if ultimately simplistic , look at the relationship between humans and god ...",
        "MOV is a walking mid-life crisis bankrupt of knowledge and energy , and the sad part is that no one involved even seems to realize it .",
        "the yocks appeal mostly to the juvenile funnybone . but , the message -- humility through wish fulfillment -- is too mocked up with a supposed sympathy for the character than that which we discover on screen .",
        "while the filmmakers work the concept for a few nice twists , most of what follows feels as gimmicky and contrived as it is , with only carrey 's superhumanly energetic delivery keeping many scenes from falling flat .",
        "basically , MOV is about getting carrey to stop acting up . but without his misbehaving , there 's no movie .",
        "definitely carrey at his wackiest , goofiest and most endearing , which is definitely a welcome surprise .",
        "very snappy , sweetly moral .",
        "carrey still has ` it ' .",
        "a charmer , the kind of movie where bruce learns that while he may not ever make a very good god , the experience may indeed make him a better television newsman .",
        "lurches along in fits and starts , from funny to embarrassing , from earnest to egotistical , from yuks to yuck !",
        "it 's carrey who must carry this film , and he lifts MOV to the heavens .",
        "this is a wonderful movie . far better than it 's supposed to be .",
        "yep , this is the carrey america loves -- off-the-wall , over-the-top , elastic , spastic and fantastic .",
        "a smart , surprisingly thought-through blockbuster , with a decent grasp of the theological implications of its idea .",
        "mr. carrey gets some of his biggest laughs in years by playing up the darker side of his character 's small-mindedness .",
        "this is the rubber-faced , rubber-limbed carrey of old , and it 's a treat to watch his brilliant clowning , no matter how juvenile it is .",
        "the wacky scenes are simply not very funny ; anyone sitting in the audience could think of far better things to do with the powers of god than the film does .",
        "what a disappointment .",
        "even jim carrey , whose mere presence can often liven up a film lacking in luster , ca n't save the almighty turkey that is `` MOV . ''",
        "... manages to walk a tightrope between comedic elements and ` almighty ' elements ... god 's teaching bruce a life lesson , and everything -lrb- bruce -rrb- does has to count if it 's going to stick .",
        "where the majestic was an aggressive puppy licking your face , MOV is the same dog urinating on your leg .",
        "the script is doggone clever and the ideas never stop coming . i laughed and it felt good .",
        "carrey is good , but it 's just a shame the film did n't aim a little higher .",
        "pious sentiment clashes with comic histrionics , leaving the story floundering for tact and grasping at an indistinct point .",
        "nothing is permitted to get in the way of letting the star unleash his trademark exaggerated facial expressions and out-of-left-field line readings . ... there 's really only one person up there on the screen ; everyone else might as well be wallpaper .",
        "often entertaining , but it could have been more .",
        "the saving grace of MOV -- and it is a big enough one to make the movie worth seeing , despite its flaws -- is carrey , the most intelligent and inventive comedian we have .",
        "carrey 's return to comedy is divine , even if bruce ends up a few hail marys short of almighty .",
        "powerfully entertaining .",
        "carrey is utterly delightful , whether pulling off some hilarious pratfall or energizing the most mundane piece of dialogue .",
        "a woefully underwritten motion picture that starts out as a dumb comedy before taking an ill-advised detour into mawkish sentimentality .",
        "jim carrey may be unconvincing as a tv newsman ... but as an everyday joe temporarily granted all god 's powers , his return to crackpot comedy is a welcome summer movie treat .",
        "plays to the middle of the road - designed to be a big , safe , summer movie .",
        "this has some very funny moments and lines in its first act , and then jettisons the comedy in favour of a self-important deadly serious feelgood ending .",
        "the movie is in a hurry to show jim carrey goin ' all crazy with his superpowers , and does n't have the energy to give us a credible premise .",
        "move over meg ryan : when harry met sally 's climactic luncheonette scene will never be the same after aniston 's eye-popping rendezvous with her maker .",
        "while it may not be almighty , it sure was mighty funny .",
        "leans too much into sappy sentimentality .",
        "as another slick showreel for carrey 's talents , this is a slight but generally satisfying page in his career .",
        "with carrey on top form and some highly inventive sight gags , it 's the proverbial laugh riot .",
        "freeman does better here than in his recent showing as a mad colonel in dreamcatcher , but there 's a sense that this long-term asset to hollywood has taken to accepting too many half-baked scripts in order to maintain his reputation for hard work .",
        "`` MOV '' is an uproarious , enjoyable comedic farce that explores religion in many aspects .",
        "i was really rooting for bruce to ignore the responsibilities and give god the holy middle finger .",
        "carrey makes the most of the material , but his is only a mediocre effort and clearly far from his best work .",
        "carrey 's shtick is beginning to seem tired .",
        "the tale goes all sentimental and preachy , which might have worked had the director been frank capra . but it is n't ; it 's tom shadyac .",
        "the film , particularly in its first and last third , seems sadly devoid of imagination .",
        "... as much as `` MOV '' has charm - it 's a drab charm at best .",
        "carrey seems engaged in a kind of war with his own best comic instincts .",
        "everyone is well cast and no one more perfectly than freeman , who is far more god-like than george burns ever was .",
        "are you there god ? it 's me , moviegoer . please , why do movies like this happen ?",
        "a perfectly respectable jim carrey comedy that makes you feel as if you 're right back in 1997 , watching liar liar .",
        "this picture can be summed up perfectly in two words . ready ? god . awful .",
        "less oh , god ! than dear god .",
        "religion can be a touchy subject , but almighty dances through the jesus minefield with style and class .",
        "lacks the imagination that should be commensurate with a story about a guy holding the powers of god .",
        "disappointing .",
        "like nearly all the carrey movies , MOV groans from the disparity between his talent and the writers working hard to deliver broad , forced material that only he might save .",
        "this is one of carrey 's ` in-between ' films , the kind best suited to his lofty ambitions but rather limited acting ability .",
        "consistently amusing , despite being formulaic and occasionally sappy .",
        "freeman is one of the delights of the film , as an avuncular deity with a sense of humor .",
        "-lsb- carrey 's -rsb- latest is a comedy-thank heaven-that might even cause the guy upstairs to fall down laughing .",
        "` you can see carrey straining to reign in his more extreme comedic tendencies - and losing the battle . '",
        "the dearth of imagination is stupefying . carrey is alternately embarrassing and terrifyingly detached , -lsb- and -rsb- freeman has sold out .",
        "never before have i heard the f word used in a film about god , though i 'm sure there were times in passion of the christ when jesus was thinking it ...",
        "-lsb- aniston -rsb- contributes another professional outing in what 's little more than a supporting role , indicating she 's a serious actress and not just one of those jerks on friends .",
        "it is laugh out loud funny and yet , heartfelt .",
        "MOV is the kind of movie that jim carrey should stick to .",
        "up until the last act , bruce is a decent , if not stellar jim carrey comedy .",
        "it 's not a divine comedy , but it beats getting struck by lightning -lrb- if god does n't have a sense of humor , do n't stand next to jim carrey -rrb- .",
        "something between an indiscretion and an atrocity , in the key of that most human yet loathsome of self-indulgences , vanity .",
        "the script takes the safe , formulaic route to a predictable happy hollywood ending , frank capra-style .",
        "based on its wasted potential , something tells me the cinema gods would n't be nearly as forgiving .",
        "the laughs in MOV are thinly spread across a vast , bland cake of uplifting sentiment .",
        "jim carrey gets the chance to shine in funny and serious scenes as he cavorts through ` MOV ' -- and he 's got the power to do both .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- tom shadyac ... has taken this predictable , hackneyed , and astonishingly unentertaining script and rendered it lethargic , the pacing tedious",
        "i 've seen more wit in straight-to-video ernest flicks .",
        "it starts in darkness , moves into safe liar liar-type territory , and ends with boring significance .",
        "-lsb- carrey -rsb- is so gifted a physical comedian that even mediocre material shines in his talented hands .",
        "one gets the feeling that for a movie star like carrey , being god is a lateral move at best .",
        "a mixed bag .",
        "most of the time , it 's unclear whether bruce is a god or a poltergeist .",
        "the movie works when carrey 's mugging it up ... but melts into a saccharine tub of goo when he plays it straight .",
        "it 's stunning how a movie about someone who gets to be the ultimate high-and-mighty could set its sights so low .",
        "an unevenness of tone , which becomes manipulative in effect , echoes and compounds the unconvincing look and feel of the entire film .",
        "this hilarious parable about the opening of a selfish man 's heart reveals why all the world 's religions treasure the spiritual practice of play .",
        "jim carrey riffs , wickedly , on what it 's like to be god , then whiffs , sanctimoniously , on what it 's like to be human .",
        "it 's a wonderful life is a homemade apple pie , warm from the oven and topped with vanilla bean ice cream . MOV is a bag of nacho cheese doritos .",
        "the movie is mainly an excuse to display special-effects gags in the form of the various miracles manifested -- some of which are highly imaginative , some of which are n't .",
        "in fact , the force fed pious platitudes coupled with carrey 's familiar rubber-faced shtick renders this pseudo-virtuous vehicle a one-way ticket to the pearly gates of mediocrity .",
        "in several ways the movie is an apathetic revision of the truman show , with carrey starring as both truman and christof .",
        "i wonder what a mike nichols could have made of this .",
        "so funny i seriously thought i was going to fall out of my chair .",
        "exactly what it looks like : a cute premise extended to feature length , with plenty of opportunity for mr. carrey to mug for the camera .",
        "happily , carrey is back with his trademark facial expressions and outrageous physical comedy .",
        "after playing the ideal cia chief in `` the sum of all fears '' and president in `` deep impact , '' morgan freeman can add god to the list of positions he seems tailor made for .",
        "what bruce should have used his powers for was a better script .",
        "mighty bad , like a lowbrow version of ` it 's a wonderful life ' rewritten by the farrelly brothers for a middle-aged jerry lewis .",
        "... a great concept -- a clod becomes god .",
        "it 's a crazy quilt made of bits from all of shadyac 's work .",
        "if the results are something less than inspired , they remind us there is godliness in silliness .",
        "lacks the insane , anything-goes energy this premise deserved .",
        "because there 's always been a megalomaniac lurking inside carrey 's manic personality , it 's funny to see him literally play god .",
        "two thirds liar liar and one third the majestic ... if you can forgive the film 's sappy last act , you can still have a good time laughing at carrey 's antics .",
        "i ca n't help but wonder if the film might have worked with a more sincere , if less comically inspired , actor at the helm .",
        "MOV has a great premise that collapses into feel-good stickiness , after an often-hilarious 45 minutes .",
        "a pleasurable film that that loses some steam down the stretch but is ultimately fun for a period of time .",
        "where the truman show delivered its sermon on calvinism in modern times with humor , humanity , and grace ; MOV tries to same with cheap sentiment and cheaper jokes .",
        "it 's really about a generation 's sense of entitlement , with god thrown in as the ultimate `` dad '' you can go and complain to .",
        "a goofy crowd-pleaser , which is all right , i suppose , yet strange . after all , if you have the powers of god to play with , you 'd expect to have a little more ambition .",
        "god-awful .",
        "carrey forces it early on , stiff , awkward . but becomes comfortable once he gets those god powers . he 's funny , but it 's steve carell who garnishes the film 's belly laughs .",
        "it offers plenty of opportunities for carrey to show off his wonderfully elastic comedy muscles .",
        "a smart , snappy comedy .",
        "the inspiration flags after a while , but there are many hilarious moments , and the resolution -lrb- thanks to jennifer aniston as carrey 's put-upon girlfriend -rrb- is sweetly touching .",
        "there 's remarkably little done with a premise snatched from high-concept heaven , adding yet another file to the growing cabinet of under-realized comedies .",
        "this is another of jim carrey 's surefire vehicles that can be whittled down to a phrase : jim carrey is the grinch ; jim carrey is god .",
        "the premise sounds good , but this time around the result is forced and undercooked .",
        "happily deranged comedy has typical carrey humor .",
        "ultimately , MOV is an excuse for jim carrey to be crazy and zany . he puts on his comedy hat and has fun with the script . it 's made for the jim carrey fan .",
        "for all its swings for the fences , the movie never rises above being lightly amusing .",
        "it fails to really use carrey 's comedic ability and it ultimately wastes the potential it reaps .",
        "if only the writers had thought to open up the concept beyond dog-on-toilet gags .",
        "director shadyac and his three scriptwriters prove much more fallibly flawed than their omnipotent hero .",
        "for the first half of the film all is right with the world and you 're reminded why it is jim 's one of our most adored mega stars .",
        "a very funny and enjoyable film .",
        "the problem is that bruce is an unlikable , self-centered character .",
        "midrange carrey , neither as artful as the truman show nor as singularly crude as ace ventura : pet detective .",
        "like its protagonist , it 's too willing to ignore its assets . we do n't ask much from our summer movies ; a little effort should not be beyond this one 's grasp .",
        "moralizing mumbo-jumbo",
        "if you 're looking for a decent jim carrey flick , consider your prayers answered .",
        "if you are a fan of carrey 's comedic talents , and if you just want a few laughs , MOV is all-righty , then .",
        "one idea stretched thin .",
        "a lame supernatural comedy that loses jim carrey in a wilderness of witlessness .",
        "-lsb- carrey -rsb- is in loose-limbed form , with healthy doses of fury , in a film that mostly succeeds at fusing his slapstick talents and more heartfelt inclinations .",
        "the crude comedy is funny and the sentimentality is touching , but the two halves mix like oil and water .",
        "when MOV 's act iii schmaltz-fest kicks in , the film feels as schizophrenic as the audience feels insulted .",
        "closer to patch adams than ace ventura .",
        "jim carrey 's blessed with such incredible comedic talent and precise comedic timing that he elevates the mediocre material .",
        "... on at least three or four occasions , carrey made me laugh so hard i had tears in my eyes -- and that 's a heck of a trick .",
        "bruce takes over for the vacationing deity , but despite an initial surge of jolly , somewhat cruel chaos -lrb- as when he forces the new anchor to unreel paragraphs of gibberish on camera -rrb- , things soon turn soggy .",
        "as if running low on dramatic irony , jim carrey and his just-add-water team of merry pranksters from ` ace ventura : pet detective ' and ` liar liar ' come armed with a premise as heavenly as they come - and aim for sea level .",
        "i was in comedy heaven !",
        "highly watchable .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- marks carrey 's worst movie to date -lrb- and no , i 'm not forgetting that dreadful ace ventura sequel -rrb- ...",
        "even with all its predictability , MOV and its star jim carrey still leaves you crying from laughter .",
        "a small , sad , cheap movie .",
        "a concept without exploration , there 's not much of a movie here .",
        "it 'll be a miracle if the movie is n't a hit but my guess is that , upon seeing it , only the very rare viewer will give thanks .",
        "... as entertaining as you can expect a friday night date-movie to be .",
        "finally , there 's an answer to the lyrics posed in joan osborne 's annoying song one of us . and star jim carrey is the one to thank/blame .",
        "the film just did n't seem to have enough to sustain its ripe premise .",
        "the whole thing reeks of the formulaic , of a carefully packaged bid to propel the star back to his appointed place in the commercial constellation , all the while depriving him of the dark side that got him there in the first place .",
        "director shadyac -lrb- liar liar -rrb- knows how to play carrey 's instrument in such a way that he can have a real story & still play up the laughs & supernatural aspects to the hilt .",
        "the film is worth seeing for freeman and a few isolated gags , but bruce is never the wildly funny farce it might have been , nor the deep-dish meaning-of-life tract it thinks it is .",
        "carrey is encouraged to be as silly as he can get . and he needs to be , as the last of the film is a colossal wet blanket .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- cardboard , fast-food vat of lowest common-denominator fluff .",
        "it drowns -lsb- carrey 's -rsb- hilarious physicality in an ocean of sap .",
        "i have not laughed this hard at a comedy in a long time , and several scenes that aimed for the gut had me wiping tears from my eyes .",
        "here is what god says : stop ` looking up . ' stop looking to god . look to yourself instead . make a difference . give blood . take the high road . forgive . be satisfied with what you have . oh . is that what we 'd be doing , if only we 'd stop ` looking up . '",
        "the humor works -lrb- albeit with reservations -rrb- , and once you get through the syrup , the film has a surprisingly relevant and humanistic lesson to pontificate .",
        "MOV is proof that `` high concept '' movies can also be well-crafted and ambitious ... there 's plenty of smart comic filmmaking at play throughout ."
    ],
    "summary": "carrey is hilarious in the slapstick scenes , but MOV gets bogged down in treacle .",
    "id": "10528"
  },
  {
    "movie": "conversations_with_other_women",
    "reviews": [
        "a near-perfect amalgamation of cinematic technique and content .",
        "one of the most realistically romantic movies i 've seen in a while . and i 'm not easily impressed by what generally passes for `` movie romance . ''",
        "i was hooked to the screen , to the film 's sense of time and place and risk , to the intelligence of the talk and the intimations of pleasure and regret in bonham carter 's performance .",
        "pining affair for mature art house fans .",
        "director hans canosa has made a split-screen experimental student film about two would-be lovers who connect after a wedding party in new york city .",
        "... although infused with a number of truthful moments and an awfully romantic atmosphere , director hans canosa 's use of split-screen remains a distraction throughout the film 's admittedly brisk running time .",
        "engrossing from start to finish , MOV is a stimulating man/woman tussle about life , love and the whole damn thing . it 's funny , unexpected , philosophical and romantic with a dash of melancholy thrown in for good measure",
        "initially , the split screen seems like a quirky idea . but it gets old fast .",
        "an intriguing deconstruction of a failed relationship , long past its point of no return .",
        "canosa demonstrates a playful and inventive filmmaking style with this insightful story of a relationship told from various perspectives",
        "hans canosa 's studied debut feature stars aaron eckhart and helena bonham carter as old flames who meet , years after parting , and have a short fling .",
        "the battle of the sexes is restaged to clever but inconsequential effect in MOV .",
        "that the movie holds viewers ' attention despite its contrivances is a testament to the script and acting .",
        "an innovative technique -- splitting the screen into two parts throughout -- works somewhat but becomes a distraction .",
        "screenwriter gabrielle zevin skillfully changes the tone of the dialogue and , by only gradually revealing details of the couple 's past and present , keeps these conversations continually intriguing .",
        "the split screen sabotages -lsb- canosa 's -rsb- best intentions ; it 's a conceit that only manages to make the viewer irritable .",
        "it 's hard to think of a recent movie that nails the circular games of adults trying to get laid and then talking their way out of it .",
        "there 's a reason before sunrise and before sunset were done as two movies , not one .",
        "it 's hard to imagine a gallic film would make such an issue of carter 's character being over the hill at 40 or straight-facedly claiming that eckhart is fat by any reasonable definition .",
        "theirs is an affair not worth remembering .",
        "MOV is a small drama , but with the attention to character and emotionality , it plays on screen as something larger .",
        "the film ultimately becomes too contrived to be anything but a fleeting diversion , but kudos to these emerging filmmakers for daring to make something a little bit different and , for the most part , intriguing .",
        "the charm of MOV , a gimmicky but oddly moving two-character drama that flies in from who knows where , is its intelligent knowingness .",
        "the film is technically brilliant but emotionally shallow ; take away the split screen gimmick , and you have a romantic drama that would n't be worth its running time .",
        "you spend more time watching the technique than the interplay between carter and eckhart .",
        "eckhart delivers a complicated performance , veering from aggressive to abashed , and stopping at puppy-eager , jealous , and conflicted along the way",
        "this is entertainment by and for adults .",
        "the observations about love and sex and time and memory are uncommonly sharp and true .",
        "the technique heightens the drama , illustrating how each character is in his or her own lonely little world .",
        "eckhart delivers a complicated performance , veering from aggressive to abashed , and stopping at puppy-eager , jealous , and conflicted along the way .",
        "a slippery delight with as much tension as a standard thriller , but the smarts of a literate drama , both of which it is .",
        "by fade out , the movie has run out of air : the quick , clever dialogue flattens out and it becomes contrived .",
        "having been locked up in burton 's toy chest for so long , -lsb- bonham carter -rsb- is all the more dazzling in this wistful two-character infidelity drama .",
        "this is a mature and very smart movie , one that evokes the secret histories of loves lost and longings that never fade completely .",
        "it may be dotted with fine observations , yet somehow the charm of its novelty grows stale , and the airless feeling of a closed set begins to fester .",
        "though the movie is occasionally too clever-talky for its own good , it has the authentic ring of an elegy for love lost when one partner grows up while the other runs in place .",
        "mostly it works because this is about two people desperately trying to do the impossible : to reconcile the past with the present , reality with fantasy , and desire with responsibility .",
        "brian depalma 's before sunset .",
        "director hans canosa 's bittersweet chronicle of an encounter between two unnamed guests at a new york city wedding reception is a daring , feature-length experiment in ` dual-frame ' or ` split-screen ' filmmaking .",
        "a soothing salve for blockbuster-bruised cinemagoers starved , like conversations ' own lovers , for something real and substantial",
        "might never have worked if not for the personality , charm and palpable chemistry between its two leads .",
        "the actors , who portray a reunion that is more sparring match than love fest , strike occasional sparks -lrb- but why must carter always look so chalk white ? -rrb- .",
        "an unconventional love story about a couple who try to recapture the enchantment of their long-ago relationship and learn they have to let go with equanimity in middle age .",
        "an intimate movie in every sense , MOV sets out to explore well-trammeled yet at the same time uncharted territory without grinding any axes .",
        "the gimmick has its poetic moments , but the actors ca n't do much to make screenwriter gabrielle zevin 's strategems for characters seem like real people .",
        "conversations is all about the push and pull of opposing forces with nary a winner in sight .",
        "the split-screen gimmick is just that , but you could do a lot worse than watching the two gifted lead actors gab .",
        "despite the occasional distracting glitches in the split screen , this is one of the best small pictures of the season",
        "the posturing twosome in the movie are themselves a compendium of stylish ticks in need of substantive redemption -- for once , the gimmick is a perfect reflection of the characters .",
        "the chemistry between bonham carter and eckhart is wonderful to watch .",
        "director hans canosa 's incisive and melancholy pas de deux ... presented entirely in split-screen ... -lsb- is -rsb- a potentially ostentatious piece of directorial hoohah , but it has rewards .",
        "le film d'hans canosa appara\u00eet comme un effort d'une grande maturit\u00e9 , d\u00e9gageant une spontan\u00e9it\u00e9 et une honn\u0119tet\u00e9 surprenante pour un film majoritairement ax\u00e9 sur les dialogues",
        "MOV feels like a one-act play stretched into a feature film and padded with those visual gimmicks .",
        "... a high-concept chamber drama in which the screen expresses what the two fumbling former lovers ca n't .",
        "eckhart and bonham-carter use their mutual charm to maximum effectiveness , sparring off each other with ease , and practically sending sparks through the screen ...",
        "it can be tricky to watch both screens at once -lrb- MOV rewards multiple viewings -rrb- , but it 's invigorating to see a filmmaker exploring technique as metaphor ."
    ],
    "summary": "its occasional use of split screen may feel gimmicky at times , but MOV is a bold , inventive drama carried by its two charismatic leads .",
    "id": "248007841"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paul",
    "reviews": [
        "a decent take on the usual pegg/frost bromance , and a welcome return to the level of geekery that plays to their strengths , MOV entertains without excelling .",
        "a lazy piece of geeksploitation cinema designed to buttress the pegg/frost brand stateside with comic con-courting clich\u00e9s and groan-inducing movie references .",
        "the bromance between pegg and frost is still as strong as ever , and kristen wiig steals the show with her turn as a religious fanatic freed from her fundamentalist shackles .",
        "this is n't one for the ages , but it 'll do for a saturday night .",
        "though it 's not on a par with simon pegg and nick frost 's best work , it 's hard to imagine anybody not enjoying it .",
        "if you 've ever stood outside on a cloudless night , gazed up at the stars and wondered if there was life on other planets - and if that life would be fun to do bong hits with - this is your movie .",
        "pro-evolution debate aside for now , which is `` kind of a buzz kill '' , on the whole , MOV beams feel-good fun , cheekiness and carefree spirit .",
        "almost every good moment in the film is sandwiched between two bits that are n't nearly as well built .",
        "think of MOV as a love letter to fanboys , especially the variety that knows the standards well enough to hoot along every time a sci-fi hit rings up a reference .",
        "enthusiastically acted and sharply written . a big old lovefest in honor of the classic alien visitation movies that we all hold near and dear .",
        "i do n't know if i 've laughed this hard since `` hot fuzz '' .",
        "MOV 's a road movie where the joy of hanging out with the characters is half the point , and these are characters that would be fun to revisit again and again .",
        "this is a very good film . one imagines though that it could have been great ... very great indeed .",
        "MOV is arguably the best science fiction comedy since galaxy quest .",
        "a valentine to all things sci-fi that insiders will adore and outsiders will enjoy without feeling lost .",
        "MOV is ultimately a sweet homage to pop culture geeks , sci-fi aficionados and anyone who came of age on a steady diet of spielberg blockbusters .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- t 's a sendup done with real affection and with the odd notion that those advanced aliens may be just as big a bunch of goofballs as we are .",
        "`` MOV '' might not connect with everyone , but it 's certainly funny and heartfelt enough to please those brave enough to see it . it seems destined for a cult following rather than a legion of converted geeks .",
        "`` MOV '' is a science fiction fan 's delight , filled with references and situations reminiscent of some iconic favorites .",
        "fondly indulgent rather than inspired , breezy but broad and indicative of treasured talents coasting .",
        "get a load of this : MOV smokes marijuana cigarettes , has jumbo-sized naughty bits and keeps making jokes about probing bums ! goodness gracious me . pass the smelling salts , aunt jemima .",
        "simon pegg and nick frost in a faltering extraterrestrial knockabout .",
        "there are plenty of giggly gags but also a hint of diminishing returns .",
        "although there are laughs along the way and pegg and frost have an easy on-screen camaraderie , there 's a smugness that prevents them from achieving their potential .",
        "although superbad 's greg mottola does n't have the firm directorial grip of the pair 's usual collaborator , edgar wright , for the most part this is a far-out , funny ride .",
        "smart and savvy .",
        "an enjoyable , well written sci-fi comedy that 's packed with great gags , geek-pleasing film references and a host of terrific performances from a talented comic cast .",
        "from time to time , clever ideas rear their heads , but they soon return to the film 's default setting of laddish japes .",
        "it does n't have the same charm as shaun and fuzz but this is one of the funniest films in ages and is hugely entertaining .",
        "the problem is self-indulgence and a distinct shortage of real gags .",
        "its funniest single line is a reference to the incest documentary capturing the friedmans . if nothing in that last sentence makes any sense to you , stay well away .",
        "what 's funniest about MOV however , is that each of its characters is stunned out of their complacency , right down to a humorous and touching revelation in the climax .",
        "the thing that differentiates their humor from a lot of others is that it 's free from meanness . they are not making fun of people like graeme and clive but rather taking delight in their silly obsessions .",
        "the results are , again , not-quite-brilliant but funny enough .",
        "let 's just say that if you have any love for science fiction and fantasy films from the past 40 years you 'll certainly enjoy the film .",
        "it 's vaguely pleasant and never offensive , but also predominately blah .",
        "it all launches an e.t. riff that the two brits would have mocked in their seminal tv series , spaced .",
        "a movie that knows exactly what it is and never tries to overreach . this is an unapologetic goofball romp , nothing more , nothing less",
        "while frost is particularly well-cast , most of the actors seem to be having fun . you will , too , as long as you arrive with lowered expectations .",
        "i 'd recommend it , but i 'd also recommend going in with medium-ish expectations .",
        "the film 's central idea is n't funny , really , at all . neither is the plot , the dialogue , or most of the jokes .",
        "i suppose , though , that it 's the voice of rogen that eventually becomes grating as the wise-cracking MOV .",
        "a good-hearted , funny movie .",
        "this is not quite enough of a conceit to sustain a full-length movie -- MOV would have made a terrific short film -- but there are incidental pleasures all along the way .",
        "the results , it must be said , are less hi-larious than sporadically mid-to-low-larious .",
        "MOV is e.t. and fanboys mixed together with a lot of pot . it has a few laughs , but i expected more from simon pegg and nick frost .",
        "in the end - as well as the middle and maybe even at the outset - MOV is more often a close encounter of the middling kind .",
        "MOV makes going to the movies fun again .",
        "while not as consistently funny or sharp as their previous pairings , MOV is a heartfelt tribute to friendship , what lies beyond the stars , and being a nerd .",
        "with so much reliable talent involved in this film it is extremely disappointing that it is only a mildly amusing comedy with a smattering of reasonably fun science-fiction references .",
        "pegg and frost have been better , but MOV is still good for a few laughs .",
        "simon pegg and nick frost are two guys who know what they like and whenever they turn their hands to writing a script , you can feel that enthusiasm in every line .",
        "the poster is cute , the trailer cuter . `` MOV '' the movie ? do n't ask .",
        "it 's not the comedy of the year , but it counts as a fun night out at the movies .",
        "pegg and frost shoehorn in so many one-liners taken from other movies they 're like embarrassing uncles at a wedding who have bet they can add a sci-fi twist to every conversation .",
        "MOV is slacker than the duo 's previous efforts , but the gags still come thick and fast .",
        "the comic targets and the central manchildren bromance all feel overly familiar ... still , MOV benefits from pegg and frost 's british comedic slant and the full complement of comedic talent ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "a refreshingly rollicking , sweetly raunchy comedy about a little green dude just trying to get home .",
        "its niche specificity celebrates geek culture in a way that it seems like few mainstream viewers will identify with , unfortunately overshadowing what is an otherwise imperfect but funny and genuinely sweet story .",
        "here 's a movie that teeters on the edge of being really pretty good and loses its way .",
        "more in love with its ability to quote an assortment of science-fiction works than to actually find a comic niche of its own .",
        "... drowns in geek butter ; every scene is stuffed with winks , nods and easter eggs , a cavalcade of inside jokes , including a honky-tonk band playing mos eisley cantina music with fiddles .",
        "pegg and frost should n't be wasting their combined talents on such disposable fare .",
        "` MOV ' is more a bagful of giggles . rogen is a nonstop hoot , but it 's the byplay between frost and pegg that roots the laughs in characters we care about .",
        "infused with an appreciation of all things sci-fi ... specifically , all things steven spielberg",
        "MOV has too much message and profanity - and not enough laughs to make up for either .",
        "beam us up , scotty . there 's no intelligent life here .",
        "it does n't have any of the invention of the pair 's last two outings . overall , MOV is a genial , unremarkable movie that skates by on its charm .",
        "the `` shock '' humor slowly smoothes itself out and meshes into the laid-back quality of the story , helped by the sheer presence of the cast .",
        "that rarest of specimens : a genuinely funny geek-friendly comedy .",
        "the writing skill of edgar wright of hot fuzz and shaun is badly missed . it is n't a failure , but it 's by no means a success .",
        "not on the level of shaun of the dead , or hot fuzz , but MOV is still a whole lot of fun . kristen wiig makes an inspired addition to the pegg/frost team .",
        "what really pushes MOV into the stratosphere is the level of charm and chemistry between its cast members .",
        "it 's strange in that the best material seems to have been saved for the supporting cast members .",
        "MOV is a fun tribute to sci-fi films -lrb- and film geekery in general -rrb- , but did it have to be so ... dumb ?",
        "a sci-fi spoof for everyone with funny encounters that will require close attention .",
        "MOV proves that these children of science fiction have bloomed into a rotten bunch indeed .",
        "this is a madcap ride with hilarious and occasionally touching references to many other films about aliens .",
        "it is not that MOV is in any way a bad movie . it is just a very average one .",
        "passably funny , though one suspects even diehard sci-fi buffs will find the film 's wall-to-wall pop referencing tiring and a tad lazy . does n't anybody write genuine jokes any more ?",
        "the film can be summed up by its affectionate parody e.t in the finale : amiable and inoffensive but completely inferior to the classic films it references .",
        "director greg mottola did not understand what makes a simon pegg comedy funny . and neither did simon pegg or co-writer nick frost .",
        "MOV is n't as riotous as the early pegg and frost movies , but it does have a certain sweetness . everyone in it is sort of innocent , except MOV , the alien wisecracker . it 's likeable , if uneven , rather than hilarious .",
        "that the film is an often hilarious love letter to other , better films is what prevents it from forging its own identity like edgar wright 's mini-masterpieces .",
        "... a very funny movie with its heart in the right place .",
        "vale mucho m\u00e1s la pena ver -lrb- o volver a ver -rrb- alguno de los antecedentes de la dupla simon pegg y nick frost , como shaun of the dead , hot fuzz o la serie spaced .",
        "a sort of comedy homage to seminal sci-fi movie culture from the 80s , MOV never takes itself too seriously and is a lot of fun .",
        "this is a nerd movie made by n00bs .",
        "it 's raunchy but harmless",
        "while paying homage to e.t. and close encounters , they accidentally re-made howard the duck .",
        "surprisingly smart and filled with homage , MOV is crass and a little rough around the edges , but thoroughly enjoyable .",
        "it 's not a bad film by any means , it was just slightly disappointing especially when you take into account the talents of pegg and frost .",
        "MOV is probably the closest thing to spaced that pegg and frost have made since edgar wright closed the book on tim & daisy .",
        "passable f-bomb riddled fanboy fare , a bit of a comedown from frost and pegg 's british movies .",
        "simon pegg and nick frost have proven once again that there is no genre outside their enviable range or comedic abilities .",
        "the hiccups of comedy genius feel like hollow victories in a generally average film .",
        "i wanted to love MOV , but found myself feeling merely infatuated with it instead .",
        "a film that is entertaining enough to warrant seeing but one that will pretty much fade from your memory by the time you get home from the theatre .",
        "an uneven but amiable road trip sci-fi comedy about an alien with sly references to everything from `` star trek '' and `` 2001 '' to `` alien '' and `` battlestar gallactica . ''",
        "a celebration of geek culture and silliness that vacillates between lowest common denominator and rewards for those who spend too much time enamored with star wars .",
        "set your humor-detection capacitors for moderate to above-average intake levels . i have n't laughed this much since maybe last monday , but that was a particularly strong monday .",
        "what has happened to pegg ? why does he mug so ? why ca n't he relax and let the audience come to him , rather than auditioning for our affection with every reaction shot ?",
        "it 's more than occasionally cute , if less than consistently clever .",
        "the result is profane , surprisingly affectionate , often scathingly funny and occasionally inspired .",
        "a reference-laden road trip/chase yukfest that does n't quite capture that same spaced magic but is eventually just so likable it is hard to knock its flaws too much .",
        "there is quite a bit to chuckle at if you have a more sophisticated sense of humour , but this film really is e.t. remade for not-quite-grown-ups .",
        "it might not quite hit the high notes of shaun of the dead and hot fuzz , but their many dedicated fans will find plenty of satisfying laughs in pegg and frost 's latest .",
        "how could so many talented people collaborate on something so dull ?",
        "while not a breakthrough on the level of shaun of the dead or hot fuzz , writer/stars simon pegg and nick frost 's MOV features an appealingly oddball premise .",
        "MOV has a terrific concept -- an affectionate send-up of the sci-fi genre . MOV has it ups , but it also has unfortunate downs . instead of going to the moon , it goes to wyoming .",
        "this one needed more time in the oven .",
        "even with a wee too many bladder jokes , MOV is sweet and often hilarious ...",
        "a fun ride through a comic twilight zone .",
        "it 's a road movie , a buddy movie , a chase movie and a sci-fi spoof , all rolled into one hilarious madcap adventure",
        "if it 's escapist fun you want , just go with MOV",
        "packed with references to other films instead of original jokes , this goofy comedy at least keeps us laughing all the way through . the idea itself is hilarious , and the movie 's assembled with skill and energy .",
        "this is both a fitting tribute to those `` my best friend is an alien/computer/talking cat/whatever '' movies from the '80s and funny on its own terms , and that 's two more boxes ticked than a lot of comedies manage .",
        "... elevated by the charisma of the various actors and by the enjoyably tongue-in-cheek nature of pegg and frost 's screenplay .",
        "an amusingly absurd close encounters wish-fulfillment fantasy for sci-fi fans .",
        "a celebration of sci-fi flicks , fanboys and good , old-fashioned bromance , `` MOV '' is a thoroughly enjoyable road trip .",
        "next to shaun of the dead and hot fuzz , MOV does feel flat , although pegg and frost paper over the cracks with nods and winks to classic fantasy and sci-fi films .",
        "an intergalactic grossout road movie subverting the sci-fi genre , and reimagined as an alien voyage into the extreme nuttiness of middle america . and where MOV seems to be the only sensible fugitive on board , in a sea of mutually terrifying earthlings .",
        "the innate in-ness has a tendency to tip over into self-indulgence , but at other times it 's easy to get swept up in what is essentially a pretty amiable road trip comedy .",
        "it 's c-minus work from people who normally deliver a-level efforts .",
        "it 's a good thing MOV was written from a place of love , as it is absolutely the death knell for geek chic .",
        "unlike the movies its creators love and are paying homage to here , MOV is one big goof .",
        "geek is its own language , and MOV speaks it fluently .",
        "nostalgia is both an advantage and disadvantage in greg mottola 's MOV , a loving lampoon of geek culture and an homage to the films of the spielberg/lucas revolution .",
        "what happened here ?",
        "while not as cohesive as simon pegg and nick frost 's previous genre riffs , this rambling alien road comedy has its own loose , enjoyable vibe .",
        "that 's not to dismiss MOV 's simple pleasures -- if nothing else , its fondness for sex and drugs and four-letter words rescues its references from the soft hands of wee ones into which they 've fallen of late .",
        "it 's not nearly as engaging as the many films it parodies , but it 's a charming little tribute .",
        "how strange that two of my favorite movies so far this year star little green men . ` MOV , ' the latest simon pegg/nick frost movie , is a science-fiction comedy that 's strictly for grownups . it 's raunchy , rude and raucous .",
        "a whole lot sillier , raunchier , and sweeter than its advertising suggests .",
        "MOV is offensive solely for being so underachieving .",
        "a foul-mouthed ` mac and me , ' funnier than its mostly lukewarm reviews suggest ...",
        "... a sort of trailer-trash remake of e.t. ...",
        "well , that 's one joke . ninety more minutes to go .",
        "moderately funny , satisfying tribute to sci-fi .",
        "pegg and frost tackle something more menacing than flesh-eating zombies or angry villagers : the us of a.",
        "MOV starts strong with a lot of affectionate , funny jokes about geek culture , book signings , ufos and comic book conventions , but it eventually falls into self-parody .",
        "most of the laughs in `` MOV '' are those of recognition -lrb- ` get away from her you b * % $ , ' gertie 's cafe , devil ' tower , star wars cantina music etc. -rrb- than true humor .",
        "packed with sci-fi in-jokes , the picture is more gently amusing than hilarious and the characters , while likeable , are hardly the most fascinating or complex .",
        "an agreeable comedy that is likely to be over-inflated to masterpiece status by fanboys .",
        "what makes the film largely work , despite its occasional slackness and over-trodden terrain , is its overall affability -lrb- and smutty words -rrb- .",
        "MOV is like all those comedies i used to like , the kind where they were just plain good .",
        "a sweet , likable little movie that allows its supporting cast to outshine the stars .",
        "a solid action comedy featuring a standout performance from seth rogen -lsb- that -rsb- will make you wonder how much better it might have been with frequent collaborator edgar wright in charge .",
        "an alien encounter would be memorable ; MOV is forgotten before you get to the car .",
        "-lsb- pegg and frost ' -rsb- successes seem to have functioned as a supermagnet , attracting not only the skilled comedy director greg mottola but a supporting cast that could sustain two or three movies on its own .",
        "comedies this well put together are the exception , not the rule , and when one comes along with a troupe who pull as many comedic chains as this one does i , for one , stand and applaud it -- once my mirth subsides .",
        "a frolicsome comedy in which two englishmen encounter a smart , witty , and gifted extraterrestrial on their pilgrimage to famous ufo sites in america .",
        "finds its own shambling , syncopated rhythm .",
        "the humor is generally in well-traveled terrain with a generous helping of penis jokes , but somehow having it coming out of the mouth of a little green man makes it fresh and ironic .",
        "what 's frustrating is how consistently the film waffles between the inspired and the inept .",
        "it 's not out of this world , but MOV is just spacey enough to convince us the truth is out there . and buzzed .",
        "broader and more accessible than either shaun of the dead or hot fuzz , MOV is pure pegg and frost - clever , cheeky and very , very funny .",
        "after the sharp bite and harsh light of most american-style guy-based funny films today , `` MOV '' comes as such sweet relief .",
        "this is a well-made , well-plotted and sensitive movie .",
        "would have been a great movie for kids but that pesky r rating gets in the way .",
        "MOV brings back all that is consequential through an ingenious spoof of taken-for-granted sci-fi lore .",
        "MOV is aimed primarily at comic-book fans and cosmos-loving adults who are n't easily offended . but the phenomenal cast , funny script and solid pacing help make MOV a stellar cinematic excursion for even the most down-to-earth humans .",
        "it 's not perfect , but it is consistently fun .",
        "the cgi alien is very well articulated , and rogen is a virtuoso at mixing motormouthed rudeness with a hint of tenderness to take off the edge .",
        "not shaun , but still pretty good .",
        "this is a love letter , a very funny love letter , to science fiction films like ` aliens ' and ` e.t. '",
        "the film has some laughs . but it also has a million jokes about anal probes , alien genitalia , and people thinking clive and graeme are gay . these guys can do better than this .",
        "though more attuned to broader humour than the whip-smart wit and cleverness of pegg and frost 's british comedies , MOV definitely has a loopy charm .",
        "it 's definitely not terrible . i just expected so much more from pegg , frost , mottola and a great supporting cast and subject .",
        "an affectionate comic pastiche of et-type science fiction pictures .",
        "having so much talent involved in making a comedy that 's not particularly funny is quite disappointing .",
        "-lsb- f -rsb- unny . and sweet . and fearless , in small ways that would n't stand out if most mainstream movies were n't so damned cowardly in so many big ways . it 's a total nerd fantasy ...",
        "nearly everyone involved in MOV has been part of some kind of comedic masterpiece , which may be why i ca n't help wishing this perfectly good movie had gotten a little closer to being great .",
        "the film delivers laughs and heart and some strong ideas and energy ...",
        "watching MOV makes you wonder whether edgar wright was n't the one who kicked simon pegg and nick frost 's previous films up the notch needed to give them their bite .",
        "gags and lines are clunky , but the majority of the picture creates a swirling sense of sci-fi devotion , conveyed with a heartfelt tone that makes MOV feel like an elaborate inside joke most audiences should be able to enjoy .",
        "in its efforts to please those nerds , hollywood may actually be selling them short with films that have little of the ingenuity that used to be the lifeblood of genre moviemaking .",
        "MOV is an irresistible creature thanks to rogen 's deadpan delivery . this pleasant film is more clever than funny , referring to old alien films instead of joking about them .",
        "somewhere between high concept and lowbrow humor , `` MOV '' hits the sweet spot of a genuine heart .",
        "part bromance , part sci-fi spoof and all a bit disappointing .",
        "there 's simply no cure for the fundamental laziness behind `` MOV , '' which amounts to a recycling program for tired gags about nerds , gays , nervous-nelly brits , dumbass yanks and little green men .",
        "if there are chuckles to be had along the way , they 're the asthmatic , superior kind that comic book guy on `` the simpsons '' enjoys .",
        "a simple , entertaining road-trip movie that does n't ask us to do much more than strap in and enjoy the trip .",
        "a bit of a tepid sci-fi comedy",
        "a disappointment from start to finish , greg mottola 's alien spoof comedy is dead on arrival .",
        "sure it 's clever , but clever never actually amounts to laughter ...",
        "MOV is a little sloppy and a little sappy , but the filmmakers ' passion for their subject matter carries it over the occasional rough spot .",
        "never achieves the exhilarating feat of exemplifying the types of hollywood movies it wants to unpack . the airline 's lost their luggage .",
        "not bad , but certainly not good ; classify the movie as lazy fun .",
        "the movie 's not bad , but in tone , it 's a goofy , laid-back b movie , and you should adjust expectations accordingly .",
        "what could have been a keen , witty take on alien-visitation tropes becomes a noisy , strained buddy movie with more lows than highs .",
        "missteps aside , there are lots of good ideas packed into the movie .",
        "`` MOV '' gets messy in places and is a bit overlong , but overall it 's great fun ; so much so that you wonder why the makers of dreary hollywood comedies do n't take a look at this and realize that yes , you can make a funny movie without gross-out humor .",
        "because of the lethargic pace , cheeky jokes become positively jowly . and the easy lampoons of rednecks and bible thumpers beg to be called `` close encounters of the secondhand . ''",
        "most of it crash-lands .",
        "`` MOV '' embraces sci-fi culture with gleeful abandon . anybody who catches its `` mac and me '' reference earned their laughter years ago ."
    ],
    "summary": "it does n't measure up to pegg and frost 's best work , but MOV is an amiably entertaining -- albeit uneven -- road trip comedy with an intergalactic twist .",
    "id": "770788767"
  },
  {
    "movie": "travelers_and_magicians",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's transporting , it 's magical .",
        "dondup is the make-or-break role here , and he nails it .",
        "mainly notable for its exoticism and gorgeous scenery .",
        "what salvages the film is the powerful simplicity of its faith .",
        "yesterday 's dreams , today 's heartache -- that 's the meaning of this involving story within a story , the first movie shot entirely in bhutan .",
        "we can glory , for an hour or two , in the splendors of a life based on renunciation -- and then return , without having to renounce anything ourselves , to a life of unrigorous indulgence .",
        "pic has been adeptly packaged , with every advantage taken to show off the spectacular locations through which the travelers journey .",
        "the film is not profound and the resolution not entirely satisfying , but it a pleasant enough experience .",
        "uses a folktale or parable to impart its message about the simple pleasures in life , and it 's the telling of that story that makes it watchable and worthwhile .",
        "it will probably not be long remembered , but it charms and entertains in the moment , at least .",
        "the himalayan scenery , majestic mountains , and verdant valleys are as breathtaking and well-shot as one could hope for .",
        "there may be moments where the audience feels as restless as dondup , eager to get a move on , but by the end you 'll appreciate the way -lsb- it -rsb- lingers on the little things .",
        "the film works a slow magic .",
        "refreshingly quiet and thoughtful .",
        "so pretty you want to put it on your wall .",
        "gloriously photographed , captivatingly acted and percolating with surprises .",
        "khyentse norbu traces dondup 's path to enlightenment with mixed results that are nonetheless culturally engaging and gently amusing .",
        "an enchanted journey well worth taking .",
        "norbu never allows anything to stray beyond the lukewarm on his pleasant highway idyll . strong emotions are strictly off limits .",
        "what an curious , beautiful film !",
        "writer-director khyentse norbu sees paradise not as the seat of perfection , but as the warmth of a simple , loving community .",
        "acknowledge the timeless , universal human question of whether to stay in the dull , safe place you know or take a chance in a wider , scarier , potentially more rewarding world .",
        "profound and gently funny .",
        "the juxtaposition of the two stories is n't anything particularly new -- numerous films have attempted something similar -- but norbu 's boldness in approaching each with such starkly different stylistic visions is uncharacteristically invigorating .",
        "a delightful lesson of self-discovery and may even leave you believing in magic .",
        "delightful performances are delivered by all in this ingenious work of cinema that is worth seeing if only for its glorious views of the himalayas .",
        "a dual story of accidental spiritual journeys -lsb- that -rsb- illuminates storytelling 's scriptural capacity to impart life lessons ... a charming little film -lsb- to see -rsb- on a big screen .",
        "visually accomplished and loads of fun .",
        "a film so enchanting one hates to see it come to an end .",
        "colorful , if not exciting .",
        "offbeat and ravishingly beautiful .",
        "america may have many things to offer , but it does n't have scenery like this",
        "norbu -lrb- the cup -rrb- shifts smoothly between a kind of buddhist the postman always rings twice and depicting the bonds that form among dondup and his companions .",
        "an extraordinary buddhist road movie about the dangers and unhappiness that comes in our attempts to deny the present moment for dreamlands of our own making .",
        "a pleasant , colorful travelogue directed by the bhutanese lama khyentse norbu .",
        "the scenery is breathtaking , the amateur cast is appealing , and the road trip , though as shaggy and unruly as the vagabond official 's haircut , emits a pleasant buzz .",
        "a bit too creakingly stiff in its allegory , but the film 's refusal to provide simple answers is touchingly appropriate .",
        "as the journey progresses , the director conjures comedic , at times uniquely buddhist tensions .",
        "a colorful and witty work that does n't preach so much as gently nudge us to consider the wonders of our existence .",
        "the exotic landscapes combine with subtle realizations for a moving human work .",
        "a story told slowly , lovingly , with plenty of camera time devoted to that gorgeous countryside .",
        "an unusual road movie featuring gorgeous atmospherics , the film is memorable indeed .",
        "that -lsb- director -rsb- norbu elicits believable and fully developed characters out of his cast of non-actors is all the more impressive .",
        "with its intricate design , sly humour and timely theme , travellers and magicians is a lot more than just a travelogue .",
        "lovely , obvious and strangely unconvincing .",
        "a treat to look at .",
        "to watch this movie is to be moved not only by an affecting , warmly spirited yarn , but also by the wisdom that seems to waft to us directly from those snow-capped peaks .",
        "let 's welcome bhutan to the global cinema !",
        "it 's a leisurely yet resonant film that reinforces the power of cinematic storytelling .",
        "pleasant and often beautiful .",
        "it 's a disappointment to report that bhutanese filmdom is not off to a good start .",
        "with its spiritual underpinnings and scenic splendor , the film casts a distinctive top-of-the-world spell .",
        "a gentle challenge to the all-american delusion that every citizen of a foreign land would be better off here .",
        "pretty enough , but one kind of hopes for a little magic in a movie with `` magicians '' in its title .",
        "my first bhutanese -lrb- bhutanian ? -rrb- film , it 's a coming-to-america tale , filled with lovely clich\u00e9s that are overwritten by a strong sense of authenticity .",
        "for norbu , filmmaking has become his form of thangka painting",
        "all norbu 's posturing for a greater spiritual meaning never materialized , though it still looms as an assured work .",
        "there is much more to travellers & magicians than a mere travelogue , and the journey is well worth the price of admission ."
    ],
    "summary": "interwined tales of spiritual discovery are set against a gorgeous , evocative landscape in this pleasant , engaging import .",
    "id": "18271"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dawn_of_the_dead",
    "reviews": [
        "truly worthy of that famous title .",
        "the remake , from first-time director snyder , keeps much of the gore and loads up on the laughs , but eschews all pretence at cultural criticism in favour of high-octane , almost nonstop action .",
        "guaranteed to induce nightmares !",
        "a notch above what you expect from a zombie movie .",
        "a more preferable kind of remake than one that simply regurgitates the storyline of the original .",
        "unfortunately , or perhaps fortunately for those who feared a true desecration of romero 's masterwork , this is only a moderately competent zombie flick .",
        "this oddly effective ` reimagining ' loses some of the satire but none of the bite of the 1978 george romero classic .",
        "it 's a pretty fun ride .",
        "at last , a horror remake worth the watch .",
        "nicely amplifies george a. romero 's 1978 zombies-at-the-mall horror classic .",
        "funny and dark and massively entertaining .",
        "it 's silly , witty and good-natured , not scary so much as icky , and not horrifying or horrible but consistently amusing .",
        "the new dawn wo n't be revered like the old one , but if there 's a sequel , i 'll shamble instinctively to the theater .",
        "romero 's satire is largely replaced by a sardonic gallows humor ... but otherwise it 's a bloody entertaining zombie apocalypse .",
        "a remake of the 1978 george romero cult-classic , it has no purpose of its own , except to exploit the latest advances in gore effects .",
        "tense , bloody , funny and smart ; lacks original 's conscience , but it 's still a surprisingly gritty remake .",
        "a buzzed-up gloss on the original , it 's entertaining -- if fundamentally shallow .",
        "-lsb- sarah polly -rsb- pretty much owns the picture , beginning with a slam-dunk prologue that establishes right off that this is n't your dad 's dawn , despite a plot that hews fairly closely to the original movie .",
        "has many of the elements that made the first dawn so darkly entertaining .",
        "whereas the resonance of romero 's film -lrb- and of 28 days later -rrb- derived from its ability to involve auds emotionally with a few spartan protagonists , here viewers do n't spend enough time with any of the characters to feel such a connection .",
        "MOV is creepy , smart , classy moviemaking . the film takes no prisoners in its sole goal to scare you silly .",
        "it more than surpasses the original .",
        "there are dozens of zombie movies out there that are n't remakes , and this one 's easily more entertaining than just about all of 'em .",
        "le 2e meilleur remake d'un film d'horreur de tous les temps , apr\u010ds the thing .",
        "vid-game style shoot-ups displace needed character development .",
        "soups up the zombies , takes the gross-factor to eleven , and has a lot of cheeky in-jokes about its predecessor .",
        "this demographic -lrb- predominantly young and male -rrb- goes to a zombie movie for one thing and one thing only : increasingly outrageous gross-outs . and dawn , they 'll be glad to hear , does n't disappoint .",
        "in the first eight or so minutes , snyder firmly grips you and rarely lets go .",
        "gruesome , funny , everything a horror film should be .",
        "a surprisingly touching parable of community and the human spirit -- a terribly scary parable with a ridiculously high body count .",
        "its graphic gore and brain-splattering violence are definitely not suitable for children or anyone else who 's easily upset . if you like campy fright movies , though , this is an unpredictably fun one , right down to the closing credits .",
        "romero 's movie was both scary and satiric , but this reprise , directed by british tv-ad wiz zack snyder , is neither .",
        "... a scarier , if simpler , version of what many consider to be the defining picture in the genre .",
        "there is n't much here that you have n't encountered in lots of other horror movies , but you 'll rarely have seen the familiar elements delivered so effectively .",
        "indulge in the delights of snyder 's wild , new , imaginary interpretation",
        "snyder takes his horror seriously , and god bless him for it . he has crafted the rarest of remakes : one that might actually surpass the original .",
        "the joke is n't fresh , but it holds up well in this crackling remake of george romero 's 1978 sequel to night of the living dead .",
        "zombies chase , heroes shoot , brains explode all over the wall . rinse and repeat .",
        "a non-nutritious junk food snack compared to romero 's feast of gore and metaphor .",
        "... a killer thriller that has an over-the-top raw presence that stimulates and takes its observers on a tumultuous trip through its perverse playground",
        "not so much a remake of george a romero 's 1978 classic as a recycling of the premise .",
        "the so-called zombie baby , promised in the film 's trailer , is emblematic of the film 's refusal to take risks .",
        "for those who enjoy tight , tense , graphic horror , this movie offers an ample helping .",
        "it 's boring , and movies should n't be that way , especially extreme horror films .",
        "reimagining the zombies as fast , proactive attackers makes for some truly scary horror , but it also deprives the film of the nuance romero was able to instill in his zombies",
        "the only enjoyment i had was in making a body count of the dead and guessing who would be the final survivors .",
        "scene after scene of near-misses , direct hits and incredibly tense confrontations with the undead , all conceived and executed with pulse-pounding efficiency .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- nifty little thriller whose tone is somewhat surprising for a major studio release .",
        "scarier , funnier and more entertaining than it has a right to be .",
        "snyder , making a killer feature debut , trades homemade cheesiness for knowing style , revels in the sophistication of modern special effects , and stomps off with the best remake -- er , 're - envisioning ' -- of a horror classic in memory .",
        "a cross between a national rifle association ad and the infinitely better 28 days later .",
        "heretical to even suggest it , zack snyder 's remake of george a. romero 's MOV surpasses the original in any number of ways .",
        "better than the original , faster and funnier than 28 days later , and just plain entertaining . this flick kicks zombie a ** !",
        "snyder 's style is assaultive , and there 's little pleasure to the scares .",
        "the remake of MOV is a fun , gory ride , that makes up for its lack of depth with all out action .",
        "bloody good fun .",
        "this is the movie edges of seats were invented for . one of those near perfect horror films that will be scaring people for generations .",
        "extremely gory horror movie ; not for kids .",
        "will surely appeal to the easily pleased fraction of horror audiences ...",
        "director zack snyder and writer james gunn have simply traded one set of time-sensitive issues for more contemporary cliches .",
        "the new version of george a romero 's 1979 zombie movie arrives with all the expected technical improvements but abandons the satire that made romero 's film a masterpiece of the genre .",
        "there are scares aplenty in MOV ; enjoy them and be well . twenty years from now , though , i know which version i 'll still be watching .",
        "one of the genre 's best pure zombie-fest films featuring regular folks against an army of the undead .",
        "nicely respectful of the original film , this remake amps up the adrenalin-charged action while skimping on the depth to deliver a gripping but empty-headed thrill-ride .",
        "the new version has its share of disturbing moments , but writer james gunn and director zack snyder have stripped away the social satire of the original and put little in its place .",
        "there 's plenty of blood , guts , flying limbs , loud music , high body count , and even a bit of nudity in the end ... good times .",
        "... bloody good fun .",
        "with a chainsaw number that easily enters my top-five-kill-scenes-of-all-time-list , i say bring on the sequels",
        "melding video game dynamics into big screen action , it 's as much a product of its time as the original , but one with , ironically , a consumer-tested appeal .",
        "the gory , adults-only `` MOV '' can serve as a day brightener in certain situations . at least , that 's how it was for my husband and me .",
        "this is an impatient film , keyed to the tempo of short attention spans , relying on quick setups and quicker payoffs .",
        "only gore-thirsting teens will be satisfied .",
        "`` when there 're no more original ideas in hollywood , the studios will opt to remake . '' and , in first-time director zack snyder 's case , poorly .",
        "the only thing that has improved with the remake is the quality of the blood .",
        "their efforts to survive make them human , but they can only confront more of the same , deadish or aliveish .",
        "a banquet of creepy delights .",
        "a splendidly nasty piece of horror filmmaking .",
        "you know snyder is n't the guy for the job about five minutes into the proceedings .",
        "a big chomping horror delight , MOV reworks director george romero 's zombie classic with gobs of blood , buckets of black humor and enough cocky style to induce giggles between shivers .",
        "the remake shows all the guts of the original , but there 's not a glimpse of its brains or its heart .",
        "faster , leaner and more compact than the original .",
        "this remake fails to advance the original in any way , shape or form .",
        "a soulless but speedy redo of george a. romero 's two-hour-plus 1979 original about a mall and flesh-eating zombies .",
        "surprisingly , ` MOV ' is actually a pretty good film in its own right ... as a gory action-horror movie , it gets the job done with speed and efficiency ...",
        "intelligent and gripping version that wields the same sledge-hammer horror and wit as the original",
        "what screenwriter james gunn and director zach snyder have ignored was the subversive , satirical touches romero infused among all the gross carnage .",
        "originality is an issue , but it 's not the issue , and besides : the movie exhibits plenty in the execution , if not in the concept .",
        "thoroughly modern remake of 1978 b-movie classic is surprisingly smart and delivers zombie-tastic action-horror thrills .",
        "it 's been pumped up with steroid-enhanced direction , but this zombie horror remake 's got no soul .",
        "a pretty decent way to cannibalize a classic .",
        "an extremely rare example of a remake being better than its original , even though it lacks the tasty digs at consumerism .",
        "cult horror fans , you can relax -- universal pictures has done right by george romero .",
        "that rare bird : a remake that actually succeeds on its own terms .",
        "the first 10 minutes are as good as anything i 've seen this year -- alas , the rest is best viewed late on friday night after a crap day at work and several beers .",
        "this remake does not want to annoy us with philosophical trappings . there is no sociological subtext .",
        "apparently armageddon resembles the mosh pit at a korn concert .",
        "snyder does an excellent , admirably minimalist job of depicting a suburban spielbergian paradise gone completely insane .",
        "these movies should be remade every decade",
        "the kind of joyous horror-viewing experience where you yell at the screen and cheer for the victims and the zombies with equal venom .",
        "a fun , scary and slick popcorn movie .",
        "zack snyder and screenwriter james gunn ... are n't interested in socio-political underpinnings or subtext ... but rather want to keep us perpetually on edge and creeped out .",
        "in the end , it 's just a gross-out , overkill version of survivor . instead of eating rats , the humans munch on each other .",
        "a shallow but potent gore-gasm that will make audiences scream , whoop , cringe , laugh and yell at the screen .",
        "impressively directed horror flick that delivers everything you could want from a zombie movie : shocks , lashings of gore , a witty , intelligent script , strong characters and some particularly gruesome set-pieces .",
        "this new film has a definite bite , thanks to the superior brand of character actors and the intelligent dialogue ,",
        "snyder 's film is n't likely to be considered a classic 20 years down the road like romero 's film is , but it 's a winningly extreme episode in the ongoing adventures of zombie and harriet .",
        "although it 's not likely to ever take the place of its predecessor in the hearts of old-school fans , it 's not likely to leave them feeling insulted or cheated either",
        "instead of blood-soaked social commentary , it settles for a mischievous m\u00e9lange of popcorn-flick set pieces -- a few of them admittedly brilliant .",
        "darkly funny , tense and devastatingly grim , it manages to bring a classic horror back to life without stinking of rot .",
        "as the movie unfolds , so do the entrails , which spill in such great red tonnage , this mall will never see another white sale .",
        "the acting is better than necessary , the special effects are savage and persuasive , and the undercranked action scenes are enjoyably frenetic .",
        "while i 'll definitely always prefer the original , the remake has earned its place in the dead series .",
        "a gross-out horror flick that reveals a total contempt for human life and ends on a predictable note of cynicism .",
        "dawn rises past 28 days later as the new millennium 's best flesh-eating flick .",
        "does n't stop to take its breath , and it remains frequently scary in the moment without leaving much to chew on afterwards .",
        "save your quarters for the video game .",
        "some of the movie is wickedly funny , some just wicked .",
        "fiercely funny and utterly horrifying .",
        "a remake as soulless as the hordes of undead that attack with maddening persistence .",
        "a rare remake that improves upon the original . the best horror films in years .",
        "MOV is scary as hell .",
        "MOV delivers the goods in spades .",
        "when there 's no more room in hell , the dead and dumb take over hollywood and make movies like this",
        "director zack snyder and screenwriter james gunn have pumped the ultimate horror film into an action movie .",
        "... missing the naive fun of the original ...",
        "for those who were never that sold on romero 's film , the new version emerges as a contender for the year 's best horror picture .",
        "MOV is ultra-violent , excessively bloody , and extremely gory - all in a good way . i left the theater feeling pumped full of adrenaline .",
        "the remake adds little to the genre and does n't bother with character development .",
        "2004 's MOV delivers the entire package , gripping you by the throat before the opening credits have run and never letting go .",
        "snyder clearly has a good eye for horror and a respect for the history of the genre , and that makes his film far better than you 'd expect .",
        "a masterpiece of its genre .",
        "good zombie fun , the remake of george a. romero 's MOV is the best proof in ages that cannibalizing old material sometimes works fiendishly well .",
        "MOV is a rarity : a horror movie in which every laugh is intentional .",
        "horror buffs will find plenty of split-second suspense and in-your-face carnage , while others will scramble for the exit as quickly as the characters race away from their apocalyptic foes .",
        "the good news for fans of the mindless flesh-eaters is that the reworked dawn , while a far more generic piece of entertainment in many ways , still delivers a pretty mean bite as a gross-out/action shockfest .",
        "MOV is just plain fun .",
        "mr. snyder 's blood feast is strictly by the numbers : this second-rater could be the world 's most expensive troma film .",
        "this new version of MOV reflects our times about as well as george romero 's 1978 horror classic did its own .",
        "a terrifying , perfectly executed piece of grade-a horror that transcends its genre roots even as it resolutely nourishes them .",
        "i 'm not even a george romero enthusiast , and i can clearly see that the new MOV remake is a joke .",
        "this is a leaner , faster-paced movie but it fails to pull the maximum tension out of the storyline and dips seriously in the middle .",
        "embora fique devendo o coment\u0431rio social que transformou o filme original em um cl\u0431ssico , madrugada dos mortos \u0439 uma produ\u0437\u0433o eficiente e divertida que merece aplausos .",
        "sarah polly , ving rhames , jake webber , and mekhi phifer come together very well and are believable in an unbelievable situation .",
        "fun , scary , witty , nerve-wracking , gory , exciting , and jam-packed with sly commentary .",
        "basically , it 's a very well-photographed and edited b-movie , admirably relying less on bass-chord jump scares than mercilessly ratcheted -- and usually character-based -- dramatic and logistical tension .",
        "this one has more pyrotechnical gore , better acting , slicker direction but very few moments when it is scary at all .",
        "these zombies move like the roadrunner on pcp",
        "... crunchy zombie guilty-pleasure goodness !",
        "not bad for a movie as disposable as the popcorn it helps spill on theater floors .",
        "`` MOV '' is a fast paced actioner that will please the fans of romero 's work and attract a whole new gang of gore hounds",
        "few of the original movie 's political and philosophical preoccupations -lrb- abortion , capitalism , patriotism , individualism -rrb- remain . instead , the remake feels like the product of the playstation era .",
        "the new MOV moves along with speed and slick visual style , but it 's soulless and anonymous as -- well , a shopping mall .",
        "... a masterful horror pic .",
        "... spent too much time with the losers in the mall and not enough with the man-eating freaks outside .",
        "` fun ' moments do peek through the rising piles of bodies , but dawn ca n't quite sustain interest because it becomes repetitive and overwhelming .",
        "one of the scarier horror films to come along in quite some time .",
        "MOV works and it delivers just about what you expect when you buy your ticket .",
        "smarter , tighter and far scarier , start to finish -lsb- than the original -rsb- .",
        "nothing fresh or interesting , and it 's not scary after the opening scene .",
        "less reflective of today 's version of mindless horde-driven consumerism and perhaps simply more reflective of today 's version of horror movie-making .",
        "the first 10 minutes make up one of the most exciting beginnings in horror film history .",
        "an example of an mtv horror reinventon done right , dawn is a loud zombie-filled action fun-fest that 's pure theatrical entertainment .",
        "MOV feels well-plotted , well-designed , and well-executed , the best american movie from spring 2004 short of eternal sunshine of the spotless mind .",
        "the film , one-note and painfully cynical , is all about bloodletting , impalement , slashing , beheadings , flesh-devouring , massive explosions , human roadkill and foul language , all to the max .",
        "... as hella scary as any zombie movie ever made , and its intensity never lets up for a second .",
        "un film divertissant et amusant qui risque de plaire au fan de romero en attendant un nouveau film de sa s\u0439rie .",
        "MOV is a gore-ridden action flick with blood and body parts used as punch lines to create a highly enjoyable death fest that everyone who can stomach the sight of blood will enjoy .",
        "it 's fast-paced , action packed , and desperately cheesy , but completely free of suspense .",
        "shame on all involved .",
        "grim , gory dead proves a capable , if not superior , remake of the 1978 original .",
        "thanks to the biggest budget ever allocated to a zombie thriller , the r-rated makeup and visual effects are thrilling to behold .",
        "it 's a great fright night , just make sure to leave one hand out of the popcorn bucket so you can cover your eyes -- you 're gon na need it .",
        "a good script without any of that banal horror-movie dialog that makes you cringe , a cast that can act , and zombies that are scary and quick without being robotic .",
        "-lsb- m -rsb- aybe the first slasher/zombie/splatter horror flick that feels like a part of the post-9 / 11 world , full of a chaotic , why-me panic ...",
        "if you are at all squeamish about screen gore , forget about it . but if you enjoy plenty of ketchup on your movie popcorn , you will have a frightfully good time .",
        "this proves that just because a film is about zombies does n't mean it has to be brain dead .",
        "MOV certainly won this non-zombie fan and doubter over !",
        "a brilliant , riveting , action-packed remake ."
    ],
    "summary": "a kinetic , violent and surprisingly worthy remake of george romero 's horror classic that pays homage to the original while working on its own terms .",
    "id": "17051"
  },
  {
    "movie": "harry_potter_and_the_chamber_of_secrets",
    "reviews": [
        "though these films are trifles , they are at least high quality trifles .",
        "where the first film was the exposition , the follow-up is the reward - taking our heroes on a darker , more rewarding journey as we watch them deepen and mature with time .",
        "a rich and rewarding family entertainment experience that teens and adults will thoroughly enjoy more -- as will the kids .",
        "sequentially and tonally , it 's so derivative of the last movie that it not only fails to build upon its predecessor , it 's stuck covering the very same ground .",
        "slick and sophisticated , if same-y .",
        "how desperate is columbus if his creepy spiders look , act , and sound just like the eight legged freaks",
        "wow !",
        "`` the chamber of secrets , '' while more visually striking and entertaining , still suffers from many of the same problems that plagued `` the sorcerer 's stone . ''",
        "one of those rare sequels that is as good as the original movie .",
        "chamber 's charm lies in the sheer visualization of rowling 's weirder inventions .",
        "this time , the hype is quieter , and while the movie is slightly less successful than the first , it 's still a rollicking good time for the most part .",
        "it nearly overwhelms its own inherent magical wonders and characters with an emphasis on action , but the movie also manages to work its way out from under the heavy hallowed aura that partially smothered the fun of its predecessor .",
        "columbus overcomes several of the first film 's problems with this much darker , slightly more edgy sequel .",
        "lots more of the same is n't better .",
        "harry 's latest adventure has enough snakes , mandrakes , phoenix tears , cornish pixies , climaxes and denouements to scare the j.r.r. tolkien out of you .",
        "the film is muddled by its slavish dedication to the minutiae of events and at the same time , erases those aspects of the book that gave it real social and political urgency .",
        "lots of fun and action , laughs and mystery , and really , isn?t that why we love harry potter ? branagh brilliant .",
        "the godfather ii of family films .",
        "the result is better than the sorcerer 's stone , but still feels slightly bloated and unfocused .",
        "the best blend of human activity with computer animation since ` who framed roger rabbit ? '",
        "much of what made the first film so enchanting remains firmly in place , from the strong ensemble performances through stuart craig 's magnificent production design .",
        "chris columbus makes the novel 's transformation into a big-budget feature look effortless , and the film 's darker tone is more satisfying than that of the first , a somewhat forced happy ending notwithstanding .",
        "just as there is more magic conjured up in chamber of secrets the book , chamber of secrets the movie weaves a more powerful spell over its audience .",
        "while one of 2001 's most generous pleasures might merit a less industrially mounted successor than this , a vivid link is forged to no. 3 in 2004 .",
        "just as often the film is as monotonous and despair-inducing as three hours on an airplane with nothing to read but the in-flight magazine .",
        "no sequelitis here , kids -lrb- and grown-ups -rrb- -- this franchise is alive and well .",
        "this time out , director chris columbus waves his wand in all the right directions . the funny scenes are funnier . the scary scenes are scarier .",
        "faster-paced and more chock-full of adventure than the original .",
        "deepening and widening an imaginative world full of cleverly detailed creatures , much as j.k. rowling has done in her books , chamber is a speedy , funny winner .",
        "a little better than sorcerer 's stone .",
        "about on par with the first from a pure entertainment standpoint .",
        "like the first film , it cleaves too faithfully to the source material , but it always fills the screen with spectacle .",
        "if you liked one , you 'll like the other",
        "as the empire strikes back was to star wars , so MOV is to last year 's freshman introduction . in short , it 's bigger and better .",
        "MOV is deja vu all over again , and while that is a cliche , nothing could be more appropriate . it 's likely that whatever you thought of the first production -- pro or con -- you 'll likely think of this one .",
        "whisks us away for more adventures that keep us on the edge of our seats cheering for these three young wizards whose resourcefulness in the face of the unknown is awesome .",
        "if the kids are more serious in their play this time around , then the grownups are just having a blast .",
        "desta vez , columbus capturou o pomo de ouro .",
        "in all fairness , i must report that the children of varying ages in my audience never coughed , fidgeted or romped up and down the aisles for bathroom breaks .",
        "muggles , magos y criaturas mgicas , harry y sus amigos han vuelto , y se trata de un regreso espectacular y - permtanme la obviedad - un regreso mgico !",
        "i stopped thinking about how good it all was , and started doing nothing but reacting to it - feeling a part of its grand locations , thinking urgently as the protagonists struggled , feeling at the mercy of its inventiveness , gasping at its visual delights .",
        "great !",
        "after struggling interminably to bring the first of the obscenely popular harry potter novels to the screen , director chris columbus finally cracks the code with his second effort .",
        "this second succulent serving of harry potter may be all over the map like a feeble-minded person looking for interstate highway directions , but it does lend itself to do what it 's suppose to do ... whisk diehard moviegoers away to another dynamic dimension",
        "unnecessarily lengthy and repetitious , but still has a certain charm that can offer entertainment for both children and adults .",
        "director chris columbus has made a darker , quicker movie of it than he did of the sorcerer 's stone , with particularly fine settings and atmosphere .",
        "chris columbus ' shortcomings in ingenuity and imagination do n't seem terribly detrimental since the material he 's working with is so infused with magic and wit",
        "ironically enough , chamber of secrets has more of a narrative arc , but consequently lacks much urgency . it does retain the wonderment that made the first film fun .",
        "chris columbus ' sequel is faster , livelier and a good deal funnier than his original .",
        "columbus has done honorable work here , but if the last 20 minutes of chamber are any indication , a fresh perspective might be just what the franchise needs .",
        "once again the production values -- the sets , costumes and props -- are pure perfection .",
        "it 's smartly produced and slightly more streamlined than sorcerer 's stone , its predecessor , but at almost three hours it 's still too slavishly faithful to its source and will no doubt try the patience of muggle moppets .",
        "in his second year at the hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry , the cinematic harry potter shows improvement . but he has a ways to go before earning top marks .",
        "from screaming mandrake plants to animal transfiguration to ethereal letters literally hanging in the air , -lsb- columbus ' -rsb- approach to the books ' enchanting elements is marvelous to behold .",
        "darker , scarier and somewhat better than sorcerer 's stone .",
        "hp2 is the first movie 's equal , but is somehow the lesser because of it .",
        "it remains an expertly assembled companion piece to its source material , with charms you ca n't overlook . but the great harry potter should be casting a more powerful spell .",
        "most viewers , especially the younger ones , will reap its joys .",
        "big , dull and empty .",
        "terrific fun , a sequel with more self-assurance than most original films can muster .",
        "a pretty wondrous creation .",
        "a harry potter story -- it 's about magic , for heaven 's sake -- should skip , prance , astonish , amaze . this one plods and stomps , but mostly drags toward the expected finale , 2 hours and 41 endless minutes later .",
        "MOV is a solid work ; it 's effortlessly entertaining , generously faithful to j.k. rowling 's book -- and thrilling .",
        "ce que vous avez pens\u00e9 du premier film , vous le penserez du second , aussi simple que \u00e7a .",
        "where chamber of secrets will be viewed a success is in accurately , and occasionally imaginatively , bringing the book to life . as a movie , judged on its own merits , it 's too long , too slow and too unfocused .",
        "this overlong sequel is short of magic .",
        "not great , but worth seeing .",
        "although it 's unlikely to make converts of the uninitiated , fans of the series and its characters will find the movie to be a worthy entry .",
        "despite its sophomoric awkwardness , the chamber of secrets is a welcome delivery of childlike wonder for a planet of ever - increasing ugliness .",
        "MOV is n't perfect , but it 's everything it should be : fun , exciting , humorous and stirring .",
        "chamber of secrets is funnier and more exciting than the first harry potter movie , and adorned with some of the most stunning special effects ever .",
        "MOV is darker , funnier and finer than its forerunner harry potter and the philosopher 's stone .",
        "director chris columbus has pushed the envelope farther , made a sequel that is pacier and more swashbuckling . yet it still feels cautious and reined-in .",
        "apart from a rather pointless cameo from kenneth branagh and a rather peaky-looking richard harris , in truth there was nothing in hp2 that we had n't already seen in hp1 .",
        "columbus ' pacing is still murderously slow , his ideas as pedestrian as the worst tv .",
        "MOV is good enough to satisfy hard-core fans , even if it falls short of being truly transporting moviemaking .",
        "have no fear , you legions of potter fans : MOV is a solid step forward in the movie adaptations of j.k. rowling 's much-read novels .",
        "what keeps chamber from quite ringing the gong ? probably nothing if you 're a diehard fan of the books ; but if you 're not , you might find the 161-minute running time just a little much .",
        "there 's not much i can recommend about this new installment . it 's magical , & the special effects are certainly better this time around . what i miss is the story . without the story , a fantasy is nothing more than strange creatures & some creative escape .",
        "though the lack of nuance is regrettable , there 's much to enjoy .",
        "grab a broomstick and sail along for the ride .",
        "like the first `` pott-ah '' movie , the scenery was amazing and the music was great . throw in the story that everybody loves and these movies really have the whole package .",
        "the special effects enchant all -- no matter what your age .",
        "a scarier and better harry , but the big secret in this chamber is how the film avoided the pg-13 rating it undoubtedly deserved .",
        "the magic of the books seems to be having trouble making the transition to big screen .",
        "in fact , MOV is darker than harry potter and the sorcerer 's stone , slightly , especially in its sideways engaging of race prejudice .",
        "this is a vastly superior movie , capturing all the things that i felt were missing from the first .",
        "there 's just enough of the old to feel at home and provide continuity , just enough of the new to keep things fresh .",
        "chamber of secrets is not quite the magical mystery tour that the first one was . despite some major improvements , the movie is often sluggish in pacing and intrigue .",
        "crammed full of labyrinthine plot twists , this second installment will delight potter-crazy kids even as their parents grow restless at the 2-hour-and -41-minute running time .",
        "despite a potpourri of minor delights , the film ends up a disappointment .",
        "despite terrific special effects and funnier gags , MOV finds a way to make j.k. rowling 's marvelous series into a deadly bore .",
        "the chamber of secrets may not be a classic , but it 's more eventful than its predecessor .",
        "the first movie was the setup , and this one is the payoff .",
        "as a companion piece to harry potter and the sorcerer 's stone , MOV makes for effective viewing .",
        "proof once again that if the filmmakers just follow the books , they ca n't go wrong . better effects , better acting and a hilarious kenneth branagh . an excellent sequel .",
        "chamber of secrets will find millions of eager fans . but if the essence of magic is its make-believe promise of life that soars above the material realm , this is the opposite of a truly magical movie .",
        "i ca n't think of a movie this long that has left me so starved for a movie .",
        "even though chamber of secrets is a vast improvement , columbus ' directorial touch remains more caring than inspired .",
        "it does n't help that chamber is pretty much all business from the opening shot , trading in stone 's sometimes-clunky exposition for full-steam-ahead action .",
        "radcliffe , 3 inches taller and an octave lower than last year , is growing comfortably into his character , as is watson , the fetching and confident hermione .",
        "the three main child actors , including emma watson as hermione , have gained in confidence and grown nicely into their roles and all of the regular ensemble from the first film return .",
        "director chris columbus -lrb- again working from a screenplay by steve kloves -rrb- has allowed some mechanical repetition to creep in , but overall this manages to be ingenious as well as faithful to its source .",
        "-lsb- chamber of secrets -rsb- is more tightly plotted than the original film and boasts a welcome , lighter touch in its early scenes . but it devolves , during its wearying 161-min . running time , into a been-there-fought-that action hero yarn .",
        "overall , the movie feels brighter , smarter and sleeker than the first .",
        "columbus carefully avoids overly replaying the visual wonders of his first episode , and heedfully edits and amplifies rowling 's story for the screen , preserving its spooky darkness .",
        "two down , presumably five to go , and already the franchise is entering dangerous territory : if you are n't one of the many who know their harry potter chapter and verse , prepare for a nap .",
        "this new harry potter has its flaws , but it 's better , as well as darker , than the first .",
        "it appears that the production has learned from its mistakes and managed to put together the kind of film that deserves to be a part of young adult film folklore for generations to come .",
        "a watered-down , cg-saturated nod to moviemaking convention .",
        "when it was all over , i could easily proclaim the chamber of secrets as a vastly superior film on every level , one that i 'll be willing to devote more time to again and again in the future .",
        "the series has progressed from reciting j.k. rowling 's source novels to paraphrasing them .",
        "these potter kids have grown up a lot in one year . at this rate , their next adventure will be harry potter and the octogenarian 's enlarged prostate .",
        "... an imaginative , often entertaining journey into self-realization that 's well worth the trip .",
        "contains little of the first film 's exciting fantasy appeal .",
        "simply put , if you liked sorcerer 's stone , you 'll like chamber of secrets .",
        "doing away with the formalities helps chamber of secrets immensely , allowing it to concentrate on unfolding its involving mystery , using the running time to pace the action and the development .",
        "the second chapter of the harry potter series is even more magical than the first and simply the best family film of the year .",
        "snappier than the first .",
        "made so well that all ages can appreciate it .",
        "this one does for the series what the wrath of khan did for star trek .",
        "even better than the first one !",
        "now that 's more like it .",
        "entertaining and moves nimbly enough to keep your way-back seat from turning to stone .",
        "just as harry and friends are fighting the forces of darkness , the film 's great elements are struggling toward the spotlight .",
        "it 's , well , spellbinding .",
        "if you were like me and did n't particularly care for the first installment , i do n't think this one will completely reverse your opinion .",
        "where `` stone '' was a pretty bauble all dressed up with nowhere to emote , `` secrets '' is a genuinely scary sequel that remembers to bring its heart along , too . scratch that . it brings its guts .",
        "it 's not always lovelier the second time around , but still , this `` harry '' shows some magic when needed",
        "the special effects and cgi , uneven in sorcerer 's stone , are all spit-shine and shoe-polish in chamber of secrets . there is n't one hair out of place .",
        "it 's still easy to fall for this sorcerer 's spell .",
        "MOV is superior to its predecessor in every way : it 's more thrilling , more entertaining and , yep , more magical .",
        "two-and-a-half hours of unadulterated fun .",
        "bigger , faster , funnier , and darker ... -lsb- but -rsb- lacks the deep soul and character nuances of its predecessor .",
        "possibly second only to goblet of fire of all the potter films to date , chamber of secrets should please fans and muggles alike .",
        "those who adore the books may bemoan the flat emotional landscape of the films , which are less easy to engage with . fans of the first film will be suitably entertained .",
        "a good entertaining film with a lot of imagination ...",
        "it 's not all bad . but there are wasted , senseless scenes of characters about to head to the quidditch pitch for a game that does n't happen and time-eating speeches about how `` this could mean the end of hogwarts '' -lrb- crikey , again ? -rrb-",
        "action - and creature-packed potter sequel .",
        "everything about the sorcerer 's stone pretty much applies to the adaptation of the second novel in the series .",
        "like many children i 've met , director chris columbus seems never to have heard the word no .",
        "scary spiders , impressive effects and a barnstorming branagh add pizzazz to potter .",
        "allow yourself the luxury of discovering this enchanted world for yourself .",
        "the exciting second chapter in the harry potter chronicle that in many ways surpasses the original .",
        "better story , better acting , better characters and better effects . all they need is to sort out the dialogue next time , and everyone 's a winner .",
        "returns the original 's cast and director , and retains that film 's winning combination of limitless imagination and exhilarating adventure .",
        "mercilessly padded , the movie drags us through ages of all-too-familiar territory .",
        "swims in mediocrity , sticking its head up for a breath of fresh air now and then .",
        "a good sequel and should please all the potter fans who made the first film a blockbuster .",
        "darker and scarier than the first -lrb- especially if you do n't like spiders and snakes -rrb- , but there 's still humor and some whimsical magic elements that make hogwarts such a cool place .",
        "dark , resonant , inventively detailed and packed with fleet turns of plot and a feast of visual amazement .",
        "this is a critic-proof film . how nice that it does n't need to be in order to succeed .",
        "not only are the special effects and narrative flow much improved , and daniel radcliffe more emotionally assertive this time around as harry , but the film conjures the magic of author j.k. rowling 's books .",
        "so-so entertainment .",
        "darker , scarier , funnier and more fun-filled .",
        "there are enough pleasures here to guarantee a diverting time to all but the most curmudgeonly muggles .",
        "this movie , like the first , is more of a translation than an adaptation . it 's the visual equivalent of an audio book , slightly abridged .",
        "the film is quite lengthy , but so brisk and busy at all times that it quite flies by .",
        "it captures all the magic , mystery , excitement and wonder from j.k. rowling 's book in a way that plays extremely well on screen .",
        "a sequel better than the original -- and better than the book on which it 's based ? it must be magic ! and indeed , the second harry potter movie is enchanting .",
        "the weakest of the four harry potter books has been transformed into the stronger of the two films by the thinnest of margins .",
        "chamber of secrets is a less benign excursion . the intensity and scares have been ratcheted up , and the younger filmgoers -- those about 7 or 8 and under -- may find it frightening .",
        "it 's good enough that i might just start taking an interest in the books after all .",
        "an enjoyable sequel .",
        "MOV , satisfies as a film adaptation , but it does n't cast as enchanting a spell as the first movie .",
        "back is chris columbus , whose direction this time around has a purposely darker , more ominous look .",
        "the franchise is safe ! columbus ' second alchemical movie ups the thrill quotient to satisfy the faithful . there 's more action , and it 's scarier .",
        "when it comes to the imagination scale , harry potter has everything it needs . but what does it all really amount to in the end ? not much of a payoff , i 'm afraid .",
        "this second effort is even better than the first go around .",
        "may just be the most quintessential steven spielberg movie steven spielberg never made .",
        "the second installment is scarier , darker , longer and even better than the first . it 's an enchanting , enthralling , eye-popping miracle of moviemaking .",
        "as with the original film , there 's little to offend the most myopic fan of the books , but also little room for the imaginative extension of the author 's universe that distinguishes an inspired adaptation from a merely workmanlike one .",
        "this is as rousing and faithful an adaptation as was possible .",
        "the second film to spring forth from j.k. rowling 's popular series of children 's books goes a long way towards amping up the dramatic tension promised by the source material .",
        "incredibly , once again , screenwriter steve kloves and director chris columbus deliver a movie without passion .",
        "chris columbus , the director , does a real wonderful job of being faithful to the story but also taking it into a cinematic era .",
        "it is on every count a better movie than last year 's first film installment .",
        "the special effects here will have you reclining in your seat , admiring the spectacle . unfortunately , the film 's pedestrian pacing wo n't get you on the edge of it .",
        "boy wizard and his faithful friends battle evil in a magical boarding school . you know , like last time .",
        "the sense of discovery , that initial encounter with the stories ' vivid characters and whimsical parallel universe , is missing . in its stead comes frantic activity .",
        "mostly fun , somewhat enchanting , and at a few turns -- surprisingly spooky .",
        "gives columbus the chance to indulge himself with fascinatingly realistic special effects and riveting action sequences .",
        "secrets is pretty much a wash with the first potter movie : not much in the way of captivating magic , but all the expected notes are duly played .",
        "it 's a fun flick , even though its wizardry is more technical than imaginative .",
        "chamber of secrets justifies its 161-minute running time by successfully conjuring a transporting sense of place and injecting stronger themes of darkness and corruption into harry 's previously whimsical existence .",
        "the whole harry potter thing may not be as fresh for moviegoers as it was last year , but thankfully chamber of secrets is well-crafted .",
        "does n't dally around and far more action-packed than the first .",
        "a lot more nimble than the first movie .",
        "once again , director chris columbus takes a hat-in-hand approach to rowling that stifles creativity and allows the film to drag on for nearly three hours .",
        "the magic still sparkles in MOV .",
        "while it still falls short of becoming the classic fans so badly want it to be , the film is livelier and better overall than the sorcerer 's stone , mostly because j.k. rowling got all that tiresome exposition over with the first time out .",
        "although very much like the first movie based on j.k. rowling 's phenomenal fantasy best sellers , this second go-round possesses a quite pleasing , headlong thrust and a likably delinquent attitude .",
        "without the newness of the first film to give it some electricity , this harry potter outing comes off as harmless but flat .",
        "it 's a depressing reality to face , but the second of j.k. rowling 's boy-wizard books was the least interesting read ... and has n't fared much better on film .",
        "the franchise is showing no fear at exploring the novels ' darker moments , but needs to judiciously pare down the time it takes for the lights to come up .",
        "the humor and the villainy have bite , the acting has conviction , the effects look far less cheesy , and the storytelling actually conveys the imagination and emotional power of rowling 's prose .",
        "before it degenerates into indiana potter and the chamber of doom , the movie holds promise .",
        "punishingly long and slow in parts .",
        "director chris columbus and company have done a stand-out job of capturing the imagination if not the detail of those books .",
        "... provides wondrous surprises around every turn .",
        "i still do n't understand how j.k. rowling could have made such obscene gobs of cash off of such a simple and overwrought premise ... i 'll stick with lord of the rings",
        "los potterman\u00edacos est\u00e1n de fiesta .",
        "an effort that is full of gosh-wow moments .",
        "exactly what you 'd expect from a movie that features a self-mutilating house elf .",
        "once again , chris columbus stays out of j.k. rowling 's way , sticking to the text and hitting each narrative beat cleanly and vigorously .",
        "it 's good , genuinely good , not just as a cultural sensation but as a movie all its own .",
        "all the things that made the first film a hit with its target audience .",
        "` llena de acci\u00f3n , aventuras , magia e imaginaci\u00f3n que en muchos aspectos supera a su predecesora . '",
        "no less magical , no less engaging , and no less kid-pleasing than its record-breaking predecessor . it 's also no shorter ...",
        "it 's fairly solid -- not to mention well edited so that it certainly does n't feel like a film that strays past the two and a half mark .",
        "MOV surpasses sorcerer 's stone as a crisper , more action-packed film , which will more than thrill the billions of harry potter fans everywhere .",
        "this film is basically one big scooby doo episode .",
        "an enchanting spectacular for potter fans anxious to ride the hogwarts express toward a new year of magic and mischief .",
        "represents a lost opportunity to give children , not to mention adults , a movie experience that would widen their eyes as the justly beloved rowling books did .",
        "MOV works the kind of magic that hollywood rarely displays : it 's a sequel that 's better than the original .",
        "the continuing story of everyone 's favorite boy wizard is a visual feast -- and darker than the first installment .",
        "... the script is tight enough and moves along with such blazing speed that it suffers from the only failing grace of the original did : can audience members who have n't read the books keep up ?",
        "offers a more imaginatively colourful world than almost every other children 's film out there .",
        "another successful wild ride , thanks to a very entertaining source , a keen and fairly faithful adaptation , and top-notch special effects .",
        "chamber of secrets is fairly fun despite its length .",
        "for the time being , the harry potter thrill ride is whizzing along very satisfactorily indeed .",
        "exactly the kind of slam-bang adventure that 's certain to please audiences of all ages .",
        "more dutiful than enchanting ... terribly episodic and lacking the spark of imagination that might have made it an exhilarating treat .",
        "an improvement on harry potter and the sorcerer 's stone .",
        "kids will have nightmares for weeks and adults will be entertained for hours ...",
        "their thoughts were how to make the book into a movie , not how to make a great movie .",
        "that the film is a worthy swan song for richard harris is first a surprise then an incalculable relief -- and destined to be the proudest legacy of the picture : a beautifully crafted dark fable .",
        "a vast improvement over last year 's film , bloated as it was with quidditch matches and monster moments that did n't advance the plot one iota ."
    ],
    "summary": "though perhaps more enchanting for younger audiences , chamber of secrets is nevertheless both darker and livelier than its predecessor , expanding and improving upon the first film 's universe .",
    "id": "10031"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ushpizin",
    "reviews": [
        "this is a rare look inside the orthodox community in jerusalem and it 's educational as well as entertaining .",
        "very light , even saccharine at times , but blessed with enough pure charm to make the syrup go down a treat .",
        "equal parts isaac bashevis singer -lrb- yentl -rrb- and capra -lrb- it 's a wonderful life -rrb- , this charming israeli folktale offers an inside humorous look at the lives of hassidic jews",
        "an enjoyable seriocomic tale .",
        "the groundbreaking film MOV , a rare collaboration between secular and ultra-orthodox israelis , offers a warmhearted vision of marriage among hasidic jews .",
        "the film bridges the secular and religious with a light touch , using ritual specifics as a way into a very human story .",
        "as directed by gidi dar , MOV has a disarming folk quality .",
        "a true cinematic experience - it takes you to a world which you might not otherwise ever experience . and it leaves you with a smile .",
        "at once alien and familiar : part old world folk tale , part inspirational sitcom .",
        "the award-winning israeli film MOV offers both an enlightening look at orthodox jewish life in jerusalem , as well as a warm and witty tale of belief and miracles , for believers and non-believers alike .",
        "fervent without edging over into preachiness , the film examines the humor that can be found in the lives of the bushy-bearded , curly-sideburns set who live by a strict interpretation of the torah .",
        "explores a world most of us know little or nothing about , and does it respectfully .",
        "this is the kind of movie normally confined to small , new york art houses or to film festivals . it will not set american box-office records . but anyone who finds it will want to raise a glass and share a succot meal with it .",
        "a sweetly compassionate israeli offering that has its heart firmly established in the home and the hearth .",
        "michal bat-sheva rand took on acting for the first time and the result is terrific .",
        "-lsb- the film -rsb- places a captivating life study in the context of a modern fairy tale .",
        "adorable folk tale that could have come from i. bashevis singer 's pen .",
        "pity that the story behind the making of MOV is more interesting than the film itself .",
        "MOV will certainly be manna to people of religious sensibility , but you need not be a believer to appreciate its humor and humanity .",
        "its best asset is its story , a tale of mounting complications that would be right at home in the old testament or on the classic american stage .",
        "MOV may not turn out to be as popular as miracle on 34th street , but if you believe that miracles can happen , it is a perfect outing during the holidays .",
        "viewers who are n't familiar with orthodox jewish culture might have trouble fully relating to this israeli film . but everyone should be able to appreciate its heartwarming tone .",
        "it had me , this film with blessings on its mind .",
        "an unexpected delight from an unlikely source , MOV is the first feature film set inside the closed community of jerusalem 's ultra-orthodox jews .",
        "it raises our cultural awareness a bit , as well as generating some gentle smiles along the way .",
        "it invites you in like a welcomed guest to enjoy this little story and warms your heart and lightens your day at the same time .",
        "billed as the first film made by members of israel 's ultra-orthodox hassidic community , this contemporary parable might be job gone to jerusalem .",
        "from several perspectives , MOV is a marvel .",
        "the wonderful chemistry between rand and bat sheva rand , his real-life wife , suggest that in some cases love may prove stronger than the dictates of religious orthodoxy .",
        "MOV celebrates the miracle of love and the possibility of second chances .",
        "i found myself submitting to the movie 's willingness to parse a hermetically sealed subculture on its own terms , without judgment .",
        "a respectful comedy whose interest for most audiences will be part anthropological , MOV walks an interesting line .",
        "MOV 's prayer-ends-all-hardships plot is one-note . but the flick does offer hope .",
        "while it is as sentimental as a bible story , it 's genuinely touching and well done .",
        "gentle and affecting , it offers an introduction to a mostly unfamiliar world while touching on issues recognizable to all .",
        "the film extols the virtues of charity and generosity without sugar-coating the difficulty of same",
        "faith is what MOV is all about and , between the fine writing , direction and view into what is , to most of us , a foreign world ... , is the heart of the film .",
        "it works , however , thanks to a witty script and believable performances from real-life husband and wife shull rand and michal bat-sheva rand as moshe and mali .",
        "MOV is engaging , entertaining and has something to say about us humans , through the prism of discovering % u2013 or re-discovering % u2013 the importance of faith , and the strength it can impart . especially under duress .",
        "in addition to providing a fascinating , agenda-free look at an unseen way of life , the film presents a lesson that should be welcome among people of any faith or none at all .",
        "an orthodox jew will identify and thereby raise the level of the movie to something beyond the temporal film experience",
        "dryly funny and richly humane , MOV marries biblical simplicity to secular banality to depict an everyday miracle of devotion rewarded .",
        "the type of well-written and thoughtful family film that some may have been clamoring for since the hugely successful and hugely formulaic my big fat greek wedding .",
        "has educational value , but it 's the wrong kind",
        "devout and delightful . that 's a rare one-two punch for a feature film . MOV pulls it off .",
        "the film provides a valuable glimpse into the religious practices of ultra-orthodox jews living in jerusalem . but it 's also a cleverly plotted film , which , refreshingly , also features a few welcome comic elements .",
        "the film rests squarely on the backs of rand and his wife , who snatches the spotlight from her professionally trained husband in her acting debut .",
        "sweet and satisfying .",
        "amid intense teachings of hasidic tenets that all life challenges are a test from god , the surprise is a warm and funny relationship movie that should win your heart .",
        "the great achievement of mr. dar and mr. rand is their success in bridging the gap between secularism and fundamentalism with an even more universal humanism .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he movie works even if you are n't clear on the religious rituals because what it offers -- a low-key fable about people of faith who do n't always measure up to their own standards -- is so likable and rare .",
        "carefully balanced on a fine line that encompasses both gentle humor and spiritual wisdom , ` MOV ' draws the audience into its exotic world and shares its universality .",
        "a gently comedic parable that offers a unique view of a cloistered society while addressing themes of faith , family and friendship that are universal .",
        "warm and compassionate .",
        "... rich with joyous ritual and spiritual sincerity ...",
        "laughs , tears and mitzvahs ensue , as the deceptively simple story yields a generous amount of illumination and uplift .",
        "as a portrayal of a heretofore invisible culture , it 's an important and welcome cinematic milestone .",
        "a touching and amusing tale that expands our horizon and also should open our hearts ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV offers a rare and warmly intimate look into ultra-orthodox jewish culture .",
    "id": "8838"
  },
  {
    "movie": "city_of_god",
    "reviews": [
        "a marvelous achievement that refuses to avert its gaze from the poetry and the insane savagery of the hopeless .",
        "i came out of the theater feeling lucky to be alive .",
        "it 's like scorsese meets peckinpah and sergio leone , with a samba soundtrack .",
        "one of the most uncompromisingly bleak films i 've ever seen .",
        "hard to watch but even harder to tear your eyes away from .",
        "one of those rare moviegoing experiences that simply flattens you with greatness from the word go .",
        "if the traditional gangster flick has appeared to be hobbling on its last legs over the past few years , this lightning bolt of a movie proves that there are still fresh ways to tackle overly familiar material .",
        "a lung-burning dash down brazil 's mean streets .",
        "there 's no denying MOV 's effectiveness in dropping us into an environment crawling with deception , brutality and blind ambition .",
        "it 's a conspicuously stylish attention-getter that heralds the discovery of a major directorial talent .",
        "a well-honed exploitation picture that just happens to be set in the slums outside rio de janeiro .",
        "meirelles plays to the crowd , plays everything for effect , which would n't necessarily be a problem if the subject did n't deserve greater intellectual seriousness .",
        "`` MOV '' is a movie that , for the lack of a better term , incites us . it elicits a response . it pounds away at us until we break ...",
        "the living conditions it projects are as horrendous as i had feared , but the movie is surprisingly easy to take as a rollicking homicidal entertainment .",
        "films like MOV are a wake-up call that something must change . yet the only answer it finds is the most daunting question - `` how ? ''",
        "` it 's unfortunate that what should be an emotionally-engaging film is so completely unaffecting '",
        "a devastating epic about the roots of criminality and the ironic cruelties of life that also works as an intimate personal drama",
        "`` MOV '' shows us the harsh reality of a world that we americans may never have known existed .",
        "mezmerizing and horrific , a very confident directorial effort .",
        "brutal and brilliant , meirelles 's stunning `` MOV '' virtually redefines the word storytelling .",
        "the film is as slick as any hollywood thriller ... that dilute the impact of what might have been an indelible cautionary tale .",
        "a violent , thoroughly electrifying vision of rio during the volatile 1970s , and possibly the first great crime film of the 21st century .",
        "directed in a sort of urban panoramic style , MOV is , much more than gangs of new york , a telling and intelligent snapshot of clashing turf warfare and how it constrictively shapes and molds the urban underbelly of a city .",
        "full of life and telling detail",
        "heartbreaking and savage without being affectedly artsy or lingering . it employs sound and visuals that have a knack for conveying senses of humour , rhythms of days and the auras and values of people .",
        "tyro director fernando meirelles 's dazzling , multi-storied epic gives a wide-angle view of the same violent and hopeless life captured over two decades earlier in hector babenco 's sao paolo microcosm , `` pixote . ''",
        "finally more numbing than emotionally shattering .",
        "simply and truly put , it is devastating .",
        "a life study of an urban landscape , from its illegitimate birth through traumatic maturity , and on into a not-quite death that , for the generations who call MOV home , is a perpetually self-fulfilling cycle .",
        "that rare film that manages to be seductively entertaining without ever compromising its authenticity and power .",
        "aunque basada en una historia real , el director brasile\u0144o fernando meirelles trata el material con un estilo narrativo muy `` cinematogr\u00e1fico '' , nada realista .",
        "... juggles with a fleet sense of flair the very things that bogged ` gangs of new york ' down .",
        "fearless and blistering .",
        "the performances are astonishing as they are authentic .",
        "the film makes an impact .",
        "a blood-spattered , non-stop ride as much into the life of a ` favela ' -lrb- squatter settlement -rrb- as it is into the lives of the youths who inhabit it .",
        "a dynamic masterpiece in any language .",
        "rises so far above the conventions of genre and of most ordinary filmmaking that it 's a transcendent experience - an exhilarating , two-feet-off-the-ground fireball of a movie .",
        "for all their straddling of the line between realism and exploitation , entertainment and education , it 's entirely possible that meirelles and lund render that line invisible .",
        "exhilarating ... equal parts tarantino/guy richie slickster spectacle , `` once upon in america '' criminal biography , and international up-from-the-gutter drama .",
        "compelling in its faithful portrait of a rio ` favela , ' or slum city , and of how violence really takes place when people no longer care .",
        "the direction is often inspired and sure-handed , even if it 's sometimes unfocused or overambitious .",
        "harsh and extremely shocking . and also one of the most moving and forceful films of the year .",
        "this ultra-realist mtv-style spectacle has the style and urgency of amores perros but none of its moral ambiguities .",
        "o filme certo no momento certo .",
        "this film is the most original synthesis of pop storytelling into a new form since the matrix .",
        "fernando meirelles 's powerful , energetic debut mixes troubled adolescence with criminal bonding in brazil 's slums .",
        "an exhilarating slap in the face , bracing and sexy , smart and visceral , stylish and raw -- the advent of a fabulously exciting new moviemaking talent .",
        "with few exceptions , real slum kids and actors from local amateur drama clubs were cast in MOV , and the result is truly believable characters and a gritty , realistic film .",
        "meirelles ' message is important , but the telling quickly becomes monotonous .",
        "this is an amazing film that grabs hold of you and nearly strangles you with its honesty and brutality .",
        "a tremendous , skilfully composed film that impresses with its artistry and quirkiness while smacking you in the solar plexus with its message .",
        "it is a provocative , controversial excursion through purgatory and hell on earth .",
        "as disturbing as it is impressive .",
        "visually stunning , socially relevant , and simply unforgettable .",
        "flies at the audience like it was shot out of a cannon ... but has its own unique soulfulness as it explores a vortex of intense poverty and violence ...",
        "as violent as it is accomplished , MOV -- like its eponymous slum -- may divide audiences just as it divides its population of warring youths .",
        "cinema does n't get more exhilarating than this .",
        "it 's in love with life even as so many of its protagonists die .",
        "MOV may offer few solutions and little hope , but its remarkable artistry and heartrending content make it a movie for the ages .",
        "this marvellous film ... testifies to the awesome creativity of brazil 's underclass .",
        "it 's a movie with all the dials cranked up to 11 , an overwhelming , intoxicating assault on the senses , and a thriller so tense that you might have the red seat plush in front of you -- or even some unfortunate 's hair -- gripped in both fists .",
        "meirelles ' astonishing film is the brazilian goodfellas , an exhilarating , shocking , breathtakingly brilliant , hyper-kinetic roller-coaster ride .",
        "sometimes a movie comes along that just floors you , its images burn so deeply .",
        "if the first five minutes of god do n't suck you in , it 's time to scoop out your eyes and get new ones .",
        "life in rio 's favelas is a beach .",
        "meirelles has created one of the most startling , grittily brilliant films in recent years .",
        "emotionally gripping from start to finish , the movie presents an electrifying and unforgettable look at life in a place that god has all but forgotten .",
        "meirelles explores life 's darkest corners with a surprisingly chest-pounding zest for life .",
        "MOV is meticulous in its descriptions of well-intended individuals caught up in these ferocious waves of street crime .",
        "it should be considered required viewing , i think , by anyone who seeks to understand how violence begets violence .",
        "some sort of blaxploitation epic , but built around complex characters with an incredible attention to detail and based-on-real-events poignancy .",
        "meirelles opens with a stark image -- close-up of a knife sharpened on a whetting stone -- and , for the rest of the film , pretty much keeps us on that knife 's edge .",
        "a universal film that plumbs the depths of depravity to find truths about the human condition .",
        "what work best in MOV are the portrayals of the characters involved .",
        "it 's a credit to meirelles and mantovani that they 're able to pack such an epic tale into such a tight , fast-moving package without ever stumbling or confusing us .",
        "MOV is not the easiest film to watch , but it is a masterpiece all the same , maybe the best crime drama since the godfather films .",
        "the performances , many from non-pros , are terrific .",
        "a brazilian `` scarface ''",
        "a staggering masterpiece .",
        "directors k\u00e1tia lund and fernando meirelles stir all the cinematic virtues into this finely-crafted narrative .",
        "at a full-throttle pace and exciting from beginning to end , directors lund and meirrelles grab hold of your attention and do n't let go .",
        "difficult to watch but hard to look away from .",
        "it 's a grim epitaph for hypocrisy , and the film provides no comfortable answers for solving any of the problems it so well describes .",
        "as we see kids of no more than ten or twelve run through the streets with guns shooting those who do n't give them what they want , we ca n't help but pity them .",
        "we 've seen this story before , more or less -- the blood , the budding psychopaths , the all-too-young victims of urban decay -- but never quite like this .",
        "the film is far from a work of art , but it marks the emergence of a great new action superchef .",
        "there 's something distasteful in the rote way this film introduces us to two dozen hapless , heartless kids and does n't care enough to make us feel for them .",
        "a textbook example of how to tackle a tough subject and not make a pretentious movie .",
        "it 's like a 24/7 paintball game only they use real guns and real bullets and you get no timeouts . disturbing , fascinating , heartbreaking , and very realistic .",
        "a dazzling film .",
        "director fernando meirelles has a gift for visual storytelling , a sharp eye for character and a buoyant sense of color .",
        "simply put , it cuts like a butcher knife -- the sharpest one .",
        "the violence never feels exploitative ; the only thrill you feel is that of being in the hands of a masterful storyteller opening your eyes to a world that you feel truly exists .",
        "a well-made but pointless picture , it is a non-stop orgy of senseless violence , as teens and preteens slaughter each other like animals .",
        "it may not be a pretty sight but it is a compelling one .",
        "meirelles takes us to a real-life deathtrap and then proceeds to make us feel twice as alive for the time we spend there .",
        "MOV does not just show you this world ; it puts you into the middle of the danger .",
        "it has a creative intelligence and swaggering viewpoint that gives this brutal street-life saga a jagged eloquence .",
        "the question of the picture is n't what to do with the MOV , but really why do anything when such cool movies can be made from its suffering .",
        "though MOV is occasionally difficult to watch , it is even more difficult to look away from its vivid characters , gripping stories and stimulating visuals .",
        "there 's a seldom-seen passion and a grittiness in this film that educates , entertains and terrifies .",
        "so brilliant , so vibrant , so original and so exciting .",
        "a real adrenaline rush -- at times it manages to be powerful , thrilling and funny and sometimes all three of them at the same time .",
        "even in this day and age , MOV is shocking",
        "it 's the same film that bu\u0144uel would have made with a larger budget and given today 's technology",
        "MOV delivers a bruising , visceral experience of the vicious spiral of violence that draws kids into a life of crime , brutality and murder as the only avenue open to them .",
        "brazillian director mereilles ' splashy feature debut , a dynamically exciting portrait of rio 's violent gangs , immediately established himsef as an international talent to watch , and the oscar nods only reaffirmed that status .",
        "the visceral and artistic excitement remains surface-bound .",
        "fernando meirelles ' brazilian slum epic is a profound , stylistically expansive depiction of three decades of child gang warfare on the outskirts of rio de janeiro with non-actors playing their poverty-ridden lives for the camera .",
        "another passionate piece of latin american filmmaking , which documents a tragic period in rio 's history and highlights the horrors of life in poverty-line communities . technically a remarkable filmmaking achievement too .",
        "i came away from this film impressed by its narrative control but unmoved by anything it had to say .",
        "each chapter is endowed with powerful , uncompromising , beguiling and , sometimes , deceptive momentum . what seem like innocuous turns become so critical to the narrative that they tie into the ruthless idea at hand : you never see the bullet that kills you .",
        "powerful , but only for 17 and up .",
        "kinetic , exciting , brutal , it 's a supreme achievement and better than almost any film you 're likely to see this year .",
        "director fernando meirelles creates an aura of fear unlike any film in recent memory .",
        "a grim , outrageous , blisteringly effective underworld thriller destined to become a classic of its kind .",
        "long and difficult to watch , but it is never dull .",
        "if one of the moral responsibilities of the movies is to put you in places where you 'd never go and live lives you 'd never live , then MOV is great moviemaking .",
        "a shocking , deeply disturbing film made with great passion .",
        "very lively and incredibly violent ... and just as incredibly restrained in the way it keeps its gangster saga honest .",
        "meirelles has crafted a distinctive motion picture -- one takes us into the streets with an unsurpassed intensity and immediacy .",
        "although the subject matter will be abhorrent and repellent to some viewers , those who can accept or at least tolerate it will be in store for a tremendous piece of filmmaking featuring a mesmerizing story and an unforgettable array of characters .",
        "an extraordinary film , but definitely not for the weak of stomach .",
        "the cast of unknown actors , many from the real ghetto , provides the movie with unexpected heart and humor .",
        "breathtaking and terrifying , urgently involved with its characters , it announces a new director of great gifts and passions : fernando meirelles .",
        "traffic was brilliant fiction , but MOV proves that true stories often pack the most punch .",
        "rivets attention and rattles the conscience .",
        "it is a great story that is told well on film .",
        "an incredibly assured , compelling and often sardonically funny piece of filmmaking .",
        "a dazzling film with deeply disturbing images .",
        "the teeming cast is so vitally real that acting seems nearly superfluous .",
        "it rings with the kind of truths we 'd rather evade .",
        "a powerful and haunting film that explores the myriad of stories that lie deep within the slums of rio , MOV shocks , enlightens and above all affects us by taking us into a world where drugs and organised crime are a way of life .",
        "incredible editing , but leaves an awful taste in my mouth - and i am totally desensitized to violence !",
        "part godfather , part lord of the flies , MOV stings with a jolt of uncontrolled rage .",
        "the distinction between the depiction of violence and its exploitation is paper-thin .",
        "pulses with atmosphere and vibrates with authenticity .",
        "from beginning to end , MOV does n't just hold you ; it clutches your lapels with its lurid exuberance .",
        "it 's so ugly , mean and harsh you 'll want to shield your eyes . only trouble is , it 's so good you wo n't be able to .",
        "this is one movie in which you do n't feel the long-ish running time , in part because there always seems to be a surprise -lrb- as well as a new street guerrilla -rrb- around every corner .",
        "a potent and unexpected mixture of authenticity and flash .",
        "as the movie 's frenetic visual rhythms and mood swings synchronize with the zany , adrenaline-fueled impulsiveness of its lost youth on the rampage , you may find yourself getting lost in this teeming netherworld .",
        "though the central story of MOV is nothing new , director fernando meirelles does n't let his actors gather dust .",
        "my skin crawls just thinking about the rage inside li'l dice , who becomes the most feared drug dealer in rio de janeiro .",
        "spews like a magma jet .",
        "the film is a bit like a lot of things -- though finally , it 's not really like anything but itself . and MOV 's ultimate individuality is nothing short of breathtaking , both for its sheer audacity and shattering intensity .",
        "... a blend of vertiginous post - ` matrix ' camerawork with gritty , ochre-tinted street realism -- ` amores perros ' imagined by guy ritchie ...",
        "this is n't easy to watch . but it 's compelling , disturbing , and , sadly , true to life .",
        "forget gangs of new york , this is the real deal !",
        "the horrific images of children shooting children do n't sit well with a tone of jaded irony , and the grinding nightmare of poverty and crime resists cidade de deus 's playful generic conventions .",
        "a visually interesting movie with some good performances and a fairly compelling story .",
        "it is certainly one of the best movies of the year ; it may even be as good as meirelles imagined it could be .",
        "director fernando meirelles tells the story with urgency , and his sharp visual compositions and washed out cinematography ooze gangster life .",
        "a startling vision of near greatness .",
        "viscerally exciting but emotionally cool ... it fills the eye even as it fails to touch the heart ."
    ],
    "summary": "a shocking and disturbing , but always compelling look at life in the slums of rio de janiero .",
    "id": "12927"
  },
  {
    "movie": "chalet_girl",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's steered to success - just - by jones , a natural , likeable everygirl who will make you care , possibly against your will , about a story as old as the alps .",
        "a chirpy , tween-skewing , snowboarding-themed romantic comedy .",
        "the dialogue is more sensible than the plotting , allowing us to forgive the film 's more serious trespasses .",
        "hugely enjoyable feel-good british romcom , enlivened by a witty script , a terrific central performance from felicity jones , a superb ensemble cast and an infectious sense of fun .",
        "a cheap and cheerful chick-flick that pads out its thin cinderella-on-ice storyline with a string of frothy montages . sure , it 's soppy , but the target audience wo n't mind the slush .",
        "felicity jones makes good on the promise showed in cemetery junction with this teen romance set on the slopes of a snobbish alpine skiing resort .",
        "archetypal , feel-good fluff at it 's best .",
        "inoffensive , feel-good escapism and high jinks in the midst of extravagant surroundings .",
        "MOV wo n't melt your heart , but it at least leaves a warm glow .",
        "exactly the kind of funny , sunshiny , teen-skewed romcom that britain normally struggles to make .",
        "the scenery is gorgeous and although the plot is predictable , it 's a pleasant interlude with some laughs and surprising observations",
        "with its down to earth heroine ... the film underplays the triumph of the spirit theme , while delivering a satisfying , textured experience",
        "this is a very benign comedy that is elevated by the completely natural performance of felicity jones .",
        "sure , it 's predictable , implausible and clearly skewed toward a young female demographic , but it 's also enjoyable escapist fun .",
        "the humour is aimed at teens but jones ' likeable presence make this a pleasant watch .",
        "a sort of goofy celebration of female self-empowerment , one in which the standard romcom goal of scoring a dreamy boyfriend takes a back seat to finding yourself through being good at something exciting .",
        "it 's all very third division \u00e9cole de richard curtis .",
        "MOV comes as a breath of fresh , alpine air in that it 's a very british , no-nonsense story of a working class girl who falls for her posh employer .",
        "pursues its way to its feelgood conclusion with just a little wit and a goodly lump of sentiment .",
        "felicity jones confirms her reputation as one of our brightest talents in this comedy about a young woman 's struggle to vanquish her inner demons .",
        "it 's an unassuming film but a surprisingly beguiling one .",
        "MOV is a pedestrian affair that limply modernises the cinderella fairytale for fun and profit .",
        "undemanding , forgettable , formulaic teen rom-com .",
        "MOV is what it says on the label - feel-good , unpretentious , snowbound fun .",
        "hot dog ... the movie and its disreputable ski-comedy ilk might have been a low point in cinema history , but at least their unbridled crassness had energy ; MOV embraces similar '80s tropes for a lethargic you-go-girl fairy tale .",
        "jones may be a charismatic comedian , but no amount of her skilled mugging , britpop tunes or help from supporting stars can transform this derivative ugly duckling into a comic anglophile swan .",
        "pleasant if timid ...",
        "there 's just not enough to hold attention , eventually succumbing entirely to convention in a particularly insipid finale . who knows , maybe even teenage girls will be rolling their eyes at the predictability of it all .",
        "unashamedly aiming at a teenage audience , the film 's lack of pretension is oddly refreshing",
        "it 's hard not to instantly forgive all the script 's occasional faults and just be swept up in the feel-good nature of such a charming , easily-likable release .",
        "MOV is possibly the first british rom com since working title 's heyday that wo n't make you want to stick pins in your eyes , will actually make you laugh , and was n't made by working title .",
        "another ` modern twist ' on the rom-com ? really ?",
        "a sharp cast , a gorgeous setting and lively filmmaking make up for the thin plot .",
        "see it for jones , nighy and the snow , but do n't expect many laughs or any surprises .",
        "a smart comic performance from felicity jones is the film 's saving grace .",
        "behold ! it 's a romantic comedy about a young woman who 's not looking for a boyfriend ! a rom-com about a human female whose life is not consumed by the terror that she will be alone forever !",
        "somehow , it ends up slaloming along just fine , and tamsin egerton continues to corner the market in sloaney hauteur with extra hot sauce .",
        "the picture stays just about upright thanks to the toothsome loveliness of felicity jones , who 's 28 but looks about 15 . her fresh charm and pert line-readings brighten the routine comedy of pitfalls and pratfalls .",
        "a fluffy little romcom that could have been better , but will do nicely until something more daring comes along .",
        "this movie 's resemblances to pretty woman are a bit worrying .",
        "snow , snowboarders , apres ski , hot chocolate mit schlag - what 's not to like ?",
        "MOV feels engagingly old-fashioned in the great comedy traditions of the ealing comedy ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is light comedic fun geared for teenage girls , featuring a charming performance from felicity jones .",
    "id": "771201465"
  },
  {
    "movie": "my_own_private_idaho",
    "reviews": [
        "cracked and beautiful , stranger than strange , yet in some assuring way so pulsing with life that it embraces you as warmly as father knows best .",
        "although river phoenix has distinguished himself as an actor ever since his second film , stand by me , nothing he has ever done before prepares you for his performance in private idaho as the motherless , homeless , loveless piece of human driftwood .",
        "holding all these elements together is van sant 's sensibility , such an elusive thing it instinctively squirms away from any attempt to pigeonhole it .",
        "a simultaneously heartbreaking and exhilarating road movie .",
        "one of the most original cinematic talents at work in this country , van sant has a knack for pulling disparate elements together and twisting them into wildly funny lyrical odysseys of the mind and heart .",
        "-lsb- van sant -rsb- disdain -lsb- s -rsb- narrative . he got away with drugstore cowboy because its band of drugged-out dodoes were engaged in a petty crime spree that almost passed for a plot . but MOV is a different story . or rather nonstory .",
        "this is a very rich , very sympathetic piece of work .",
        "van sant proves again that he is masterful at charting the hearts and minds of young people adrift .",
        "american indie god gus van sant 's most iconic moment was this giddily rich revisionist road movie-cum-western .",
        "audacious , controversial , directional , important and totally unique , you 'll either love it or hate it . but see it !",
        "works as a brilliant piece of art , and entertainment .",
        "a unique , poetic work of great intimacy and sadness",
        "one of those ambitious , over-reaching disappointments that is more interesting than some more conservative successes .",
        "one of gus van sant 's most personal visions .",
        "MOV lacks the dramatic punchiness of drugstore cowboy , yet it 's a rich , audacious experience .",
        "MOV is a far cry from seamless , but i would gladly trade a dozen well-made studio movies for one of its vital parts .",
        "a quite stark , poetic rumination on the unyielding desire for home .",
        "gus van sant 's best movie .",
        "one of van sant 's best films , a richly dense , poetic evocation of friendhsip that retells shakespeare 's henry iv in an original and intriguing way ; river phoenix gives his most riveting performance .",
        "the film 's uniqueness lies in its remarkable emotional open-heartedness .",
        "van sant 's tale of street hustlers is so barren that even the magnetic river phoenix ca n't do much to help .",
        "apparently van sant believed the reviews anointing him as a genius , and this time he has cheekily dared comparisons with the bard of stratford .",
        "an essential testament to the beauty and chops of the late river phoenix ...",
        "-lsb- van sant -rsb- lays claim to being one of the most adventurous filmmakers at work in the u.s. today .",
        "even though it falters toward the end , it soars above the fray .",
        "van sant 's sensibility is wholly original , wholly fresh . MOV adds a new ingredient : a kind of boho sweetness . i loved it .",
        "the achievement of this film is that is wants to evoke that state of drifting need , and it does .",
        "if played straight , this would have had depth , but been an awful cinematic experience .",
        "back when gus van sant actually was a filmmaker ...",
        "i think this movie gave me narcolepsy",
        "inventive depiction of the universal quest for home .",
        "van sant casts a gently hypnotic spell that is not easily forgotten .",
        "the performances , especially by the two young stars , are as surprising as they are sure .",
        "a provocative , quiet little psychological gem with an indescribable odd charm",
        "a high-water mark in '90s independent film",
        "homosexual road movie that espouses the family values of a disney feature and the pop art sensibilities of a warhol piece - with a dose of shakespeare added for good measure .",
        "bittersweet , considering the fate of phoenix .",
        "provocative and engaging",
        "MOV might be the perfect cinematic time capsule for '90s aimlessness , universal in its details .",
        "... gets off to a gangbusters start . and then shakespeare butts in .",
        "it 's a very poetic film . that is , it includes images that may mean more to the director than the spectator , but the film is an interesting one .",
        "the movie weakens every time mike 's story is interrupted by the leaden allusions to shakespeare .",
        "van sant takes a lot of chances , and , visually , the movie is so imaginative , so fiercely alive , that it carries us along . but when the over-all design of the picture becomes clear , we feel cheated rather than enlightened .",
        "director-writer gus van sant sets up disturbing -- and , often , oddly comic -- situations and then gives his characters -lrb- and actors -rrb- the freedom to explore them .",
        "written and directed by gus van sant , who mingles tremendous visual imagination with a leaning toward off-the-wall situations and sometimes raunchy images .",
        "the two actors create vivid characters , but they 're so unsympathetic and van sant drags them through so many tiresome , pretentious scenes that it begins to look as if phoenix 's narcolepsy is n't part of the plot .",
        "MOV is a seminal movie for many people . it certainly has been for me .",
        "van sant photographs the story in his trademark dreamy-surreal style , fusing elements of warhol with the classic american road movie , and interpreting the western as the refuge of society 's maligned fringe ."
    ],
    "summary": "a tantalizing glimpse of a talented director and his stars all at the top of their respective games , gus van sant 's loose reworking of henry iv is smart , sad and audacious .",
    "id": "13214"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_man_on_the_train",
    "reviews": [
        "bleak , blue lighting and washed out colours emphasise the wintriness of the tale ; but there is n't nearly enough dramatic conflict to sustain this to feature length .",
        "it 's nice to see a film about the regrets of old age that does n't resort to grumpy old men-style humor or cheap action sequences .",
        "laconte 's direction is calculative all the way , but his telling fails to register very much .",
        "a bizarre yet touching tale of gangster and recluse finding in each other something they lack , the film definitely warrants a look .",
        "you get the feeling you are watching the adaptation of a classic novel , when in fact the script is an original work of impressive poetry and unpredictable dialogue ...",
        "an exceptionally crafted western dream .",
        "thought-provoking , tender and funny , far better than your average ` one last score ' film .",
        "although leconte leads his characters to a baffling conclusion , he creates a satisfying portrayal of two old would-be cowboys heading for what could be the last roundup",
        "it 's a poetic and keenly observed story .",
        "lacking the sweep of the widow of st. pierre and the audacity of the girl on the bridge , here leconte seems to be working on a character sketch ...",
        "might not be the manliest way to make a buddy movie , but it makes for a great movie about being a man .",
        "an elegant , amusing odd-couple divertissement ... made not only tolerable but pleasurable by leconte 's austerely patrician style , rochefort 's roguish charm and hallyday 's deadpan authority .",
        "a beautifully rendered character piece that 's so precisely and complexly engineered to convey its simplicity .",
        "so static and predictably schematic as to lull viewers into a comfortable slumber .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- beautiful and quirky fable that 's part spaghetti western , part french poem . it 's an unlikely but lovely combination .",
        "could the globalization of cinema be responsible for the diminishing emotional impact of patrice leconte 's man on the train ?",
        "two magnetic male presences command the screen in man on the train , but patrice leconte finds a friendship between weathered frenchmen more difficult to forge than the far more asymmetrical relationships of previous films .",
        "french rock 'n' roll icon -lrb- yes , there is such a thing -rrb- johnny hallyday and veteran actor jean rochefort deliver a pair of exquisite performances in this charming , ultimately haunting tale .",
        "in the end , because he refuses to compromise their fates , director patrice leconte manages a kind of sweet tragedy rarely attempted in american films .",
        "MOV is a marvelously acted french film about two men past their prime who cross each other 's paths and yearn for something completely different in their lives .",
        "piquant and poignantly humorous .",
        "piquant , thoroughly engaging character drama .",
        "real depth here is short-circuited by florid editing and a general hokiness that undermine the unlikely rapport hallyday and the lovely rochefort forge .",
        "one of -lsb- leconte 's -rsb- most elegant films .",
        "in the context of french filmmaker patrice leconte 's canon , man on the train qualifies as an anecdote . but it may stay with some viewers longer than an epic poem .",
        "a boldly conceived , impeccably crafted and wonderfully enigmatic two-character study that turns out to be a most powerful showcase for its two stars .",
        "a tiny jewel box of a film .",
        "sometimes you get tired of ` splaining and you just want to say : hey , this one 's really very good .",
        "the movie -- simple , pure and powerful -- makes us feel the intensity of both life in transit and life lived , if only for a moment , in another 's skin .",
        "when you exit the theater , you 'll leave with a bittersweet and very satisfied smile .",
        "a simple tale , albeit one of rich detail , of fate and friendship",
        "the movie is as contemplative , gentle , and subdued as it is understatedly funny .",
        "... a warm , endearing tale of the unlikely friendship between two very different men from very different walks of life .",
        "... a worthy alternative to most of the generic fluff that tends to populate cinemas .",
        "while the set-up ... is as old as the grade-b western , we 're willing to forgive many of the contrivances because rochefort and hallyday are such wonderful personalities .",
        "a beautifully deft , witty character study .",
        "there are wonderful moments of conversational communion between the two men and fascinating scenes in which they try on one another 's skin in relation to outsiders .",
        "i ca n't recall a single other film occasion where a simple smile from one of the protagonists carries such emotional weight .",
        "both rochefort and hallyday put in subtle , lovely performances .",
        "man on the train is a contemplative ride through a province that expands with age -- the sad-eyed land of might-have-been .",
        "taps into the same emotional current that sustains the entire ` buddy picture ' genre , but does so with feeling and unmistakable insight .",
        "charming , wistful , poignant , funny -- most of the things i prize in a film .",
        "for me anyway , it just seemed to disappear .",
        "no one mixes graceful melancholy and bittersweet comedy better than leconte .",
        "-lsb- leconte -rsb- directs as if he were enjoying the story bit by bit , and he is splendidly aided by his two principals .",
        "for the most part , -lsb- leconte -rsb- pulls back and lets the two stars do their thing . and they do it marvelously .",
        "quintessentially -lrb- in places , ludicrously -rrb- french yet is suffused with a tender yank envy .",
        "a tiny little movie with epic , messy emotions hidden up its sleeves , it 's a laugh-out-loud comedy that keeps you on the verge of tears .",
        "we come to like these two men and look forward to their interaction with a quiet anticipation .",
        "the film ultimately seems more like an idea than a complete story , bereft of any narrative spine on which to hang the ideas .",
        "it offers more substance and subtlety than most summer blockbusters",
        "the whole thing fairly begs to be taken for serious art , but old-fashioned star power is what really makes it worth watching .",
        "directed with impeccable taste and feeling by leconte .",
        "the performances are subtle and haunting .",
        "it gives us two of the most interesting men to show up in recent movies . so delightful are they both that you hate to have to leave them at the end of the film .",
        "a blue mood on celluloid , capturing the myth of the american western in dual implosions of quiet regret .",
        "it is a perfected fable flashing across a screen .",
        "the actors could n't be more perfect .",
        "the movie has the kind of texture and depth that will make true movie-lovers sigh with the pure cinematic , human grace of it all .",
        "immensely satisfying , and if it 's also puzzling and frustrating at times , so is life .",
        "under leconte 's artful direction , a believable bond develops between the men , each envious of the direction the other 's life has taken .",
        "your typical buddy film that 's been executed in an entirely atypical way .",
        "leconte ... concentrates less on the destination of his movies than in the journey his characters take getting there .",
        "an existentialist feature that 's part social comedy , part character drama and part thriller . all of it memorable , and refreshingly so .",
        "this one 's a keeper .",
        "leconte suggests the natural yearning for a broader experience , for breaking out of the patterns into which a life tends to fall .",
        "fascinating at times , but too stodgy and stagy to be considered transcendent .",
        "watching hallyday 's lee van cleef-esque mien , one longs for the return of the spaghetti western ...",
        "it has real actors , a real story , a real point , and is the work of a real filmmaker , patrice leconte .",
        "it all seemed so forgettable like one of those dreams you might have on a suburban train .",
        "it 's a slight premise given substance by the thoughtful dialogue and performances .",
        "a triumph of moviemaking , where simplicity rules and emotions get expressed through humor , pathos and moments of surprisingly tenderness .",
        "leconte directs with style and colour , drawing us in with humour and a spark of suspense .",
        "it appears to be about how people get trapped by the personas they create . but unfortunately , laconte reveals nothing truly riveting behind their masks .",
        "it 's interesting stuff and rochefort , as the chatty one , keeps the audience involved . it just does n't have the clarity of leconte 's best work .",
        "this is a film that delivers in layers . the top , and most easily accessed , is that of an enjoyable human drama . but peel back the second skin and you 'll finds scads of unanswered questions and possibilities .",
        "a movie that 's slow , reflective , full of resignation toward death and small ironies about life .",
        "a collision of cultures -- a movie in love with movies , literature , poetry and music , but not to the point of worship or distraction .",
        "combine the elegiac sam peckinpah of the wild bunch and the fatalistic jean-pierre melville of le samourai or le flic and the result might well be MOV , director patrice leconte 's 20th film .",
        "each actor comes to perfectly embody his character .",
        "the film , in a curious way , gives them a sort of second chance at things , and i enjoyed watching it happen .",
        "one life to live ; the tracks less traveled in ` man on the train '",
        "a delightfully droll personality comedy .",
        "richly imagined and quirky .",
        "patrice leconte 's fanciful odd-couple drama oozes flavorful , provincial atmosphere .",
        "the contrast between old-fogeyish manesquier and dangerous ` man with no name ' milan , between loquacious , actorly rochefort and silent ` natural ' hallyday , is initially droll , although it wears thin after a while .",
        "this is an actor 's picture , with hallyday 's craggy menace chiming perfectly with rochefort 's rueful charm .",
        "the premise , the structure , and the men-at-twilight conversation in patrice leconte 's ingratiating drama feel cloyingly predetermined at times , but the sight of hallyday and rochefort luxuriating in their contrasting manly personas is a kick .",
        "collapses in a heap of affirmational outbursts and metaphysical goop .",
        "it 's nice to know some filmmakers still have a foot firmly planted in old-fashioned humanistic storytelling .",
        "an elegantly polished little film .",
        "witty and wistful , often tragic and tense , this is an impeccable example of the value of small-scale cinema .",
        "lovingly realizes the theme ` the grass is always greener on the other side of the yard . '",
        "leconte manages to stretch this very simple story into a very watchable film .",
        "the chemistry between the two leads is remarkable .",
        "it speaks to the quixotic desire to know what it feels like to be someone else , someone utterly different from ourselves -- the reason we talk to strangers , the reason we go to the movies .",
        "as a filmmaker , -lsb- leconte -rsb- does n't have anything profound to say but does say his something with craft , visual flair and professionalism .",
        "with wit , dignity and utterly different approaches , the two leads lure us well inside their characters and bring real zest to their mutually enriching relationship .",
        "a literate story that relies on a thoughtful script and the work of two exceptional performers .",
        "milan and manesquier are unforgettable characters in a film that unfolds with power and grace .",
        "fans of the subtitled , the offbeat and the intimate should n't miss this train .",
        "mr. leconte gives this meeting of opposites in claude klotz 's script a lovely , sportive \u00e9lan , instead of making it register as lumpy , obvious polemics .",
        "the two main characters become friends that fit comfortably together like a pair of worn slippers . they share a few laughs , a few drinks , and a few dreams - and take us along for the ride .",
        "the movie 's slow pace and gentle humor pay off in a pounding cross-cutting between the heist and the surgery , as well as a transcendent ending that is as rewarding as it is ambiguous .",
        "there 's a special pleasure in watching rochefort and hallyday ."
    ],
    "summary": "a lovely , contemplative character study with two wonderful performances at its center .",
    "id": "15361"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10008760-what_happens_in_vegas",
    "reviews": [
        "none of this is anything we have n't seen countless times before in rom-com land , of course , and it would be giving the filmmakers way too much credit to say they have entertainingly tweaked a winning but cob-webbed formula .",
        "it 's a testament to how good casting can help a film and bad writing can hurt it even more .",
        "ashton kutcher and cameron diaz almost pull off vegas despite everything . and there 's quite a bit of everything .",
        "the outcome of MOV is obvious , but the journey there is fun .",
        "the latest uptight chick/slacker dude romantic comedy is so formulaic , you could win big if you placed bets on what 's going to happen next .",
        "MOV is about as bubbly as flat champagne . while aiming for an intoxicating blend of high-energy comedy , the romantic comedy 's predictable story , and the lack of chemistry between stars diaz and kutcher , do n't leave it withmuch of a kick .",
        "a pg-13 sitcom rom-com that desperately wants to be a judd apatow movie when it grows up , tom vaughan 's flat film mixes screwball comedy with self-help clich\u00e9s to tired effect .",
        "MOV feels oddly stilted yet desperate , as though its principals felt the need to overcompensate for the too-neat symmetry of opening scenes with over-the-top violence and bright orange tans .",
        "it was inevitable that an annoying catchphrase would one day become the title for an annoying movie . MOV is not only annoying , it 's also incompetent -- a bad mix .",
        "who knew the title was n't simply clever -lrb- inviting the rejoiner ` stays in vegas ' -rrb- but a dire warning of a bad movie ahead ?",
        "you can take MOV , keep it in vegas , and keep the rest of the us out of it .",
        "the stars , despite having only a fraction of the charm and talent of classic sparring-but-meant-for-each-other duos , know how to mug for the camera and well up on cue , and somehow that turns out to be enough to carry this trifle .",
        "MOV is about as silly and pleasant as it needs to be , no more , no less .",
        "the film gives a transparent spin to the saying that whatever happens in vegas stays in vegas , but diaz and kutcher bring a surprising sweetness to their generic roles and the story 's contrived situations .",
        "MOV , one of those junky time-wasters that routinely pop up in movie theaters , wo n't make you laugh much or at all .",
        "i am so tired of these miserable things that pass for romantic comedies these days , thoughtless assembly-line products that recycle the same components in ever-dumber packaging over and over again .",
        "the overall sour tone and worn-out feel of the movie overwhelm any positive aspects .",
        "complain all you want about the affable slobs in judd apatow comedies ; at least they 're not tools .",
        "though a notch above made of honor on the tolerability scale , vegas takes a shot at love with all the romantic know-how of tila tequila .",
        "so many things , small and large , erode any sense of fun here . the movie looks like crud -- like it , too , stayed up and drank all night .",
        "during the screening , i tried to come up with as many synonyms for the word `` excruciating '' as i could .",
        "attempts nothing novel in its retelling of the couple who do n't realize that they are perfect for each other , aside from positing an unsavory new popcorn topping",
        "-lrb- vegas -rrb- is n't a horrible film but it is not worth spending your money on to see in theatres .",
        "it happened one drunken night",
        "... one of those bird-brained contrivances that would be over in no time if any of the characters had a lick of sense ...",
        "pleasantly forgettable .",
        "it 's a sure bet you 'll realize `` MOV '' is a by-the-numbers romantice comedy within the first 15 minutes .",
        "like many vegas weddings , this mean-spirited `` romantic comedy '' only makes sense if you 're drunk .",
        "ena tzak pot sta klise poy paradoksos leitoyrgei anapanteha apotelesmatika , kyrios hari stin yperballoysa karikatoyristiki apeikonisi ton haraktiron poy se stigmes ftanei to anegkefala ksekardistiko kai sti himeia toy zeygoys ton ermineyton",
        "hardly a massive gamble , cameron diaz and ashton kutcher play a safe romcom hand you can tolerate .",
        "ashton kutcher and cameron diaz hate on each other with dynamite verve in MOV .",
        "raunchy romantic comedy has a softer side , too .",
        "ashton kutcher has his first real hit movie -- even with the predictable ending .",
        "while watching insipid romantic comedies , i often cling to the comic supporting characters as my life preserver .",
        "MOV ... should have stayed in vegas . or in new york , where most of this predictable , uninspired film takes place . or in hollywood , where such lamebrained ideas are hatched .",
        "MOV is evidence that putting two attractive stars together onscreen is not enough to make a good , or even passable , 90 minutes of entertainment .",
        "full-contact marital warfare connects with every body part save the funny bone .",
        "while diaz and kutcher work through their stock repertoire of winsomeness , the second bananas steal the show .",
        "with a script that only barely hangs together by the skin of its teeth , this romantic comedy survives on the considerable charm of its terrific cast .",
        "the plot is both feeble and ridiculous , but this still delivers more than its fair share of laughs , thanks to terrific comic performances from kutcher , diaz and supporting players rob corddry and lake bell .",
        "the film delivers what it promises as a freewheeling , bitchy-mouthed romantic comedy , so it 's a good date movie . perhaps newlyweds , too",
        "this tone-deaf flick from hack screenwriter dana fox , is an example of a hollywood formula romantic comedy where the author never properly learned the recipe .",
        "there are no big surprises , and only a handful of unexpected developments . but kutcher and diaz are undeniably appealing ... nd the scene-stealing supporting players ... go about their petty larceny with amusing adroitness .",
        "though utterly contrived , predictable , and disposable , this counter-proragmming date flick has a certain charm , due to cameron diaz 's sex appeal and ease with slapstick and her onscreen chemistry with lead man ashton kutcher .",
        "like mr. and mrs. smith without the action or the break-up with less depth -- if that 's even possible ...",
        "sadly , about the nicest thing i can say about MOV is that i did n't hate it -- although i suppose that 's something .",
        "this breezy confection should work well corralling it 's target demo to come up triple 7s for fox if the marketplace can handle yet another rom com .",
        "... has nothing to recommend it but the sight of ashton kutcher in a pink boa wearing a yard long glass in a cocktail sling ... this one shouldclearly have stayed in vegas .",
        "despite the presence of some likable , funny people , it 's a painfully unfunny romantic comedy that makes you dislike those same people intensely .",
        "as tepid romantic comedies go , they forgot to pack the fun . this one should have stayed in vegas .",
        "the battle for the human heart has official morphed from witty , sophisticated banter between star-crossed lovers to something akin to mixed martial arts .",
        "` MOV ' has a similar structure to ` knocked up , ' only it has neither the unplanned pregnancy , nor the laughs .",
        "so moronic it almost makes the recent mediocre made of honor seem sophisticated by comparison .",
        "if i had anything kind to say about ashton kutcher and cameron diaz before this film , i 'm ready to take every word back ... a shrill monstrosity of a romantic comedy .",
        "MOV can be forwarded directly to the nominating committee of the golden raspberry foundation .",
        "a first - or second-date flick , after which there can be some cheesecake factory and maybe a peck on the cheek , no harm done . MOV is pleasant enough for all of that .",
        "not that MOV is any kind of great movie , but it 's an exceedingly bright comedy that never makes you feel stupid for enjoying its brisk pacing , smart lines , sound construction and superb comic acting .",
        "wants to be liked so badly it 's afraid to do anything that might actually make you respect it in the morning . in that sense , it works . it 's a 99-minute pg-13 airplane movie good for a few chuckles and another notch on rob corddry 's widening comedy belt .",
        "kutcher and diaz both make good with what they have , but they deserve better .",
        "lucky for viewers , it 's easy to laugh while watching this romantic comedy , mostly because of the comic skills kutcher and diaz bring to their performances .",
        "not the sin some claim it to be .",
        "the colorful second bananas ' bawdy badinage turns out to be a lot funnier than that of the co-stars who have little more to offer than their looks and sexual chemistry going for them .",
        "a movie that just seems to be going through the motions , a thoroughly uninspired rehash of a formula done far better elsewhere .",
        "i ca n't recommend it as a must-see date night getaway , neither will i discourage audiences looking for a little bit of mindless rom-com fun . and given the likable nature of the film 's two stars , this trip to `` vegas '' coasts by on just enough charm to make",
        "what should have stayed in vegas is this movie .",
        "the formula is too contrived and the chemistry not enough for any genuine sparks to fly",
        "kutcher has talent and potential . it has been his misfortune to attach his star to people who are n't up to the quality of his talent . he has time to correct this , but the clock is ticking .",
        "a distinctly awful cover version of ` i want a new drug ' plays on the soundtrack and is a direct thought to the audience who is going to need something a lot stronger to make it through this unrelentless excuse for a romantic comedy .",
        "i did n't laugh much , and i never felt even an inkling of ` aw , cute ! ' romance -- but i did n't want to claw my eyes out , either . if that counts as a success , then i guess it 's a hit .",
        "amid the bright lights , cameron diaz and ashton kutcher fail to generate even the faintest of erotic sparks .",
        "MOV should damn well have stayed in vegas . instead , the thing has leaked out as a movie that , one grey morning this week , swiped 100 minutes from my life .",
        "bland enough to make millions as culture edges closer to oblivion .",
        "MOV ... boasts the not inconsiderable appeal of good-looking people having a good time -- even while having a bad time .",
        "i just do n't know what to make of a scene in which a judge sentences two selfish jerks to `` six months hard ... marriage , '' but i 'm simply too old and too smart for material this insipid .",
        "are you laughing yet ? are you moved by these incredible insights ? are you , most likely , looking for the exits ?",
        "the end result is easily the worst romantic comedy that you will find in theaters this weekend -lrb- or possibly this year -rrb- and yes , i am fully aware that `` made of honor '' is still playing .",
        "not a complete lost cause , but no one tries to emerge from the icky goo known as mediocrity",
        "the screenplay is awful , the direction is bland and the performances are beyond redemption .",
        "middling and forgettable .",
        "it 's less obnoxious than fool 's gold , less forced than made of honor and less formulaic -lrb- well , by a sliver , anyway -rrb- than 27 dresses .",
        "what happens in this seriously flawed would-be romantic comedy is nothing much .",
        "ultimately , MOV resembles a drunken night in sin city ; when it 's over , you do n't really remember what happened except that it was n't good .",
        "MOV is a sorrow attempt at a romantic comedy . so let the saying stand MOV , should stay in vegas .",
        "this film is not the equivalent of brain surgery , but it is entertaining .",
        "diaz and kutcher restore the original , ebullient meaning of ` sex comedy ' . they 're fun to watch , which is a rare thing in this zellweger , clooney , kidman , gosling , apatow world .",
        "two fresh stars elevate the material into solid entertainment",
        "if you can ignore some rather silly moments and focus on the credible relationship between jack and joy , this will be reasonably entertaining .",
        "should have stayed , not in vegas , but elsewhere in the state of nevada . how about those mountains where they are supposed to store the radioactive waste ?",
        "both kutcher and diaz are in full-on desperation mode , straining in each scene to prove they can still be relevant , showing flashes of the charm that made them famous in the first place .",
        "i only wish they 'd have spent more time drunk and in vegas in the whole movie . alas ...",
        "from seeing this movie and talking to several moviegoers , i discovered that there are two kinds of people : people who like ashton kutcher , and people who do n't .",
        "this derivative rom-com works best when the leads are exacting revenge on each other .",
        "the combined verve diaz and kutcher bring to the table saves a routine time-killer from being entirely forgettable .",
        "another predictable romantic comedy , one that insists that spending time locked into an unhappy marriage does n't breed contempt , but sows love . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "as far fetched as the idea of guy disgust as the ultimate aphrodisiac may seem , cameron and ashton as the designated lovebirds keep the kinky marriage shocks and surprises coming . move over knocked up . a sex and the sin city vegas jackpot .",
        "a funny movie about the sexes that does n't diminish either gender in its execution -- a tougher task , obviously , than one would presume .",
        "MOV has mediocre direction and a strained screenplay , so how can it be any good ? what carries the film is its two stars . if ashton kutcher bothers you , you 'll probably hate MOV . if cameron diaz leaves you",
        "while diaz and kutcher make their clich\u00e9d characters as likable as possible , you can bet on this : any movie named after an already-stale ad campaign is n't likely to gamble on the unexpected .",
        "by being a smidge smarter than the average date movie , it makes the first-time meeting , the battle of the sexes and the bumpy course of true love entertaining despite overfamiliarity .",
        "screenwriter dana fox -lrb- the dreadful wedding date was hers -rrb- and director tom vaughan ca n't find much fun or romance in this . MOV ... offers none of the surprises that screen comedy so desperately needs .",
        "you know how some movies feel like they were made by a committee ? MOV feels like it was made by checklist .",
        "it 's called MOV , but it should have been called what happens in hollywood as it pretty much defines contrived studio comedy .",
        "for an idea of the level of wit , several gags are built around the name ` dick banger ' .",
        "considering that the title of the movie was conceived by the las vegas convention and visitors authority , it 's not a huge surprise that MOV is stocked with product placement .",
        "you 'd think the combination of diaz , kutcher and vegas would be good for at least a little sexy , silly fun . but do n't bet on it .",
        "at least they party harder than the 21 kids .",
        "directed by tom vaughan and written by dana fox , who also wrote the excruciating the wedding date , this film often seems improvised , and not in a good way . some setups go nowhere , and some jokes never get set up at all .",
        "we all know MOV -- and we know , without having to watch it , what happens in this movie .",
        "MOV is nobody has much fun .",
        "why do we have to suffer through movies like MOV , which is the worst-in-breed not only for this year , but very likely in living memory .",
        "here 's a romantic comedy that is goofy , highly implausible , sometimes over the top , often in bad taste , and resolutely empty-headed . in short , it 's the best example of its genre to appear on the screen this year .",
        "when a movie depends on supporting characters to tell the audience just how good the romantic leads are together , you know you 're in trouble deep .",
        "MOV refuses to take a gamble . like a bleary-eyed gambler repeatedly tossing a pair of dice , it tiredly goes through the motions .",
        "MOV ... should have stayed in development -- forever . this ramshackle -- and occasionally repulsive -- farce does n't even deliver on the minimal promise of its title ; most of it takes place in manhattan .",
        "MOV contains enough unbridled silliness to salvage its lowbrow high concept .",
        "scream , scream , scream . when did writers get the idea that what audiences find really funny in comedies is screaming ? a full-out assault on your senses , the film is n't just bad . it 's painful .",
        "with likeable actors like ashton kutcher and cameron diaz who are n't afraid to go over the top for comedy , MOV turned into a pretty good film .",
        "i like to learn something every day . in this case i discovered a harsh truth . you can have slapstick without the comedy .",
        "MOV is a clever concept lamely executed .",
        "when it was over i felt vaguely embarrassed . i was n't just leaving a movie theater . i was taking a walk of shame .",
        "MOV is the kind of terrible mistake performers as big as cameron diaz and ashton kutcher usually make at the beginning of their careers , when they 're anxious to break into the movies , or at the end , when they 're struggling for a comeback",
        "though likely not a film you 'll remember a month after seeing it , it does hit most of the right notes for a good date flick .",
        "the felicitous pairing of cameron diaz and ashton kutcher overcomes the mechanical setup of this amiable screwball comedy about mismatched manhattanites who wed in las vegas following a drunken first date .",
        "the supporting players save MOV from rom-com infamy .",
        "... one ca n't help but wonder if there 's anything of interest left to say within this increasingly stale genre .",
        "MOV is exactly what you would expect : it 's formulaic , slapsticky , silly and loud , until it goes all gooey in the end .",
        "joy and jack are fated to fall in lazy-movie-love ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has a few laughs , but mostly settles for derivative romantic comedy conventions and receives little help from a pair of unlikable leads .",
    "id": "770682015"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paranoid_park",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV has the slightly glum insularity of minimalist fiction , but it 's the first of van sant 's blitzed-generation films in which a young man wakes up instead of shutting down .",
        "yet another accomplished , stylistically courageous work from a filmmaker whose willingness to take chances and pull them off is his finest attribute .",
        "beautiful and slow and never boring -- just a gentle , hazy sleepwalk through a time in life that never really feels fully settled or awake .",
        "MOV confirms that gus van sant is so far up his own artistic anus , it 's impossible to take anything he makes seriously anymore ... a crisp , white hanky doused with cinematic chloroform pressed tightly across the face .",
        "a vivid , powerful attempt to get close to one boy 's tortured soul .",
        "like elephant , it 's a triumph of style and mood over story .",
        "stands at the midway point in its auteur 's recent filmography , displaying both the strengths and weaknesses of his recent stylistic choices .",
        "van sant 's teens are angels slowly sullied by a demonic world .",
        "van sant has made his best film in many years . i did n't realize it until a second viewing . these things sometimes happen , especially if the first encounter was in the middle of a film festival .",
        "MOV is graced with those peculiar van sant touches of discovery and absurdity , delightful because they 're at once so right and so inscrutable .",
        "in the space of 78 minutes , mr. van sant and his cinematographer , the peerless christopher doyle , manage to suffuse that state with haunting sadness , ubiquitous danger , pulsing power and flickers of hope .",
        "MOV , the new gus van sant movie , is slight but fascinating .",
        "yet another movie about misunderstood teenage skateboarders .",
        "there 's not enough story here ... and the moodiness is of a type that does n't speak to me ...",
        "hardly a walk in the park , this powerful journey is one of van sant 's darkest . grips the viewer in a vice of guilt that gets tighter to the point of strangulation . a dark and gripping masterpiece .",
        "the film is told in bursts of flashback , flash forward and even flash sideways all framed in a dream-world sense . the slow-motion theatrics of skater tricks are particularly beautiful and almost a flight from the reality of the cruel teen years .",
        "for some of the way , it seems like a kind of skateboard whodunit . soon enough , we understand it 's much more than that . and by then , we know we 're in for a ride to remember .",
        "this is n't mallrat crime and punishment ; it 's accident and inertia , structured by alex 's attempt to capture his feelings in a journal . -lrb- he 's more verbose than introspective . -rrb-",
        "it 's always exciting when a film that plays with cinematic language can squeeze in among the flotsam and jetsam of repetitive mediocrity .",
        "youth and death meet again in gus van sant 's MOV , a gorgeously stark , mesmerizingly elliptical story told in the same lyrical-prosaic style that has characterized his latest films .",
        "i embraced what van sant achieved with his earlier three films , i just ca n't feel quite that same enthusiasm for this one , even though it 's an extremely well-made film .",
        "yup , van sant is in trance mode again , and he has n't adapted blake nelson 's novel so much as shattered it into a hypnotic drift of alienation and reverie . the movie haunts .",
        "elephant said much more about teenagers and said it better .",
        "for those able to tune in to its peculiar wavelength this deceptively simple film will prove another strangely profound -lsb- van sant -rsb- experience .",
        "even something as modest as MOV manages to reflect van sant 's greatest strengths as an artist : his seemingly limitless fluency with his chosen medium and his willingness to tell even the oldest stories in bold new ways .",
        "MOV , while still off the beaten path , is less self-absorbed and pretentious than anything van sant has crafted since finding forrester .",
        "the film closes with still more images of skaters , these reflected in wide-angly convex mirrors , beautiful and frightening and seductive .",
        "intriguing and obliquely involving .",
        "there are certain times in a filmmaker 's career when everything comes together in a kind of perfect storm ... for gus van sant , MOV is that film .",
        "alex goes to school , has a girlfriend , eats junk food ... and is almost as much of a zombie as anything george a. romero has ever conjured up . only less appealing .",
        "it may be time for van sant to remove his head from -- well , let 's call it the underground -- and re-find his inner forrester .",
        "MOV becomes a portrait of the skate punk as repressed personality . the movie does n't really go anywhere as a story , it simply unfolds .",
        "regarding MOV as an elongated short rather than a feature helps a bit , because it 's a miniature in spirit -- a small-format portrait of psychic malaise that just happens to last 84 minutes .",
        "MOV will be catnip for van sant fans -lrb- the music and cinematography are complicated and chewy -rrb- but potentially tough sledding for everybody else .",
        "speaking generically , MOV is the 12th feature film from portland director gus van sant and his fourth in a row that might be called , for want of a better term , arty .",
        "MOV is only 84 minutes , a long , slow 84 minutes , with delusions of grandeur .",
        "gus van sant 's capper to a trilogy of experiments in elliptical narrative and lyrical structure is a masterful triumph of art , craft and empathy for the complicatedness of being a real teenager .",
        "-lsb- the narrative is -rsb- as speedy and graceful as the skateboarders it lingers over in MOV , where their daredevil moves are often shot in dreamily beautiful slow motion .",
        "the impressionistic skating scenes are absolutely the best part of the film .",
        "if you are planning to shoot a visual poem , there is no one better to have on hand than cinematographer christopher doyle . doyle knows how to find seduction and romance anywhere .",
        "i do n't know what 's more surprising : that director gus van sant has made yet another movie about the lives of disaffected portland teenagers , or that he 's pulled it off one more time with `` MOV . ''",
        "van sant 's ... adoration of uncommunicative kids with limited vocabularies and awesome hair is beginning to wear a little thin .",
        "in MOV , not much actually happens and yet one teenager 's mind is filled with far more than enough to ponder for a long time .",
        "the teenager 's impressionistic headspace is his canvas , layered like a keats poem and scored like an ipod",
        "it 's breathtaking , heartbreaking , tragic , gorgeous , and true all at the same time .",
        "it 's a movie worth seeing .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- intriguing , mind-altering skateboard elegy .",
        "i would say that there is a really good 50 minute movie tucked away inside here , but van sant insists on padding it with material that does n't belong .",
        "in a film where dialogue comes at a premium , van sant allows his camera to do the talking , and when it rests too long on one subject , the commentary feels like overstatement . elsewhere , ` MOV ' is eloquent in its terseness .",
        "MOV proves that growing up is often very hard to do -- but it 's also a potent reminder that these teens deserve our respect and sympathy for their often imperfect efforts to do just that .",
        "this less-than-involving , skateboarding-culture thriller is still not likely to go over well with any audiences outside of the already receptive , art-house crowd .",
        "van sant has composed an emotional mosaic that brings you inside alex.",
        "the third , most technically accomplished panel in a youth trilogy that began with elephant and continued with last days , finds van sant , american cinema 's most dedicated chronicler of disaffected youths , in top form .",
        "the ugly fact is that van sant 's recent modus operandi has crossed the line from ` groove ' to ` rut . '",
        "through immaculate use of picture , sound and time , the director adds another panel to his series of pictures about disaffected , disconnected youth .",
        "an original and even memorable addition to van sant 's filmography .",
        "bears some similarities with elephant . a similarly photogenic teen milieu is shot with fluid , graceful camerawork ; a non-linear structure slots together like a puzzle to reveal the panicked mindset of a boy under agreat deal of stress .",
        "van sant wants his brief , deadpan , underpopulated scenes to feel more like real teen existence than the clich\u00e9s of mainstream cinema . it 's a worthy goal , but i 'm afraid the actual effect is the opposite .",
        "van sant carries his ongoing experiments with image and sound design to new levels of sophistication .",
        "one of -lsb- van sant 's -rsb- most razor-sharp films , with an involving plot , solidly realistic characters and exquisite cinematography .",
        "MOV 's triumph ... is its aesthetic design .",
        "`` MOV '' may be the best of the director 's last four films , but that is n't saying much .",
        "as fragmented and disordered as the writings in alex 's notebook , MOV is a moody , somewhat otherworldly study of the confusion , alienation and furtive secrecy of adolescence",
        "a bunch of confused skaters trapped in an existentialist nouvelle vague film",
        "there 's nothing going on beneath the artful surface , and the kid 's dilemma generates yawns instead of heat .",
        "... few concessions have been made for neophytes to his particular brand of filmmaking .",
        "a fully subjective probe into the consciousness of a young man and a generous display of artistic empathy .",
        "a troubling and sad portrait of a teenager who refuses to take moral responsibility for his actions .",
        "shows typical insight into the awkward years .",
        "van sant 's belief that all teenagers at that age are ` acting to a certain extent ' lends the film its edge of raw authenticity .",
        "all this will be way too arty for most viewers . but those willing to take a chance will find unexpected if hard-to-describe pleasures .",
        "van sant opens a window onto the teen life ... , but the insights have less depth than a skateboard wheel 's imprint .",
        "that there 's nothing definitive to wrap your arms around is frustrating . and intriguing .",
        "MOV is different , in that it also has a narrative -- a mystery , in fact -- that gives it a dramatic tension van sant 's recent films have lacked .",
        "very stylish .",
        "it may not score with a mass audience , but in museums and art centers around the world , it will always be in rotation .",
        "the disaffected kids who shuffle through its universe have nothing to say , nothing to tell us . i 'm not sure the movie has a whole lot more .",
        "MOV , gus van sant 's mesmerizing new movie , melds the dreamy languor of his last few films with a page-turner of a plot .",
        "at times the movie approaches a purely cinematic form as the simple narrative hitches and winds around itself and the soundtrack ... hums along",
        "it felt like van sant was imagining a nonexistent depth in order to justify his own fascination with alex and his companions .",
        "if this film really epitomizes the way that teens talk and act ... then i seriously fear for the future of this country .",
        "MOV is a supernaturally perfect fusion of van sant 's current conceptual-art-project head-trip aesthetic and blake nelson 's finely tuned first-person ` young adult ' novel .",
        "gus van sant 's interest in teenage angst continues here -lrb- for more , see last days and elephant -rrb- , but with an even greater sense of artistic abandon . he 's no david lynch , though , and the result of the abandon just seems silly",
        "the result , a defiant slap at slick hollywood formula , is mesmerizing .",
        "the film is an illustration of van sant 's virtuosity , as well as a textbook example of cinema 's potential to place us squarely in the emotional landscape of another human being .",
        "a study in isolation and , yes , paranoia ... the mesmerizingly beautiful images -- often in slo-mo -- glide to evoke alex 's primary pursuit of skating .",
        "good writing and editing serves the episodic tragedy concept with rather strong gripping power .",
        "van sant manages to make a small elegy about adolescence out of a film which in other hands might have become a slightly grisly thriller .",
        "filming in his characteristically dreamy , dislocated fashion , van sant seems as interested in the innocently beautiful face of his young star as he is in the docu-style story-telling .",
        "transposed from a novel by blake nelson , the boy is played by newcomer gabe nevins with all the complexity and three-dimensionality of a magazine centrefold .",
        "artily composed , highly subjective and light on plot - it 's still a long way from the mainstream , but well-built suspense and an instinctive feel for teen and skate life keep things ticking over until the paranoia peters out .",
        "van sant 's low-key , experimental high-school drama is an affecting rites-of-passage tale , told with bold style and quiet integrity .",
        "the story is fragmented into flashforwards and flashbacks as alex 's narration skirts around the traumatic event , but culminates in a low-key but meaningful realization of sorts for the quiet teen .",
        "a teenage art-flick , MOV proves the most fluent and coherent of gus van sant 's recent experiments . part crime mystery , part coming-of-age story , it 's positively overflowing with burnished imagery and adolescent turmoil .",
        "beautifully shot , superbly acted and thoroughly engaging , this is quite simply gus van sant 's masterpiece .",
        "a build-up of secrecy and anxiety are well-served by van sant 's chopped-up narrative of the slow reveal , and again the director shows a keen eye for the rituals and worries of teenage life .",
        "the movie does n't narrate what happened so much as immerse itself in alex 's numb state of alienation and denial , which i did n't find quite as rewarding as i guess i was supposed to .",
        "van sant 's film is almost calculatedly minor , but it gets at something about adolescence as a wobbly and transitional business , not the semi-permanent grunge idyll he 's sometimes guilty of loving a little too much .",
        "a formally daring attempt to capture the rhythms of adolescence wrapped around a murder mystery , MOV continues van sant 's fascination with american youth .",
        "dreary with a capital d.",
        "the story 's fractured structure -- and christopher doyle 's dreamlike cinematography -- make for a striking mood piece .",
        "the real reason to see MOV is to check out how van sant 's visual style is evolving , as he 's one of the few big directors willing to try something unusual , often with tremendous results .",
        "it 's all confusing , woozy and slightly stoned , and feels very much like adolescence .",
        "-lsb- gus van sant is -rsb- an incredible visual artist who can use the camera to capture seemingly languorous interludes that are , in fact , riveting to the eye and mind .",
        "through simple observation , van sant quietly lets viewers understand nevins and feel the full force of his distress .",
        "MOV is a haunting , voluptuously beautiful portrait of a teenage boy who , after being suddenly caught in midflight , falls to earth .",
        "... this fourth entry in -lsb- van sant 's -rsb- impressionistic reveries on death -lsb- is -rsb- the purest artistic achievement in his experimental mode of filmmaking...multi-layered and mesmerizing .",
        "the one facet that separates MOV from the director 's previous work is the way van sant uses all the talents in his arsenal to create something that few films have ever attempted to portray : the manic assemblage of teenage life .",
        "just when it looked like van sant was finally ready to present a movie real people might want to watch , MOV abandons universality and fetishizes the generality of skater boys .",
        "passes by in a haze of amateurish acting and skateboarding montages . just one more wearisome representation of aimless teenage life ."
    ],
    "summary": "director gus van sant once again superbly captures the ins and outs of teenage life in MOV , a quietly devastating portrait of a young man living with guilt and anxiety .",
    "id": "770673426"
  },
  {
    "movie": "confessions_of_a_teenage_drama_queen",
    "reviews": [
        "a juvenile ` i love lucy ' episode ... that 's more irritating than charming .",
        "smug , sanitized fantasy , in which the hysterical blonde attention-seeker , in a succession of sparkly outfits , is uprooted from new york to the boring suburbs and learns boring suburban values like telling the truth .",
        "what a teenage girl really wants at the movies is what grown-ups want , and not to be talked down to like her kid sister .",
        "i confess to a deep uncertainty about whether this can be rightly called a movie . a bunch of scenes , maybe .",
        "for the most part the material is stubbornly inert , and the actors at times appear to be flailing .",
        "a creative no man 's land : nothing ventured , nothing gained , nothing worth watching .",
        "an energetic cast and random lines of snappy dialog almost elevate this insipid comedy into something entertaining . but not quite .",
        "-lsb- `` MOV '' should appeal to very young teenage girls or people who are easily amused watching shiny things .",
        "the gimmicks and goofy daydream sequences mount up until the film collapses under their weight .",
        ". . shrill , numbing and painful to sit through . maybe this movie will find an audience in children young enough to be entertained by bright colors .",
        "enjoyable movie about the trials of being a teen .",
        "though lohan and fox are fun to look at , and allison pill is adorable , the film is pure mindless , ridiculous fluff .",
        "only the 13-and-under set will buy into the confessions vision of teen-hood . most actual teens have already noted the lack of opportunities for air-guitar montages .",
        "mind-numbingly juvenile .",
        "... a perfectly bland , homogenized , milquetoast piece of inconsequential would-be comedy fluff .",
        "sleep all day , party all night , never grow old , never die : it 's fun to be a disney starlet",
        "... unapologetically geared towards the tween crowd , all other audiences be damned .",
        "a self-absorbed sugar rush of a movie , this might please small girls but will leave a sour taste in everyone else 's mouth .",
        "` hate ' is not a word i use loosely to describe my feelings about a movie , but i hated every second of MOV .",
        "would that this film were as pulled together as lola 's fabulous outfits .",
        "a movie that -- even by disney 's formulaic standards -- is about as cut and dried as the phone book .",
        "not a winner , but it 's at least passable entertainment for kids whose parents want their idols to preach against drunkenness and learn that lying is n't a good thing .",
        "the whole enterprise feels desperately thrown together for a teen/mall profit and rather cheap .",
        "sugarman directs this cheerful movie as if it were a bunch of memories pasted haphazardly into a scrapbook .",
        "i ca n't think of a teen who would enjoy watching confessions",
        "clothes , friends , makeup , popularity , high school : all this , and lindsay lohan , too .",
        "akin to a feather -- weightless .",
        "a word to the wise : if you find the title tantalizing , you 'll probably love the film .",
        "... nothing if not fluffy -- but oddly , egregiously offensive in ways far more insidious and damaging than merely wasting our time .",
        "implausabilities aside , confessions is a light lark that 's colorful , spirited , and chock full of clothes .",
        "gives -lsb- lohan -rsb- ample time to act starry-eyed and show off her dancing and singing , but little chance to prove she can hold her own among the hilary duffs of the world .",
        "mixes the brady bunch , britney , saved by the bell , hilary duff and anything else that disney thinks kids are still watching today .",
        "even for a dizzying tweenage flick , we confess , there 's too much going on here .",
        "if you 're the parent of a kid that wants to see this , drop them off and go do something else .",
        "much like the o.c. has taken the place of beverly hills 90210 , this latest lindsay lohan disney comedy tries to mine the territory vacated by hilary duff .",
        "this bit of fluff is unlikely to appeal to anyone outside of its obvious , intended target audience .",
        "more of a concept than a story , the plot serves basically as an extended segue between music videos .",
        "lindsay lohan stars in this modest , mildly engaging film as a proudly bohemian resident of greenwich village who is transplanted to a prosperous suburb in new jersey .",
        "if you 're smart , you 'll skip `` concessions of an teenage drama queen '' and buy $ 10 of stock in comcast instead .",
        "lohan is a firecracker on the screen . she has personality , presence and potential to grow into an accomplished actress .",
        "at a time when crassness and dumbing down pervade popular entertainment , especially movies aimed at youthful audiences , MOV dares to be smart .",
        "lacking the humor and sophistication of freaky friday , confessions has some growing up to do .",
        "lindsay lohan pulls out all the stops in her performance as a talented teenager whose unbridled enthusiasm sets her apart from her peers .",
        "it is a pleasure and a delight to welcome director sara sugarman and her fine inventiveness into the machine .",
        "for preteen girls only ... my feelings : ` gag me with a spoon ! '",
        "what confessions does , it does pretty well .",
        "i was not prepared for the moment when the tween who cried wolf became the lindsay lohan movie .",
        "a reductive bit of female self-empowerment couched in risible ideas of validating yourself through others .",
        "the film 's essential soullessness bangs back against its cheer , reminding us of the wrinkled businessmen 's hands reaching for our dollars from behind the sunny smiles .",
        "parents may be more willing to put up with the movie 's logical loopholes than its casual treatment of behavior they would not want their children to imitate .",
        "a shlocky , sloppy and crass adolescent comedy .",
        "talk about drama - oh ! the horror .",
        "bland , warmed over genre cliches masquerading as a movie .",
        "a star vehicle with three flat tires and sugar in the gas tank .",
        "i hope kids see through this film 's slick production value and realize lindsay lohan 's character is only a shade above contemptible much less worth their admiration .",
        "the movie 's lame , but i 'm inclined to agree with the kids on the internet movie database message boards that lohan could beat the crap out of hillary duff in a grudge match .",
        "dear diary : the truth is that there 's nothing much to confess in the made-for-tweens comedy MOV .",
        "... film pimps to is core demographic and gives nothing substantial in return .",
        "somehow the film gets through its entire running time without ever having a plot .",
        "why is this chiffon doodle essentially offensive ? because it is about nothing , and it turns the dreams of girls into piffle .",
        "both the actress and the character she 's playing are stranded in a vapid film about vapid teens .",
        "if disney pictures is looking to pander to the lowest urges of emerging girlhood , they have succeeded in this tacky and boring after-school special .",
        "it 's a pubescent fantasia without soul or purpose beyond positioning star lindsay lohan as the successor to hilary duff 's throne .",
        "the superficial sweetness masks something rotten .",
        "sugarman 's muddled comedy serves only to drive home the clich\u00e9 that the teenage female mind is a roiling mass of contradictions and petty concerns .",
        "a string of unrelated scenes about the high-school musical ... the band 's final concert , some random moments in which some standard-issue popular girls are mean to lola , and lola 's active fantasy life .",
        "much of confessions seems clueless and -- even worse for moviegoers of any age -- listless .",
        "supported by lindsay lohan 's effervescent performance , drama queen has a fun flair for the dramatics but ultimately is a piece of fluff targeted to a limited audience .",
        "like a stream-of-consciousness riff on girl movie notions -- minus the consciousness part .",
        "MOV is for those old enough to aspire to be high school juniors and seniors , but still too young to do more than dream .",
        "teenage drama queen confesses : ` i 'm guilty of making a bad movie ' .",
        "bubble-brained comedy for the olsen twins demographic .",
        "truly awful ...",
        "lohan , overcoming her character 's occasional obnoxiousness , has enough spunky charm to make this one work for the target audience of 11-year-old girls .",
        "even at less than an hour and a half , it still feels absurdly padded .",
        "riddled with contradictions , preachiness , implausibilities , false starts and wrong turns , it tells a choppy , incoherent tale without an ounce of charm or wit .",
        "what teenage girl would enjoy watching this ? i 'm glad disney addresses this oft-ignored demographic , but if these girls are pandered to so obviously , wo n't they feel insulted ?",
        "this light , brisk , candy-colored comedy is rescued from cookie-cutter teen-movie status by some quirky moments and the efforts of its bright young cast ."
    ],
    "summary": "sloppily assembled fluff that wo n't have much of interest for anyone who is n't a preteen girl .",
    "id": "10634"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hollywoodland",
    "reviews": [
        "like ben from bennifer , george reeves aspired to be a great actor , but was weighed down by audience expectations . affleck does a terrific job with this role .",
        "tentando evocar a mesma atmosfera sufocante de los angeles % u2013 cidade proibida , surge como p\u0431lida -lrb- literalmente -rrb- imita\u0437\u0433o do excepcional trabalho de curtis hanson .",
        "middle-aged angst - and not the mystery of reeves ' unsolved death - lies at the heart of MOV .",
        "it 's affleck 's ghost of film future . watch his hurt-glazed eyes as he sits in the screening of from here to eternity while all around him people laugh at ` superman ' pretending to be someone else .",
        "it 's worth seeing for affleck alone , deftly communicating the distance between the put-on cardboard debonairness of this hunk-about-town and the gnawing uncertainties beneath his superman outfit .",
        "outside of the novelty of seeing ben affleck assaying a dramatic role , there is n't much in MOV to keep us hooked .",
        "it is not just that people die in the film , its the way their souls get mauled while they are still alive .",
        "stark , probing and beautifully crafted , MOV is a slow-burning mystery/thriller that intriguingly jumps along with each suspenseful frame .",
        "despite a stellar cast , coulter and screenwriter paul bernbaum ca n't decide whether to plumb the depths of ` noir ' or tug at the heartstrings of failed ambition .",
        "starts with artful delusions before dribbling into nothingness",
        "frustratingly ambiguous as a thriller , coulter 's strong debut should be approached as a disturbing parable on the nature of fame .",
        "but dreams of fame evolve . and where once it would have just been enough to be recognized , it becomes apparent only later that this is not quite enough .",
        "may not have all the answers about the death of one of the icons behind the big red 's , ' but by gathering one of the better ensembles of the year , it makes the legend interesting again .",
        "every bit as ambitious , if never as flawed , as the characters it portrays .",
        "strong ensemble performances , tight direction , and a stand out from affleck make this an excellent revisiting of an old hollywood case ...",
        "tells this tale with energy and panache .",
        "un atractivo y bien logrado ejemplo de cine negro donde se mezclan glamour y misterio , con estupendo elenco y excelente recreaci\u0443n de \u0439poca y atm\u0443sfera .",
        "from a character point of view , adrien brodey 's emotional journey as a broken down investigator and a broken down father from a broken marriage , is the film 's incomplete centrepiece , ben affleck 's superb portrayal of george reeves notwithstanding .",
        "a well-meaning mediocrity .",
        "worthwhile for the amusement of the escape to a bygone era alone . but when you factor in an absorbing pulp fiction plotline , you 've got all you can ask of a cinematic experience ."
    ],
    "summary": "more than a movie star murder mystery , MOV takes it slow in order to reveal the intriguing details of the rise and fall of superstar fame .",
    "id": "287865038"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1159618-superhero",
    "reviews": [
        "the good news about `` MOV movie '' is that it is better than either of the `` fantastic four '' movies . the bad news is that it is n't that much better .",
        "MOV movie would make a decent long-form short on the `` funny or die '' website , but at 85 minutes -- 15 of which are outtake-heavy end credits -- its powers of amiability wear off fast .",
        "the gags are consistently weak .",
        "note to screenwriters : it 's clear you think that jokes ending in the words `` myspace , '' `` youtube , '' or `` wikipedia '' are automatically funny , but it just ai n't so .",
        "what 's supposed to be a spoof of all the comic-book movies clogging theaters turns out to be an unfunny retread of the first spider-man .",
        "puerile and idiotic it may be , but MOV movie is nonetheless smarter than most of its lowbrow brethren in the hollywood sub-sub-category known as the spoof movie .",
        "the very act of writing critically about MOV inspires something of an existential crisis -- no one likely to turn out for it is reading this review , and anybody reading this review is probably not inclined to see it under any circumstances .",
        "it looks for all the world as if writer/director craig mazin took the screenplay for spider-man , propped it up next to his macbook , and just went through it , inserting fart gags , pratfalls and the lamest of jokes .",
        "despite a few amusing moments , this underwhelming spoof is strictly direct-to-video material .",
        "by-the-numbers screen parody fails to resurrect an increasingly tired genre .",
        "to call MOV movie a satire , or even a parody , of the genre specified in its title would be misleading , since those terms imply at least an attempt at wit . but no real mockery is intended by this mindless grab bag of slightly used gags .",
        "writer-director and scary movie vet craig mazin 's script is so devoid of anything even remotely funny that the movie is more a cheap rip-off of sam raimi 's spider-man franchise than a spoof .",
        "two laughs does not a decent comedy make .",
        "it 's a movie for the inner 9 year old in us all . that 's the age that most people move on from flatulence jokes , and sniggering whenever they hear the 's ' or ` f ' words .",
        "pamela anderson appears for 15 seconds as the invisible woman ... and if anderson is invisible she 's pretty much completely useless .",
        "super ? no . but it 's not bad .",
        "MOV movie deserves a special place in the burning fires of hell , where lazy writing , insipid direction , and an unforgivable eagerness towards bottom-feeding stupidity can roast along with the rest of the spoof genre 's recent offerings .",
        "prefers physical comedy over idiotic references to other movies , so it 's consistently , harmlessly stupid rather than soul-crushingly annoying .",
        "if you enjoyed movies like mystery men , my super x-girlfriend or even orgazmo back in the day , then you just might crack a smile at the dragonfly 's spandex wedgie .",
        "essentially a retread of every bad grade-school joke you 're happy to have forgotten .",
        "with jokes packed as tightly together as sliced cheese , the flick 's comedy axiom seems to be : never give the audience a pause to second-guess their laughter",
        "there are a few lively bits , and one joke with an edge : a slap at stephen hawking and his computer-drone voice . mostly , though , this is super-lame .",
        "MOV movie is the living definition of `` hit or miss . '' parts of it admittedly made me laugh out loud , but for every joke that scored , there were two that did n't .",
        "this year 's MOV movie is n't as epically bad as last year 's epic movie , but it does provide more evidence that the spoof genre is tapped out .",
        "MOV movie should be taken as a well-meaning but ultimately uneven lesson in how to handle future parodies .",
        "... plays like a mad magazine spoof that was written on the toilet",
        "... the gags just lie there and die ...",
        "70 minutes of good if unmemorable fun sure beats 80 or 90 minutes of excruciating parodies for dummies , a la date movie and epic movie .",
        "predictable , flat , full of name-dropping , tragically unhip , and likely to make a decent amount of cash .",
        "there 's honestly not a single laugh in the film , unless the mere mention or sight of shit , piss and puke is hilarious to you .",
        "all the most hilarious scenes from ` MOV movie ' show up in the film 's trailer , but there 's still a lot to laugh about in this silly parody .",
        "it 's rather benign , actually -- never very funny , and never amusing for more than a few moments at a time , but not grating or clownish , either .",
        "it 's cinematic junk food ; i sat , i laughed , i left , i forgot all about it . -lrb- but at least i laughed . -rrb-",
        "a joke that 's underdeveloped and overextended ... not one of the worst examples of this tired genre , but far from the best .",
        "it 's a bit late in the game for MOV movie , which was never going to fly , and barely crawls .",
        "while by no means a masterpiece , when craig mazin riffs on the `` spider-man '' trilogy , `` MOV movie '' is cause for some occasional chuckles ...",
        "contrary to popular belief , it does take a level of talent to tell puke and fart jokes well , and that seems to be one of craig mazin 's talent , for whatever it 's worth .",
        "about five good laughs stretched over a 70-minute running time -lrb- not counting the ludicrously padded 15-minute end credits -rrb- .",
        "unfortunately , the film has nothing remotely interesting or satirical to say about the genre it is spoofing , so there is little to hold your attention between the gags , which do not arrive at the rapid-fire clip necessary to sustain the laughter ...",
        "even though the movie made me laugh hard during some scenes , it 's wildly uneven !",
        "this parody film plagiarizes spider-man to virtually laughless effect .",
        "the stench is still thick on the corpse of meet the spartans , but apparently filmgoers ca n't get enough of lame-duck lampoons from scary movie alumni .",
        "tiresome , generic spoof is all about crude humor .",
        "n\u0441o t\u0441o desastroso quanto outras imita\u0443\u0448es baratas das produ\u0443\u0448es do zaz , mas ainda assim apelativo e irregular .",
        "nothing in MOV movie could be described as magical , but for comic-book fans in a forgiving mood , this lowbrow outing has its moments . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "... boasts an actual storyline and a few genuinely hilarious jokes and gags .",
        "the film 's weakest moments are also its timeliest .",
        "a slap in the face with a smirk . this is n't the fun it ought to be .",
        "this super-powered spoof just does n't fly ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV movie is not the worst of the spoof genre , but relies on tired gags and lame pop culture references all the same .",
    "id": "770684073"
  },
  {
    "movie": "starsky_and_hutch",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's probably a hoot for fans of the show . it definitely captures the atmosphere , but it does n't work as a great cop-buddy picture . i laughed , but lost interest in the story .",
        "seriously short on laughs .",
        "that scraping sound you hear is postmodernism hitting the bottom of the barrel .",
        "mildly amusing and true to the spirit of both the show and its host decade .",
        "though there are a few chuckles to be had - mostly thanks to vaughn 's hilariously over-the-top performance - the film is curiously lacking in the guffaws department .",
        "stiller and wilson , it seems , took the script ... and tore it into confetti .",
        "-lsb- m -rsb- ight as well be called owen wilson and ben stiller do their schtick in funny 70s clothes ...",
        "all things being equal , MOV still manages to be an enjoyable ride , even though it lacks the energy , urgency , and consistency needed to make it great .",
        "stiller and wilson provide plenty of laughs , but do i really need another reminder of just how lame the '70s really were ?",
        "it 's a good thing they 're the man , too . because they 're working with such a creaky , inconsistently funny script",
        "todd phillips strikes nostalgic gold , squeezing just enough comedy out of the buddy cop formula to keep it afloat during its brisk 95-minute runtime .",
        "had the script actually had a direction it would 've helped .",
        "the film is as clever as it is silly , more warmhearted than sentimental and just as irreverent as it is nostalgic .",
        "cartoonish but clever , with the bulk of the fun coming when wilson 's wry wit meets stiller 's impatient officiousness head-on . sophomoric , yet probably the best of the recent tv retreads .",
        "not exactly politically correct , but you 'd be hard pushed to find a single mean frame .",
        "too amiable to cook up anything truly memorable ...",
        "silly , but lots of fun for older teens .",
        "it 's basically a time killer with a lot of forgettable jokes that go on way too long many times ...",
        "stiller and wilson are far less serious than their television role models -lrb- paul michael glaser and david soul -rrb- but still drive the hell out of the souped-up ford gran torino muscle car that boosted the show 's visual appeal .",
        "a buddy cop movie filled with genuine laughs .",
        "for what it is , starsky & hutch is a big success",
        "more tolerable than most movies based on past tv shows .",
        "ben stiller and owen wilson were a hilarious duo .",
        "i 'm not sure that it would make me want to go back and re-watch old episodes of the show , but that 's all right . the show was then , the movie is now . and the movie is good .",
        "the laughs keep coming -- thanks to three clever comic performances by will ferrell , owen wilson and snoop dogg .",
        "a three-decade-old waste of time .",
        "... captures the quirky spirit of its original televised counterpart ... spunky and spry ... a groovy escapist piece of entertainment that hits more than it misses",
        "never quite as good as you 'd wish it would be , although there are a couple of scenes that are real gems",
        "thanks to its able cast and better-than-expected writing , starsky & hutch ends up being a pretty fun ride .",
        "more about humor and hero worship than plot , which is fine , and the movie ambles along mostly at a moderate pace , both a laid-back blessing and its too-lazy curse .",
        "... the movie does n't take any of its material seriously-a big plus-and the alertness of the characters usually results in some scenes of hilarious comic value ...",
        "a sterling supporting cast -- down to the tiniest bit parts -- provides enough astringent intelligence to make the slobbering sentimentality go down with ease .",
        "any resemblance between the original -- and fun ! -- 1970 's tv series and this in-name-only todd phillips 's dud is entirely accidental .",
        "if you 're a fan from back in the day , seeing that red and white-striped gran torino in action once again will have you leaving the theater with a grin on your face .",
        "big on potential , short on really big laughs , it 's a buddy cop comedy which coasts on the charisma and chemistry of its stars .",
        "stiller and wilson are perfectly cast and work beautifully together ...",
        "many of the gags here are hit or miss , but wilson and stiller 's unflappable charm and the obvious fun they 're having translates into precious little witlessness .",
        "part of the reason this film succeeds is because it manages to be both an affectionate mickey-take of the television show as well as glorifying everything that was cool about the era .",
        "moves slowly and without much grace ; it tries to jiggle laughs out of us instead of letting them flow freely .",
        "more a wasted franchise opportunity than a movie .",
        "hollywood 's latest mcmovie -- name-brand recognition as raison d'\u0119tre or , if you will , creative bankruptcy on a very large scale .",
        "more of a spoof than a stand-alone comedy , film barely moves beyond the 70s hair and clothes , delivering a flat and not particularly funny picture . shame .",
        "it 's an easy , breezy romp of a movie .",
        "the filmic equivalent of a roofie : you 're sure that something happened while you were out , but damned if you know what it was .",
        "you wo n't go more than a minute or two without a laugh",
        "it 's fun , and that 's all it really wants to be .",
        "stiller and wilson 's flirty , crackerjack rapport has grown to resemble something like a pan-sexual , thc-enhanced abbott and costello .",
        "ben stiller has fallen into a terrible rut as an insufferable prat .",
        "i 'm not saying never , ever , mine television for feature films , but i am saying that maybe it 's time we all chipped in to buy hollywood a clue",
        "phillips , who started out making creepy -lrb- and funny -rrb- documentaries , has become a canny repackager of yesterday 's schlock -- a mall-friendly purveyor of arrested comedy for an arrested world .",
        "hiding under the permed hair and muscle cars are a few strong chuckles ...",
        "this is a gentle nod to the television series .",
        "there is a comic-book devouring , playboy-stashing adolescent male heart thumping rather sweetly at the core of this homage-spoof .",
        "phillips pushes for laughs more than the show did , but still manages a weird mix of comedy , serious crime fighting and irony inside the scariest fashion decade of all time .",
        "MOV '' did what it set out to do - make me laugh .",
        "the tag line says it all : ` they 're the man . '",
        "something we seldom expect -lrb- or get -rrb- in the creatively bankrupt trend of adapting moldy old tv shows for the big screen : funny .",
        "it 's a tribute to the actors ' dedication that MOV plays so well .",
        "`` the movie 's chronically flaccid humor is exceedingly tame and pointedly inoffensive . ''",
        "le film offre de nombreux moments amusants .",
        "is n't worth doing , and here is not well done .",
        "if you like stiller and wilson , you 'll find enough to like about this film . if you do n't , you can always just gawk at that awesome car .",
        "... director todd phillips -lrb- road trip , old school -rrb- proves once again that he has a hand for feel-good comedies .",
        "stiller e wilson certamente j\u00e1 provaram ser capazes de originarem uma franquia baseada n\u0103o em personagens , mas em suas pr\u00f3prias personalidades .",
        "comedy is difficult . good comedies are rare . `` starsky & hutch '' has three noteworthy moments , one of which involves a horse mistakenly gunned down at a bat mitzvah . hilarious .",
        "an amiable comedy , boosted by some good jokes , solid performances and plenty of charm .",
        "if you never saw the tv show , you 'll still laugh .",
        "the idea of it , including the attention to seventies detail and the music , is funnier than most of the film .",
        "would the producers please just get out of the way and let todd phillips direct the darn movie ?",
        "the film takes a bad but beloved 1970s tv series and transforms it into an experience of almost transcendent silliness .",
        "genuine affection for the original and just the right touch of snarky post-modernism .",
        "even though his role is small , will ferrell alone makes it worth a viewing .",
        "the key to the film 's success is that it uses the burned out premise as the springboard for a comedy , not an action flick .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- lot of fun from start to finish .",
        "s&h 's chief pleasure is the spontaneous , sometimes quite touching rapport between the two stars .",
        "... the film 's willingness to laugh at itself . this is not fine art , but pop culture fun , and for once the filmmakers seem in on the joke .",
        "the casting is pure genius .",
        "overcomes its played '70s spoof material , just one notch above undercover brother-flaccid , to become the first genuinely funny comedy of 2004 .",
        "reeks of mediocrity ... the show was hardly a classic , but even so this insipid remolding does n't do it justice .",
        "if you 've seen its trailers , there 's no reason to see the movie .",
        "not your mother 's cop show , but if you agree that owen wilson and ben stiller are a great comedy duo , then you 're probably going to enjoy it .",
        "while the gags in MOV are more hit-and-miss than nonstop inspiration , the movie does get a fair share of laughs .",
        "a humorous but ultimately unsatisfying comedy .",
        "this movie does n't even deserve to stand next to the crummiest of MOV tv episodes .",
        "has a few bright , wiseass moments , but is generally pretty lame .",
        "stiller and wilson look bewildered .",
        "who could have anticipated that snoop would be the saving grace of a major studio buddy flick ?",
        "people were laughing at my screening , but i could n't understand what it was they were laughing at .",
        "a pleasant diversion that vanishes from your mind right after you watch it .",
        "though the gags are n't always funny , i usually had a smile on my face .",
        "... inoffensive , sometimes charming , and often irritatingly dull . its satirical jabs are aimed at easy targets , its jokes repetitious or redundant , its pacing a little slow .",
        "this is sure to be one of the best comedies of the year .",
        "considering how flimsy starsky & hutch is , it manages to deliver some big laughs and some excellent slapstick mayhem .",
        "although starsky & hutch is a movie without a sincere moment , somehow it never seems cynical .",
        "for every solid rib tickler , there are about three bits that make the film 's brief running time seem a lot longer .",
        "there are about three good laughs in starsky & hutch .",
        "i like stiller and wilson , but they need better material than these witless mainstream flicks .",
        "starsky & hutch , the movie , has no weight or purpose . but it takes its triviality seriously enough to make it feel fresh .",
        "the humour does n't flow naturally from either the plot or the setting -- the best gags are the ones that are just tossed into the picture and would be at home anywhere .",
        "the worst thing about starsky & hutch is how devoid of actual jokes the movie is . it 's all premise , no substance .",
        "probably the most enjoyable hollywood update of a decades-old tv series since the first brady bunch movie .",
        "this s&h is only as funny as you can imagine stiller and wilson being . for me , that 's pretty funny .",
        "... stiller and wilson 's opposing approaches to comedy are perfectly paralleled in their casting here and the 70 's come alive again via fondue , amc pacers and barry manilow .",
        "diverting retread .",
        "starsky & hutch performs the miracle of making fun from -- rather than of -- one of its most popular cop shows .",
        "serious fans of the old show may rightly feel one of their favorite childhood dreams has been violated . those with no emotional investment , however , will probably find it an enjoyably absurd , if instantly forgettable , satire of '70s tv-cop extravagances .",
        "works in large part due to the chemistry between stiller and wilson .",
        "much like the big-screen adaptation of charlie 's angels , starksy & hutch manages to play its cheeseball aspects with a perfect balance of sincerity and irony , cleverness and idiocy .",
        "starsky & hutch might seem funnier if the naked gun movies had n't already parodied cop show cliches or if the writers had bothered to go beyond the hey-wouldn ` t - it-be - funny-if conversation and invented some things that actually are funny .",
        "though stiller and wilson may be today 's most overexposed actors , they have infectious chemistry here .",
        "the big-screen adaptation of the 1970 's television cop show starsky & hutch has a crafty , can-you-dig-it ? spirit .",
        "being a period piece hardly excuses starsky & hutch from being a cliche-ridden , uncharming and tiresome exercise in recycled humor .",
        "forget mel gibson , this is the year 's biggest bummer for the jews : that their biggest box-office champ , apart from jesus , is the image of angry impotence .",
        "yet another based-on - a-tv-hit , oh-those - crazy - '70s dud .",
        "what do you get when you add four screenwriters , five producers , and two leads who ca n't work outside of their own material ? starsky & hutch",
        "apart from wardrobe and hair , the two heroes completely miss the spirit that made the original spark .",
        "viewing starsky & hutch is embarrassing , like watching hollywood eat a cadaver in order to stay alive .",
        "starsky & hutch is funny throughout , but with a handful of really hilarious moments of a kind that most comedies just do n't deliver .",
        "MOV is a rarity : a big-screen parody of an old television series that 's actually pretty good .",
        "all in all , the film has a certain authenticity , capturing the spirit of the series .",
        "the stars give -lsb- the movie -rsb- so many knee-slapper moments you 'll want to wear long thick pants to save your thighs .",
        "starsky & hutch is n't conceptually clever or well-designed , but on the other hand it 's well-stocked with comedy talent .",
        "an affectionate satire of the late - '70s action series , it retains an agreeable small-screen modesty .",
        "this ` why bother ? ' spinoff of the '70s undercover cop show is little more than a 99-minute shtickfest built around something resembling a plot .",
        "it will warm your funny bone if given half a chance .",
        "although fans of the original might enjoy watching the characters return , the movie often goes for cheap laughs with little payoff .",
        "fun but forgettable , it 's stiller and wilson that make starsky & hutch worth a trip to the cineplex .",
        "if a movie rises and falls solely on the basis of its laughs , it better have a lot of them . starsky & hutch does n't .",
        "... has more funny actors than actual laughs .",
        "wilson-stiller comedy revamps a 1970s tv show for a few laughs -- but just a few .",
        "keeps you laughing or winking enough to keep from thinking about the thin story .",
        "satirically , there 's really nothing here that ca n't be found in spike jonze 's video for the beastie boys ' sabotage , but that does n't mean it 's not a fun ride .",
        "the actors are at the top of their comedic game , and their chemistry is undeniable .",
        "one the best '70s tube lampoons since 1995 's the brady bunch movie .",
        "stiller and wilson are becoming the most memorable comedic duo since walter matthau and jack lemmon .",
        "capably accomplishes precisely what it set out to do in the first place ... which is to deliver good , goofy laughs in a light and amiable setting .",
        "just stay home and wait for the beastie boys ' `` sabotage '' to play on mtv2 .",
        "starsky & hutch has moments of hilarity a little greater than you might expect of a movie that is just out for a lazy good time .",
        "like countless other flabby , winking studio comedies out there , this movie plays like a series of sketches begging for commercial breaks .",
        "i wish that director/co-writer todd phillips ... could have come up with something a little smarter than this nonsense .",
        "intermittently amusing .",
        "the closest thing i see to being a revival of the two-man comedy team is the pairing of stiller and wilson .",
        "starsky & hutch is guilty pleasure fun that just rolls along having a grand old time .",
        "it 's often diverting , and if you 're nostalgic for the '70s you 'll probably have a good time .",
        "todd phillips is the succubus of filmmakers . i can only assume that 's how he keeps getting jobs . by giving them .",
        "the laughs are spotty and feel like a stitched-together series of sketches , but the highs outweigh the flatfooted lows , and the duo definitely works the comedic beat .",
        "as tremendously stupid as it is unavoidably funny , MOV is one of those slop-job , slapstick movies you ca n't help but laugh at .",
        "no one involved with starsky & hutch actually seems to care about the movie .",
        "a moderately amusing diversion .",
        "a scattershot cop comedy that aims its parodistic firepower not at any single target -- least of all its namesake -- but at an entire decade .",
        "a really good not-great movie , the kind that would be classified as a guilty pleasure were it not executed with guilt-free honesty and good nature .",
        "while it 's never plain bad , the film is not really plain good , and very seldom plain funny . -lrb- mildly amusing fits . -rrb-",
        "the film is fitfully amusing but never quite reaches the heights it ought to .",
        "i can honestly say it 's the funniest movie i 've seen this year , and a great reminder of what dumb , fun movies are supposed to really be about .",
        "starsky & hutch is super-sized hilarity - stiller and wilson style ! vince vaughn reeks of aqua velva and polyester , yet is still eveil sexy ...",
        "the result is an action film that is also a scrumptious slice of a much-maligned era .",
        "director phillips may have set out to update the classic tv show , but what he ended up with is a 21st-century remake of ` dragnet ' , the tom hanks-dan aykroyd two-star flick .",
        "everything about this cineplex variation feels rinky-dink , like some extended variety-show skit that became a network pilot that accidentally morphed into a feature film when no one was paying attention .",
        "hey , carmen electra looks worried - at least she would look worried if her forehead did n't contain enough botox to put down ryan seacrest .",
        "a surprisingly funny movie .",
        "the ceaseless hollywood plundering of '70s television definitely tests one 's patience , and starsky & hutch could have been more compact . in all , though , the movie makes for a funky good time .",
        "amusing enough to please those looking for something silly , goofy and fun .",
        "a movie that manages to capture the swinging '70s vibe while effectively satirizing it .",
        "starsky & hutch will remind you just how bad '70s cop shows could be , but its stellar comic cast will keep you laughing in spite of it .",
        "an enjoyably stupid night at the movies .",
        "it 's a kitschy confluence of references and nostalgic in-jokes all but guaranteed to make faithful fans simply cackle with delight .",
        "a mixture of half-hearted action scenes and anything-goes hijinks .",
        "the screenplay could have used at least a couple of more rewrites to be truly funny .",
        "as crammed with cheese as a fondue pot on new year 's eve . you need not be familiar with the original ` starsky ' to figure out what phillips and company are lampooning here .",
        "too much of the script relies on smug , lazy strip-mining of second-rate pop-culture sources for no better reason that to give hipsters an opportunity to snicker at disco fashions .",
        "the majority of the humor falls flat , the pacing holds no true momentum , and passing entertainment value turns to frustration before the first hour is up .",
        "the zany buddy-picture chemistry of ben stiller and owen wilson works wonderfully ...",
        "this sucks . i 'm sorry there 's no other way to put it .",
        "it 's a sloppy batch of seen-it-before setups and spotty punchlines that never settles on whether to be a parody or an homage .",
        "... anyone can see the only thing -lrb- the film -rrb- has to do with `` starsky & hutch '' is the car -lrb- and the car should have had top billing , too -rrb- .",
        "starsky knows exactly what it is and has fun with it .",
        "MOV is a bit of amusing 70 's nostalgia that is a good vehicle for its stars .",
        "the director does n't even pretend to introduce a romantic subplot . why should he , when the central ` love story ' is that of MOV ?",
        "stiller and wilson use the detectives as springboards for their quirky brand of humor . think `` zoolander '' only with guns and the ubiquitous red tomato .",
        "this film benefits from a cool and breezy style , forcing some of the jokes but succeeding more often than not ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's uneven and occasionally somewhat aimless , but starsky & hutch benefits from stiller and wilson 's chemistry and a surprisingly warm-hearted script .",
    "id": "11462"
  },
  {
    "movie": "saw_ii",
    "reviews": [
        "unable to deliver the single novel concept or unexpected surprise that might justify its existence .",
        "it 's an unpleasant film with grotesque imagery , but nine inch nails ' `` closer '' video is more unsettling than this mostly predictable bloodbath .",
        "the slaughter in MOV is pretty much non-stop , but you always see it coming . the movie 's not really that scary , just gross in what by now is a fairly routine way .",
        "in every way superior to its predecessor in terms of performances , story , characterization , gore , and climax .",
        "the film does n't take the direction most sequels do and manages to adequately follow up the original .",
        "a reloaded style one-up in which more people are trapped in bigger places and forced to perform scarier tasks with nastier results . wow .",
        "like the story , hate the directing",
        "the ornate sadism is n't enough to carry our interest this time around .",
        "quite hideous .",
        "ultimately uninteresting .",
        "by no means a masterpiece of the genre , but it 's a slickly made picture that more than delivers on the promise made on its poster -- oh yes , there will be blood .",
        "bousman a su trafiquer la facture originale pour en accentuer l'impact et la rendre , aussi \u00e9trange que cela puisse paraitre , un peu plus cr\u00e9dible .",
        "it 's not slick , it 's not empowering , and it 's not pretty . but what it does -- efficiently exploiting our primal fears -- it does pretty well .",
        "MOV is pure schlock , which was clearly the intention : grimy grainy photography , flashbacks that strike like lightning bolts , plot holes galore and no jokes to speak of .",
        "veni vidi vomit . that 's latin for : i came , i saw , i saw ` MOV . '",
        "the raucous results : MOV is a shameless spectacle of squirming and squealing without maintaining much solid suspense in its warped , blood-clotting heart",
        "jigsaw returns , this time as self-styled family counselor .",
        "an utterly sadistic horror picture that exists for no other reason and has no discernible point apart from getting horror fans to shell out a few bucks .",
        "if you saw the first `` saw , '' you 'll want to see `` MOV , '' too .",
        "it was like finding the peanut butter cup in a sea of mounds bars .",
        "one of those rare sequels that surpass the foundation it was built on .",
        "in ` MOV , ' both the cops and the victims are so dim the whole elaborate exercise hardly seems worthwhile .",
        "MOV is bound to give fans of the original a real buzz .",
        "needlessly revolting",
        "... the bad news is that there 's less -lrb- jigsaw -rrb- innovation ... the good news is there 's no crying cary elwes .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he earnest message-ification ... vies with the meaningless and sadistic violence as the most stomach-turning aspect of the flick .",
        "... is supposed to jar you , but here 's the funny thing about 90 minutes of bludgeoning and bloodletting : it usually just leaves me numb .",
        "ainda que relativamente engenhoso , o roteiro depende excessivamente de coincid\u0119ncias e revela-se pouco original , al\u00e9m de n\u0103o conseguir criar um \u00fanico personagem com quem o p\u00fablico possa se identificar .",
        "-lsb- jigsaw -rsb- is like john keating from dead poet 's society , if keating used hypodermic needles and hacksaws instead of walt whitman .",
        "the rare sequel that improves upon its predecessor , MOV is an exploitation flick with style and skill to go along with its stream of red stuff .",
        "an ugly , joyless horror movie that deserves to be tossed into the business end of 1988 's `` woodchipper massacre . ''",
        "this macabre follow-up to 2004 's low-budget horror smash ca n't rival its predecessor 's fiendish ingenuity . but it makes up for it with a deliciously devious plot and enough gory shocks for a dozen halloweens .",
        "... a sequel that shows some of the same boldness and intellect of the first one .",
        "to enjoy MOV , one must have enjoyed saw . this is a given . as to which is better , this is a fairly pointless question given how bad both of these movies are .",
        "in a fun house like this the elaborate tortures seem to leave behind the real world of pain and suffering for the realm of slapstick ; they 're the kind of horrors that make you scream and laugh at the same time .",
        "a grimy and relentless portrayal of high-tension cruelty that 's excruciating to watch but as riveting as a nail gun to the nut sack .",
        "saw 2 gives talented , creepy-looking character actor tobin bell the chance to shine again as the cancer-ridden serial killer .",
        "MOV is a nasty piece of work ...",
        "MOV feels like an episode of fear factor or big brother with rob zombie at the helm , and if that does n't scare you away from this ridiculous movie , well , feel free to indulge your questionable tastes .",
        "by referencing horror masters dario argento and wes craven , the film invites comparison to much better movies , -lsb- with -rsb- none of argento 's style or craven 's savagely sardonic of sense of humor ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is likely to please the gore-happy fans of the original , though it may be too gruesome for those not familiar with first film 's premise .",
    "id": "8918"
  },
  {
    "movie": "colour-me-kubrick",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- a -rsb- loopy lark ... the sheer goofiness of the premise , together with its gossipy ` insider ' nature -lsb- and -rsb- the take-no-prisoners performance of john malkovich ... carry it along .",
        "malkovich 's playing to the rafters is certainly amusing , but the film ca n't shake off its borscht belt by way of britain lineage and its failure to dig beneath the surface .",
        "the film , with its relentlessly tight focus on its main character , winds down to nothingness .",
        "the movie is endless even at less than 90 minutes .",
        "it 's a truffle of a movie that may leave you feeling like you ate one too many purple chocolates , but secondary performances by honor blackman -lrb- remember the original `` avengers '' -rrb- and the ever-kooky ken russell add texture to the comic motif .",
        "the script evinces no interest in the psychology of its main character .",
        "-lsb- kubrick -rsb- might dismiss as trite the message that proximity to celebrity is so intoxicating , it stupefies . but one hopes he 'd relish the cheerful audacity of the caper and its telling .",
        "malkovich relishes the character quirks in a performance that pulls out all the stops and pushes every button .",
        "malkovich pulls out all the gaudy stops .",
        "malkovich 's performance , and the irresistible concept of an anonymous man dining out on a false identity , carries the film along giddily , and cook wisely keeps color me kubrick short and deliciously tart .",
        "MOV is a somewhat fictionalized accounting of this amazing but true story . the filmmakers have wisely turned it into a comedy , and a wickedly entertaining one at that .",
        "director and co-writer brian cook was kubrick 's assistant director on the shining and eyes wide shut and he fills the film with subtle touches and sly in-jokes .",
        "great fun for the first 20 minutes but seems long at 86 .",
        "relentlessly sordid , but john malkovich 's imaginatively outlandish performance is worth watching .",
        "one problem is that malkovich gets free rein to be malkovich , the often showy actor , rather than conway , a humble london travel agent . it 's a grandstanding performance that 's more about hamminess than substance .",
        "MOV earns a place on the shelf where all the oddballs reside , defying us to come up with reasons to justify their idiosyncratic existences -- and perhaps not caring whether we do .",
        "a mean-spirited , trashy and intermittently funny film .",
        "but cleverness aside , the film is so slight it practically vanishes before your eyes .",
        "a ludicrous , but entertaining look at a real-life kubrick impersonator , played with over-the-top glee by malkovich .",
        "you can almost see the invective splattering all over the storyline . and malkovich 's camping and vamping , however perversely entertaining it is to behold , can neutralize the venom only so much .",
        "john malkovich gets to have a field day as the slovenly , unappealing conway ...",
        "there is a giddy pleasure in watching people , great and small , most who should know much better , fall over themselves to be film-flammed",
        "john malkovich has one of the roles of his life , and he acts it up like a haughty gourmet who 's just picked up a succulent treat .",
        "color me kubrick is like a nice , deep , clear cocktail of ammonia on the rocks : bracing , comic , astonishing , all of which hide its poison center .",
        "the film reveals , rather delectably , how potent the power of suggestion can be in a world gone madly groupie .",
        "a shapeless , low-grade comedy of flamboyance , giggling at conway 's histrionics and fishnet gloving .",
        "if you 're a fan of stanley kubrick or just a die-hard film buff , you may find this weird , semi-documentary an absolute hoot . i did .",
        "the filmmakers opted for a more episodic structure -lrb- with the occasional flashback -rrb- and i do have to say that by the end of the 90 minutes , i was growing weary of the shtick .",
        "writer anthony frewin and director brian cook uses conway 's unlikely saga to mount an appreciative send-up of a certain style of gay extravagance , with john malkovich having a field day as conway .",
        "not only is there nothing there , the nothingness is a complete bore . when a film 's highpoint is a soundtrack that relies heavily on other soundtracks , you 've got problems .",
        "conway looked and sounded nothing like kubrick and did n't even research his supposed identity . he 's clearly a fascinating character who deserves a better movie .",
        "a little bit like a coloring book -- flip the pages and each is pretty much like the one before , escalating variations on the same scam , with malkovich filling in the cartoonish shadings , and occasionally going way outside the lines .",
        "the irony of color me kubrick is that the visual tricks merely serve as a backdrop for malkovich 's inspired high-wire performance .",
        "it 's simply not a movie , not as it stands . it 's a five-minute demo reel stretched to feature length .",
        "MOV is a marginal curiosity that survives on a whiff of appropriation .",
        "malkovich captures not only the nuttiness of conway , with his smorgasbord of foreign-sounding accents , but also his pathos .",
        "any picture featuring a sped-up version of the `` william tell overture '' is so drunk on its own whimsy that it most likely sucks with a dedicated vigour .",
        "it literally only has one idea in its head , and when that idea runs dry , it 's as lost as conway is without his plethora of kubrick masks .",
        "this is a kicky little movie .",
        "best appreciated as a rather amusing farce called the john malkovich show , the movie 's every scene is anchored , then stolen , by the commanding thespian 's alan act .",
        "it 's an impressive moving wax museum , certainly , but even metatextual follies eventually need a pulse .",
        "at best a kitschy catch me if you can and at worst a tedious comedy .",
        "fans of john malkovich will most appreciate MOV . for the rest , this is an amusing little blip on the movie radar screen .",
        "director brian w. cook should know that hopes are seldom high for movies that debut on dvd the same day they hit the multiplex .",
        "john malkovich has a blast , so will you !",
        "even if the film is essentially a one-man show , a one-man show starring john malkovich is bound to be really damn good .",
        "it 's no ` six degrees of separation ' but malkovich charms the audience as much as his marks , making this solid sit-com entertainment",
        "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 .",
        "put forth with ... an unapologetic sense of depraved fun ...",
        "a doomed effort in satirizing society 's obsession with celebrity , the film insists on a glib comedic tone that bars emotional investment in the tale ; malkovich gives a gutsy but ineffective performance as the travel agent who tried to pass as the director",
        "droll , entertaining and often outright funny , this offbeat story has instant appeal .",
        "the movie never convinces us there 's anyone there to expose , though , and malkovich flits from scene to scene without ever anchoring conway in a lasting reality .",
        "... entertaining if not exactly enlightening .",
        "a playground for madman malkovich to be set loose in .",
        "after its promising , hilarious setup , cook 's initial kubrick-like smoothness quickly gives way to a ramshackle presentation with few follow-up ideas or jokes .",
        "scarcely an insightful biographical portrait , color me kubrick is still interesting , perhaps even intimidating , as a study of the way fandom can so readily be turned against itself .",
        "kubrick stumbles around with eyes wide shut .",
        "the decision to execute the story as a kind of extended meta-sitcom -- a series of set-ups without the tidy resolution -- feels like a cheat .",
        "once the movie gets started , it does n't know where to go or how to end . it more or less repeats itself ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has a fascinating premise , but provides little insight into kubrick and the man who impersonated him .",
    "id": "265868862"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fistful_of_dollars",
    "reviews": [
        "what leone does with this movie is boil the western down to its very essence , removing all the extraneous parts .",
        "a deliciously ripe spaghetti western",
        "very much an act of sardonic disrespect toward the genre , yet it 's also a legitimate passion play",
        "this is a hard-hitting item , ably directed , splendidly lensed , neatly acted , which has all the ingredients wanted by action fans and then some .",
        "westerns were never the same after sergio leone .",
        "the moment where sergio leone , anonymous costume drama hack turned into sergio leone , keen stylist and poet of cruelty .",
        "once in a great while a western comes along that breaks new ground and becomes a classic of the genre .",
        "guns galore in intro `` spaghetti western '' serving .",
        "a MOV may lack the mournful intensity and shakespearian comedy of the later leone classics , but as an action film it holds up brilliantly .",
        "a clever film , shot with sophistication , which ... propelled eastwood to international stardom .",
        "the one that started it all . a classic western !",
        "the first and one of the best of the spaghetti westerns",
        "egregiously synthetic but engrossingly morbid , violent film .",
        "a wonderful cinematic experience .",
        "from clint eastwood 's iconic performance to ennio morricone 's unforgettable -lrb- and much-parodied -rrb- musical score , a MOV -lrb- **** -rrb- took the western down trails it had never explored .",
        "though far less operatic and satisfying than leone 's later work , his first spaghetti western with eastwood still looks stylish , if a little rough at the edges .",
        "it 's leone 's shortest and simplest film , but all of his hallmarks -- a masterly use of space within the widescreen frame , ennio morricone 's unusual soundtrack music , plenty of silence -- are already in place .",
        "leone 's pulpy , trend-setting parody -- a rip-off of kurosawa 's yojimbo -- hog-tied the western and dragged it into the modern age , branding it with baroquely big close-ups and ennio morricone 's famously eclectic score .",
        "awesome .",
        "though far from perfected in this film , leone 's style would mature through his next two films .",
        "call me a heathen , but this has never been one of my favorite spaghetti westerns .",
        "really little more than a series of loosely connected shoot-outs -- but , as sergio leone proved , there can be a lot of fun in that .",
        "if eastwood gives you a buzz , by all means lap this up . it 's a lot of fun , without a lot of thought required .",
        "a classic of cinema , and is somtimes underrated when people refer to westerns .",
        "eastwood absolutely defines the sullen spaghetti western anti-hero in sergio leone 's slick and sleepy shoot 'em up saga that kicks up the right amont of dramatic dust .",
        "what more could a body want ?",
        "the film that made eastwood eastwood is a fantastic western classic .",
        "... does n't quite live up to its reputation .",
        "very entertaining .",
        "the film is a no message one , but where violence is glorified by the hero who is as amoral as the villains .",
        "sergio leone turns the western on its ear with this iconic updating of the samurai classic yojimbo .",
        "the first -lrb- and nearly the best -rrb- of eastwood & leone 's spaghetti westerns ."
    ],
    "summary": "with akira kurosawa 's yojimbo as his template , sergio leone 's a MOV helped define a new era for the western and usher in its most iconic star , clint eastwood .",
    "id": "13370"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1194949-wolfman",
    "reviews": [
        "you know a horror film 's in trouble when the morning-after scene is more satisfying than the ` night before . '",
        "unfortunately , the gore is now the most exciting part ; the other stuff somehow just lies there , without ever inviting us in .",
        "... a surprisingly effective update that respects the gothic tradition yet jolts with restrained gore and surrealistic drug-induced nightmares .",
        "`` the MOV '' is not only a roller coaster ride of horror but a fitting and worthy tribute to the original .",
        "a film that begins in an eerie gothic mist of suggestion-and turns into a toothless exercise in the obvious .",
        "equal parts gorefest and borefest , the MOV is not the unmitigated disaster that many were expecting % u2026 or even , let 's admit it , hoping for .",
        "werewolves have perennially taken something of a back seat to vampires , ghosts , aliens , and , recently , zombies in the imaginations of horror filmmakers and fans , and this dreary effort will do nothing to change that .",
        "a well-acted horror story with a sophisticated screenplay that , unfortunately , waters the seeds of violence , prejudice , and speciesism within us .",
        "the title character in the MOV suffers from a vexing identity crisis , and so does the movie .",
        "the MOV bites , but not -- i think -- in the way the filmmakers intended .",
        "when the beast is finally revealed , he 's fearsome . too bad the story 's not .",
        "the actual MOV makeup looks great and you can see the actor through it . his movement as a biped is fantastic . then they blend it to a silly animated running blur because that 's how we roll in modern day visual effects .",
        "the 2010 version is a creature of its time , unfortunately . it has little idea how to create tension , a liability that director joe johnston conceals with a high gross-out factor .",
        "there is more than a hint of the house of hammer in a gothic yarn that favours florid melodrama , thunderous music and frantic pacing .",
        "the magic appears to have deserted mr baker , because at the appearance of the hirsute fiend what i heard in the stalls was n't gasps of horror but giggles of mirth .",
        "digital delirium makes up for lack of plot novelty .",
        "the movie just ca n't decide what it is . it 's part horror and part navel-gazing romance .",
        "johnston 's `` MOV '' a gory examination of repression .",
        "despite massive production troubles including key personnel changes , elaborate cgi and substantial reshoots , this long-delayed update of a classic 1940s monster movie finally hits screens with an exuberant roar .",
        "like wuthering heights meets chewbacca with a migraine .",
        "the problem with this modern version of the old tale , however , is that it 's basically a load of codswallop we can no longer swallow without choking .",
        "in any event , the MOV makes a satisfactory date movie for valentine 's day , which is more than can be said for valentine 's day .",
        "the finale is like watching mexican pro wrestling , except instead of wearing colorful masks , they 're covered with fur ... it does n't suck , but it does n't have much bite , either .",
        "johnston 's direction sidesteps suspense to deliver a surplus of tactless , out-of-nowhere jump scares that are more irritating than frightening .",
        "the MOV constitutes a pleasant surprise , if `` pleasant '' can be used to describe a brooding $ 100 million-plus diversion with this many beheadings and eviscerations .",
        "victorian clothing , things that go bump in the night , and anthony hopkins in a tiger-skin robe rattling around an oversized mansion , chewing the scenery . what 's not to love ?",
        "this been-there-mauled-that monster movie gets points for being loud and rather bloody , but it still has n't found a way to make werewolves interesting .",
        "when all you can deliver is an expensive , effect-heavy horror flick that 's just plain boring , it 's time to rethink things a bit .",
        "scary and fun and thrilling , the MOV brings the universal monsters back to the screen in a way that 's fitting and modern and still respectful .",
        "... a welcome return to the classic universal monster movie .",
        "compared to van helsing , this is fairly satisfying .",
        "if you 're going to remake a classic movie , the MOV is an excellent example of how to do it right .",
        "a more emotionally expressive actor might have given us a more visceral connection to the legend than what the superbly mounted production provides .",
        "neither as bad as you 've probably heard , nor is it anywhere near as good as i might have hoped .",
        "gloriously , exuberantly awful .",
        "horror fans wo n't be impressed by the MOV 's crude editing ; romance fans will feel unfulfilled .",
        "special effects and location shots can only get you so far when your cast looks like they 're telegraphing their performances in .",
        "it 's not insultingly dumb . that 's refreshing in a 2010 horror pic .",
        "many hands labored on the MOV ... yet nobody seems to have figured out just how to approach the material .",
        "an adequately respectful but fairly forgettable film , which earns brownie points for the werewolf mayhem , good intentions and simply for not being van helsing .",
        "this is the rare blockbuster that offers its characters - and its audience - no shelter .",
        "... pleasant surprise simply by virtue of not being as thoroughly awful as you expected . and yes , that 's qualified praise . it means , nostalgic horror buffs give it a whirl and all others beware .",
        "gallingly leaden remake of the 1941 lon chaney jr. classic both lives and dies by its transformations .",
        "neither scary enough to be exciting nor campy enough to be amusing .",
        "this is n't the utter disaster the misguided van helsing was , but neither is it the stealthy , hammer-esque dark night of the soulless that it was clearly intended to be .",
        "after a troubled production , the remake of the horror classic finally arrives in theatres decidedly worse for the wear .",
        "everything is bad -- the awful script , joe johnston 's un-atmospheric direction , and the acting , which contains enough ham to meet the protein needs of an entire pack of wolfmen .",
        "there 's a dispiritingly rote and uninvolving air about the MOV that keeps the movie from being the slightest bit frightening for anyone old enough to see it .",
        "the MOV boasts a solid principal cast from del toro to hopkins and up-and-comer emily blunt , but del toro especially seems to be going through the motions at half speed , as if waiting for the beast and the stuntmen to take it from there . only h",
        "it believes what it 's peddling regarding silver bullets , ivory fangs , full moons , and peat-mossed british moors soaked in crimson blood . but it 's faithful at the expense of any fun .",
        "victorian melodrama and outrageous gore make horrific bedfellows in this ill-conceived homage to the classic monster movies of yore .",
        "there 's a lot to appreciate in the shaggy , imperfect but still fun new version of the wolf man .",
        "nothing can prepare you for the unrelenting awfulness of the MOV .",
        "utterly uninvolving and never remotely scary .",
        "dark and drab this movie looks like something made more than forty years ago . somewhere lon chaney is howling .",
        "an entertaining and surprisingly bloodthirsty creature feature with a superb performance from del toro .",
        "a good film , well produced with great sound and guaranteed shocks .",
        "nothing to howl home about - practically a lesson in pointless film-making .",
        "this b-movie made on an epic budget is so over-the-top that the earlier you start giggling the better . even though it 's played dead straight , it 's an old-style monster romp that could n't be any more camp if it tried .",
        "the MOV is uninspired , barely coherent and often remarkably boring ; it is a mongrel of a film , and the scars of its troubled production are all too visible .",
        "a bad idea from the start .",
        "an uneven tone and the feeling of too many cooks mars the finished product , but there are moments of beauty and real terror .",
        "del toro should have been perfect for the MOV , and it is his involvement in the project that attracted most critics to it , but his performance is mostly disappointing .",
        "a brooding but dramatically muted reboot of the classic monster-movie franchise , director joe johnston 's action-horror film oozes gothic atmosphere without supplying any character to fill it .",
        "the MOV ends up a disappointment , then , somewhat interesting in places , but nothing to howl about .",
        "snore , snore , fur , snore , snore , blood .",
        "not so much howlingly bad as it is disappointingly lifeless .",
        "feels like a filmmaker more concerned with making this grand-looking epic and less concerned with keeping modern horror lovers as riveted to the screen as the original did back in its day .",
        "would that joe johnston 's the MOV were spectacularly awful , then it would have been at least a fun time at the movies .",
        "the action scenes are pure kinetic motion , which is what johnston is best at ; he fares less well when he goes for mood or suspense .",
        "`` an american werewolf in london '' still retains its title as the best werewolf movie ever made .",
        "`` why so serious ? '' would be an excellent question to direct at the makers of the MOV , a high-toned , bloody but otherwise bloodless effort .",
        "by pandering to the avatar market 's debased taste and indifference to storytelling details , this technically polished , emotionally crude remake sets back the advances that once had been made in horror movies .",
        "if you like your horror with a bit of b-goodness and nostalgia added for flavour , then the MOV is right up your alley .",
        "johnston sacrifices originality for computer graphics and stop-motion camera tricks , and the script , by andrew kevin walker and david self , bulges with real howlers : `` i did n't know you hunted monsters . '' `` sometimes monsters hunt you ! ''",
        "written and crafted with great sensitivity , this is high class gothic horror",
        "the poor pacing , blatantly obvious narrative signposting and over-reliance on false scares generated by sudden sounds and movements , removes any chance of the MOV actually being frightening .",
        "baker 's fantastic make-up effects together with great performances from del toro and hopkins make this a fun experience . do n't expect an even plot and character development .",
        "the MOV more closely resembles a slasher flick with an a-list cast than the universal horror cycle that it derives from .",
        "decent production values and makeup ca n't compensate for the dramatically inert text , made worse by banal dialogue even gifted del toro ca n't help , and helmer 's little understanding of the genre , the anxiety , fear , fun it has offered viewers for decades .",
        "lycanthropic lore , and lots of gore .",
        "i 'd rather watch ` teen wolf ' on repeat than yawn through ` the MOV ' again . it 's the type of movie where you can fall asleep for 20 minutes , wake up and realize you did n't miss a thing .",
        "MOV ... is all bark and very little bite .",
        "stuffy and old-fashioned , taking itself way too seriously even at its silliest moments . - nerve.com",
        "what does it say about the MOV that its token cleric is vastly less interesting than his broadly comic counterpart in wallace & gromit : curse of the were-rabbit ?",
        "as talbot , del toro proves to be inspired casting ... but as the brooding victim of `` lycanthrophy , '' who fears and hates what it turns him into , he 's perfect .",
        "an embarrassment to universal 's horror legacy .",
        "a mangled , short-sheeted stab at reanimating a horror icon , MOV is a mess ; it 's a poorly-stitched , overthought , ear-splitting bungle of a picture , dragging a few normally trustworthy filmmaking professionals down with it .",
        "it 's exactly what it 's supposed to be : an upscale goth b-movie with dark humor and buckets of blood .",
        "... suffers from an egregiously deliberate pace that slowly but surely renders its overtly positive attributes moot ...",
        "a torpid retelling of the classic lycanthropy story , both bloated and constricted , mostly glum but punctuated with nasty , intrusive humor , and more interested in decor and makep than genuine style .",
        "you couldve recast the whole film with a row of totem poles and i 'm not 100 % sure anyone would 've noticed the difference .",
        "the clumsy and ineffectual story does n't do anything but stand in place , whirring .",
        "benecio del toro is suitably brooding in this well-intentioned , credibly gothic and gory update that still feels only half right .",
        "a lack of focus plagues the entire film . the director , writers and actor himself have conspired to render the title character blank , lifeless .",
        "hopkins is clearly hopkins here , and the extension of his role in the story kept me asking why .",
        "the action is fine . the casting is a bit of a disappointment . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "there 's more emotion in the monster 's howls , which were created by a baritone opera singer , than in del toro 's monotone mutterings .",
        "an over-edited mess that tries to sell energy without having any -- it 's listless and bland .",
        "what fun . lighten up and enjoy . the universal monster film is back !",
        "del toro gives his least mumbly performance in years , blunt provides the film with a little heart and hopkins delivers the laughs .",
        "congratulations universal - you made van helsing 2 .",
        "a rambling , pseudo-freudian house of horrors , with lots of things to jump out of us and look creepy but virtually nothing that 's truly scary .",
        "a barely coherent , often inconsistent film that fails to generate any of the emotions it so desperately wants to evoke",
        "that universal 's visually sanguine yet emotionally bloodless revival of their most ferocious and most tragic movie monster is a complete stiff is beyond debate .",
        "i never would have guessed that i would say this , but the MOV could have benefited from less del toro and more cgi .",
        "nothing wrong here that a silver bullet could n't fix .",
        "while the MOV has some really proud moments , ultimately it feels like a franken-film ... in short , when the wolf man was n't ripping off people 's heads -- it was unbearably boring .",
        "at times it is a visually sumptuous , updated love letter to the classic film which inspired it ; at others it seems a muddled mess .",
        "to say there is nothing new about the MOV is to miss the fact that this is its charm .",
        "hearkens back with great hope and poor follow-through to universal 's classic horror films",
        "the script has some very nice touches but goes over the top in the final act . in many ways it is much more a work of art than the original film , but the original will be remembered when this film is forgotten .",
        "rick baker 's fantastic werewolf creation , amazing production design and unexpectedly gory special effects save the film from the wolfsbane combination of wildly uneven acting and a rickety , middling script",
        "the legend of the MOV has always been a premise in search of somewhere to go .",
        "i 'll give it a star and a half -- but only because i 'm too professional to give it a full moon .",
        "i don `` t know whether to scream or to drop a fun-size 3 musketeers into benicio 's pillow case .",
        "just like the duality of the MOV himself , there is a wild and crazy fun part to this movie and a serious , dull , lifeless partition as well .",
        "consider the MOV a pedigreed genre yarn , mindful of its precedents but nimble enough to have a good time in the here and now .",
        "just in time for valentine 's day . apparently , nothing says `` i love you '' more than a big hairy werewolf biting somebody 's head off .",
        "benicio del toro pulls off a nifty trick in the MOV : he makes turning into a werewolf look as dull as doing your taxes .",
        "anthony hopkins portrays sir john talbot . benicio del toro is prodigal son lawrence . that 's a great deal of acting sinew for an oddly anemic outing .",
        "an ill-considered , utterly unnecessary remake .",
        "the MOV , hokey and uneven though it is , -lsb- has -rsb- the kind of authentic emotional hook that too many horror movies today do n't have .",
        "benicio del toro stars in this lushly art-designed 19th-century period film , but his beefcake-gone-bad magnetism is not enough to justify sitting through a movie that 's full of sound , fury and unintentional camp -- and is still bafflingly inert .",
        "actors fulminate and masticate , spit , scowl and sob ; what a gas it is to watch them overact with joy and conviction .",
        "sadly lacking in snarl .",
        "hopkins , del toro and blunt do the best they can with the material . thanks in large part to their performances , the movie never slips into full-on cheese territory .",
        "splattered with the blood of authenticity , this is an impressively executed genre film spiked with scares , tension and pathos as we enter the surreal world of the tortured werewolf",
        "the MOV reframes the werewolf legend -- so weighty with communal perversity and collective guilt -- so that it 's all about a very bad dad .",
        "bite worse than bark bulletproof beasts without benefit of steroids , species profiling , paw to paw beatdown staged like a world wrestling federation bout with fur , and the manimal who came to dinner .",
        "not scary , hardly compelling , and ultimately pretty silly . lovely to look at , though .",
        "journeyman director joe johnston has crafted a generally effective if inconsequential monster movie , highlighted by rick baker 's beautifully rendered makeup effects and designs .",
        "despite the hairy production process , universal pictures has managed to rescue a half decent chiller in this remake of the 1941 classic b-grade MOV that starred lon chaney as the man turned beast .",
        "works hard to honor the b-movie legacy on whose shoulders it stands while also elaborating and expanding the mythology",
        "love anthony hopkins , and benicio is the right choice for the part , but the director blows it anyway .",
        "um protagonista sem qualquer ind\u043dcio de personalidade , uma atua\u0437\u0433o sem qualquer envolvimento de hopkins e um roteiro sem qualquer sinal de intelig\u043ancia .",
        "to mix monsters -- the MOV is one of those films that was put together like frankenstein . with all the bloody musical chairs , the MOV should collapse . but the MOV has enough camp and verve to grab you by the throat . and maybe the funny bone .",
        "the new benicio del toro movie , `` hirsute and hatin ' it '' -lrb- okay , `` the MOV '' -rrb- , is so ripe with the stink of fouled fromage , it should have taken place in france instead of victorian england .",
        "despite the a classic pedigree and a cast full of oscar winners and nominees , the script credited to andrew kevin walker and david self never develops the characters into the first or second dimension , much less the third .",
        "those pining for an olde tyme monster movie will find a solid balance between past traditions and modern sensibilities here .",
        "what 's missing from the MOV is what 's hard to put on paper -- tension , suspense , emotion -- the elements needed to make this rather simple story go from more of a mild entertainment to something truly memorable .",
        "wisually stylish and initially suspenseful , but too unevenly paced while deficient in surprises , imagination and palpable thrills .",
        "as for hopkins , he 's clearly indifferent to the whole project , and one suspects his eyes kept darting back and forth between the dopey script in one hand and the hefty paycheck in the other as he mulled over whether to accept the part .",
        "there 's never a silver bullet around when you need to put a lame monster reboot out of its misery .",
        "... a worthy romp through full moon nights . the original , 1941 version is still preferred , but ` the MOV 's ' director joe johnston pays grand homage while playing to the 2010 crowd .",
        "the fundamental problem with the film is that it does n't know whether it wants to be old-fashioned or cutting edge .",
        "the new film is consummately made , with superb make-up and effects , again by rick baker .",
        "unfortunately , there is too much `` man , '' and not enough `` wolf . ''",
        "features oscar winners benicio del toro and anthony hopkins at their most take-the-money-and-run uninspired . that the film is set in the 1890s did n't prevent these two from phoning in their performances .",
        "it does n't know whether it wants to be dark and moodily glamorous or ridiculous and gory -- it 's a creature feature suffering from extreme class consciousness .",
        "in place of legitimate tension and suspense , the MOV features more cheap jump scares and loud scary noises than every j-horror film ever made put together .",
        "one of those incredibly frustrating works that has so many things going for it that it becomes almost painful to watch as it falls far short of what it might have achieved if it possessed a better screenplay as well .",
        "MOV is more a slasher flick than a monster movie . he moves like a locomotive and kills like jason voorhees , slashing throats , de-limbing , beheading and gutting with repulsive efficiency .",
        "the violence is horrific , but it 's not scary .",
        "it feels rushed , meddled with ; like a film whose ambitions were crushed in the editing room .",
        "snarling and savage , yet ultimately silly . where are those silver bullets when you need them ?",
        "the MOV is a tiresome film . it derives all its scares from sudden sounds and startling movements . furry , fanged fiends leap at the camera from just offscreen so many times that it becomes positively monotonous .",
        "might have been more crudely entertaining if so many people involved did n't try so hard to make it about more than werewolves running free .",
        "loved the production design , the cinematography , costumes , and rick baker 's fantastic furry make-up , but the MOV overall did n't leave me howling with joy .",
        "the root problem with the MOV is that it 's a hybrid . it tries to fuse the gothic storytelling of the original with the violence and gore associated with modern horror .",
        "this MOV is a howler but not in a good way .",
        "it makes for a weird mishmash of macabre comedy , goopy romance , grisly violence , psychodrama and a movie in which individual scenes work , even if they do not work together .",
        "outstanding production design and heavy doses of gore render this a gleefully gothic tale , though the story could have used a bit more attention .",
        "parental content review",
        "glacial in tone , sluggish in pace , and lifeless in performance , the film is a dreary , uninteresting dullard .",
        "while it 's sleeker and more sophisticated than the chaney version , this new MOV is n't any scarier .",
        "like buffalo meat , the MOV is a little too lean for its own good .",
        "there is a better movie in here , lost in the edit and screaming to get out , but unfortunately , this MOV is howling at a moon that 's only half-full .",
        "who would have thought that only six weeks into 2010 we would have a contender for worst film of the year ?",
        "it truly is a modern spin on a classic , in almost all of the worst ways .",
        "the movie keeps the traditional look of the MOV and uses a mixture of practical effects and digital wizardry .",
        "i was dumbly entertained in spite of -lrb- or maybe because of -rrb- all that .",
        "given its troubled path to the big screen , the MOV -lrb- 2010 -rrb- is far better than it has any right to be .",
        "joe johnston turns a classic monster into an anaemic bore .",
        "what 's missing in this MOV is something timeless : the human cost that gives tragic meaning to the metamorphosis and potential cure .",
        "i enjoyed it as a companion piece to the superior original ...",
        "the only thing scary about joe johnston 's the MOV is that it exists . the fact that people , nay professionals , spent several years working on this picture genuinely upsets me .",
        "while this MOV redo certainly does n't live up to its 1941 predecessor , it serves its purpose . that is , if you like a somewhat dull , gothic story that only gets exciting once the guy grows hair and big teeth .",
        "the metallic tang of blood is all over the elegant facade of this mysteriously disappointing , dispassionately underpowered story ...",
        "gledatelje % u010deka dobar % u017eanrovski proizvod kojeg krasi iskusna gluma % u010dka ekipa , vrlo dobro predo % u010dena atmosfera goti % u010dkog horora te dobri specijalni efekti",
        "this moody and violent remake has several terrific moments .",
        "a glossy , good-looking production that never fully delivers on its promise of resurrecting one of the great movie monsters for a modern audience .",
        "it ca n't be a coincidence that all of the characters constantly talk about obligation . and emily blunt has the most telling line , `` this place is impossible to escape . '' this was no doubt a professional edict for those on the set .",
        "lawrence 's transformation is scary because he 's a sympathetic character . ... his sophistication ca n't save him from reckless impulses . i risk making a fool of myself if i say this is timely and relevant .",
        "like most of director joe johnston 's work , solidly gets the job done as a brisk , bloody entertainment .",
        "while the MOV often veers towards the realm of camp , no irony is to be found herein .",
        "a slick update of the monster movie classic , the MOV features strong imagery and performances , yet is lacking in animal instinct .",
        "flounders in its stabs at epic action-horror grandeur .",
        "in the end , the MOV reminded me of a couple of people i have dated - achingly beautiful but emotionally barren , and just a tiny little bit scary .",
        "hopkins is in his element and , as usual , incredibly fun to watch . he 's a bit heftier than hannibal lecter , but the dangerous twinkle is still there .",
        "a lavish coffee table book of a horror film , the MOV features visuals so beautifully planned and executed that each frame begs to be lingered over and savored .",
        "there 's not much to recommend this dull , cheerless and not very scary re-imagining of the classic 1941 film .",
        "the studio definitely was n't sitting on a hidden gem . MOV is predictably gory but distressingly low on scares and style .",
        "del toro 's lawrence is n't that interesting or that sympathetic , and the estranged father-son dynamic that 's introduced does n't work .",
        "the MOV is hardly o'neill , but it always had subtexts of alpha-male dominance , sexual repression , compulsive behavior and father-son feuds . johnston runs so fast away from all of it you 'd think it was wolfsbane .",
        "it 's more good than bad , and when it really gets its wolf on , it does so with a shaggy , deranged glee that left me laughing .",
        "the MOV is not a teen , thank the hollywood god in charge of movie icons , but del toro 's god-awful wig was scarier than the gorefest !",
        "a few stray livers and severed heads aside , this is a monster too polite for its own good .",
        "a misty , moody saturday-matinee monster-chiller-horror special that hits the same sweet spot for moviegoers of a certain age -lrb- cough -rrb- as those snap-together frankenstein model kits from the late 1960s .",
        "an enjoyably bloody homage to universal 's classic hair 'em , scare 'em monster . there 's plenty of gore and guts to cheer ; it just needed more of everything else : heart , horror , affection and artistry .",
        "a pleasing return to the studio 's much-loved gothic tradition .",
        "with its mist-shrouded sets , gruesome slaughter and copious cgi , this is a surprisingly respectful updating of the 1941 universal original .",
        "the MOV is a shaggy dog story that 's oddly easy to enjoy , for all that there are clearly manifest flaws to chew over . ignore them and savour for what it is - meaty chunks of gothic silliness in a marrow-chilling jelly .",
        "del toro looks about as dangerous as an urban fox snoozing in a compost bin and blunt seems to be suffering from some residual victorian queenliness . looking in the mirror afterwards , i seemed pale from weariness .",
        "for the most part , a ripping good time -- literally .",
        "the pace is ponderous , the plot a confusion of secrets and lycanthropes , and the violence and gore excessive .",
        "the MOV delivers plenty of scares and an abundance of eviscerations , but director joe johnston does n't take the film anywhere unexpected .",
        "while the special effects and occasional chase scenes might be enough to pacify the younger crowd , grown-ups will find it curiously bloodless .",
        "it looks good , jolts often , and moves at a fair lick . and it certainly puts a silver bullet into the puffed-up were-wusses of twilight ."
    ],
    "summary": "suitably grand and special effects-laden , the MOV suffers from a suspense-deficient script and a surprising lack of genuine chills .",
    "id": "770768653"
  },
  {
    "movie": "saw_4",
    "reviews": [
        "there 's the obligatory twist at the end , which hardly makes up for the excruciating boredom viewers are forced to endure . but , hey , if you 're paying for torture , expect to suffer .",
        "the first thing you see in saw iv is jigsaw 's balls . a sign of things to come ? most definitely .",
        "jigsaw is an interesting character with an interesting worldview and an interesting way of carrying out his will . it 's too bad the movies themselves are n't worthy of him .",
        "we now find ourselves in the downward slope of the saw series as saw iv stretches credibility to the breaking point .",
        "i do wish that these movies were well made , because i actually think the premises are quite clever , but unless a veteran who is more confident in his abilities takes over , we are left with what could have been ...",
        "this gruesomely efficient horror sequel shows noticeable wear and tear .",
        "... any serious consideration of the killer 's fascination with violence is superseded by the director 's -lrb- and the returning viewers ' -rrb- own sadistic pleasures .",
        "poor jigsaw . the architect of the most deadly traps ever committed to celluloid has endured inoperable cancer , a debilitating car crash and even the premature death of his son , but nothing as painful or degrading as ` saw iv . '",
        "whereas the first saw and the third met the right balance , the second film and now the fourth push things a little too far and end up being less effective as a result .",
        "outro t\u00edpico exemplar da s\u00e9rie : o final , como de h\u00e1bito , \u00e9 at\u00e9 engenhoso , mas a f\u00f3rmula cada vez mais desgastada exige paci\u0119ncia at\u00e9 que cheguemos a ele .",
        "if it ever had a prime , the saw franchise is well past it ... a mess ... and an ugly mess at that .",
        "as cheap and cheesy as its brethren , but oddly boring for long stretches",
        "for devotees of the series , the gore is still there and the traps are just as weird as they were in the other entries but for the rest of us , your mind will forget it the second the end credits roll .",
        "this is hard core pain and suffering territory ... the film wastes no time getting down to nasty business , ripping , slicing , gouging , piercing , smashing and tearing every part of the human body",
        "saw iv is no saw iii . just as saw iii is no saw ii . but neither lionsgate , the saw distributor , nor the north american box office seems to care .",
        "after two solid entries and an ok one , the franchise is getting long in the tooth : this one is saw it be-iv .",
        "a film as edgy as a rubber knife .",
        "if the gore quotient has been upped in this chapter -lrb- really , after a certain threshold has been reached , who can tell ? -rrb- , the style has , too .",
        "as far as fourth installments in a series , saw iv is quite impressive .",
        "boasting more posthumous recordings than tupac , jigsaw should have spent time devising clever new traps instead of buying radio shack 's entire inventory of tape recorders .",
        "easily the worst entry in the series , and the first one that undeniably feels like a sloppily thrown-together rush job .",
        "by far the best installment of this cringingly moronic odyssey of pain . there 's something to be said about leaving a theater with only a mild cultural headache instead of a knee-buckling case of cinematic depression .",
        "the need to incorporate familiar characters and icons from the earlier films , together with flashbacks that flesh out jigsaw 's pre - ` puppet master ' past , simply leads to an irritating series of creative dead ends . truly , a hack-saw .",
        "it is impossible to take a movie seriously when the movie obviously does n't care if you do or not .",
        "if we must get a new saw movie every halloween , at least the franchise is evolving and not just regurgitating the exact same formula .",
        "over the course of -lsb- its -rsb- sequels , the saw franchise took a novel , if distasteful , idea and basically tortured it to death .",
        "the reports of torture porn 's demise may have been greatly exaggerated , but this fourth entry in the mutilate-yourself-or-die series joins what may be the worst genre of the decade : the lamely `` sympathetic '' serial-killer backstory .",
        "even by the not exactly high standards of the saw movies , this one 's scraping the bottom of the entrails pail .",
        "it 's deeply unsettling ; just like a horror movie should be .",
        "the absurdity reaches new highs in saw iv , which asks us to swallow developments that simply are n't logistically possible , never mind realistic .",
        "the law of diminishing returns is in full effect here .",
        "the games , the traps , are still the thing and as long as jigsaw 's flunkies continue to build 'em , we will come .",
        "perfunctory and confusing and needlessly over-plotty ... but somewhat better-constructed and significantly less morally outrageous than at the very least saw iii .",
        "despite the clucking disapproval of the cinematic intelligentsia , the saw films are n't successful by accident .",
        "the syriana of slasher films , so complicated and circuitous that your only hope of understanding everything is to eat lots of fish the night before and then watch each of the previous films , in order , right before you enter the theater .",
        "this death trap may be rusty , but as long as it keeps generating fresh blood , it 's unlikely to slam shut anytime soon .",
        "just as jigsaw tests his victims , the franchise 's own test will be whether such suspension can be maintained , or if matters lapse into a torture chamber of self-parody .",
        "... parts of it are good , and the rest really feels like cynical photocopying .",
        "two of the more degrading and debasing hours of big-screen `` entertainment '' that you are likely to endure in this lifetime .",
        "with saw iv , the pieces have all come together and -lsb- it 's -rsb- the best of the lot .",
        "a commercially savvy though ultimately empty combination of warped morality tale , mystery , gore-fest , and torture porn .",
        "easily the worst and most pointless episode of the gore-saturated quadrology .",
        "saw iv almost makes you believe there are hundreds of rooms out there at this very minute with puppets , tricycles , and audio tapes just waiting for the next game .",
        "the appeal , i suppose , is that some really awful stuff is unfolding up there on the screen and not to us .",
        "like the movie 's mysterious jigsaw doppelg\u00e4nger , saw iv is itself a poor substitute for the original -lrb- or even the first two sequels -rrb- .",
        "the puzzles in this movie and the infinite number of sequels which have already been queued behind it have been designed to tear the dead presidents from your wallet like a sobriety chip from the shaky palm of lindsay lohan .",
        "`` saw iv '' should be tossed into the business end of 1988 's `` woodchipper massacre . ''",
        "an excessively convoluted rehash of its predecessors .",
        "previously , jigsaw and the filmmakers played fair , but too much about this latest instalment seems simply arbitrary .",
        "might be the best since the first , but still a task to watch . a painful , meaningless task .",
        "there 's more gore in store . now here 's `` saw iv . ''",
        "stultifying in its pseudo-sensationalistic schlock , this numbingly and nightmarish narrative has no legitimate creepy conviction beyond flexing its meaningless , morose muscles",
        "torture , you may recall , used to be an unparsable , unpardonable sin . now it 's porn .",
        "were it not for the saving grace of tobin bell 's mere presence , there 's little doubt that saw iv would come off about as well as a typical straight-to-video horror sequel .",
        "opens with the clinically graphic dissection of the deceased jigsaw , who finally lives up to -lrb- dies down to ? -rrb- his name by being separated into pieces ...",
        "like many villains before him , john turns out to have been wronged rather randomly , an act of terrible violence that he absorbs into his worldview .",
        "the original saw was crafted with thought and precision . saw iv is an orgy of blood .",
        "the famously inventive torture sequences here seem depleted of imagination .",
        "fortunately , amid all the slavishly photographed grotesquery , there 's comic relief . it 's called the script .",
        "it 's somewhat better put together than saw ii or iii , though there is n't a scare in it .",
        "even fans of good , old-fashioned , onscreen torture will find themselves rolling their eyes at the twists and turns in this impossibly convoluted story .",
        "saw iv is a fluid film , as neatly constructed as the deadly puzzles jigsaw creates to snare his victims .",
        "an incomprehensible cacophony of screams , shock cuts , dour pseudo-philosophizing , heavy metal mutilation and low-rent tv-standard performances .",
        "those of us who quickly tired of the grisly fun and games midway through saw ii will resent the unnecessarily convoluted plotting and storylines that require a master 's degree in saw studies to make any sense .",
        "it 's a been-there , done-that sort of sequel , but it 's still more creative than most of what passes for hollywood horror these days .",
        "the dullest saw in the shed .",
        "the series has essentially become a shell game , entertaining for a while if you can stomach the gore , and then the credits roll and you 're pretty sure you 've been cheated somehow .",
        "i can think of five things that are more torturous than what the victims endure in saw iv ...",
        "if the original saw was the kernel of a potential terror universe , saw iv is , by this time , a series of satellites and lesser celestial bodies bound together by some of the best bloodletting in modern macabre ."
    ],
    "summary": "saw iv is more disturbing than compelling , with material already seen in the prior installments .",
    "id": "577164571"
  },
  {
    "movie": "in_and_out",
    "reviews": [
        "the clever screenwriter paul rudnick cooks up a solid script that 's both wildly funny and gently satirical .",
        "actually , the funniest parts of the movie are excerpts from the film that cameron is originally nominated for .",
        "a plain ol' enjoyable time at the movies .",
        "in & out is the screwball philadelphia , a movie that contorts itself in order to indulge and then whitewash the core audience 's perceived homophobia .",
        "forget the inevitable carping and give credit where credit is due .",
        "... an often painfully broad comedy that 's rarely as entertaining -lrb- or as funny -rrb- as one might 've anticipated .",
        "fast-moving and very funny .",
        "if only it was gay in the old sense of the word .",
        "paul rudnick has written scenes that will go down as classics .",
        "basically a one-joke farce that plays around with a once-delicate subject that by now is a mainstay even on tv .",
        "rudnick , best known to hundreds of thousands of readers of premiere magazine for his monthly pseudonymous column , is that rare writer who can work with an overused concept and make it work heartily .",
        "never amounts to more than a thin sketch .",
        "my advice : go ; see ; laugh yourself silly . repeat .",
        "the script itself is the real star of the show . it manages to elicit huge laughs without resorting to slapstick , and it finds humor in unlikely spots .",
        "it 's tough to be too hard on in & out , because rudnick 's script is so often so sharp .",
        "a truly funny , sophisticated , compassionate , mainstream hollywood comedy about very modern homosexuality .",
        "for the most part , this hilarious caper 's gay characters are knee-deep in the american mainstream .",
        "in a year when good comedies seem as hard to make as ever , MOV is one of the best .",
        "the cast is perfect , with kline dominating in a charming and funny performance . but cusack also stands out , making her humiliated character funny , sweet and a bit loopy .",
        "a paean to diversity that proudly shows its colors .",
        "rudnick has an knack for striding the line between having fun with -lrb- not making fun of -rrb- homosexual stereotypes and homophobic attitudes .",
        "the ending , a hilarious spoof on the films of frank capra , is further proof of how funny this film can be , walking right on the edge between parody and preachiness .",
        "it 's light as a feather , and i probably wo n't remember much about it a year from now , but in & out did make me laugh while i watched it .",
        "like a senior citizen with a nose-ring , ` in & out ' wears its hipness rather uncomfortably .",
        "every piece of casting is perfection .",
        "gosh darn it , but i liked MOV .",
        "a man questioning his own sexuality does not seem like the ideal topic for a comedy . but with a good script , and plenty of humor , in & out tackles this touchy subject matter with aplomb .",
        "MOV is one comedy that truly deserves respect .",
        "lackluster and highly overrated .",
        "oz wants it both ways , though , and ca n't resist hammering home the message with a prolonged spartacus-style climax quite as ludicrous as the oscar winning film-within-the-film .",
        "the hollywood stuff at the beginning with glenn close as an oscar presenter and matt dillon as a puffed-up star on the rise is as funny and as nasty as anything in libby gelman-waxner 's columns .",
        "a benign spoof on the bias people have against gays .",
        "we could use more movie comedies like in & out .",
        "oh , what a swell movie we have with in & out .",
        "overall , it is n't bad , but it is disappointing .",
        "kline delivers an intriguing , fence-straddling performance .",
        "the film was directed by frank oz , who 's not the edgiest of filmmakers but still put together a fine little film , well made and entertaining .",
        "n\u0103o \u00e9 um filme excepcional , mas consegue fazer rir .",
        "there 's not a lot of plot momentum and the denouement is a bit simplistic and patronizing , but this light-hearted fare has enough fun moments and witty social-commentary barbs to make it worthwhile .",
        "-lsb- delivers -rsb- laughs and skewer a few stereotypes , thanks to extremely sly wit and a fine cast .",
        "from the very first scene , you know that MOV has struck a rich satirical vein .",
        "one coming-out party that aims to please nearly everyone .",
        "sets the comic richter scale jumping .",
        "what a pleasure it is to watch two comic pros getting a real workout .",
        "in & out does n't take itself seriously for a moment , which is why the halcyon-happy schmaltz that floats through the movie and floods the last reel is forgivable ."
    ],
    "summary": "it does n't always find comfortable ground between broad comedy and social commentary , but lively performances -- especially from kevin kline and joan cusack -- enrich in & out 's mixture of laughs and sexual tolerance .",
    "id": "10460"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hubble_3d",
    "reviews": [
        "not only deposits you in outer space , but for the first time ever makes the old star trek gimmick of `` warp speed '' a reality .",
        "the newly resurgent 3d format gets an out-of-this-world showcase in MOV .",
        "if you want an eye-popping cosmic epic , rent star trek . if you want interactivity , take the kids to the planetarium .",
        "it 's a short film , but a fascinating one that contains breathtaking imagery . it 's as simple as that .",
        "the imax screen is the ultimate planetarium in the awesome documentary MOV .",
        "audiences expecting a blissout of swirling galaxies will wonder why so much time is spent on astronauts sweating over screws and bolts .",
        "... a truly amazing trip ...",
        "what sent me over the boohooing edge was an overpoweringly beautiful shot of the astronauts at work with hawaii 325 miles behind them , shimmering in the blue , blue pacific .",
        "a zero-gravity repair job does n't sound like a thrilling cinematic spectacle , but this 43-minute film is utterly gripping .",
        "a movie like this can get you thinking .",
        "this , then , is how a star is born .",
        "i 've been to two launches , apollo 11 and apollo 12 , and MOV is the first film i 've seen -- and felt -- that does more than hint at the skeleton-rattling power of those stupendous rockets .",
        "follows seven astronauts on a mission to repair hubble telescope , and if you do n't find the ride absolutely thrilling , you lack imagination !",
        "hubble is a wonderful machine , and this is a phenomenal movie .",
        "in the end , hubble is exactly what we watch imax for .",
        "... there are sights here to awe adult as well as child .",
        "star gazing with leonardo dicaprio is an awesome out of this world experience . on the giant imax screen in breathtaking 3d , this is probably the closest you or i will ever come to space travel",
        "MOV does n't weigh in heavily on theories of big bangs , evolution , or creation . instead , it lets the visual data speak for itself .",
        "space lands on earth in 3-d glory in this kid-friendly docu .",
        "after becoming blas\u00e9 about cgi effects in movies that pretend to take us into other galaxies far far away , we know this is for real",
        "this is so jaw-dropping in terms of both content and quality that you wo n't want to miss a single second by blinking .",
        "awesome spectacle in outer space ; pity about leo 's narration .",
        "too brief an exposure to the accomplishments of hubble-enabled astronomy -- but everyone should see it , nonetheless .",
        "a wonderful film for anyone who still has a passion for watching the skies and wondering what 's out there .",
        "a uniquely thrilling virtual trip that one is unlikely to get to experience first hand -- in this lifetime , at least .",
        "hubble provides a vivid , breathtaking look at our solar system like never before . and it leaves us pondering not just science , but faith .",
        "although most of the film is about repairing the telescope , there are some eye-popping shots of the universe .",
        "what does it say about me that when i see a state of the art 45-minute propaganda piece for nasa , i come away convinced i 've had a deeply personal philosophical experience ?",
        "it 's an out-of-this-world , real-life adventure for kids of all ages , budding neil armstrongs and ray bradburys alike .",
        "dazzling to look at of course . but such ponderous , clich\u00e9-heavy narration .",
        "the daring mission by astronauts to repair and upgrade the hubble space telescope in may 2009 is the perfect subject for a brilliant , thrilling 3-d imax movie . such a movie , alas , has yet to be made .",
        "contains some of the most spectacular 3-d footage i 've ever seen ...",
        "it 's a movie that not only puts you in space but lets you travel through it with a speed and wonder that would make james t. kirk go a little weak in the knees .",
        "it is not hubris or hyperbole to say that MOV has to be seen to be believed . in its scant 43 minutes , the film reveals some of the most astonishing images your eyes will ever see . and every single one of them is real .",
        "leonardo dicaprio , as narrator , sounds very nearly reverent , and not without reason .",
        "a typical imax spectacle of enormous proportions , the film is both a fantastic summary of the knowledge we 've gained through hubble and an often edge-of-your-seat documentary about some of the specialists who 've serviced the telescope five times ."
    ],
    "summary": "offering a stunning , expansive viewing experience , MOV takes advantage of imax and 3-d technology like no other film .",
    "id": "770860109"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_conjuring",
    "reviews": [
        "old-style filmmaking makes this movie scarier than other recent horror films , simply because director wan -lrb- saw/insidious -rrb- takes the time to actually develop suspense . by not using cheap trickery , he continually sends chills up our spine .",
        "a better than average horror movie sparked by excellent performances by the four leads .",
        "MOV is like the horror equivalent of a ` long island iced tea ' ; mixing stiff belts of haunted house , poltergeist and exorcism into a near perfect and potent cocktail .",
        "wan , a director with an extensive resume in cinematic scare tactics , operates in his element here , opting not to push the horror envelope , but merely to refine it .",
        "MOV will have you shuddering with every creepy moment .",
        "i 'm uh-scared , i 'm uh-scared !",
        "there 's very little in MOV that could n't have been achieved on film 40 years ago , which lends it a very authentic feel .",
        "it 's really not much more frightening than , say , the flintstones meet rockula and frankenstone or scooby-doo on zombie island , but it 's modestly elevated by james wan 's relatively restrained direction .",
        "what director james wan does in `` MOV '' is employ old-fashioned shocks - things that bump in the night , insinuations of nefarious spirits , even a furniture-banging exorcism - in creative and ultimately terrifying ways .",
        "... there were moments where it seemed the entire theater was holding its breath . we were united in one feeling : terror .",
        "... it is confident , it is beautifully acted , and when it gets serious about being scary , it is remarkably tense and terrifying .",
        "the seen-it-all-before elements of this supernatural thriller directed by the filmmaker who gave us saw , however , are more hoary than horrific . it might as well be retitled the amityville exorcist .",
        "it 's generic and lazy as storytelling , but this time there 's almost enough playful camerawork to distract from the feeble conception .",
        "wan has gotten very good at crafting those creepy moments ; now he just needs to apply them to a more interesting story .",
        "solid horror film that pays hommage to the great character-driven horror classics of the sixties and seventies .",
        "with its forked tongue planted loosely in cheek , this haunted-house flick is enjoyably retro in both style and substance .",
        "it 's a terrific throwback to more psychologically based horror .",
        "it never met a haunted house cliche it did n't like , but wan mercilessly piles on the uncanny events , gradually escalating the pitch from creepy to freaky to utterly bananas .",
        "MOV finds director james wan improving on his previous haunted-house yarn insidious in just about every way possible .",
        "again favoring tension over bedlam , wan issues a similar but successful follow-up to insidious , finding proper beats of fright and family to play in this throwback endeavor .",
        "mainstream horror at its best , james wan continues to impress",
        "james wan 's 2004 breakthrough , saw , was the definition of torture porn . his latest , on the other hand , is simply torture .",
        "sometimes a good horror film makes you chuckle .",
        "the drip-feed of old tricks and a slow-drifting camera combine to stoke our expectation .",
        "i would happily watch it again , which is something i rarely say about horror films .",
        "what more you could expect or want from a ghost story : it creeps , it crawls , it sneaks up on you and goes ` boo ! ' , all without missing a beat or running out of steam .",
        "a skillful , well-crafted movie that nicely melds the horror material with strong characterization and a deeper-than-expected story . MOV represents the horror genre at its best and most substantive .",
        "this is a successful film thanks to wan 's unique vision and characters you can care about . easily one of the best horror films i 've seen in quite a while .",
        "the film does n't require belief in demonic possession or the supernatural to be effective . it reveals secrets only as needed , and gets under the collective skin of moviegoers by cleverly exploiting old-fashioned fear of the unknown .",
        "it 's glorious and a reminder that the scares of a haunted house are visceral and , like chucky , live on the cusp of childhood , frivolous and frightening .",
        "the horror movie is artfully crafted from the first scares to the closing credits , with a bold retro vibe .",
        "full of atmosphere and ghostly goodness , the only thing that does n't seem to make any sense is the title .",
        "though it frequently lapses into clich\u00e9 , the real-life roots make it extra spine-tingling .",
        "here , if the plumbing clangs and rattles , it 's because the pipe is not a pipe , as wan defamiliarises everything in the domestic life of the perron family ... and conjures a creepy spirit to fill otherwise inanimate objects -lrb- and a lifeless screen -rrb- .",
        "despite having a story lacking in depth , MOV almost feels like a master class in conventional horror movie making , as though this is the archetype of the genre .",
        "wan ... builds the many bumps in the night into a small hitchcockian symphony of terror by way of long , eerie tracking shots , dramatic silences , and sudden scares that are frighteningly immersive .",
        "it 's not just the furniture that creaks , but there are still some effective jolts .",
        "terrific and scary-as-hell horror movie more in the spirit of psychological classics like the innocents or the original 1963 the haunting .",
        "... 2013 's horror film to beat . -lrb- video review -rrb-",
        "wan builds mounting dread with silence and suspense , lingering the camera unsettlingly long here , creaking a door there .",
        "slick , scary and with a sequel already on the way , MOV does n't reinvent the horror wheel but is still a frightener that 's worth your time .",
        "... a truly creepy exercise . you may not believe in haunted houses , but you will while watching the movie .",
        "as an exercise in classical scare tactics , delivered through an escalating series of primo setpieces , MOV is often supremely effective .",
        "the damned thing works you so well that you may even consider leaving halfway through , for fear you 'll have a heart attack .",
        "a well made horror film that ca n't be taken seriously . oddly , while it 's a much better effort than the director 's last , `` insidious '' was more genuinely eerie .",
        "a trim , effective haunted-house spook show , `` MOV '' is both a throwback to early - '70s real estate shriekers like `` the amityville horror '' and a big-studio response to the `` paranormal activity '' found-footage genre .",
        "creepily effective ... the cinematic equivalent of a well-constructed spooky carnival attraction .",
        "horror buffs will find -lsb- it -rsb- a highly satisfying , well-crafted film in a classical mode , with plenty of scares and very little gore .",
        "the poster for MOV boasts `` from the director of saw and insidious '' , which was a much wiser choice than `` from the writers of the reaping '' .",
        "like a game of spot the cliche .",
        "james wan 's haunted-house saga is well-crafted , convincingly acted , surprisingly restrained and scary as hell .",
        "it takes a retro-fashioned winner like MOV to remind us that if the creaky , old house ai n't broke , do n't fix it .",
        "hugely enjoyable , genuinely scary horror flick that provides a welcome throwback to classic 1970s chillers ...",
        "a tense and exciting haunted house movie , MOV relies on atmosphere rather than gore to serve up an entertaining slice of ghostie shenanigans with the simple ambition of scaring the bejesus out of viewers .",
        "here is a humdrum hunk of am-dram gothic , lent prestige by a few specious avowals of its basis in a true exorcism case .",
        "conjures up expertly timed scares and very little else .",
        "the film may flaunt its true-story credentials for the sake of lurid immediacy but , like the best of its variety , it has a healthy understanding of its own silliness .",
        "wan 's shocks are predictable but - yikes ! - are they scary .",
        "stirs up some seriously scary , supremely creep-ifying mojo . there 's something about this movie that you 'll swear is following you home .",
        "there are some top-notch creepy moments and the picture is crafted with real care but the denouement is underwhelming and my palms never really sweated .",
        "it stretches the truth far beyond the breaking point , but it is also creepy , scary and well-constructed .",
        "wan 's film is a sturdily built supernatural chiller , with next-to-no digital effects or gore , and it delivers its scares with a breezy lack of urgency .",
        "it will scare your underpants off .",
        "working with cinematographer john r. leonetti and editor kirk morri , wan carefully crafts each setpiece so that each visual punch has maximum impact to a nerve-shredding musical soundtrack from composer joseph bihara .",
        "this is an extremely effective , consistently creepy , and occasionally unnerving experience .",
        "unexpectedly fresh , alive , and vibrant - and wonderfully traumatizing .",
        "`` MOV '' depends more on its excellent cast and atmospheric direction than cheap gimmicks to raise hairs on the back of your neck . which it does , quite frequently .",
        "it is n't particularly deep , but it 's a grab-your-seatmate good time at the haunted house .",
        "MOV does n't have the big special effects of its summer competition , but it is an old-fashioned scary movie that uses every dark corner as a source of scream-inducing frights . do n't see this movie by yourself .",
        "-lsb- wan -rsb- cuts MOV into two halves -- an exhilarating haunted-house thriller and a grueling post-exorcist horror film -- but they do n't come back together in a living , breathing whole .",
        "as `` MOV '' progresses , the scares do n't register beyond standard issue horror gotchas . they 're as telegraphed as the musical cues alerting you something spooky is about to happen .",
        "with a sure-footed elegiac pace and a keen understanding that anticipation and what we do n't see is sometimes more affecting than the payoff , `` MOV '' plays like a loving throwback to cinema of the '70s .",
        "MOV establishes a thick , rich , and terrifying atmosphere that is sure to leave audiences biting their nails and choking back screams . james wan has delivered another horror film that is sure to leave one hell of an impact on its viewers .",
        "the impact is in the suggested and the unseen , rather than the gory and grotesque - just as it is like the best classic horror films .",
        "the polish belies the fact that MOV 's a sausage made from the ground-up leftovers of other movies . said offcuts are fact based of course .",
        "it 's scare-to-medium stuff with the usual ghoulies , ghosties , long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night .",
        "wan is super-talented at delivering frissons and jumps , he just needs to take himself a bit more seriously .",
        "the sound effects are the aural equivalent of a 21st century form of digital diarrhoea , guaranteed to leave the hairs on the back of your neck suffering from erectile dysfunction .",
        "as a solid spook show , MOV works , though the ending does n't strike me as big enough for the story leading up to it .",
        "america 's stealth auteur , james wan , directs unpretentious , inexpensive , stylistically consistent horror movies that spook audiences and scare up enormous profits ; he embraces the genre 's tropes and demonstrates why they continue to unnerve .",
        "i was not expecting to be scared out of my wits by this creepily crafted and sublimely superior supernatural horror , but i was . before the end , my cinema seat had worked itself through the three demonic stages of infestation , oppression and possession .",
        "MOV suffers from a lack of momentum that proves impossible to overlook ...",
        "a meticulously and ingeniously crafted scare machine .",
        "smart , stylish horror flick , though a standout more for its elegant performances than any original scares .",
        "what saves the movie is a surprisingly fine cast and deft direction from james wan , the horror veteran who gave us `` saw . ''",
        "the leads all perform with perfectly straight faces no matter how often the talk turns to witches and `` inhuman spirits , '' which helps sell MOV 's fundamentally silly story . but wan 's direction seals the deal .",
        "a classic , one of the best traditional horror movies ever made",
        "wan builds suspense until it 's almost unbearable , then adds a little more , just to make sure the audience is as terrified as the characters .",
        "treads familiar territory , but with style .",
        "MOV feels like someone chucked poltergeist , paranormal activity , the orphanage , insidious and especially the amityville horror into a blender , then added a bit with a doll .",
        "this is a director inspired by grand , gothic horror , more interested in long silences and swooping camera movements than torture porn or gruesome decapitations . the guy wants to wring you out .",
        "this saga of demonic possession deploys the full audio firepower of modern multiplexes , and does so with brain-battering frequency , like a ghostbusting version of a japanese taiko drum ensemble .",
        "one of the scarier haunted house/demon possession movies in recent years , it brings to mind '70s supernatural horror films such as the exorcist with its stillness , steady build of suspense and handsome cinematography .",
        "the dread gathers and surges while the blood scarcely trickles in `` MOV , '' a fantastically effective haunted-house movie .",
        "even in the dark , it 's clear where this is going -- but wan does know his way around a haunted house .",
        "with any luck , MOV will lead potential future horror filmmakers raised on a diet of torture porn and slasher films to rethink their approach . one can hope , at least .",
        "MOV uses every stock scare in the horror movie playbook for a dumb , yet charmingly traditional haunted house picture that manages to feel more retro than rehashed .",
        "wan takes some unpromising ingredients and cooks it with style , tension and heart-stopping surprise moments .",
        "a carefully , masterfully crafted and ever-so-crescendoing exercise in atmospheric dread .",
        "these things run on faith , not reason , like the silly amateur exorcism that will have to be intoned when a priest is too far away and the silly scientific paraphernalia carted around .",
        "MOV is the ultimate fighting champion of haunting movies . it is all of the movies . every single one .",
        "a very effectively mounted frightfest , played extremely straight , with very good performances .",
        "a pastiche of every horror movie you 've ever seen but one that is enlivened by the screenplay written by the twin brothers who wrote the superlative 2006 remake of `` house of wax '' .",
        "none of it is particularly bloody or violent , but young wan and twin screenwriters chad and carey hayes , up to now mostly unheralded in the horror genre , fashion a harrowing montage of thrills from beginning to end .",
        "the most spine-tingling exorcist flick since , well , since the exorcist !",
        "`` MOV '' backs up its creaking floor and slamming door tropes with episodes of all-out terror to send its audience to bed with a worrisome feeling in the pit of their stomachs .",
        "damned if director james wan , the auteur of saw 's rusted-edge cruelty , is n't an ace with enjoyable spookhouse trap-springing .",
        "boasting a stellar cast , a robust story and consistently energetic direction , MOV is a true old fashioned ghost story , and a damn fine one at that .",
        "thoughtful where its competition is glib , featuring substantive and relatable characters , and steadily-paced where most feel lackadaisical , wan has made a truly great movie . and i 'm only talking about the parts that i saw from between my fingers .",
        "all the contorting girls and pea-soup vomit in the world can hardly compete with a blood-stained sheet and a well-placed doll .",
        "australian-trained director james wan ... continues to exhibit growth as a filmmaker with a keen eye for genre scares ; if he can hone his ear to weeding out tinny dialogue , he will likely make a great film one day .",
        "though MOV claims to be based on a true story , in truth it 's based on every horror film that 's come before it .",
        "taut and effective edge-of-the-seat horror , delivered with style and an especially haunting performance by vera farmiga .",
        "you 've seen it before , you 'll see it again .",
        "james wan conjures up a truly paralyzing tale of supernatural terror with his retelling of ed and lorraine warren 's most disturbing case , creating scares through detailed and properly crafted horror storytelling - not a body count .",
        "wan -- who made his reputation with the first saw movie -- has a real understanding of the genre , and much of MOV is well done .",
        "this is a horror film where a pair of suddenly clapping hands gives you the heebie-jeebies , and wan does n't cheat with his jump scares .",
        "a solid , dependably scary ghost tale .",
        "how about that ? someone conjured up a good ghost story !",
        "rather than gore , wan goes for a more old-fashioned , character-based movie here , and , as a result , a treasure trove of typical haunting tricks seems fresh and terrifying once again .",
        "an uncommonly intense and frightening experience .",
        "simply put : with simple , creative and very effective scare sequences , MOV is the scariest movie of 2013 -lrb- so far -rrb- .",
        "without recourse to the gruesome s&m excesses of his `` saw '' franchise , wan conjures the chill of a demon breathing down your neck .",
        "this is n't an instant classic , but it definitely reaffirms that wan can do some interesting things within the horror genre .",
        "-lsb- wan -rsb- combines the ambiance of horror 's leisure-suit heyday with the more recent brand of well-timed what 's - that-in-the-mirror scares .",
        "there 's nothing new or original about it , but it 's entertaining enough , and one ca n't help but respect the craft that went into making something catchy out of component parts stolen from others .",
        "a strong cast and an atmosphere of real dread mean that despite a catalogue of immediately recognisable ghost devices , MOV amounts to more than the sum of its scary parts .",
        "it is scary , and it conveys something even rarer in horror films -- the ring of truth .",
        "in MOV , the scary casts out the spirit of the silly , permanently , and with a vengeance .",
        "better-than-average demon movie goes bump in the night",
        "director james wan , best known for creating the saw franchise , delivers his finest work to date . instead of relying on the graphic , slasher-style techniques that made saw a hit , wan turns to old-fashioned suspense , and the payoff is big .",
        "it 's atmospheric , terrifying , and brilliant in its intricately placed bouts of horror and suspense .",
        "MOV does n't try to reinvent the tropes of horror movies , whether it 's ghosts or demons or exorcisms , but fred astaire did n't invent tap-dancing , either .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- will have the hair on your arms standing straight up , and your brain screaming in excitement !",
        "easily one of the best horror films i 've seen in years .",
        "MOV is a well-crafted throwback to old school horror films , and the scares are unrelenting , but fans of the genre may find themselves guessing what is coming next .",
        "while MOV is incredibly well made there 's little we have n't seen before .",
        "just a good old-fashioned scare , if you get scared by that sort of thing .",
        "a sensationally entertaining old-school freakout and one of the smartest , most viscerally effective thrillers in recent memory .",
        "MOV is a masterclass in absolute terror that 's destined to become a classic within the genre .",
        "the viewer is completely absorbed in a story peppered with genuine , unexpected , bump in the night scares that will keep you on the edge of your seat .",
        "the trailer for MOV is scarier than most horror features of recent vintage , and the feature makes good on the promise .",
        "wan uses every horror cliche with blithe confidence . he knows no one is immune if the effects are sturdily built , and not too literal .",
        "sometimes it all comes down to craftsmanship . there 's probably nothing you have n't seen before in director james wan 's MOV , but rarely have you seen it done so well .",
        "MOV simply takes a standard story comprised of the usual components , and with warmth and commitment makes them not just palatable , but successful .",
        "it 's solidly effective at bringing the scares , which is all it really sets out to do , right ?",
        "by all means , feel free to initially underrate this finely crafted and genuinely scary production . making such a mistake will only serve to leave you more impressed -lrb- and slightly rattled -rrb- than you might have been .",
        "an old-fashioned haunted house horror story made by people who love them . classy , creepy , fun .",
        "the sound design of the movie is oppressive beyond belief -- this damn thing is louder than `` pacific rim . ''",
        "MOV 's use of tension , atmosphere , and suggestion prove that the scariest thing to an audience has nothing to do with what you see , but what you do n't .",
        "-lsb- wan 's -rsb- entire film is possessed - by other films .",
        "an extremely well-crafted piece of mainstream horror that offers a number of genuine scares .",
        "thank god i live in newish construction .",
        "director james wan does it again . first , it was the unexpected hit horror movie , `` insidious . '' now , `` MOV '' delivers the same scary bump-in-the-night thrills .",
        "in a summer of convoluted action films , the simplicity of a haunted house movie is actually kind of refreshing . sometimes you want processed cheese , and this cheese is nicely processed .",
        "... it surpasses the hallmarks of its genre with an actually dramatic storyline and all-around solid acting . just do n't think you can go see it alone .",
        "it scared the living crap out of me . only at the movies is that a compliment . so kudos to MOV for putting fresh fire into the overworked haunted-house genre .",
        "watching `` MOV '' is like getting a tour of a haunted house attraction from someone that pushes , and pulls you through every room .",
        "director wan takes a new pass at the creaky genre and comes up with exactly what you 'd expect .",
        "while nothing new and playing up and off the various tricks previous horror films have used over the years , ` MOV ' still delivers enough effective scares and spooky material . -lrb- full parental review also available -rrb-",
        "advance word that this would be the scariest horror since amityville proves well wide of the mark .",
        "despite having a fairly standard haunted house horror plot , james wan has created a fun , scary and beautiful looking movie .",
        "every hand that reaches into a wardrobe , every nervous trip into that basement just gets on your nerves . satan needs to get over himself .",
        "director james wan delivers effective scares , showing more interest in sinewy camera moves and building a slow creep than in mindless gore , but the performances are a mixed bag , and the script repeatedly seeks refuge in the familiar .",
        "an overlook hotel-sized creepshow that is genuinely frightening .",
        "leaving slashers behind for the murky uncertainties of the supernatural , james wan has found a way to expand his talents while driving yet another modern genre shift .",
        "wan is basically just remaking his own insidious with a few modest tweaks and a polyester wardrobe , and , just like that movie , MOV gets progressively less scary as it goes along .",
        "this one never really takes hold and goes horribly wrong about 20 minutes before the end .",
        "fans of old-school scary movies and j-horror , rejoice . james wan 's MOV is going to scare the bejeezus out of you .",
        "mainly , the movie wants to scare us , and it succeeds .",
        "wan 's hair raising methodical pace steers us through a supernatural thriller drenched in tension , and featuring scenes of horror that will sear itself in the mind and come back to haunt you in your nightmares .",
        "it 's not one of these one-note horror flicks hoping to make you jump ; this knows how scary it is and will get you by the end .",
        "it calls to mind films that understood that the less you saw , the spooker it got . . it 's as scary a film as i 've seen in a long time .",
        "wan masterfully tightens the vise on the audience 's nerves , using mood and sound effects for shocks that never feel cheap -lrb- the harmless kids ' game of hide-and-clap has never been so bloodcurdling -rrb- .",
        "if i was to use a single word to describe MOV , it would be `` intense . ''",
        "`` MOV '' wants dan and lorraine to seem like indiana jones-style hunters of the supernatural , but in this basic jolt-provider , they 're as fascinating as the jersey devil .",
        "MOV gets under your skin , where the goosebumps are .",
        "could it be director james wan was just a little too reverential ? because just when we could n't need a chill down the spine more , this carefully made horror story delivers way too late in the game .",
        "delivers a steady stream of fist-clenching suspense and well-choreographed surprises .",
        "MOV is an unusually sturdy piece of haunted-house genre filmmaking .",
        "james wan proves himself to be moving quickly up the ranks of terror auteurs . the timing , pacing and character movement are outstanding . and it 's scary as hell .",
        "a horror thriller that 's silly yet scary enough to give you second thoughts if anyone suggests playing hide 'n' clap .",
        "any hints of a smarter agenda serve to cloud the main one : `` MOV '' has been engineered to freak you out .",
        "like a prequel to every horror movie since `` the exorcist , '' fun , but more stolid and solid than scary .",
        "an `` amityville horror '' for a new century -lrb- and a far better movie than that 1979 hit -rrb- , yet firmly rooted , without being slavish or self-conscious , in the visual language of 1970s filmmaking .",
        "i 'm not the horror lover in schmoes know , but `` MOV '' is n't just a great horror film , it 's a great time at the movies .",
        "dress warmly and take a friend - MOV is a chilly and unnerving experience . based on a true story , saw director james wan 's slick horror film has all the elements to make your skin crawl",
        "the list of imagery `` borrowed '' from other films is lengthy . director james wan specializes in this sort of fare and his talented cast elevates the material above the dregs of the genre , which is an admittedly big and crowded basement .",
        "a character declares , ` god brought us together for a reason ! ' too bad it was for this movie , another over-hyped horror flick rehashing a four-decade old storyline .",
        "as resistant as i am to spooky movies of all kinds , i do admire wan 's direction ... . he realises all the potential in the drama , in the images and in the editing , managing to give us frequent chills",
        "its climax reminds one of the exorcist .",
        "the cast puts their all into the film , turning what could have been a clich\u00e9 'd filled blood-fest into a modern horror gem .",
        "wan 's latest exercise in jump-scare theatre ... better to call it `` the startling '' .",
        "... an old-school spookfest , a surprisingly restrained , moody picture ...",
        "so it could be a better horror movie . big deal . scary movies do n't get much better than this .",
        "haunted-house tales do n't come more imitative than MOV , which does n't emulate demonic-infestation and possession tales like the amityville horror and the exorcist so much as operate as a veritable compendium of their myriad tropes .",
        "it 's not rated ` r ' because of gore , sex or foul language - the usual suspects . no , ` MOV ' is rated ` r ' because its paranormal-based violence is so ... creepy .",
        "rattling the nerves while drawing out its palpable sense of dread , `` MOV '' is a proudly old-fashioned horror movie that tells its story with sophistication and care ."
    ],
    "summary": "well-crafted and gleefully creepy , MOV ratchets up dread through a series of effective old-school scares .",
    "id": "771312656"
  },
  {
    "movie": "election",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is smart and often funny .",
        "too smart for mass appeal . one of this year 's best .",
        "MOV is a bracingly intelligent adult comedy that shrewdly captures adolescence .",
        "reese witherspoon is proving to be one of the most versatile actresses of her generation .",
        "so precise , so hilarious , so biting , so smart , so perfect , in every one of its minute details that it comes as a sort of godsend .",
        "if satire is simply a witty exaggeration of ordinary events , then this is satire at its brightest .",
        "it 's an interesting enough premise and it 's executed with a ` rushmore lite ' kind of feel to it .",
        "a satirical scalpel that refuses to let you know exactly when or whom it 's going to cut .",
        "a satirical joy , due mainly to the performances of reese witherspoon as tracy , matthew broderick as mcallister , chris klein as paul and , especially , jessica campbell as tammy .",
        "reese witherspoon may well find that this is a defining role in her early career .",
        "this clever , biting high-school satire is arguably alexander payne 's most original and accomplished film -lrb- and so far he has made only good pictures -rrb- .",
        "payne and taylor are equal opportunity satirists and their sly wit dismantles everything from high school culture to suburban complacency .",
        "surprise ! an intelligent , well-written high school story that offers some real ideas to chew on , rather than simply wallowing in nubile flesh .",
        "dark high school comedy is best for older teens .",
        "an instant classic , alexander payne 's 1999 high school comedy seems even more scathing now that we 're losing control of our own MOV machinery .",
        "the treatment of this touchy material is impressive , neither gratuitous nor mincing , but this 1999 satirical comedy does n't really go anywhere .",
        "took the sleaze of the teen comedy and spun it into something that 's both hugely entertaining and extremely insightful .",
        "MOV at first has the feel of a simple work . but do n't let that fool you ; it 's a complex , deep tale .",
        "maybe its only real fault is that it 's a little too close to the truth to be as funny as it could be .",
        "a funny and horrifying allegory of american politics and adult society , as seen through the prism -- or shall we say `` prison '' ? -- that is secondary education . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "payne understands satire and possesses an innate ability to go for the jugular but sometimes his deft and subcutaneous touch is too uncomfortable .",
        "exposes the dullards who praise it as the very suckers who promote the divisions among people under the pretense of virtuous , moral insight .",
        "as tracy flick , witherspoon perfectly tows the line between cute and irritating .",
        "i felt uncomfortable for nearly the duration of this tremendously well put together piece .",
        "this is one MOV that could have used fixing .",
        "the film never finds a confident tone .",
        "the story rarely elicits laughter .",
        "production , set , costume and photography all help give the film a crisp look , capturing the inherent mid-western feel provided by the omaha , nebraska locale .",
        "beuller ? ... beuller ? where 's ferris ? oh , there he is on the floor . brought to his knees and he still has n't learned anything .",
        "kudos to payne and taylor for their courage , balance , and humor .",
        "... a surprisingly compelling piece of work . .",
        "this remarkable film may be set in high school , but its satiric take on moral corruption , political chicanery , adultery and seduction is anything but juvenile .",
        "a dark , insidiously funny satire on the self-involved ways otherwise rational people can allow narrow personal agendas to lead them astray to the point of self-destruction .",
        "you 've got to laugh at witherspoon 's tightly wound little miss perfect , rising at dawn to do her hair and encase herself in a preppy look before baking cupcakes to pass out at school as vote-getters in her campaign for student council president .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- wicked , carnal comedy .",
        "alarmingly insightful .",
        "the script , based on a tom perrotta novel , is tight and elegant .",
        "a deliriously sardonic and underhanded satire of politics and high school culture .",
        "clever , somewhat predictable , stylish film features reese witherspoon 's greatest performance to date .",
        "one of the funniest comedies in years , and the best teen flick in nearly a decade !",
        "a much-needed breath of fresh cinematic air !",
        "highly recommended .",
        "what is it about high-school overachievers that gets the goat of movie directors these days ?",
        "appealingly eccentric .",
        "the filmmakers have a great deal of fun at the expense of the pointlessness of high school elections , which are n't just popularity contests but overt wastes of time .",
        "a black comedy that takes off in unexpected directions .",
        "one of MOV 's many beauties is the graininess that gives the classrooms and corridors the homemade quality . !",
        "filled with all sorts of offbeat and witty humor !",
        "the satire of the season , a hilarious , razor-sharp indictment of the american dream !",
        "the cleverest teen-themed movie i 've seen in years !",
        "volatile and hilarious !",
        "a high school comedy with an unusual perspective and much to offer people who like to think while they laugh .",
        "terrific !",
        "MOV is a darkly funny , often twisted , and thoroughly enjoyable film .",
        "so blackly funny it hurts !",
        "crisply written and ingeniously plotted !",
        "witherspoon has the most expressive pair of nostrils in the business .",
        "this is democracy run amok .",
        "wickedly funny !",
        "if there were an academy award for body language , witherspoon would win it hands down for this performance .",
        "MOV is director alexander payne 's -lrb- citizen ruth -rrb- cynical satire of the american schools and the electoral process .",
        "of all the teen films flooding the multiplexes these days , this is the one worth the wait in line .",
        "cool !",
        "one of the funniest , shrewdest , smartest movies in recent memory !",
        "it showed promise and considerable competence .",
        "reese witherspoon hits her full stride in MOV !",
        "with narration from all four of the principles and a script that keeps piling on the moral dilemmas , this never settles for easy moralities .",
        "a dark , wickedly entertaining romp that wears its cynicism on its sleeve and sees no reason wash any of it off .",
        "witherspoon is hilariously uptight as tracy , the over-achiever . she is so cute and perky , you want to love her . sort of .",
        "wonderfully subversive !",
        "it 's a winner !",
        "tracy flick is a character you 'll never forget .",
        "the students are all a treat .",
        "fresh , fast , funny and full of insight !",
        "deliciously malevolent",
        "reese witherspoon in a performance that could become legendary !",
        "a fine , near-seamless film that finally suffers slightly from an inability to wrap up its tale .",
        "the movie hits its keenest edge as a portrait of self-delusion .",
        "an extremely sharp , multi-layered and inspired satire .",
        "payne could emerge as a mark twain of the cinema , gleefully pricking america 's complacent sense of morality .",
        "one of the best-made comedies this year .",
        "those who watch this film now are going to experience it as a more powerful socio-political commentary than the audiences in 1999 .",
        "a sordid and savory dark comedy . broderick is the flipside of his ferris beuller persona . reese witherspoon captures so perky you could strangle her to perfection .",
        "fun and funny , but a bit rude at times .",
        "blends deft human observation , solidly realized characters and a few slightly domesticated moments of shock humor -lsb- to create -rsb- a comedy as rich and winning as it is offbeat .",
        "a subversive , wickedly funny film .",
        "MOV features a career-best performance from witherspoon .",
        "the screenplay , by payne and jim taylor , delights !",
        "this is a very funny film , one of the best of the year .",
        "everything about MOV is as mediocre , middle-of-the-road , and bland as its topic .",
        "a subtle and complex satire , not only about high school , but about our national character and the current state of democracy .",
        "MOV is a funny , smart movie ... i do n't think i can do a movie justice without you , readers , taking that leap of faith & checking it out yourself .",
        "it dragged me , kicking and screaming , back to high school .",
        "a full-fledged critique of the moral emptiness of the archetypal ugly american - those driven , self-righteous go-getters who hurt other people .",
        "the humour may be vicious , but there 's also a strong vein of pathos running through the film .",
        "a tart study in teacher-student relations , adolescent pecking orders and the nasty vicissitudes of living in a world of haves and have-nots .",
        "a quartet of solid performances only adds to the movie 's strength ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV successfully combines dark humor and intelligent writing in this very witty and enjoyable film .",
    "id": "16574"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rivers_and_tides_andy_goldsworthy_working_with_time",
    "reviews": [
        "beautiful photographt contextualizes his ephemeral artwork ; but shows us little of the `` crazy like an ocd fox '' stirrings that take him there .",
        "the greatest triumph of the film is riedelsheimer 's ability to offer the audience the artist 's perspective .",
        "even after seeing rivers and tides , there 's still a lot we do n't know about how he works .",
        "riedelsheimer constructs staunch compositions using a photographer 's eye as good as goldsworthy 's , of which truly focus on the art and the artist 's persistence and creativity .",
        "a memorable account of an artist 's life , achievements and sacrifices .",
        "assumes a meditative , zen-like quality that sends the viewer floating away , like a leaf .",
        "andy cuts an eccentric but likeable figure genuinely at a loss to explain where his inspiration comes from .",
        "like goldsworthy 's art , it is primal , transcendent and truthful .",
        "goldsworthy 's art is magical , and the cinematography is outstanding",
        "the sort of film that sounds completely kooky until you see it . at which point it 's still pretty kooky , but you realize just how cool kooky can still be .",
        "we grab at beauty while simultaneously realizing it never can be possessed , a feeling brilliantly captured in this thoughtful and rewarding movie .",
        "a mesmerizing movie that is so incredibly tranquil and uniquely lovely that it is an artistic creation itself .",
        "it 's a plaintive , poetic and beautiful explanation of an artist at work .",
        "goldsworthy is mostly fascinating , occasionally exasperating , and so is riedelsheimer 's film .",
        "it made me smile a lot .",
        "very few art documentaries are as deeply in tune with the spirit of their subjects , and the implications are enormous , since goldsworthy is the rare contemporary art star whose work -lrb- what a radical notion -rrb- is actually about something .",
        "intoxicating and meditative by turns , helped by fred frith 's minimalist score , this film opens a portal into a singular creative mind .",
        "may have been more effective if the film had focused more on the stunning visuals and less on the weird new age stuff flying out of goldsworthy 's mouth .",
        "an occasionally enthralling documentary .",
        "if you 're going to see rivers and tides , do n't think of it as going to the movies . think of it as a visit to an art gallery .",
        "a cinematic tone poem that asks viewers to reexamine their relationship with both the word ` art ' and the forms that we 've sanctioned for its exploration and expression .",
        "i know of no documentary on a contemporary artist that conveys so much about the artist 's work so lyrically and directly .",
        "watching this movie is like daydreaming .",
        "a truly beautiful , insightful movie that captures the nature of this artist who forms art out of nature .",
        "it 's a beautiful , meditative piece that allows the viewer his or her own time to think and discover .",
        "when it 's at its most self-aware , rivers and tides precociously tweaks the pessimist 's view of art as an exercise in futility .",
        "most of goldsworthy 's work is impermanent , but rivers and tides captures , permanently , both the art and the artist , showing us a creative , productive life in the process of being well-lived .",
        "hypnotic .",
        "a beautiful , probing art documentary .",
        "rivers and tides : andy goldsworthy working with time is an extraordinarily spiritually literate documentary about one of the world 's greatest nature artists .",
        "a wondrous look at an artist and his work with lots of joyous surprises .",
        "an absorbing portrait of a unique artist 's professional and personal communion with nature .",
        "his work reminds us of an artist 's true focus : a meditative commitment to discovery , creativity , and the enhancement of god 's own invention .",
        "andy goldworthy 's work deserves to be profiled in this breathtaking , beautiful , and fascinating look in to nature , the creative process , and of an unassuming artist ...",
        "if the film lets goldsworthy overexplain what 's happening , it also affords ample to time to languidly take in the imagery and let its beauty and simplicity speak for itself .",
        "an engaging introduction to the sculptor 's work .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- not only a tribute to goldsworthy 's work but also a kind of animated gallery -- a showcase for a uniquely elusive art .",
        "sensitive and stimulating documentary .",
        "the artistry of thomas riedelsheimer 's film perfectly compliments goldsworthy 's art .",
        "watch this film . you may never look at nature indifferently again .",
        "goldsworthy 's approach to his art speaks volumes to me ... -lsb- his -rsb- works find their value in the changing moments of their existence .",
        "a mesmerizing and curiously satisfying idyll that gradually , slyly maneuvers us into a whole new way of looking at the delicate relationship between man , art and mother nature .",
        "the trouble with this art movie is that it 's more a movie than it 's art .",
        "... a spellbinding study of andy goldsworthy , a scottish land-sculptor who creates location-specific work using only the organic vegetation and minerals found in his `` studio . ''",
        "a calm and lovely film that audiences hungry for beauty will likely devour with their eyes .",
        "i often found myself catching my breath during rivers and tides , partly because of the jengalike delicacy of goldsworthy 's work .",
        "watching goldsworthy painstakingly piece together his artwork , we come to realize that his artistry lies as much in the act of creation as in the fleeting final product .",
        "it 's a film for those who want to see an artist unobtrusively seeking enlightenment .",
        "riedelsheimer captures this aspect of goldsworthy 's work and holds up a many-faceted mirror to its beauty . that is what ultimately makes the film so seductive .",
        "the film does n't just explain goldsworthy 's vision -- it brings us closer to seeing the world through his eyes .",
        "rivers and tides is subtle and meditative almost to a fault ... so it 's fortunate that the film is relatively short and that its subject -- andy goldsworthy , a scottish sculptor known for working with nature -- is so fascinating .",
        "a documentary that introduces us to an artist whose work is full of contradictions -- contradictions that spill over into the act of watching the movie .",
        "you will want someone to talk to about the film and acknowledge the marvels you saw .",
        "as the film 's images accumulate , the movie becomes a sustained and ultimately refreshing meditation on surrender to the idea of temporality .",
        "a lovely , curiously inspiring appreciation of goldsworthy 's unusual artistic vision .",
        "it is impossible to be unmoved by both the beauty of artist andy goldsworthy 's work and his undying commitment to it .",
        "goldsworthy is meticulous , eccentric , and very talented . who knows ? this may just inspire you to lie down in the road and make ` rain angels ' .",
        "-lsb- goldsworthy 's -rsb- art is meant to be evanescent , like the nature he reveres . we are privileged to see it documented by the filmmaker 's camera .",
        "mr. goldsworthy 's work is meant to be photographed -- ` photography is the way that i talk about my sculptures , ' he says -- and mr. riedelsheimer rises to the occasion .",
        "thoughtful and entertaining documentary .",
        "german filmmaker thomas riedelsheimer 's breathtakingly beautiful profile of scottish earthworks-artist andy goldsworthy forgoes the conventional biographical approach but captures something far more elusive .",
        "a tranquil experience .",
        "rivers and tides extols andy goldsworthy 's vision of creating art from and in nature and does it with painstaking care .",
        "andy goldsworthy lives and breaths art with a genius for reflecting nature back upon itself . riedelsheimer 's stunningly beautiful document of the purity of an artist reflects his own artistry .",
        "you can easily lose yourself in goldsworthy 's absolutely gorgeous compositions ."
    ],
    "summary": "andy goldsworthy and his art are beautifully captured in this engaging documentary .",
    "id": "155563735"
  },
  {
    "movie": "chris_and_don",
    "reviews": [
        "chris & don : a love story does what a good documentary should . it informs the mind and broadens the horizon while never losing its entertainment value .",
        "by examining this older/younger couple for differences of social circumstance , individual ego and personal desire that pertain to any love relationship , santi and mascara present a complex testament of gay experience . it 's remarkable because it 's rare .",
        "affecting and beautifully realized documentary .",
        "what could have been sordid emerges instead as fiercely funny and touching . even the animated sequences featuring the lovers the way they imagined themselves - chris as a horse , don as a cat - resonate with feeling and blunt truth .",
        "visually-rich documentary",
        "though a bit too conventional to perfectly reflect the unique affair at its center , chris & don is likely to inspire romantics of all kinds .",
        "while they might have had their ups and downs , the subjects of chris & don are a testament to fidelity .",
        "one of the most positive , affecting portrayals of queer romance in recent memory .",
        "a real-life romance to put all those rom-com fairy tales to shame .",
        "a celebration of love and art , whatever the stripe or medium .",
        "there 's a bit of pygmalion meets the portrait of dorian gray to it , and yet part of the documentary 's slyness involves probing those aspects while never losing sight of the pain and glories of any emotional relationship that lasts as long as",
        "a charming , loving portrait electrified by the inclusion of lots of terrific home movie footage . these relics of gay history are worth the rest of the movie .",
        "surprisingly , this 2007 documentary about their 34-year relationship becomes more engrossing as its focus shifts from isherwood to bachardy ...",
        "it 's a sentimental and loving picture , playing out as a leisurely cocktail-hour stroll through an enchanting life .",
        "isherwood was the far more interesting subject , but chris & don is all about bachardy -- an observation that feels like opportunism more than love story .",
        "despite an age difference of 30 years , their connection was immediately electric ; their first kiss , the story goes , broke a window .",
        "the documentary , made after isherwood 's death and with bachardy 's enthusiastic participation , is as much a love story as a chronicle of bachardy 's maturation into a man and an artist .",
        "long before anyone was talking about gay marriage , that 's what christopher isherwood and don bachardy had",
        "a wonderfully crafted documentary about a most unusual long-term relationship",
        "a great , revealing documentary ; one of the best films released in 2008",
        "primed as we are by a culture rich in both homophobia and dirty old men , we can be forgiven for anticipating a sordid cautionary tale . it 's a shock -- a happy shock -- when chris & don recounts a love that approaches the transcendental .",
        "a love unique in every respect -- nothing to sniff at and forever to be treasured .",
        "with delectable-looking home movies of the couple 's travels in california and europe , MOV offers an intimate portrayal of a passionate , enduring association , as well as a social history of postwar life .",
        "regardless of whether you recognize the names of christopher isherwood or don bachardy , this masterful documentary draws you into the men 's lives like a star-studded bedtime tale .",
        "santi and mascara are right to call their film a love story , because this is the portrait of a marriage as full and enviable as the greatest unions in literature .",
        "it 's an extraordinary film that gay audiences will find particularly salient , no doubt , yet audiences with an affinity for the writings of isherwood or nostalgia for the golden age of hollywood may find it intriguing as well .",
        "a charming , illuminating portrait of the complex and storied queer romance between isherwood and bachardy .",
        "the subtitle of the film is ` a love story . ' the picture makes the worn term fresh , moving .",
        "isherwood and bachardy 's story features cameos by a galaxy of literary and cinema stars , but few are as impressive as the protagonists , who defied the conventions of their times by living openly as a happy , well-adjusted couple .",
        "the work is a reflective hodgepodge of unnervingly ` cute ' animation , reenactments , archival footage , and bachardy 's own reminiscences , spoken in the singular british accent he invented just as he invented his own unorthodox life .",
        "chris & don : a love story examines a complicated and enduring relationship that raised eyebrows even in hollywood .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- much-celebrated documentary from the festival circuit ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV paints an affecting , enlightening portrait of a one-of-a-kind love affair .",
    "id": "770770039"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sinbad_legend_of_the_seven_seas",
    "reviews": [
        "excellent animation , non-stop action , interesting characters , more adult-friendly themes , and eris kicks *** !",
        "a swashbuckling adventure with gorgeous computer animation that mimics a hand-drawn style . pity the script is so bad .",
        "small parts of ` sinbad : legend of the seven seas ' show promise , but as a whole , the film never seems able to completely fill its sails .",
        "ancient mariner 's tale gets a modernized animated kids ' flick , travels the seven seas -- and lingers in your mind for maybe seven seconds .",
        "basically , the film does ` the job , ' but not much more than that .",
        "sinbad is a movie that suffers from a glaring lack of inspiration .",
        "it 's less the story of sinbad than a compilation of greatest hits from mythland .",
        "more nuanced in its depiction of ` good guys ' and ` bad guys ' than most adult action films ...",
        "... offers a literal illustration of the idea that broad gestures and mugging facial expressions can be annoying even when the romantic leads are only drawings ...",
        "aside from the staggeringly slick animation designs , sinbad offers meager returns on your box office investment .",
        "combining atmospheric cgi backgrounds with superbly hand-drawn figures , the animation in this arabian nights-meets-damon & pythius tale is breath-taking . it 's a free-wheeling , fun-filled , eye-popping summer adventure .",
        "that ever-present line in the film 's promotional materials -lrb- `` who 's bad ? sinbad ! '' -rrb- essentially says it all .",
        "... entertains and fully exploits all the accomplishments dreamworks ' animation department has made to this point ... `` sinbad '' stands as an accomplishment all on its own .",
        "for all of its freedom of movement , the film lacks real personality , and in parts , it 's oddly serious-minded .",
        "while younger kids will enjoy the magic and adventure , the real mystery is whether older audiences will respond as well .",
        "handily outdoes -lsb- treasure planet -rsb- , with bravura action set pieces , a surprisingly complex romantic triangle , and thoughtful exploration of moral issues and character .",
        "it 's a decent summer distraction for restless little ones , but not much more .",
        "even the voices of brad pitt , michelle pfeiffer and catherine zeta-jones ca n't save this movie from just feeling `` blah ... ''",
        "despite its flaws , this is a fun well-acted piece of escapist fare with action , romance , adventure , and monsters galore .",
        "fun , if standard , animated adventure with battles , innuendo .",
        "as routine as many live-action adventure films , right down to the competent but fairly undistinguished art and animation .",
        "a visually exhilarating mix of hand-drawn and computer-generated images that sets sail with a rather mediocre and clich\u00e9d script .",
        "a perfectly serviceable , if not especially inspired rendition of the oft-told sinbad tale .",
        "in many ways , sinbad is good summer fun , if a bit too dark and moralistic for the littlest ones in the family .",
        "sinbad : legend of the seven seas is one of those animations so exquisitely designed to resemble a live-action feature that you have to wonder why its creative team simply did n't make a movie with real people and the usual special effects .",
        "this is n't sin-bad . it is just sin - mediocre .",
        "the effects are competent , the action has exciting moments and the story is interesting enough , but the parts do n't add up to a compelling sum .",
        "a movie carefully engineered for an audience of exactly nobody .",
        "an efficiently amusing and unsurprisingly polished blend of traditional hand-drawn and computer-generated animation techniques .",
        "the jokey -lrb- and occasionally lewd -rrb- hipster dialogue is at odds with the period setting and subject matter , and the film 's mix of computer and hand-drawn images is awkward .",
        "you could take all the fun bits from treasure planet and sinbad , put them in the same movie , and you still would n't have anything worth loading up the minivan for .",
        "from the cheerfully anachronistic dialogue by gladiator scribe john logan to the spirited voice work by michelle pfeiffer , brad pitt and catherine zeta-jones , the non-visual elements of the film are great , swashbuckling fun .",
        "apparently dreamworks would rather put no muscle behind its finest traditional animation outing yet , a film with beautiful animation and a robust spirit .",
        "goes down easily without a hint of tedium ... still , this short length contributes to an overall feeling that it 's not as earth-shatteringly fabulous as some other cartoon features of the last several years .",
        "dreamworks ' best animated feature since the 1998 double-shot of antz and the prince of egypt .",
        "an entertaining though modest cartoon adventure .",
        "it 's bad news when a six-year-old walks out on a movie , which is exactly what happened during a recent showing of sinbad .",
        "bland music , marquee-friendly casting and crassly contemporary dialogue give this film the mechanical feel of a marketing exercise , not a movie .",
        "ray harryhausen 's original stop-motion sinbad classics are a hard act to follow , but tim johnson and patrick gilmore 's update , couched in a gorgeous palette of indigo and dark rose , is a big , beautiful thrill all its own .",
        "business-as-usual movie that is n't trying to make anything more than a medium-size splash .",
        "this dreamworks animated outing eventually surrenders to the paralyzing goop and arthritic formula that haunt 90 percent of the features churned out by arch-rival the mouse house - but somehow fills its sails with enough wit and wonder to stay afloat .",
        "the terminator kicked the daylights out of sinbad . i saw it with my own eyes .",
        "the voice talent here is so good that you ca n't help but long for a new live-action take on this jaunty and crafty hero .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- sharp and thrilling adventure combining 21st century animation technology with a refreshingly retro story of heroes and villains , and giant creatures that haunt the skies and seas .",
        "an entertaining , energetic variant of the blueprint , but it is disappointing that the elaborate set pieces and charismatic characters are ultimately in service of nothing more than the same old story .",
        "though touted as ` traditional ' animation , a good chunk of the film is computer-crafted . it 's jarring to see the distinctly different styles clash in the same scenes .",
        "sinbad feels more like a stopgap than an actual production : something to make a little money while they finish their next real picture .",
        "unfortunately , if the new animated sinbad were among the stories she told , poor sahrazad would n't have lasted five minutes .",
        "unmemorable and mostly generic .",
        "an ok film .",
        "undeniably enjoyable .",
        "undistinguished but mildly entertaining .",
        "it wo n't bore the kids much , but there 's something about the film that keeps it away from greatness .",
        "the disappointment is less that it butchers the actual story of sinbad , but that , with a little more foundation and characterization , it could have been very good indeed .",
        "what 's bad ? sinbad : legend of the seven seas .",
        "this animated adventure pops off the screen , flaunting state-of - the-art technology . but the story is straight out of the 1940s b-movie library .",
        "there 's almost nothing in it that could n't have been done -- in less time , for about the same money and probably better -- as a live-action picture .",
        "clever banter and eye-popping set pieces raise it above most other dreamworks ' non-shrek fare . still , it 's pretty standard-issue .",
        "a passably entertaining animated entry from dreamworks that 's closer to the road to el dorado than to shrek .",
        "with its uneasy mish-mash of computer and hand-drawn animation , sinbad does not look good , its characters are underdeveloped , there 's no humor and the storytelling is slapdash .",
        "the film is adept and generally enjoyable .",
        "but with a bag of popcorn and an open mind , this flick will provide a fine summer getaway on the open seas .",
        "having great vocal talent breathes life into an animated story and makes it more than just a 2-dimensional cartoon . ` who 's bad ? ' - brad 's ` bad ' , so is catherine , michelle , joseph , and dennis .",
        "too cute for older kids , too bland for younger kids and too cute and too bland for the rest of us .",
        "a dazzling animated action feature with a solid story and interesting characters , aimed at a more sophisticated audience .",
        "os personagens s\u0103o terrivelmente caricaturais - e n\u0103o estou me referindo ao visual , e sim \u0155s suas personalidades .",
        "this is not the kind of movie that keeps our hopes alive for a successful return of the standard animated feature .",
        "dreamworks animation has a lot to live up to after shrek , but this wacky and high-spirited version of the sinbad legend really is n't too bad .",
        "there 's much to like here -- a gag-filled script , impressive visuals and michelle pfeiffer 's classy villainess .",
        "if you drag a gang along to this one , be prepared to make amends with a trip to pirates of the caribbean .",
        "the kids will like its simplicity and manic motion , but if you want more than that , you wo n't find it here .",
        "feature length films should no longer be hand drawn if the studios want the public to shell out fifty bucks to take the family to see them on the big screen .",
        "the story of sinbad is a classic . if you 're going to tackle a classic , make it an enduring tribute to the original .",
        "a lot of fun and a thoroughly enjoyable family adventure which , though not on the level of the disney classics , is nonetheless worth watching . recommended .",
        "pitt 's mumblings result in sinbad 's inexpressive face , which gives us a movie hero who leaps from ship to ship , swings from the yard arm and battles fierce monsters without conveying a thimble 's worth of emotion .",
        "`` sinbad '' is a roller coaster ride as the able sailor -lsb- of the title -rsb- guides his trusty ship , the chimera , across the danger-ridden seas . it 's fun but not particularly satisfying .",
        "no matter how the stars slack their duties , the animators do n't neglect theirs . they 've wed the lustrous colors of ` flat ' animation to the exciting ` realism ' of 3-d , computer-generated work .",
        "there 's little here that is n't overly familiar and formulaic , nothing that 's even in the same arena with the eye candy of those vivid adventures .",
        "the dialogue is n't up to the promising animation ; at times , it is unforgivable .",
        "sinbad : legend of the seven seas lacks symmetry . but never is it remotely ho-hum .",
        "for decades swashbucklers have buckled under at the box office , and sinbad lacks the magic to reverse their fortune .",
        "neither sinful nor particularly bad , the movie nonetheless diverts us when it should transport us .",
        "thoroughly mediocre kiddie flick .",
        "passably entertaining ... some eye-popping effects ... pfeiffer 's catwoman purr -- soothing yet savage -- is exactly right for such lines as ` enough talking -- time for some screaming '",
        "its not that the film was particularly sinbad , but it could have been much sin-better .",
        "there 's plenty of action -- so much so , in fact , that i often felt like i was watching a video game without the interactive qualities that make such a diversion enjoyable and addictive .",
        "acartoon that does what matinee moviemakers of old never had the resources to do : allow their imagination to run amok in an ancient world that never existed -- but should have .",
        "dreamworks ' animated division continues its mediocre streak of family-centered adventures with the visually stimulating but substandard sinbad .",
        "an entertaining , colorful romp that will please kids while gifting parents with ` nudge-nudge , wink-wink ' jokes",
        "rivals showtime soft-porn in the quantity of drawn swords and frustrated penetration .",
        "sinbad is both square and as flat as sinbad and his sailors imagine the earth to be .",
        "this is one of the more tepid , unmemorable animated offerings of late , with no real energy or cleverness .",
        "it looks pretty good , features some nice voice work , has a couple of killer action sequences and generates a few solid laughs . but mostly dreamworks ' new animated sinbad feels under-inspired .",
        "-lsb- lacks -rsb- the sparkle and inventiveness of the stories that inspired it .",
        "the movie makes serious waves -- and looks its best -- when the swashbuckler faces off with gothic , gigantic , grossly malformed sea monsters . but other than that , kids might not care to soak in this one .",
        "lacking in wit , originality and spectacle , it is passable at best .",
        "derivative , flat and uninspired , the film attempts to bring the mythical hero of the arabian nights and all those wonderful ray harryhausen stop-action movies into the realm of animation without adding much to his aura or his stature .",
        "the old sinbad movies gave that sailor the narrative respect he deserved . this version is formulaic and crass , hardly the stuff of grand adventure .",
        "fantastic images aside , sinbad is n't much more than the tale of a ` bad ' guy getting in touch with his good side , as well as a love story that makes monster-loving little boys go ` yuck ! ' and that 's what 's too bad about sinbad .",
        "in the , um , grand tradition of treasure planet , sinbad : legend of the seven seas sets tall , animated ships a ` sail on a voyage to nowhere particularly engaging .",
        "on behalf of all grownups everywhere , i 'd like to say this : ewww .",
        "enough sleek cartooning and swashbuckling action to satisfy young and old audiences alike .",
        "although sinbad : legend of the seven seas may not necessarily have that certain pixar cleverness for adults , it provides more than enough good old-fashioned entertainment for the family .",
        "all sinbad has got to do is keep the thrills and chills coming , and it does so with boundless energy .",
        "even better than the similarly themed treasure planet . kids will enjoy it .",
        "directors tim johnson and patrick gilmore fail to deliver anything close to harryhausen 's awe and wonder in dreamworks ' take on the sinbad adventure .",
        "on average , the animation is as flat as the script .",
        "it only takes one big miscalculation to sink a movie . sinbad : legend of the seven seas has two .",
        "sinbad is rich with ideas and images .",
        "the story may be too slow and complicated for the youngest moviegoers .",
        "... the film was lackluster in its presentation .",
        "i would have liked the characters to resemble their famous voice actors , but a sinbad who looks as good as brad pitt might be too cute for his own legend !",
        "to understand how completely , contemptibly and cavalierly dreamworks has gutted the arabian legend of sinbad ... all you need is one line of dialogue : ` who 's baaad ? ... sinbad ! '",
        "the hero 's boat makes it back to port after a multitude of near-disasters , but the movie sinks ... though visually pretty , it 's bland , and though filled with action , it 's curiously enervated .",
        "nice try mr. katzenberg , but not a winner this round .",
        "the film plods inexcusably , and even the hero 's traditional non-bipedal buddy is utterly without charm .",
        "the script is a lifeless blend of comedy , action , and romance clearly based on a 21st century mouse house template .",
        "passable family entertainment that could have been easily turned into a more noteworthy animated epic .",
        "sinbad is harmlessly inoffensive enough to be enjoyed by the kind of pre-teen kids who love a good swashbuckling adventure full of all those cartoon cliches , but anyone hoping for more will have to set sail on another adventure .",
        "visually , it 's a winner , but , script-wise , it is sorely uninspired ."
    ],
    "summary": "competent , but not magical .",
    "id": "10918"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fighting",
    "reviews": [
        "this story of a country boy who goes to the big city and uses his brawn to make his way is so slow it 's almost inert .",
        "rock musician-turned-director dito montiel fails to make much of a fist with his second feature , MOV , though he deserves points for trying to add some contemporary new york city grit .",
        "b movie w / a strong right hook . other strong hooks include terrance howard and luis guzman . subtle , channing tatum delievers a solid performance as well -lrb- dancer to figher -rrb- .",
        "they should have thrown in the towel before it even began .",
        "a film that could only possibly entertain two very specific groups of people -- those who want to watch channing tatum and those who want to watch channing tatum get punched in the face repeatedly",
        "replacing a dance off with bloody knuckles is just bad movie making .",
        "the first rule of MOV is : you do n't talk about MOV . so please just pretend you can hear me giggling derisively instead .",
        "parental content review",
        "i think the screenplay is punchdrunk .",
        "i am trying to pinpoint just when i realized how terrible this film really was . it could have been the fact that it hit a dead end around twenty minutes in .",
        "why does it feel like there 's a good half-hour missing from the final product ? specifically , the 30 minutes where the characters and motivations are explained ?",
        "the director plays a visual game of three card monte on us for this silly , weakly acted and yet sometimes entertaining variation on the ` big fight ' movie formula .",
        "what montiel found on the streets of his native queens in a guide to recognizing your saints , which he adapted from his own memoir , eludes him in his sophomore go-round . he 's still a legitimate contender in my book , but in MOV he 's shadow boxing .",
        "too dumb to be taken seriously and too slow to be a fun and mindless b flick , MOV ends up being not much of anything .",
        "`` MOV '' seems like a no-brainer project for dito montiel that he needed to get out of his system before he can move back into an emotionally rarefied world as complex as that of his first film .",
        "... MOV is destined to disappoint viewers hoping for an enthralling bit of brawl-centric entertainment ...",
        "it 's like an exploitation movie that thinks it 's an art movie , only there 's no art to be found .",
        "too bad the boxing blueprint does n't provide montiel the profound insight of walter hill 's hard times and undisputed which perfectly combined class , ethnicity and existentialism into the two best boxing movies ever made .",
        "it 's all footnotes , hardly any main story , and overcompensates by jacking up the violence .",
        "still , the biggest problem with ighting is that fight club -lrb- which was released 10 years ago -rrb- got there first . on almost every level -- pacing , humor , originality , the choreography of the fight scenes -- MOV ca n't touch it .",
        "the first rule of fight flicks ? for god 's sake , do n't be boring .",
        "the ladies in the crowd will be demanding a refund when it takes far too long for tatum to show off those abs of steel .",
        "-lsb- tatum is -rsb- believably tough and appealing , but the long stretches of nothing between the fights make this a chore to sit through -- without a fast-forward button .",
        "stuck between the aggressively dumb and violent and movie its audience might be expecting and the subtle , tender movie montiel seems to be aiming for , MOV never quite finds its groove .",
        "you might expect a movie called MOV to be a blunt , literal affair , and in the case of dito montiel 's new film , you would not be wrong .",
        "when it 's not throwing punches , MOV moves at a glacial pace . for a film about MOV there sure is a lot of talking .",
        "the weirdest thing about MOV is how it seems to be MOV itself , as if there were a much longer movie left on the cutting room floor",
        "has stylish editing and moderately exciting action sequences , but that does n't come close to compensating for a contrived , bland screenplay that ultimately lacks palpable thrills and fails to pack any real punches when it comes to drama and romance .",
        "there are no surprises here - this is a story that has been told before , many times . but tatum gives us a glimpse of the charisma that could make him a star .",
        "like a poor man 's fight club , MOV is hardly a heavyweight . but with an enjoyable performance from terrence howard , the film is no disaster .",
        "the tell-it-as-it-is title hardly indicates anything out of the ordinary , but this bare-knuckle boxing flick is put together with more love than you 'd expect .",
        "the problem is that , even with some very strong acting , we 're never quite convinced to believe either the relationships or situations .",
        "quite how that will go down with his testosterone-fuelled , spotty audience , i have no idea .",
        "while everything is highly predictable , the film is well designed and bone-crushingly violent fights are ably staged in brooklyn .",
        "all of this , however , is plainly just a veneer on a solidly generic punch-up movie , and it thus becomes a drag . a more cartoonish approach would probably have been more fun .",
        "MOV is a testosterone-driven movie full of blood , beautiful women , big muscles and enough plot to be a good movie .",
        "montiel 's film lands on its feet with a gripping , will-he-or-won ` t-he third act - it 's worth the wait .",
        "you could n't call MOV great - at its core it is simply too cruddy - but montiel has managed to inject it with the smell and feel of the streets that he clearly once knew well .",
        "MOV evocatively captures the texture of new york city",
        "i like the way the personalities are allowed to upstage the plot in MOV , a routine three-act fight story that creates uncommonly interesting characters .",
        "white-knuckle action and bruisingly bad dialogue make for an uneven but wildly entertaining fight flick .",
        "though its rough-around-the-edges style occasionally veers into outright sloppiness , the film is an antidote to slick studio product like 2008 's mma advertisement never back down , and it infuses even its clich\u00e9s with the poetry of the everyday .",
        "as painful as the movie 's bloody bare-knuckle brawls can be to watch , they do n't hold a candle to the frightening spectacle of tatum brooding or , yikes , terrence howard doing whatever it is terrence howard 's doing in this movie .",
        "a film that is , itself , MOV to break free of its own contrivances and conventions",
        "the movie courses with the crazy energy and urban life that usually get sapped out of these tales of men beating the life out of each other . this one feels almost electrically authentic .",
        "montiel 's debut indicated that he had something real to say about working-class life , but none of that passion comes through here .",
        "a purpose-free , self-serious yawner that is just dreary , uninspired and hopelessly forgettable .",
        "a better title might have been talking as MOV plays second fiddle , maybe even third fiddle , in this gritty tale set in the world of new york street MOV .",
        "the protagonist happens to be played by an actor who looks more like a fashion model than tough street fighter",
        "channing tatum -lrb- gi joe : rise of the cobra -rrb- is crazy beautiful , and perfectly cast as a slow , troubled young man .",
        "call a movie MOV , you expect action . only include shots of channing tatum shirtless in the trailer , you expect to see half-naked tatum . MOV does n't deliver either .",
        "yes , both channing tatum and zulay henao ... have careers for their looks alone , and they 'd have better careers delivering pizza than delivering dialogue .",
        "the only thing you 'll be ` MOV ' is your lagging attention span .",
        "despite the formulaic script and cringe worthy moments , the performances from the leads and creation of the subculture are well executed by director montiel .",
        "there 's something interesting in this film and that 's the reality it brings to its subject matter . scenes seem real . and that 's a lot to do with the performances . they 're all terrific . but there 's the reality of new york too , there 's grit here .",
        "MOV consistently feels like a patchwork of better movies without their excitement or rooting interest in character .",
        "entertaining and engaging , MOV has action , romance and a buddy element in a tight , professional package",
        "montiel and his collaborators can pat themselves on the back for elevating empty material just a bit , but this is disposable cinema , designed to hit and run after an opening weekend . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "if you want to see a shirtless hunk knocking the shit out of fierce fighters , who better to do it than gorgeous hottie channing tatum .",
        "shot with pace , energy and gusto , the rucks are worthy of the title . featherweight , but not without scrappy charm .",
        "the film is lifted slightly by the performances of howard and tatum , even though the latter 's mumbling delivery is more stallone than de niro . but even rocky 's narrative had a redemptive arc .",
        "MOV has nothing to say about men willing to pummel each other senseless . montiel 's second feature is a facile , unchallenging watch , floating like a butterfly but stinging a bit like one , too .",
        "while there are punch-ups aplenty , it 's less concerned with bruised knuckles and more interested in the bruised personalities of its protagonists , making for a thoughtful , if rarely electrifying , movie .",
        "there 's the expected amount of fist-play and bloodletting , this is also a nicelymade movie that ably confirms suitably muscular channing tatum as a young talent to keep an eye on .",
        "despite its dog-eared underpinnings , MOV delivers some heady testoster-tainment . but it 's channing tatum who gives it a bruising grace .",
        "the talented cast deserved better than turgid direction and a cliched script .",
        "the bone-crunching punch-ups will knock you out , but if you want surprises you need to watch a real match .",
        "it 's lively , relentlessly clich\u00e9-ridden and , for no good reason - this certainly does n't contribute to an air of authenticity - presented in a succession of apparently and often uncomfortably semi-improvised scenes .",
        "strangely , perhaps because tatum is so likable , a sympathetic attraction is maintained well enough for you to leave the theater not complaining .",
        "murderously dull stretches of dialogue suck most of the fun out of this sloppy drama about a country boy trying to make a buck in the big city by moonlighting as an underground prizefighter .",
        "for all the utter phoniness of MOV ... -lsb- it 's -rsb- not so bad .",
        "there 's a lot of honest effort and investment here in character and emotion , which feels refreshing .",
        "director dito montiel 's jump from indie to studio film is mostly a successful one .",
        "tatum 's limited acting abilities and montiel 's lack of a consistent vision for his film keeps it from ever delivering on a promising central premise .",
        "may not score a knockout , but it sure wins on points .",
        "as innocuous as its title , this modest indie about underground street MOV boasts a gritty tongue-in-cheek attitude but -lrb- sorry -rrb- packs little punch .",
        "the film 's a watchable and forgettable clich\u00e9 stack , with a cherry on top .",
        "the rest of the narrative is a smear of gangster clich\u00e9s , head-slapping collisions of coincidence , and shirtless tatum scowling . one has to wonder how a homeless street fighter has the time and tools to shave his entire upper body on a daily basis .",
        "for all its attention to local `` color '' , MOV focuses on the white boy 's progress .",
        "it 's not a great film , or even a particularly good one , but every so often you catch glimpses of a better movie behind the simplistic structure and formulaic plot .",
        "this is watchable enough , but there is n't really much more to MOV than , well , the MOV .",
        "both howard and tatum do strong , measured work , imbuing some of the film 's terrible dialogue with a soulfulness that almost carries it through . but this is no midnight cowboy - it 's not even rocky .",
        "pretty much everything you need to know about this by-the-numbers clunker is summarized in the one-word title",
        "as predictable as picking the winner in a wwe wrestling match .",
        "MOV is n't a dreadful film , just one where it 's best not to expect any great surprises .",
        "the brawls have a brutal energy , and howard 's performance is magnetic , but one gains little sense of character from the improvised dialogue or tatum 's sub-brando mumbling .",
        "this should be a fun ride but it 's a kind of pointless movie that beggars belief it was made in the first place let alone given a big screen cinema release . go rent rocky instead .",
        "the audience are left with something in the middle-not enough brains , not enough brawn , and , most importantly , not enough ruddy MOV .",
        "the movie is n't that great but channing tatum and terrence howard are .",
        "while the characters are interesting , their situation is banal , and the MOV footage is absolutely terrible .",
        "its generic and lazy title notwithstanding , MOV is almost a good movie .",
        "this is rocky for the ufc generation ... but what dito montiel 's film lacks in subtlety it makes up for with heartfeltness , though not quite artfulness .",
        "if you need an actor to look good in an underground street fight , hire channing tatum .",
        "the fights may not be very convincing , but the story 's underdog structure is satisfying in a happy-clich\u00e9 sort of way . MOV is rocky without the bombast , fight club without the daft metaphysical pretensions .",
        "... shapeless and sloppy ...",
        "a sad-solid tko .",
        "filmed ... with a colorful , grimy intimacy that unabashedly showcases all of the oozing pores that the filmmakers can find , but never makes its settings seem unpleasant or unlivable .",
        "most damaging to the film is perhaps its futile insistence that it 's somehow more than a bargain-basement b picture .",
        "there 's only so much you can do with a clich\u00e9 .",
        "it 's all well-enough acted , but an audience young enough to find this dramatically fresh will be disappointed that MOV is n't the non-stop head-smacking bloodbath they are promised going in .",
        "it 's like in all this drama , they forgot to have a scene .",
        "grainy photography , unexpected wit , action , and some earthy realism elevate it above its cliches .",
        "there 's an effective , unstylized authenticity to those fights . a life or death mania , which enhanced the film 's credibility .",
        "this is a story we 've seen dozens of times before .",
        "by making good use of its new york setting , montiel does bring a certain indie grit to the generic story .",
        "there 's a better movie inside it struggling to get out .",
        "MOV arrives fully charged by the charisma of its star , channing tatum .",
        "the movie dito montiel actually wanted to make might be less marketable than one prominently featuring tatum rumbling with ethnic stereotypes , but it 'd be more interesting .",
        "it is tatum 's performance that leads us to praise men of brute innocence .",
        "at every turn , MOV is alive and unexpected .",
        "surprisingly this turns out to be the real deal , full of ferocious , red-hot , action-packed dynamite .",
        "disarmingly entertaining .",
        "wait for dvd or , better yet , cable television , where you can change the channel every time tatum stops MOV and starts talking .",
        "though by no means original or especially ambitious , MOV turns out to be a surprisingly watchable b-movie .",
        "the screenplay about a hunky street vendor turned underground fighter -lrb- channing tatum of stop-loss -rrb- is sloppy and false .",
        "MOV may find an audience on home video , where the flaws become easier to tune out and the things that are good - and that are , on occasion , legitimately great - are easier to focus on .",
        "in a genre where too many films are all brawn and no brain , MOV is a contender .",
        "the atmosphere of MOV feels grittily real , even when the story does not ."
    ],
    "summary": "though MOV has a likable lead performer , and the fight scenes are impressive , the paper-thin plot ultimately unravels .",
    "id": "770728101"
  },
  {
    "movie": "project_nim",
    "reviews": [
        "gripping , heart-wrenching , powerful and a sad indictment of scientific practice , which shows that ` human ' and ` humane ' are all-too-often mutually exclusive .",
        "gives us jolt of clarity into our ` playing god ' actions , one filled initially with both hope then despair that ultimately makes you ashamed to be human .",
        "you 're left with the impression that , despite not being able to grasp basic human grammar , perhaps nim was unwittingly conditioned into understanding the concept of love .",
        "nim 's journey is profoundly moving ...",
        "intriguing yet ineffably sad , what emerges is not the story of an ape who failed to be human , but a story of human failings .",
        "the saddest part is seeing him being given to a family with no expertise with animals or sign language and then having to adapt to too many different and increasingly restrictive types of lifestyles as he 's moved from one place to another .",
        "a documentary , stunningly watchable , about the 1970s american research team that explored the `` educability '' of a chimpanzee .",
        "one of the best documentaries of the year .",
        "as a cinema experience , MOV was never likely to reach the heights of marsh 's man on wire , but the eccentricities of his story made it well worth telling .",
        "in MOV marsh is much less concerned with the scientific results of the study than he is with the behavior of the human beings involved , particularly dr. terrace whose behavior was , to put it mildly , not a credit to his species .",
        "'70s hippie scientists were messed up .",
        "very quickly it becomes clear that the life of nim chimpsky is foremost a story about the human animal , and human behavior .",
        "a very absorbing film .",
        "easily positions -lsb- james -rsb- marsh at the forefront of contemporary non-fiction filmmaking .",
        "`` MOV '' is practically irresistible . the story keeps getting odder and richer and more complicated .",
        "if there 's one thing marsh knows , it 's how to reach your deepest emotions . he did it with ` man on wire , ' and he does it again here .",
        "james marsh 's film is more than a cautionary tale - it 's a horror story ... nim is a victim of human caprice in the name of science .",
        "marsh 's film remains a deeply haunting portrait of the unbridgeable gap between kindred species .",
        "the good news is that the film 's stylistic excesses do n't negate the many fascinating aspects of nim 's story .",
        "though marsh 's errol morris-like style can get glib , it never gets boring .",
        "the film as a whole maintains a precarious but rewarding balance between multi-generational soap opera and simplistic animal-rights agitprop .",
        "fascinating characters ... inescapably provokes consideration of the human animal 's primal nature .",
        "after watching `` MOV , '' a distressing portrait of a misguided 1970s language experiment , you 'll be glad you 're not a chimp in a cage . but you might want to revoke your membership in the human race .",
        "if movies about talking cars or warlike robots do n't interest you , MOV is the latest documentary -lrb- following buck -rrb- to offer a satisfying , adult alternative . it tells a story that is both stranger and more thought-provoking than ...",
        "a probing exploration -- at times painfully so -- of humankind 's arrogance as well as of the moral superiority some other species unwittingly possess . one of the five best documentaries of 2011 .",
        "at times hilarious but ultimately heartbreaking , `` MOV '' is a great chronicle of the 1970s and all the nutty ideas that implies ; academia in particular comes in for a hard reckoning .",
        "affecting chimpanzee docu is more than monkey business .",
        "what makes this film especially engrossing is that what happened between that chimp and the humans with whom he spent his life in intimate contact turns out to be only half the story that marsh , who directed the electrifying `` man on wire , '' has to tell .",
        "marsh tells this story clearly and sympathetically , and he has the backlog of film and the witnesses to do so .",
        "as in `` man on wire , '' marsh shows smooth craft and a sharp eye , and `` MOV '' is at once astounding and infuriating .",
        "enough irony here to power a half dozen relationship dramas , skillfully directed by marsh .",
        "like the experiment itself , `` MOV '' morphs from something inspiring and often humorous to a pointed and disturbing portrait of arrogance run amok . greed and glory end up overriding decency and altruism , and it 's heartbreaking to watch .",
        "nim is as unforgettable as the treatment of him is unspeakable .",
        "a stellar documentary ...",
        "it 's an astonishing story , and one of the year 's best documentaries .",
        "as nim 's story turns from scientifically compelling to tragic , marsh is able to craft a drama that appeals even to those who are n't exactly card-carrying members of peta .",
        "marsh ... masterfully spins a harrowing tale of human arrogance that eventually gives way to cruelty bordering on the pathological .",
        "fascinating and exquisitely executed .",
        "very strong and takes more than a few pages out of the errol morris playbook .",
        "nim 's story is so fascinating and telling ... that it would probably be impossible for even the very worst of filmmakers to screw it up , and marsh is not the worst of filmmakers .",
        "writer-director james marsh mines yet another long-forgotten slice of '70s madness .",
        "it is the sad story of an animal whose fate is left in the hands of people -- some well-meaning , some not so much -- who are error-prone , unprepared for dealing with a chimpanzee , and often uncaring .",
        "in a way , nim 's life journey mirrors our own , particularly if we end up alone , no longer having much control over what happens to us .",
        "tales of the attacks nim inflicted on his many carers are horrific , but there is a pervasive sense there was nothing else they could have expected .",
        "MOV nimbly serves up a profoundly sad tale that raises as many thought-provoking questions as it answers .",
        "this tale of a hard done by chip places a light on when unethical scientific research and the post 1960s counterculture combine to create an experiment done wrong in MOV .",
        "... succeeds as theater , as entertainment , but it does n't really attempt what terrace tried , in his admittedly morally clumsy way . what is the light in those feral eyes and what does it mean ? can we ever hope to know ?",
        "the film teases us with a paradox : arguably nim 's keepers were wrong to try to endow their protege with human attributes , but can we empathise with his suffering without making the same mistake ?",
        "funny at times , but also deeply sad , it 's a truly fascinating and well made documentary .",
        "an astonishing documentary about a chimp raised as a human and the calamitous consequences .",
        "sexual politics , family dynamics , the debate over heredity versus environment , and the dubious ethics of scientific research on animals are rigorously explored in this ambitious , bittersweet work .",
        "if only this were a media-fueled tall tale and not one poor creature 's lifelong nightmare .",
        "a darkly hilarious social portrait of the bizarre alternate universe of 1970s academia and an extraordinary biography of a non-human individual , on whom all sorts of human desires and ideologies were projected .",
        "brilliant , provocative , clear of eye and heavy of heart ...",
        "forget the chimp nature vs. nurture angle , someone should study the humans .",
        "another singular case exploited and expanded to look ordinary",
        "` MOV , ' an enthralling and appalling documentary by james marsh , chronicles the collision of two species .",
        "mr. marsh , by allowing those closest to nim plenty of room to explain themselves , examines the moral complexity of this story without didacticism .",
        "animal activists should push for public awareness of ` MOV ' and its sourcebook , elizabeth hess ' ` nim chimpsky : the chimp who would be human . '",
        "james marsh spins another gripping , if occasionally superficial , true-life yarn in his follow-up to the oscar-winning doc man on wire .",
        "MOV will be considered amongst the best docs of the year and another brilliant piece of work from marsh .",
        "this haunting life story is an exquisite example of non-fiction filmmaking as full-bodied , emotionally complex drama .",
        "there is no question nim was exploited for human gain , yet there are important aspects which marsh leaves unexplored .",
        "one of the 10 best films of 2011 .",
        "this is one of those great documentaries which could be transposed almost without change into a heartbreaking hollywood tearjerker .",
        "a tragic chronicle of animal abuse .",
        "like an orphan out of dickens , nim is a sorrowful figure buffeted by the winds of the greedy , selfish and more powerful ...",
        "MOV borrows a page or nine from the errol morris handbook , crafting its extraordinary story out of an operatic mix of crisply framed interviews , archival footage , and well-staged recreations .",
        "a fascinating , unflinching and tragic documentary about the chimpanzee we tried to make human .",
        "i was rooting for the film to end with a shot of the statue of liberty on a beach .",
        "this smart doc should prove the perfect summer antidote to most of summer 's films that require you to turn your brain off to enjoy them .",
        "a documentary detailing man 's inhumanity to beast , `` MOV '' ends up going past that to ask a deeper , disturbing question : just who is the man , and who is the beast ?",
        "yet another captivating , heartfelt , provocative and stylishly edited documentary from the brilliant james marsh .",
        "as he did in man on wire , marsh seamlessly integrates dramatized shots and scenes with authentic home-movie and news footage of nim and his human companions . i 've never been a fan of recreations in documentaries , but marsh uses them better than ...",
        "the ` nature vs. nurture ' debate rarely explores each side so literally and so closely .",
        "extraordinarily evolved documentary , proving it 's ethically and emotionally devastating to monkey with nature .",
        "director james marsh smartly , slyly suggests through cinematic style that MOV was far from an authentic scientific experiment .",
        "a focused , very good documentary instead of the great one that could have been crafted from this bizarre true tale with a bit more scope .",
        "it 's a gripping , unsentimental , at times unbearably sad real-life drama about an animal torn from his own world and stranded in the human one .",
        "marsh never speaks on or off camera , but his editing of the testimony makes clear his belief that in trying to make nim more human , his teachers made themselves less so .",
        "for a film where so many people seem , in varying degrees , culpable , marsh indulges in very little finger-pointing . he does n't need to . the indignities are hiding in plain sight .",
        "like many other good docs , this one leaves the audience thinking about the validity of the experiments .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- more than just a brilliant documentary , `` MOV '' is a unique cinematic experience .",
        "british filmmaker james marsh recreates this tale of an ambitious primate language study through traditional face-the-camera interviews , clever graphics and dramatic recreations . a powerful musical score adds gravitas .",
        "filmmaker marsh follows up the amazing man on wire with another thoroughly gripping narrative documentary , this time telling the life story of a chimpanzee that was raised as a human .",
        "marsh 's documentaries are inspired fusions of content and style , and here , the artistry intensifies the pain .",
        "it 's dispiriting to see james marsh deploy a rhetorical strategy of simply assuming human/chimp equivalence in order to stoke outrage at nim 's post-experiment treatment .",
        "full of twists and turns like a thriller , james marsh 's compelling docu deals with provocative and timely issues , such as biological versus cultural determinism .",
        "an impressively directed , superbly edited and utterly riveting tale with an endlessly fascinating collection of twists and turns and some intriguing points to make about both animal and human behaviour .",
        "MOV , a fascinating and in many ways tragic documentary , takes us back to one of the high-water marks of the apes-are-people-too era .",
        "james marsh 's MOV ruminates on ideas of ` nature versus nurture ' but these are by no means the only contentious issues raised in this complex , heartbreaking work .",
        "you end up fearing for the humans who contact him . at the same time , you feel his rage .",
        "the chimp comes out of it well . homo sapiens , of course , is found wanting .",
        "a corrective to all those family films and documentaries , many of them by disney , that sentimentalise - and patronise - wild animals by trying to turn them into quirky , mentally subnormal humans .",
        "marsh 's poignant film showcases the best and worst instincts of human nature and tells an extraordinary tale .",
        "this many-faceted time capsule sheds little light , but buried inside it are vexing questions and the still-beating heart of a special creature .",
        "marsh , who made the multi-awarded man on a wire , takes no sides but lets the humans speak for themselves , rum lot that they are .",
        "despite some heartbreak in the last half , this film brims with humanity and some priceless humour , too .",
        "the release of this documentary by james marsh in the same week as rise of the planet of the apes is wittily timed . it too speaks of caged primates , though its judgement on their captors is far more disturbing .",
        "about as far as you can get from cin\u00e9ma v\u00e9rit\u00e9 in its artful combination of archive material , existing documentary footage , newly filmed interviews and dramatic reconstruction , to trace nim 's strange progress .",
        "i was very moved by this film .",
        "it 's the scab of decades-old tension between those involved in the experiment and its aftermath that marsh wants to pick at ; and it does n't take much prodding before the conflicts and petty human jealousies rise to the top .",
        "the result is as scarring and engrossing as it is fascinating , infuriating and profound .",
        "marsh 's sensitive doc is a light look at some dark clues to the kind of creatures we really are .",
        "this non-fiction animal biography deserves recognition for a brilliant editing job in condensing the running time to 93 minutes .",
        "for the second film in a row , marsh has created a movie we ca n't keep our eyes off .",
        "MOV provides the much needed backstory to modern scientific achievement unavoidably earned on the backs of innocent apes .",
        "we are uncomfortably reminded throughout the film that all living creatures have worth . including man-made hybrids . correction : especially man-made hybrids .",
        "MOV introduces quite an extraordinary tale of woe from a puzzling subject , but its aim is slightly off , diluting the final summation of a wholly troubling existence .",
        "what appears to be a slyly amusing film about an experiment that sounds mostly just goofy turns into a reasonably serious indictment of those conducting the experiment .",
        "director james marsh -lrb- an oscar winner for man on wire -rrb- charts the heartbreaking and often incredible events without ever veering towards mawkish sentimentality .",
        "a gripping animal biopic that takes audiences on a journey that begins with laugher , amusement and bemusement and ends , in the case of several viewers around me , with tears .",
        "MOV certainly tugs on the heartstrings but the movie earns it because the story is so unique .",
        "the first great documentary of 2011 ... james marsh has done it again .",
        "the film takes pleasure in revealing the dysfunctional nature of its human characters , who are shown to be hugely fallible , much to the detriment of nim 's well being .",
        "here 's a documentary so slick , novel , touching and outrageous that your first thought might be `` this has to be fake . ''",
        "a story both infuriating and complex as revealed by director james marsh , who won an oscar for his last film , the brilliant man on wire ...",
        "this portrait of nim probably tells us a lot more about human behavior than it does about the chimp at its center , also offering sociological perspectives over the changing times .",
        "this sad , informative film is a high-quality documentary and another feather in the cap of james marsh .",
        "a thorough and provocative portrait , which shies away from anthropomorphising nim as much as possible - accentuating his animal nature as well as what might be considered more `` human '' attributes .",
        "a provocative and surprisingly emotional saga that ranges from wrenching to downright hilarious as it spans more than a quarter-century of unpredictable twists .",
        "after watching this eye-opening documentary , one almost hopes for a rebellion of the chimpanzees like the one seen in the latest installment in the planet of the apes franchise .",
        "marsh is too content framing the entire film around the narrative spun by its subjects , rather than stamping his own authorship on the film , and as a result it lacks the power and depth of his previous work .",
        "MOV tells a sweet , strange and sad story of an incredible creature that will touch even the hardest of hearts .",
        "marsh 's film is as much a study of how we behave as a species as it is of what happens to nim . and we do n't come off particularly well .",
        "driven by james marsh 's measured storytelling style , this ethically unsettling and emotionally compelling documentary is the equal of any cinematic epic .",
        "a bizarre , captivating and somewhat sad new documentary .",
        "marsh knows this material is explosive , so he presents it simply and with little sentiment -lrb- against all odds , `` nim '' is frequently very funny -rrb- .",
        "a thought-proving and entirely moving portrait of human arrogance -- in general and with some very , very specific examples .",
        "MOV does n't try to reconcile its different understandings of nim -- as an experiment , a child , a projection of various selves , and a complex , independent being .",
        "for a movie about an ape , it sheds an interesting light on humanity . animals may be wild , but only humans are cruel ."
    ],
    "summary": "equal parts hilarious , poignant , and heartbreaking , MOV not only tells a compelling story masterfully , but also raises the flag on the darker side of human nature .",
    "id": "771224201"
  },
  {
    "movie": "transamerica",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's not satirical irony when you do it with such overwrought vinegar that it becomes ugly and mean-spirited .",
        "not neat , nor tidy ; a road trip-redemption movie you 've never seen before . * it 's really beautiful , - i hope it gives people a reason to love and tolerate where they never might have before .",
        "the result of huffman 's and zegers ' fine performances , and tucker 's excellent work , is one of the most thought-provoking and best films of the year .",
        "if you can get past the transsexual element , you 'll see an often-humorous road trip movie that turns into a story about relationships and the bond that ties family together .",
        "an abrupt but unforgettable movie with rough edges that lend it even more resonance .",
        "it sometimes suggests a john waters drag farce trying to go mainstream and sentimental .",
        "in MOV , felicity huffman out-victor/victorias julie andrews in victor/victoria .",
        "the movie works , and it does work , because felicity huffman brings great empathy and tact to her performance as bree .",
        "huffman is on delicate ground throughout the film but she infuses the role with fragility , strength and grace .",
        "the film 's triumph is that it 's ultimately much more than a stunt -- despite occasional missteps , it 's mostly a sweet , penetrating , funny and intensely human story .",
        "the emmy-winning desperate housewives actress is sympathetic and quietly believable as a pre-op transsexual .",
        "with a tough-minded performance from felicity huffman and a script from writer and director duncan tucker that keeps its eyes on the road , MOV goes in for neither broad laughs nor ` we 're all the same ' speechifying .",
        "huffman makes it a must-see .",
        "as bree , who started her unhappy life as stanley , the angular huffman , a fine comedic actress who carried home an emmy this fall , is a compelling portrait of wounded dignity . she is wholly fascinating and heartbreaking .",
        "it 's all a little too cute and pat to be believable , and tucker ca n't resist showing us everything he has learned about transsexuals in between the embarrassing moments and odd encounters .",
        "a generally fun movie that offers a different perspective on , well , a different perspective .",
        "felicity huffman 's performance as bree is striking in much the way charlize theron 's was in monster .",
        "tucker never allows transsexualism to degenerate into a gimmick , although the movie sometimes seems to be having difficulty extending its admiration to anyone but bree and toby .",
        "everything about the movie feels gimmicky , including huffman 's mannered performance .",
        "the key to huffman 's performance ... is the way she plays the role with dignity . she likes this man , and so do we .",
        "maybe the hype had my expectations too high , but i expected more from huffman .",
        "a perfect example of an ordinary movie made unique by the powerhouse performance of its lead .",
        "cheap laughs lead to surefire tears , running together like a messy paint-by-numbers project .",
        "it 's a farce with heart , a meditation on identity , family and gender politics that has real faith in its characters -- even when the characters themselves lack it .",
        "there 's a terrific performance here by huffman , and an interesting premise . but for me , the script did n't ring true .",
        "huffman 's performance in MOV , as a pre-op male-to-female transsexual coping with the sudden emergence of a long-lost son , is much better than the movie it 's in ; indeed , she singlehandedly takes MOV to a higher plane .",
        "huffman ... elevates a film that otherwise is too comfortable coasting on the waves of too many simple-minded movies before it .",
        "a touching portrait of a world where everyone 's a little bit born again and a little bit lost ... re-examines our uneasy expectations about identity , family , and gender .",
        "the challenge of huffman 's role is n't just in physical terms , but also in bree 's conflicted state of serving at once as toby 's father , mother and friend .",
        "circumvents treacly lessons in tolerance and rewards itself with the resonance of re-birth and second chances .",
        "pleasant even without reaching much of a destination .",
        "while MOV occasionally feels strangely conventional , of all things , first-time writer-director duncan tucker unflinchingly tackles subject matter that most of america would rather not even acknowledge exists .",
        "huffman gives a rivetting oscar-caliber perfromance , but the tv-like film is more interested in parent-child melodrama that in the sociobiological issues of transsexuals",
        "issues of gender differrence are employed only to reinforce less original dilemmas -- family dysfunction , dating woes and -lrb- eek -rrb- meeting the grandparents .",
        "it 's mildly disappointing .",
        "i was watching the real felicity huffman , but had no idea .",
        "impressively realized on all levels , this transgender spin on the road trip boasts an extraordinary central performance .",
        "MOV : what 's your daddy 's bra size ?",
        "crudely directed by duncan tucker , MOV is part road movie , part comedy , part heartbreaker and part self-indulgent sexual sideshow .",
        "there 's a reason felicity huffman 's lead performance is the only element of MOV that 's getting any awards play : nothing else about the film is especially noteworthy .",
        "tucker toes the line between indie raggedness and studio-produced sheen . his script and tone carry the jagged edges of a personal story , with characters that seem to possess a free will beyond studio formula .",
        "a studio could have made the same movie if huffman had been playing a mother rather than a father ; writer-director duncan tucker has begun with a new idea and then made it as old-hat as possible .",
        "a ` b - ' film with an ` a + ' leading performance ...",
        "MOV is a routine road-trip comedy-drama with a twist .",
        "tucker 's patchy road movie takes the dysfunctional family to the outer limits of the twilight zone .",
        "the film succeeds on the goodwill of the performances and the message , which make up for the relatively simplistic story .",
        "not very exciting , but unexpected humor adds a couple of nice touches to this dysfunctional family/gender-bender/road trip movie .",
        "begins as a cult ` transgender ' film , then undergoes emergency reassignment surgery to become a mainstream adventure in parent-child ` closure . '",
        "if you think huffman seems desperate in desperate housewives , think again .",
        "huffman 's performance redeems parts of the movie but , until the final 30 minutes , MOV too often feels like a journey to nowhere .",
        "this is a surprisingly heartwarming movie and one of those rare films that leaves you wanting more .",
        "the acting can be so-so , the story implausible , the camerawork stolid -- none of that really matters if you care about what happens to the characters .",
        "huffman and zegers make `` MOV '' a road trip worth taking .",
        "writer-director duncan tucker does little to develop his narrative setup beyond the basic and obvious , and his film begins to feel more like an exercise than a fully realized story .",
        "defies expectations on nearly every level .",
        "the film itself is never quite as complex or daring a work of the imagination as -lsb- huffman 's -rsb- performance .",
        "it 's funny in spots , touching in others and uniformly life-affirming .",
        "you could call her desperate . she might even agree .",
        "it 's rare to encounter a performance so complete that you forget about the actor playing the role , but that 's what happens with felicity huffman in MOV .",
        "-lsb- felicity huffman -rsb- turns this small , resonant film into a cry from the heart .",
        "the strongest american debut since alexander payne 's citizen ruth .",
        "emmy-winning felicity huffman leaves the desperate housewives behind to create a memorable bigscreen presence in duncan tucker 's MOV .",
        "this road trip veers off the road violently at a certain point , and that 's too bad because it 's a really well made film that loses most of its punch in that one ill-advised scene . wait to rent it .",
        "the delightfully off-centered MOV is one those juicy little character pieces that allows felicity huffman to turn in an unbelievably gutsy , oscar-worthy performance .",
        "felicity huffman is such a wonder , at once funny and brave , playing a pre-op male-to-female transsexual in the uneven comedy MOV that she sustains several lapses that might otherwise have sunk it .",
        "before she was a desperate housewife , -lsb- felicity -rsb- huffman turned in this tour de force in what turns out to be a funny , charming , heartfelt road movie about a most unlikely pair .",
        "there has n't been this much gender confusion since victor/victoria -- and we 're loving it .",
        "you can sense -lsb- director -rsb- tucker and -lsb- felicity -rsb- huffman trying too hard to get it right , and strain is never convincing on screen .",
        "MOV is a road movie with a transexual twist , but it pretty much leaves it at that .",
        "an unnerving honestly infuses this film , from its near-documentary visual style to the gritty truthfulness of the performances .",
        "... in a constant state of terror at being unmasked as a mixed gender mama , huffman is phenomenal .",
        "sensitively written and directed by duncan tucker , it 's a moving , funny and involving story that takes us into the life of a transsexual who discovers that happiness is more than a nip and a tuck .",
        "... that rare film that ... takes us into the life of someone who might seem somewhat odd at first , but in the end turns out to be just a fellow human being .",
        "it 's a shame bree and huffman 's performance are trapped in a movie unworthy of their energy and courage .",
        "here 's one of the reasons that 2005 will be considered the year that changed motion pictures .",
        "by turns funny , touching and blessed with a generosity of spirit .",
        "huffman makes MOV worth seeing .",
        "despite the dullness of the main character , there are enough other interesting characters and plot developments to make the story compelling .",
        "it 's full of enough contrived and ludicrous soap opera-type plotting to make huffman 's tv series , desperate housewives , seem restrained and realistic .",
        "by turns hysterically funny and heartbreaking , MOV is a film of tremendous warmth , charm and perception anchored to a central performance of unique power .",
        "too clumsily handled to mean much .",
        "huffman gives it her all , transforming her physicality and her voice and revealing a character whose lifetime of pain and heartache is present in every gesture .",
        "lifetime through sundance",
        "huffman 's performance is the reason to see this sensitive , and sometimes touching drama . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "comfort food for a comfortable audience , with the tv-familiar huffman reassuring viewers that she 's really a real woman underneath that unflattering make-up .",
        "tucker 's screenplay is sharp but also sensitive , so the ample good humour never drifts into high camp -lrb- apart from the scenes with bree 's mother - and she is straight -rrb- .",
        "a well-tuned vehicle .",
        "a big part of the movie 's success is huffman 's irresistible and remarkable performance as bree , a character we identify with rather than feel alienated by .",
        "-lrb- huffman 's -rrb- performance is one of those rare pieces of acting that actually deserves to be labeled a tour de force .",
        "la sorprendente composici\u00f3n de felicity huffman es el principal atractivo de esta road movie agridulce .",
        "what keeps huffman 's turn from being mere spectacle is the actor 's perceptive compassion for her character .",
        "a collision of adult sexual contradictions and teenage sexual survival filled with sensitivity , respect and , above all , humor .",
        "the best , and perhaps the only , reason to see duncan tucker 's MOV is for felicity huffman 's touching , shape-shifting performance as bree , a transgendered man on the verge of surgery to become a woman .",
        "an awkward yet engrossing first feature from writer-director duncan tucker .",
        "-lsb- felicity -rsb- huffman is on my long list for award note come the end of the year .",
        "... may not be a revolutionary film in the vein of `` the crying game '' or `` boys do n't cry , '' but it works as a road trip dramedy with a twist ...",
        "-lsb- felicity huffman 's -rsb- complex portrayal sometimes does n't fit the film 's broad , sitcom-style humor and thinly drawn supporting characters .",
        "MOV , starring felicity huffman as a pre-operative transsexual , is touching and sometimes funny , despite its overall air of indie earnestness .",
        "a crushingly dull film which practically hides huffman 's breakthrough performance behind a wall of indie screenwriting 101 clich\u00e9s .",
        "MOV , the feature debut of writer-director duncan tucker , never lets us forget that it 's a nonmainstream story about a nonmainstream subject , when ideally , it should simply be a story about a person .",
        "this unlikely director-writer has managed to show us something many of his hollywood peers ca n't -- how truth hurts , and that once confronted it ultimately builds a better sense of self-dignity .",
        "surprisingly centered and calm , neither exploiting the story 's sensational aspects nor ignoring them . it finds comedy and drama in the same places , often at the same time .",
        "if tucker 's road map often feels a little too confining and the screwball comedy too contrived , he can take credit for introducing viewers to a character they have almost certainly never met before .",
        "the delightful balancing of whimsy and deadly seriousness , light-hearted humor and cutting parody ... underscore the transgender message .",
        "huffman goes all out ... but writer/director duncan tucker plunks her down in the middle of a fairly average and ultimately routine road picture .",
        "MOV travels miles beyond road-movie cliches , chiefly through huffman 's oscar-worthy acting , but also through the realization that we are all freaks beneath our masks of gender differences and social conventions .",
        "MOV is a strange and wonderful film about becoming one 's true self , whatever that may entail .",
        "MOV provides the frame and the occasion for one of the year 's best performances , felicity huffman 's as a woman trapped in a man 's body who 's passing for female while awaiting a sex-change operation .",
        "a love story about two outsiders and their journey across america in search of self-respect and love .",
        "huffman ... -lsb- is -rsb- no more convincingly feminine than tony curtis or jack lemmon in some like it hot , and i 'm not sure whether that 's a compliment to her performance or a criticism .",
        "huffman 's biggest achievement comes from maintaining her character 's dignity and finding the necessary emotional tone that prevents MOV from sinking",
        "this is a very human story and not nearly as pat as it might have been .",
        "my congratulations to huffman for the best damned sex-change operation * result * in medical history !",
        "felicity huffman truly shines in a role that makes you forget she 's a man ... er ... woman .",
        "laugh-out-loud funny , tartly off-color and ultimately touching .",
        "duncan tucker has created a touching , nonjudgmental human drama about a protagonist who feels out of sorts with her body .",
        "with so much stereotypical melodrama , MOV is not a great film , but huffman 's performance transcends that : the movie may be nothing special , but she is .",
        "it yanks at the heartstrings too much to qualify as an edgy comedy-drama , but it 's far too bawdy to make it to the hallmark channel .",
        "for artistry and degree of technical difficulty , this judge awards felicity huffman a 10 for her performance in MOV . but as with so many elaborate olympic sports , this judge asks for clarification : what is the point of the exercise ?",
        "MOV is to wong foo but with a pre-op tranny protagonist and a strained parent-child dynamic .",
        "the most original american movie comedy this year .",
        "felicity huffman 's face is what holds you in duncan tucker 's delightful MOV .",
        "ms. huffman 's greatest acting achievement as bree is her ultimate unleashing of an intelligence and level-headedness that is truly beyond gender .",
        "wo n't be winning any awards for originality or visionary achievement , but in its own small , sweet way , the film -- and felicity huffman -- win you over .",
        "boosted by plenty of choice dialogue , including a queer analysis of the return of the king that sidesteps post-tarantino cuteness .",
        "it 's got a lot of humanity and a lot of heart . it 's smart .",
        "felicity huffman astonishes with her skill , her dignity , her bravura style and her knockout performance ."
    ],
    "summary": "a terrific performance by felicity huffman carries this unconventional but touching transgender road movie .",
    "id": "50374652"
  },
  {
    "movie": "captivity",
    "reviews": [
        "a spirit-sapping exercise in female degradation fantasy .",
        "does exactly what it says on the tin , grabbing viewers unawares and keeping them in its thrall for an hour and a half of non-stop , heart-pounding exploitation kicks .",
        "the film 's clunky point-of-view shift and obviously re-shot climax are likely to have you choking in disbelief .",
        "torture junkies should remember it 's only four months to saw iv -- so you can afford to avoid MOV .",
        "a film of two halves , while the first is original , bleak and psychologically disturbing , the second could n't be more conventional if it tried . by the end , we 're the ones feeling like we 've been drugged and duped - into watching this nonsense .",
        "joffe and his screenwriter larry cohen deserve a little credit for pointing up the psychological horrors where they can , but MOV is still a grubby , exploitative film with an extremely guessable twist and universally dull performances .",
        "the film itself is a very sorry and unthrilling piece of nastiness , peddling some pretty crass nonsense about what it imagines to be female psychology .",
        "roland joff\u00e9 's feeble attempt to swing with the latest horror-flick fashion for gratuitous sensation is embarrassing",
        "the film itself is sordid , unpleasant viewing , as promised , yet more tedious than terrifying .",
        "some inventive individual moments aside , MOV is off-puttingly derivative and clumsily written .",
        "there 's no deeper significance , no clever mind game played on the audience , no commentary on violence . frankly , it 's kinda dull .",
        "... sitting through it is a form of torture that far outstrips anything seen on the screen .",
        "one has to worry about a world where there is a constant appetite for films like this one .",
        "lands with a resounding splat somewhere between the realm of the truly repellent and the unintentionally funny .",
        "i never thought i 'd say this , but this movie gives torture porn a bad name .",
        "rarely have i found myself so uncomfortable viewing anything over such an extended period of time . there 's nothing redeemable here . it 's not tense or scary ; it 's just demented .",
        "the worst , stupidest , and most pointless movie i 've seen in a very long time .",
        "this is n't filmmaking it 's shock treatment .",
        "MOV is the kind of film that gives torture porn a bad name . it 's disturbing in the most unpleasant ways possible outside of abu ghraib or battlefield snuff films .",
        "screw the culture cops who freaked out over MOV 's graphic poster and always cry ` torture porn ' -- this is a gleefully nasty piece of red meat for horror hounds that delivers as promised .",
        "even in the fetid swamp of the torture porn genre , it stands out as a particularly awful movie .",
        "plunges the viewer almost directly into its nightmarish scenario .",
        "what could have at least been a halfway decent house-of-horrors scary movie digresses into a puddle of fake blood in this stale little thriller that peaks when its resident baddie mixes a batch of eyeballs in an electric blender .",
        "the picture is n't scary , or even disgusting , really ; it 's oppressive -- dark and unpleasant in a depressingly unimaginative way .",
        "even worse than the movie 's being torture-porn junk is the fact that it 's also incredibly boring ... as predictable as it is ugly and tedious .",
        "a well-trotted mess",
        "it sure beats hearing you have cancer .",
        "it 's just the same old same old repackaged as the new worst offender .",
        "no acting , no pulse-pounding suspense , no humor or vicarious visceral thrills . there 's a story , here , and not on the screen . it 's about what happened to a once-fine filmmaker that brought him this low .",
        "as a horror/thriller trying to add another dimension to what has gone before in countless low budget american incarnations , MOV feels like a cop out given its promising beginnings .",
        "this saw wannabe fails on many levels , including forgetting to do what it 's supposed to do : deliver potentially delicious gory moments .",
        "MOV the movie has been thoroughly eclipsed by MOV the marketing .",
        "... so ineptly conceived and staged it could be the first torture-porn comedy",
        "MOV is an abomination , and perhaps a new low in the torture-porn genre : a film i liked even less than hostel .",
        "like black snake moan , this is a film where poster campaign proves more provocative than content .",
        "if critics offended by the rise of the horror-movie sub-genre they 've derisively tagged ` torture porn ' ever needed a prime suspect to haul before any moral court , the first 20 minutes of this brutal kidnapping thriller from roland joffe would work .",
        "a badly written , poorly directed and appallingly acted mess .",
        "no real setup , minimal explanation as to why it 's happening .",
        "chillingly enjoyable .",
        "polished and atmospheric , but utterly vacuous .",
        "veteran writer larry cohen has shown a knack for claustrophobic thrillers -lrb- phone booth -rrb- , but this tawdry effort is almost entirely lacking in stealth and suspense .",
        "larry cohen , an experienced horror hand , wrote this , and joff\u00e9 does his best to keep the tension boiling up to a ridiculous climax . even so , everybody involved should be ashamed of this nasty farrago .",
        "it flunks because it 's one of the daftest , dullest films i 've seen in an absolute age .",
        "with only hunky daniel gillies on hand to offer help and essential hair products , the question is can her career survive such a lame script ? in a word , no .",
        "if the filmmakers want to shock us , fine , but at least do it with some style and wit .",
        "courtney solomon tried to polish the turd by adding some torture scenes , but all he did was make the turd turdier .",
        "once in a while , mainstream america is exposed to a movie for which there is no earthly purpose .",
        "it 's a saw rip-off with less smarts . -lrb- take a moment , please , to allow that sentence to sink in . -rrb-",
        "slick , sick sleaze .",
        "MOV has the compulsory quality of a straight-to-dvd movie -- and considering the fast-fading torture-porn movement , that 's no doubt the destiny of similar offerings to follow .",
        "a poseur grand guignol , artistically indefensible and rank without purpose .",
        "the controversy may have piqued the curiosity of horror fans but the film is undeserving of any further attention , managing to be both nastily unpleasant and laughably ludicrous .",
        "only about twelve people you know are likely to ever see the film . eleven will hate it . avoid hanging out with the twelfth .",
        "destined to be better remembered for its grisly billboard imagery than for its relatively tame torture-porn tropes .",
        "what made the esteemed director of the killing fields and the mission stoop to this is anybody 's guess .",
        "it feels desperate from beginning to end , and is only offensive in that it presumes to be better than we think ...",
        "more dull than upsetting -- repetitive than worth condemnation .",
        "when , in the last few minutes , cuthbert finally slipped her bonds and began looking for her tormentors , i knew exactly how she felt .",
        "although shot with a modicum of style by a seriously slumming roland joffe ... nothing terribly thrilling happens in this ` thriller . '",
        "inexplic\u0431vel , como o director de a miss\u0433o pode ser tamb\u0439m o respons\u0431vel por este filme vazio , est\u044apido e repleto de momentos acidentalmente hil\u0431rios em fun\u0437\u0433o de sua imbecilidade .",
        "you can afford to avoid MOV .",
        "with the exception of ramming my head into a brick wall , then backing up and repeating the exercise , i ca n't think of anything i 'd rather not be doing on a friday afternoon .",
        "it 's not scary because not one second is believable .",
        "joff\u0439 's interest clearly lies in society 's obsession with celebrity rather than the nuances of the genre , but cohen 's precision script succeeds in keeping him on the terror track .",
        "there 's something about MOV that 'll keep you watching ; it could be your morbid curiosity , perhaps it 's a sick bloodlust , or maybe , just maybe , it 's because elisha cuthbert is clad in a low-cut dress at all times . my money 's on all three .",
        "little more than a grungy-looking tv movie of the week with some pointless gore tossed in .",
        "what a loathsome , reckless and sickening glimpse into madness this is .",
        "-lsb- joffe -rsb- makes us almost willing to overlook the unspeakable sadism of the first half -- but no , it 's asking too much .",
        "without even calling into question the morals of a film which seems to exist only to depict the suffering of multiple women through hideous tortures , the film is still an empty mess , offering only a minor afterthought of an explanation to who is doing the",
        "the only smart move made by the filmmakers was casting pruitt taylor vince as the torturer . too bad you only get to see his face for a coupla minutes . man , that 's one freaky-lookin ' dude .",
        "a film so ill-conceived and woeful that it effectively serves as a device of torture itself device -- on the viewer .",
        "the real horror here is how anyone , especially a two-time oscar nominated director , could be this hard up for work .",
        "i never , ever imagined the experience of spending 80 minutes watching elisha cuthbert could be so punishing and vile .",
        "if this is cuthbert 's idea of being , as she claims , choosy about the horror offers she accepts , heaven help us from the ones she 's turned down .",
        "the first audience member stood up when battery acid was about to be poured on a young girl 's face ...",
        "-lsb- joffe -rsb- brings an artful video-grunge look , and not much else , to this saw clone .",
        "the irony is that MOV is about the things it 's hated for - a culture that views women as objects , fascination with death and mutilation , turning to the misery of others for our entertainment ."
    ],
    "summary": "lacking scares or psychological insight , MOV is a distasteful entry in the ` torture porn ' subgenre .",
    "id": "535227372"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sideways",
    "reviews": [
        "` la fortaleza del filme se encuentra en el enorme respeto que payne muestra por sus personajes , as\u044c como en un estupendo elenco como el que pocas veces se puede juntar '",
        "the movie has an abundance of high energy and good spirits and seldom takes itself too seriously ...",
        "payne and taylor excel at getting underneath these tough exteriors and portray these people for what they are , warts and all .",
        "built upon its characters and would have been ordinary if it had n't been for the excellent casting .",
        "was `` MOV '' worth the price of admission ? yes , but the overt sexual references make it hard for me to recommend it to anyone i might have to face later .",
        "the underdevelopment of some characters can be attributed to an overriding decision to caricaturize the subjects of the film .",
        "intelligent , funny and moving .",
        "maintains a deft balance between breezy joviality and understated poignancy .",
        "this is more fun than most art films and should be a legitimate oscar contender .",
        "i really , really liked this movie , but i have to admit that i think it is a tad overrated .",
        "MOV is bound to end up the single funniest movie of the year , although rarely in a laugh-out-loud way .",
        "captures the unflattering male psyche like no film since roger dodger .",
        "this is n't the sort of road comedy we 're used to seeing . its humor is more likely to provoke smiles and light chuckles than guffaws .",
        "the film 's cassavetes-style aimlessness -lrb- think of it as a west coast husbands -rrb- gets a jolt when each of the guys pairs up with a willing woman .",
        "pull the cork on MOV and savor .",
        "much like altman , hal ashby and billy wilder -- three filmmakers whose movies are celebrated for their naturalism , their humanism and their wicked , often merciless satire -- payne makes films about ordinary people with their rumples and flaws left intact ,",
        "intoxicating ... but the bittersweet truth about the rare , high-spirited MOV is that its last few miles are all uphill .",
        "payne 's beautiful command of his content diverts your attention away from the fact it 's a typical road movie .",
        "alexander payne is becoming one of the greatest american directors of modern cinema and again , MOV is on its way to being one of the best films of the year .",
        "MOV is such a giddy pleasure that it 's hard to talk about without wanting to share every little secret you discover along the way .",
        "raise a glass in celebration .",
        "always a resourceful , thoughtful performer , madsen almost offsets MOV ' overriding , occasionally prosaic interest in the boys ' journey .",
        "the people seem real , the restaurants feel as if you could just walk right in ... and the homes are messy and lived-in . payne captures his locations with honesty .",
        "a perfect film without a wrong note .",
        "it truly is a testament to payne 's skill that MOV has come out a deeply entertaining and intensely honest motion picture .",
        "it moves off course into areas you would n't anticipate .",
        "much of MOV is top-notch , with witty banter reminiscent of excellent films like diner and wonder boys .",
        "this is a building-block movie : its stand-out excellence becomes apparent only gradually .",
        "a film like MOV is the fulfillment of many hopes and desires , an audience 's not least of all .",
        "this is a lovely film-agreeably rambling .",
        "californians will want to see this for the familiar scenery , but anyone who has ever loved , lost or wished for a better glass of wine would be well advised to take it in as well .",
        "it 's a joy to watch comedy unfold so naturally , the laughs gently teased out from our growing knowledge of the characters , their imperfections , doubts and , yes , emotional pain .",
        "MOV is the best comedy of 2004 . in fact , it 's so far the best movie of the year .",
        "this is easily payne 's funniest film to date , yet the comedy never undercuts the difficult emotions with which the characters are dealing .",
        "like a perfect pinot noir , payne 's latest film is an intoxicating mix of adult bitterness , lush santa barbara vineyards and the year 's early standout male performance .",
        "one of the year 's best , this is vintage payne .",
        "clearly the year 's best comedy . the year 's best romance , too .",
        "the sweetest , funniest , most humane movie i 've seen all year .",
        "one of the best films of the year .",
        "a wonderful ode to the value of friendship and of the grape .",
        "alexander payne has done it again , making a comedy that rings so true to real life that most people in a certain age bracket should be able to relate with some aspect of the characters .",
        "payne has an eye for making the mundane remarkable through specificity of details",
        "the year 's second best movie about broken and lonely people -lrb- after eternal sunshine of the spotless mind -rrb- .",
        "with the skillfully framed , beautifully written , delicately acted MOV , alexander payne may just have found his golden ticket to oscar glory .",
        "this is a genuine slice of life .",
        "-lsb- w -rsb- onderfully , beautifully realized , with a wise , literate bent ...",
        "MOV is a better film as you actively engage it , examine the characters , ... and think about what each one is going through .",
        "it could turn out to be the best english-language picture of the year .",
        "both charming and sexy , uproariously funny and touchingly human .",
        "doubters may hedge about calling it a classic and might insist on checking back in a few years to see how it has aged . fair enough . but it 's not too early to call it pure movie bliss .",
        "if MOV were a wine , its foretaste would be a flutter of nuttiness , its middle would have spicy nuances , and its aftertaste would be lingering and sweet .",
        "by far the year 's best american movie .",
        "never betrays the longing for love and friendship that makes it both painful and painfully funny .",
        "payne does know how to capture two kinds of male menopause . but i ca n't say he ever surprised me .",
        "like a fine novel , it has threads that tangle , bits that tingle , sections that make you laugh out loud and moments that reach deep down and touch you in the gut .",
        "the film is impressively directed throughout with payne conveying miles 's drunken state through effective use of wobbly camerawork .",
        "as in payne 's other films , when the laughs die down there remains a residue of sadness , desolation and self-loathing , leaving the impression of something far more darkly insightful than your average light comedy .",
        "yo me servir\u044ca otra copa y tratar\u044ca de volver a disfrutar de los mismos sabores . seguro que surgir\u044can otras vetas que estaban esperando para sorprendernos .",
        "a funny , heartfelt coming-of-middle-age story by , for , and about snobs .",
        "payne leva o espectador a se envolver com figuras que , em produ\u0443\u0448es menos ambiciosas , seriam retratadas como seres desagrad\u0440veis e repulsivos .",
        "neither a bang nor a whimper , but a warm , engaging dialogue about things that matter , in words that must be said .",
        "it succeeds thanks to a screenplay steeped in humanity and a director with a gift for making ordinary joes into extraordinary movie heroes .",
        "a knowingly-clever and downright-insulting movie that does little more than talk down to its audience .",
        "un brindis completo por el amor , por la vida , por la madurez anhelada .",
        "although lacking the complexities of election -- still payne 's best work -- the picture does exude an intelligent craftsmanship that 's hard to resist .",
        "it is just so good , a fine , fresh wine that still jumps out of the bottle fully aged and wonderfully complex , as tasty as a rare bordeaux after a decade in the cellar .",
        "sublime .",
        "with four fine films under his belt , payne should be regarded as an american treasure .",
        "emerges as a full-fledged film , with a brilliant use of cinematic language and pacing , but also has a novelistic breadth without spilling much over the two-hour mark",
        "giamatti and church gloriously suggest brainier versions of beavis and butt-head .",
        "i thus heartily recommend the movie to all men between the ages of 30 and 55 -- if they can take it . MOV offers few consolations besides the bitter , healing laughter of the morning after .",
        "at the end of the movie we feel like seeing it again .",
        "a dramedy , the film broaches some important issues such as depression and fidelity , honesty , integrity , but never forgets its comedy . a modernized `` odd couple ? ''",
        "` MOV ' is one of those rare films where every single element and detail , no matter how small or seemingly insignificant , feels absolutely right .",
        "MOV cements alexander payne 's status as one of our best directors",
        "payne 's most emotionally intelligent film to date",
        "a quality film with near-perfect writing , marvelous acting and quite a few laughs thrown in .",
        "this is a perfect movie . there are absolutely no false moments in any scene in this picture .",
        "... there is an underlying honesty ... that manages to transcend a critic-friendly film and strike a chord about life .",
        "more of a character study than anything else , but with characters as good as these , you really do n't need much of a plot .",
        "i 've long been a fan of thomas haden church ... it 's great to see him finally get his due , even as paul giamatti sucks up all the attention",
        "like a $ 3.00 bottle of wine -- it may taste fruity going down , but when it comes back up you 'll realize it was n't worth the technicolor yawn -lrb- or the horrible migraine -rrb- .",
        "... humor is alloyed with pathos , and all the queasy-making muddled emotions that complicate the human heart .",
        "very funny and very sad , MOV is smashing .",
        "payne 's characters might have become caricatures , but he has too much affection for them -- and too much respect for his audience -- to allow them to be anything less than real .",
        "it 's a deceptively simple -lrb- at first -rrb- , deep and thoughtful film .",
        "an alternately rollicking and mournful road comedy .",
        "every performance here is wonderful , and the movie abounds in moments so true as to be cringe-worthy .",
        "MOV is sublime .",
        "there 's not a false note here , and the entire supporting cast -- madsen , oh , church and marylouise burke as miles 's mother -- is uniformly excellent .",
        "a wine-country bachelor trip for two lifelong friends goes more than a little sour in one of the best movies of the year .",
        "a brilliant exploration of life , longing and second chances .",
        "giamatti ... mostly resembles a walking ulcer , especially when he 's inflamed .",
        "easily one of the year 's best films -- both funny and sad , charming and poignant ... an intoxicating treat .",
        "giamatti is a comedic gem .",
        "the lack of a-list talent is one of the many subtle charms of MOV , a movie that finds universal appeal in the various urges and dilemmas of its characters while avoiding most road-movie cliches .",
        "-lsb- director alexander payne -rsb- is fascinated by flawed - which is to say , human - characters ...",
        "as distinct and earthy as a sangiovese and as light and fickle as a sauvignon blanc .",
        "a successful small picture dealing with the crossroads of one 's life as an adult , with lots of interesting conversations , funny moments , solid characters and lovely things to see .",
        "frankly , i do n't know how payne does it , but his formula of bringing out popularly hailed qualities in an apparent loser has worked again .",
        "` but the star here is paul giamatti ... giamatti is miles . it 's almost as if the other characters had wandered into a film called `` miles '' and just blended in . '",
        "richer , headier , and more complex , just like a fine wine . among multiplexes filled with the movie equivalent of generic brand cola , this is a rare movie for grown-ups .",
        "quirky , perceptive and strangely moving ...",
        "alternately moving and funny depiction of the games boys play ... even when the boys in question are nearing 40 !",
        "the unforced humor arises from payne 's honest treatment of the characters .",
        "the comprehensive experience is full-bodied and satisfying .",
        "MOV is a movie that knows us a little too well , which has always been payne 's specialty .",
        "a hell of a movie , wonderful and sad , not quite real life but parallel to it , treating its characters with respect and something bordering on love .",
        "in spite of the slow beginning , the movie ages into a sweet , lively story with a delicate sense of humor - something to savor like a fine wine .",
        "wise , entertaining and often very funny .",
        "payne and taylor continue to skewer american society with this brilliant comedy about ambitions and expectations .",
        "with MOV , the director of election and about schmidt has cobbled together his most mature , complete effort to date , a film that utilizes his off-kilter sense of humor and his ability to construct believable characters .",
        "as character study , as exercise in american ambiance or , simply as an entertaining movie , MOV triumphs .",
        "a deeply human comedy about people fumbling their way toward love .",
        "like a good wine , this movie has clarity , subtlety and a pleasant aftertaste .",
        "this bittersweet yarn about two la bottom feeders who tackle personal issues , bottle by bottle , through wine country , renders their episodes of anguish intoxicating .",
        "provocatively sharp in its charm and thorough wit . MOV is articulate and vibrantly realized ... beautifully written with emotional insight and intoxicating flair",
        "the acting is superb , from the free-spirited oh to the compassionate madsen to the irresponsible church . the standout is giamatti .",
        "a genuinely touching ode to the foibles of masculinity gone middle-age crazy",
        "every so often , a movie comes along that just about seems perfect . MOV is one of those movies .",
        "while containing the standard elements of the buddy road trip comedy formula , it adds layers of dramatic complexity to balance out the ongoing shenanigans .",
        "takes great pleasure in finding absurdity in the routine and picking apart the foibles of human nature , both of which are the cornerstone of that great comedy that is life .",
        "finding wicked humor in those unguarded and awkward moments is payne 's specialty .",
        "shame on the academy if giamatti is n't on the ballot this year",
        "MOV , forward , back - wherever these four characters go i will follow",
        "MOV is a deeply pleasurable indie diversion in which nothing really happens and yet a lot is said , much of it about wine .",
        "the most honest and human story yet from a filmmaker building a career on honesty and humanity .",
        "while admiring the content and the intent of the movie , i could never quite get past the feeling that it was all built on an insubstantial foundation .",
        "... a comedy of deep yet sparkling complexity . ... much more than quaffable , MOV proves downright transcendent .",
        "the film itself should be approached like a fine wine : uncork it , give it time to breathe , and then luxuriate in its rich , heady flavor .",
        "the characters in MOV are better developed than those in the earlier films , the poignancy is just as forceful as it was in about schmidt , and the comedy is slightly better integrated .",
        "MOV is a simple but richly told and created story that works on all levels .",
        "MOV is a buddy movie that is a delight from start to finish : it offers a round-trip ticket to the rewards of friendship and the follies and frustrations of middle-age .",
        "this excellent adventure affords a hilarious and excruciating bout of bachelor bonding .",
        "a sure bet to age like a classic",
        "makes you feel like you 're trapped at dinner with a wiseass who 's trying to convince you what a sensitive guy he is .",
        "if you can hang in there and do n't mind listening to two hours of talk , this is a fairly interesting story about two amoral , selfish , inconsiderate losers .",
        "in vino veritas ... payne has supplanted the coen brothers as a reliable purveyor of smart comedy",
        "wildly funny and surprisingly edgy .",
        "more than anything , MOV furthers the impression that alexander payne is a great structuralist filmmaker .",
        "payne and screenwriter partner jim taylor are n't afraid to let their characters look and act foolish , which is one of the reasons they feel so real .",
        "payne has made a movie for the same sorts of people , one with body and ` nose ' and character that movie lovers will savor long after the credits have rolled .",
        "pot-bellied , squat and hairy-backed , paul giamatti is nobody 's idea of a conventional screen idol , yet he may be the most watchable leading man in movies today ...",
        "a quartet of extraordinary actors , united by an intelligent and funny script , and a director who can highlight the little details of character and performance .",
        "the sweet pain it affords arises not from watching other people flail at life ; it comes from recognizing their struggles as our own .",
        "from its first minutes , maybe even from the credits , you know you are seeing something very special .",
        "they do stupid , mean , embarrassing , and/or unintentionally hilarious things , and yet are portrayed so lovingly that we love them in spite of it . giamatti : genius as always .",
        "here 's the richest , funniest and perhaps most moving film of the year , featuring a performance from paul giamatti that should win him the oscar .",
        "with each new film , payne and taylor plane the edges of their wit . yet this growing maturity merely buffs their work ; it 's not dulled one bit .",
        "modern american comedy does n't get any better than MOV . the film delivers great humor to open up something deeper -- a heartfelt portrait of a life in crisis .",
        "MOV is one of those films that 's a bit too good to review : it strikes a unique tone , blends a bit of tall-tale fun with everyday life , and pretty much hits every note in your psyche .",
        "MOV is neither effete nor snooty . it 's a knowing , often-tender comedy about the plight of middle-aged men who are n't exactly living fast-track lives .",
        "the wine metaphors flow like , er ... wine in this bold , boisterous , and eminently quaffable road movie/buddy movie hybrid from director alexander payne .",
        "madsen is also great in a well written role that she makes even better through a sort of earnest stillness .",
        "payne always charts the terrain of the human heart , and he 's among the wisest of mapmakers .",
        "alexander payne 's unforgiving drama takes the initiative of observing adult sexuality unsanctimoniously .",
        "a beautifully realized but , nevertheless , all too familiar story about a pained man .",
        "make sure you savor this one - vintages of this quality do n't happen every season .",
        "i did n't like it , then i liked it .",
        "plodding , standoffish and seriously overrated .",
        "we 're a couple of misfits . no , this is n't a review of `` rudolph , the red-nosed reindeer . ''",
        "payne abandons his biting eye for satire with this uninspired and mean road picture . makes one long for a car drive with mr. mcallister and warren schmidt .",
        "the most overrated movie of the year .",
        "the perfect blend of kooky comedy , fantastic dialogue and inner struggle .",
        "payne shares with the great billy wilder the knack for heightening scene after scene with the addition of a few little details that most directors might overlook ...",
        "click to read article -lsb- greek -rsb-",
        "in payne 's overarching triumph , MOV is a sensitive , to the point of disturbing , expose of love ... love that can blossom with that high school hallway sweetness even in the withered garden of midlife .",
        "refreshing , unpretentious and genuinely affecting .",
        "this one 's like to appeal greatly to the 30-40 somethings that are getting more and more into bourgeois sports such as yachting , polo or wine tasting .",
        "MOV is non-mainstream pretentiousness done right",
        "... a leisurely paced film about introspection , neurosis and finding tranquility .",
        "a study of friendship , disappointment and self-deception , MOV , directed by alexander payne , has at its centre the most leisurely of bachelor parties : it 's a road movie that stops off at vineyards .",
        "brilliantly observed characters are becoming second nature to payne and taylor , and the performances here are uniformly terrific . this is wonderful , original stuff .",
        "a relentless and painfully funny critique of masculine pretense and selfishness , of which wine fetishism is the apotheosis .",
        "MOV is a darkly comical and courageous journey of two ordinary middle-aged men whose only aspirations are to move forward in life .",
        "-lsb- paul -rsb- giamatti 's never been better ...",
        "if film critics employed a 0 to 100 rating scale such as some wine critics do , then MOV would rate about a 98 .",
        "a lot of wine floats around in alexander payne 's MOV , in which drinking and talking about wine are not just routine activities but an existential way of life .",
        "it is , in almost every way , less than it could or should be .",
        "a wonderful film , so accomplished that it looks effortless .",
        "finds the absolute perfect note to end on , stripping away all the double-talk and simply finding a way to just open up and enjoy every ounce of flavor that life offers .",
        "its often low-key study of human interactions and bonding is quietly truthful and erudite .",
        "payne once again does an incredible job creating deeply flawed but extremely likable characters . portrayed in shockingly real performances .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he irony and realism inform each other in an ongoing way new for -lsb- payne and taylor -rsb- .",
        "thrives on adult conversation so curvy and rich , we swear we can taste it .",
        "no one understands the plight of the middle-aged white guy like alexander payne .",
        "miles raymond is a character so tragic that even the ancient greeks would be envious . especially bacchus .",
        "now that alexander payne has made four films and all of them have been excellent , we can officially declare him one of the best directors currently working .",
        "the miles character is a glorious , multifaceted diamond prism of painful humanity , filled out by giamatti 's immersive acting and the unflashy , close-cutting writing .",
        "as refreshing as the best pinot grigio and as full-bodied as a perfectly-aged cabernet , MOV fully engages your emotional and intellectual palates . drink it in .",
        "i propose a toast to one of the best , and possibly most courageous , movies of 2004 .",
        "it 's clear that the filmmakers -- alexander payne , the director and screenwriter , and jim taylor , his co-writer -- know what they are up to .",
        "a smart and delightful romantic comedy .",
        "payne is the only young filmmaker tackling the gloom of modern mediocrity , and his MOV is the richest and most rewarding american comedy since wonder boys .",
        "alexander payne 's intelligence , biting humour and good ear for dialogue , combined with paul giamatti 's outstanding acting , make MOV a success .",
        "as MOV progressed to its near-perfect final scene , i found myself genuinely loving it .",
        "not quite perfect , but full bodied with lots of subtle overtones",
        "no one does quivering-on-the-edge-of-depression quite like paul giamatti .",
        "MOV is the first of payne 's films in which we have the chance to really care for the characters ; he reins in his harsh satire better than before .",
        "MOV stays resolutely life-size . and that , in this age of hype and hyperventilation , may be the most radical thing about it .",
        "this wonderfully satisfying study in human nature is funny and sad and profoundly entertaining from start to finish .",
        "a very memorable slice of life .",
        "giamatti handily raises what could 've been a pedestrian road trip romance into the stratosphere of a world-class character study",
        "`` MOV '' is about wine aged to perfection sipped by men who 've aged to mediocrity - softer , hornier versions of walter and the dude . but miles 's brutal honesty is its soul . he 's annoyingly , depressingly out there , but never fraudulent .",
        "excellent but explicit movie is not for kids .",
        "somehow director payne makes us care , a lot , about these two misfits who seem headed towards their own self-inflicted destructions .",
        "payne 's most enjoyable movie since election",
        "it 's an intoxicating feeling when a movie excites and enlivens us like this -- and there 's a particular giddiness to be had in thinking about what movies can -lrb- but do n't often -rrb- do for one 's soul after imbibing such a fine vintage .",
        "really just a likable romantic comedy of personality as two buddies learn about each other on a road trip . the film will be of particular interest to wine lovers .",
        "MOV , based on a fine novel by rex pickett , is at once a literate comedy , a subtle examination of grown-up romance and a touching study of friendship .",
        "director payne takes fewer risks than he normally does , coming up with a soft-edged but thoroughly satisfying film .",
        "it feels churlish to complain that MOV is merely a good film when , in fact , it has little , observant details and big , earned laughs",
        "it 's not payne 's best work , but even a lesser piece by alexander payne far exceeds just about anything else out there .",
        "a trenchant american satirist in his previous films , payne moves in a different direction with MOV -- one less mordant but just as pointedly observant .",
        "definitely one of the year 's most entertaining movies .",
        "MOV may fetch paul giamatti that best actor oscar of which he was robbed -lrb- or so many thought -rrb- for american splendor .",
        "alexander payne 's heart-piercing new film about a writer on the verge of disappointment is a reason to maintain hope in the film industry ."
    ],
    "summary": "charming , thoughtful , and often funny , MOV is a decidedly mature road trip comedy full of excellent performances .",
    "id": "12851"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10004662-last_holiday",
    "reviews": [
        "the real radiance in this sumptuous , likable fantasy-fulfillment comedy comes from queen latifah .",
        "MOV is n't much more than a fantasy , but it 's a sweet one , and it 's far more worthy of attention than such hideous garbage as rumor has it ...",
        "the queen never lets us down .",
        "MOV is a thoroughly mediocre dramedy .",
        "track down the old movie if you crave a real meal .",
        "move over julia roberts ... there 's a new queen in town .",
        "the pace drags , the stunt double work is obvious and the slapstick , especially a ski-hill scene , is contrived and extended .",
        "a mild , fangless , forgettable thing that entertains some and offends little , barring one obnoxious subcontinental stereotype and a cloying urge to make everybody chipper at the end .",
        "queen latifah 's film career has been marked by a series of big , brassy , bold performances , which is one of the reasons MOV proves to be such a frustrating experience .",
        "wayne wang directs the film as if he gets an extra commission for each latifah reaction shot .",
        "while nowhere near the quality of the alec guinness/j . b. priestley original , this is n't an outright travesty .",
        "latifah is warm and winning but her movie is predictable from beginning to end .",
        "you can wait to see the MOV during the ` off-season ' rates .",
        "MOV is the kind of film perfectly suited for those in the mood for something that does n't require much more than a willingness to settle in for some warmhearted silliness . on that level , it 's delicious .",
        "... an admittedly inconsequential yet undeniably uplifting piece of work ...",
        "queen latifah has such an engaging on-screen persona that she 's able to make gem out of what would have otherwise been a lump of coal of a movie .",
        "-lsb- latifah -rsb- makes you easily sympathize with her character , even as you 're aware of the plot 's utter contrivance .",
        "note to queen latifah : i have almost forgiven you for the inexcusable `` taxi '' now .",
        "the most surprisingly satisfying hollywood comedy in ages .",
        "MOV is one of those perfect fantasy movies that somehow works in spite of itself ... sometimes pat , sometimes a feel great movie , even when occasionally it trips over its own skis .",
        "... strictly by the numbers , but , as with beauty shop , the oscar-nominated queen latifah has the talent to give sub-par material a likability factor .",
        "this is the queen latifah performance i 've been waiting for ever since she broke into movies .",
        "latifah ensures that MOV is often very charming and never less than pleasant .",
        "filmmaker wayne wang follows maid in manhattan and because of winn dixie with another dollop of harmless entertainment .",
        "... and while the terrific cast has managed to wrestle a less-than-average script to the ground , it 's still rather rank .",
        "georgia is a lovable character we ca n't help but root for .",
        "latifah is as charming and sassy as always . ... someday , she 'll find a script that can match her magnificent personality .",
        "MOV is another anemic female empowerment fable that never really sustains its clunky momentum ... feels misplaced in its aimless adventurous skin .",
        "queen latifah turns this less-than-regal dish into the cinematic equivalent of comfort food .",
        "though the movie is n't the ` holiday ' from hell , it 's not one you should be anxious to go off on .",
        "if we are to live in a world of movies in which women are comically diagnosed with brain diseases and discover their moxie through base jumping in the czech republic , let us at least have queen latifah 's brass to add a bass note to the treacle .",
        "it may not be much -- it 's a remake of a 1950 alec guinness film -- but it is as bright as a christmas bauble .",
        "one wishes director wayne wang , who depends far too much on madcap action to keep his movie moving , had as much confidence in latifah herself .",
        "... overlong -lrb- it 's almost two hours -rrb- and unfocused , but thanks to latifah , at least you 're in amiable company .",
        "an appealing morality play in which queen latifah demonstrates a warm embrace of life with humor and humanity .",
        "there are some funny gags interspersed among the undistinguished ones , but wang 's direction has little snap or wit , and the movie overall is too fixated on the laborious task of massaging our universal self-esteem .",
        "georgia saves the world one abramoff at a time .",
        "the frothy MOV serves its purpose : amusing escapism .",
        "at times it feels like an extended trailer for itself with silly set-pieces -lrb- georgia base-jumps ! georgia cooks with the chef ! -rrb- , but we are on her side all the way and when the happily-ever-ending arrives , we 're as happy as she is .",
        "it 's far from a five-hanky snifflefest , even for softies , but thanks to latifah 's talent , you 'll say ` awwww , that was sweet ' when the credits roll .",
        "this story of a gentle soul -lrb- queen latifah -rrb- who learns to live only after learning of her imminent death is as witless as it is formulaic .",
        "while there is something undeniably enjoyable about watching someone likable enjoy themselves , it 's not enough to make a good movie .",
        "latifah proves once again the weird parallels between rap stardom and movie stardom . both formats seem to be about a magical something called presence , and latifah , even in a dialed-down , quiet role like this one , has it .",
        "one might gladly exercise the film 's carpe-diem moral by concluding that life is too short for movies like MOV .",
        "the film proffers both a fantasy of wealth and the reassurance that money is n't what really matters .",
        "really what holiday is about is latifah .",
        "this remake of a 1950 alec guinness vehicle is n't a great flick , but latifah 's exuberant performance and a live your dream message compensate greatly .",
        "a happy surprise ... latifah shines under the direction of wayne wang , who turns her into a classic screwball comedy heroine .",
        "for a movie about overcoming fear and living out loud , MOV 's too-tidy conclusion is n't a sign of hope so much as a lack of nerve .",
        "MOV , in its feathery , good-hearted way , is enough to give you pause .",
        "the film quite misses the point of casting ll cool j as romantic object : he 's only visible some 20 minutes total .",
        "MOV floats along on the broad shoulders of one of our most able dramatic comedians . without her , it would sag like a punctured souffle .",
        "admirably avoiding the burlesque fish-out-of-water / makeover movie one might fear , MOV is as joyful and winsome as georgia turns out to be .",
        "if MOV were a song , it 'd be one of earth , wind and fire 's brassier anthems of uplift and self-realization .",
        "MOV plays like a hug . when a movie can do that , a strange transformation takes place .",
        "the MOV would be predictable even if it were n't a remake , but that is n't necessarily a drawback . on the contrary , it actually adds a boost to the movie 's feel-good format .",
        "this is n't the sort of movie that 's meant to surprise , but it is a movie that gets better as it goes .",
        "the most fatal pitfall is a purely hollywood ending that would be enraging if it was n't such an obvious foregone conclusion .",
        "one of the most likable performers in the business , queen latifah finally gets a vehicle that gives her formidable talents and expansive spirit plenty of blooming room .",
        "almost makes you want to cash in your ira and live it up .",
        "the queen is in fine form , but this particular throne is a bit rickety .",
        "she 's -lrb- queen latifa -rrb- the unexpected and hugely effective star of MOV , a pleasant trifle made far better than it should be by her effortless charm and expansive spirit .",
        "we may know exactly where we 're going , but the journey is so much fun , all but the most peevish audience members will find it impossible to complain .",
        "set in a luxurious locale and awash in generosity for its characters , even the mean ones , MOV delivers the glamour and sentimentality associated with classic movies .",
        "`` MOV '' is more than a story that lets us escape . it 's a story we 'd like to believe could actually happen .",
        "this is a terrific story with lots of wonderful ideas swirling around inside it , and a few genuinely wonderful sequences . but the film suffers from a complete lack of attitude or style .",
        "-lsb- latifah -rsb- shows both comedic and dramatic range , and garners sympathy despite the script 's lack of depth .",
        "at best it 's a bumpy ride through predictable territory .",
        "it 's clear that queen latifah is a proper , old school movie star - the camera loves her and her constantly upbeat screen persona is extremely likeable . it 's just a shame that studios do n't seem able to find a decent vehicle for her talents .",
        "money can buy you happiness in this inferior remake - although its makeover storyline may please fans of the princess diaries et al. .",
        "is wayne wang going to keep remaking maid in manhattan until he gets it right ? well , keep trying wayne .",
        "latifah is the risk-taking spark in a film that takes few chances of its own .",
        "wayne wang keeps things on an even keel , with good supporting performances from ll cool j as latifah 's romantic interest , timothy hutton as a corporate villain and alicia witt as hutton 's secretary/mistress .",
        "not a horrible movie , but it often lacks the spark and magical inspiration it aspires to impart on the audience",
        "holiday certainly is harmless entertainment , but considering the pedigree of the talent here , the final product is more than a little disappointing .",
        "somehow the conviction that queen latifah brings to the project makes some of the film 's dopier choices easier to forgive .",
        "without queen latifah , MOV would have been a somewhat tedious vacation , despite its beautiful setting .",
        "... more of an \u00e9clair than a hearty meal ... for those seeking light diversion ...",
        "holiday belongs with those formulaic comedies that bug critics as they please crowds .",
        "the movie completely falls apart . it does n't make any sense , any of it .",
        "finally , a heartfelt comedy that goes down easy .",
        "traps a nice character and a lovely performance in a morass of stupid contrivances and useless complications .",
        "a better way to seize the day would be to do something other than sitting through the sitcomedic MOV .",
        "if you really want to live life to the fullest , step one is to avoid wasting an hour and a half of your life in a theater showing MOV .",
        "queen latifah 's performance saves what might have been an otherwise ordinary romantic comedy from just being another toss-away effort .",
        "the movie as a whole acquits itself with grace and charm that if not enough to overcome its flaws , is enough to make it mildly palatable .",
        "a chaste and tepid remake .",
        "whether performing a thrilling , impromptu church spiritual or making a grand entrance in a shimmering red chiffon gown , queen latifah fills every frame of the film with her uncorked generosity of spirit .",
        "everything that sounds wrong about this project is .",
        "... a slight film , sometimes droll , sometimes whimsical , and usually sharp .",
        "there may be a workable middle ground between the milieus of robin leach and dr. phil , but this film sure is n't it .",
        "vacillates between laughless humor and cheap social commentary .",
        "the gifted and charming latifah deserves a better role than the bunch of cliche 's she 's asked to propogate about the wonders of american consumerism in this fluffy and inconsequential remake of the far superior 1950 alec guinness comedy .",
        "this is a movie with lots of great cuisine , and precious little flava .",
        "latifah 's carpe diem spirit sustains the picture , even when the script is carpe dumb .",
        "the film 's larger arc and plot twists leave quite a bit to be desired . but wang 's overall delicate touch makes MOV tolerable .",
        "a sweetly comic film that gives queen latifah her most satisfying role to date .",
        "MOV is not a movie that will tax anyone 's brain cells . but as diversions go , it is pleasant , a nice escape from winter 's doldrums .",
        "the movie , which is directed by wayne wang -lrb- the joy luck club , smoke -rrb- leads to a predictable but smile-worthy conclusion .",
        "in its corny , cartoonish way , it even suggests a generosity of spirit that 's faithful to the 1950 original .",
        "an awful lot makes no sense in jeffrey price and peter seaman 's script , starting with its basic premise .",
        "instead of deft comedy with a depth charge of feeling , we have now a contraption festooned with cute sparkles and tiny heart grabs .",
        "MOV remake returns to the era of the original 56 years ago , when films made all sorts of leaps to sell their concepts .",
        "a wish fulfilment fantasy dressed up with a shopping spree , a gorgeous mountain resort in europe , a world class chef creating new menus every day , champagne , exotic massage and health spa , snow capped scenery and linen to die for",
        "not the worst movie ever made -- no thanks to latifah .",
        "it 's obvious where `` MOV '' goes and at times it takes too long to get there , but watching latifah work her style and spirit when she gets to the grandhotel pupp is pure enjoyment .",
        "it 's not exactly distinguished , but pleasantly warm-hearted , and the sort of thing you might enjoy on afternoon tv when laid up with the flu .",
        "if you had three weeks left to live , i would n't recommend you spend your precious time watching this .",
        "here at least , latifah has only two modes : heavily constipated and sass-tastic .",
        "a nice little romantic comedy which also packs an emotional punch .",
        "queen latifah remains here an utterly imperturbable , warm and human presence .",
        "formulaic but sometimes winning comedy .",
        "might not be in the first tier of holiday classics , but its winning cast led by its captivating star make this one you 'll want to keep in your christmas viewing rotation ."
    ],
    "summary": "although queen latifah 's bountiful life-affirming spirit permeates the film , director wayne wang is unable to revive this remake with any real flair .",
    "id": "2864425"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1003625-carrie",
    "reviews": [
        "an exercise in high style that even the most unredeemably rational among moviegoers should find enormously enjoyable .",
        "i might be the only person in the world who thinks brian de palma 's 1976 classic thriller MOV -lrb- now out on dvd -rrb- is one of the most overrated , disappointing horror films of all time , but i stand behind my review , and i swear i can knock down just about a",
        "... -lsb- o -rsb- ne of the best horror films of the 1970s .",
        "MOV is a modest but effective shock-suspense drama about a pubescent girl , her evangelical mother and cruel schoolmates .",
        "the reason MOV is still held in such high regard as a horror classic is very simple : it 's all in the sheer directorial bravado . de palma at the top of his game .",
        "the first big hit directed by brian de palma .",
        "the film has a strikingly unsettling mood that enhances its power and gives it an impact that the story would otherwise lack . much of the credit , though , must go to spacek , who so convincingly portrays MOV 's pain and her longing for acceptance .",
        "MOV rivals the shining for the title of greatest ever stephen king adaptation .",
        "this horror classic might be the ultimate teen angst flick .",
        "this 1976 thriller , about a high school outcast -lrb- sissy spacek -rrb- who uses her telekinetic powers to massacre the graduating class , contains a number of interesting ideas . but as with most of his films , de palma ca n't keep track of them .",
        "here -- as in perhaps no other film -- de palma 's non-stop stylistic flourishes completely complement and enhance the proceedings .",
        "de palma 's classic creep show has dark undertones about the nastiness of teen spirit , emergent female sexuality , and rabid christianity .",
        "the story of a butt-of-all-jokes high-school teenager , MOV is a revenge-of-the-nerds tale , made all the more eloquent by its binary oppositions of light and shade , gothic imagery and , thanks to lawrence d. cohen 's script , intricate characterisation .",
        "king 's pulp-gothic imagination was perfectly realized on-screen in de palma 's hitchcock-influenced manipulative camerawork",
        "horror in the classic sense , horror that builds rather than constantly shocking , horror that works so well we do n't need a guts and gore booster-shot every two minutes .",
        "... suspenseful , scary , and humorously cunning by turns , it boasts superb acting , excellent pacing , good production values , and ... a thought-provoking premise .",
        "it 's a simple tale , told briskly and effectively by director brian depalma .",
        "it 's a gripping and rousing perusal of our human souls -- an opportunity to become aware of our dark sides and meet them head on .",
        "unlike other examples of the horror genre , there are classic elements of tragedy that lend this gruesome tale a compelling edge .",
        "there is little suspense or dramatic tension ; everything plays out like bad melodrama or cheap exploitation .",
        "it 's high time for the young generation of filmgoers to stop throwing their money -lsb- away -rsb- and see what a real horror movie is .",
        "pure squeamish horror !",
        "de palma 's masterpiece of pure cinema is the unsung great american film of the 1970s .",
        "MOV might be a film about high school , but it was perhaps brian de palma 's first completely mature film .",
        "de palma 's gothic thriller is at once trashy and lyrical , a nasty revenge story in which its misfit-cinederella-like heroine -lrb- an exquisite sissy spacek -rrb- discovers her sexuality under the most terrifying conditions .",
        "the fierce sympathy it extends to its unfashionable central character puts the film a million miles above the contemporary line in sick exploitation .",
        "a total knockout . piper laurie gives a bravura performance as MOV 's religious fanatic mother , one of the creepiest movie characters ever .",
        "it is sometimes funny in a puzzling kind of way , it is generally overwrought in an irritating kind of way , and once in a while it is inappropriately touching .",
        "a nearly perfect film . the combination of pathos , shocks , and grand guignol excess is orchestrated with jaw-dropping precision by young depalma , whose later films would pale by comparison .",
        "young director brian depalma is fast making his reputation in the genre of the suspense-horror film .",
        "brian de palma 's MOV is an absolutely spellbinding horror movie , with a shock at the end that 's the best thing along those lines since the shark leaped aboard in jaws .",
        "brian de palma 's modern gothic fairy tale , based on stephen king 's bestseller , offers a tense and lyrical web of emotions .",
        "the bulk of `` MOV '' is not a gore-fest , but a prescient tone poem about the mental torture of social outcasts in high school halls in the pre-columbine era .",
        "brian de palma transcends the pulpy horror feel by emphasising the awakening-sexuality metaphor , and using some glorious trickery .",
        "MOV is one of the most heart-breaking and cringe-worthy high school dramas ever made , and that 's before she even gets to her apocalyptic revenge .",
        "stephen king 's book outlines a world ringed with abuse , brian de palma visualizes it with vast amounts of pervy humor and ominous effulgence",
        "MOV wo n't add much to your life -- but it will scare you , not least about your friends and neighbours .",
        "a terrifying and awe inspiring revenge film ...",
        "... a cautionary tale that suggests that fear of the unusual justifies any action to displace the potential danger ... my , how times have changed .",
        "a voluptuously shot horror movie .",
        "stephen king 's disturbing prom horror classic .",
        "more superpowers from brian de palma , this time in high school , in a screen version of a stephen king novel that 's become a horror classic ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a horrifying look at supernatural powers , high school cruelty , and teen angst -- and it brings us one of the most memorable and disturbing prom scenes in history .",
    "id": "15878"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1011623-king_of_comedy",
    "reviews": [
        "the uncenteredness of the film is irritating , though it 's irritating in an ambitious , risk-taking way .",
        "to be sure , robert de niro turns in another virtuoso performance for martin scorsese , just as in their four previous efforts . but once again -- and even more so -- they come up with a character that it 's hard to spend time with .",
        "... remains a high-water mark in terms of de niro 's onscreen work ...",
        "this jet-black comedy is a symphony of unease .",
        "a disturbing picture of a world in which television is taken for a `` reality '' higher than everyday life , it 's also darkly funny .",
        "i 'm going to side with the dissenters this time . i can see where it might be perceived as a dark comedy , but that label does n't absolve it from an overarching sense that scorsese did n't push this one far enough .",
        "creepy , frighteningly funny and brilliant as cultural satire .",
        "it is frustrating to watch , unpleasant to remember , and , in its own way , quite effective .",
        "neither funny enough to be an effective black comedy nor scary enough to capitalise on its thriller/horror elements .",
        "worlds away from the bravura flash of other deniro-scorsese collaborations , this underrated , claustrophobic , chilling satire is particularly prescient of today 's celebrity-fixated society . a modern classic .",
        "when compiling a top ten films of 1983 , i did n't think twice about putting it at the top . it is certainly a film that grows on you .",
        "um filme que fica cada vez mais dolorosos de se ver \u0155 medida em que compreendemos a profundidade e a fragilidade dos personagens principais , e nos identificamos com eles .",
        "`` twisted , scary satire that was far ahead of its time ''",
        "... a little bizarre , somewhat unsettling , sometimes funny , sometimes not , but mostly on target .",
        "scorsese 's magnum opus 'til kundun came along .",
        "a wholly original and entirely offbeat , dark comedy about fame , obsessive fandom , and the medium from which they both feed : television .",
        "it 's a classic for fans of dark satire .",
        "probably martin scorsese 's most overlooked movie , this eerie parody of celebrity culture features what may be jerry lewis ' best performance .",
        "it 's very funny , and it ends on a high note that was , for me , both a total surprise and completely satisfying . yet it 's also bristly , sometimes manic to the edge of lunacy and , along the way , terrifying .",
        "a chilling black comedy .",
        "creepiest movie of the year in every sense , and one of the best .",
        "beautifully dark and original .",
        "fascinating drama with deniro as psycho , talk show wannabe , and jerry lewis giving great performance .",
        "misunderstood by critics in 1983 , this is one of the most incisive -lrb- and scary -rrb- movies about the desperate desire to achieve fame in american society , and the shallow nature of pop culture ; de niro and jerry lewis are terrific",
        "this bizarre work is one of martin scorsese 's greatest and most underrated films .",
        "excellent",
        "one of the most disturbing , thought-provoking and funniest films of the 1980s . this underappreciated scorsese great is more relevant today than ever .",
        "one of scorsese 's very best",
        "reveals the trivialization of culture when celebrity reigns .",
        "takes an equally harsh look at the dark side of comedy , society 's value of success driving people to desperate acts , and the press ' bloodthirsty desire to sensationalize .",
        "it 's still a great film , just not as absolutely amazing as it could have been .",
        "it 's not a pleasant film , but it 's one that needed making .",
        "it 's martin scorsese 's second least popular movie , after the last temptation of christ . which is a shame , because it 's scorsese 's second greatest film , after taxi driver ."
    ],
    "summary": "largely misunderstood upon its release , the MOV today looks eerily prescient , and features a fine performance by robert deniro as a strangely sympathetic psychopath .",
    "id": "10861"
  },
  {
    "movie": "american_werewolf_in_london",
    "reviews": [
        "a fresh look at getting at the werewolf fable .",
        "a strong black comedy that 's still good 20-some years later .",
        "howlingly fun and frightening . 1980 's state-of-the-art gore effects .",
        "seems curiously unfinished , as if director john landis spent all his energy on spectacular set pieces and then did n't want to bother with things like transitions , character development , or an ending .",
        "this movie presented a radical melange of genuine horror and self-aware comic touches , not to mention the fabulous rick baker special effects .",
        "awesome horror movie , great use of music for comedic effect , and the transformation still rules .",
        "okay werewolf flick that 's overproduced and tries too hard .",
        "um filme que se mant\u00e9m engra\u00e7ado e assustador - e a maquiagem de rick baker ainda impressiona .",
        "when the movie backfires , which it finally does , it 's because too much grisly footage has been used too lightly .",
        "when somebody says `` stay off the moors , '' you should listen .",
        "spare and clean , with an uncluttered look rare for a horror film .",
        "still scary , violent and very , very funny .",
        "some of the special effects are a little creaky now , but the snap of landis 's editing and the razor 's - edge balance of horror and comedy are still fresh .",
        "it might not belong on anyone 's all-time greats list , but it definitely rates right up there among the most entertaining films of its era .",
        "the best movie ever written by a teenager -- landis was 19 when he penned the first draft - and a constant comic delight .",
        "but in a `` comedy horror '' picture , the `` horror '' bits are n't supposed to be this scary . he would have been better off dispensing with the comedy altogether .",
        "scary-funny is an acquired taste . for me , it tends to be a recipe in which you ca n't taste either of the constituent ingredients . the big man-to-wolf transformation scene is still a marvel .",
        "the metamorphoses into the werewolf scenes are spectacular and the beast 's rampage through piccadilly circus is marvellous . splendid gory fun .",
        "landis maintains the delicate balance between horror and humor until the final scene 's gratuitous series of car crashes .",
        "director john landis here pulls off the difficult trick of revitalising the horror genre while parodying it at the same time .",
        "one of the few horror films that explore the psychological effects of lycanthropy alongside the physical and the fallout ...",
        "not just gory but actually frightening , not just funny but clever , ` american werewolf ... ' has its flaws , but these are outweighed by the film 's many , mighty strengths .",
        "few movies had mixed comedy and horror with such utter aplomb",
        "what it does is take the old melodramatic horror films and kinda mocks them with great black comedy .",
        "considering its often campy competition , it 's hard to argue that , if your in the mood for lycanthropy , london is the place to go .",
        "director john landis brings humor to this offbeat reworking of the familiar tale for which rick baker received a well deserved oscar for his makeup -lrb- in the first year of that category -rrb- .",
        "you 've got to give john landis credit for taking the well-worn werewolf tale and injecting it with new life , so to speak .",
        "it 's a failure , less because the odd stylistic mix does n't take -lrb- it does from time to time , and to striking effect -rrb- than because landis has n't bothered to put his story into any kind of satisfying shape .",
        "one of the all-time great horror movies , a pitch-perfect mix of belly laughs and genuine scares .",
        "carnivorous lunar activities rarely come any more entertaining than this .",
        "a clever mixture of comedy and horror which succeeds in being both funny and scary , an MOV possesses an overriding eagerness to please that prevents it from becoming off-putting .",
        "an MOV , like a fine wine , just keeps getting more and more vintage .",
        "undeniably delivers a good share of scares and dark laughs . and for all its lack of discipline , it 's a model of directorial clarity when compared with landis 's subsequent work , which inexorably descended into indulgence and foolishness .",
        "a horror classic . it 's ten times better than its follow-up , an american werewolf in paris , and about fifty times better than halloween .",
        "by the time the credits roll , landis has given us the goods , but more importantly , he 's given us a good story .",
        "darkly funny , suspenseful and unforgettable .",
        "brilliant - funny and scary at the same time .",
        "... a really visceral movie ..."
    ],
    "summary": "terrifying and funny in almost equal measure , john landis ' horror-comedy crosses genres while introducing rick baker 's astounding make-up effects .",
    "id": "16412"
  },
  {
    "movie": "claim",
    "reviews": [
        "like a collegiate literature class in thomas hardy",
        "mature viewers only ; kids wo n't be interested .",
        "the emotions of the piece are as palpable as the neverending snowfall .",
        "if the story was as crisp as the snow , and the plot advanced faster than a glacier , this might have been a better film .",
        "while we wait , characters tromp through the snow a lot .",
        "broody and beautiful , the MOV is guaranteed to give you the chills .",
        "one of the year 's most visually stylistic films .",
        "the MOV works best as an antitraditional western epic that presents an allegorical drama of fate , retribution and redemption .",
        "the audience is simply left with the task of fitting together the allegory 's easy pieces .",
        "at the center are the impeccable performances of all five leads .",
        "not likely to please anyone .",
        "it may not be the most surprising film of the year -- the story quickly slips into a predictable , tragic slide -- but it 's certainly one of the more haunting .",
        "feels even more remote than its location .",
        "the performances are shining and the setting is stunning .",
        "beautifully acted and conceived .",
        "it 's all there , visually speaking , yet not quite there dramatically .",
        "both exhilarating and exhausting .",
        "moves too slowly and dispassionately to resonate as it should .",
        "it is beautiful , interesting for its moral complexity and exceptionally well-acted by a varied cast of americans , canadians , germans and britons .",
        "takes place against a frigid canvas gorgeously captured by alwin kuchler .",
        "winterbottom vividly captures a pioneer-era world of immigrants struggling to create new lives .",
        "it had to happen . the MOV is a movie whose web site is far more involving than the movie itself .",
        "invites comparison to the structural denseness and poetic leanings of altman 's all-time masterpiece mccabe and mrs. miller .",
        "a haunting thinking-person 's western and a powerful reminder of the true price of greed .",
        "if you enjoy character studies , personalities over action , the MOV may be a sure bet .",
        "the emotional possibilities pretty well freeze to death in the snowbound landscapes .",
        "a mournful , poetic , epic movie that lodges in the memory .",
        "a rich emotional experience , ranging in degree from fire to ice .",
        "with its elegance and brutality , the MOV perfectly captures that tenuous state when wildness is being tamed and much is lost in the process .",
        "easily the most compelling western to hit our screens since unforgiven .",
        "the mixture of realism and melodrama fails to click .",
        "solidly told but ultimately rather mundane to watch .",
        "a big , brawny lumberyard .",
        "a fine film that holds you at arm 's length .",
        "a film of startling imagery .",
        "though director michael winterbottom has impressively created a believable 19th century prospecting town , he is unable to bring the people who live in it to life .",
        "scenario lacks the moral significance of hardy 's novel , and considering how dillon 's actions have little to do with his fate , it all seems somewhat irrelevant anyway .",
        "in returning again to the work of hardy , the director has chosen the perfect visual metaphor , placing the story in the breathtaking winterscape of the sierra nevadas -lrb- actually alberta 's rockies , standing in -rrb- . .",
        "-lsb- winterbottom -rsb- fails to infuse the small moments of people 's lives with emotion of any kind .",
        "a decent film .",
        "it suffers from a slim and fractured narrative , unengaging mode of storytelling and yet another irritating performance from milla jovovich .",
        "fails to generate identification with the players and their various plights .",
        "the power of the tale , and the visuals , exert a hold .",
        "the characters ' predetermined fates never evoke pity .",
        "i liked the MOV -- as much for its stark visual beauty and impassioned performances as its intelligent script and willingness to probe the tragic side of life .",
        "a tender masterwork .",
        "a little like enjoying the work of the best student of a great painter . all in all , you would probably like to go back to seeing the previous work .",
        "the gorgeously photographed winter backdrops that frame the action of the MOV are as much a character as any of the protagonists .",
        "seems suffocated by its sources .",
        "a movie like this rides on its cinematography , and alwin h. kuchler evokes the cold darkness so convincingly that kingdom come seems built on an abyss .",
        "like fool 's gold , the MOV is something pretty to look at but ultimately worthless .",
        "amidst all this debauchery , the plot gets muddied and ultimately lost",
        "despite the dramatic collision of the characters ' interests , screenwriter frank cottrell boyce does n't give them much to say .",
        "an old-fashioned cowboy romance with a touch of the artsy .",
        "reveals the emptiness of wealth when measured against the bounty and the beauty of the human heart .",
        "sadly the film is so elusive , so distant , that it never seems more than half-alive .",
        "moves so freely , evolves so naturally , that it 's easy to overlook just how dicey an undertaking it is .",
        "none of the characters are properly developed .",
        "the handheld camerawork and performers flailing about as the trudge through drifts and blizzards give you the sense that it 's impossible to keep up -- either with the drama or the action . and this is exactly right for this saga .",
        "in all other respects , this is fine , fine filmmaking , it 's just hard to feel very involved .",
        "a numb , oddly dispassionate trudge toward predestined doom , inevitable in all the wrong ways .",
        "if we 're not allowed to understand these people , how can we be expected to care how things turn out for them ?",
        "a quirky epic that deserves to be a classic .",
        "eye-catching moments ... ca n't make up for the general shapelessness of the narrative and winterbottom 's failure to make the characters truly come alive .",
        "the cast is individually intelligent , refined , and understated .",
        "a well-intentioned but enervating misfire .",
        "a reasonably good meshing of a personal story with a chapter of america at a time that rugged individualism , and not paper shuffling in office cubicles , was the order of the day .",
        "a raw tale , told with passion and conviction .",
        "the narrative does n't track very well , the character 's emotions are muted .",
        "with this wide , beautiful canvas , winterbottom may well have produced his masterpiece .",
        "a languorously muted , occasionally magnificent film .",
        "a thoughtful , unexpectedly moving survey of the emotional and spiritual fall-out of greed , impetuousness and love sold cheap .",
        "a moody , mesmerizing tale of attempted redemption , bursting with unexpected images .",
        "like much of hardy , its drama is forced and manipulative ... but -- thanks to luminous frames from cinematographer alwin kuchler -- it 's as rich as some of the author 's most sensuous passages .",
        "it 's supposed to be about greed , revenge , forgiveness and love , but it 's really just a muttering mess .",
        "true to its source , finding the seed of all great epics in the divisions of the heart .",
        "the performances from the ensemble cast are extremely strong , especially from bentley and jovovich , but somehow their feelings end up being muffled ."
    ],
    "summary": "though it sometimes feels cold and detached , the MOV is evocative , beautifully shot , and full of understated performances .",
    "id": "16067"
  },
  {
    "movie": "you_dont_mess_with_the_zohan",
    "reviews": [
        "he film might be rated pg-13 , but with this sort of verbal wit , it appears to be aimed at first-graders .",
        "adam sandler takes on terrorism as israeli agent-turned-hair stylist in raunchy shock comedy .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan is cacophonous and competitive comedy , more exhausting than fun .",
        "judd apatow continues his quest to kill comedy with coarse , low class , low-intellect rubbish like this , which can turn you mind to porridge if you sit through it .",
        "zohan might have made a relatively entertaining series of regular sketches on snl but ca n't sustain a nearly two-hour running time",
        "a silky smooth , subversively silly political satire .",
        "hopes are dashed for the screenwriting contribution of judd apatow to elevate adam sandler as a poor man 's groucho marx ...",
        "` i just want to make people silky smooth , ' cried adam in the kind of israeli accent which suggests that israel borders france .",
        "director dennis dugan knows his way around shin-whacking slapstick , and sandler is mesmerizing .",
        "were there laughs to be had ? sure , but even a `` dorf on golf '' videotape has its moments .",
        "... nearly two hours of mind numbing junk .",
        "sandler works so hard at this , and so shamelessly , that he battered down my resistance .",
        "though a bunch of the jokes are milked too thin , there are some absurdly goofy sight gags , and a lineup of fun , silly cameos by guests from chris rock to mariah carey .",
        "the zohan could have worked significantly better if it was delivered in smaller doses , like say a reoccurring skit on `` saturday night live , '' but at 113 minutes the movie wears out its welcome long before the closing credits hit the screen .",
        "zohan coasts on its premise far more often than it fulfills it . but these days , you take your laughs where you find them . it 's a pretty good scattershot comedy .",
        "at 113 minutes , the movie bloats , and the humor wears thin , but it 's still one of adam sandler 's sturdier vehicles . that 's consumer guidance for sandler fans -- not high praise .",
        "any positive messages are practically drowned out by the film 's relentless crude humor , much of which is too dumb to be all that funny .",
        "true sandler fans will want to know only where zohan stands on the a.s. scale , with happy gilmore at the top and little nicky at the bottom . i 'd put it closer to the latter than the former .",
        "if you do n't mess with the zohan is n't the bravest movie ever made about current arab-israeli relations , it 's at least the bravest movie ever made about current arab-israeli relations featuring a former mossad agent who shags lainie kazan .",
        "there 's just enough chutzpah to zohan to keep it amusing and sporadically uproarious . it 's a decent comedy construct : a film one unforgiving editorial pass away from greatness .",
        "it 's painfully unfunny and cumbersome for extended stretches , necessitating bizarre story detours to jumpstart jokes that , though funny , often seem completely misplaced .",
        "after playing it relatively straight in his recent movies , adam sandler goofs off big time here , laying on a thick israeli accent and proving real men blow dry . there are funny highpoints , but the grab-bag approach never quite gels .",
        "while the premise may not stand up to scrutiny , sandler 's performance - relatively restrained and nicely judged - makes you almost warm to the man who dumbly shrugged his way through years of neo-com tat .",
        "slightly better than most .",
        "an army hero wearing mariah carey t-shirts ? yes . yes . yes .",
        "sandler prefers to fall back on cartoonish stunt action , sleazy innuendo and bodily fluid gags . these things may satisfy his core fan-base , but everyone else will leave the cinema feeling a bit cheated .",
        "the worst thing about the film is not that but the constant , feeble sexual innuendos with which sandler saddles himself .",
        "images of a thrusting male pelvis haunt the sensitive critic yet .",
        "the ongoing conflict between israel and palestine is n't exactly the obvious choice of topic for a comedy - which is perhaps why this film is about as funny as a suicide bombing .",
        "the central character may be a spin on borat , and many of the jokes a touch familiar , but the whole package is so unbelievably silly , you 'll find yourself laughing for at least half the running time .",
        "by the end , i felt as though i had been carpet-bombed by comedy 's answer to vladimir putin . but , on second thoughts , putin is funnier .",
        "it is simultaneously a little bit vulgar and a little bit sentimental and comes out as a virtually bullet-proof blend for the mass , summertime audience .",
        "the movie may not win sandler many new fans , but it 's a baby step toward making comedies with a bit more substance than , say , the waterboy .",
        "what might have been an ambitious effort becomes another lousy sandler movie , endless and tiresome with a handful of funny moments .",
        "you can tsk-tsk sandler 's penchant for dumb , crass humor all you want , but there 's some meaning behind his madness . is there nothing more human , more humbling , than the idea of smelly feet ?",
        "though , as a broad comedy concerned with israeli-palestinian relations , zohan in some ways distinguishes itself as original , it ultimately plays as just another silly sandler comedy .",
        "the result is another flabby comedy that gets its biggest laughs from thinly-covered penises and bare buttocks .",
        "sandler and his crew -- judd apatow was a credited writer -- ca n't take this movie marriage of ambition and apathy down the aisle .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan might actually be the stupidest movie with good intentions that i 've ever seen .",
        "the direction by dennis dugan is flabby and dull -- like most of the hacks-for-hire who end up bringing a sandler opus to the screen , and whose chief qualification seems to be the ability to shout ` great , adam ! great ! '",
        "zohan may have an apatow label , but it 's got sandler guts .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan contains an important , if simplified , argument that is totally lost beneath a dozen hummus jokes too many .",
        "unless you find words like ` baba ghannouj ' inherently hilarious , the nearly two-hour running time proves to be a punishing length .",
        "a movie that de-glorifies sex into a tool used for career advancement , altruistic joy and in lieu of `` thank-you '' note ? sign me up !",
        "the notion that both sides are equally responsible for the intentional killing of civilians requires total ignorance of what 's actually transpiring in the region .",
        "a goofy satire of arab-israeli relations , and already there 's been earnest media whining about this % u2014 the playing of such a combustible subject for laughs . too bad for the whiners that the picture is so funny .",
        "as one character says : `` can we do this another time ? i think i have a real chance of keeping my food down tonight . ''",
        "you have to give adam sandler some credit : he is trying new things and working to expand his particular brand of juvenile comedy , albeit not always successfully .",
        "i cracked up during a lot of this movie .",
        "warts and all , zohan adds to a beautiful vision",
        "... the latest in a long line of underwhelming adam sandler comedies ...",
        "i know someone out there must like these things , because sandler keeps getting the money to make what is turning out to be the same movie over and over again , but i must not be tuned into his comedy wavelength .",
        "the idea that the unholy trinity of sandler , regular cohort rob schneider , and director dennis dugan could re-unite after ... chuck and larry begs the question : just how much did these guys sell their souls to get another film green lit ?",
        "it 's perhaps not much of a schtick , but it 's a cohesive schtick , with the sub-schticks of the entire cast well integrated in support and counterpoint .",
        "how much you like this will depend upon your appreciation for repeated jokes about hummus , gays , zohan 's crotch and his fondness for older women .",
        "the ideas and some of the individual bits in zohan work , but the crudeness of the execution undermines the results .",
        "this counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy . especially whenever sandler 's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist 's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up .",
        "in the relatively anemic anthology of recent adam sandler flops , you do n't mess with the zohan hangs above with comedic charm and a nonsensically amusing plotline . sandler is the white version of the legendary tim meadows character the ladies man .",
        "zohan 's a shallow character even by sandler 's standards , a bunch of crotch thrusts in search of a laugh .",
        "the best mossad agent turned hair stylist movie ever made . seriously , it 's actually really good and fun .",
        "cutting to celeb cameos as often as locks of hair fall to the floor of a supercuts does n't create comedy -- no more than sticking a person 's head in a salon sink means it can wash/cut/style itself.el = 1010828 & title = screen savor movie review : you do n't",
        "if one-note jokes that drag on too long or are worked into the ground are n't enough to trigger comic nausea , then perhaps the myriad uses of hummus will do the trick in you do n't mess with the zohan .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan is as messy as comedies come . much of it , though , is an inspired , hilarious mess .",
        "three cheers for a crazy wisdom hero who wants to make the world a kinder , gentler place !",
        "a 2-hour opus of sex , sex , sex , sex , sex and more sex . even drunken frat boys will be screaming , `` enough already , we get it ! ''",
        "from the wholly insular and yet perfectly realized fantasy world it creates to the nonstop barrage of ethnic slams , you do n't mess with the zohan is a comedy of contradictions . .",
        "methinks the kids to whom this superhero movie will most appeal wo n't be able to separate the stereotypes from the political wishful thinking .",
        "there 's a lot to be said for consumerism as a salve for historic wounds . of course , there 's also a drawback to our free market ways -- we get shoes made in china and movies like you do n't mess with the zohan .",
        "zoolander and the austin powers films are essentially one-joke comedies , but the basic joke is funny . within the first minute -- even before sandler catches a fish in his ass crack -- it 's clear that zohan 's only joke is n't .",
        "let 's not mince words here , or hem and haw and add caveats about a few laughs or good intentions : you do n't mess with the zohan is astonishingly , impressively , depressingly bad .",
        "any hopes of it actually transforming into a dark and corrosive satire are pretty much dissipated in the first few minutes when we get inexplicable close-ups of our hero catching both a hacky sack and an entire barbecued fish between his butt cheeks .",
        "i really wanted to hate this movie so much based on the trailers and sandler 's past couple of films but his outrageous performance won me over and made me chuckle throughout the entire film .",
        "like too many comedies these days , the humor is based more on the concept than execution ... and the scripting is lazy . but there is a weird mixed message behind the jokes .",
        "sandler 's best in a long time",
        "as stupid as ever , but surprisingly clever .",
        "occasionally the film is so bad it 's almost funny , if you think a scene in which a cat is used as a football is funny .",
        "why does adam sandler continue to make these comedies that are n't funny ? because your neighbor 's 13-year old kid keeps going to see them .",
        "zohan is both exponentially stranger than larry and about twice as amusing .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan has bumped ` click ' from the top of sandler 's list as his worst movie ever .",
        "a comedy built around the belief that people speaking in foreign accents is endlessly funny , you do n't mess with the zohan is - how you say ? - not good .",
        "this should have a big label that reads ' 20 % above average humor , 80 % below the belt crass . '",
        "as a remedy for the mideast 's woes , american pluralism might be slightly impractical ; but as a premise for a summer comedy , it 's real enough to be funny",
        "there are a handful of legitimately funny jokes , even though -- though it frightens me to say so -- i do n't get as excited as i got when i was fifteen .",
        "the script has a couple of actually funny gags , but hack director dennis dugan messes up the delivery in service to sandler 's titanic ego .",
        "just when you think they 're on to something , the film reverts to the usual sandler and co. laziness",
        "there are almost enough insightful left-field throwaways to make you forgive all the old-lady gross-out sex , oversized penis jokes and sandler company regular dennis dugan 's typically abysmal , inattentive direction .",
        "let me be blunt : you do n't mess with the zohan is the finest post-zionist action-hairdressing sex comedy i have ever seen .",
        "no matter what you think about zohan 's humor or its politics , in no universe should it have been longer than 85 minutes . 112 is punishment .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan is like a hellacious bad-hair day -- unkempt , unsightly and mildly embarrassing at best .",
        "someone needs to tell adam sandler enough is enough .",
        "you do n't laugh with the zohan , either .",
        "with the talented eye of an experienced editor from outside the happy madison circle , `` you do n't mess with the zohan '' might have actually been good .",
        "if silliness equaled greatness , you do n't mess with the zohan would instantly join citizen kane and it 's a wonderful life high atop the pantheon of great american films .",
        "somewhere inside this adam sandler slacker silliness there is a fierce and provocative little satire trying to get out .",
        "this is a silly , crass comedy about a badass israeli commando who secretly longs to be a hairdresser specialising in 1980s stylings .",
        "but it 's sandler who is pivotal to its amiable success . less precious , less power-tripping than the likes of ben stiller , jim carrey or mike myers , he never looks down on his material . he makes us laugh by willpower as much as technique .",
        "there 's a broad theory that no matter how funny the comedy , 90 minutes is the point at which audiences have had enough . you do n't mess with the zohan trundles on for 113 minutes , none of them funny .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan is a rude and routine adam sandler farce with some exceedingly sharp lines .",
        "a strange , mostly enjoyable mix of big political questions and crude comedy , zohan overcomes its skeletal plotting and uneven gag ratio through sandler 's sheer commitment to nonsense .",
        "another sloppily concocted and naggingly non-controversial pretext for sandler to pelvic thrust his way though a succession of increasingly wacky fish-out-of-water situations .",
        "amusing adam sandler comedy with a bonkers premise , a surprisingly likeable central character and a handful of decent gags .",
        "o pior filme da carreira de adam sandler ... e se considerarmos que estamos falando do g\u043anio por tr\u0431s de o paiz\u0433o e little nicky , esta constata\u0437\u0433o se torna mais do que deprimente ; torna-se apavorante .",
        "you should have known : you do n't expect much from the zohan .",
        "just when you think civilisation may be moving forward a bit -lrb- ok , i 'm an optimist -rrb- , another adam sandler movie comes along .",
        "happily , you do n't mess with the zohan , sandler 's first collaboration with co-writer and current hollywood comedy godhead judd apatow , is a crazed , delightfully bizarre return to form for sandler .",
        "it says something generally about the acting when mariah carey , playing herself , is as good or better than just about everyone else .",
        "the movie is n't exactly a breakthrough for sandler , but is a nice reminder of his expansive talents and kinder instincts that only occasionally win out in his films .",
        "recommended for the drunken college guy in all of us ... the funniest adam sandler movie since big daddy .",
        "crude , idiotic , ridiculous -- in other words , flat-out hilarious , and sandler 's funniest film in years .",
        "in the end , the movie feels as if it exists only to display the sandler 's biceps .",
        "while zohan purveys the familiar sandler mix of jewvenile humor and geriatric love , it 's less about a manic manchild than it is a raunchily wholesome message movie that deploys stereotypes in order to smash them .",
        "sandler has shown some spark in more dramatic roles , so it 's disappointing to see him return to his one-note ` form . '",
        "eventually falls apart in a heap of pointless celebrity cameos and repetitive jokes about hummus .",
        "more annoying than the crassness , really , is the directorial sloppiness -- which results in a virtually mirthless first half-hour .",
        "there are really only four jokes in the movie , and each of them goes from being pleasantly goofy to positively leaden as the film 's needlessly protracted running time unspools .",
        "`` zohan 's '' first hour may well be the strongest stretch of any sandler comedy . but , in its second half , the film 's humor takes a backseat in favor of a heavy-handed plea for mideast peace . a noble goal , of course , but not a very funny one .",
        "is n't all that different from any number of old adam sandler pictures . that 's to say that it 's not very good , and you probably wo n't find it terribly funny .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan tries to mix high-brow satire with low-brow gross-out humor . the combination kills the story 's pacing .",
        "for all its flaws , zohan remains a tolerable if inane piece of entertainment that scores points for trying ...",
        "sandler can still do it when it comes to silly .",
        "despite all of the film 's problems , there are still plenty of very funny moments and zohan is one of sandler 's more enjoyable characters .",
        "when i think of movies that have a locker-room mentality i think of movies like this one , another sleazy , dirty-minded offering from adam sandler .",
        "the movie has surprisingly little energy . sandler seems to think all he needs to do is talk in a phony middle-eastern accent to generate laughs , but what he 's saying should also be funny too , right ?",
        "the zohan is a mess",
        "when i watched `` zohan , '' i felt like i was watching two different films ... both of them not very good .",
        "for all its perceived shock value , all the concern that a comedy about conflict in the middle east would offend just about everyone imaginable , you do n't mess with the zohan is really rather conventional and familiar .",
        "a genial , hit-and-miss return to the ridiculous for adam sandler .",
        "finally , a funny sandler movie . it 's his franchise . he 's sexy too ! but why all the mel gibson slams ?",
        "it 's as if sandler took a trip to israel and came back with 6,000 jokes about hummus -lrb- the 6,000 penis jokes he did n't have to go anywhere to find -rrb- .",
        "the whole style of humor seems dated .",
        "in zohan , sandler , his co-writers and director dennis dugan keep tossing away jokes and throwing away significance .",
        "lots of lewd sandler stuff , but also some laughs .",
        "forget monty python , you do n't mess with the zohan is a circus that never really flies .",
        "zohan is a mess and then some .",
        "it goes on too long , but i enjoyed much of the crazy , off-the-wall nature of this political satire and the sandler-apatow brand of humour .",
        "i 'm all for politically incorrect humor , but there has to be humor in the political incorrectness , and i did n't get it here .",
        "this moviegoer has no trouble with lowbrow comedy . the problem with zohan , however , is that it 's like a kid who tells you a silly joke , gets a laugh , and immediately tells the same joke again .",
        "director duggan serves up a scattershot satire that is about as funny as a palestinian landmine at an israeli kiddie birthday party . broad , offensive and thinly veiled ...",
        "sandler 's unflappable jewish gigolo superhero hairdresser act is an overconceptualized drag .",
        "if only the zohan had n't messed with us . worse than his excruciating chuck and larry , sandler seems determined to refine the unfunny comedy . please , mr sandler , stop it . please . it hurts .",
        "things work out , of course , to everyone 's satisfaction : there are a few political gags that have a veneer of audacity , but in essence , the movie takes risks only with its audience 's gag reflex .",
        "if `` munich '' is the disease , the zohan is the cure . some hard little grains of truth make this sandler 's funniest movie since `` the waterboy . ''",
        "when it 's funny , it 's very , very funny , but when it 's bad , it 's downright awful .",
        "lame hair comedy riddled with greasy dandruff .",
        "given the missed opportunities for sharpening silliness with satire , it 's impossible not to mess with the zohan .",
        "you do n't have to be a sandler fan : if vulgarity mixed with a little sentiment is your thing , you 've come to the right place .",
        "if sight gags , genital jokes , and crazy caricatures are your thing , you do n't mess with the zohan pulls it off better than any movie since austin powers .",
        "since the comedy is co-written by three scribes , my guess would be that the bathroom humor and childish goofiness are product of sandler and company , whereas the more sexual and raunchy elements reflect the sensibility of judd apatow and his factory .",
        "i like sandler 's trademark combination of shock tactics and sweetness . there 's a crazed good-heartedness to zohan .",
        "but really -- 113 minutes ? some judicious trimming might have made the jokes ' hit-to-miss ratio way more tolerable .",
        "zohan is , against all odds , sandler 's funniest effort in close to a decade . not exactly a monumental feat given the junk he 's recently made a mint foisting on the american public , but still .",
        "another in the string of exercises in coarse infantilism that represent the studios ' idea of farce nowadays .",
        "it 's too long , with too many plot threads , too many penis jokes -lrb- and hummus jokes -rrb- , and too many `` unexpected '' celebrity cameos .",
        "a desperate , miserable experience .",
        "mess with the zohan if you like , but be prepared for the consequences . this picture is to comedy what carpet bombing is to aerial warfare : the onslaught is so relentless that occasional direct hits on the funny bone are a statistical guarantee .",
        "opens with a close-up of -lsb- zohan 's -rsb- bulging crotch and remains in that territory , in every sense , for the 113 minutes that it violates the screen",
        "so i smelled it , smelled it , smelled it and took it - and you know , i thought it was pretty good .",
        "the racial stereotypes that emerge in this film are as over the top and potentially offensive as eli wallach 's tuco in the good , the bad and the ugly . but what redeems the film to some degree is its general good naturedness ...",
        "amid the silliness , the boorishness and the vulgarity is a certain warmness and sweetness .",
        "for as stupid as it is , part of its problem is that it really is n't stupid enough .",
        "it 's a difficult feat to manage irony without antecedent , so rather than opt for knowing caricature -- like , say , adam goldberg 's the hebrew hammer -- zohan mostly opts for empty farce : topical humor for people unfamiliar with the topic .",
        "although this film could 've been hilarious , almost every scene ends up as crude or just plain silly . but adam sandler looks terrific as zohan !",
        "do n't mess with audiences , sandler . yet another bum movie from the actor that so steeped in stereotypes , it 's nauseating .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- voids that pitfall that brings down this genre of nutty comedy far more often than not : there 's nothing meanspirited about it . it 's crude in many ways ... but it 's never vulgar , and in fact it 's often strikingly sweet .",
        "this is one of those movie ideas that leaves you wondering what other ideas , exactly , were rejected in favor of this one , on the grounds of being too lame .",
        "harold and kumar escape from guantanamo removed the do not open band from the jar of terror jokes , and zohan reaches in with greedy hands , adding arab-israeli jokes as well .",
        "you do n't mess with the zohan is the best adam sandler comedy in ages - but for only the film 's first 20 minutes .",
        "his humor works best when it 's throw-away , but zohan throws everything up to get a yuck . it 's a shock to see how many ` yuck ! ' moments sandler settles for .",
        "essentially , you do n't mess with the zohan is n't all that different in tone and sensibility from sandler 's previous films , but he 's really trying in this one , and the effort pays off .",
        "zohan tries for a message of social relevance with a nod to america as the land of multicultural coexistence , but its real value is in air-fluffing our cares away for a couple of hours .",
        "it 's at its best when adam sandler is catching fish with his buttocks , just like most of his movies .",
        "zohan skirts any real issues , but maybe crass and messy is more reflective of the times and situation .",
        "not that you do n't mess with the zohan is meant to be taken seriously , nor is it meant to be an intelligent discussion of world politics . but even as a zany comedy whose backdrop kinda-sorta happens to have some heft to it , it falters .",
        "this collision of sensibilities may be funnier than much of sandler 's recent repertoire , but it 's also a clumsy , scattershot fiasco that 's more likely to offend those with astute comedic taste than anyone on either side of the israeli-palestine equation .",
        "you mess with the zohan at the risk of your own iq . but anyone who realizes or cares about such hazards has likely crossed the movie off the to-see list already .",
        "evidently there 's something even harder to pull off than middle eastern peace : a steady run of jokes that deserve our laughter -- if you do n't mess with the zohan is an indicator .",
        "the movie paints crude and insulting portraits of israelis and palestinians , going in for the basest stereotypes that would only bring a smile to the face of a klansman ."
    ],
    "summary": "you do n't mess with the zohan features intermittent laughs , and will please sandler diehards , but after awhile the leaky premise wears thin .",
    "id": "770671938"
  },
  {
    "movie": "queen_of_the_damned",
    "reviews": [
        "for a horror film that is supposed to have thrills and lots of gore , one is left feeling they went to see a comedy for all the nonsense there is .",
        "vapid , disjointed drivel .",
        "aaliyah steals the show as a villainous vampiric vixen in an otherwise ludicrous waste of a story .",
        "this film should have stayed in its coffin and never seen the light of day .",
        "... the film 's disjointed narrative makes it near impossible to ever become completely engrossed .",
        "anne rice goes heavy metal in hollywood 's latest installment of bloodsucker cinema .",
        "overall this horror picture , based on rice 's novel , is no good , but lead stuart townsend gives a far more compelling -lrb- and properly campy -rrb- performance than tom cruise did as lestat in the high-profile companion piece , interview with the vampire .",
        "rice 's complex , sprawling novel is rendered virtually incomprehensible by a combination of lacklustre direction , risible dialogue and shoddy effects .",
        "MOV is not a good film , but it 's definitely a watchable one .",
        "tom cruise had the good sense to stay away from reprising his role of lestat in this film .",
        "MOV degenerates into a lot of dull declaiming and attitudinizing , despite a sly tongue - in-cheek quality brought by a preening stuart townsend to the lestat role he inherited from the utterly humorless tom cruise .",
        "totally brainless , a laboriously florid attempt to fashion the sort of instant camp that arises only by accident .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he script is n't up to the level of the direction , nor are the uneven performances by the cast members , who seem bound and determined to duplicate bela lugosi 's now-cliched vampire accent .",
        "... the story does n't make a whole lot of sense ...",
        "-lsb- e -rsb- even if you can swallow the silly plot about a vampire turned rock star , the humorless script turns things sour , eliciting unintentional laughs instead of blood-curdling frights .",
        "the movie does n't reach the level of camp goofiness attained by films like the mummy returns and lara croft : tomb raider , perhaps because the filmmakers labor under the impression that anne rice 's works must be treated respectfully .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- soulless , stupid sequel ...",
        "... any episode of tv 's buffy the vampire slayer is better .",
        "all the sensuality , all the eroticism of a good vampire tale has been , pardon the pun , sucked out and replaced by goth goofiness .",
        "-lrb- aaliyah -rrb- absolutely transcends the screen and fills the whole theater with her presence ... she dominates this incongruous vampire flick with her chilling allure .",
        "... a visually seductive , unrepentantly trashy take on rice 's second installment of her vampire chronicles .",
        "there 's a bit of thematic meat on the bones of MOV , as its origins in an anne rice novel dictate , but generally , it 's a movie that emphasizes style over character and substance .",
        "when MOV knows it 's ridiculous , it 's moderately entertaining fun ; when it tries to be serious , it 's truly ridiculous .",
        "while the story is better-focused than the incomprehensible anne rice novel it 's based upon , MOV is a pointless , meandering celebration of the goth-vampire , tortured woe-is-me lifestyle .",
        "it 's not just the vampires that are damned in MOV -- the viewers will feel they suffer the same fate .",
        "... the kind of mess that never should have made it to theaters .",
        "aaliyah rarely dampens her diva persona enough to spark genuine chemistry with townsend . when she speaks , her creepy egyptian demigod voice is as computer processed and overproduced as it was in her music .",
        "MOV would n't be so bad if it were n't so boring .",
        "none of it makes the least bit of sense , and it 's all utterly ridiculous .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- here 's only so much anyone can do with a florid , overplotted , anne rice rock 'n' roll vampire novel before the built-in silliness of the whole affair defeats them .",
        "... there 's not a moment of fright or a modicum of suspense in any of its 101 minutes .",
        "it 's loud , garish , very stupid ... and thoroughly enjoyable rubbish .",
        "although there was hardly a clamoring among the filmgoing public for a sequel ... the popularity of rice 's series seemed reason enough to resurrect the characters .",
        "its look with haunt you .",
        "muddled , trashy and incompetent",
        "making 100 minutes seem like an eternity , michael rymer 's film is deathly tedious .",
        "MOV leaves us puzzled as to why the term ` damned ' applies at all , when vampirism is depicted as so cool , fashion-savvy and glamorous .",
        "in a 102-minute film , aaliyah gets at most 20 minutes of screen time . ... most viewers will wish there had been more of the `` queen '' and less of the `` damned . ''",
        "sums up all that 's wrong with contemporary cinema : unsubtle to the point of obviousness , it reeks of mtv and relies on volume to get its point across .",
        "it all looks very weak , and my heart went out to the excellent paul mcgann , who has to play a occult researcher looking permanently appalled at what is happening . as well he might .",
        "it 's only aaliyah that makes it watchable . for vampire lovers and goth rockers only .",
        "the three lead actors turn in worthy performances .",
        "basically , the film did n't make much sense to me , it did n't introduce me to any characters that i cared or knew much about .",
        "all flash and no substance .",
        "wait for this movie to come out on video , where you can witness the sucking in the privacy of your own home .",
        "ranks as an epic waste of time for fans of anne rice .",
        "... pretends the events happening are really as earth-shaking as the plot suggests , all the while reveling in bits of cheese ... make sure you take your sunglasses in with you since the sun will be shining when you leave the matinee .",
        "screenwriters scott abbott and michael petroni have turned rice 's complex akasha into a cartoon monster .",
        "the relentlessly tacky movie that the '80s left behind",
        "it 's a soundtrack in search of a movie .",
        "... does n't necessary punch a stake through its heart as far as cohesive plotlines and decent character development are concerned . slickly manufactured ... the intrusive gory antics coupled with a ludicrous premise makes for a mawkish mixture of mediocrity",
        "it 's striving to be cool to the core ... but it ultimately has more in common with beetlejuice than a black mass .",
        "a hideous , confusing spectacle , one that may well put the nail in the coffin of any future rice adaptations .",
        "aaliyah sings not a note , and is left only with 3 or 4 scenes in which she must utter silly , exclamation-pointed dialogue through her big false teeth .",
        "what was probably impressive in the books looks overwrought on the screen .",
        "aaliyah fans , as well as fans of charisma , sex , and violence , will be sorely disappointed .",
        "fate made the mistake of taking aaliyah instead of the film .",
        "rymer does n't trust laughs -- and does n't conjure proper respect for followers of the whole dead-undead genre , who deserve more from a vampire pic than a few shrieky special effects .",
        "it looks good , but it is essentially empty .",
        "wanker goths are on the loose ! run for your lives !",
        "it 's fun to watch and yet its soul is vacuous and empty .",
        "anne rice 's novels use vampirism to tell a story about the preciousness and fragility of life , but there 's no deeper meaning in this movie ...",
        "if legendary shlockmeister ed wood had ever made a movie about a vampire , it probably would look a lot like this alarming production , adapted from anne rice 's novel the vampire chronicles .",
        "neither scary nor smart , or even completely campy enough to be fun ...",
        "... just a big mess of a movie , full of images and events , but no tension or surprise .",
        "undemanding cheesy fun .",
        "MOV is too long with too little going on .",
        "... manages to deliver a fair bit of vampire fun .",
        "... with every element drained of blood , this queen is damned .",
        "the late r&b star aaliyah haunts an anne rice adaptation that feels like a vampire 's life : it goes on forever .",
        "this adaptation of famous author , anne rice , is going to have her legions of fans up in arms and weilding wooden stakes .",
        "a darkly satisfying night out for the post-cure crowd .",
        "rymer is n't too concerned with the plot ; he 's more interested in striking stylish , sometimes campy , poses .",
        "unexpectedly audacious , even daring .",
        "none of the characters is particularly likable , and the dialogue too often sounds like an endless string of overly dramatic churchillian one-liners , most delivered in that gaudy thick accent .",
        "a forgettable funhouse for aaliyah to play in .",
        "the performances are so leaden , michael rymer 's direction is so bloodless and the dialogue is so corny that the audience laughs out loud .",
        "the casting here is really what lifts the film above the normal run of bloody fangoria .",
        "... too gory to be a comedy and too silly to be an effective horror film .",
        "MOV 's target audiences are those younger moviegoers who attend raves and an appreciate the heavy metal and goth sensibilities . all others will probably find it alien terrain .",
        "despite blood-slurping , a goth rock score and even the chilling resurrection of aaliyah as the title character , this third installment of anne rice 's vampire chronicles seems curiously torpid .",
        "at its best when the music creeps up decibel by decibel , distorted power chords , mutant mortals spinning in slow-mo . and ... aaliyah is brilliantly visually stunning .",
        "even the ear-bleeding heavy-rock soundtrack ca n't cover up the sucking sound of a toothless vampire flick that never should 've seen the light of day .",
        "... a gloppy miasma of goo , blood and annoying sound effects .",
        "half-way into the film , we begin to wish akasha would finish us off .",
        "a muddled limp biscuit of a movie , a vampire soap opera that does n't make much sense even on its own terms .",
        "the only entertainment you 'll derive from this choppy and sloppy affair will be from unintentional giggles -- several of them .",
        "... the movie is just a plain old monster .",
        "here 's yet another studio horror franchise mucking up its storyline with glitches casual fans could correct in their sleep . but taken as a stylish and energetic one-shot , the MOV can not be said to suck .",
        "avoid this heavy metal hell at all costs .",
        "the movie frequently feels lethargic , with moody characters gliding hither and yon .",
        "at its best , queen is campy fun like the vincent price horror classics of the '60s . at its worst , it implodes in a series of very bad special effects .",
        "it screams ` video ' in every scene .",
        "... the real special effects here are townsend and perez , who are decidedly unconventional and whose lively scenes together come with a homoerotic campiness that seems straight out of the rocky horror picture show .",
        "for any of those die-hards still shunning daylight while anxiously awaiting the release of MOV , i have two words for you : sunblock , matinee . or , try this pair : dollar theater .",
        "directed by australian filmmaker michael rymer , who showed promise in the low-key angel baby , MOV is self-serious , pointless and silly .",
        "... looks luscious but feels as though a whole lot of story got lost between the page and the screen .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- boldly stroked , luridly coloured , uni-dimensional nonsense machine that strokes the eyeballs while it evaporates like so much crypt mist in the brain .",
        "MOV as you might have guessed , makes sorry use of aaliyah in her one and only starring role -- she does little here but point at things that explode into flame .",
        "... a great dose of vamp camp .",
        "a vampire flick for the mtv generation , -lsb- it 's -rsb- slow , plodding , pretentious and pseudo-serious .",
        "aaliyah still manages to suggest a new kind of soul sister whose talk-to-the-hand becomes a ferocious talk-to-the-flame .",
        "an ill-conceived jumble that 's not scary , not smart and not engaging .",
        "though the overall film is surprisingly decent , i can say , without question , that buffy the vampire slayer 's joss whedon could have made a much better film with this kind of budget .",
        "directed with goth pizzazz and brains by michael rymer .",
        "the good news is that MOV is n't as bad as you might expect . the bad news is that it is n't nearly as good as its predecessor , interview with the vampire .",
        "i did n't expect it to be a great movie , but how about down and dirty fun ?",
        "perhaps the sole reason to see this film is to pay final tribute to aaliyah . too bad it is n't a better movie .",
        "wishy-washy and hampered by cliche , sitting through this is like enduring a vampire life : it 's one long wait for the end .",
        "michael rymer stages high-tech sequences combining gore , romance , and gothy music , and he has enough conviction to make what could have been very silly strangely provocative .",
        "aaliyah is gorgeous , but that does n't save the film 's tedious pacing , and cheesy atmosphere in the end .",
        "it 's mainly an excuse for director michael rymer to unleash his arsenal of flashy , mtv-type visuals and moulin rouge costume designer angus strathie to play dress-up .",
        "it 's difficult to make a truly boring vampire picture , but the folks behind this draggy adaptation of anne rice 's bestsellers the vampire lestat and the MOV have done just that .",
        "whatever life there is to the movie is what -lsb- aaliyah -rsb- brings to it .",
        "the film is vampire roadkill .",
        "it is n't great entertainment or camp , but pic sets its ambitions so low , it ca n't help partially delivering on them .",
        "aaliyah makes a brief but memorable posthumous appearance about an hour into the nearly incoherent proceedings , which are riddled with unintentional guffaws .",
        "-lsb- s -rsb- o dull that you may be tempted to slip the projectionist 50 bucks to turn on the house lights and see what happens to the vampire cast .",
        "plays out rather drearily .",
        "the picture keeps the action and gore moving at a nice clip , invents a few interesting and funny new moments , and keeps it all very sexy .",
        "... aaliyah makes both a triumphant and eerie final curtain call .",
        "... works on some levels and is certainly worth seeing at least once .",
        "aaliyah 's performance is n't much -- her hips and the costume do most of the work -- but there is a definite movie-star presence there .",
        "stands as a rare , satisfying diversion into the world of vampires .",
        "whole stretches of the film may be incomprehensible to moviegoers not already clad in basic black .",
        "devoid of even mtv-caliber originality .",
        "it 's not so much an archetypical romantic irony as a manic-depressive fancy brought on by a hormonal imbalance ."
    ],
    "summary": "a muddled and campy mtv-styled vampire movie with lots of eye candy and bad accents .",
    "id": "13541"
  },
  {
    "movie": "playing_by_heart",
    "reviews": [
        "the film works well as a whole and is lively from start to finish .",
        "in fact , it could have benefited from having one or two plot threads snipped . but it 's hard to argue with any film that boasts a cast of this caliber .",
        "an always-entertaining and fairly thoughtful film on the subject of love , and how everyone hopes for it in one way or another .",
        "mushy yet funny and intelligent , the beautifully executed new film MOV is an ideal romantic comedy-drama for a winter afternoon .",
        "carroll is satisfied to just give us a feel for the personality of the characters . the veteran actors know how to make the most of their time .",
        "it will come as no surprise to fans of elvis costello that his beautifully expressed observation that `` writing about music is like dancing about architecture '' has served as inspiration for a motion picture .",
        "just like love itself , this movie is distinct and appreciated by all on many different levels .",
        "the dozen or so lead characters of MOV fear silence the way biblical people feared locusts .",
        "an underrated , dreamy drama about love , lust and infidelity amongst inter-connected los angeleans . jolie rises to the challenge .",
        "MOV tries hard and sometimes succeeds -- and jolie is terrific .",
        "nothing more than merely watchable film .",
        "all of these characters are more interesting when things are going badly for them than when the tide has turned , and carroll 's determination to make the final reel an extended bout of audience tummy tickling is disappointingly conventional .",
        "the brightest spot belongs to angelina jolie , who is so compelling to watch she has chemistry with the furniture .",
        "this charming romantic comedy with a los angeles setting cuts between seemingly unconnected miniplots the way some robert altman movies do .",
        "a very slight and inoffensive movie . it 's a lot like l.a. itself , all surface , soothing and warm .",
        "carroll 's milieu is resolutely middle class and the crises encountered all too predictable .",
        "carroll 's characters spend so much time talking , albeit intelligently , that the connections they make seem peculiarly synthetic .",
        "the lack of time gives the last reel a fakey , tied-up-with-a-bow feeling , but good performances and a good script make this an enjoyable little romance .",
        "an intriguing patchwork of relationships converges into a portrait of modern love in MOV , a wry , satisfying emotional saga .",
        "a heavily mixed bag ; high points come with jon stewart 's sweet courtship of gillian anderson and a brilliant turn from a young unknown named angelina jolie .",
        "the script 's overall artifice , combined with a convenient burst of `` i love yous '' and an all-too-obvious surprise ending , work to undermine an otherwise interesting concept .",
        "willard carroll 's cleverly interconnected -lrb- sometimes annoyingly so -rrb- tale of six different relationships is populated by a horde of big-name stars ...",
        "a well-scripted ensemble drama about eleven people in los angeles searching for love .",
        "if MOV is the kind of film that used to be known as a `` woman 's picture , '' it certainly provides more emotional nourishment than most other mainstream movies generate these days .",
        "despite its first rate cast and some very well-crafted segments , MOV too often comes off like an ungainly , land-locked love boat episode with a glandular disorder .",
        "as a puzzle , MOV is fairly simple . luckily , observing the artwork of the individual pieces is more than enough reward .",
        "unfortunately as bland as its forgettable title ,",
        "it 's much more enjoyable than this sort of date-movie thing normally is , and that success can mostly be credited to the big names populating the film .",
        "everyone has his or her moment , although it is the older folks -lrb- connery and rowlands -rrb- and the youngsters -lrb- jolie and phillippe -rrb- who come off best , giving affecting performances in roles that serve as generational bookends in the film .",
        "jolie 's spunky , heartfelt , oscar-nod-worthy performance is easily the film 's best -- which is no small feat , considering the caliber of the actors surrounding her .",
        "gena rowlands and sean connery head the cast as a mature couple approaching their 40th wedding anniversary , and they 're so superb together that it 's a wonder no one ever thought of teaming them before .",
        "there was a lot for me to like in this film , but i felt it did n't really add up to much ...",
        "as a young scenemaker who keeps landing in one bad relationship after another , jolie does n't exactly avoid the pitfalls of the material she 's given . but her performance is flabbergasting .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- n tune with the current trend toward movies that coddle the audience with reassuring sentiments .",
        "the performers have charm even when their material gets hollow or silly , cinematographer vilmos zsigmond gives los anegeles a bright , colourful look , and plenty of snappy dialogue and good tunes are on offer .",
        "eventually and predictably , the movie , written and directed by willard carroll , brings all of the disparate pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle that is solved , miraculously , by dropping all of the pieces on the floor .",
        "what a cast ! what a waste !",
        "i like this film a lot , a genuine grown up movie that will hurt , amuse and amaze its target audience , and maybe surprise you if you are not it .",
        "the dialogue makes the episodes diverting a fair amount of the time ; it also disguises a script that has virtually nothing interesting or new to say about relationships .",
        "a strong , though sometimes trite , script and good direction keep all the threads going until the tales intertwine .",
        "f you 're willing to go with the warmed-over sentimentality and unoriginal situations , you 'll be grandly entertained by some of hollywood 's accomplished performers .",
        "for all its artificiality , MOV percolates with an earnest charm .",
        "the movie is consistently well-acted and features a gallery of characters so affable that it 's difficult to actively dislike any of them , or , for that matter , the film as a whole ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's overly talky , but MOV benefits from witty insights into modern relationships and strong performances from an esteemed cast .",
    "id": "13071"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1153987-nanny_mcphee",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV may well delight kids -- if not eternally -- but their adult chaperones , hoping for pleasures of their own from the thompson-firth contingent , are bound to find it a bit lacking .",
        "... an appealing tale of youthful empowerment and whimsy .",
        "both very odd and very straightforward .",
        "what could have been just a middling kids ' movie turns out to be sweet and humorous , the first truly joyful film of 2006 .",
        "emma thompson has provided an amazing script that is smart and wholesome -lrb- what a charming change from the usual -rrb-",
        "it 's about time somebody put some enchantment back into the profession , and mcphee is the appealing and visually vibrant family film diversion that provides the spark .",
        "the comparisons to mary poppins may be inevitable , but MOV has more in common with willy wonka and the chocolate factory -lrb- the gene wilder , not the johnny depp -rrb- than it does with anything chim chim cheree ...",
        "likely to fascinate children , even if it may leave adults bored at times .",
        "a thoroughly charming story that has enough magic and slapstick to please the youngsters , and enough heart to make mom and dad happy",
        "the film delivers the kind of humor and excitement that is expected from the genre , with an extra helping of deviance and sharp wit .",
        "under the surface , the movie has a streak of roald dahl-style darkness which dilutes the sugar .",
        "unfortunately , colin firth seems as though he 's on auto-pilot and the relationship between his character and evangeline is unconvincing , if not borderline inappropriate .",
        "emma thompson is a treat as the eponymous childminder .",
        "thompson is impossible to dislike , but her ineffable grace and sympathy are not as evident as usual .",
        "como toda boa f\u00e1bula , pode servir como um bom impulso para que pais e filhos discutam temas importantes para o desenvolvimento emocional e psicol\u00f3gico das crian\u00e7as .",
        "parents may find more to enjoy in it than kids , since the little buggers are probably only there for the magic , of which there 's not nearly enough .",
        "the young ` uns could certainly do worse than MOV as they await the next instalment of potter .",
        "there 's no spoon of sugar given by this nanny , but like mary poppins , MOV knows how to sort out needy children as well as their needy father .",
        "this whimsical and wonderfully nasty children 's tale is thoroughly enjoyable , if not hugely notable .",
        "there is something deeply satisfying about a fable that ... pays strict attention to the serious moral lesson to be learned from it while also strictly adhering to a loopy , almost anarchic sense of fun .",
        "i do n't like movies about bratty children , but ` MOV ' won me over completely .",
        "whimsical MOV is the most magical child minder to come along since mary poppins .",
        "`` MOV '' is an irreverent tale that somehow becomes endearing by making discipline diverting .",
        "MOV ? nanny mcphooey is more like it .",
        "its appeal likely will be for the youngest in the household . all others might wish that this nanny had recalled a bit of bette davis ' nanny in 1965 's `` the nanny . ''",
        "the wildly colorful costumes and the jubilant defiance of the film 's terrorizing tykes simply is not enough for MOV to get its hapless house in order .",
        "emma thompson as MOV has just enough magic to make this movie work .",
        "chariming , colorful , funny and silly enought that only a grinch would object .",
        "there 's nothing offhand or spontaneous-feeling about MOV ; it 's a highly mechanical piece of work , and its potentially delightful details are wasted .",
        "even those of us not pining nostalgically for mary poppins can feel the slump of a long , downward trajectory . MOV plops .",
        "the saccharine production design and nasty pink-and-red buxom costumes are as fabulous as the full palette of hysterical performances .",
        "thank you , MOV , for restoring my faith in the family movie",
        "the script 's wry humor survives even the hambone directing of kirk jones , who amps up the performances and the color scheme to cartoony extremes .",
        "despite the heavy makeup and prosthetics , emma thompson shapes a touching and mysterious character . MOV is a fine film for the whole family .",
        "a spoonful of sugar would be just the start to make this unappetizing family film properly go down ...",
        "... worth it if your kids are enjoying the movie . otherwise , a little of MOV can go a long way .",
        "you ca n't confuse `` MOV '' with `` mary poppins '' although `` nanny '' does bear a resemblance to the original , non-disney writings of the heroine of p.l. travers ' beloved books .",
        "... just the type of fun , thoughtful escapism that should enjoy a long shelf life on dvd . in one of the most dismal cinematic januarys ever , ` MOV ' is a sly little gem .",
        "its striking combination of day-glo psychedelic colors and a rich streak of morbidity is enough to keep it afloat most of the time .",
        "not your father 's mary poppins , and all the better for it",
        "with one tap of her cane , MOV will charm children and adults alike .",
        "do n't expect to leave the theater singing -- MOV is n't a musical -- but you 'll be grinning . you may not even care if your snaggletooth is showing .",
        "although such elements lend the film an edge most american children 's films would n't dare , MOV is actually quite conventional in virtually every other regard .",
        "working as both a fantasy of wish fulfillment for parents and a raucous , broad live-action cartoon for kids , MOV is an above-average family film .",
        "MOV is n't a bad film , just a disappointing one .",
        "the kiddie komedy of MOV shows that mary poppins plus charles dickens can add up to less than even cheaper by the dozen .",
        "much like MOV herself , the movie is n't pretty , but hiding underneath its gaudy exterior are a few worthwhile lessons , a gleefully morbid sense of humor and , best of all , an actual beating heart .",
        "to those of you who always wanted to refer to mary poppins as ` the hot one , ' your hour has come !",
        "as i watched , however , i realized MOV was n't a child 's fantasy at all . it was my fantasy .",
        "MOV , though it drags a bit in its middle acts , finishes with such gusto that neither you nor your kids will need a spoonful of anything to make this movie medicine go down .",
        "this bracing adaptation of the nurse matilda books by christianna brand is the acidic antidote to mary poppins sweetness .",
        "it 's no mary poppins , to be sure . whatever could be ? but even that magical movie icon would be excessively diverted by MOV 's antics .",
        "the result is quite wonderful , a funny and affecting family confection . only time will tell , but it may even be a classic . it 's that good .",
        "lack of visual dazzle , combined with barely sympathetic child characters , keeps the film from enchanting as fully as it might have .",
        "mcphee is a composite of margaret hamilton , mrs. piggle-wiggle and the grunting karl from sling blade .",
        "except for a few nice , honest moments that manage to sneak in , watching MOV is like being beaten over the head with a toy mallet : harmless , yet awfully irritating .",
        "naughty -lrb- and nice -rrb- children of all ages , particularly little girls , should gobble this one up , and rightly so .",
        "in a seemingly blithe way , the movie captures an aspect of child consciousness not usually explored onscreen -- that zone between innocence and knowledge .",
        "based on the series of nurse matilda stories for young adults written by the late christianna brand , this quirky , uncommonly intelligent adaptation is a strange delight .",
        "MOV has its own enduring charm , a mix of witty dialogue , pie-throwing slapstick and eccentric family portrait .",
        "en every way an exemplary children 's film , but it 's much more than that : at its best , it resembles the gently whimsical ealing comedies of the '50s .",
        "MOV is one of those raucous , hyperactive kiddie flicks that knocks you upside the head from its opening frame .",
        "at its most enjoyable the film feels like roald dahl 's idea of mary poppins -- and on occasion , the sound of music .",
        "as far as movies about enchanting nannies go , mary poppins is certainly the classic favorite . but the delightfully quirky and heartwarming MOV could be a close second .",
        "for a movie that aspires to capture the magic of a classic fairy tale , MOV has all the warmth and charm of the assembly instructions for an ikea bookshelf .",
        "if some of the movie 's effects are distractingly shoddy -lrb- see : the unconvincing dancing donkey -rrb- , thompson is rather divine .",
        "wow ! what a delightful , colorful , magical little gem of a movie .",
        "the only group of people that might not fully enjoy ` MOV ' is dentists who may shudder at the sight of the title character 's one elongated tooth . for everyone else , sit back and enjoy .",
        "thompson ca n't or wo n't diverge much from standard fairy-tale plotting , but enlivens the familiar situation comedy with some pleasingly tart lines .",
        "a delightfully odd tale ... -lrb- thompson -rrb- fills her story with amusing situations and an appealingly whimsical atmosphere .",
        "MOV should work for the kids , but it 's the unusual adult who will find these proceedings charming .",
        "thompson 's the title caregiver in this witty , rollicking kids ' movie that adults will enjoy , too .",
        "everything about emma thompson 's MOV is pleasant . it 's pleasantly amusing , pleasantly enchanting and just pleasant enough to take the kids to a matinee .",
        "a winning tale of naughty children in need of love and the mysterious governess who comes to their aid .",
        "this charmless comic fantasy is a major disappointment .",
        "MOV is clever enough , but it never feels like it 's hitting quite the right notes .",
        "MOV offers solid family entertainment in the face of it all . mary poppins , eat your heart out .",
        "thompson 's script is clever and , despite that monstrous makeup , her performance is deliciously balanced by the standards of what is , after all , a children 's fable .",
        "a howling headache-inducer that features bratty urchins prone to torturing people and a color scheme resplendent with hot-pink bustiers and peeling lime paint .",
        "kudos to all : this is sophisticated children 's fare .",
        "a fugly mary poppins meets nanny 911 in this family comedy whose overly familiar elements still go down easily as if with a spoonful of sugar .",
        "with yours , mine and ours and cheaper by the dozen 2 lately cluttering up the multiplexes with teeming masses of onscreen children in search of a better agent , MOV arrives as a jolly improvement .",
        "what initially feels like a knockoff of `` mary poppins '' blossoms into something else entirely -- an assured , spunky story with such a resonant feel that it seems to have been pulled from an ancient fairy tale .",
        "MOV is perfect for little girls .",
        "thompson and firth are fun ... but for the story to work , we have to sympathize with the kids at least a little bit , and that 's quite difficult here .",
        "imaginative and funny , MOV resembles a julie andrews film festival -- without andrews .",
        "thompson never allows MOV to become cute or cuddly , but manages to make the children -- and us -- love her , warts and all .",
        "occasionally sparkles with a promise of becoming something more than it ever really is .",
        "the movie is a little too self-consciously charming and some of the humor seems forced or even creepy . but it is highly entertaining to see the children misbehave and the happy ending , if unsurprising , is welcome and satisfying .",
        "based on christianna brand 's nurse matilda kid 's book series , one can see how the material might have had potential , if the cast were not pressing so much for laughs .",
        "as entertainment for anyone over 10 , MOV is a supercalifragilisticexpialadisappointment .",
        "and while those classics , like julie andrews ' incandescent maria and poppins , were practically perfect in every way , MOV is quite deserving of its own special place in the magical universe .",
        "MOV casts a captivating spell .",
        "if you have someone under 10 to take to the movies , this one is charming and painless .",
        "a delightful surprise , visually witty and almost unfailingly charming , perhaps the best film of its kind since ` babe . ' this should become a family perennial .",
        "... off-putting in a garish way .",
        "the movie is hampered by production designer michael howell 's garish neon color palate contrasted against clownish costumes by nic ede ...",
        "this is so deliciously over the top on so many levels ... from beastly behavior to gross and excessive destruction to gross and excessive excesses ... with the simple direct lessons woven in well ... brilliant , funny , uplifting for adults as well as children .",
        "emma thompson 's smart script and the uncanny dignity she brings to her mary poppins-esque children 's nurse make up for a lot of flaws .",
        "i found myself tearing up right on cue , -lrb- patrick doyle knows all my buttons -rrb- but sincerely , enjoying the magical tale as much as if i were a small child .",
        "should play well with the small fry , though adults may be more bothered by the clumsy shifts in tone .",
        "mary poppins as imagined by lon chaney .",
        "frothy and fun yet deliciously dark ...",
        "the intermittent pleasures -lsb- MOV -rsb- affords , provided chiefly by a standout cast in high camp mode , make it a passable destination for a family outing .",
        "any time thompson curls that prosthetic snaggletooth over her lower lip and murmurs a nearly inaudible harrumph is a comic moment to be treasured .",
        "it relies on a good story and interesting characters a lot more than it does on eye candy .",
        "the kids will love the candy-box sets and costumes like confectionery-shop windows , the whimsy and farcical grotesqueness of it all .",
        "pleasantly diverting .",
        "think of it edward gorey meets mary poppins .",
        "a bizarrely colorful , over-the-top mash-up of roald dahl-esque edwardian dramedy and the cover of the rolling stones ' their satanic majesties request .",
        "... a very adult revel in all things childish and a comical expression of dramatic themes . while not quite a classic , it is nonetheless a magically constructed children 's film .",
        "MOV is a rare family film that manages to be funny without being gross , and heartwarming without being cloying .",
        "... -lsb- thompson -rsb- gives mcphee a gravitas that provides the movie with a deep core of feeling .",
        "... a colorful and exuberant but by-the-numbers and fairly charm-free concoction that seems overly calculated to pander to the currently hot movie-market for kids ' movies with magical british characters .",
        "... a movie whose twisted visual imagination is more forceful than its wobbly , zigzagging narrative .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- utterly predictable , yet garishly charming children 's tale ,",
        "a delightful and macabre family film that celebrates the naughtiness of kids as a cover for their playful creativity .",
        "will kids like the movie ? i suspect they will . kids like to see other kids learning the rules even if they do n't much want to learn them themselves .",
        "the fun is doled out in small portions and the film is so passive that younger kids will probably fidget in their seats .",
        "it 's more of a kids ' film than a grown-up 's movie , with a good message at its heart .",
        "the kind of movie that i would have loved to seen as a kid . magical stuff . i look forward to the sequel . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "MOV really works ... despite all of its common plots and ideas , because it stays true to storybook conventions that have never and will never get old .",
        "an exquisitely designed fable that will delight adults as well as their offspring through its beguiling innocence and hushed , low-key charm .",
        "MOV falls back on the nickelodeon principle `` if all else fails , hit 'em with a retina-searing overload of visual and aural information . ''",
        "there are many different kinds of children 's movies , and this one tries to be all of them at once -- including one of those in which the children are smarter than the adults .",
        "often as garish and shrill as it is magical and enchanting .",
        "... pleasing but ultimately unsatisfying .",
        "frays in the second half ... fancy darcy as a limp romantic lead !",
        "its redeeming virtues are thompson , firth and kelly macdonald as firth 's adoring housemaid ; they manage to give genuine , affecting performances in the midst of all the outlandish , obnoxious goings-on ."
    ],
    "summary": "a bit alarming at first , MOV has a hard edge to counter mary poppins-style sweetness , but it still charms us and teaches some valuable lessons .",
    "id": "2864439"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wreck_it_ralph",
    "reviews": [
        "witty , inventive , beautifully animated and , most importantly , heartfelt .",
        "this is an engaging adventure with likeable characters and some nice ideas , though the pacing flags in the second half and there 's a nagging sense of unexplored potential .",
        "it 's arguably the best pixar-style feature from disney that has n't actually been made directly by its acquired , multi-oscar winning arm .",
        "put a coin in the slot and sit back and enjoy ; it 's the best pixar movie the studio did n't make , and there can be no higher praise .",
        "it 's a cgi time-machine for those who misspent their youth developing rsis on bleeping 8-bit arcade consoles .",
        "i found the idea of teens laying down their coins to play arcade games in this present day a strange , semi-intentional archaism - nostalgic wish-fulfilment on the part of the middle-aged people creating the movie .",
        "the chubby 3d animation , smart-alecky product placement and potty humour all capped my enthusiasm about halfway to total delight .",
        "play an actual videogame instead .",
        "disney have struck gold outside of their partnership with pixar , delivering a riotous , sharp and stirring rollercoaster ride of an animated film , reinforced by clever , sentimental video game references and saccharine delight .",
        "disney 's found a lot to play with here , but you may find yourself itching to take the controls .",
        "it 's a lovely pretext for dazzling visuals , yet the production is diminished by the clumsiness of an 8-bit script .",
        "like a video game , rich moore 's 3-d film is colorful , noisy , and pixel-deep .",
        "the witty and vibrant worlds are gorgeously imagined -lrb- and of course now available in game form themselves -rrb- , with a satisfying balance of heart and humor .",
        "wreck-it ralph is an absolutely wonderful film , nothing short of a glorious , full-blown rebirth for disney animation studios .",
        "`` wreck-it ralph '' is a lot like video games and candy : light entertainment but fun while it lasts .",
        "wreck-it ralph is the latest in a rash of recent movies fired up with imaginative risk . director moore brings a video junkie 's passion to the movie game , and it 's hilariously infectious .",
        "delightfully off the rails , offering a grown-up-friendly tone and merging of visual styles that are reminiscent of the studio 's 1988 animated homage to film noir , `` who framed roger rabbit . ''",
        "probably wo n't endure like the best of disney 's animated canon , but it 's a slight , well-meaning entertainment all the same .",
        "if ever a movie deserved the tag line ` get ready to root for the bad guy , ' it 's this .",
        "a witty , imaginative romp that should please some viewers with its nostalgic references to the pastimes they affectionately remember and everybody else with its explosion of sheer exuberance and warmth .",
        "wreck-it ralph is a major advancement for walt disney animation studios in all regards .",
        "while not quite the 80s gaming throwback it implies , this is a sweet , clever animated adventure .",
        "easily the best animated film in a year full of crushing disappointments , wreck-it ralph is a heart-warming ode to retro gaming that will enrapture gamers and pretty much everyone else along the way .",
        "there 's a bonus level of enjoyment for video-game aficionados who might never look at classic arcade games quite the same way again .",
        "do n't worry . you wo n't be the only grownup seeing ` wreck-it ralph . ' and if you want to take your family , you will be laughing just as hard as the younger viewers .",
        "funny , heartwarming , interesting characters , but just a little bit overlong .",
        "wreck-it ralph , under the keen executive producer eye of pixar titan john lasseter , is what would happen if toy story & shrek had a video game lovechild .",
        "the world created in the movie is so utterly fascinating that i desperately want to see what other kind of amazing , creative tales can be told within it .",
        "not a wreck but the movie does have some problems .",
        "ralph and his new friends offer much action and adventure , but the movie scores most of all with its poignant scenes and the relationships among its characters .",
        "visually ambitious and packed with inside jokes for arcade gamers , this colourful animated adventure is an enjoyable romp but is probably too energetic for its own good .",
        "`` wreck-it ralph '' blends poignancy and a piston-powered plot that revels in both visual inventiveness and a vaudevillian sense of timing .",
        "`` wreck-it ralph '' does n't just wreck 'em . it darn near kills 'em .",
        "the farcical story is cute , the dialogue witty and the players charming .",
        "it 's pure plastic product from plot line to the pro forma 3-d to the tidy moral lessons - ersatz family entertainment as disposable as it is diverting .",
        "the movie invites a measure of cynicism - which it proceeds to obliterate with a 93-minute blast of color , noise , ingenuity and fun .",
        "wreck-it ralph is pop nirvana , a headlong rush through classic arcade games and nintendo standards that 's not too busy playing spot-the-reference to keep from paying off in laughs and heart .",
        "`` wreck-it ralph '' builds on a wonderful premise that explores whether folks are condemned to be victims of their own circumstances .",
        "think `` tron '' with belly laughs . or `` night at the museum '' with any laughs .",
        "call it tron for little kids . or toy story for their arcade generation parents .",
        "powered by a standout concept delivered upon in winning fashion , this fun film serves as the most natural and effortlessly readymade animated feature for future franchise exploration since shrek .",
        "an even more enriching experience than i had anticipated .",
        "it 's a superbly rendered , supremely creative effort that lovingly pays tribute to 1980s arcade games .",
        "disney hits all its demographic targets from those whose first gaming experience is angry birds to those who know their asteroids from their defender .",
        "anyone who grew up within a controller cable length of a gaming console will need to see this film .",
        "-lsb- it earns -rsb- an emotional final payoff , when it could have easily coasted on the nostalgia of parents , and the undiscerning tastes of infants . that it also injects a number of thrilling action sequences and witty asides is just icing on the delectable cake .",
        "as a new father you can fully trust me when i say things like ` wreck-it ralph ' is fun for the whole family , even though my family wo n't find that out for another five years .",
        "wreck-it-ralph is one of the year 's best animated features -lrb- if not the best -rrb- and it 's the attention to detail in the tightly-written script that gives it such an edge .",
        "with its inventive premise , clever script and wacky characters , this family friendly film tells the story of the video game 's bad guy , whose colourful adventures and life affirming journey allow him to realise his true worth",
        "this witty and brilliantly executed disney production is looser and less insistent on your emotional acquiescence than its pixar counterparts ...",
        "this movie - much like toy story before it - imagines what might happen if toys ' designated functions face challenges , if characters have ideas that take them beyond expectations .",
        "it 's fun for awhile , but it 's not a video game you 'll come back to once you set down the controller .",
        "the film flies off in all sorts of directions , all of them rewarding . but the best trick is how screenwriters phil johnston and jennifer lee bring everything back together , even the seemingly least-related elements .",
        "rings a few welcome changes on the disney-princess mythos , but it still feels like a game you 've played before .",
        "i do not care one bit about video games . even if i did , i suspect i would n't be a fan of the loud and frenzied `` wreck-it ralph . ''",
        "the most inventive and entertaining family movie i 've seen this year , packed with wickedly smart humor and joyful animation .",
        "starts out as a funny high scorer but limps into a second half as flat as those quarters we once pumped into arcade machines long ago .",
        "wreck-it ralph feels like so many modern aaa gaming titles-a promising starting point for an inevitable , improved sequel .",
        "built for fun ... in its dazzlingly elaborate production design and kinetic 3d action ... perfect casting ... who framed roger rabbit-esque video-game-character cameos , and a cramming of clever comic touches ...",
        "sweet enough but in the end a bit of a corny-syrupy wipeout , this is middling family-night fare , but it never even comes close to the emotional or technical wizardry of pixar 's finest moments .",
        "a gorgeously rendered story that will play just as well to children as to their parents , albeit for different reasons . playstation and xbox junkies will be equally pleased .",
        "what makes this work is not only the in-jokes for video game fans , but the rich characterization .",
        "the imagery is amazing - and always witty . this is a disney cartoon - but it 's got the imagination and brains of a pixar feature .",
        "a bouncy , boingy ball of candy-colored fun , wreck-it ralph is intended as pure entertainment for wee boys and girls . and i bet most adults will find it a hoot to boot .",
        "disney animation takes a page out of pixar 's well-worn playbook for this , a screwball farce with a novel setting and more edge than your average disney ` toon .",
        "a sweet , colorful 3-d animated feature that finds disney passing its stuck-in-a-rut partners at pixar .",
        "more than another standard cutesy reference-fest with some exciting chases and an eventual upbeat message .",
        "bursting with candy-bright colors and zoomy action , pixar 's `` wreck-it ralph '' should prove as entertaining as a sugar rush for its young target audience .",
        "the story often feels jumbled and unfocused . but the details of the video-game world are intricate and wonderfully realized .",
        "the art design and color palette of `` wreck-it ralph '' permit unlimited sets , costumes and rules , giving the movie tireless originality and different behavior in every different cyber word .",
        "wreck-it ralph never does anything groundbreaking with this idea , but it 's cute and clever and evokes nostalgia for gamers of the '80s and '90s .",
        "if only the konami code could fix this script .",
        "amid all the boring crashing and chasing and slapstick , there are some brilliant flashes of wit -lrb- particularly a reference to the guards in the wizard of oz -rrb- .",
        "it was such a great time at the cinema ; i was expecting to like it and i ended up falling in love .",
        "it does n't quite carry the heft of toy story , but there 's a lot of heart packed into these zeroes and ones .",
        "it 's a fine piece of moviemaking that has a little something for kids who do n't remember when games were played in arcades and adults who will delight in the tweaking of a bygone era .",
        "it 's a great dynamic and it works but my favorite character isn the whole thing was alan tudyck as king candy , such a hilarious throwback to the mad hatter from alice in wonderland .",
        "a delightful contrast to moore 's frenetic adventure is offered by an accompanying short subject paper man ... the reason for the `` plus '' in my grade , and a likely oscar nominee in the animated short film category .",
        "consider it a force in the best animated film oscar race",
        "wreck-it ralph makes you think that an animated comedy this humorous , original , and entertaining has to be unhealthy .",
        "the metaphor is clever , injecting real-life risk and reward into these beautifully artificial vistas , scored to composer henry jackman 's nintendo-worthy beeps and bloops .",
        "the story pushes a heartfelt message , but the humorous antics are pitched at a strictly juvenile level that will have parents yawning while their children roar in approval .",
        "for anyone with a grade-schooler and a free saturday , it 's a pretty safe and painless bet . and a great excuse to go up to the attic later and see if you can dig out your old atari 2600 .",
        "the breakout star here is silverman , who channels her caustic kewpie doll stand-up personality into the impish vanellope to give her some bite and a lot of heart .",
        "wreck-it ralph is like the happy hallucination a 14 year old kid in 1986 might have had after ingesting a dozen or so pixie sticks and a liter of jolt cola",
        "the most fun i 've had in a theater for quite a long time .",
        "wreck-it ralph is n't great but it 's not a total train wreck either .",
        "wreck-it ralph knows that it can only play at its inside jokes for so long before the shtick gets old .",
        "wreck-it ralph is consistently inventive , displaying a sturdy story structure that makes it more than just a simplistic romp for the gen-x crowd .",
        "this is a hugely enjoyable entry in the walt disney animation studios catalogue . it sits well alongside the likes of tangled , balancing both anarchic humour and classic disney sentimentality very well .",
        "an adorable winner ...",
        "a colourfully cute romp for kids .",
        "the film is nicely animated but confusing enough to be almost impenetrable at times .",
        "warm , witty , wacky and wonderful , wreck-it ralph deserves to stand alongside the best of disney , while also feeling like it would n't be out of place at pixar 's table .",
        "this certainly is n't the best disney film to come along , but it 's a decent outing for families .",
        "the prospect of inevitable sequels is more than bearable .",
        "for some , ralph 's spell in sugar rush 's candy-coloured world may induce hyperglycaemia ... but hard-core gamers will have a blast picking up all the gaming in-jokes and references that fly over everyone else 's heads .",
        "just like the camera gave us the heads of frankenstein and hellboy , so we always get ralph 's giant hands first here .",
        "it 's a little frantic at times but great fun , clever and well-crafted .",
        "like most any game , wreck-it ralph is most fun when it 's messing around without a particular goal .",
        "life lessons about being true to yourself are learned along the way , delivered with all the subtlety of felix 's hammer , but wreck-it ralph actually makes us care about these videogame characters and their dreams .",
        "while only the first forty minutes are super , on the whole wreck-it ralph is a whole lot of fun .",
        "there are a staggering number of rules governing the gameplay in wreck-it ralph , and one of the toon 's greatest pleasures comes in how intuitively audiences discover those parameters as the story unfolds .",
        "with a mix of retro eye-candy for grown-ups and a thrilling , approachable storyline for the tykes , the film casts a wide and beguiling net .",
        "nothing but broad , pandering indexes tailored to appeal to the arcade wistfulness it never even bothers to convincingly evoke .",
        "beneath the pixelated gags , the stakes are relatively familiar . however , much of the humor in `` wreck-it ralph '' riffs on the nostalgia associated with real games .",
        "the filmmakers deserve credit for creating different worlds , each with distinctive look , but like most road films , the tale is overly episodic , lacking the unified vision that has marked the genre 's best works .",
        "a cleverly conceived , coin operated machine .",
        "` wreck-it ralph ' is a clutter of noise , eye-wearying animation , frenetic action and two-dimensional characters .",
        "a brilliant concept in search of a movie . starts off really strong with sly humor and wit that devolves into cheap kiddie jokes .",
        "yeah , i said it . wreck-it ralph compares with the toy story movies . it 's the equal to those films in terms of joy , character , sweetness and , most of all , heart .",
        "the creators , more than most , understand that a good setting and fun sight gags are secondary to a story with heart .",
        "wreck-it ralph is colorful and harmless . it 's also harmless and colorful . that just about covers it .",
        "has no apparent goal other than being the biggest , most colorful film it can be , with a warm and fuzzy message that is n't aiming to be sophisticated , and it does what it sets out to do .",
        "that disney 's in-house effort mostly plays like an actual pixar film is a fine compliment .",
        "a manic children 's film about the souls of video game avatars .",
        "best videogame movie ever ! ... -lsb- a -rsb- mong the immense pleasures of this thoroughly enjoyable film are the many ingenious touches that bind it into a cohesive world ...",
        "inventively wired , it 's a video-game adventure that explores visually dazzling , distinctively retro worlds .",
        "may be set in the world of video games , but its conceit is set firmly in ... the hero 's journey . the mythic realms are made of bits and bytes , but are just as magical , and the tasks nothing short of herculean . not that any of this is stuffy or pedantic .",
        "wreck-it ralph is witty , ingenious and entertaining , a technical and creative breakthrough on a par with who framed roger rabbit ? , 25 years ago .",
        "those who 've played and programmed the games over the decades will find some fun with in-jokes involving the likes of pac-man and q * bert but anyone else over the age of ten will likely be bored .",
        "game-themed movie mixes potty humor with strong messages .",
        "wreck-it ralph may ostensibly be for kids , but the viewers who will probably enjoy it most are those who were children thirty years ago .",
        "you might wish you could insert another quarter when it finally reaches ` game over . ' -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "through it all , the animators fill wreck-it ralph with playful sight gags and smart video-game references that will delight savvy viewers , but are n't so inclusive that they ca n't be enjoyed by non-gamers .",
        "the film gets a lot of credit for being clever and original while sticking to tried-and-true family movie themes like believing in yourself and accepting everyone 's differences .",
        "one of the best animated movies of a year full of them . sweet , silly , nostalgic , and very geeky fun .",
        "` wreck-it ralph ' is a serious contender for the title of best animated film of the year .",
        "a few power-ups shy of a classic , but its winking look at the world of video games is fun , even if it does n't reach its full potential .",
        "a sort of toy story as seen through an 8-bit lens .",
        "sarah silverman puts in one of the greatest voice acting performances you will ever see or hear in your life .",
        "` wreck-it ralph ' combines a fresh idea with a true love for retro pop culture . it 's hard not to love this movie .",
        "despite being a perfectly entertaining disney picture , wreck-it ralph leaves that nagging taste in the mouth that it could have been so much more .",
        "this a-grade animated disney charmer hits the nail on the head ... director rich moore has enormous faith in the ability of young audiences to absorb multiple story strands at once , a belief aided no end by the exquisite quality of the animation .",
        "wreck-it ralph is a dazzling show of sound and colour , tipping its hat to the 8-bit era and modern-day touchstones .",
        "a disney flick that feels like on-form pixar , blending knowing humour and sophistication with a large helping of heart . you 'll want another go .",
        "mostly it 's a charming , funny , beautifully animated little kick ...",
        "a who framed roger rabbit for the joystick generation that , despite a mid-act dip into generic disney territory , high-scores on laughs , invention and 8-bit affection .",
        "it 's a cool game , to be sure , but watching someone else play it gets old after a while .",
        "... a passable yet disappointing effort from the so-called mouse house ...",
        "this cleverly-targeted family romp marks a step up both commercially and artistically for the non-pixar side of disney 's animation offering .",
        "you 'll either love it or you 'll admire it , while wishing it would calm down and , i do n't know , maybe pick up a book for a while .",
        "once again disney has created an immersive world that 's rich with detail , populated by characters who have problems humans can identify with and characteristics that make them likable . `` wreck-it ralph '' is a winner .",
        "a very clever , delightfully funny and visually stunning disney film . and yet we end up watching it having already seen its potential to be something much more enticing .",
        "an affectionate love note to computer games past",
        "a bubbly , buoyant treat with near-pixar levels of heart .",
        "not in my wildest dreams did i ever anticipate using the word `` thoughtful '' to describe a fairly recent animated film .",
        "as flawed and derivative it may be , `` MOV '' is still a very fine animated fantasy with a keen sense of creativity and wit ...",
        "wreck-it ralph is a highly original and exciting film that puts disney animation right up there with pixar in terms of providing a story full of emotion , heart and energy .",
        "hyperactive day-glo fizzy-pop family animation with a heartfelt message about staying true to yourself lurking underneath all the visual fireworks .",
        "ralph 's arms may be gorilla like , his fists gigantic hammers , but reilly imbues him with rue and courtliness .",
        "an excellent , inventive , anti-bullying adventure that may be a little too technologically advanced for older audiences .",
        "the giddiest cartoon comedy in years .",
        "the movie knows and loves gaming culture , but never uses that as an excuse to let the narrative slip .",
        "video game enthusiasts are sure to embrace the feature 's familiarity with arcade history , while the less enlightened will have to do with a splendidly animated picture populated with likable characters and explosive action set-pieces .",
        "the movie 's retro sensibilities will appeal to adults , while the colorful games and characters , as well as the simplicity of the story , will hold the attention of young viewers .",
        "unlike the pixar films toward which it aspires-which marry sophisticated conceits to straightforward storylines-wreck-it ralph consistently gets lost in its own intricate plot mechanics .",
        "amiable enough .",
        "abandons its initial , clever and fiendishly marketable conceit for a highly conventional tale about fatherhood ... worth a handful of quarters , but not much more than that .",
        "the biggest disappointment of all is that john lasseter is executive producer . unfortunately , `` ralph '' ca n't hold a candle to his prior creations .",
        "this is , without a doubt , the best animated film so far this year . it 's a video game geek 's paradise , featuring countless references to games from all eras .",
        "emphasizes action and eye-popping visuals over emotion .",
        "the first half of the film is a constant delight as clever , funny ideas are presented , one after another .",
        "disney can dress it up , take it out to the arcade and plug it full of quarters ... but at the end of the cord , the film 's a simple , 8-bit i-gotta-be-me story , with a dull plot and tepid characters . game over .",
        "it 's impossible not to feel a strong sense of nostalgic amusement , if not sheer delight , at the comings and goings of all these characters .",
        "the movie 's subversive sensibility and old-school/new-school feel are a total kick .",
        "wreck-it-ralph enjoys a smart ratio of accessible character drama and goofy gaming gags - resulting in an exceptionally entertaining , and heartfelt , animated adventure .",
        "`` wreck-it ralph '' is one of the best animated movies of 2012 ..."
    ],
    "summary": "equally entertaining for both kids and parents old enough to catch the references , wreck-it ralph is a clever , colorful adventure built on familiar themes and joyful nostalgia .",
    "id": "771221512"
  },
  {
    "movie": "this_is_the_end",
    "reviews": [
        "... a very savvy send up of the way we perceive celebrities as vapid and self-involved ciphers who are so often flattered and coddled that they come to accept applause as their due .",
        "enjoyable , time-killing piece of throwaway friday-night pap ... it 's broad , stupid fun that , against all odds , ends up coagulating into an actual story with a point .",
        "at its best it 's a film about people getting lost in the fiction of their own creations .",
        "if your tolerance for druggy banter and puerile sex gags is low then the idea of facing armageddon with rogen and his chums will probably strike you as hell .",
        "if fast and furious 6 was stupid in the bad way , MOV is stupid in the best and funniest way .",
        "if you 're familiar with their previous films , you 'll be laughing often and laughing loudly .",
        "it 's a giant hollywood in-joke , but one that invites you to share in the laughter .",
        "an elaborate in-joke and everyone 's in on the gag",
        "near-the-knuckle comedy that proves self-indulgent laughs , when done right , can be hilarious .",
        "one of the funniest films of the year so far .",
        "their big joke is to literalize the book of revelations , but snaking around this is a biting contempt for the entertainment business , their own bad movies , and the social privilege these confer .",
        "though MOV drags slightly here and there , the filmmakers keep it interesting by making the personal relationships dynamic , and the movie redeems all that is self-referential and self-congratulatory about it with a warmth of spirit .",
        "the movie is one grand in-joke that smartly lets us in on the gag . these guys do n't care if we laugh with them or at them - as long as they can keep us in stitches .",
        "i had a grand old time at this apocalypse , where 75-80 % of the jokes land and the cast 's eager-to-please energy , mostly carry you through the gags that fall short .",
        "in a summer where the world seems to be going up in flames over and over again at the movies , `` MOV '' shows you do n't need to take the death and destruction of every single thing you 've ever known or loved so darn seriously .",
        "the sublime brilliance of the script is that it plays on the audience 's perception of who we think these people are . objectively , it is indefensible as a movie , but it delivers gut busting laughs and is the funniest comedy of 2013 .",
        "michael cera 's coked out stud is insanely fun , but he 's gone too soon and most of the comedy goes with him .",
        "gut-wrenchingly funny ... a giant ball of flaming self-mockery .",
        "rude , crude and socially unacceptable , and in all of those ways , it is hilarious .",
        "the filmmaking itself is disarmingly amusing , hitting grace notes amid the grandiosity .",
        "the outrageous MOV takes an early lead in the summer movie comedy sweepstakes .",
        "... a freewheeling comedy that features enough scattered hilarious moments to compensate for its contrived one-joke premise .",
        "even with this film 's comedy strategy being the `` let 'em all fly and see what sticks '' approach , it 's amazing how adhesive so much of this is .",
        "uneven yet sporadically hilarious , the film does a spectacular job at toying with the public personas of its prolific stars , but frequently allows their riffing to go on far too long .",
        "the funniest end-of-the-world movie so far this year -- and that 's a crowded field .",
        "MOV plows through and laughs at unsavory doomsday scenarios , from playing soccer with a severed head to a `` rapey vibe '' when watson 's around ... . there are no boundaries in this movie , so deal with it or leave .",
        "they 've tapped into the inherent psychedelia of revelation and enhanced it with absurdity , scatology , ecstasy , weed and a contemporary secular ignorance informed by terminator movies .",
        "depicts the end of the world with such drug-addled , potty-mouthed , over-the-top and below-the-belt enthusiasm that it also might signal armageddon for a certain type of boys ' club comedy .",
        "MOV is masterful comedy filmmaking , all the more impressive for its loose-limbed apparent casualness .",
        "i love a movie where it feels as if you just worked out your abs because you laughed so hard .",
        "a perfect excuse for high levels of hysteria , mayhem , profanity .",
        "the dirty half dozen may find god at the last minute , but they 've all been disciples of judd apatow for years . so the absence of taste is balanced by an abundance of heart .",
        "adults-only , stoner comedy at its most hilarious extremes , straining hard to make sure every icky , grody , envelope-pushing `` ewww '' of its r rating is covered .",
        "... the movie definitely struck a chord with the crowd i saw it with ... -lrb- with -rrb- a climax that brings bromance back ...",
        "because its transplanted the egotistical and childish behavior normally reserved for team apatow 's lovable manchild characters onto the actors themselves , it feels dangerous . for awhile , it feels like anything can happen , and its thrilling .",
        "a funny but flawed film that would have benefited from a tighter edit .",
        "this gut-busting comedy is an intoxicating mix of `` write what you know '' and `` give the people what they want . ''",
        "how long would it take to count the idiocies in `` MOV '' ? fooled you ! trick question . numbers do n't go that high .",
        "it 's a hit-and-mostly-miss affair ...",
        "a meta-masterwork .",
        "MOV is crude , tasteless , bloody and , at its best , riotously funny , in the guiltiest of pleasures kind of way .",
        "seth rogen and evan goldberg 's script is scathing , while their directing debut is a revelation .",
        "for an anarchic , r-rated comedy , `` MOV '' exudes a kindness and generosity that 's quite touching .",
        "this is all performed with brio , by likable performers with expert timing , ace chemistry , and a directing team eager to let them tear loose . but it can wear you down .",
        "a story lurching moment-to-moment for inspiration , or full of ceaseless gags about every bodily fluid , or featuring rape jokes or the sight of franco spitting food into hill 's mouth , does n't pass as wit .",
        "in places it is genuinely , even sublimely hilarious . why should n't it be ?",
        "what really makes the movie fly is the choices that goldberg & rogen and all the stars made/agreed to play through the film .",
        "rogen and goldberg -lrb- making their directorial debuts -rrb- get the balance just right , with one gut-busting punchline and situation after another set against the escalating dread of the end of existence , taking place just outside of james franco 's house .",
        "when you 're watching a stoner/celebrity culture/end-of-the - world-as-we-know-it comedy like this one , it really comes down to `` how often did i laugh ? '' the answer is a lot .",
        "MOV is also , improbably , one of the sweetest films of the summer , and it lands with a resonance i did n't expect .",
        "it is intensely raunchy and silly and joyous and tapped right into my inner teenager in a glorious way .",
        "MOV is a vanity project that hopes that audiences will enjoy hanging out with seth and the gang as much as they like hanging out with each other .",
        "as with superbad , which was at its core a comedy about the anxiety of codependent male high school separation , MOV digs into the under-discussed drift of fraternal camaraderie .",
        "crass , flimsily plotted , and self-referential to the point of narcissistic personality disorder . for those willing to tolerate such defects , however , it is also very , very funny .",
        "basically a modern-day cheech & chong movie with a bigger budget and more focus , disguising itself as an event film",
        "MOV , true to its subject matter , is as funny as hell .",
        "if you think that being trapped with a bunch of guys telling dick jokes would the equivalent of hell on earth - well , according to MOV , you are more right than you think .",
        "... honesty , loyalty , and comedy will be tested as the world comes to a horrifying and dangling end ... and you 'll never look at michael cera the same way again .",
        "the moments of comic gold are sometimes diluted by considerable stretches of tedium , generally occurring when the filmmakers and their improvising actors refuse to end scenes and instead carry them past the point of comedic no-return .",
        "a revolting gross-out comedy , whose humor is witless , scatological and childish .",
        "armageddon never looked like so much fun !",
        "rogen and goldberg stunned me with their understanding of the horror genre , the beats , and how to scare the audience . it 's an insanely competent horror comedy ...",
        "feels a bit like a feature-length sketch , but it 's a really funny one , and funny is enough .",
        "this movie makes superbad and pineapple express look like child 's play . outrageous and undeniably hilarious , but how did it not get an ` nc 17 ' ?",
        "there 's a message to MOV . that message is ` do n't be a douche . ' well , at least it 's better than ` google is awesome . '",
        "the film is uneven and about 15 minutes too long . but when it 's funny , it 's hilarious .",
        "i enjoyed the hell out of it for a while , but it got irritating and self-congratulatory long before it was over and i desperately do not want to see it again .",
        "a slapdash amount of effort , modest effects and a modicum of talent are on display , but the imagination deployed is negligible .",
        "MOV is to rogen and his crew what grown-ups is to adam sandler and his buddies : an excuse to get paid to play with his friends , only this one is actually funny .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- crass , patchy , occasionally hilarious farce ...",
        "MOV is surprisingly smart , poking fun at the rich and famous while providing biting social commentary .",
        "with lazy `` hangover '' sequels and adam sandler movies still passing for big-screen comedy , the anarchic debut feature from directors seth rogen and evan goldberg is fresher than anything this side of the funny or die website .",
        "with no outsiders to coddle , this tight-knit ensemble locks into a groove and reaches some truly giddy heights , turning even the weakest material -lrb- a spoof of `` the exorcist '' -rrb- into anarchic fun .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- gets derailed by -lsb- rogen and goldberg 's -rsb- desire to keep upping the level of comedic absurdity and cheesy special effects . still , there are lots of low-brow laughs , especially in the first half .",
        "writers rogen and goldberg run out of ideas before the second act and just half a ** it until the end credits ...",
        "there 's wonder here that films with quadruple the effects budget would kill for .",
        "... runs on some delicious self-critique .",
        "the loose structure lazily rushes out plot points late in the game",
        "this movie is flat out crazy .",
        "`` MOV '' does not crack jokes at the expense of christianity . it does , however , consider both kicking a severed head around like a football and the prospect of raping emma watson to be hilarious .",
        "probably the most self-indulgent wank in movie history , yet on occasion it 's hilarious .",
        "the movie 's very self-amusement makes it go down easy .",
        "... occupies a frequently hilarious middle ground between their apatow-produced bromances , the giddy gruesomeness of the recent aftershock and the confined social abrasiveness of it 's a disaster .",
        "it 's hard to imagine that a funnier movie will come out this year .",
        "that rogen and goldberg make one of the backstreet boys ' more annoying yesteryear hit singles something you giddily sing along to is a measure of just how on point the satire is -- that , or that it truly * is * the end of the world .",
        "the best thing about MOV is playing `` spot-the-celebrity '' in the early frames . do this , and you 'll find everyone from jason segel to david krumholtz . if all that talent were put to better use , the film might have been worth watching .",
        "in-jokes about celebrity culture and what these stars might really be like pours gasoline onto every spark .",
        "both the jokes and the narrative flag long before the excessive running time is up .",
        "blithe , beautifully acted and refreshingly free of fancy sfx , MOV pokes fun at generic film-making , without ever seeming self-righteous .",
        "a cheerfully crass , enjoyably puerile entertainment that does n't scrape the bottom of the barrel as much as it blows the barrel to pieces with a sawn-off shotgun .",
        "just one great big goofy joke . some funny stuff , but a rental/download only .",
        "it 's a continuation of rogen and his co-stars ' established acts , with minimal tweaks to the formula . but why worry , while that formula still works ?",
        "in which a bunch of drugged or drunk superstars , played by themselves , use the end of the world as a pretext for projectile vomiting , bodily fluids and every kind of grossness .",
        "in daring to so aggressively shake up two formulas for the price of one - the apocalyptic epic and the frat-boy romp - this is a very special comedy indeed .",
        "the players flap , mug and pratfall . then they flap , mug and pratfall some more . the script is an open text : they can bring their own jokes . the audience is still waiting for one when the film closes .",
        "the story becomes as scattershot and repetitive as the scatalogical gags . best enjoyed under the influence .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- has a gleeful sloppiness that seems to owe more to multiple rounds than multiple drafts .",
        "as both homage and send-up , it presents viewers with the ultra-meta image of a comedy genre eating its own tail .",
        "it 's funnier and more energetic than a lot of what 's out there in a movie season most would qualify as disappointing .",
        "you may have trouble at times deciding whether to laugh out loud or to avert your horrified gaze .",
        "imagine how funny it could have been if they had actually put some thought into the humor instead of trying to appeal to the basest levels of comedy , and then imagine if they had actually done something with this story .",
        "dies a slow , wheezing , woefully unfunny death .",
        "the thing really moves . even the grottiest bits have a way of hitting their marks and darting onward , the way they did in `` borat . ''",
        "a decent percentage of the insults hit their targets , but the extended improvisation does n't make for an especially disciplined film . the movie feels longer than it is ...",
        "MOV is quite unlike anything else out there .",
        "there is stuff in `` MOV '' that had me laughing so hard , i sensed new body parts joining in to help out - my pancreas was heaving , my bile ducts ripped .",
        "manages to maintain a surreal comic pace throughout the first half until things take a turn for the truly weird ... what baruchel witnesses when he walks in on cera in franco 's bathroom is priceless on its own",
        "most impressive effects , but pallid comedy",
        "the miami heat of stoner comedies . there are so many talented people involved it almost seems unfair to other comedies .",
        "even without james franco and danny mcbride threatening to ejaculate all over each other , MOV would be an aggressive , misguided demonstration of self-love .",
        "a beautiful collision of slacker comedy mixed with insightful skewering of a celebrity-obsessed culture .",
        "MOV is a surprising and audacious pleasure , big on certifiably insane laughs but fueled by genuine intelligence and heart .",
        "it 's totally juvenile and sophomoric , and the story is simply a humorous background ... but it 's just so damn funny . a total inside joke that i felt i was inside of .",
        "i was literally in pain from laughing so hard . the guys are just furthering a story so that we can get more laughs before the lights come back and we realize we may have just witnessed the end of the best comedy of 2013 competition .",
        "the seemingly exhausted gross-out comedy genre gets a strange temporary reprieve with MOV , an unlikable but weirdly compelling apocalyptic fantasy .",
        "it 's the wildest screen comedy in a long time , and also the smartest , the most fearlessly inspired , and the snort-out-loud funniest .",
        "MOV , in addition to being the funniest film of the year , is also the best buddies-versus-the-apocalypse film since simon pegg and nick frost battled zombie hordes to make it back to the winchester in 2004 's shaun of the dead .",
        "definitive , and unsurprising , proof that danny mcbride would be a total jackass during the apocalypse .",
        "with most of these performers now pursuing far more interesting projects in their own careers , maybe MOV for a group of comics whose shtick has started to feel rather tired .",
        "no comedy classic , then , but a good natured and engaging slice of goonish self-mockery .",
        "this is a vanity project full of crude humor . it may or may not appeal to broad audiences .",
        "a ribald frolic of a film that willfully , gleefully skewers both film conventions and the cult of celebrity",
        "entertaining , frequently hilarious comedy with a witty script , a superb comic cast and some surprisingly good special effects , though your enjoyment of the film will largely depend on how funny you find the relentless self-parody .",
        "loads funnier - and smarter - than it sounds on paper , and well worth watching for the unflinching hollywood satire , even if you 're sick of apatow-esque bromantic comedies .",
        "it could use a brutal edit to remove some weak material , but mostly this is a hell of a lot of fun .",
        "guffaw you will , but like a middling sketch show , it gives your sides too many opportunities to recover .",
        "subversive , self-deprecating and sexist , it 's a horror zonk-fest designed to blow a guy 's mind .",
        "banking successfully on the chemistry of its cast , it 's a thoroughly enjoyable tweak of stoner-dude grossout yukfests .",
        "it 's no minor accomplishment to make one of the most indulgent projects in hollywood history . but with `` MOV , '' seth rogen and his pals have indeed achieved this dubious goal .",
        "it 's apocalyptically dirty . and it 's hilarious .",
        "an enjoyable mainstream american comedy is already something approaching a miracle , so those with strong stomachs for shady humour should grab this with both hands .",
        "animal house meets the apocalypse . and it 's pretty damn funny .",
        "`` MOV '' is irreverent , fractured , uneven and even silly . but fortunately for moviegoers , it 's also hysterical !",
        "i 'm predicting a sequel of this movie to be entitled `` MOV , really '' .",
        "i wish the movie was tighter but i was never bored , i laughed more than most recent comedies , and found the originality of the piece refreshing . you guys are almost forgiven for `` your highness . '' almost .",
        "less sharp-edged satire than frat-boy goofiness .",
        "it 's disheartening that , despite some half-hearted overtures toward shifting the comedy paradigm , the filmmakers make little attempt to expand their comedic palette .",
        "MOV is a wildly inventive comedy that takes armageddon and centers it within a surreal , sensational take on the whole friends of apatow dynamic .",
        "its wild and hilarious elements do n't cancel out its smug and lazy ones .",
        "seth rogen and evan goldberg are connoisseurs of bad taste and their directorial debut has a good deal of fun with free-flowing gags about urine , semen and all-around `` rapey '' vibes .",
        "i died laughing ... and i 've found a new respect for a hollywood posse whose work i mostly have n't enjoyed before .",
        "`` MOV '' is a stunt-comedy filled with trashy throwaway comic bits . it 's a shotgun approach that works well enough to induce more laughs than you 'd get from a typical hollywood comedy .",
        "it offers plenty of chortles , chuckles and guffaws for those who appreciate rogen and company 's brand of hard-partying but soft-hearted storytelling",
        "you never know exactly what lunacy lurks around the corner , or just how far rogen and goldberg will push the r rating to its limit .",
        "unsurprisingly it 's really messy , and not every joke lands , but the script 's peppered with so many that it 's hard to find a scene where you 're not consistently laughing .",
        "you 'll never look at michael cera the same way again .",
        "the book of revelation comes to pass in rapturous fashion while some of its brightest young stars are partying in james franco 's l.a. mansion .",
        "... it 's ultimately clear that MOV could -lrb- and should -rrb- have topped out at a brisk 80 or 90 minutes -lrb- including credits -rrb- .",
        "a rapturously-riotous , celeb-skewering raunchfest .",
        "a funny self-aware critique of the actors ' indulgences - along with several violent deaths , demonic monsters and dick jokes . there are lots of dick jokes .",
        "MOV is one of the most fun movies i 've seen in ages . it 's a silly extravaganza , a huge bunch of nonsense , but , boy , it 's entertaining ... this film is one big in-joke , but it 's a very good one .",
        "never reaches the heights of earlier collaborations superbad and pineapple express . however , it has a belligerent , depraved , coked-up michael cera , and that is a treat unique to this film and this film only , so it 's certainly worth your time .",
        "while bewildering for those unfamiliar with the judd apatow clan , for fans , this raunchy , daring and gleeful comedy comes up trumps .",
        "the is the end feels throughout like a feature-length inside joke , but rogen and company are generous enough to let the audience in on the gag .",
        "the juvenile ribaldry flies fast and furious ... culminating in a finale as bizarre and whacked-out as i 've seen in a while . they 're swinging for the fences here .",
        "a crude , rowdy , self-indulgent buddy-movie mash-up travesty about the end of the world , in which smoking weed , ejaculation jokes , exorcism & a decapitated head kicked around like a soccer ball are par for the course",
        "rogen and goldberg make the jump to directing with this riotously self-referential apocalyptic comedy .",
        "this is fundamentally a narcissistic venture , undone by the fact that none of these guys are compelling enough to sustain an entire movie without a story .",
        "`` this is one of the most tasteless , ridiculous and funniest comedies of the 21st century . ''",
        "i 'll admit i laughed aloud quite a few times , be that from some of the spoofy material , other outrageous comedy and various self-deprecating bits about the stars themselves and their past work . -lrb- complete content details for parents are also available -rrb-",
        "one of the darkest , weirdest , and funniest cinematic armageddons you 'll ever experience .",
        "funny is funny , and it would be truly dishonest to deny the big laughs-the spikes of gut-busting inspiration-that the film sporadically delivers .",
        "as long as rogen and his buddies are just as self-involved , crude , obnoxious and hopefully exaggerated versions of themselves , things stay pretty funny .",
        "the funniest movie of the year .",
        "-lsb- the filmmakers -rsb- , and the cast , have a great deal of fun playing up or playing against their established screen personas - whether it 's hill as a teddy bear of positive affirmations or franco as a self-absorbed esthete .",
        "`` MOV '' finds a balanced tone most horror comedies fail to deliver . grossout humor melds easily with grossout horror , sometimes at the same moment .",
        "enough laughs for half-a-dozen movies . you 'll laugh so much it 'll hurt .",
        "it 's a thoroughly good time at the movies , from humble beginning to cosmic , surprise-cameo-featuring end .",
        "most of the celebrities playing things straight -lrb- michael cera is a notable exception , portrayed as a cokehead sex addict who likes blowing cocaine into people 's faces without warning -rrb- .",
        "it may be a sophomoric type of imagination , but it 's still better than the alternative .",
        "comedies do n't get much more self-referential than this film , in which a bunch of old friends get together and play themselves facing a biblical-style apocalypse .",
        "a bonkers idea executed with supreme confidence , MOV unleashes a bombardment of crowdpleasing hysteria and could be this summer 's biggest surprise .",
        "maybe it 's possible for a director to make demon raping and urine drinking side-achingly funny , but that was n't the case here .",
        "MOV is rogen , goldberg and co. bringing the funny , and the dick jokes like their lives depend on it .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- bloated and only sporadically chucklesome vanity project from hollywood 's new generation of superannuated frat boys .",
        "the film is more guileful than it looks , even though the narrative is nuts ...",
        "befitting its title , it does feel rather like rogen et al are having one final blowout before moving on to other things .",
        "profane , shocking , and absolutely hysterical , ` MOV ' is one of the most creative comedies to come along in years .",
        "profane , shocking , and absolutely hysterical , ` MOV ' is one of the most creative comedies to come along in years .",
        "the end of the world turns out to be one prolonged exercise in mutual masturbation . it may end that way but would n't it be nice to get in on the action instead of observing from a seat stained with coke and who knows what else ?",
        "the movie 's hilarity hit rate is frequently determined by who is onscreen at that very second .",
        "this type of thing has already been diluted by ... funny or die ... the main difference-and it 's not to be underestimated-is that ... end is profane in the extreme , an r-rated stoner comedy gleefully grafted onto a `` splatstick '' horror picture ...",
        "MOV is like the walking dead meets the real world , cast with an entire generation of hot comic actors . an example of meta filmmaking at its finest .",
        "it 's the end of the world as we know it , and i feel high .",
        "a series of sketches that do n't quite come together as a movie .",
        "its psycho-analytical look at hollywood mostly feels imperceptible given the nonstop barrage of jokes that the ensemble launches at one another throughout the film , both in grand proportions and asides .",
        "MOV is the bust-out , badass comedy of the summer . and then some . it 's so good you 'll think you hallucinated it .",
        "a playful metaphor for acting and the hell-fire of public opinion . that or they 're comparing adulthood to armageddon , in which case it 's a little ironic to let -lsb- michael -rsb- cera die first .",
        "enough laughs and entertainment value you have to give them more than a little credit for what they 're able to pull off and get away with .",
        "the results are undeniably amusing , but hardly supply the bellylaughs one would expect from such sleepover atmosphere of pals making a hearty , weed-foggy doomsday commotion .",
        "it 's not profound , but hot-damn is it hysterical .",
        "if the world is coming to an end and armageddon is nigh , you can do worse than hanging with some of the funniest people on the planet ... and james franco .",
        "as a celebrity 's - eye-view apocalypse movie , MOV delivers huge guffaws and large-scale carnage with enough gusto to mask the indulgences .",
        "offsets its slightly smug premise with a clever sense of self-parody and near-cataclysmic levels of vulgarity .",
        "hollywood 's `` pot pack '' gives us a version of the rapture we can all get behind .",
        "witty and raunchy - alternately juvenile and sophisticated , drawing laughs from all parts of the comedy spectrum .",
        "six comedians stuck in a house together as the world is ending . what could be funnier than that ?",
        "it 's vile . vulgar . obscene . profane . shameful . and yet it has more spiritual density than 15 kirk cameron movies . and , it 's sinfully funny .",
        "out-of-control hilarious .",
        "one gets a sense that these guys really are friends and they made this for the same reason frank sinatra and the rat pack made the original ocean 's eleven .",
        "just when i thought i was getting tired of this comedy group , they surprise me with this refreshing , dark , gross , raunchy , brave , bold satire that made me laugh hard and often . it 's a little rough around the edges , but the laughs are definitely there .",
        "every time you think they 've stretched this as far as they can go , rogen and goldberg go farther .",
        "a smart and hilarious apocalyptic comedy .",
        "breezy enough that it 's not very hard to enjoy it for what it is ... -lsb- although -rsb- it 's stretched out and there frankly are n't enough jokes in it .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- comedy extravaganza ... a remarkable mix of monsters , visual effects , vulgar humor , and feel-good optimism .",
        "MOV is an outrageously crude -lrb- and low-brow -rrb- raunch-com that lampoons an eclectic mixture and wide range of pop-culture targets , often to very funny effect .",
        "it 's part of the fun of MOV : movie stars horsing around and letting us watch . it 's a giddy experience , even if you do get the sneaking suspicion that they seem to be enjoying themselves even more .",
        "too bad this film comes across more like a reality tv show , ` big brother apocalypse ' , than a movie . actors , playing themselves , come across as awful people . you begin to wonder : how close is this to the way they really are ?",
        "actors , it appears , do not have to grow up . and if this is your thing , then neither do you .",
        "MOV makes for one absurd , fantastic end-of-days thriller stuffed with so many jaw-dropping scenes that you may not be able to chew food for a while ."
    ],
    "summary": "energetic , self-deprecating performances and enough guffaw-inducing humor make up for the flaws in MOV loosely written script .",
    "id": "771303549"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bringing_down_the_house",
    "reviews": [
        "latifah gives a sassy female twist to the old formula",
        "supposedly busts conventional ideas while relying on the audiences ' prejudices to make them laugh , and it in no way asks its audience to reconsider those prejudices , either .",
        "the movie 's not without moments of genuine humor -- no comedy starring steve martin could be -- but sad to say , his oscar-hosting gig two years ago was funnier .",
        "jason filardi 's script could have been written for bob hope and phyllis diller in the 1960s , with diller in blackface . yes , it 's that offensive",
        "not only is this a cinematic travesty , but it is a societal wrong .",
        "it 's depressingly tame stuff .",
        "this is possibly the most embarrassing thing steve martin has ever been associated with .",
        "while MOV is far from perfect , it is still guaranteed to get you laughing .",
        "it 's inspired comic casting with rare feel-good chemistry .",
        "it 's the kind of broad laugh fest whoopi goldberg was doing for the house of mouse a decade ago with her sister act flicks .",
        "twenty years ago it was funny to see white people trying to act black .",
        "it 's side-splitting , knee-slapping , and belly-aching fun the same way that a pounding headache has a good beat and you can dance to it .",
        "the equivalent of a fast-food meal -- everyone seems to love it , it slides down in a hurry , imparts few nutrients , and has us skipping back the next day hungry for more . rarely do we stop to ask why .",
        "the film dramatizes in a comic way a white upper-class fear of black underclass invasion ... and suggests that , yes , maybe we can all get along ...",
        "MOV is a hilarious comedy about a brassy and bold african-american who helps renovate the lackluster life of a workaholic tax lawyer .",
        "the film only truly stumbles as it enters into its plot-heavy third act , which wastes a lot of energy , but still ca n't manage to satisfy the audience 's desire to see latifah and martin fall in love .",
        "the material is thin and pandering and almost criminally negligent in bypassing opportunities for humor .",
        "... exceedingly derivative and graceless ... a lax affair that goes for the cheap gags . the architect of this particular house should deeply consider this property condemned",
        "it relies on stolen gags for humor , forced relationships for empathy , and racist jokes for shock value .",
        "it 's a sorry situation when actors as talented and funny as queen latifah and steve martin waste their efforts in an offensive exercise that feels like a bad sitcom .",
        "a tawdry waste all around .",
        "while it offers some occasional laughs , the film makes the fatal flaw of letting down its strongest asset , and that 's steve martin .",
        "the rare film that manages to be simultaneously bland and offensive .",
        "the movie delivers its very manufactured goods , but it lacks the guts to be a meaningful comedy .",
        "this is strictly formula stuff , made worse by an utterly careless depiction of the characters , whose road to friendship is neither believable nor remotely accounted for .",
        "it 's an odd mix of entertaining yet irresponsible filmmaking ... wait to rent it .",
        "shankman relies heavily on the terrific supporting cast for laughs , and he should be eternally grateful that they come through more often than they do n't .",
        "the heart of the movie is the perfect chemistry between latifah and martin .",
        "the laughs should roll like thunder , but instead they mew like kittens .",
        "the combination of steve martin and queen latifah is quirky genius .",
        "the material has been done before and there 's not much more one can do with it . thank god for queen latifah and the broad strokes she brings to it .",
        "the movie gets stuck in a seemingly never-ending cycle of pointless , recycled racial jokes and ethnic stereotypes .",
        "... intends to unite black and white audiences , and probably will -- by reinforcing the laziest images they have of each other .",
        "viewers may be more likely to ride with martin 's and latifah 's good vibes than to analyze the lunkheaded racial politics , but very little is fresh here .",
        "does little more than milk its one culture-clash joke and play up stereotypes .",
        "-lsb- latifah 's -rsb- got sass and smarts aplenty , powering the most interesting character here .",
        "i 'm ashamed that this movie exists , that people got paid for it and that someone out there will eventually add it to their dvd collection .",
        "equally insulting to both races , MOV is one of the most hateful and low-minded comedies i 've ever seen - and it absolutely earns a spot right next to the justifiably loathed amos & andrew .",
        "... `` MOV '' is certainly worth the ticket in .",
        "having actresses like the matriarchal joan plowright say `` homie '' is shaping up to be the most irritating comedic trend of 2003 .",
        "coarse , poorly tuned comedy .",
        "why has n't spike lee held a press conference about thing yet ?",
        "each performer charms the audience by presenting characters we like even when we should n't .",
        "you have somebody as smart as steve martin , and as smart and appealing as queen latifah in a movie like this . to have such an awful , offensive story is a real disappointment .",
        "despite everything being there that should make it work , something was missing .",
        "this is an early '80s whoopi goldberg movie .",
        "in a movie as obvious as this , we know exactly what is expected of people at specific intervals , and it 's never very funny .",
        "a comedy constructed from tapped-out ideas .",
        "`` MOV '' stars queen latifah as the wrecking ball , always a good bet these days , particularly since she knocked out pretty much everyone who saw her in her academy award-nominated performance in `` chicago . ''",
        "it deserves to be buried in obscurity -- if not burned beyond recognition -- along with other comedies of its ilk , including carbon copy , he 's my girl , soul man and chu-chu and the philly flash .",
        "i could never decide whether MOV was satirizing racial stereotypes or perpetuating them .",
        "the movie 's real spectacle is the sight of so many talented people slogging through such idiotic material .",
        "the kind of comedy whose best bits have already surfaced in the coming attractions trailer .",
        "the sitcom shtick wears thin after a while .",
        "an embarrassment for all concerned , this witless , odd-couple comedy slings separate but equal gibes at blacks and whites ... and still manages to ridicule gays and hispanics .",
        "the movie appears to have been made for an audience that considers the idea of black people terribly exotic .",
        "a comedy is not allowed to end with the couples incorrectly paired . it goes against the deeply traditional requirements of the audience .",
        "it 's rare that royalty gets together in a comedy , so when one-time king tut -lrb- aka steve martin -rrb- and queen latifah come together , they rule supreme .",
        "ignore the creaky story ; see it for the slapstick .",
        "-lsb- many -rsb- scenes carry a sort of contrived `` wackiness '' not seen since bewitched went into reruns .",
        "there 's no shortage of laughs , thanks to some sharp one-liners , two stars at the top of their game , and a solid supporting cast of veteran laugh-getters .",
        "diehard fans of any of these stars -lsb- martin , latifah , levy , plowright and white -rsb- may be amused -- the movie is , at times , an amusing diversion -- but most will probably find it wanting .",
        "although certainly not anyone 's idea of a cerebral comedy , ` house ' is n't stupid , either . if it were , it would n't be able to get away with as much as it does .",
        "first-time director adam shankman and first-time screenwriter jason filardi approach the concept with the clumsiness of people thinking about racial stereotypes for the very first time .",
        "high-school cafeteria soup has more flavor than this bland , tepid throwback .",
        "queen latifah 's wonderfully radiant star quality , steve martin 's comic grace and eugene levy 's masterful turn as peter 's besotted partner do bring down the house .",
        "jason filardi 's broad script is an uneven hodgepodge of culture clash , screwball romance , urban crime drama and sitcom .",
        "this is one high-concept , please-the-masses comedy that works .",
        "even the director 's flat-footed moves ca n't quell martin and latifah , whose combined energy is fearsome and sometimes most amusing .",
        "a movie that desperately wants -lsb- latifah 's -rsb- hip , her edge and mostly her blackness but does n't know what to do with the human being who comes with the package .",
        "a gut-busting , stereotype-busting slapstick comedy .",
        "` a rewrite - one that played more off the straight-laced vs. laid-back dynamic rather than racial stereotypes - would have helped . '",
        "queen latifah alone is worth the price of admission : the woman has enough screen presence for six movies .",
        "the film presumes white people talking like black people to be original , and they were talking jive as far back as `` airplane ! '' -lrb- and probably a lot earlier than that ! -rrb- .",
        "director shankman ruins a lot of gags with poor timing , brain-dead cuts and uninspired staging .",
        "it 's a rich-white-man - hangs-out-with-a - black-convict-in-order - to-channel-his - inner-blackness-needed - to-save-his-marriage - with-his-white-wife story .",
        "a film in which steve martin will appear in full hip-hop drag with appropriate slang for not less than six minutes .",
        "this movie failed to make me laugh out loud so it must be in material breach .",
        "over the last five years , the unfortunate but predictable upshot of a steve martin appearance in a project he did not write has been cynical high-concept comedies like ` MOV , ' a race relations-class war romp that 's as unfunny as it is o",
        "the script , like adam shankman 's whomping direction , is obvious and formulaic , and pretty shameless when it comes to scoring laughs -- but , luckily , the film is filled with bright comedians who milk every opportunity .",
        "with enough good nature and friendly humor to still be considered a family comedy , MOV also hits an edginess that will keep today 's audiences laughing .",
        "... martin does n't have his a-game here . MOV is a passable little comedy , but the white-haired funnyman is neither wild nor crazy .",
        "a movie where each scene seems to stand in a world of its own : funny ; tasteless ; stale ; very funny ; what on earth were they thinking ?",
        "this movie is not without problems , but when it 's on , it 's funny .",
        "short on laughs that do n't involve racist remarks , house decimates race relations and sets civil rights back to the stone age .",
        "the real star of `` MOV '' - queen latifah 's enormous breasts . latifah 's bosom not only symbolizes the non-threatening , black femininity that ultimately comforts white folks , but it also serves its main purpose of nurturing white folks in",
        "it 's a broad comedy , pure and simple , but in making us laugh , apparently it is also necessary to insult our intelligence .",
        "simple comedy , done right .",
        "thinks it is enlightened because it is down on white culture and down with black culture . it is not . along with national security , it represents a step backward for race relations , and for black characters in hollywood .",
        "even without the movie pushing our buttons with its racist antagonists , latifah would have won us over with her charm , attitude , and overwhelming self-confidence and assuredness .",
        "has so much going for it , it 's all the more jarring when the laughs stop coming . it 's a shame the movie could n't finish what it started .",
        "there are enough genuine laughs to keep things fun and undemanding ... queen latifah steals the film .",
        "questionably tasteful but often laugh-out-loud funny .",
        "MOV offers proof that there are times when superior performances can salvage a mediocre script .",
        "yet another film created for the lowest common denominator in all of us .",
        "and though the film 's white characters repeatedly make fools of themselves , they 're patted on the head as if they'e small children who 've just made a funny .",
        "struggling at the outset , the film actually stutters and sparks into some very funny sequences . never quite shaking itself out of the ridiculous , the picture nonetheless finds a way to almost become endearing .",
        "the latest film to make people laugh by taking an uptight cracker and forcing him to become malibu rapper brad gluckman from the jamie kennedy experiment .",
        "the film 's idea of being risqu\u00e9 is to make martin 's neighbors and law partners -- and most other white characters -- cartoonishly racist .",
        "keeps its audience giggling and occasionally shocked .",
        "jason filardi 's first screenplay is cobbled together from every unwanted guest/outsider helps kids over obstacles/adversaries bond together to fight common cause comedy that 's come before it with the added distasteful elements of not one , but two , offensi",
        "filled with crude stereotypes ... the odd couple pairing fizzles instead of sending off sparks .",
        "steve martin used to be a wild and crazy guy . now he 's as bland as his hair .",
        "... manages to remain entertaining in spite of the lackluster script .",
        "that martin even has a pink house-servant costume for latifah to wear suggests a dysfunction far more deeply embedded in the film 's -lrb- and our collective -rrb- psyche .",
        "borders on being as offensive and misguided as a slapstick version of roots .",
        "is n't slavery funny ? ugh !",
        "if you 've seen the commercials for MOV , you already know the movie 's best moments and most memorable lines ...",
        "it 's completely forgettable and unoriginal , but it might make a good rental on a slow family movie night .",
        "steve martin , queen latifah , and eugene levy manage to squeeze laughs out of a totally generic , manufactured script that 's drowning in odd couple formula .",
        "everything about this film is painfully familiar , except , perhaps , for the vicious-but-comic catfight between latifah and missi pyle , who plays a high-society gold digger .",
        "it 's a wheezing , rusted machine of cheap jokes , cartoon performances , and crummy plotting , using shock value and insensitivity to make its painfully unfunny points .",
        "you 're better off ignoring this junk and saving your time .",
        "martin and latifah rule in boundary-pushing pg-13 .",
        "charlene establishes herself early on as manipulative and untrustworthy , which could lead to wicked fun if the film stayed true to this side of her character . instead , like hollywood clockwork , charlene morphs into a good influence .",
        "just because larry king called this `` one of the funniest movies ever '' does n't mean the rest of us have to similarly lose control of our mental faculties . still , this is n't nearly as awful as its reputation , thanks mainly to its three central performances .",
        "kudos to steve martin for choosing this script . he 's laughing all the way to the bank . the audience is n't as lucky .",
        "qualquer filme que tente provocar risos atrav\u00e9s de animais vestidos com ` roupas engra\u00e7adas ' est\u00e1 claramente ciente de suas defici\u0119ncias .",
        "if the idea of actress betty white using the term ` negro ' sounds hilarious to you then maybe this is a your kind of shallow humor .",
        "i think it was after betty white told steve martin 's son not to `` wear his hair like a *** '' that i thought about walking out .",
        "the friction between -lsb- martin 's -rsb- button-down lawyer , peter sanderson , and ghetto-fabulous fugitive charlene morton -lrb- queen latifah -rrb- produces dazzling comic sparks in an otherwise stale set-up .",
        "a comedy that successfully plays with stereotypes , both racial and personal .",
        "are old white guys trying to act like young black girls still funny ? whoever keeps writing these kinds of scripts really needs to be hurt -lrb- or at least forced to stand naked holding up a sign in nyc with their script scrawled on the front -rrb- .",
        "at some point during MOV , i covered my face ... i have n't had that kind of reaction to a movie in a while .",
        "irreverent but perhaps not funny enough , `` MOV '' gives queen latifah the chance to shine opposite steve martin .",
        "the only way to make this project work would be to transplant its actors to an entirely different film .",
        "it 's silly and it 's got more heart , and better street sense in its culture mosaic , than you would expect from a hollywood laff-riot .",
        "like one of those overbearing relatives who bursts into the living room , invited or not , and shatters your domestic tranquility with a barrage of soggy platitudes and moldy jokes , both of which he 's sure you 've never heard before .",
        "this house is built on a shaky foundation .",
        "in this ill-conceived comedy of errors ... racial stereotypes and bottom-of-the-barrel humor abound .",
        "it 's obvious , formulaic , often very funny and oddly cheerful as it goes about debunking prejudice by playing into it .",
        "if nothing else , MOV reminds us that martin still is ... one wild and crazy guy .",
        "a gut-busting black-and-white culture clash comedy .",
        "... simply embarrassing .",
        "simplistic , sometimes funny but mostly stupid ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the cast shines , they ca n't save this comedy , which is overly contrived and filled with outdated and offensive racial jokes .",
    "id": "11496"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lakeboat",
    "reviews": [
        "joe mantegna ... brings just the right tone of easy gab and tossed-off tales to this actor 's showcase .",
        "` yeah . it 's alright . ' ` good enough for me . '",
        "mamet 's fixation on language is ... more effective onstage than onscreen , where the technical and visual requirements distract from the sounds of the words -- the heart of mamet 's work .",
        "mamet knows people so well that you can forgive his lack of actual story once in awhile .",
        "based on mamet 's experience as a freighter on the great lakes while a grad english lit student , mantegna 's screen version is so dramatically inert and artistically shapeless resulting in an uninvolving memory film .",
        "this plotless film is filled with a zillion little nostalgia stories that are both pointless and irritating , but some stories can also be devilishly charming .",
        "as drama , it 's not much ; as a meditation on language and storytelling , it 's a treat .",
        "viewers learn that these salty guys have salty imaginations and that mamet 's a master at capturing their thoughts in discursive detail .",
        "for the most part a lot of fun , with some fine performances from a mature cast .",
        "watching it , you come to understand what it is that mamet has been true to all these years .",
        "vivid performances by a first-rate cast will hold your interest .",
        "mantegna takes the episodic , almost skit-like structure of the play and turns it into snapshots of a vanishing way of life .",
        "i once taught a class on mamet 's films . i wish i could have opened it with this one , because for mamet , it all starts here .",
        "this early effort is more a curiosity piece than anything else .",
        "forster is the reason that even non-mamet-heads might consider giving MOV a shot .",
        "little more than a succession of acting exercises ... but who cares when the dialogue is so meaty and the performances so canny ?",
        "an elegiac and tartly amusing tribute to a group of guys trying to make the most of the hand life has dealt them .",
        "the film 's chief pleasure , a considerable one , is in hearing mr. mamet 's characteristic idiom ... so close to its real-world source .",
        "a top-notch troupe of actors deliver the propulsive dialogue of david mamet .",
        "MOV requires its audiences to embrace it as lovingly as mamet and mantegna embrace its men , but it 's a lot to ask .",
        "the magic is in the words , and there 's always laughter , anger and sadness to be found in david mamet 's poetry of inarticulateness .",
        "if you like david mamet 's men and their crazily profane arguments , you 'll be happy you came .",
        "if you 're an admirer of -lsb- mamet 's -rsb- work , or if you 're willing to be as patiently observant as dale , you will find much that is fascinating and illuminating .",
        "a first-rate movie made from one of david mamet 's lesser plays .",
        "where mantegna succeeds is in providing a forum for some great acting .",
        "an enjoyable trifle .",
        "the piece is a theatrical curio , but no less fascinating for that .",
        "if you love the way in which david mamet can turn language into music , then `` MOV '' is for you .",
        "the raw raunch and the latent yearning and pain -lsb- mamet -rsb- sets down here with such assurance yield a movie of special rewards .",
        "not as sharp on characterizations as -lsb- mamet 's -rsb- later work , but it 's essential viewing for admirers of his gutter-elegant dialogue .",
        "there 's enough there to make it of interest to more than mamet completists .",
        "movies about blue-collar workers are usually romanticized or artificial or ruined by slumming hollywood stars , but MOV is the real deal .",
        "more play than movie . but it 's unusual for either . it 's neither plot-driven like many plays nor action - and image-driven like most movies .",
        "as with any mamet script , the cast is all , and these old boys take his macho monologues and make them sound like homer .",
        "thanks to the likable , rough-hewn crew and forster , the film flows along gruffly and with eloquence .",
        "despite some uneven moments , MOV is brought to the screen with skill and sympathy .",
        "the same old mamet stuff , and not even top-drawer mamet .",
        "the script is so inherently stagy that setting the film on a real boat does n't pay off ."
    ],
    "summary": "though not much happens plot-wise , MOV still has a lot to offer for fans of mamet .",
    "id": "16128"
  },
  {
    "movie": "in_the_house_2013",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's amusing and unexpected , capturing the compulsive spirit of writing with wit and attention to mischief that keeps it unpredictable to the very end .",
        "`` MOV '' might well be called `` in the story '' because that 's where it plays out : the house in the story and the story MOV .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- fluently made and brilliantly acted treatise on teaching , storytelling and the class divide .",
        "the expected punch line ... never materializes , so i guess this must be a drama after all .",
        "MOV is a structurally solid thriller that is both inventive and absolutely seductive in nature .",
        "inviting photography and a relentless pace complement claude 's unfolding narrative , but the big thrills are in the deftly drawn characters ... and the incisive satire ...",
        "savor MOV for its meta-exploration of adolescence , class resentment and suppressed desire , but do n't expect much more .",
        "the seductions of storytelling drive `` MOV , '' a cleverly structured comic thriller rich with narrative trickery and macabre humor .",
        "a slick psychological thriller that veers into dark comedy the more absurd it gets , `` MOV '' demonstrates the dangers of addiction -- not to sex or drugs , but to story .",
        "captures why we do what we do , and the extent to which stories reflect both the writer and the reader .",
        "it 's good , devious fun .",
        "it 's a little too wordy and under-plotted for my liking but stylishly done .",
        "the heat turns chilly before it ends , but for the most part , fran\u00e7ois ozon is back in the catbird seat with MOV .",
        "fact and fiction collide messily in a film that will be a treat for ozon fans , which boasts an impressive breakthrough performance from one-to-watch ernst umhauer .",
        "acrobatic wordplay only hides the vapidity so much .",
        "the director and the audience are drawn together as voyeurs imposing our narratives on what we see on the screen as we do when organising the world around us .",
        "a poignant and funny comedy of manners that follows the interaction of a frustrated high school french teacher and his prize student .",
        "ozon keeps sliding between genres -lrb- `` now we are in bad farce , '' scolds the teacher -rrb- to explore what really interests him - the creative process itself .",
        "with its complex look at storytelling , imagination and the teacher-student dynamic , MOV is an elaborate cinematic fresco .",
        "the dexterity of the actors and their director is not quite enough , and as `` MOV '' accelerates , it also starts to sputter , piling on incidents and revelations that cause its web of implications to unravel .",
        "a celebration of storytelling 's power .",
        "even though the buildup does n't yield the anticipated payoff , -lsb- MOV -rsb- remains a slick , artful and highly entertaining ride .",
        "the final scene is so open-ended that like germain , you wo n't want the story to end .",
        "` MOV '' promises to be a social satire with a flash of hitchcockian menace , but gradually it turns into a routine thumb-sucker on reality versus fiction .",
        "mostly , the film 's a confident , very sophisticated meditation on art - on why we need it , how we identify with it and what it gives our lives . and what it ca n't replace .",
        "with its wheels-within-wheels structure and ubiquitous jibber-jabber between neophyte and guide `` MOV '' is something of a lit major 's `` inception . ''",
        "less focused than most of -lrb- writer-director francois -rrb- ozon 's previous films . it is difficult to decide with which character we as viewers/pseudo-participants are supposed to empathize . more off-putting than fully satisfying in the end .",
        "an ambitious , beautiful looking movie with the underlying theme that if you want to get on in life sooner or later you have to start to experience it for good or bad .",
        "has the slow-pulsing vertigo of a psychological thriller & the twists of an elaborate melodrama , but to reduce it to these labels is glib . caustic & funny but never misanthropic . a study of the ways people actually live , rather than how we assume they do .",
        "these characters are messed up and yet there i was , sitting in the back row of the cinema , with a smile on my face .",
        "the result is one of those stories about storytelling that have become something of a post-modern specialty of elevated art . ozon manages a light touch , however , so that dans la maison never feels too self-referential .",
        "as a black comedy , this never quite catches fire , though there is some mild amusement to be found in its social satire .",
        "narrative issues hold MOV back from being as great as it should be .",
        "the convoluted yet familiar narrative games become somewhat tiresome . the movie works best as a straight suspense drama about a frustrated teacher and his devious star pupil ...",
        "satirizes the process of aesthetic creation and the damage it can inflict on the artist and those around him .",
        "MOV is sometimes ingenious , but all the main characters are cold , arrogant , and off-putting .",
        "MOV is a tour de force about two yarn-spinners -- claude and germain -- whose lives devolve into chaos .",
        "this is an impressive film , even though it seems like a kind of psychological-dramatic experiment . it combines fantasy and reality in interesting ways , depicting imaginary events and realistic events with equal conviction .",
        "ozon weaves another spellbinding tale that mingles the real and imaginery with terrific effect .",
        "utterly assured , breathtakingly executed and riotously funny , this is a delight .",
        "a sharp , enticing psychological cat-and-mouse game . its gleeful dark wit comes from manipulations , voyeurism , the idea that we all invade each other 's lives and thoughts .",
        "darkly funny and utterly compelling , it 's arguably the best teacher-student movie since 1999 's election .",
        "... joins a handful of clever films where fiction and reality merge , like `` adaptation '' or zoe kazan 's more recent `` ruby sparks . '' it 's thrilling , funny , smart and hugely entertaining , more satisfying than the director 's breakout film .",
        "fran\u00e7ois ozon 's slow-burn comic thriller is a sensitive observation of a global race-to-the-bottom that is devaluing culture in all of its varied forms .",
        "ozon is an artful provocateur and observer of human nature .",
        "to watch it is to be simultaneously seduced and interrogated .",
        "the result is endlessly playful , although the rules of the game , in ozon 's hands , could hardly be graver , and what can be at stake , in the act of storytelling , has seldom been more elegantly sketched .",
        "a little kinky , a little creepy , and quite clever and literary .",
        "one of ozon 's best .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- slyly warped student-and-teacher yarn .",
        "a cinematic bouquet of surprising left turns and addictive story hooks . strongly recommended .",
        "provocative , playful , entertaining and audacious , MOV is a writer showing us the inner workings of writing , complete with its power to subvert , to imagine and to deceive",
        "occasionally too clever for its own good , the film may go one step too far , but ozon manages the hybrid of genres beautifully and ultimately it is his superb cast that sells the nuances and the concept",
        "the film treats imagination-and talent-in certain hands as an almost mystical force .",
        "a sly , stylish blend of melodrama and suspense that 's also a cunning commentary on the seductiveness and danger inherent in storytelling itself .",
        "director/scriptwriter francois ozon knows his hitchcock well . he employs him effectively , but the clutter is his own .",
        "ozon and the script move a little too far afield and hold on a bit too long as the film approaches its end . still , `` MOV '' has enough trippy truth to it to grab your interest and shake your mind .",
        "an almost perverse delight , an egghead thriller that slyly shell-games its truer purpose as an inquiry into the construction -- and deconstruction -- of fiction . scratch deconstruction : make that tear-the-house-down demolition .",
        "it 's fiction about life that becomes fiction that might be life - and the viewer happily dives in .",
        "it 's partly real and partly a fable , full of events that might have happened or could never have happened , with intrigues that defy us to take them seriously .",
        "ozon , for all the prettiness of his comic and visual grace notes , runs out of ideas .",
        "MOV creates something far more original than the same old heart-pounding exercise .",
        "a bold and refreshingly original french film about story , writing , imagination , creativity , sexuality , and breaking rules .",
        "with its exploration of voyeurism and manipulation , MOV covers similar territory to ozon 's earlier swimming pool , but is distinguished by its crafty sense of humour .",
        "it 's a mind-tickler of exquisite precision that saves some of its surprises for the finale .",
        "MOV bares the voyeurism inherent in all stories-and the class-consciousness inherent in voyeurism .",
        "a black-comic psychological drama with poise and self-possession . featuring fabrice luchini and kristin scott thomas , how could it have anything else ?",
        "almost perfect",
        "an elegant , sophisticated black comedy thriller with a lot to say about storytelling , control and manipulation of the truth .",
        "with ozon 's usual sharp writing and direction , this black comedy is a fabulous series of provocations , challenging us to explore how we see , or perhaps imagine , the people in our lives .",
        "a witty , naughty , insight-packed provocation which never takes its seriousness too seriously .",
        "francois ozon 's interplay between narrative and meta-narrative girds this smart if occasionally too-precious drama .",
        "it 's buoyant and titillates , striking that distinctly ozonian balance between the beautiful and the sinister , but it does n't resonate .",
        "luchini 's dependable deadpan goes a long way toward making the puzzle pieces snap pleasingly into place , but as with most such endeavors , MOV is about its own construction and nothing more .",
        "impressively directed and darkly funny , this is a hugely enjoyable french black comedy with a clever , thought-provoking script and terrific performances from a note-perfect cast .",
        "a script with razor sharp wit , effective and unobtrusive direction and fine performances from the key leads all help ensure this is one of , if not the finest of ozon 's films to date .",
        "neither claude nor ozon comes up with a satisfying finish to this intriguing setup . but because they 're both so committed to seducing their audience , it 's a lot of fun watching them try .",
        "delicious , intriguing and addictive expos\u00e9 of the creative-writing process and middle-class dysfunction . wry humor and mystery also bring alive what might be acclaimed filmmaker fran\u00e7ois ozon 's most accomplished and unpredictable work to date .",
        "effortlessly shifts between genres , tones and styles , thus becoming an inquiry into this gifted if erratic filmmaker 's whole career .",
        "it 's a scintillating intellectual tease , rigorously controlled , but terrific fun at the same time .",
        "one of french cinema 's foremost enfants terribles here finally grows up : this elegant and eloquent film weighs its words and images with commendably mature precision ."
    ],
    "summary": "dark , tense , and wryly funny , MOV is brilliantly directed by fran\u00e7ois ozon and features fine performances from its talented cast .",
    "id": "771313143"
  },
  {
    "movie": "return_to_me",
    "reviews": [
        "every shot is squarely predictable , and you 'd never guess that cinematographer laszlo kovacs has done major work like paper moon .",
        "this is a melodrama wrapped in a sitcom inside a hallmark card .",
        "why does the film have to be two hours ? does no one hire an editor anymore ?",
        "driver seems plagued with an onscreen self-consciousness that ruins her time in the limelight .",
        "this film is energized by excellent performances .",
        "ultimately too bland and safe .",
        "as if aware they are imprisoned in the subplot of a terrible movie , actors carroll o'connor , robert loggia , eddie jones , william bronder and marianne muellerleile have a near mutiny on screen .",
        "not a horrible movie , but not a good one either .",
        "although quite realistic at first , all conflicts suffer from unrealistic resolutions and from the lack of subtlety .",
        "the alluringly deadpan duchovny can make no headway with driver .",
        "wholly predictable .",
        "duchovny is surprisingly out-of-joint with the romantic atmosphere .",
        "i could almost recommend MOV to the more saccharine of my acquaintances were it not for a sugary denouement .",
        "renders a bland , mall-bought local flavor .",
        "delightful !",
        "MOV is n't as well-executed as it could have been .",
        "sweet , funny and touching romantic comedy .",
        "charming , entertaining and highly enjoyable .",
        "david duchovny and minnie driver star in a movie that almost seems like a godsend in this age of romantic-comedy schmaltz .",
        "so innocent , so naive , so sweet and sincere , that you must leave your cynicism at the door or choose another movie .",
        "driver is radiantly winsome .",
        "the film is largely entertaining , often sweet , occasionally even moving .",
        "despite that and some odd pacing , it hits the right marks .",
        "MOV is a story for all ages .",
        "a delightful surprise .",
        "predictable , sporadically engaging fable .",
        "i found the film utterly charming .",
        "an entirely formulaic piece of comedy-melodrama with scarcely a moment of real drama and featuring repartee engaged in by codgers without a genuine dab of wit .",
        "-lsb- hunt -rsb- chooses early emotional depth to fulfill later parts of the movie -- a master stroke , as it turns out .",
        "return to sender . except for david duchovny .",
        "90 minutes of complicated , sometimes hokey and occasionally hilarious episodic moments defining the human condition .",
        "contrivances abound , no doubt , but the picture refuses any disingenuous pollutant access to the mix , instead leading with heartfelt , lived-in emotions , enjoying a deliciously homey mood of friendly flirtation and old-world wisdom .",
        "driver and duchovny shine in romance with heart .",
        "an unbelievable premise , but sweet and romantic .",
        "touches the audience 's heart without being sappy .",
        "see this wonderful film and let it teach you about the warmth , the richness , and the renewal of life .",
        "have a heart .",
        "every time i see this it is better and better . bonnie hunt is an amazing writer .",
        "characters you can enjoy watching and will care about , places you will enjoy spending time , and a charming , hopeful look at love amid the vagaries of life .",
        "it delivers the emotional goods as it should while also providing its share of well earned laughs .",
        "you actually can care about the lovers , there 's a fine sense of balance between humor and pathos in their story .",
        "a brutally rocky romantic comedy of choppy technique , dubious plotting .",
        "the real problem is the lack of heat generated by driver and duchovny .",
        "a charming romantic comedy tragically bogged down by the uncomfortable avoidance of its central plot point .",
        "heart-warming .",
        "the grisly weight of that central premise hangs over the proceedings like a bloody pi\u0144ata .",
        "MOV should be returned to sender .",
        "a highly entertaining romantic comedy that is so sweet , funny and charming .",
        "driver and duchovney have a real chemistry .",
        "an exceedingly pleasant , wistful romantic romp .",
        "a warm , funny film that depicts a deep-dish slice of life a la sweet home chicago , and we eat it up . you may even want seconds .",
        "you 've got a romantic comedy that ai n't much of either .",
        "return to sender .",
        "it 's a genuine attempt at a genuine movie .",
        "bonnie hunt 's directorial debut is a flyweight heartwarmer brimming with winning characters .",
        "there is a satisfying , old-fashioned moonstruck sensibility at work .",
        "easily the most sane and encouraging romantic comedy since the far more polished , but equally expansive and ethnically flavored moonstruck .",
        "MOV may win your heart , but it will probably try to stick it in somebody else 's body .",
        "while MOV plays out , you are not bored , but you also are not as satisfied as you could be .",
        "writers have kids of their own .",
        "intelligently co-written and ably directed .",
        "old-fashioned as all get-out , MOV is swathed in an unabashed feel-good tone .",
        "this pg-rated trifle is the perfect movie to take your parents to see without fear of embarrassment .",
        "a sweetly amusing tale about the human heart .",
        "a sweet love story , far more affecting than the average romantic drivel because it 's so much less phony .",
        "the movie suffers from a surfeit of affection .",
        "david duchovny is not well-matched with minnie driver .",
        "if you like your sentiment layered on thick and creamy as a slab of mascarpone cheese , MOV is one to go back for .",
        "MOV manages to disarm with its charm and delight with its bite .",
        "it 's the little things that make MOV worth a look . the small , sweet-funny touches and the offhanded , all-too-human moments are really the heart of this film .",
        "as light and fluffy as it is , MOV still proves surprisingly inviting , thanks to some canny direction by actress bonnie hunt in her filmmaking debut .",
        "what it has is heart .",
        "first-time director bonnie hunt has taken what could have been an incredibly sappy story and used her sense of comedic timing to fashion a date flick that even the guys might enjoy .",
        "were this a student film , you 'd expect to see it returned with a middling grade , covered with red-inked criticisms .",
        "duchovny gives a relaxed , quietly comic performance that suggests he should have been doing this sort of thing all along .",
        "the film builds an implausible scenario into a credible and utterly charming romantic comedy ."
    ],
    "summary": "david duchovny and minnie driver provide heart-warming romance and comedy in this solid debut by director bonnie hunt .",
    "id": "10368"
  },
  {
    "movie": "harold_and_kumar_go_to_white_castle",
    "reviews": [
        "smart , goofy and endearing , cho and penn make a terrific team , and the fact that they 're starring in their own movie suggests that , in the hollywood comedy frat house , there 's finally room for everyone .",
        "it is n't just another dumb druggie flick that suggests the world begins and ends with getting high .",
        "the script goes to acceptable lengths to make the duo more than the idiotic , giggling stoners we 'd usually see .",
        "there is a key to good 'n' stupid lowbrow comedy : ... be proudly , shamelessly , flippantly stupid ...",
        "... an instant stoner classic .",
        "-lsb- s -rsb- tarts out gross ... and descends into the utterly moronic .",
        "this buddy pot comedy 's blunted charm lacks the clarity to make it soar as high as its protagonists .",
        "just when we thought the stoner comedy was a hazy relic of the past , along comes a new farce that has every hallmark of having been written while under the influence .",
        "a distinct entry in the pantheon of stoner comedies ; the `` what the hell ? '' moments are so insanely conceived that they 're often really funny .",
        "its unforced mixture of the crass with the sweet may not be the likeliest of combinations , but it is a decidedly beguiling one , all the same .",
        "goes for cheap and easy laughs way too frequently .",
        "its very unambitiousness gives the film moments that almost approach charm . that said , it 's still mostly just extremely dumb and vulgar .",
        "a movie that is funny far more often than it flops , and one that - more importantly - challenges the myth of the american melting pot .",
        "a blissfully silly , character-driven road movie with impressive laugh-per-minute performance specs .",
        "the pacing is clunky , with the flat feel of a sitcom .",
        "that the movie is dumb goes without saying . but is it funny ? you betcha .",
        "an empowering idea is woven with great subtlety into a series of poop jokes , sex jokes , and pot jokes . maybe some people will miss it . i did n't .",
        "once every summer season , the holy grail appears on screen . in 2004 , it came as a steaming sack of tiny square burgers , the good end to a long , superb stoner road revue .",
        "a raft of guest stars -lrb- neil patrick harris , christopher meloni , anthony anderson , bobby lee of `` mad tv '' -rrb- -- at their absolute wackiest -- flesh out this stoners ' banquet .",
        "... all of which add up to nothing in terms of plot , but plenty in terms of entertainment value , laughs and fun .",
        "harold and kumar discover that the american dream is not to be doogie howser ; it 's to be neil patrick harris .",
        "pulls off the nearly impossible in subverting racial stereotypes by constantly evoking them",
        "features quite possibly the worst , most unfunny scene of the 2004 film year .",
        "as far as stoner comedies go , this is a surprisingly well-done affair",
        "at road 's end , harold and kumar smells very similar to the shrine of its title , which is great before you bite in and way less appetizing after you 've sobered up .",
        "a laugh-out-loud if not-exactly-good stoner comedy .",
        "there are at least three very funny things in MOV , and the stuff in between is n't bad .",
        "in their formidable quest for junk food , harold and kumar end up redefining what the all-american protagonists of hollywood movies should look like -- and prove this comedy is not quite as brain-dead as it originally appeared .",
        "a celebration of the rights of all people from all races , creeds and beliefs to have equal access to the best-damned burger americans can fry up !",
        "`` harold & kumar go to white castle '' may have a better grasp of modern race relations than so-called `` serious '' films .",
        "harold and maude go to white castle might have been a better bet , but this is nevertheless a gross-out comedy with a difference .",
        "this movie has instances of absolute hilarity ... but unlike the burgers , it has a lot of unnecessary fillers . dude , where 's my hamburger ?",
        "while not as outlandishly contrived as director danny leiner 's dude , where 's my car ? h&k is about as barely funny and just as hard to believe .",
        "what 's engaging about all this is that penn and cho are smart actors doing very dumb humor . somehow the combination proves amusing .",
        "perfect summertime munchies for the drive-in . lewd , raunchy and likely to spawn a sequel or two . it 's also fearless , well-acted and smarter than it lets on .",
        "danny leiner has n't matured as a filmmaker . and that 's a very nice thing indeed .",
        "cho and penn pull off the fast-food humor with a laid-back style that gets them through even when the movie lags .",
        "this may not be the funniest film of the summer nor even the stoniest , but it is still an enjoyable chunk of resin-soaked celluloid .",
        "if you 're among those who giggled at the trailer before calling your buds to say dude . harold kumar . looks funny. , you 'll probably find a solid case of chuckles here .",
        "-lrb- this -rrb- is n't your typical lowbrow comedy about dopes smoking dope . deep down , under the buns and fun , lurks a heapin ' helping of heart .",
        "stretches the boundaries of offensiveness in ways that both make us laugh and make us think .",
        "director danny leiner has now elevated the stoner comedy to its highest peak ...",
        "click to read the article .",
        "a thin setup followed by thinner jokes .",
        "there is a lot of imagination in this wacky ride of a film that would make ` the dude ' from the big lebowski very happy .",
        "harold & kumar go to white castle is the latest multicultural variant of the lowbrow buddy comedy in which the heroes just want to get high and laid .",
        "it 's what a stoner comedy should be . it 's what a buddy comedy should be . two for the price of one sure as hell ai n't bad ... the funniest thing i 've seen in months .",
        "amid the insane goofiness there 's some serious stuff happening that actually speaks to us .",
        "so disreputable in its premise and so fly-by-night in its technique that it 's easy to enjoy . it 's unburdened by aspirations",
        "nearly every gut-wrenching turn is somehow derived from an ethnic slur , juvenile sight gag , or the glorification of an illegal substance and its side effects .",
        "a simple , brain-dead chuckler that might as well have been called dude , where 's my burger ?",
        "will seem a classic if you 're stoned , and only slightly less funny if you 're straight .",
        "this is one more ` youth movie ' that 'll put years on anyone over 25 .",
        "the outlandish premise and greasy title may be a little hard to swallow , but danny leiner 's proudly moronic film embraces its boneheadedness so cheerfully that its lowbrow charms are nearly irresistible .",
        "if it 's possible for a movie to be sly and full-on raunchy at the same time , danny leiner 's p.o.v.-shifting stoner-buddy comedy is it .",
        "the funniest road trip comedy since todd phillips 's ` road trip . '",
        "repeatedly , as per road-movie formula , harold and kumar come to expect sex and/or druggy delirium , only to be disappointed .",
        "often , the boys ' misadventures attain a farcical perpetual motion that 's as funny as anything playing out on today 's movie screens .",
        "a peppy , satisfying comedy that could soon become a minor classic .",
        "the rare funny scenes are dominated by predictable sex or drug jokes .",
        "it 's a delightful surprise that MOV is so hilarious for pretty much all the reasons it should be so predictably brainless .",
        "you 're going to think i 'm insane , or kidding , but honest-to-god this is one of the year 's best films",
        "what grounds the film , always , is the likableness of leads cho and penn. .",
        "instantly forgettable but fun .",
        "a well-paced and extremely funny yuk-fest that never takes itself too seriously -- and neither should you .",
        "a nasty , cynical , and outrageously funny look at racism and xenophobia framed around a pot-driven food run .",
        "a stoner comedy with a clear-headed sense of wit ...",
        "harold and kumar give brain-dead comedies a good name",
        "this new comedy offers `` american pie '' type teen humor with john cho and kal penn playing the leads .",
        "what 's impressive about the jokes is how smart so many of them are",
        "a funny stoner buddy movie , with nods to those original multicultural high times guys , cheech and chong , and flashes of the kind of party-on comedy that saturday night live slackers wayne and garth made most excellent .",
        "if you want to laugh loud and long , go see it . but for heaven 's sake , check your tender sensibilities at the door .",
        "... the movie has delivery that often overshadows the punch lines , and it 's not very accessible .",
        "silliness is the movie 's only ambition , but there 's something mind-blowing about seeing a fratty comedy through two pairs of asian-american eyes , particularly when those eyes belong to actors who were token minorities in other dumb comedies .",
        "winds up a sweetly nonchalant and excellently unwhiny allegory of seeking and gaining entry to the caucasian fortress that is present-day america , or at least nocturnal new jersey .",
        "i will tell you without compunction that i laughed many times during the film , and i will add that 90 percent of those laughs were at things i can not repeat here .",
        "this is a hilarious , fever-dream of a road-trip movie .",
        "as unsatisfying as its titular fast food chain 's repulsive mini-burgers , leiner 's film shoots only for scatological silliness .",
        "the sad reality is that the picture exists in this dimension where it will , for the space of far too many weeks , torment and agonize average , innocent americans by its very existence .",
        "made me laugh loud and often as much if not more than any other movie i 've seen this year .",
        "that cho and penn are such likable actors and are so funny in their roles earns the movie more slack than it probably deserves and prevents it from being just another gross-out comedy .",
        "what could have just pushed the usual youth comedy buttons is instead a crafty spoof on issues from racial politics to american highway monoculture that belies its cover -lrb- and marketing -rrb- as only a dumb gross-out laffer .",
        "... fares a whole lot better than the majority of its stoner-comedy brethren ...",
        "an over-the-top romp which rehashes lots of dumb drug jokes but breaks far enough away from the tried-and-true teen formula to earn a high mark even from this jaded critic .",
        "... for all its juvenile shortcomings , there 's a sweet and beguiling charm to the film .",
        "a deserving modern classic , even if only for being so bold as to describe katie holmes ' breasts as being `` the exact opposite '' of the holocaust .",
        "you 'll laugh , you 'll laugh , and you 'll laugh % u2014especially if you see the movie in the cannabis enhanced glaze that the filmmakers intend .",
        "` this night is about the american dream , ' kumar promises , and you know what ? it sort of is . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "one of the funniest films i 've seen in a years .",
        "extremely dumb and vulgar comedy ; not for kids .",
        "a multilayered goof on ethnic stereotypes ...",
        "a whacky , racially refreshing breather in hollywood 's white-dominated , politically over-correct bummer of a mainstream culture",
        "it always takes an unexpected route . often unexpectedly stupid , yes . but there 's also something weirdly original about jon hurwitz and hayden schlossberg 's script .",
        "the jokes are n't exactly smokin ' , but there are enough high points to make this a gratifying pot comedy .",
        "h&k has a lot to say about smoking pot and the silliness of its illegality ... a `` marijuana kills '' public service commercial ... is a stroke of satiric genius .",
        "harold and kumar just need to go , period !",
        "the multicultural cast gives a shred of substance to what 's otherwise a standard adolescent gross-out flick .",
        "in those rare instances when it 's not being a dumb comedy , harold and kumar is a rather crafty satire of racial stereotypes -lrb- which , it must be said , traffics in a few stereotypes of its own -rrb- .",
        "it does have one thing on its side : it 's freakin ' hilarious , man .",
        "an epic pothead movie with laughs and smarts",
        "sweetly silly .",
        "attacks of hunger and indigestion , comic hallucinations and episodes of flat-out insensibility are scrambled together on this goofy roller coaster ride of dope .",
        "one of those silly , rude , crude , buddy adventure movies that hits the right spot .",
        "h&kgtwc is a smart person 's fart movie ! it 's like a american road pie trip for the intelligente - the partying intelligente",
        "one secret of fiction is the creation of unique characters who are precisely defined . the secret of comedy is the same , with the difference being that the characters must be obsessed with unwholesome but understandable human desires .",
        "when the 90 minutes are up , you 'll likely wonder why you laughed so hard and so often at something so silly .",
        "this gonzo ganja comedy is propelled more by sly charm , sharp wit and stinging social satire than by mere smoke jokes .",
        "whoever thought that one of the best times at the movies this year would feature a shot of doogie howser snorting cocaine out of the small of a woman 's back ?",
        "what makes harold and kumar so good is their demented selves -- you 'll love the characters .",
        "perfectly paired , john cho and kal penn take the stereotypes of the brilliant asian and the genius indian for a joyride .",
        "it 's enthusiastically vulgar , yet it adroitly takes on the topic of racial stereotyping , a surprisingly effective combination for a comedy .",
        "plays it a little too safe and hackneyed with the comedy , but the characters and the talented actors who play them are a refreshing change of pace that make the movie feel like a minor buddy-comedy revolution .",
        "it panders and aims way too low way too frequently .",
        "will never become a teen classic , to be remembered lovingly as the film that shaped your teenage years but one thing 's for sure : it 's very funny and wonderfully dumb .",
        "there 's an audience that will appreciate this , but they may struggle to see it through the smoke .",
        "go ahead , it 's what you crave .",
        "while unabashedly unsophisticated , this flick is subtly smarter , more audacious and more finely tuned than other movies of its ilk ...",
        "warm , crazily inventive and sometimes hysterical ...",
        "behind all the farrelly-esque gross-out humour and cheech & chong-isms lies a sensitive little picture with a deftly handled anti-racism slant .",
        "it 's all as serious as a white castle slider .",
        "... this film is dreadful ! horrible ! terrible ! aaaarrggghhh !",
        "funny and brave ; it 's tradition with a refreshing new twist .",
        "frankly , if there is n't already another harold and kumar movie in the works , then there should be .",
        "if told as a story by a guest at a party , `` MOV '' would undoubtedly end with the phrase : `` i guess you had to be there . ''",
        "-lsb- cho and penn -rsb- form an immediately likeable twosome with enough chemistry to carry this comedy ... past some obvious faults .",
        "it does n't make any sense , but damn if it does n't pull it off in style .",
        "while harold & kumar is n't quite a low-brow revelation on the scale of clerks , it is one of film history 's more inspired examples of off-color jerseyana .",
        "-lsb- harold and kumar -rsb- share a quality the overgrown adolescents in films like this are never allowed to possess : they 're witty , focused , and highly aware .",
        "i do n't know if it 's a revolution , but it 's a step in the right direction . funny , too .",
        "the laugh ratio in this run-on of skits is pretty low , at least to the unaltered mind of one who 's seen enough of these films and eaten enough white castle burgers to last a lifetime .",
        "the most gut-bustingly funny movie so far this year .",
        "though too scattershot and uneven to be recommended without reservation , it has a loose , goofball charm that makes it a pleasant surprise and may earn it cult status .",
        "has the coarse exterior of a typical ` stoner classic , ' but also a prominent undercurrent that is sweet , clever , and even a little thoughtful .",
        "all too often , the movie piles on ` shock ' comedy without the hidden art that makes shock palatable as comedy .",
        "crude , tasteless , sophomoric and crass . it is also , sometimes , funny .",
        "a slacker tale that balances the gross-out gags and idiotic drug humor with some sublimely silly nonsense .",
        "just as mike judge 's office space has become an anthem for all us gen x cubicle slaves , harold and kumar will resonate deeply with anyone who attended high school in the 1990s and at least saw a joint .",
        "this is dude , where 's my script ?",
        "has enough laughs and misadventures to satisfy its built-in audience , but it wo n't win any converts .",
        "a little more disturbing than it intends to be , and in the amateurish hands of director danny leiner -lrb- dude , where 's my car -rrb- not as funny as it might have been .",
        "it leaves you hungry -- for a better movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "the likable leads and subversion of racial stereotypes elevate harold and kumar above the typical stoner comedy .",
    "id": "16982"
  },
  {
    "movie": "scary_movie_3",
    "reviews": [
        "just middling funny , with no truly memorable high points and a sum impact that goes poof ! before you 've left the parking garage .",
        "be afraid , be very afraid .",
        "it 's better than the second film ...",
        "this pg-13 has r-rated stuff .",
        "fun , stupid stuff with no sense of a narrative arc or plot structure ... but hey , it made me laugh anyway .",
        "as with scary movie parts one and two , you pays your money , you gets your laughs , and you wo n't remember a thing in a few months .",
        "zucker 's slapstick may have the satiric delicacy of a chainsaw lobotomy , but it has n't harmed the franchise .",
        "basically , any movie that suffers from a lack of charlie sheen has got problems .",
        "if you 're looking for anything other than a parody clipshow , you wo n't find it .",
        "this is just a stab in the dark , the wildest of guesses on my part , but i do n't think michael jackson would recommend `` MOV . ''",
        "delivers plenty of decent laughs in its short running time .",
        "often in spectacular bad taste , but like its predecessors it made me laugh hard and often .",
        "algumas gags funcionam , mas numa raz\u0433o de cerca de 30 % , eu diria . portanto , talvez esta produ\u0437\u0433o valha o pre\u0437o do ingresso - isto \u0439 , caso voc\u043a consiga 70 % de desconto .",
        "leave your brain in the foyer , and your taste in the toilets .",
        "the only thing more worn than the humour is a tired-looking nielsen .",
        "the film 's comic philosophy might best be summed up this way : if you think it 's funny seeing sheen bang his head against a lamp once , then it 's twice as funny to see him do it twice .",
        "this is not one of those occasions when you feel like giving zucker an even break .",
        "MOV turns out to be an odd combination of the old-fashioned and the hip . i found it too awkward a combination to be entirely successful .",
        "it 's time to stop , i 'm afraid .",
        "the latest in this popular spoof franchise is funnier than scary movie 2 -lrb- which means i came close to laughing at least once . -rrb-"
    ],
    "summary": "though an improvement over the second scary movie , the laughs are still inconsistent .",
    "id": "11195"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1110288-count_of_monte_cristo",
    "reviews": [
        "-lrb- rises -rrb- above its oh-so-hollywood rejiggering and its conventional direction to give the film a soul and an unabashed sense of good old-fashioned escapism .",
        "if well-made escapist entertainment is what you 're after and the nonstop cgi orgies have grown wearisome , give this one a shot .",
        "caviezel embodies the transformation of his character completely .",
        "the best revenge may just be living well because this film , unlike other dumas adaptations , is far more likened to a treasure than a lengthy jail sentence .",
        "a film so short on style and verve it feels lifeless ; audiences might feel imprisoned in the ch\u00e2teau d'if , praying for escape or quick death . thankfully , one need not tunnel out of a movie theater .",
        "the film excels at the small touches .",
        "provides caviezel with a star-making turn , and he picks up the gauntlet with two gloved hands .",
        "it ai n't art , by a long shot , but unlike last year 's lame musketeer , this dumas adaptation entertains .",
        "fine escapism -lrb- sometimes literally -rrb- .",
        "just like the deli sandwich : lots of ham , lots of cheese , with a sickly sweet coating to disguise its excrescence until just after -lrb- or during -rrb- consumption of its second half .",
        "overall , the film is n't anything spectacular , but it 's moderately enjoyable and should please fans of the old saying about revenge being a dish best served cold .",
        "this new movie version of the alexandre dumas classic is the stuff of high romance , brought off with considerable wit .",
        "plum and peachy entertainment .",
        "betrays the author 's intent and makes wholesale changes in the well-known plot .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- pleasant diversion .",
        "a little more action a little earlier on would n't have hurt . but overall this is solid entertainment .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- above average piece of junk .",
        "frequently entertaining and sometimes lovely to look at .",
        "there 's a certain cheese factor at play , but count remains utterly thrilling and enthralling .",
        "it 's a count for our times .",
        "definitely worth a matinee .",
        "neither among the best nor the worst of the lot , it falls somewhere inconspicuously in between , serving up both lively and ill-fitting performances as well as lush backdrops and the requisite derring-do .",
        "it 's a fine , old-fashioned-movie movie , which is to say it 's unburdened by pretensions to great artistic significance .",
        "the latest movie reincarnation of alexandre dumas ' the MOV is swashbuckling fun . it is not , however , a great movie .",
        "solid , matinee-style entertainment that 's fun while it lasts .",
        "what really makes it special is that it pulls us into its world , gives us a hero whose suffering and triumphs we can share , surrounds him with interesting characters and sends us out of the theater feeling we 've shared a great adventure .",
        "a fresh and largely enjoyable film .",
        "you can count on snoozing .",
        "enough weight to keep your intellect engaged in between all the period fun .",
        "it 's quite entertaining .",
        "the story taps into a primal emotion , the lust for revenge against those who have wronged us .",
        "its lack of quality earns it a place alongside those other two recent dumas botch-jobs , the man in the iron mask and the musketeer .",
        "inspiration and originality may be in short supply , but the movie gets the job done .",
        "soon to be bottled and sold , luis guzman is a fish out of the soderbergh pond but a potent scene-stealer no less .",
        "it 's another retelling of alexandre dumas ' classic . why ? who knows , but it works under the direction of kevin reynolds .",
        "a good story with solid acting .",
        "slapped a smile on my face and less stress on my mind ...",
        "reynolds is a deft and vivid visual storyteller whose flair for action pyrotechnics never devolves into incoherence .",
        "the filmmakers focus more on personalities and emotions than on tumult and mayhem , and the results amount to old-fashioned fun .",
        "this is middling dumas all the way .",
        "the MOV gets a disneyfied treatment that would have played better had they digitized the actors",
        "without something more stirring to finish things off , the MOV wastes 100 minutes of decent buildup .",
        "old-form moviemaking at its best .",
        "a surprisingly effective throwback to the heyday of swashbuckling movie adventures and the pleasures of pulp-fiction-masquerading-as-great-literature",
        "the new version takes liberties with the story but uses them wisely to add excitement .",
        "literary purists may not be pleased , but as far as mainstream matinee-style entertainment goes , it does a bang-up job of pleasing the crowds .",
        "there 's a thin line between likably old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy , and the MOV ... never quite settles on either side .",
        "a disappointing enactment of a fine story , and it feels far longer than it is .",
        "the modern remake of dumas 's story is long on narrative and -lrb- too -rrb- short on action .",
        "turns out to be a rather romantic swashbuckling romp back in time .",
        "all in all , the MOV is okay , but it is surely no classic , like the novel upon which it is based .",
        "a meatier deeper beginning and/or ending would have easily tipped this film into the `` a '' range , as is , it 's a very very strong `` b + . '' i love the robust middle of this picture .",
        "a rousingly old-fashioned swashbuckler with an abundance of vigorous action and nary a trace of wink-wink irony .",
        "-lsb- reynolds -rsb- takes a classic story , casts attractive and talented actors and uses a magnificent landscape to create a feature film that is wickedly fun to watch .",
        "the film will dazzle you with stunning camera work , superb acting and swordplay -- plus best of all -- a sublime script .",
        "does better by alexandre dumas than last fall 's on-the-cheap the musketeer did .",
        "refreshingly well-done , with plenty of action and romance to thrill younger audiences , and a nice mix of old and new dramatic -- as well as historic -- elements to interest the older folk who 've seen it all before .",
        "i hope dumas is plotting his revenge against hollywood from beyond the grave . i 'd pay good money to see that .",
        "like an amateur entertainer who thinks his material works when , really , there is nothing remotely special about it .",
        "who would have thought that kevin reynolds would finally get the formula right ?",
        "you know you 're in for a good ol' popcorn-munching time when the movie 's tagline is a bad pun on the title of a piece of fine literature .",
        "strong supporting performances , from harris in particular , help make up for the uneven performances of the two leads ...",
        "dumas lite : less filling , still tastes pretty good",
        "while many would rightfully question why there is need for another take on alexander dumas ' treasure , reynolds has made a decent job of it .",
        "this is visually stunning and a masterpiece .",
        "a thoroughly enjoyable movie for older kids .",
        "where gladiator failed to give an adequate sense of how its hero grew and what he learned during his trials . ... monte cristo , on the other hand , takes its time .",
        "a preposterous , expansive and self-conscious attempt to resurrect the historical spectacular .",
        "... a straightforward and beautifully accoutered period piece , rife with technical authenticity and eye-pleasing production values .",
        "apesar de algumas altera\u0443\u0448es lament\u0440veis com rela\u0443\u0441o ao livro de alexandre dumas , o filme \u0436 interessante e se beneficia das atua\u0443\u0448es de caviezel e pearce .",
        "the week 's guilty pleasure ... a gorgeously photographed , sumptuously designed adaptation of the dumas swashbuckler boasting the most ludicrous dialogue since director kevin reynolds 's waterworld .",
        "waterworld 's kevin reynolds is simply the wrong director to attempt yet another adaptation of alexandre dumas 's classic tale ... his rendition is lifeless and flat .",
        "it 's not bad , but it 's just flawed enough for us to wonder about its purposelessness .",
        "a piece of overripe cheese ... with some of the most unintentionally funny dialogue in recent memory and featuring one of the blandest , dumbest heroes you can imagine .",
        "jay wolpert unwisely tries to spice up his screenplay with lines dumas somehow forgot to write , such as when mondego cracks to his wife , `` well , are n't you a piece of work ? ''",
        "the conclusion is just too rushed to produce a satisfying internal evolution for a character that could have been great .",
        "no es una cinta impecable ; pose\u00e9 errores de direcci\u00f3n art\u00edstica , gui\u00f3n y est\u00e1 desapegada a la novela original ; pero entretiene .",
        "the best swashbuckler since the mask of zorro .",
        "dumas 's classic tale is such a rattling good yarn , there 's nothing you can do to derail it as it hurtles down the track .",
        "solid entertainment , but lacks a certain gusto",
        "reynolds ' remake brings nothing new to the table , but it 's still an enjoyable throwback to the swashbucklers of old .",
        "all in all , it 's a pretty good execution of a story that 's a lot richer than the ones hollywood action screenwriters usually come up with on their own .",
        "the bottom line is that this movie is well worth a $ 3.00 video rental but not necessarily a $ 7.00 ticket price .",
        "count on count putting a smile on your face .",
        "a playful adaptation of the book ...",
        "ahhhh ... revenge is sweet !",
        "it trusts the story it sets out to tell .",
        "i was , literally , at the edge of my seat , or pounding my thighs with my fist in delight .",
        "this movie has everything -- swashbucklers , swords fights , masked festivals , hot air balloons , and whips .",
        "of over a dozen film versions of this story , it is one of the best , with solid performances and lavish production values .",
        "the best swashbuckler for most of the family since the mask of zorro .",
        "a handsome production in search of some energy .",
        "the classic book had a lot of complex , smart things to say about revenge . the movie does n't .",
        "aside from its sheer spectacle -- shot by andrew dunn , it is a sumptuous , if slow-moving , business .",
        "what 's not to like about a rousing saga of injustice , betrayal , revenge and righteousness , played out over decades , in exotic locations , by elegantly costumed characters who frequently cross swords ?",
        "at more than two hours , some of the slower moments might have you counting the minutes until the lights come up , but this popcorn flick will hardly leave you feeling robbed .",
        "monte cristo smartly emphasizes the well-wrought story and omits needless chase scenes and swordfights as the revenge unfolds .",
        "this is the kind of movie that used to be right at home at the saturday matinee , and it still is .",
        "a rewarding throwback to adventure movies of the 1930s and '40s .",
        "an unexpectedly entertaining slice of old-fashioned swashbuckle , the kind of sweeping , periodically absurd picture that was cranked out on an assembly line in the 1940s .",
        "this most resilient of stories has been made into another thoroughly enjoyable movie .",
        "a mediocre production that nevertheless will strike a deep and resonant chord with viewers .",
        "audiences and readers began cheering alexandre dumas ' the MOV in 1846 , and goodwill likely will continue through the tale 's latest movie reincarnation .",
        "when wolpert 's thudding dialogue is combined with reynolds ' tendency to direct things in the most bald-faced way , the results are not good .",
        "mark twain once defined a `` classic '' as `` a book which people praise and do n't read . '' this adaptation is doomed to `` classic '' status as well .",
        "this swashbuckler , in which buckles are swashed too perfunctorily , is a middling entertainment .",
        "its swashes are effectively buckled in all the right places .",
        "i figure you 'll eat it if you 're hungry enough .",
        "a dull and depressing dodo of a movie , nicely appointed but lethargic and lackluster .",
        "a classic tale of revenge that comes with a bit of action , humor , and romance .",
        "as a revenge thriller , the movie is serviceable , but it does n't really deliver the delicious guilty pleasure of the better film versions .",
        "director kevin reynolds handles action scenes beautifully , but he is unsure with the actors .",
        "if the MOV does n't transform caviezel into a movie star , then the game is even more rigged than it was two centuries ago .",
        "the MOV is the cinematic equivalent of comfort food : familiar and satisfying .",
        "if the count shows its age at all , it 's the way the revenge parable is framed -- not as a moral or ethical matter , but a spiritual one .",
        "this delicious adventure of crude betrayal and elegant revenge is yummy even when reheated by director kevin reynolds .",
        "solid , unpretentious , thoroughly competent film ...",
        "has all the earmarks of a grand to-do , including attractive stars , lavish costumes and gorgeous vistas . yet it still lacks a certain zip .",
        "... in a marketplace littered with films that studios have unloaded to make a buck or two ... `` the MOV '' stands out like a treasure chest half-buried in the sand .",
        "dumas would feel insulted that the characters he breathed life into were no more than charicatures prancing across the screen in a period action film .",
        "this feature is about as necessary as a hole in the head",
        "will not top anyone 's list of great literary adaptations , but it qualifies nonetheless as a swashbuckling guilty pleasure .",
        "kevin reynolds 's telling of the alexandre dumas classic delightfully evokes the halcyon days of screen swashbucklers .",
        "... everything a good , old-fashioned adventure story should be : daring , flamboyant , exciting , heroic , and supremely romantic .",
        "a big , vacuous , sometimes exciting glamour-puss of a movie .",
        "it 's extremely well-made , even though all the guts have been sucked out in an attempt to make it politically correct .",
        "ofrece una buena oportunidad de cultura -lrb- aunque sea condensada -rrb- que bien vale la pena aprovechar .",
        "opulent parisian mansions , gorgeous napoleonic era costumes , and artistic cinematography wowed me almost as much as those dynamic performances by jim caviezel and guy pearce ."
    ],
    "summary": "though it may not reach for any new artistic heights , the MOV is an old-fashioned yet enjoyable swashbuckler .",
    "id": "10118"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_counterfeiters_2007",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- director ruzowitzky -rsb- moves MOV along at a fast clip that covers a lot of ground in an hour and a half .",
        "this rarely happens , but i ca n't find a single negative thing to say about this intriguing , beautifully mounted slice of cinema .",
        "indeed , what 's clear about MOV is that it is intended to be a holocaust film where the archetypal facets associated with the era ... are reduced to a filmic footnote .",
        "MOV , written and directed by stefan ruzowitzky , is a morally challenging twist on the long and honorable tradition of forgery movies .",
        "much of `` counterfeiters '' is actually pretty thrilling , as sorowitsch , a classic taciturn anti-hero in the humphrey bogart or william holden mold , struggles with whether to go along with the nazi plan or figure out some way of undoing it from within .",
        "the real ` trick ' or feat that 's successfully performed by MOV is making us care about a character who , on the surface at least , is n't particularly likable or sympathetic .",
        "... the film 's hermetic feel often isolates what should be moments of greater emotional wallop .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- manages the difficult task of illuminating the size of the nazis ' horror while still focusing on a few men in the middle of it .",
        "it survives its melodramatic excesses because of the inherent fascination of its subject and an outstanding lead performance .",
        "a work of entertainment that 's also an honest-to-god work of art .",
        "MOV is an accurate procedural , just not a very engrossing or moving film .",
        "a bold study of unbearable moral ambiguity .",
        "el resultado es notable , tanto como inquietante y hasta quiz\u00e1s inc\u00f3moda reflexi\u00f3n sobre el instinto de supervivencia del ser humano , y tambi\u00e9n como pieza cinematogr\u00e1fica .",
        "what would you do if your only chance of survival involved aiding the nazi regime ?",
        "markovics expertly projects every craven instinct and heartfelt yearning of the complex protagonist , making MOV an experience as satisfying emotionally as intellectually . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "ruzowitzky does a fine job of capturing the claustrophia of the setting , as well as conveying the moral complexity of these characters ' choices",
        "2008 's oscar-winning foreign film is unquestionably good , a wholly absorbing and taut drama that is as engaging as it is powerful . but oscar-worthy ? there 's room for debate .",
        "sally sorowitsch is the little gangster who outsmarts the big gangsters . what could be more gratifying than that ?",
        "as writer-director stefan ruzowitzky shows , powerfully , affectingly , in MOV , the privileges experienced by this small team of jews and criminals came at a price .",
        "it 's a true story of the human condition , the holocaust and history .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- ruzowitzky wisely knows he does n't have to be overly emphatic in orchestrating the tension of both the moral conundrum and the always uncertain fate of the inmates .",
        "at its best -- and queasiest -- MOV asks disturbing questions more commonly found in the survivor literature of primo levi or bruno bettelheim than at the movies .",
        "MOV joins that class of films like tsotsi and the sea inside that are just good enough to look like they matter",
        "the fresh perspective and challenging moral questions make for a historical drama with vital relevance to contemporary audiences .",
        "the moral dilemmas posed by this operation are dramatically rendered , and without once resorting to cant .",
        "a psychological prison drama in line with midnight express , but the holocaust is front and center in the viewer 's mind , as well as the film 's",
        "demonstrates that no matter how many holocaust stories the movies tell , there are always new and unexpected ones waiting to be revealed .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- ruzowitzky refreshingly keeps the movie free from any pat answers , letting the audience members imagine what course of action they might take in similar circumstances .",
        "MOV is not quite a great film . it is , however , close enough to being great that it 's appropriately flawed , like a near-perfect forgery .",
        "the fascinating , unsentimental true story of a group of concentration camp prisoners forced to help the nazis perpetrate the largest counterfeiting operation in history .",
        "depicts the efforts of a russian jew to survive a nazi concentration camp with his creativity and chutzpah .",
        "ruzowitzky 's faux-doc shaky-cam zooms are less about the banality of evil than the inappropriateness of style .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- ruzowitzky 's straightforward approach to this unusual story and cinematographer benedict neunfels 's documentary-style immediacy transcend the now well-worn holocaust genre , bringing another side of the tragedy into unflinching focus .",
        "ruzowitzky depicts the care and attention to detail that went into the operation .",
        "mainly interesting for its premise and noteworthy for the main performance . -lsb- not -rsb- nearly as deserving of accolades as many of the foreign language films that were ignored by the academy .",
        "it is a must-see , especially in this dreary movie season .",
        "this is a gripping account of psychological turmoil that 's also intellectually challenging .",
        "based on actual events , this is a dramatic war movie that shows the inner conflict at work in a group of prisoners stuck in an ethical quandary over how the cost of their survival might cause the deaths of many others .",
        "though similar to schindler 's list , this riveting holocaust drama , also based on a true story , features actors who throw themselves wholly into the violence of a brutal concentration camp as they practice a trade that could keep them alive .",
        "a story of high risk and equally high principles in which life and death balances on the scale of usefulness to the cause of barbaric madmen .",
        "rarely has a film set the starkest of basic moral questions in such sharp-edged yet subtle relief ... . like one of the master forger 's brazenly passed-off copies -- so bold , unflinching and brilliant that , to any eye , it 's flawless .",
        "this dark arty film also has some entertainment value due to austrian actor markovics and his ability to inhabit his complicated character in a convincing way .",
        "karl markovics is exceptionally well cast . he 's not wildly expressive , but his physicality -- a small frame , a nose that bends northwest due to events we can only imagine -- is enough to carry the film 's ambiguities .",
        "this richly layered allegorical clash between a criminal and a communist , pits the urge for survival despite one 's debasement , against defiance , collective rebellion and martyrdom - the very impulses that advance history , but at enormous cost .",
        "skilfully acted , written and directed , MOV is a powerful and provocative work .",
        "the winner of this year 's oscar for best foreign-language film puts devils , as well as angels , on the head of the pin .",
        "the heart of the story is the horrible choice of survival , while helping your oppressors , or fighting them with sabotage and risking your life and others .",
        "this oscar-winning film ranks as the most unnerving , disturbing , true-life account yet of endurance under nazi oppression .",
        "ruzowitzky has some fine performers in the three key roles but there is a hint of unsubtlety in some of the other characters and situations . the obvious is rammed home .",
        "gripping , but would have more impact if it had been staged -- like paul verhoeven 's ` black book ' -- in the straightforward manner of a classic hollywood suspense film .",
        "challenging and thought-provoking .",
        "this is a first-rate piece of film-making that should appeal to fans of last year 's the lives of others .",
        "an absorbing new perspective on the moral , physical and emotional adversity faced in the concentration camps , with one of the most unusual anti-heroes , of any genre , of recent years .",
        "MOV is anchored in markovics ' central turn as a chilly egotist forced , for the first time , to consider others ' needs .",
        "a sharp and compelling war drama that delivers on the promise of its astonishing true-life origins .",
        "sensibly , this never takes sides ... and it proves a chilling reminder of the dilemmas faced by those placed in an impossible situation .",
        "stefan ruzowitzky 's meshing of plot with debate is impressive . his film is compelling and clever .",
        "haunting , horrible , brilliant .",
        "the moral quandary of nazi complicity is revisited in taut drama MOV .",
        "only wwii junkies will find much of anything worth embracing here .",
        "it is a mark of the filmmaking and storytelling intelligence of MOV that ruzowitzky neither pours on the melodrama nor plays coy with the reality of things .",
        "without doing anything so divisive as taking sides , counterfeiters pays sympathetic attention to those who play their cards to win even when the rules are terrible , not least because the remarkable markovics is so riveting as an unsaintly survivor .",
        "skillful , absorbing .",
        "the trouble is that the storytelling and filmmaking are routine -lrb- surely faux-documentary handheld camerawork is the most overused cliche in modern movies -rrb- , even when the human drama is not .",
        "while MOV does indeed contain a good story , it is by no means a good film .",
        "curt wit and intermittent humor allow dialogue to be one of the strongest features of this drama and each actor delivers lines with a truth rarely seen in cinema .",
        "the moral conundrum at the heart of austrian director stefan ruzowitzky 's MOV is worthy of kafka or dostoevsky .",
        "austrian writer-director stefan ruzowitzky includes a lot of the peculiar challenges faced by the men of operation bernhard .",
        "the honesty with which the film looks at the inmates ' differing choices is really killing .",
        "a conventional mixture of thriller and moral drama , the film is unsettling in both intentional and unintentional ways .",
        "an impressively directed drama with a superb central performance from markovics and a gripping story to tell .",
        "far more than another holocaust drama ; it 's an examination of complex moral shadows that make us capable of cowardice and courage at the same time .",
        "ruzowitzky honors all the talent with his strong , beautifully structured and eloquent script . upscale audiences will embrace the fine results .",
        "the moral dilemmas marshalled by austrian director stefan ruzowitzky prove absolutely gripping , and the whole film is alive with style and intelligence .",
        "ruzowitsky 's film , austerely shot and scripted with terse wit , grants itself a licence to make art in exchange for entertaining us with a gripping story .",
        "a very thoughtful and imaginative effort .",
        "MOV is a story that had to be told , and german director stefan ruzowitzky tells it plainly but well .",
        "this parable of fakery and compromise asks the most difficult question : how much would you be willing to sacrifice in the interest of your own survival ? and how grateful do you feel that you will probably never have to answer it ?",
        "an awesomely powerful movie exploring not just the day-to-day hell of life in a death camp , but also the moral quandary of helping the third reich win the war .",
        "the moral implications of this scheme are so charged and turbulent that they defy neat resolution . if the film 's inhabitants are walking a tightrope , it occasionally seems that that its writer-director is too .",
        "full of the weird details that , though unsurprising on one level , are so jarringly wrong that they seem fresh .",
        "director stefan rukowitzky keeps his camera -- wisely -- inside the forgers ' separate barracks . they , and we , can only guess at what is going on in the rest of the camp . but it haunts them still .",
        "-lsb- star karl -rsb- markovics largely rescues the film with his mesmerizingly layered , steady performance as a man who solves the problem of compromise by refusing to admit that he 's compromising .",
        "like most films about the holocaust , MOV , a brisk , tough movie from the austrian director stefan ruzowitzky , is a survivor 's tale .",
        "writer-director stefan ruzowitzky tells -lsb- this story -rsb- with cool wit and subtle tension .",
        "full of chilling , ironic details .",
        "MOV moves slowly in the first half but improves markedly in the second . the latter is the meat of the film and is what makes it worthy of its oscar nomination for best foreign language film .",
        "as much a comment on peace as on war , criminals do the right thing in the wrong context for the murderous boss in the suburbs . dark comedy at its finest .",
        "MOV is a testament to guile . -lsb- director -rsb- ruzowitzky scored the picture with tangos , and the tangos are meant to be sally 's music -- seductive , insolent , triumphant .",
        "the story is mesmerizing . it 's too bad the movie is never as good . the characters are just too one-dimensional .",
        "making a film about the holocaust but using a very specific and personal story is what makes MOV stand out . it 's the specifics of sorowitsch 's story that rivet us .",
        "what makes this movie worthwhile is its depiction of a struggle of conscience . what would you do in such a situation ? would you sacrifice another life to extend your own ?",
        "based on a real-life nazi operation , the film is a tense drama with performances that elevate the movie to the front rank of films set in concentration camps .",
        "the story has moments of great humanity and terrible brutality but comes off as a strange hybrid of espionage caper and concentration-camp movie .",
        "writer-director stefan ruzowitzky creates an atmosphere devoid of color or light , in which the desperate need to survive is balanced against the guilt and shame for doing so . but it is the performances that are the most effective .",
        "the film establishes a complex , compressed moral universe , in which choices are severely limited .",
        "is this the last word on the holocaust ? no . but nothing is . and nothing ever should be .",
        "ruzowitzky likes to pose questions and clarify the contradictions around them , but he does n't pretend to have the answers .",
        "it 's impossible not to respond to MOV and the haunting questions it raises .",
        "deft and fascinating handling of a moral quandary in a nazi concentration camp .",
        "perhaps a tad too cerebral , the film is nevertheless a very well-mounted and acted production that treats its themes with considerable depth .",
        "the film does shed light an another facet of nazi history , and it does it with an attention to the complexity of human nature that makes it worthy of its oscar win .",
        "there are no simplistic morality lessons or tidy resolutions in MOV , but it asks provocative questions .",
        "plays the concentration camp drama to dynamic effect .",
        "the worst you could say is that it 's memorably diverting , but as worsts go , that 's a pretty damning indictment of a holocaust movie .",
        "slick , exciting , emotionally trenchant - well done all around .",
        "turns out to be just as challenging and effective a political drama as persepolis and 4 months .",
        "it 's an absorbing , humane winner .",
        "austrian director-writer stefan ruzowitzky does an extraordinary job of setting up this central moral dilemma : of making the situation both credible and not nearly as ethically cut and dry as it might sound .",
        "a drama based on true historical events that leaves no conscience unchallenged .",
        "... the powerful , gripping , yet multifaceted and largely true story of MOV is a film not to be missed .",
        "an especially impressive achievement .",
        "mia istoria synarpastika alliotiki , apallagmeni ap ' ta epanalambanomena enohika symplegmata tis pleiopsifias ton antistoihon taksidion stin epohi ton nazi , kai mpoliasmeni me enan aprosdokita skliro kai tairiasto synaisthimatiko realismo , anthropon poy ks",
        "it won the foreign language oscar and there is nothing fake or contrived about this astonishing true story about the men in a german concentration camp who fought their own little war for survival .",
        "the black and white blueprints of movies like schindler 's list have been tossed out , replaced with one that bleeds gray .",
        "ruzowitzky 's film is certainly a worthy one -- and an entertaining , intelligent one -- anchored to one of the most mesmerizing performances i 've seen in a while .",
        "films about moral issues are not uncommon . films that leave the questions open are considerably rarer . this film trusts the viewer to make his own moral judgements as well as dramatizing a nearly forgotten chapter of history .",
        "it does peer deeper into the complicated moral quandaries experienced by hitler 's victims than most films on this topic do .",
        "... an honest effort to sound painful human depths .",
        "this dark , absorbing thriller is not just a moral exercise in the awful choices faced by those determined to survive history 's worst genocide . it invites us to imagine ourselves in the shoes of a not-quite-lovable rogue .",
        "... -lsb- puts -rsb- a human face on the holocaust ..."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a gripping account of one prisoner 's moral dilemma , superbly portrayed by karl markovics .",
    "id": "770676882"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10010658-orphan",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is as much a high-tension , frightening thriller as it is a straight-up horror flick , at least it is until it devolves into outright silliness in the final act .",
        "a carefully staged deconstruction of our assumptions about horrorshows about preternaturally manipulative and malevolent children",
        "a difficult child that horror-loving parents will find hard to adopt as one of their own .",
        "something is n't quite working in the intended way when the audience 's primary reaction for two-plus -lrb- ! -rrb- hours is raucous laughter .",
        "... more concerned with producing cheap thrills and melodramatic effects than creating any sense of mystery or suspense .",
        "david johnson 's script plays fair with red herrings before a devilish denouement with all the torque of a good twist . esther does n't just want to topple the colemans ' house of cards . she wants to torch it , and `` MOV '' is gruesome , gripping material .",
        "this is the rare fright flick that is actually grounded in some genuine human emotion .",
        "for the most part , esther is an entertaining and solid addition to the evil child canon .",
        "`` a superior entertainment . ''",
        "collet-serra 's film succeeds in being genuinely creepy , is commendably well acted by all concerned , and contains the best twist since the crying game .",
        "it feels too slow and moody for the halloween crowd and too absurd and silly for more discriminating horror fans .",
        "has enough kinky grand guignol moments and scenes of sheer terror to make a quick killing at the box office-even though it borrows from just about every other bad seed flick hollywood has ever unleashed .",
        "it 's a cut above most spooky-kid movies , with a twist that sets it apart .",
        "oh , how i wish it were true that MOV was a knowing parody , instead of an unwitting one ...",
        "the best thing about MOV , is the way it plays with the genre 's overused staples and its sophisticated audience 's expectations .",
        "as much fun as it is to follow MOV 's improbable developments , there is also a dark undercurrent that lingers with you afterward . it 's that troubling theme that takes the movie from good to almost great .",
        "occasionally sinks into ludicrousness , but has enough suspense , chills and surprises to keep avid horror fans viscerally compelled and ultimately satisfied .",
        "scary-kid movies just are n't what they used to be .",
        "the film rests on furhman 's shoulders , and she 's up to the task .",
        "although reasonably , cheesily suspenseful , the movie takes a long time to get going . its tagline , ` there 's something wrong with esther , ' turns out to be a masterpiece of understatement .",
        "it takes too long to get started , it pulls some key punches , its dialogue is deeply uninteresting , it relies way too heavily on endless jump-scares and its finale is pure slasher-flick formula .",
        "one of the best entries in the cute-as-a-button-psycho-demon-child-from-hell subgenre .",
        "director jaume collet-serra -lrb- 2005 's `` house of wax '' -rrb- serves up a hoot of a trashploitation flick that both follows preset patterns and upends them .",
        "director jaume collet-serra moves MOV along efficiently , doling out a ` boo ! ' shot every few minutes with mechanical professionalism .",
        "an unnerving psychological thriller with the atmospheric elegance of classics like rosemary 's baby , do n't look now and dressed to kill , masterful in its blends of style and substance , violence and mayhem .",
        "overlong and overwrought , MOV stays faithful to every clich\u00e9 of the genre .",
        "sets up a series of increasingly queasy taboo points and then proceeds to rocket-cycle over them .",
        "what could be an interesting horror film just turns ... horrible .",
        "surely writers david leslie johnson and alex mace deserve their own circle of hell for thinking up the story , which moves with breathtaking cynicism from disturbing to grotesque to perverse to ludicrous .",
        "fifty years ago viewers were both shocked and riveted by the bad seed , and thirty years ago they went for the ride with the omen , but to make such old-fashioned and trashy horror flick in 2009 is both courageous and bizarre , to say the least .",
        "if director jaume collet-serra set out to make a parody of horror-film clich\u00e9s , he succeeded brilliantly .",
        "the stomach-knotting is kept taut throughout , and the acting is first-rate -- none more than fuhrman , who seems to have the self-awareness and skill to be one of the best child actors around .",
        "the scares are often the generic , push-off-the-slide variety and MOV does n't add much to the genre except , disturbingly , a fetishistic bent that 's creepy in the wrong way .",
        "a decent horror flick with a great kid villain that is undone when it hits familiar chase movie territory and dead is n't really dead dead end .",
        "scared me . the twist works .",
        "it 's ... uh ... creepy in that other way .",
        "the inclusion of a twist ending that 's flat-out jaw-dropping in its audaciousness virtually justifies the entire movie 's existence by itself ...",
        "there 's a surprise ending , followed by several bonus endings , and we 're not giving anything away in noting that the film 's titular adoptee has more lives than chucky .",
        "i would have laughed if the movie had n't already sucked my soul from my body",
        "while the third-act surprise twist of MOV must have looked wicked-good on paper , on screen ... not so much .",
        "clocking in at more than two hours , the movie teeters between psychological horror and violent blood-letting and , as such , probably wo n't completely satisfy fans in either camp .",
        "house of wax director jaume collet-serra returns to the horror genre with MOV , a clumsy thriller that elicits far more laughs than genuine scares . like too many horror films these days , the movie is so rife with false scares or misleading",
        "solid lead performances and a moderately engaging premise make MOV a slightly above-average evil-child movie with an infusion of electra complex and a good , if half-hearted , narrative twist .",
        "here is a shamelessly effective horror film based on the most diabolical of movie malefactors , a child .",
        "pristine horror fodder had the script maintained some gumption and cheerfully waltzed into a wonderland of sleaze . instead , it pulls every last punch ... a seriously tasteless motion picture , but it 's equally as spineless .",
        "despite director jaume collet-serra 's apt use of running children 's laughter for jolt scares , the suspense generated from esther 's early lunatic behavior is of a mild , amusing variety .",
        "a thoroughly enjoyable demon-spawn movie in the tradition of the bad seed -lrb- 1956 -rrb- and the other -lrb- 1972 -rrb- .",
        "during a summer with the usual transforming robots and young wizards , this chilly flick is a bit of a break , and there are worse options than letting this MOV in the door .",
        "the problem with MOV is n't merely that the film is idiotic -- it 's that it 's also sleazy , formulaic and repellant .",
        "teasingly enjoyable rubbish through the first hour , MOV becomes genuine trash during its protracted second half .",
        "director jaume collet-serra , working from a devilishly clever script by david leslie johnson , maintains steady suspense while mercifully mixing in some moments of dark humor .",
        "filled with over the top gore and unnecessary plot twists better off left unseen . leave this one at the orphanage .",
        "uncomfortable and wrong",
        "it 's based on the scene that plays out every day in the checkout line at walmart .",
        "the most committed , downright unpleasant child-from-hell movie imaginable . it makes the good son play like pollyanna .",
        "its many outright depictions of children in jeopardy are scary , but its marital drama is even more unsettling .",
        "it 's bloody , you should be warned , but in the end it is worth it .",
        "painfully predictable .",
        "an entertaining addition to the evil child genre , simply for its over-the-top chills and nutty plot",
        "an idiotic anti-adoption movie that skates over thin ice in its silly but vicious story .",
        "do n't be afraid . horror movies about creepy kids can be frightening % u2013 just not in MOV .",
        "parental content review",
        "MOV is one of the weirdest major studio summer movies in a long time . it 's the kid at the summer movie school that no one wants to play with because he 's more than a little odd . i always liked kids like that .",
        "while laughter may not be the intended entertainment value , you have to admit MOV does entertain . is n't that what really counts ?",
        "MOV contains one of the most terrifying and intense horror endings i have seen in years but the rest of the film was just laughably bad .",
        "to really get under your skin , a bad-seed horror movie needs a demon child whose dastardliness sneaks up on you . there 's nothing too subtle , however , about esther .",
        "actors have to eat like the rest of us , but you still have to wonder how vera farmiga and peter sarsgaard ended up wading through MOV and not laughing .",
        "so sloppy , so lowdown , so shameless and so entertaining , MOV provides everything you might expect in a psycho-child thriller , but with such excess and exuberance that it still has the power to surprise .",
        "this is a poorly directed wannabe horror film that nevertheless contains more laughs than the proposal , the ugly truth , ghosts of girlfriends past and land of the lost combined . is that a compliment ? kind of .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- never exploits the dramatic possibilities , despite the efforts of its excellent cast and gorgeous production values .",
        "it would be nice to think that MOV brought something new to the genre , but the only thing it adds is more running time .",
        "the movie is , as these things go , enjoyably trashy .",
        "decidedly amoral .",
        "as interesting as collet-serra 's story is , there 's simply nothing here that you wo n't find in other better evil children films in the library ...",
        "alas , in the end , it 's not nasty enough .",
        "directed crisply and with a palpable air of mid - '70s paranoia thriller .",
        "dump a murderous psycho brat with a corny russian accent into that troubled mix and you 've got a real horror show on your hands . but not a good one .",
        "weak adult characters and lame ending aside , MOV succeeds more often than not , mainly thanks to fuhrman 's performance and collet-serra 's direction . it 's not a fantastic thriller but it 's not bad and often far better than it probably should be .",
        "if we could all stop for a moment and think about how excellent and uplifting garbage can be , america would rally around this movie like the treasure it is .",
        "bad seed-style horror movie is gory and ludicrous .",
        "MOV is not very good . at 90 minutes , it might have been amazing . at nearly two hours , it 's tedious .",
        "i 'll give this much credit to the movie : i absolutely did not see the twist coming . this is because the twist ... is unconscionably f ----- g stupid",
        "as the poster says , ` there 's something wrong with esther . ' there certainly is -- she 's trapped in this terminally dull and dimwitted movie .",
        "it would be harder to find a more dark and joyless thriller on the market than this one .",
        "competently directed junk , with a script that abandons logic at every turn and dialogue that even some snarky teenage girls seated behind me could predict out loud .",
        "balancing well-rendered melodrama with some impressively ballsy genre moves , MOV is more enjoyable trash than it should be . call it john and kate plus hate .",
        "i really enjoyed MOV and enjoyed the fact that the film went to some pretty dark and twisted places .",
        "MOV delivers the goods and then some , but it 's the pretense of respectability that overshadows its often silly , superficial but satisfying scares .",
        "distinguished by a loony plot twist and by its sympathetic treatment of characters ...",
        "schlocky but scary with a weird plot twist that may leave you stunned .",
        "not too much gore , and just the right amount of terror make this a mind twisting horror movie in the tradition of `` carrie '' and `` the omen . ''",
        "a squall of improbabilities leads to a laughable late revelation , yet somehow the film keeps a clammy grip .",
        "after a slow-burning start MOV degenerates into an increasingly grisly , far-fetched affair with a jaw-dropping twist that has you chortling with disbelief .",
        "MOV is certainly scary enough for the story to haunt you after the film is over .",
        "that director jaume collet-serra made house of wax , the paris hilton remake , does not bode well . but stars vera farmiga and peter saarsgard , as mum and dad , find a few frail pegs of humanity to hang their characters on .",
        "it 's not a bad idea for a horror movie , that the seeming victims are not innocent and their complicated past weighs on their present .",
        "... an angry , bitter and abhorrent display of masochism masquerading around as a legitimate horror film .",
        "a welcome addition to the evil child sub-genre , thanks to great performances , strong direction , a delightfully over-the-top plot , some impressive gore effects and a terrific twist .",
        "if esther materialises silently and unexpectedly once at the edge of the camera , she does it a dozen times - but this is merely the film warming up its trash aesthetic before heading onwards to a memorably queasy finale .",
        "i think that , if someone really wanted to adopt -lrb- as my dear parents did -rrb- , it would take more than a single movie to dissuade them .",
        "an exceptional cast , including child actress isabelle fuhrman , make MOV a cut above .",
        "MOV works because it 's a film that knows exactly what it wants to be -- creepy as all get out -- and does everything possible to achieve that goal .",
        "a pretty interesting movie about the crack-up of an american family lies right under the filmmakers ' noses , but in their rush to deliver shock and gore they miss every opportunity to make a smart movie .",
        "MOV is nasty but enjoyable , and the whole film is so competently crafted and superbly acted , especially by the three central females , that i was gripped and entertained throughout .",
        "okay , so i saw the ending coming a mile off -lrb- and no , i 'm not going to spoil it for everyone by telling you what happens -rrb- but that did n't stop me actually enjoying this guilty pleasure .",
        "preposterous in all the right ways , MOV is this week 's true guilty pleasure .",
        "it 's not only the heavily-signposted `` secret '' that 's obvious , but every single scene , as square pegs fit joylessly into square holes for the full running time .",
        "there 's a lot of slow burn to endure in the first hour , but the payoff is one of the most batshit crazy finales in recent memory .",
        "collet-serra manages to sustain tension throughout , prudently deploying his jumps and jolts and pumping up the grue factor . so while it often prompts hoots of derision , they 're often choked off with a vice-tight wince .",
        "if you 're not easily offended or upset , there is much to enjoy in MOV . horror films this skilfully made do n't come along that often . you probably wo n't find a better one this year .",
        "a creepy premise is undermined by wilfully flashy direction as a fine cast struggle bravely to inject credibility into a tale of vanishing nuns and burning treehouses .",
        "directing with a wink and some style , jaume collet-serra -lrb- house of wax -rrb- knows that it 's possible to be totally absurd and witty with it -- he has that trash touch .",
        "some impressively committed work from farmiga -lrb- even when googling `` children who kill '' -rrb- and a humdinger of a twist make this a rather good bad seed .",
        "nerve-shredding creepy kid home invasion alert , and takeout foundling traumas galore . along with magnanimous curtsies , excessive doting on dad , stalking parental kitchen sex and , well , a tendency to bludgeon living things .",
        "i did n't mind wasting two hours watching the truly ferocious furhman teach max how to play russian roulette and snickering when kate thinks to google `` children who kill . ''",
        "i 'm almost offended that i 'm not offended .",
        "this MOV is an atmospheric and occasionally vicious little git and an above-average entry into the `` cuddly hellspawn '' genre , overlong at two-plus hours but nowhere near as excruciatingly overdone as others of its ilk .",
        "just because MOV is relentlessly bad does n't mean it 's not entertaining .",
        "... a persuasive addition to the subgenre of bad-seed-horror films like `` the omen '' where a creepy little kid wreaks havoc and murder on the lives of ill-equipped adults .",
        "it just never quite comes together , either as a horror movie or as a goofy campfest .",
        "this is galling , distasteful trash . i hope the children involved in making it are never permitted to watch it .",
        "the acting is richer than the story ... but this is a film designed to live or die on its twist . good luck with that .",
        "that 's quite a creepy premise for a horror story to live up to . that it does -- and more -- is a testament to the level of intensity in this tale of a troubled couple who adopt a 9-year-old russian girl .",
        "predictable and been-there , seen-that , but entertaining nevertheless at times .",
        "this wickedly entertaining , if slightly over-stretched , variation on the familiar ` evil child ' scenario displays an unusually complex grasp of twisted psychology .",
        "lifted above the average by a pretty nifty twist and some unnecessarily good acting .",
        "sticking closely to the conventions of the evil child movie genre , there are few surprises -lrb- or even scares -rrb- as we saunter towards that absurd ending . just about worth a punt on dvd .",
        "it has atmosphere and tension , and the performances are far better than usual for this sort of caper .",
        "preventing MOV from surpassing its `` solid '' status is the predictability of much of its plot . you 'll be able to guess esther 's next move well before she makes it , and some of her sinister shenanigans suffer from being too outlandish .",
        "nicely down horror flick with a great twist near the end . this is one evil child . well-directed , too .",
        "daring and fresh , ` MOV ' is easily one of the best horror movies of 2009 .",
        "there 's something wrong with esther says the marketing tagline to this film , which sums up my response to the film itself .",
        "check the return policy for this MOV .",
        "although slightly overlong , the film sustains the escalating horror and keeps up its sleeve a truly shocking revelation that 's carefully prepared for , though not signalled .",
        "much credit goes to director jaume collet-serra who shows off his skills to much better affect than in his ... ridiculous 2005 remake of house of wax .",
        "isabelle fuhrman as esther does her best with the material , but frankly the story lacks a strong central thesis about the nature of evil .",
        "a pretty good little b-movie thriller .",
        "the movie amps up the tension to a laughable degree , using every clich\u00e9 in the horror movie guidebook .",
        "director jaume collet-serra -lrb- house of wax -rrb- endows this ugly mess with a slew of unintentional laughs , but not enough to repay the 123-minute time suck .",
        "enough jump-out-of-your-seat moments to make this nonetheless trashy , implausible thirller watchable .",
        "one of the good things about MOV , which is directed by jaume collet-sera , is that it takes itself quite seriously and manages to bring a surprising level of originality to the potentially familiar material .",
        "strange and nasty esther is the consummate political player in a deadly game of unhappy families , in this fairly straightforward psychological thriller .",
        "audacious , silly fun ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it has moments of dark humor and the requisite scares , MOV fails to build on its interesting premise and degenerates into a formulaic , sleazy horror/thriller .",
    "id": "770801898"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fourth_kind",
    "reviews": [
        "there is a lot of half-baked soap opera wrapped around the hypnosis scenes .",
        "ultimately , the film 's narrative segments are far too glossy and over-stylized , larded with ponderous scoring , obvious melodrama and split-screen visuals that offset the `` reenactments '' with the `` real . ''",
        "a gimmicky , inordinately self-impressed attempt to cash in on the latest tabloid buzzwords . if this was made in the '70s , it 'd be narrated by leonard nimoy and chock-full of yetis and the devil 's triangle .",
        "i 'd love to be at a screening of `` the MOV '' in nome , where it 's sure to be greeted as a comedy .",
        "badly acted by everyone -lrb- including the director , olatunde osunsanmi , who appears onscreen -rrb- , this insipid jumble 's idea of fright is incessant screaming .",
        "in the end the film is more desultory than disturbing .",
        "mostly engaging with fleeting scares , stylish cinematography and an initially intriguing premise , but the suspense and chills wane as its script grows increasingly silly , unfocused and dull .",
        "the movie begins with what is probably the most laughable opening scene of the year .",
        "nothing more than a science fiction version of a michael moore movie . it makes wild claims that it 's the utter truth , and if you go in with blinders you might like it",
        "a cut-rate x-files rehash cleverly dressed up with the trappings of supposedly `` real '' footage a la the blair witch project or paranormal activity .",
        "it 's my policy to sit through every film that opens theatrically in atlanta . if i was going to violate that policy , it would be for this film . i hope i make my point . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "the MOV is more likely to elicit laughter than the suspense it promised in the opening monologue .",
        "something weird is going on in nome , alaska . unsolved murders . suicidal freak-outs . a bunch of people having eerie , similar nightmares . and a spooky white owl .",
        "it 's an interesting meta-textual experiment , but that does n't in itself make for an interesting movie , or a suspenseful one . there are things to like about it , but the whole does n't really seem equal to the sum of its parts .",
        "-lsb- the -rsb- ostensible archival footage proves so clunky and transparently phony that the entire gimmick collapses .",
        "if there were a low point of viral movie marketing last decade , consider `` the MOV '' the marianas trench . the title refers to four levels of alien interaction , and the pedestrian plotting on display proved steven spielberg stopped at the right one .",
        "when the director divides the screen into quadrants for his big finish , the effect is just laughable -- but then by that point , the movie is too .",
        "`` attempting shock value and extraterrestrial disturbance to generate a cult smash , kind will likely tire audiences before it ever has a chance to swindle them . ''",
        "click to read full review",
        "the arrogance and ignorance on display is truly amazing . arrogance of its superiority over the audience 's intellect and ignorance of filmmaking craft .",
        "... the MOV clearly would 've benefited from a more conventional approach ...",
        "there are three scenes in the film where i slowly brought my hand up to my mouth and became teary eyed because i was so frightened .",
        "the MOV , despite its periodic strengths , does its very best to take the viewer out of the material rather than immersing one in the story .",
        "the mission here is to demonstrate how , in this explosive age of dubious information , cynicism can be quickly trumped by gullibility .",
        "nothing more than an elaborate light show , smoke and mirrors designed to lull the audience into believing that not only what they are seeing is real but that the filmmaking is n't some of the most amateurish of the year .",
        "unintentionally , laughably bad .",
        "as truth , it 's bullshit , and as bullshit , it is n't remotely entertaining .",
        "the MOV has a clever gimmick and nothing more .",
        "going to great lengths to make us believe the events depicted in this movie are real , but it 's about as a real as the date i had with jennifer aniston in my dreams the other night .",
        "osunsanmi 's tricksy formal device simply reinforces our disbelief and invites ridicule .",
        "truth is stranger than fiction , and the MOV is neither strange nor fictional . it 's just plain silly .",
        "part disturbing documentary , part straight-ahead movie-making , the MOV is difficult to watch , difficult to understand and difficult to recommend .",
        "the release date is not the fault of the movie .",
        "the film does n't deliver any frights or creepiness . the so-called shocking parts are revealed in the trailer . the rest feels as if moments have been stitched together to make a whole .",
        "proves that a horror film does n't need splashy digital effects or pyrotechnics to be effective",
        "no , no , no , no .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- dull , clumsy little movie .",
        "`` what you decide is up to you , '' jovovich permits us at the end , reducing cinema to an unsolved mysteries episode .",
        "unfortunately , none of the subsequent noise is all that scary , and the striving for paranormal activity 's buzz is shameless .",
        "... even if `` the MOV '' came out ten years ago it still would n't stand up to overrated `` blair witch project . ''",
        "has out-blair witch 'd the blair witch project .",
        "-lrb- director -rrb- olatunde osunsanmi , his cast and crew work so hard to make it all seem so real that you spend more time debating with yourself whether what you are watching is truth or fiction ...",
        "the `` the MOV '' poses as another successful documentary on the hot trail of `` paranormal activity '' . too bad this film is missing many ingredients to make it a blockbuster success .",
        "he apparently thinks white owls are a lot scarier than they are . -lrb- i mean , i guess because their heads swivel around , you ca n't sneak up on them from behind . but when would you need to sneak up on an owl ? -rrb-",
        "frankly , this movie is quite scary when it 's viewed with the idea that this is the film version of creepy disappearances that are really happening in nome , alaska . when it 's not that , it 's almost laughable .",
        "where is fox mulder when you need him ?",
        "the first line in the MOV has milla jovovich calling herself an ` actress , ' so we know right away the film is lying .",
        "the MOV delivers a handful of decent shocks but it 's ultimately let down by a weak plot , some patchy performances and the fact that the fictionalised reconstruction element does n't really work .",
        "purporting to be a true story of alien abduction , in reality it 's a clumsy attempt to update the hoax technique orson welles perfected seven decades ago .",
        "... a sophisticated hoax ...",
        "this is the same kind of put-on as the low-budget phenomenon paranormal activity . except it 's far more effective -lrb- at least at first -rrb- .",
        "if your mind is in the right place , the MOV is a chilling , creepy , unnerving and engaging experience . but i stress the idea that most of you probably will not like this ... buyer beware .",
        "osunsanmi 's action sequences resemble episodes of unsolved mysteries without the budget , where a spooktastic owl stands in for belligerent ets . honestly .",
        "there 's an intriguing idea here ... but the MOV is so clumsy and clunky and stiff it 's like watching someone attempt an intricate card trick while wearing oven mitts .",
        "this stiff paranormal thriller could stand a lot more activity .",
        "were this movie actually what it says it is , it 'd be a reprehensible piece of exploitation ; instead it 's just another lame thriller with a few cheap scares .",
        "why the aliens chose this community of 9,261 to abduct so many people is a mystery . also why owls stare into bedroom windows .",
        "the silliness is out of this world .",
        "too often , the MOV makes the paranormal look disappointingly normal .",
        "such originality as osunsanmi 's usually wins me over , but his artificial realism here leaves me cold -- like taking a stroll on a nome sidewalk , in winter , without a parka .",
        "olatunde osunsnmi has created something incredibly original that can be debated and discussed endlessly regardless of whether you accept everything in his film as real or faked or a little bit of both .",
        "the movie 's carnival-barker hard sell is that it 's after the truth . it 's really after an opening-weekend gross , of course . it 's sporadically clever and chilling , but i 'll be shocked if it endures as a blair witch-style horror v\u00e9rit\u00e9 phenomenon .",
        "not entirely uninteresting , but it suffers from some ill-advised decisions . in fact , the film 's `` hook '' may be its greatest detraction .",
        "mr. osunsanmi 's chutzpah exceeds his skill .",
        "writer-director olatunde osunsanmi attempts an orson welles-like confluence of `` real '' and imagined that might have worked had he gotten out of the way more , literally and figuratively .",
        "the MOV is legitimately scary enough to keep you in your seat . -lrb- just do n't google the flick before you see it . -rrb-",
        "a frustrating exercise in terror that relies too heavily on gimmicks to have any genuine impact .",
        "you do n't have to believe in far-fetched tales of mysterious beams of light and alien abductions to get caught up in the MOV .",
        "who knew alien abduction could be such a bore ?",
        "a mildly scary , totally meaningless excursion into the realms of psychological horror and alien-abduction conspiracies .",
        "nome has seen more than its share of missing and dead people , who deserve better than this kind of hucksterism .",
        "universal 's alien-abduction thriller none too cleverly bids to pass off mock-documentary footage of levitating psychological patients -- and , scarier still , ordinary talking heads -- as the real deal .",
        "if you 're gullible enough to accept the backstory given here , you 're probably the sort of person who 'll take criswell 's assurances that plan 9 from outer space is based on sworn testimony at face value .",
        "the MOV may have more unmotivated booms in its mix than any film i 've ever seen .",
        "in short , the MOV pisses on your leg , tells you it 's raining , and then tries to sell you a raincoat made of dog hair and corn chips .",
        "it 's patently hokey material , but then these are patently hokey times .",
        "alien abductees are back and they are still idiots .",
        "... a thriller that unravels easily even if it nevertheless occasionally qualifies as a scary good time .",
        "it 's a well crafted docu-drama-esque film that takes itself seriously , builds tension and scares the sh*t out of you through and through .",
        "there 's nothing in this glorified power point presentation that stands up to even the most cursory scrutiny .",
        "olatunde osunsanmi 's big formal innovation tunrs out to be the split-screen pairing of patently bogus `` archival '' black-and-white video that shows alleged abductees undergoing hypnosis and color `` reenactments '' of same .",
        "the MOV was one of the scariest things i 've seen in years . i 'm going out to see it again , which tells you how much i care whether or not it 's a hoax ... i enjoyed every thrilling minute of it .",
        "a more accurate title for the MOV would be close encounters of the worst kind .",
        "as the movie repeatedly insists , it 's only presenting this information ; it 's up to you to decide what to believe . well , i believe this was a waste of about an hour and a half .",
        "osunsanmi knows that everybody secretly wants to believe and when it comes to giving the people what they want , he does not disappoint .",
        "the MOV is terminally awkward in the way it meshes fake real footage with faker fake footage . it is n't required to be convincing as fact , but it does n't convince as fiction , either .",
        "a couple of modestly effective shocks lie in store , but none as frightening as the onscreen text informing us that some 11 million people claim to have seen a ufo .",
        "a lot of nothing happens in the MOV .",
        "musters all its strength to set up a purportedly true-life scenario about alien sightings , only to give itself away at every turn .",
        "when so many films are bad in lazy and ordinary ways , it 's refreshing to occasionally see one that fails interestingly .",
        "in two climactic scenes , the screen goes fuzzy . for over a minute what we 're watching is basically a television on the fritz . the only place that 's ever been frightening is in the privacy of your living room .",
        "parental content review",
        "if aliens from another world ever do come to earth and get a look at `` the MOV , '' they may decide that any species capable of creating anything this dumb is probably too stupid to probe and conquer in the first place .",
        "if you let it draw you in with its factual approach , the MOV will creep you out more than paranormal activity .",
        "what i want is to commission a remake of the MOV , this time by someone who is more concerned with storytelling than with showing off .",
        "the MOV may not be the most honest movie in the galaxy , but it 's got one thing right : with horror , what you do n't see is usually more terrifying than what you do .",
        "in a land of recycled ideas and remakes , the MOV is a valiant original , no matter how deceptive it may ultimately be .",
        "filmmaker olatunde osunsanmi ... does such a clumsy job of arguing that ancient sumerian aliens are causing havoc in nome that he spoils any chance he might have had to make a decent scary movie .",
        "a smart-ass slap in the face",
        "the flat-lining , alien-abduction thriller the MOV offers a close encounter that buries an interesting idea under a barrage of gimmicky , carnivallike hokum .",
        "the MOV aims to do for alien abduction what paranomal activity did for hauntings . and to a large degree , it succeeds .",
        "liable to disappear mysteriously from cinemas .",
        "frankly , without the `` based on true events '' framing and the video footage of the supposedly real incidents , there 's not much here .",
        "when the image on screen splits in half and and two actors ... are side-by-side competing to see who , under movie-hypnosis , can freak out the hardest and contort their face into horrifying mouth-shapes , it 's really effective .",
        "may be humorless , paranoid nonsense , but its biggest failure is its inability to scare .",
        "despite its claims of authenticity , this alien-abduction thriller feels like a cinematic con job .",
        "without the true-story conceit , the MOV would be just another formula horror flick with a couple of passable jolts trying to hold a flimsy story together .",
        "the olatunde osunsanmi who directed the MOV should have fired the olatunde osunsanmi who wrote it .",
        "at a recent preview screening , the most common audience response to this nonsense was laughter , not gasps of horror .",
        "you 'd do better downloading an old art bell show -- say , the one about the guy who put an alien in his freezer -- than investigating this evidence of subnormal activity ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it boasts a handful of shocks , the MOV is hokey and clumsy and makes its close encounters seem eerily mundane .",
    "id": "770814360"
  },
  {
    "movie": "elling",
    "reviews": [
        "that neither protagonist has a distinguishable condition hardly matters because both are just actory concoctions , defined by childlike dimness and a handful of quirks .",
        "believes so fervently in humanity that it feels almost anachronistic , and it is too cute by half . but arriving at a particularly dark moment in history , it offers flickering reminders of the ties that bind us .",
        "... hits every cliche we 've come to expect , including the assumption that `` crazy '' people are innocent , childlike and inherently funny .",
        "a plucky parable about mastering one 's fears , and making connections .",
        "it 's a hard film to resist .",
        "MOV builds gradually until you feel fully embraced by this gentle comedy .",
        "it 's thoroughly entertaining and nonpatronizing , and occasionally even insightful .",
        "a film of charm , freshness and bracingly generous humanity .",
        "rather than real figures , MOV and kjell bjarne become symbolic characters whose actions are supposed to relate something about the na\u010ff 's encounter with the world .",
        "heartwarming here relies less on forced air than on petter n\u0107ss ' delicate , clever direction ... and a wonderful , imaginative script by axel hellstenius .",
        "suffers from a case of too-easy digestion .",
        "there are n't too many films that can be as simultaneously funny , offbeat and heartwarming -lrb- without a thick shmear of the goo , at least -rrb- , but `` MOV '' manages to do all three quite well , making it one of the year 's most enjoyable releases .",
        "tthe tone of this tedious movie never works , being neither funny nor moving . i never laughed , and , although i know i was supposed to , i never cared about MOV and his supposed afflictions .",
        "the movie ultimately relies a bit too heavily on grandstanding , emotional , rocky-like moments ... but it 's such a warm and charming package that you 'll feel too happy to argue much .",
        "really is about a couple of crazy guys , and it 's therapeutic",
        "a pleasant surprise .",
        "just because the characters are crazy , that does n't mean they are not smart .",
        "the pleasing acting jobs by the two protagonists makes all this sugar easier to swallow , but not enough to find this film anything more than a mere diversion .",
        "by maintaining a modest stance and a gentle , affectionate tone it emerges as winning rather than wearying .",
        "tedious norwegian offering which somehow snagged an oscar nomination .",
        "a sweet film about two gentle souls - there is a genuine caring between them that feels like watching old friends .",
        "it 's affectionate and optimistic without being fuzzy .",
        "immanently worthy of its best foreign film oscar nomination",
        "it is a life-affirming tale devoid of sappiness or pretention .",
        "a witty and sophisticated sensibility brings individuality to the classic odd-couple comedy .",
        "beautifully observed , miraculously unsentimental comedy-drama .",
        "a charming but slight comedy .",
        "MOV , portrayed with quiet fastidiousness by per christian ellefsen , is a truly singular character , one whose frailties are only slightly magnified versions of the ones that vex nearly everyone .",
        "the moral is not too original , but the offbeat characters certainly are .",
        "the film 's brand of humor seems a bit too broad , and the quirks of its main characters are n't really all that endearing , instead coming off as irritating and tiresome .",
        "MOV is a light but self-sufficient comedy .",
        "the script is smart , not cloying .",
        "touches smartly and wistfully on a number of themes , not least the notion that the marginal members of society ... might benefit from a helping hand and a friendly kick in the pants .",
        "it is refreshingly undogmatic about its characters .",
        "the subtle strength of `` MOV '' is that it never loses touch with the reality of the grim situation .",
        "unpretentious , charming , quirky , original",
        "MOV offers a captivating glimpse into one of cinema 's most unlikely and touching friendships since midnight cowboy .",
        "charms because of its natural , non-magical attitude toward humanity .",
        "blessed with two fine , nuanced lead performances .",
        "there is one surefire way to get a nomination for a best-foreign-film oscar : make a movie about whimsical folk who learn a nonchallenging , life-affirming lesson while walking around a foreign city with stunning architecture .",
        "calls to mind the great screen pairings of dysfunctional buddy pictures of the past .",
        "cutsie but still fairly compelling .",
        "a singularly affecting and amusing fable .",
        "an enjoyable experience .",
        "-lsb- n\u0107s -rsb- directed the stage version of MOV , and gets fine performances from his two leads who originated the characters on stage .",
        "what ` dumb and dumber ' would have been without the vulgarity and with an intelligent , life-affirming script .",
        "this norwegian comedy celebrates an unusual friendship and the uncanny ways two eccentrics come into their own despite the great odds against their doing so .",
        "forages for audience sympathy like a temperamental child begging for attention , giving audiences no reason to truly care for its decrepit freaks beyond the promise of a reprieve from their incessant whining .",
        "the film is filled with humorous observations about the general absurdity of modern life as seen through the eyes outsiders , but deftly manages to avoid many of the condescending stereotypes that so often plague films dealing with the mentally ill .",
        "moviegoers love misfits . and thanks to this film , we now know that norwegians are not immune to the phenomenon .",
        "fortunately , MOV never gets too cloying thanks to the actors ' perfect comic timing and sweet , genuine chemistry .",
        "ellefsen and nordin originated their roles on an oslo stage , resulting in two lived-in character portrayals which lend this offbeat comedy a sweet sincerity ."
    ],
    "summary": "quirky without being overly cutesy , MOV is a gentle , warm comedy .",
    "id": "14058"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10009458-defiance",
    "reviews": [
        "zwick 's sedate storytelling tone does n't seem to be coming from the same source as his `` blood diamond '' or `` the last samurai . '' perhaps he thought he was making another `` schindler 's list . ''",
        "in trying to add a new chapter to the long history of films made about the holocaust , MOV can barely move a narrative muscle without bumping into another , better movie that covers some of the same ground .",
        "comes off as flat as latkes .",
        "MOV does n't go beyond the usual tales of valor and virtue , managing to make an amazing true story feel like yet another dry history lesson .",
        "a respectable shot at a holocaust story with uplifting qualities and plump moral questioning , MOV is a handsome production , just not an especially inspiring one .",
        "MOV is not so much a cohesive film as a series of interchangeable , broadstroked scenes -- a movie on loop .",
        "not an easy movie to criticize , but here goes .",
        "undercuts its own dramatic concerns by alternating heavy-handed moralism with the style of contemporary action franchises , dulling and smoothing out the horrifying edges of murder .",
        "whatever its shortcomings , the film should be seen as a testimony to the true story of jews who lived in a belarus forest for years during the holocaust .",
        "as solemn as a bell toll and nearly as dull .",
        "the story , in other words , is pure hollywood gold , full of opportunities for stirring speeches , ethical quandaries , lessons about tolerance and humanity , and violence against nazis .",
        "a compelling human drama",
        "what the bielski brothers did in the forests of belorussia deserves to be remembered and celebrated , but this glossy studio production robs them of life . it 's not just new holocaust stories that we need , but new ways of telling them .",
        "with the possible exception of valkyrie , no recent movie has gotten less out of a mind-boggling piece of history than MOV .",
        "zwick , intent on correcting the perception of jews as passive victims , lets the action set pieces overwhelm the more intimate scenes , several of which are already diminished by stilted dialogue .",
        "ed zwick has cornered the market on movies about nearly forgotten wartime battles between members of a minority and the dominant culture that 's oppressing them .",
        "what is puzzling is how edward zwick has taken an extraordinary real-life story about a handful of people who defied huge odds , and turned it into an utterly conventional war movie .",
        "the story is inspirational ; the movie is n't .",
        "powerful , gripping and quite remarkable . daniel craig gives the performance of his career .",
        "the minds behind `` MOV '' could n't ruin this remarkable true story . but oh , do they try at times .",
        "it 's an inspiring story , if one that does n't need quite as much poetic inspiration as ed zwick 's movie insists on giving it .",
        "recreating true events , this rousing , impeccably lensed world war ii drama depicts jewish partisans battling nazis in the woods of belarus , with daniel craig and liev schreiber outdoing themselves as heroic fighters .",
        "smacks every clich\u00e9d note with maximum gusto .",
        "just one long ridiculous string of moviemaking cliches that prevents the film from having any of the desired impact .",
        "for all the film 's flaws , this is a war story told with passion about a band of brothers that still has the power to inspire .",
        "the story of MOV has all the makings of a deep emotional experience , but i found myself oddly detached .",
        "edward zwick 's stiff , musclebound new movie tells the true story of the bielski partisans , who fought the nazis and rescued hundreds of jews through the darkest years of war and genocide .",
        "MOV resists bold , passionate storytelling and delivers something rather conventional .",
        "director edward zwick has his formula , and this is no different .",
        "craig and schreiber are terrific as the slightly thuggish bielskis , and they 're joined by an able supporting cast that includes jamie bell and the wonderful mia wasikowska .",
        "it is less tuvia 's and zus ' moral stances and more craig 's and schreiber 's magnetism that makes MOV a rousing ride .",
        "MOV is a wobbly stool , a seat propped up by the uneven legs of ethics debate , holocaust movie and action thriller . still , the fascination and novelty of nazi-killing jews who do n't perish in the death camps packs quite the wallop .",
        "zwick has once again brought together an intriguing premise and a strong and compelling group of actors and has somehow managed to transform the entire thing into something that is relentlessly flat and banal throughout .",
        "the audience will be moved by the characters ' efforts to embrace life and love in the face of such tragedy",
        "the natural world of the forest is for the escapees a sort of arden where many things are turned upside down .",
        "the resistance drama MOV just does n't seem to have anything to add to the swastika overload currently clogging the nation 's theaters .",
        "the few closing-credit title cards that give details about the real bielskis ' fate are more engaging than most of the film itself . now that 's sad .",
        "flat and dull , only mildly redeemed by two strong lead performances and the inherent power of its subject matter .",
        "-lcb- t -rsb- here was nothing that would have led anyone to predict the bielskis could accomplish what they did . that they did so may be the true miracle ...",
        "an admirable , lovingly crafted film that misses the dramatic depth and historical resonance to which it aspires .",
        "parental content review",
        "the script hokes up the tensions between the brothers played by craig and schreiber , and while they 're both fascinating , simmering-kettle performers , they consistently outshine their material .",
        "` MOV ' boasts absolutely stunning battle sequences , fascinating sets and flawless period details .",
        "gigglers may be excused with no prejudice from MOV , but if you share zwick 's unabashed wonder that such men as tuvia bielski -lrb- craig -rrb- and his brothers emerge in our species ' darkest hours , then you 'll find MOV as rousing and inspiring as t",
        "as well-intentioned and earnest as it is lifeless and plodding .",
        "zwick 's latest film , MOV , is based on an exceptional true story . regrettably , the movie is anything but exceptional , and represents zwick 's most disappointing work in more than a decade .",
        "MOV plods where it should soar , but it 's still the best of this month 's four -lrb- ! -rrb- holocaust movies -- if for no other reason than it confronts the common belief that european jews did n't actively resist the nazi onslaught .",
        "it 's an unusual and important story . which makes it even sadder that it 's not better told .",
        "MOV groans under the weight of its deadly earnestness : it 's handsomely mounted yet strangely inert .",
        "as in the siege , courage under fire , the last samurai and blood diamond , zwick compromises complexity with maudlin formula .",
        "a powerful tale , but one that 's done in so old-fashioned , heavy-handed a fashion that it already seems dated .",
        "despite zwick 's penchant for the obvious over subtle , vividly brings to life tough jewish resistance fighters against the nazis who saved jews in a jerusalem in the forest .",
        "a little sentimentality can fuel a lot of action , yet zwick buries his film in cloying guilt , in the end sinking `` MOV '' with the holocaust film 's bait .",
        "the story is made a little idealized , but this is a chapter of history that has rarely been explored before .",
        "zwick 's epics -lrb- glory , legends of the fall , the last samurai -rrb- have never lacked for propulsive power , but MOV is the first to constantly stumble over itself even as it tries to get its tale in gear .",
        "it 's an affecting production , which is as much a credit to zwick 's professionalism as to the freshness of his subject . ` MOV ' has the rare distinction of tackling the holocaust from an angle previously unexplored .",
        "MOV bogs down in a not very well-developed script . it 's a repetitive stop-and-start action film , and tuvia and zus do n't have enough layers . but they do kick ass charismatically .",
        "as corny and downright flirtatious as this ` holocaust drama ' gets , it 's still a vivid and heroic look at a side of that tragedy that we have n't seen before .",
        "skilled hiding is n't very exciting , so for the sake of the audience , zwick carefully incorporates some hyped-up action standoffs , the last being an unfortunately laughable stretch of credibility .",
        "the actors ' way of reveling in their stagey gestures , sooty makeup and silly accents becomes increasingly pitiable .",
        "zwick thrives on these sorts of historical action flicks , and he pumps the adrenal glands throughout .",
        "plays at times more like a soap opera than what it really is , a story that more of the world deserves to know .",
        "MOV is heavy-handed , but emotionally compelling , engaging and inspiring throughout .",
        "for all its pomp and ruminating , MOV is n't really interested in drama . it really just wants to entertain us . but it 's not any better at that .",
        "zwick does not deal in gratuitous grotesquery or far-fetched metaphor . `` operatic '' and `` surreal '' are not in his vocabulary .",
        "zwick wants to tell timeless stories on a grand scale . i know that 's not what people want anymore . i know it 's not breathtaking . but it 's not something many are doing now , and definitely not doing it this well .",
        "this is not an easy film to watch , as it describes the horrors of war with neither sympathetic nor maudlin touches .",
        "un drama b\u05d9lico eficaz que rescata la heroicidad de los hermanos bielski , protagonistas de un episodio poco conocido de la segunda guerra mundial .",
        "succumbing to hollywood cliches at the expense of historical truth",
        "director edward zwick does a fine job presenting the challenges of reality without falling into nostalgia or easy hollywood heroes .",
        "does n't quite live up to its great story . but this well-made , solidly conventional movie will almost certainly send you scurrying to find out more about its little-known heroes .",
        "in addition to blowing bunker-sized holes in the concept of jewish timidity during the holocaust , it 's also a darn good bit of period storytelling .",
        "MOV is n't afraid to stand apart .",
        "an interesting story , sporadically told in an interesting way .",
        "the problem is the screenplay , which has weak , unforceful dialogue and tends to substitute dramatic events for characterization .",
        "historian nechama tec 's factual book `` MOV : the story of the bielski partisans '' provides the basis for an underwhelming war film done in by miscalculated episodes of violence and inept dialogue .",
        "zwick is a terribly consistent filmmaker , and he 's done yet again exactly what he always does . MOV is technically accomplished , and fumbles its story right from the word go .",
        "schreiber and craig make a well-matched pair of bulls . schreiber 's volatility is a nice foil to the taciturn intelligence that makes craig such a great bond .",
        "ao tentar romantizar um incidente memor\u05d1vel , zwick transforma uma hist\u05e3ria poderosa em um \u05d1gua-com-a\u05d7\u05eacar repleto de clich\u05das .",
        "a story that ought to be heartbreaking and ennobling ... comes across as little more than ordinary .",
        "that edward zwick made such an honest film about the bielski brothers is a wonderful gift , even if it is likely to be underappreciated by audiences .",
        "good story , but loses its way dramatically long before the finish .",
        "an engaging and inspirational story about the spirit of survival , bravery and brotherhood .",
        "the tone is desaturated gravity , the action is smudged , the old testament parables subtle as anvils",
        "MOV is overly long and somewhat disjointed , dragging through an interminable second act that seriously impedes the film 's flow and hurts the inspired performances .",
        "pretty much the textbook example of a year-end prestige studio drama .",
        "it 's handsome looking , performances are strong and it really is fascinating to see this overlooked story .",
        "MOV is n't a bad film at all , it just is n't as good as it could have been .",
        "it 's finally happened : red dawn with russian jews . you could go your whole life without conjuring something so perverse .",
        "despite all the resources brought to bear -- strong cast , ambitious scale , impressive logistics , dense detail , fine cinematography -- the production seldom makes the leap from elaborate play-acting to authentic drama .",
        "of all the holocaust movies this season , this one 's worth seeing .",
        "it 's a pretty good movie -- a bold , uneasy mix of romance , political debate and vigorous action .",
        "enjoyable , well-acted and impressively shot wartime drama that reveals a remarkable true story , though it 's at least 20 minutes too long and outstays its welcome before the end .",
        "the story needed a new twist .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- here is n't a lick of phony sentimentality , not a moment that rings false . it even manages to make us feel as if we have n't seen much of this before , even though we have .",
        "for daniel craig the world of bond could not be more far away : if his east european accent wobbles at times to liev schreiber 's more authentic vocal , he looks the part of a man who can both kill and care .",
        "an epic scope weakens what 's actually a gritty , intimate drama about survival . but it 's a terrific true story .",
        "emotionally robotic and superficially deliberate .",
        "the picture offers the most moving account we 've ever had of how an ordinary , rather disagreeable man , challenged and then electrified by catastrophe , grows into a great leader .",
        "brave brothers risk all in brutal , graphic wwii epic .",
        "frequently pulls viewers out of reality with rousing speeches , close-ups and sweeping camera moves , all distracting reminders that you 're watching a movie .",
        "if there 's one instance of the road to perdition paved with fat budgets and good intentions , it 's MOV , or , as i prefer to call it , custersky 's last stand in belarus .",
        "zwick 's limitations as an action director seem linked to a troubled conscience : he seems conscious of a need to entertain , but worried that his audience will take too much pleasure in the spectacle of vengeance .",
        "it 's as though the filmmakers have tried so hard to create an authentic world , it seems to be exactly that : a make believe world .",
        "MOV starts shakily but gets steadily more engrossing .",
        "zwick lets the amazing story of the bielskis ' achievement unfold in a conventional , even old-fashioned storytelling way , and even finds time for a spot of romance ...",
        "for all of its flaws , ` MOV ' presents a fresh and engaging view of world war ii that 's all the more startling because it 's based on the actions of a real belorussian family .",
        "does n't have nearly enough gunplay to qualify as a full-fledged action extravaganza , but thanks to quality acting and an engaging life-or-death story , there 's plenty here to keep audiences satisfied .",
        "o zwick trabaei parapano apo ektyflotika profaneis parallilismoys tis sygkekrimenis istorias me ekeini tis eksodoy , poy profanos den tis skeftike o zwick monos toy , o opoios to mono poy epideiknyei synehos , einai i apithanotita toy na epinoisei otidipote",
        "this holocaust epic deserves a commendation of merit for making us cognizant of an important and often overlooked event .",
        "MOV comes alive in its quieter scenes and smaller details .",
        "a harrowing story of bravery & survival , MOV tells it hollywood-style . still , somehow the true-story courage bleeds through the at-times hokey formula scripting .",
        "zwick 's weighty pacing moves forward in a monotone hum with no sense of highs or lows . and so it goes , with one misstep after another .",
        "an amazing true tale is somewhat diminished by second-hand storytelling : entirely admirable , largely entertaining , and yet curiously hollow .",
        "shot in the wilds of lithuania and strewn with dramatic battles of all kinds , this epic , band of brothers-meets-exodus adventure is solid stuff indeed .",
        "zwick 's films -lrb- glory , the last samurai , blood diamond -rrb- are always well-mounted , in their pedigreed and worthy way . but they nag away at us like pious busybodies , and this is no exception .",
        "craig , liev schrieber and jamie bell give moving performances but not amazing ones . and so it 's a case of better luck next time , mr craig .",
        "a solid film that rouses simply because the story is so incredible , while bond star craig is a charismatic presence throughout .",
        "it is n't all it might have been , but it 's still a gripping yarn , intelligently crafted , worth seeing . and schreiber is superb .",
        "`` jews do n't fight ! '' mutters a red army soldier . `` these jews do ! '' says another admiringly . great pitch , largely undone by stilted , solemn direction .",
        "craig and schreiber are two excellent actors , and both of them connect strongly with their roles as well as their fierce rivalry .",
        "MOV remains a fantastic story . no one could doubt the sincerity of its telling . what MOV lacks is simply an ability to make it come fully alive .",
        "a stirring story ends up being lost in a stir of clich\u00e9s and designer desultoriness .",
        "in the end it 's not the best of the sub-genre and it wo n't replace `` schindler 's list '' or `` uprising , '' but it 's a good enough film where craig and schreiber shine ...",
        "the way zwick force-feeds his audience emotion becomes laborious .",
        "an interesting story with handsome production values , but full of romantic contrivances and blockbuster conceits . this is the holocaust at its action-hero worst .",
        "a strangely unaffecting story about real heroism in world war ii",
        "MOV is without a doubt the best of the holocaust themed films from 2008 . unfortunately , that may be faint praise indeed .",
        "it 's an imperfect film - slow-moving and without much narrative momentum - but it tells an inspiring story , and when it gets going , it 's quite rousing .",
        "as a heroic drama , MOV has its clich\u00e9s and narrative hiccups , but as an examination of the cycle of violence it 's often harrowing .",
        "MOV is an extraordinary story and the production is admirable -- if you have the time and patience to trudge through .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- stuffs everything into a tired formula , robs the story of its inherent drama , and makes it dull . -lsb- it 's -rsb- absent of any surprises or subtle characterization .",
        "MOV runs for 137 minutes , but that does n't make it an epic . it just makes it long . near the beginning , we are informed on screen that MOV is `` a true story . '' it may be a true story , but it is not truly told .",
        "simultaneously encourages us to cheer in the aisles while also recognizing the disquiet that must accompany any moment of violence , not matter how seemingly righteous",
        "i can understand why the film demands to be treated with the utmost respect . it is haunting , impressive and moving . but ultimately it looks , smells and feels too familiar .",
        "MOV makes a noise but leaves no echo . it feels progressively more bogus and less significant the further it recedes from view , and myths are meant to wax in the memory , not wane .",
        "occasionally schmaltzy , to be sure , but schreiber makes a surprisingly awesome rambo stand-in .",
        "much of it reminded me of those well-intentioned , ingenuously performed school holocaust programs like survivor and the wall where the actors emote like it 's a grand ole mitzvah .",
        "the words and characters look great on paper , but lose their authenticity on screen .",
        "the film ties itself in knots trying to be both historical account and ripping adventure - ` schindler 's list ' by way of ` the dirty dozen ' . in the end neither aspect satisfies , resulting in a drab if diverting sunday afternoon spectacle .",
        "manly virtues , melodrama , conflict and combat are all deployed to tell a fascinating , little-known story of remarkable wwii heroism .",
        "zwick 's compulsion to turn an important story into audience-friendly entertainment is much more effective than the strained seriousness of his last film .",
        "not just another holocaust story , this is a gritty , poetic film based on the true saga of jewish refugees who fight the nazis while living in the frigid woods of belarus .",
        "gets by with a solid traditional mounting and a healthy interest in the dynamics of a growing micro-community .",
        "is edward zwick the dullest filmmaker in america ?",
        "ultimately , the film works not just because of the character arc it provides for its main character but for its ultimate theme of the triumph over adversity .",
        "it 's too bad that zwick did n't feel secure enough about what 's best about MOV -- the action-packed scenes of armed resistance against nazis -- and found himself trapped in the archetype of the serious , self-aware , important holocaust drama .",
        "`` MOV '' sometimes is so subtle and well done , you admire zwick for his reserve and tact . unfortunately , at other times the movie is so heavy-handed , it can leach into parody .",
        "earnest yet stubbornly static .",
        "i felt like these characters were prototypes and not people .",
        "since nobody ever seems to be a villain in their own life story , personal accounts of historical events , as in MOV , may often be suspect , and laden with problematic content like biases , grudges , and extreme characters one way or the other .",
        "a belated tribute to some unsung heroes which turns out to be of considerably less entertainment than historical value .",
        "just like the winter in the movie , the film feels long . the story is amazing , but surprisingly , in the hands of zwick the film never felt that way .",
        "more than anything , `` MOV '' is a celebration of survival against overwhelming odds .",
        "does the story of the bielski partisans deserve to be told hollywood-style , with much melodrama and cliche-ridden dialogue ?",
        "the material is engrossing , but the execution is ponderous ...",
        "... ultimately does a disservice to the real-life figures that inspired this story .",
        "MOV plays more like an action movie than the award-worthy prestige film the studio is making it out to be .",
        "a potentially exceptional story is told in a flatly unexceptional manner in MOV .",
        "passionate if prosaically rendered .",
        "craig heads a good cast in a largely unknown wwii tale of siblings who created a commune of warriors that contested the myth of jews as passive victims , and while the subject is intriguing , zwick 's helming and film 's execution leave much to be desired .",
        "an action-oriented drama about members of a jewish resistance movement hiding from and fighting the nazis in belorusssia during world war ii .",
        "it 's earnest and intense but it 's a shame they did n't tell - as paul harvey would say - the rest of the story .",
        "it is , all in all , a film as square-shouldered as its leads -- tough-minded , forcibly acted and conventionally spun by zwick and co-writer clayton frohman .",
        "throughout , the people on-screen -- from the bielskis to the huddled masses they shelter -- feel less like flesh and blood people than stock characterizations designed to forward a specific ideological agenda or plot point of the movie .",
        "ultimately , the film celebrates and memorializes the survival of something unthinkable , and a group of people for whom MOV meant , at heart , that they would push against the growing darkness and carry on .",
        "a documentary would have been the best way to go with this material .",
        "it 's understandable and laudable that they desire not to sensationalize the bielskis , and they 've made a worthy film . but their understated approach makes the struggle seem less urgent than it must surely have been .",
        "as a piece of historical redress , a great service has been done in bringing this narrative to the screen .",
        "MOV may lack the sort of emotional punch that sticks , but its story of courage and responsibility is undeniably compelling .",
        "without neglecting the ultimate horror of those years , the film presents a tangible example of potential victims fighting against their oppressors and even achieving victory . and , better yet , it 's based on a true story .",
        "it 's difficult , perhaps impossible , to make a gripping 137-minute epic about people standing around under the trees .",
        "an absorbing family saga , a thrilling combat movie and a backwoods epic that conveys the feel of a frontier-community-under-duress with the vividness of a john ford classic ."
    ],
    "summary": "professionally made but artistically uninspired , ed zwick 's story of jews surviving wwii in the belarus forest lacks the emotional punch of the actual history .",
    "id": "770682436"
  },
  {
    "movie": "no_mans_land",
    "reviews": [
        "an intelligent and expertly-judged microcosm of the inanity of war .",
        "despite some missteps , no man 's land is a shrewd film that provides a persuasive picture of how small conflicts can escalate into all-out war .",
        "skimps on character development for such a politically-charged movie",
        "it 's less about battlefields and weaponry than it is about personality conflicts and the agonizing frustration that boils inside people who want to put positive changes into effect , but are too entangled in red tape to do much of anything .",
        "absurd situation creates lasting images that do n't diminish with time",
        "a brilliant and brilliantly disturbing film .",
        "tanovic adroitly indicts the entrenched hostilities between people and nations .",
        "savage whimsy",
        "no man 's land is the superior version of russell 's slightly overrated three kings .",
        "makes us laugh and frustrates us at the same time .",
        "a story told simply , with a dose of mordant humor that starkly puts its points across .",
        "one of the most remarkable films of the year .",
        "tanovic , himself a war veteran , expertly twists us within the dilemma while avoiding easy answers .",
        "the acting 's so strong and the dialogue so realistic , that it feels authentic .",
        "this tour of duty to the cineplex is worth enlisting for .",
        "an eloquent anti-war testimonial , it paints a bleak picture of how there is no simple answer to deeply-rooted hatred .",
        "tense and , ultimately , emotionally devastating , no man 's land uses the blackest of humor to create the most subtle of satires .",
        "equally deft at portraying the hateful madness of war and the infantile , venal feeble-mindedness of military bureaucracy .",
        "the bracing nature of the humor , the energy of the direction and the authenticity of the performances go far to mitigate its weaknesses .",
        "a balanced and devastatingly accurate look at the bosnian conflict",
        "no man 's land instantly lands on the short list of great films about the absurdity of war .",
        "an explosively suspenseful , deeply moving dark comedy and an astonishingly assured fiction debut from tanovic .",
        "it 's a great war farce because it 's confident enough in its emotions and convictions to focus on the laughs , knowing you 'll get the message anyway .",
        "absurdity reminiscent of camus is married to a modernist cynicism that is most disquieting",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- stunning farce ...",
        "part of what makes no man 's land so effective is a take-no-prisoners sense of humor that is characteristically balkan .",
        "reverberates with anger and intelligence , wit and despair .",
        "by film 's end i was impressed by the rich tapestry of characters , dark humor and violence , all carefully balanced and delivered with a modicum of rational thought .",
        "a very good film and should be seen .",
        "fierce , funny and finally devastating .",
        "tanovic gives us a mature , thoughtful story with sympathetic characters and a strong statement against war .",
        "seems ... deeply and painfully authentic .",
        "the writing is brisk and smart and this is one fine film .",
        "no man 's land does not carry the same impact as the heavyweight war torn social consciousness satires such as m * a * s * h , but it does sway in that direction as an ardently funny antiwar statement with a sense of chaotic artistry .",
        "tanovic is sometimes glib , but he makes his points with admirable visual restraint .",
        "despite the liberal sprinkling of humor , no man 's land ends with a very powerful and sure-to-haunt-you statement .",
        "this is a sound bite satire for a war fought through them .",
        "... provides a healthy dose of dark satiric drama , psychological gamesmanship , good performances , and valuable themes .",
        "ranks not far behind stanley kubrick 's dr. strangelove .",
        "while the audience has its laughs along the way , the violent tension of war often threatens to erupt , and slowly , subtly gathering force is the film 's emotional weight .",
        "no man 's land is the best war movie since saving private ryan .",
        "no es una cinta de guerra heroica , sino todo lo contrario , y esto de refleja perfectamente en la escena final , que es de una incredulidad indescriptible .",
        "a very good , award-worthy film .",
        "shows that the most effective antiwar statements are clothed in humor and irony .",
        "a bare-knuckled , absurdly comic and at times unbearably tense look back at the madness of the bosnian conflict .",
        "`` no man 's land '' makes it 's message go down with a laugh before it sucker punches you .",
        "a tightly constructed , chilling drama with welcome doses of gallows humor .",
        "no man 's land may end with an honest blip yet its history is remiss .",
        "this powerful film is often harrowing to watch , but it can also be shockingly entertaining as it deftly mixes macabre humor , pathos , and horror .",
        "an absorbing , deeply affecting , well-acted -- and remarkably evenhanded -- antiwar statement .",
        "a strange and disturbing film , but it is not without a stirringly humanist compassion even at its most outlandish and outrageous .",
        "tanovic makes land accessible and compelling enough for audiences everywhere to appreciate .",
        "extremely taut , brutally funny and achingly frank .",
        "the spirit of mash runs through this sharply observed , absurdly funny take on the folly of war .",
        "after the movie makes its one didactic point , it repeats it endlessly , hoping to beat it into out heads that war is fruitless and senseless .",
        "a nice and blistering portrait of war at its most absurd .",
        "an interesting foreign war movie featuring a nice balance between drama and humor .",
        "tanovic 's film is coil-sprung to explode on the unsuspecting .",
        "it 's undeniably riveting .",
        "a skillfully wrought , if somewhat predictable , farce involving belligerent opponents , blundering international peacekeepers and excitable journalists .",
        "the absurdity of it is diluted by the metaphorical sledgehammer used to smash the antiwar message home .",
        "from beginning to end , it bristles with ironies in classic eastern european absurdist style .",
        "a bleakly funny parable that could be titled between enemy lines .",
        "it 's not a pretty picture , but it is a funny one , if you agree with tanovic that all human behavior tends toward folly , cowardice , self-deception , corruption and hopelessness .",
        "a well-mounted ... seriocomedy with passing punchlines . and for about half the movie , it 's compelling stuff .",
        "its success is mainly because of the taut script , the good acting , and the effective directing .",
        "we learn absolutely nothing about the ideologies of these people or their reasons for fighting . they are virtually interchangeable ...",
        "` who 's on first ? ' in a corpse-riddled trench , with moral culpability for a genocidal civil war rather than the identity of a first baseman as the punchline . a staggering debut .",
        "a worthwhile little picture with a true sense of humanity running through it .",
        "a merciless and mirthlessly funny antiwar weapon from a filmmaker who has seen battle firsthand and has lived to make art from memories of hell .",
        "the film would have been a stunner under any circumstances , but with the situation in afghanistan and the middle east worsening on a daily basis , no man 's land feels even more relevant .",
        "scathingly tense , blackly funny and ultimately indelible .",
        "unlike most american dark comedies there is no soft edge to be found anywhere in this devastating indictment of war .",
        "the movie 's insights let the movie get away with its wartime irreverence .",
        "a vivid and unforgettable film about the insanity of war and the dreadful things it can do to those who drench themselves in hate and violence .",
        "el humor y el absurdo en un drama ligero que toca temas con fuerza .",
        "blazingly good anti-war sentiment .",
        "in this expertly calibrated debut , tanovic charts the ebb and flow of these events , which began in a fog and end in a pyrrhic tie , as a global ripple that is everyone 's business .",
        "... a gripping piece of combat theater .",
        "a waiting for godot for art-house movie buffs .",
        "no man 's land begins and ends quietly , like stirrings of thunder from a distant storm . in between comes a tragedy that rolls over us like a compact hurricane .",
        "it 's hard to believe this is writer-director danis tanovic 's first feature fiction film .",
        "no man 's land hurts when you laugh ."
    ],
    "summary": "bleak and darkly humorous , no man 's land vividly illustrates the absurdity of war .",
    "id": "13824"
  },
  {
    "movie": "top_five",
    "reviews": [
        "it paints with a broad brush ... but the journey is nonetheless entertaining , and at times wildly funny .",
        "rock is sharpest in observational mode , riffing on andre 's career , but the movie falters when the routine plot devices kick in .",
        "MOV is easily the `` avengers '' of comedians where the laugh meter never drops from its highest point .",
        "it 's much less savvy than his stand-up observations .",
        "what follows is part meet-cute , part examination of fame , and all rock .",
        "when it 's just andre and chelsea , wandering the streets of new york and getting to know each other , MOV is as good as rock has ever been on-screen .",
        "chris rock 's MOV is very funny -- no surprise there -- but it 's also unexpectedly romantic .",
        "-lsb- rock 's -rsb- conversations with dawson crackle with intelligence and sexual chemistry , and a parade of guest artists -- some playing characters , others as themselves -- is folded into the mix with a minimum of awkwardness .",
        "as a director , chris rock makes a fine stand-up comic .",
        "if you want to see one of the richest , most complex female characters in american film this year , go to the picture that 's being marketed as a dirty-talking ethnic comedy .",
        "when it feels loose and lived-in , it starts clicking into place . but when it pushes its characters toward unearned saccharine , it feels as fake as the industry it 's supposed to be satirizing .",
        "it 's superior fare and marks rock out - third time round - as a writer-director and actor to be reckoned with .",
        "chris rock wrote , directed , and stars in this genial , splendidly constructed , occasionally hilarious comic drama with a reflexive twist .",
        "while rock calls in a lot of friends for backup on `` MOV , '' his confidence as a leading man , writer and director had never been sharper .",
        "it 's a big leap forward for rock as both an actor and a filmmaker , written and directed with the nervous , live-wire energy that has eluded his on-screen work for so long .",
        "... rock proves here that his comic groove is stronger than ever .",
        "multi-hyphenate chris rock kills in the hilarious account of a stand-up comic turned movie star that wants to be taken seriously .",
        "i think i would still rather watch rock hold a press conference about `` MOV '' than actually act in it , but the movie is the nearest we 've come to hearing rock 's authentic comic voice on film .",
        "a clever , laff-a-minute adventure worth the investment for the hilarity , even if it telegraphs where the love story might be headed .",
        "chris rock has made an entertainment that is not only a wild and rich study of his lead character but the character of the filmmaker himself .",
        "chris rock keeps wanting to be a social commentator just when this movie really needs him to be a character .",
        "very funny , yes , but it also represents a clear statement from rock about his career . it 's his best film by a considerable margin .",
        "MOV is the film that bridges the gap between the creator 's on-screen and stage personas . skillfully dancing the line between harsh and hopeful , rock delivers his medicine with a delicious spoonful of honey .",
        "as a writer , rock sets up one volatile situation after another , no sweat , and as a director , he captures his performers at their most explosively spontaneous .",
        "the mess never coheres , but it sends off you on a high anyway .",
        "MOV is a film broad and filthy enough for multiplex appeal , but also sufficiently arch to satisfy those who fancy themselves a little more sophisticated .",
        "the writing is strong enough that when the humor gives way to drama in the second half , there 's enough at stake to keep us interested , although rock still has plenty of jokes in store for the finale .",
        "happily , at the ripe young age of 49 , rock has hit a career high with his new film MOV .",
        "it can be hard for a movie to dwell on the problems of the rich and famous without seeming a touch self-serving , but rock always keeps things in perspective .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- is a charmingly tough-knuckled expression of an artist 's vision in a pure and classic mode . with MOV , chris rock has made his annie hall .",
        "could go toe-to-toe with the very best of rock 's standup . the movie he 's been working towards his entire career .",
        "rock 's third directorial effort proves to be his strongest and most similar to his rollicking standup routines .",
        "i stopped writing off rock as a filmmaker when he swerved left to remake an eric rohmer movie ...",
        "fresh , accessible , delightfully performed and downright hilarious .",
        "the tone is predominately blue , but never blue enough to obscure the heart of a surprisingly moving tale that will leave you debating whether those tears on your cheeks are from laughter or emotion .",
        "when it comes to comedy , funny always wins , and chris rock 's third directorial effort does run on engagingly amusing riffs . but MOV also steers hard into undisciplined storytelling ...",
        "MOV thoughts that crossed my mind as i watched MOV .",
        "rock is incisive in this new comedy but the film 's reliance on crude and unfunny set-ups really prevents it from reaching the heights it 's aiming for .",
        "the best comedy of the year .",
        "a seriously funny , semi-autobiographical film that might be the most accomplished work chris rock has ever done for the big screen .",
        "the settings for conversation are awfully contrived , but wow , are those conversations good .",
        "MOV is the funniest movie i 've seen this year , and the calendar 's running out .",
        "MOV is rock 's greatest accomplishment yet , mixing his signature brand of comedy with a hip and savvy filmmaking technique borrowed from some of cinema 's finest .",
        "the unadulterated chris rock turns out to be stardust memories meets do the right thing . raucous and scathing .",
        "in spite of its silly attitude , the movie asks real questions about the tension between show business and artistic desire .",
        "MOV is a reminder that as often as comedy fails us , sometimes it 's our best hope for resuscitation . seeing it at the end of a crap week , i suddenly felt i could breathe again .",
        "this is the movie we 've been waiting for chris rock to make .",
        "as a social satirist , chris rock adroitly balances bawdy abrasiveness with the awareness of a black man blindsided by his own success .",
        "-lsb- rock is -rsb- still not all the way there in `` MOV , '' his third effort as writer-director-star . but the movie has so many laughs it hardly matters .",
        "an innovative take on familiar material , MOV is an exquisitely paced , rich , idiosyncratic , satirical , yet deeply moving free-form comedy about a hollywood star who is shadowed for one day by a new york times reporter .",
        "it 's also smarter and richer and more mature than the `` romantic comedy '' needs to be , and seems to promise a whole new chris rock .",
        "for a movie trying so hard to challenge the notion of what we expect from celebrities , i was surprised how many times MOV followed the conventional hollywood formula .",
        "there are a fair number of decent -- if decidedly adult -- laughs to be had . -lrb- full content review -- sex , profanity , etc. -- for parents also available -rrb-",
        "here are the MOV reasons chris rock 's latest deserves little of the hype it 's receiving .",
        "among chris rock 's films , this is more than in the MOV . it is number one .",
        "welcome back , chris rock .",
        "ragged around the edges and haphazardly hilarious though it may be , `` MOV '' ultimately satisfies as an often raunchy ramble about celebrity , sobriety , selling out and sex , courtesy of the immensely talented but too-often subpar movie star chris rock .",
        "extremely enjoyable ...",
        "it 's fun to watch chris rock ; it 's just fun . and there are parts of this film where it 's fun to watch him in exactly the ways he wants it to be .",
        "the basic outline of rock 's script is standard romcom ... but rock uses it to examine show biz , celebrity , addiction , discrimination and family in painfully funny fashion . it 's rock 's hip hop homage to woody allen and his own stand up roots .",
        "MOV is filled with the kind of smart , lewd dialogue that has made rock a standup god . and for the first time in his career , rock has the authority , charisma and screen presence of a real movie star .",
        "-lsb- rock -rsb- has directed and starred in the finest movie of his career to date .",
        "rock is brilliant at finding common ground while mapping the boundaries between black and white realities , which is why MOV is a truly interesting -- and frequently very funny -- film .",
        "it does n't always hit its mark , but even its misses feel personal and unself-conscious - a genuine reflection of chris rock , auteur .",
        "for an ostensibly soul-deep movie like this to work , we need more than smirks and scowls .",
        "like rock 's best stand-up shows , MOV mixes the sweet with the salty , the naughty with the remarkably kind . it celebrates the darkly hilarious with the light of whip-smart observations .",
        "MOV finds rock in an elevated form , at 49 . things change , sometimes for the better .",
        "full of uneven drama but where is the comedy !",
        "if seeing cedric the entertainer naked in a threesome is amusing , then this is your kind of movie .",
        "`` MOV '' will be hailed as revolutionary by some -- but definitely not by david or me .",
        "chris rock never loses sight of the laughs for his most personal film yet .",
        "rock is quite inventive , jumping back and forth , in and out of conversations , to create a stream of consciousness feel without tying the story in knots .",
        "chris rock has essentially written and directed a film based on one of his own standup routines , and the result is as hilarious as we 'd expect ...",
        "writer , director , and star chris rock is so close to something great here , but he gives in too easily to the unchallenging and the very conventional .",
        "as a satirical attack on the inanities of the entertainment industry , rock 's flamethrower is set to no higher than gentle singeing .",
        "rock is no actor , but he rides a wave of funny , self-aware and outrageous situations , and this is always watchable .",
        "rock is working some stuff out through a loudhailer , essentially , but the film 's snap and energy make it well worth bending an ear .",
        "chris rock approaches directing with the same fizzing energy that he brings to his stand-up comedy .",
        "the film 's trump card is its rigorous honesty .",
        "top of the pack and chris rock 's best movie .",
        "rock 's scattershot film may not be for the ages , but at least developing a personal angle has allowed him to get his groove back .",
        "rock spins his familiarity with the industry to get goofy and hilarious results , but as the day progresses he surprises us with an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and pain - an aspect of the business often taken for granted .",
        "the movie marks the first time rock 's stand-up persona - cutting , vulnerable , afraid of no sacred cows - has survived intact on the way to the multiplex . that alone is reason for fans to celebrate .",
        "` MOV ' is a welcome transition for chris rock , who has always been funny ; here he artfully blurs the lines between real-life and fiction .",
        "combining the best of woody allen and his own particular urban perspective , rock has come up with one of the funniest films of 2014 .",
        "the movie , which alternates between hilariously vulgar gags and some electric improvs and riffs by rock and his cast of all-stars , has the crackle and pop of a live performance - it energizes you .",
        "a romantic comedy that 's also an extended riff on art , identity , authenticity and what it means to be a black entertainer ...",
        "it 's a slap-happy movie and often scurrilously funny - the sound of a gifted comic mind finally finding its onscreen voice .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he film has a lot to say about the nature and perils of fame , and it does so with rock 's observant and caustic humor .",
        "it is the funniest movie of the year , in part because it is so sharply observed .",
        "rock 's brilliant skewering of hollywood , celebrities and the fans obsessed with their every move results in one of the year 's smartest , insightful and terrifically funny films of the year .",
        "all of this is very funny , informed by rock 's insider 's view of big-time show business , made specific by his unique perspective on race and class , success and failure .",
        "this is the movie i 've been waiting for chris rock to make his entire career . it 's his stand-up sensibility , perfectly translated to film .",
        "it 's a comedy with a serious side - and yet it feels completely natural when it suddenly segues into over-the-top set pieces -lrb- including one fairly surreal stretch in houston involving cedric the entertainer you ca n't un-see -rrb- .",
        "rock 's frank , personal , semi-autobiographical , ferociously 21st-century comedy feels like its own special animal ... this sweet small crazy blunt bittersweet dirty ----- comedy vaults in every moment into a superior comic stratosphere .",
        "funny ... but unfortunate coincidences ? police brutality , a black man in a choke hold , a comic singing the praises of bill cosby , a man acting as if he does n't `` get '' rape , and the reminder that this might be the last time we see tracy morgan in a movie",
        "rock has said that he wanted to make a movie that captures the energy of his stand-up . MOV fits the bill .",
        "a relentlessly filthy and unbearably entertaining crowd-pleaser that actually needs to be seen in a theater with a lathered-up group .",
        "-lsb- MOV is -rsb- indeed funny in spots , but often thin and underdeveloped as well as improbable .",
        "on the surface , a lost-artist comedy in the vein of woody allen 's stardust memories , but more deeply , a referendum on the dead-end choices rock himself might be feeling .",
        "rock has said that he worked on the screenplay during his downtime while co-starring in `` grown ups 2 . '' if that 's the case , then we finally have a reason to be grateful for that atrocious adam sandler debacle .",
        "MOV is a fiercely honest and very funny passion project for chris rock that works best when it channels the comic actor 's brazen energy .",
        "there are some great sequences in this film - both comedic and dramatic .",
        "the overall vibe i get from `` MOV '' is that chris rock is a smashing talent . the film , and it 's very satisfying conclusion , come from a man with his fingers on the pulse of contemporary comedy .",
        "the banter between allen and dawson keeps things ticking over , it 's nicely shot and there are some amusing lines . but the rambling structure requires sharper visual gags and much tougher targets .",
        "MOV is chris rock 's latest slice of personal comedy , except new york is the stage and echoes of woody allen , louie c.k , adam sandler and jerry seinfeld abound .",
        "benefits from rock fully exploiting his own persona and his own conflicted experiences of being a famous , rich african american performer .",
        "it does n't always work , there are plenty of scenes you wish were better , but it 's out there .",
        "strikes a delicate balance between social commentary , show business satire , general vulgarity and legitimate sweetness .",
        "the time has arrived to finally come out and say that ... chris rock is a mediocre film director ... given how perceptive , confronting and challenging his stand up work is , it 's disappointing to see how tame rock becomes when he gets behind the camera .",
        "the incomparable chris rock is not known for impersonations , but he mimics woody allen , richard linklater , louis c.k. and even federico fellini in his directorial pet project MOV .",
        "the writing here feels like vintage rock : free-flowing , profane and absolutely hilarious .",
        "as an actor , rock does n't create much of a spark with dawson , and as a director , he tends to let scenes go on too long .",
        "rock still has n't figured out exactly what he wants you to think of him , but the way the film reflects that uncertainty may be the most interesting thing about it .",
        "just when it seemed like chris rock had already done plenty for the culture , along comes his latest work as a writer and director , `` MOV . '' and it 's one of the most vibrant , sly romantic comedies this year .",
        "even when it falls flat , MOV has ambition , which is more than you could say about the majority of rock 's previous film work .",
        "a disorganized , dawdling mess of a movie that is rarely anything less than charming .",
        "rock 's fast-talking rhythms are all over this movie , and they lift it up ; it 's like dropping in on a party full of funny people , and leaving before the evening fades .",
        "funnier than it is smart .",
        "when it 's funny , it works alarmingly well , capturing the coarseness of rock 's comedy and his ease with other comedians .",
        "the somewhat watchable vibe lasts up until the movie enters its hopelessly misguided third act ...",
        "you come away from it with the thrilling sensation that you 're seeing an artist you thought you knew reinvent himself .",
        "you 'll likely leave the theater smiling . and when 's the last time you cold say that about a chris rock movie ?",
        "there 's nuance in the performances and bite in the script , but it could have done with a stronger hand behind the camera to blend it all together .",
        "MOV is hardly in the same class as stardust memories but it is still manifestly cinema , rather than filmed comedy , and the gags are often visually sophisticated .",
        "rock has much to say about what it means to be a successful black entertainer in the us today . what , though , is he telling us when he makes the only significant white character in the movie the butt of a series of very dodgy homophobic jokes ?",
        "the chris rock movie we 've been waiting for , it 's boisterous , rude and genuinely romantic .",
        "a passion project that rock writes , directs and stars in , the film encapsulates the raw , edgy , provocative energy of the star 's stand-up routines , while providing plenty of food for thought in the process .",
        "rock 's ambitious passion project - he wrote , directed and stars in it - is a bawdy , uninhibited yet thoughtful social satire about fame vs. artistic fulfillment .",
        "`` MOV '' is a funny movie , but rock has his sights set higher than lowbrow , and for the most part , he succeeds .",
        "beneath the meta-fiction and the lulz lies a genuinely warm romance in the style of richard linklater 's before sunrise .",
        "chris rock squanders an interesting idea with an implausible premise in this comedy about a superstar stand-up -lrb- rock -rrb- who no longer values his comic instincts .",
        "an introspective look at stardom that happens to be the funniest movie of the year .",
        "MOV is packed full of zingers even if , at first glance , the familiar tale of a comic-turned - actor desperately seeking credibility promises to be an indulgent 102 minutes .",
        "rock 's crass reliance on misogynist hooker gags and hot-sauce-up-the-ass homophobia routines means that an adam sandler cameo hardly seems out of place .",
        "what lingers hours later are n't just the laughs but the people .",
        "rock is too nimble and original to fall back on hollywood conventions here . he uses this plot as a springboard for a manic ride through several days in andre 's nutty , combustible life .",
        "in `` MOV , '' you sense rock trying to load all these disparate talents onto a conventional romantic-comedy structure . it 's a close call , but it holds .",
        "`` MOV '' has the bright , high-gloss feel of the most delicious wish-fulfillment fantasies , but it derives its spiky , propulsive energy from the adamantly forthright figure at its center .",
        "`` MOV '' may be chris rock 's biggest and boldest film as a director and writer , but a sharper , smarter , realer script would have made it far more than just a lazy , lightweight laughfest .",
        "MOV is rock 's most accomplished work yet , a truly personal story whose comedic riffs on love , race , sex , and celebrity are carefully woven into a credible romantic plot .",
        "the sweetest surprise in this raunchy comic ride is how artfully rock lets down his guard . his confident , prowling wit as a stand-up has finally found its way to the screen , enhanced by a bracing vulnerability .",
        "mr. rock has made a pyrotechnic pinwheel of a personal comedy , and he 's had the wisdom to share it with a strong co-star . while he sends sparks flying every which way , rosario dawson keeps the story grounded in calm intelligence and classic romance .",
        "rock lets his humor play broadly , but he fills out the space between gags with smart writing and pointed social insights .",
        "MOV entertains more than any previous film in which rock was top-billed primarily because its content as well plays like an extension of rock 's stand-up act .",
        "rock is on a roll again .",
        "to the writing , rock brings the discipline of his stand-up . even with some improvisation , there is not one throwaway line in this fat-free script .",
        "it can be delightful , intelligent , crude , clumsy and culturally tone-deaf , depending on which scene is rolling by . one minute it 's a major letdown , the next minute a joy to watch .",
        "raunchy in extremis , often funny and at times touching , `` MOV '' is chris rock 's sincere attempt to craft a film career largely detached from his stand-up clowning .",
        "the semi-autobiographical nature of rock 's film makes MOV 's satiric points about black performers in the entertainment industry fall all the more precisely .",
        "with `` MOV , '' rock has finally made the transition to true movie stardom .",
        "rock 's best work yet .",
        "written and directed by rock , this meta-saturated comedy/drama may be the biggest surprise of this holiday film season .",
        "MOV is an arty and sincere hangout with an incredible cast of characters .",
        "the break seems to have allowed rock a welcome opportunity to freshen his material without softening his edge .",
        "while MOV is certainly rock 's best work as a filmmaker , it 's also proof that he should n't quit his day job yet .",
        "it has that rom-com formula framework , but rock turns it on its head for a snappy , contemporary and entertaining ride .",
        "it 's fast and real , funny and outrageous , cutting and poignant by its truthfulness",
        "MOV plays like a great stand-up routine : shambling , honest and packed with laughs - and laughs that stick .",
        "this is a funny , loud , profane , obscenity-laced film about the lives of entertainment celebrities , reality tv , alcoholism and show business . the film demonstrates chris rock 's sharp observations of society and show business .",
        "a talented comedian -lrb- nearly -rrb- hits his stride"
    ],
    "summary": "as smart , funny , and trenchant as writer-director-star chris rock 's best standup work , MOV is a career highlight for its creator -- and one of the comedy standouts of 2014 .",
    "id": "771387806"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1105979-brothers",
    "reviews": [
        "the MOV is basically a lifetime movie that somehow found its way into theaters .",
        "a politically incorrect but often hilarious jam session .",
        "a lively , affectionate and well-acted romantic comedy .",
        "hardwick 's boisterous film is enjoyably slapstick and uses laughter rather than psychological insights as therapy .",
        "although it 's funny at times and very well intentioned , the MOV has nothing new to say .",
        "one is left with warm memories of laughs , loves , and most of all likable characters with whom one would n't mind spending another two hours .",
        "a pleasant and enjoyable romantic comedy showcasing several talented performers",
        "an entertaining but too-familiar comedy about the romantic woes of african-americans .",
        "the MOV has a lot to offer .",
        "has all the emotional depth and honesty of a ford ad , only with worse production values .",
        "often entertaining , mostly unsurprising , but ultimately rewarding",
        "brothas and sistas make sure you see this movie !",
        "for all its coarse humor , the MOV has moments of tenderness and depth .",
        "feels kinda like a misguided after-school special for adults .",
        "the main drawback of the MOV is one of balance .",
        "looks good and is often easy to digest .",
        "it 's undeniable that director-writer gary hardwick 's the MOV has a target demographic . but the movie 's themes of family , love and friendship are universal .",
        "ultimately , the MOV ends on a very girlie note .",
        "smart , earthy and , in its own way , tender , the MOV packs a powerfully entertaining punch .",
        "for romantic comedy , it is not particularly romantic or funny .",
        "while philosophical at times , the approach is courageous in its honesty , with solid performances across the board to back it up .",
        "the movie 's a mixed bag , but worth seeing for the good stuff , which is a lesson in how productive it can be to allow characters to say what they might actually say .",
        "hughley and jones have an explosively comic chemistry together .",
        "once you accept the surfacey nature of the MOV , it 's pretty entertaining .",
        "as close as these men say they are , the film makes it very difficult to believe they are friends .",
        "if you want to take down waiting to exhale , you 'd better have a stronger grip on men and women and how they connect or fail to connect than this .",
        "it depicts all of its characters as fully rounded human beings without shying away from their less pleasant thoughts .",
        "it 's regurgitating pop psychology ideas that are unlikely to be surprising to anyone sitting in the audience .",
        "glossy fun , but it should have given us more ideas and energy .",
        "often funny , often wise and often raunchy .",
        "these `` MOV '' are full to the brim with heart , soul , and a solid sense of humor .",
        "the dialogue is witty and lively , and the characters are crafted with insight and care .",
        "digs more vibrantly into issues of trust , fear , pleasure , commitment , and camaraderie than any hollywood feature in recent memory .",
        "an amiable , engaging and personal film .",
        "it 's funny stuff .",
        "so we have a bunch of guys going about their lives and not doing anything that 's all that interesting .",
        "the egomaniacal thrust behind the MOV is the same drive that 's fueled dozens of other low-watt bar-talk flicks .",
        "this glossy romantic comedy gets off to a good start ... -lsb- but -rsb- some of the storylines are slack ...",
        "the MOV is carried by the warmth that both sexes pour into its sitcom soul .",
        "films such as the best man and the wood have gone over this terrain before , with considerably more style and humor .",
        "it seems as though the entire budget of this movie was spent on expensive set decoration .",
        "if the MOV falls far short of its prototype , waiting to exhale , it still conveys a warm-blooded affection for its characters .",
        "engaging entertainment .",
        "it 's time for filmmakers to take a deep breath ... and come up with a new approach .",
        "had the film taken more of an edgy and irreverent approach - along the lines of one character 's titular response , breathe , bitch to waiting to exhale -- it may have been more interesting and far more amusing and perhaps even insightful .",
        "hardwick is n't afraid to dog out these men for their disrespect and double standards even while sympathizing with their attempts to ` grow up . '",
        "like candy , this male answer to the 1995 film waiting to exhale is sweet , pleasing and goes down easy -- but it 's not very filling . still , it 's tasty while it lasts .",
        "it 's easier to laugh with the movie than take it seriously .",
        "airless and oddly fatiguing .",
        "the drama/comedy balance is not played out well .",
        "a shallow comedy with few insights and only sporadic laughs .",
        "stuffed with the most obvious points imaginable .",
        "a mixed-message piece of sexist propaganda masquerading as a movie about sensitive guys , masquerading in turn as a movie for guys .",
        "there are plenty of honest laughs .",
        "slick but superficial .",
        "it is n't much of a movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "often seen as a waiting to exhale with men , the MOV is amiable . however , it feels superficial and somewhat of a retread .",
    "id": "13373"
  },
  {
    "movie": "v_for_vendetta",
    "reviews": [
        "a killer action film with flaming political implications .",
        "the film is an intriguing thriller that asks questions likely to have a powerful effect on conscripts in the current war on terror .",
        "a visual feast for the eyes and an intelligent treat for the brain .",
        "when it chooses to be , MOV is a gangbusters and incisive indictment of the scary direction this big blue ball is headed in .",
        "what makes vendetta truly remarkable is that it refuses to back away from its strong convictions .",
        "... the first must-see movie of 2006 .",
        "volatile and vehement as a timely cautionary tale , it emerges as the first exciting , significant and , potentially , the most controversial film of 2006 .",
        "first-time director james mcteigue 's big , bold imagery , with slashing reds and blacks , is a close approximation of the novel 's look and feel .",
        "it works beautifully .",
        "MOV is a piece of pulp claptrap ; it has no insights whatsoever into totalitarian psychology and always settles for the cheesiest kinds of demagoguery and harangue as its emblems of evil .",
        "MOV wants to be a thoughtful political allegory , a chaste love story and a high-powered thriller all at the same time . it winds up being a big snooze .",
        "a welcome blast of pop subversion .",
        "v for still victorious .",
        "a futuristic london where the government uses fear to elicit cooperation from the people is smashed by a man in a mask . MOV is an allegory of modern america .",
        "it 's not sin city , but it 's probably the most acomplished blovkbuster we 'll see all summer",
        "for all its anti-establishment esprit , it 's more a case of z for zzzz .",
        "the less you think , the more you like it . which is n't always a bad thing .",
        "revenge is liberty . i ca n't recall hearing that particular idea from tolstoy , gandhi , martin luther king , vaclav havel , nelson mandela , the dalai lama or the makers of batman begins . but as the wachowski brothers would say , that 's another paradigm .",
        "... a somewhat old-fashioned adventure flick , filled with action , humor , romance , politics , and the kind of swashbuckling that audiences had n't seen in movies for many years .",
        "feels far too starched and clean to do its source material justice .",
        "much to admire and enjoy , but what could have been a meaningful parable about individual freedoms comes off as heavy-handed politicizing that does n't quite add up .",
        "although often visually striking and undercoated by a compelling sci-fi concept , graphic-novel adaptation MOV feels flat as a storyboard .",
        "it 's an amazing movie . not in exactly the way the matrix was -lrb- how tired would that be ? -rrb- , but in a new way . it 's a fascinating picture , dark and exciting , and it will almost certainly be an enormous hit .",
        "the most faithful and literal adaptation of an alan moore graphic novel ... a potent combination of action , emotion and wry political commentary .",
        "as vendetta winds up , the movie gets a little lazy , and a little wacky -lrb- it shows some of the lack of discipline that troubled the matrix sequels -rrb- .",
        "MOV engages in lots of speechifying about the importance of ideas and the freedom to question them . ironically , though , the movie does n't really seem to have any ideas of its own .",
        "keeps the source 's gnarly moral issues , amps up the explosions and thins out the subplots to delight audiences looking for two-plus hours of solid entertainment and willing to do some mental work to get there .",
        "... an endlessly ballsy comic book adaptation that is sly and smart -- something that more and more comic book films are becoming these days .",
        "the strongest , most exciting and most intelligent thrill ride since the matrix .",
        "director james mcteigue finds moments of pure brilliance amid a story that stumbles from one questionable choice to another .",
        "portman reminds one less of falconetti and more of a paris hilton-esque socialite who accidentally wandered into supercuts .",
        "for anyone looking for something totally different in this most overworked of hollywood genres -lrb- comic-book superheroes -rrb- , this is it .",
        "it is neither persuasive filmmaking nor political commentary .",
        "the movie 's a handsome piece of work , dramatically powerful even when it backs into silliness .",
        "we have here something that we rarely see in sf films these days ... a movie about ideas over action , character over special effects , and emotion over action .",
        "entertaining and solidly crafted .",
        "de certa forma , \u00e9 poss\u00edvel que v de vingan\u00e7a seja um dos filmes mais corajosos realizados por hollywood depois dos atentados de 11 de setembro .",
        "the settings are moody and evocative , the script is well crafted and thought-provoking and there are really cool action sequences with guns , knives and roses ... u for unexpectedly good .",
        "a political and symbolic thinking person 's action movie .",
        "do n't believe the hype . all this muddled movie has to offer is more numbly regurgitated , willfully cartoonish pop political commentary .",
        "though the dystopian elements here are pretty standard , MOV provocatively captures a society at the tipping point of rebellion .",
        "they 're working within a style that depends on exaggeration , sure -- i get that . however , aside from lacking the granularity that would make v a more intriguing and complex figure , he is by even his own admission little more than a reaction .",
        "with its delightful mix of action and thinking , MOV is in one sense escapism but on the other , depressing as hell .",
        "un film inc\u00f3modo y desafiante sobre cuestiones plenamente vigentes en el mundo de hoy , que dejar\u00e1 insatisfechos a quienes busquen s\u00f3lo entretenimiento .",
        "a mild triumph of hollywood filmmaking in that the film garners its thrills not from mindless action and special effects but from ideas .",
        "a smarter-than-usual action film .",
        "MOV should be seen less for the conspiracy theories discussion it inspires and more for its vicious storytelling",
        "it 's safe to say that v may be the most political movie released by a major studio since jfk -lrb- which was also distributed by warner brothers -rrb- .",
        "at this point , ' MOV ' seems more fashionable than radical .",
        "fear is just one of the powerful themes in the ka-pow , ka-boom pleasure that is MOV .",
        "the film 's screenplay is more compelling and coherent than the graphic novel .",
        "brilliant and angry .",
        "if they made a movie about overthrowing a government and did n't load it with political commentary , i 'd be disappointed ... jon stewart would be proud . the benny hill spoof is hilarious and catholics will be offended too .",
        "has no concerns of following any normal conventions of entertaining its audience and seems more occupied with the loftier goals of getting viewers to consider its ideas .",
        "it 's as paranoid and pompous a piece of brazen looniness as you 'll see this year .",
        "... it 's all here except for a contested plan to give control of britain 's ports to dubai .",
        "the hero/antihero of vendetta , ... is -- thrillingly -- batman and the joker all at once ; he 's luke skywalker and darth vader .",
        "it may go a little overboard in its desire to convince us of both its coolness and its insightfulness , but it 's fast-paced and smart enough to keep us onboard anyway .",
        "a daring and imaginative view of britain as a fascist state in the 2020s .",
        "the persuasive ideas found in the script prevail over the unavoidable comic-book clich\u00e9s and the director 's minimal learning curve",
        "MOV is a mesmerizing , action filled movie that appeals to the revolutionary in each of us",
        "f the fanboys out there take umbrage with something in it , i 'm sorry , i loved it , but we 've disagreed on comic adaptations before . i saw it twice opening weekend , if that 's any indication .",
        "i 'll let others debate all the political ramifications in MOV ; my problem is that as a movie it fails to engage",
        "an unbearably talkative affair with virtually nothing sane to say .",
        "deliberately blurs the line between heroism and terrorism .",
        "MOV 's strength beyond its substantial movie-movie value is not in how it pitches its ideas , but to whom .",
        "` v ' screams loudly and long , with visceral , kinetic fury and with style to burn . it 's so brazen , it 's kind of brilliant .",
        "yes , the movie is too long , and given to repetition , but who cares ? it 's exciting , unpredictable , and an inversion of the language of the powerful .",
        "violence can be used for various purposes , good , ill , and incoherent . this would be the primary observation made by MOV .",
        "the cleverest aspect of the film is the way it turns a terrorist into a crusading hero while remaining politically correct . what it does n't manage is to create a credible future or avoid pomposity .",
        "lo que realmente sacude y hace reflexionar , radica en el paralelismo de este supuesto mundo alternativo con los gobiernos actuales . buen ejercicio de los wachowski .",
        "the quarter-century-old disgruntled fantasies of two english comic-book artists , amplified by a powerful movie company , and ambushed by history , wind up yielding a disastrous muddle .",
        "MOV lands somewhere between the neo-noir freshness of the original the matrix and the indecipherable bombast of the two sequels .",
        "the idea of a terrorist-as-hero is bound to stir controversy and debate . for , as we have learned ... one man 's terrorist is another 's freedom fighter .",
        "tedious , boring and ill-conceived ... rather than being anti-fascist , MOV comes off as being pro-terrorist",
        "good , but not worth the $ 20 popcorn and cokes at the theater unless you know who alan moore is .",
        "remember , remember , the 5th of november ... whether you love it or hate it , you ca n't keep your eyes off of it , MOV grabs you and holds you . portman is mesmerizing , while weaving bores .",
        "MOV is a confounding exercise that has no trouble getting people to think , but it 's far less successful at getting them to feel .",
        "based on a cult graphic novel -lrb- r-rated comic book -rrb- of the same name , the movie is surprisingly thought provoking , and predictably violent .",
        "a refreshing piece of hollywood entertainment that is more interested in ideas than in just being ` cool ' .",
        "the wachowskis are back and rush limbaugh will not be amused .",
        "this future-shock story about a masked avenger at war with a totalitarian british regime sags when it should zip .",
        "awesome ! easily the best movie to come out so far this year ...",
        "there are some great , brilliant action scenes , but this is more thoughtful and darker and more in the vein of batman begins . and that 's a very good thing .",
        "MOV is a glorious piece of pop culture subversive cinema that operates on manifold levels .",
        "there are a lot of ideas here - and two impressive set-pieces - but while it may provoke thought , it rarely thrills or engages as a story .",
        "MOV , directed by james mcteigue , almost always has something going on that is actually interesting , inviting us to decode the character and plot and apply the message where we will .",
        "v packs an urgent filmmaking energy that pins you to your seat .",
        "setting out more to challenge us with its ideas than make us whoop at the action , vendetta can be clumsy , but there are enough impressive flourishes to make up for its stumblings .",
        "a poorly paced and spectacularly disjointed rehash of orwellian themes . it has a high production value and looks great , but suffers from a lack of narrative exposition that leads to sizable holes in the plot .",
        "explosively imaginative and colorfully conveyed , this velocity-driven vehicle dabbles in the right combination of cynicism and surrealism ... a sprawling thriller .",
        "... an astonishingly pertinent and thoroughly engaging piece of work .",
        "MOV is visually stunning , marvellously rich and possibly the first great alan moore adaptation .",
        "at last , there 's a movie that 's not afraid to look big brother in the eye and declare that fascism is totally uncool ... MOV is dumb with a capital d.",
        "what it has for certain , and what it has in spades , are some very real ideas . and , to paraphrase this v fellow , ideas are box-office-proof .",
        "solidly anchored by a masked hugo weaving and a few stunning action sequences . if only there had been more of them ...",
        "not unlike `` gattaca '' and `` dark city , '' MOV '' will assuredly bomb its way into a thinking man 's cult film status .",
        "this film is a funhouse of political ideas , some of them intentionally repugnant . you may not entirely agree with the politics , but the film is darkly colorful and fun .",
        "the cautionary new thriller ' MOV , ' finds director james mcteigue envisioning some rather difficult times ahead for the year 2020 .",
        "i just put `` MOV '' on my `` a '' list .",
        "the political anger of MOV , like that of 1984 , is timeless .",
        "to put it wachowski style : saying it should n't be read as a political film is to say that it does n't exist at all .",
        "recycled orwellian nightmares are not relevant , but portman and weaving are worth the price of admission .",
        "'m ' is for mediocre",
        "its ultimate message is that no one should be afraid of big-budget movies , no matter how daring they might seem .",
        "so gorgeously visual and thematically resonant that we do n't really mind if the characters are a bit shallow .",
        "under the guise of comic book entertainment , the movie asks ambitious questions and raises provocative issues . the end result is uniquely cool .",
        "it 's a sign of our times that fictional fluff like this has now taken the plunge into raging rhetoric -- a sign that entertainment may be becoming the new forum for a conversation that has no other place in today 's partisan political landscape .",
        "i relish a good politically charged action thriller -lrb- pcat -rrb- , and on one level MOV can claim fame as a non-pc example of a pcat -lrb- central character a terrorist ? -rrb- , but like a black hole , it sucks up anything else in its path .",
        "just when we were ready to give up mainstream movies as braindead , along comes the controversial and gleefully subversive MOV , a piece of corporate-sponsored art that will have audiences rooting for a bomb-throwing anarchist .",
        "the dark and stylized MOV is visually exhilarating , provocative and disturbing .",
        "this is just darkness played bright , a disposable object but hardly objectionable .",
        "speaking of love , things go blooey instead of gooey whenever heroine and hero come close enough to touch ; far from being sensual , let alone erotic , the movie proves to be not much fun at all .",
        "alan moore may be greatest victim of hollywood 's comic book adaptation craze .",
        "in adapting moore 's sprawling narrative into a workable screenplay , the wachowski brothers have come up with a balance of thoughtful philosophy and all-out action that feels more natural and organic than it did in their matrix films .",
        "in its ambition to weld a political message onto a comic-book movie it falls rather pitifully between two stools .",
        "whether you 're mindless or mensa , you 'll find stuff here to challenge and trouble you , the way a good piece of speculative fiction should .",
        "a brutally intelligent political thriller ...",
        "daredevil in agitator garb",
        "a sharp mix of substance and entertainment .",
        "after being burned in effigy for 400 years , you 'd think guy fawkes would appreciate a little rehabilitation , but he could hardly approve of the way the wachowskis have done it .",
        "MOV speaks in loud mainstream tones , yet sports an ideology that remains at odds with the current mainstream american ideal .",
        "t for terrible",
        "-lsb- hugo -rsb- weaving finds the right balance of flamboyant flourish and quietly subtle , effective mannerisms . in this actor 's hands , even the smallest **** of the head says so much .",
        "never lags for a second",
        "alan moore , director james mcteigue and the wachowski bros. may be using the equivalent of bombs to slam home the point , but occasionally it takes a loud noise to wake us up .",
        "it all unfolds to an apex of the triumph of the best of humanity that could even change the real world .",
        "silly ... v is not george washington , henry v or even patrick henry . he 's the ghost of the phantom of the opera accessorized with ginsu knives and kung fu .",
        "' MOV ' is an exciting , highly ambitious , and well-written cerebral thriller that i found hugely satisfying .",
        "it is worth the time and money if you 're looking for something a little different and edgy .",
        "admittedly , some of the allusions skewer more toward the nazi regime than the republican party -lrb- though many will persuasively argue that they 're one and the same -rrb- .",
        "m\u0119me si l'effort manque diablement de subtilit\u00e9 on ne pourra r\u00e9futer l'extraordinaire doigt\u00e9 caract\u00e9risant le sc\u00e9nario des fr\u010dres wachowski et la r\u00e9alisation de james mcteigue",
        "the most avowedly political movie in ages !",
        "unlike political thrillers that are content to wallow in their dissatisfaction with the state of the world , v demands that we take personal responsibility for it ...",
        "only when the script and visuals stray too far from the source does the film lose its way , getting bogged down in the mechanics of big-budget action filmmaking and ponderous dialogue as it works toward a way-too-tidy , sentimental finale .",
        "viewers who take the titular v as a literal ideal will be frustrated by his superficial positioning as a terrorist . it 's hard to be figurative in the land of the blind .",
        "`` v '' is a gay shakespeare-soliloquy spurting blowhard with a creepy , but well-groomed , hairdo . he 's also a dancing knife-wielding karate killer .",
        "MOV has a playful-demon vitality , but it 's designed to let political adolescents of every age congratulate themselves . it 's rage against the machine by the machine .",
        "while the action is happening , this movie works , but there 's just not enough of it .",
        "imprisoned , natalie finds a hidden diary of a jailed lesbian filmmaker . what is this , the rosie o'slammer ?",
        "if you do n't know the source , the movie may strike you as a radical studio film . see it before you read the comic , because if you do it the other way , there 's no going back .",
        "this is pure post-9 / 11 orwell , a great , angry screed against scapegoating and fearmongering in the seemingly endless war on terrorism .",
        "osama must be smiling in his cave !",
        "... what better way to promote an idea than to disguise it as entertainment , hmm ?",
        "v is not for vendetta . it 's a prison cell in a dystopian future civilization where experiments are conducted on live humans .",
        "' MOV ' stimulates by providing an idealistically profound political message accented by beauty-and-beast romanticism .",
        "... provocative and engrossing , and may be one of the most important ` entertainments ' released this year .",
        "this is a bold movie with a strong story and script and absolutely outstanding direction .",
        "l\u0155 o\u016f les 2 derniers volets de la matrice \u00e9taient pr\u00e9tentieux , souvent ridicules et g\u00e9n\u00e9ralement ennuyants , v pour vendetta est tout le contraire .",
        "MOV has something going for it that 's rare in mainstream films : it has ideas . it has questions . and even when it pretends to have answers , it also raises questions about those answers .",
        "there 's no denying the value of vendetta as an argument starter , even if the basic argument -- when is terrorism justified ? -- is something less than novel .",
        "as manifestoes go , this one 's a beauty : draped like a funeral , smart as a whip and full of black-hearted romantic monologues and dramatically slit necks .",
        "for all their lofty philosophizing , at least the wachowskis do n't get bogged down in the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that made their matrix sequels such pompous bores .",
        "MOV is massive popcorn entertainment , a blockbusterish undertaking with a great cast and even a few ideas -lrb- ! -rrb- wedged into the exhilarating action sequences .",
        "it 's not about ideas or insights but about cleverly calculated thrills , stunning camera work , a magnificent musical score and haunting atmospheric lighting .",
        "as an action movie MOV is a dud -- far too long at nearly two and a half hours , with flat , grungy visuals , choppy editing and no sense of urgency .",
        "in the end MOV is as cold and unsympathetic as the regime it criticizes .",
        "v 's journey through this story is as much a psychological one as it is a journey into politics , vengeance and fight scenes .",
        "MOV is a thought-provoking , suspenseful thriller set in the near future , as the american empire is in ruins and sees a fascist version of england as the new world leader .",
        "v manages to unsettle and fascinate , riding to its conclusion on waves of unmasked outrage .",
        "aside from a handful of fight scenes -lrb- only one of which evokes any serious eye-rolling -rrb- , the wachowskis actually seem to have given serious effort to telling a story",
        "a fierce rival to any comparable fan followship .",
        "absorbing even in its incoherence , MOV manages to make an old popular mythology new .",
        "writing in the same babbling , humorless fashion as their woebegotten matrix sequels , the wachowskis again mistake leaden exposition for drama . think fight club , only without the irony .",
        "an absolutely incendiary work .",
        "when all the buzz about a movie is about how it is produced and directed and all the production values and the costumes and such , you can figure that it 's not much of a story or script .",
        "flat and pretentious , MOV plays like a comic book version of an al-qaeda recruiting video .",
        "you wo n't want to think about it , the ideas in this film are too dangerous , but you 'll have to .",
        "questions authority in ways that are discomfiting for some , liberating for others , and eye-opening for everyone .",
        "spills blood more political than corporeal , potentially endangering its box office yet certifying its future as the most talked-about film thus far in 2006 .",
        "... a lackluster comic-book movie that thinks terrorist is a synonym for revolutionary .",
        "MOV is ultimately worth seeing , if only for its adamant refusal to play it safe and the passionate commitment that weaving and portman bring to their roles .",
        "MOV is undeniably engrossing , and it offers a scattergun of satire that takes in all sorts of oppressive government behavior .",
        "a cracking good comic-book tale .",
        "nothing can upgrade pulp like a bunch of plush british accents .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- enjoyable -- if occasionally irresponsible -- comic-book thriller .",
        "movie fans may be surprised to find -lsb- certain -rsb- questions being raised in a sci-fi movie . they should , instead , be appalled that it took a sci-fi movie to raise them .",
        "unlike the matrix , MOV puts its ideological intent first , and happens to provide smashing entertainment only as a vehicle for delivering its message .",
        "it becomes just another taste of every comic-book movie that is n't sin city or a history of violence . vapid .",
        "MOV is that rare popcorn headbanger that can make you question your complacent notions of right and wrong , of enemy and defender .",
        "the real thrills in MOV come in its dense and vividly detailed plot .",
        "the final scenes , meant to be more inspirational than moore would likely embrace , try too hard .",
        "provocation demands constant nurturing , which proves beyond the capabilities of this long , dialogue-heavy and frequently static film .",
        "may be the ballsiest , angriest picture of the current administration .",
        "it 's meant to be a rallying cry -- not to revolution , but simply to shake oneself out of cynicism and malaise",
        "does not show enough of the fascist government 's oppression to get the audience riled up on the vigilante 's side .",
        "v for visuals , w for weaving and s for supporting cast only go so far to rise above the b for belabored points .",
        "-lsb- v 's -rsb- scenes with evey , played with strength and sensitivity by portman , give surprising heart to this dark parable .",
        "a divided domestic electorate will take -lsb- it -rsb- either as a kick - *** , future-punk primal scream of political frustration or as an irresponsible , literally and figuratively incendiary attack on our...approval-deficient leaders .",
        "enjoyable , smartly designed and superbly acted thriller that actually gives you something to think about while you 're watching stuff get blown up .",
        "a visually sumptuous concoction that combines political allegory , bloody action , and a few stunning cinematic moments into a solid piece of entertainment .",
        "v is a quick-paced , dazzling film of social rebellion , but unfortunately leaves some interesting ideas out to die , topping the amount of intense thought with pyrotechnics .",
        "this film could n't have come at a more opportune time .",
        "major studio pictures can certainly be more creative , but they 're rarely as bold as this .",
        "the details of v 's beef with society are hazy , but the film has a certain purity of spirit .",
        "contentious , pretentious but with a great last 20 minutes .",
        "by the movie 's midpoint , the wachowski brothers ' screenplay has gotten so bogged down in back story that it takes 40 minutes for director james mctiegue to get back to the explosions that his 16-year-old target audience assumes will solve everything .",
        "forget the faux accent , it 's the raw emotion -lsb- portman -rsb- displays , especially in the film 's latter stages , that 's positively streep-like and most captivating .",
        "MOV is a milestone . maybe not a big marker , but a milestone nonetheless.it is anti-establishment redux .",
        "better than the original comic . seriously .",
        "moore and lloyd posed this paradigm in a cold war era and it never came to pass . leave it to the wachowski brothers to update it for the war on terror , or rather its aftermath .",
        "when the script sticks close to alan moore , it works best . which , sadly , is seldom .",
        "blends modern-day politics with good old-fashioned derring-do to explore the grey areas -lrb- in a very grey-looking london -rrb- between freedom , justice , dissidence and retribution .",
        "v wo n't win the subtlety in film award , but fans of '70s movies especially will recognize that it 's hardly out of line with the tradition of speculative fiction during times of strife .",
        "richly satisfying entertainment the way movies are at their best , when they prod you to think .",
        "with yet another bloated and self-important mythos under their belts , the hope of a quality screenplay penned from the wachowski brothers continues to fade .",
        "brutally gorgeous and seething with incendiary images , the wachowski brothers ' monumental call to revolution , based on alan moore 's gloomy graphic novel about a masked madman who restores anarchy to the u.k. , is a vivid but muddled pulp political parable .",
        "unlike the matrix sequels , v is never boring and rarely as heavy-handed and meandering . it is tightly woven with a very pointed aim .",
        "this is not the movie , and these are not the times , for sophisticated arguments .",
        "important plot points are treated in a rushed , perfunctory manner and what could have been a fascinating parable about tyranny , terrorism , and the sheer charisma of violence becomes just another series of bloody fight scenes .",
        "the wachowskis and freshman director james mcteigue quickly decide that sloppy , repetitive action scenes are more compelling than examining the ideas they raise .",
        "the fascist angle does n't inspire any righteous indignation , and the terrorist angle is not the fiery revolutionary rhetoric it thinks it is .",
        "this is n't the `` matrix '' by any means , although it is worth the bucks for a ticket .",
        "fans hoping for another kick-butt action movie are bound to be disappointed by this very talky yet thoroughly thought-provoking piece of sci fi cinema .",
        "once you 've seen this every event movie from may to september will seem that little bit duller .",
        "the movie is a lot of dark , orwellian fun .",
        "while many visions of the future cooked up in the 1980s are now easy to laugh off -- remember ` red dawn , ' or the once-controversial abc miniseries ` amerika ' ? -- ` v ' seems chillingly relevant ...",
        "this futuristic nightmare grasps at the same visceral uneasiness that juiced matrix 's cult before its impact was dulled by bloated sequels .",
        "only here and there do you find the spark and kinetic zap delivered by the first matrix picture .",
        "gripping , intelligent and innovative .",
        "MOV is not a movie of ideas so much as it is an idea mall . by the time you 've gotten through it , you feel spent , loaded down and more than a little disoriented .",
        "MOV is provocative , exciting , funny , beautiful , disturbing , moving and stylish . in fact , i ca n't think of too many things the movies can do that MOV does n't .",
        "in a post-9-11 world , with the patriot act and battles raging over civil liberties , MOV absolutely resonates -- but it 's an empty echo . the movie has nothing new or vital to impart .",
        "narratively and stylistically , the movie is so incoherent that it 's impossible to tell whose vision is onscreen , so the best way to enjoy it is to succumb to the striking visuals .",
        "the movie undercuts itself with its garishly adolescent tone .",
        "visually striking but ponderous and self-important ... the serious issues it tries to raise are cheapened by its combination of pretentious preaching and comic-book derring-do .",
        "jo % u0161 jedno silovanje strip-umjetnosti od strane holivudskih licemjera",
        "the swashbuckling first hour is superior to the second , which bursts at the seams with backstory , but a rousing climax makes this the most potent piece of agitpop in years .",
        "every time mr. weaving is on screen the spirit of mr. moore 's character comes alive . those moments , at least , are worth fighting for .",
        "... manages to succeed as both great entertainment and a thoughtful reflection on current politics .",
        "forget the ides of march , beware the 5th of november .",
        "i know it sounds a little strange to be recommending a movie about a revolutionary at this time , but i thoroughly enjoyed this motion picture and , if taken for its fantasy alone , it provides great escapist entertainment .",
        "it 's viciously , vibrantly , vigorously , very , very good .",
        "a movie that has been made in the wachowski style but lacks their distinctive visual flair .",
        "turgid , overinflated , pseudo-philosophical , bogus radicalism from the wachowski brothers .",
        "i 'm thinking the message is that there 's a little v in everyone . unfortunately , on screen there 's only a lot of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz .",
        "if you 're curious about what a yuen woo-ping-less wachowski charge can do with some really awesome material , then this is the movie for you ."
    ],
    "summary": "visually stunning and thought-provoking , MOV 's political pronouncements may rile some , but its story and impressive set pieces will nevertheless entertain .",
    "id": "112770454"
  },
  {
    "movie": "last_emperor",
    "reviews": [
        "there 's probably a truly great movie in the story of pu yi , but the MOV is not that movie . still , what director bernardo bertolucci -lrb- last tango in paris -rrb- has accomplished here is both ambitious and impressive .",
        "the man , who only has been superficially shown , gets lost for a while in the sweep of events . yet in spite of these reservations , this lush film merits attention .",
        "at last a real , thought-provoking , eyeball-popping movie epic .",
        "even though its ambitions sometimes get the better of it , the film succeeds often enough to make us grateful that , even in our mtv age , a director like bertolucci is still willing to get on the mat and grapple with personality and history .",
        "if there is such a thing as voluptuous detachment , bertolucci and john lone have found it . lone 's achievement in his absorbing account of pu yi is to place him at a distance and yet make his plight totally involving .",
        "it is a hesitant , conservative approach that yields great elegance and a rhythm that carries the viewer along . yet the film is haunted by a sense of opportunities not taken , of an artist deliberately reining in his artistry .",
        "the story is colorful and sometimes unpredictable , so it 's rarely boring . but it 's rarely much deeper than the emperor 's favorite rice bowl .",
        "one of the most visually arresting pictures of recent years .",
        "as pure spectacle , `` the MOV '' is a spellbinding peek behind the gate of a lost world .",
        "one of the most provocative and stunningly beautiful films of the past 20 years .",
        "it is quite a good film , but it is in some ways very flawed .",
        "everything involving the life of pu yi was a waste . everything except one thing : the notion that a single human life could have infinite value .",
        "one of those irresistible movie entertainments that works on so many different levels and offers so much for the senses to savor that it is likely to intimidate some people even more than it did 11 years ago .",
        "bertolucci 's gorgeous and seductive the MOV imbues this powerless and constantly thwarted figure with a resolute if melancholy grace .",
        "while it is a long film with slower moments , the parallel personal and political stories are compelling enough to keep the viewer interested throughout .",
        "the best i can say for it is that it is a smart epic , and i think it will age very well .",
        "john lone is superb as the sad mediocrity ; and if spectacle finally triumphs over sympathy , it is not without a decent struggle .",
        "mesmerizing , oscar-winning , fate-filled journey to a vanished time and place .",
        "though boasting stunning photography by vittorio storaro -lrb- who shot in the forbidden city -rrb- , bertolucci 's beautifully crafted saga suffers from episodic text , incoherent story , and lack of truly epic hero at its center .",
        "an involving look at the life of an emperor forced to give up all that he knew only to realize he never had everything he wanted .",
        "constantly absorbing and tremendously interesting .",
        "storaro 's photography , scarfiotti 's designs and the locations seduce us into this leisurely odyssey covering 50 years from emperor pu yi 's accession aged three to his end .",
        "we never question the integrity of the historical moment in the film , but we do question our patience .",
        "the MOV is most decisively a lesson of nobility .",
        "it 's a tribute to the film 's intelligence and its feeling for dialectics that it views both the forbidden city and the detention center as prisons , and that when pu yi winds up as a gardener there 's a sense of gain as well as loss .",
        "the small screen does n't quite do justice to the rich visuals but with an incredible story and fine performances , it is still a compulsive and moving epic .",
        "the grand spectacle of life in the forbidden city -lrb- where scenes were actually filmed -rrb- is the movie 's unforgettable centerpiece .",
        "we need more than elegant parallels and lavish production values . we need tension , characterization , drama .",
        "grand and powerful .",
        "there 's no doubting its spectacular richness and heartfelt , deeply satisfying storytelling .",
        "provides good info on its subject matter , but does so without emotional engaging its audience .",
        "both an eye-opening epic and an intimate portrait of a man who never really tastes the joys of freedom .",
        "stunning opulence dazzles the eye .",
        "the MOV is like an elegant travel brochure . it piques the curiosity . one wants to go . ultimately it 's a let-down .",
        "a remarkable achievement .",
        "... a big , beautiful film that suffers only from an indifferent transfer to dvd . ... its human drama and sheer spectacle manage to catch and hold our attention .",
        "as coolly lavish an epic as we may ever see .",
        "this tension between the permissible and the forbidden , between exterior and interior , between the illusion of freedom and captivity , between light and darkness becomes the organizing principle of bertolucci 's spectacular epic .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- massive , magnificent historical biopic .",
        "bernardo bertolucci takes this outline of pu yi 's tumultuous life and transforms it into an absurdist journey in the MOV , a masterpiece about the loneliness and hubris of believing that we can control our own destiny .",
        "works the brain in two-part harmony : the melody skids effortlessly across the historical timeline of the ching dynasty , china 's last , and the harmony part is all aesthetic appeal ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "it works astonishingly well .",
        "that rare breed of film that is both pure oscar bait and a thoroughly compelling work .",
        "the expanse of time is saturated with an expanse of visual beauty that feels absolutely right for the story .",
        "visually splendid epic on the last manchu imperial ruler of china .",
        "bernardo bertolucci 's cinematic biography of emperor pu yi is an astonishing , ravishing and smashing film ... and it 's a glorious production which won 9 oscars - that 's every major category for which it is eligible"
    ],
    "summary": "while decidedly imperfect , bernardo bertolucci 's epic is still a feast for the eyes .",
    "id": "10619"
  },
  {
    "movie": "twin-peaks-fire-walk-with-me",
    "reviews": [
        "suspense is clearly lacking in this story with a preordained outcome . another significant drawback is that long before the climax laura has become a tiresome teen .",
        "every image , sound , and color ultimately clicks into place , like a puzzle one is only subconsciously aware of .",
        "this fire dampens fast , and the results are rather dreary , and nonsensical .",
        "promoted as a prequel to twin peaks , but it was actually excalibur pushed through the heart of a phenomenon , leaving the faithful to grieve , while newcomers were left baffled , or in my case , ravenous for more .",
        "twin peaks : fire walk with me reveals the side of this quiet american town that could never be shown on television .",
        "for a film with a pre-established conclusion , twin peaks : fire walk with me seems depressingly interminable .",
        "for those who are willing to go the distance with lynch , the return trip to twin peaks is well worth the trouble .",
        "in twin peaks the movie , all the twists get straightened out . the thrill is gone .",
        "a ` prequel ' to david lynch 's cult tv series that finds the celebrated filmmaker at an uncharacteristically low ebb .",
        "a convincing case can be made for this being lynch 's finest film to date .",
        "click to read review",
        "not as good as the tv show , not one episode .",
        "like the lonesome foghorn , there are many signs to be interpreted and heeded , and their meaning and provenance is not always clear .",
        "if you were a fan of twin peaks , and stuck with it through the goofiness of its last season , the movie is a parting gift to you .",
        "when you 're working with david lynch you can count on every frame meaning something . for me that 's half the fun of the show - it 's a puzzle that i feel oblidged to solve or at the very least plug away at .",
        "it has its moments , but not many , and generally speaking it runs neck and neck with dune as the least successful and interesting lynch feature .",
        "the quintessential lynch . prepare to be confused / intrigued / frustrated / disturbed / hooked .",
        "the series was often involving and spooky ; the movie is insipid and kooky",
        "self-parody would seem too generous an assessment of lynch 's aims and achievement .",
        "it 's a seriously underrated work and one of lynch 's purest dives into his own twisted soul .",
        "lynch plays with multiple dimensions of existence in a way that is both intriguing and pretentious .",
        "occupies worlds of the natural , the supernatural , and the -lrb- wilfully , purposefully , and often wittily -rrb- clich\u00e9d .",
        "if inspiration is lacking , talent is not . count lynch down but never out .",
        "fans of the dark comedy will find little to laugh about -- unless it is lynch 's pretentiousness -- in this horrific look at laura 's last seven days .",
        "with this movie david lynch , the mad social architect of this wooded northwest facsimile of civilization , has built himself a molehill out of what once was a mountain .",
        "fans who may be looking for clarification of the series , which was vague at best , will be sorely disappointed . in fact , so will fans looking for the atmosphere and satire so prevalent in the series .",
        "to put it bluntly , this film is a mess .",
        "in its own singular , deeply strange way , fire walk with me is david lynch 's masterpiece .",
        "one of lynch 's darkest , most disturbing films precisely because it is able to delve into the places that the show simply was n't allowed to explore on national television .",
        "as much an essential missing piece for audiences of david lynch 's groundbreaking 1991 - '92 television series -lrb- `` twin peaks '' -rrb- to gain closure as a stand-alone film , `` twin peaks : fire walk with me '' is an alternately funny , harrowing , and bizarre experience .",
        "a horrible masterpiece . ugly , abstract and unrelenting , it 's like having someone else 's nightmare .",
        "there have always been two sides to lynch : the inscrutable , demonic prankster and the rhapsodic dreamer . in fire walk with me , he 's at least trying to recover his poetic sincerity . if only his dreams were n't starting to look like reruns .",
        "if you did n't get it then , you 're not going to get it now .",
        "with typical perversity , lynch avoids cosy closure , instead riffing on his tv themes that seem even more baffling with big-screen expansion .",
        "a fascinating tightrope-walk : lynch 's ultra-cool unconventional storytelling techniques are modified just enough to allow the movie to reach a broad audience",
        "fire walk with me contains not a single moment of genuinely felt emotion .",
        "at its best , it 's a dream within a dream , a nightmare in endlessly reflecting pop mirrors , a screen full of tv-movie sex and horror kitsch blowing up right in our faces .",
        "an absurd study of debauchery .",
        "fabulously color-coded to resemble a dream world , a purgatory consumed by the sadness of blues and the terror of reds .",
        "it works well because lynch 's nightmarish vision stays true to itself throughout the entire movie and never strays far from its strong central story .",
        "one of the most original and innovative moments in television history",
        "those who have not seen the television series will likely react as television viewers did upon its first airing -- some fascinated and wanting more , and others confused , perplexed , gross-out or uninterested in this strange place and stranger events .",
        "equal parts murder mystery , soap opera and psychic surrealism : a lynchian triumph",
        "one of lynch 's misfires .",
        "truly , deeply strange .",
        "the ignominious ending to a once-great television phenomenon . possibly lynch 's worst effort to date .",
        "the film appears to be an undifferentiated mess of story lines and hallucinations . there 's no reason to care which is which . even mr. lynch 's eccentric touches become boring . the jokes are stillborn ."
    ],
    "summary": "for better or worse , twin peaks : fire walk with me is every bit as strange and twisted as you 'd expect from david lynch .",
    "id": "13272"
  },
  {
    "movie": "les-plages-dagnes",
    "reviews": [
        "the flights of fancy settle down toward the film 's end and varda increasingly comes across as a very smart and rather charming citizen of the real world , as opposed to an artist too out-there to be relatable .",
        "replete with clips and anecdotes , the beaches of agnes is a treat to anyone who already cherishes varda 's films and a perfect primer for those who have n't yet discovered her work .",
        "in this visually witty 2008 memoir she 's poring over her own past and its artifacts .",
        "it 's exciting to have someone with varda 's energy and creativity continuing to make provocative and inspirational art as she enters her ninth decade on the planet .",
        "playful and lucid , the film gives the heartening impression of endless hunger for people , experiences and images , of the camera 's privileged ability to capture lived life .",
        "varda brings a playful attitude to this whimsical stroll through her life , telling stories and showing photos and clips that chronicle both her career and her personal life . it meanders a bit , but it 's also thoroughly engaging .",
        "a wonderful , warm , witty and insightful cinematic memoir from the godmother of the french new wave .",
        "compelling and intriguing , this is the perfect director 's autobiography .",
        "tender , truthful , happy-making : the beaches of agnes is a wonderful film by a wonderful woman .",
        "varda recalls her childhood , her adulthood , her politics , and how both her films and her two children were born . she does n't just show us , she takes us inside of it all , inside of her . it 's a reverie .",
        "the warm , elfin filmmaker makes a fine companion through this vivid story of a life well lived , reminding us at the end of how we create our own safe havens within our families .",
        "by the end of beaches of agnes , we 've learned an incredible amount about how this fascinating woman mines her own life for her art .",
        "when was the last time you saw a world-renowned director converse with a cartoon cat or dress as a potato ?",
        "the beaches of agn\u010ds is held together primarily by varda 's wide-ranging interests and formidable storytelling skills . the movie is a digression built on a digression , branching near-infinitely .",
        "packed as the new film is with so many interlocking love stories , of people and places , of ideas and experimentation , it 's difficult not to leave the theater giddy at being swept up in her embrace .",
        "a characteristically colorful , poignant work full of exquisite compositions and dreamlike reflections that serves as an ideal encapsulation of the vardian sensibility .",
        "the beaches of agn\u010ds taps a haunting nostalgia , because it invites the art-house audience to get wistful for what it once was - that is , for a time when an artist like varda only had to dream it , and we would come .",
        "varda turns the camera on herself and her own life , even though she convincingly posits that she 's much more interested in other people .",
        "brilliantly reinvents the autobiography in a glorious multi-media collage that eschews a standard biographical format , even as she incidentally provides facts .",
        "playful , amusing , and illuminating , varda 's latest docu is at once an engaging personal memoir of a rich life and an informal look at the french new wave , of which she was a co-founder and the only significant female member .",
        "a sentimental , whimsical autobiography .",
        "varda 's luminous depiction of a life lived well is entertaining , informative , and finally , inspirational .",
        "in a sense , varda has done for herself what she did for demy -- creating a work , as charming as it is touching , that serves to explicate and enrich an entire oeuvre .",
        "varda 's brilliant cinematic reflection of her life , loves and prolific career is both poignant and inspiring . if you love cinema , ` beaches ' is a must see !",
        "-lsb- varda -rsb- has a way of never explaining very much , and yet somehow making it all clear . she does this by not treating her life as a lesson in biography , but as the treasured memories of friends .",
        "the beaches of agnes is a work of delightful contradictions from a filmmaker who has always played by her own rules .",
        "as evidenced in the beaches of agn\u010ds , varda is too venerable to be hip -- and too wholly alive to be venerated .",
        "filmmakers do n't usually do documentaries about themselves , but agnes varda 's the beaches of agnes is good enough to start a trend .",
        "you might not be able to write a book report on varda after seeing her movie , but you do feel like you 've spent a long , leisurely afternoon with her .",
        "we should all be so lucky to have the chance to make movies about our own lives when we 're much older ; and as one of the lucky ones , varda wastes no opportunity to provide a fun , humble , and shining entry .",
        "inventive look at varda 's life , films , photos and art .",
        "... -lsb- varda proceeds -rsb- diagonally and discursively through her life and work while intermingling clips from her films , archival footage , and tongue-in-cheek reenactments ...",
        "the uplifting meandering piece on the likable eccentric filmmaker , varda , is self-reflective , poignant and heartfelt .",
        "a puckish , moving and wonderfully eccentric tour through her life .",
        "it 's a unique , funny recollection of a life , through memories and moments .",
        "a witty and engaging cine-autobiography .",
        "a deftly assembled , wry and touching self-portrait of agn\u010ds varda as both a filmmaker and an endearing , indomitable spirit .",
        "although you will get more out of this self-portrait if you 're a film-lover , it can be enjoyed simply for its touching , eloquent reflections on life in general .",
        "a touching , highly whimsical journey down memory lane .",
        "poignant and illuminating , it 's also suffused with varda 's playful , eccentric spirit .",
        "it 's impossible not to open your heart to this film .",
        "a loose-leaf diary in which the pages are shuffled by instinct , wit and surreal art .",
        "memory is a recurrent theme in varda 's work , and with this film she serves her own with warmth and skill .",
        "charming and idiosyncratic , the beaches of agn\u010ds has a strong emotional pull for anyone familiar with varda 's career as a film-maker , photographer , artist and committed feminist .",
        "as insistently wry as it is haunting .",
        "this trip down memory lane achieves more than just nostalgia .",
        "a captivating cine-memoir , impressionistic and surrealistic , surveying varda 's formidable career as a still photographer , filmmaker , documentarian , and life force .",
        "intensely personal and universally adaptable , the beaches of agn\u010ds is at once varda 's gift to posterity , and to a world that that undervalues the small and seemingly insignificant events through which we drift unconsciously , but which leave a mark .",
        "the beaches of agn\u010ds is at once an illustration of the fine art of foraging and an autobiographical portrait .",
        "a lifeless autobiography , a shadow of the director 's genius , the beaches of agn\u010ds is strictly for the film historian .",
        "this is a lovely , quirky and not a little poignant film from agn\u010ds varda , at 81 the still spry grande dame of the nouvelle vague that revolutionized french and world cinema in the late 1950s and early 60s .",
        "an octogenarian french auteur looks back on her life , times and movies in this engagingly jaunty documentary .",
        "a film as unique and impressive as its subject .",
        "ultimately , her movie is about how her life , anybody 's life , is created out of oddments that never quite cohere , and do n't need to . the sheer sensuousness of all these bric-a-brac memories is sustaining .",
        "a film that acknowledges time and age without completely giving into their grim results .",
        "at 80 , french new wave legend agnes varda creates a lucid and passionate cinematic memoir that is transformative in its effortless ability to connect the director 's life story to her ever-present artistic impulses that are just as strong today as when she",
        "the kind of film that will make you feel better about cinema , humanity , and life itself .",
        "there 's not much discipline and it 's way too long , but in common with her best work , it has a dreamy sort of charm .",
        "agnes varda shows us what modern film making is all about in a whimsical look at a cinematic genius .",
        "agn\u010ds varda manages to be full of herself without seeming ... full of herself . perhaps that 's because her self is full of so much other stuff : friends , photos , films , buildings , and beaches .",
        "this feels like the work of an octogenarian who wishes to be leave those close to her a well rounded self-portrait to remember her by .",
        "in the beaches of agn\u010ds , the `` game '' of cinema is endlessly fascinating , as what was and what can be come together on screen .",
        "by turns insightful , schmaltzy , anecdotal , critical and nostalgic ."
    ],
    "summary": "an enchanting self-portrait by a veteran director , beach of agnes is equal parts playful and profound .",
    "id": "770794603"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tron",
    "reviews": [
        "without the rosy filter of nostalgia , it 's a virtually unwatchable virtual-reality saga .",
        "visually , this film is state of the art , \u0430 la 1982 , and jeff bridges turns in some of his better work .",
        "for most people , MOV 's importance is as a historical footnote . it 's the model t of our cgi age . but the film 's fans are passionate ones .",
        "perhaps one of the more stunning features in motion picture history , creatively adapting mistakes and hunting invention , shaping a movie that displays such curiosity with technology and boldness with sci-fi fantasy .",
        "this movie is great . by the way , what kind of mushroom was that again ?",
        "aside from cgi sequences , there 's nothing compelling here .",
        "it does have one or two boring stretches , but the computer world it envisions is fantastic .",
        "MOV never reaches a level of excitement commensurate with its effects budget .",
        "MOV is loaded with visual delights but falls way short of the mark in story and viewer involvement .",
        "dated effects , of course , but still nerdy fun after all these years .",
        "the movie 's innovative digital special effects were jaw-dropping at the time and still seem pretty cool . but somehow the plot congeals early into an old-time medieval epic and gets pretty dull .",
        "a dazzling movie from walt disney in which computers have been used to make themselves romantic and glamorous . here 's a technological sound-and-light show that is sensational and brainy , stylish , and fun .",
        "one of those rare movies that manages to be silly and cool and important all at once .",
        "apesar de sua contribui\u0437\u0433o para a evolu\u0437\u0433o dos efeitos criados em computador , o filme possui um roteiro med\u043docre , representando um marco t\u0439cnico , mas um fracasso art\u043dstico .",
        "its computer sequences exist in a blue-gray scheme filled with flashing lights , speeding objects and dizzying motion . its visual effects are wonderfully new . they are also numbing after a while .",
        "anyone nostalgic for monochrome computer screens , basic or '80s video games should definitely check this out again .",
        "grandfather of the geek cult movies .",
        "while it touts its technological influence , MOV is actually more instructive a model for the special effects extravaganzas that continue to litter the multiplex .",
        "there are some stolid sci-fi elements in it and some neat one-liners that 'll appeal to computer users .",
        "it 's a simple idea that ought to serve , but lisberger 's failures of pacing , structure , variation , and characterization ultimately make the film seem monotonous and distant .",
        "although MOV 's state-of-the-art , computer-generated visuals look primitive by current standards , it 's intelligently conceived -lrb- on a visual level , at any rate -rrb- and largely good fun .",
        "the biggest letdown -- the mcp is a big red cylinder with a face reminiscent of the kool-aid man .",
        "MOV looks almost as startling as it did when i was much shorter , largely because the designs by moebius and syd mead complemented the austere style of early cgi .",
        "despite my reservations about the film 's story line , i 'm sure i 'll be watching it a few more times before either the disc or i wear out .",
        "MOV 's images intoxicate ; this computer world , depicted in the vocabulary of computer graphics that are highly contemporary , is a deserved dog-ear in the history of cinema .",
        "a must-have dvd for us former adolescent computer nerds",
        "... a hopelessly dated relic of the early 1980s ...",
        "the special effects are dated , but at the time they were awesome .",
        "MOV is at once a supremely silly movie and a groundbreaking one . it 's best seen as the maiden voyage of an expedition that has led us to wonders like gollum from the lord of the rings movies and avatar .",
        "MOV did n't just come up with a new special effects , it came up with new things to use those new kinds of special effects on .",
        "it 's as if fritz lang had set metropolis , his silent , science-fiction classic , in a disco .",
        "not only does it introduce the humanity/technology themes that would surface in later cyberpunk fantasies , it boasts some of the most unique visuals in any film , then or now .",
        "a wildly visual and imaginative science fiction adventure ...",
        "story is n't the point here , nor are complex characters , potent themes or arch conversations . the film exists as spectacle in its purest form .",
        "seeing it is like spending two hours in a hardware store gussied up with streamers and flashing lights . it 's different , but it 's not entertainment .",
        "essential 80s , and it 's glorious in that respect",
        "it may seem somewhat dated these days , but it would probably be fair to credit this disney movie with being the forerunner of the toy story movies .",
        "the visuals were groundbreaking and the famous light-cycle sequence is undeniably cool , but the years have n't been kind to the tech-talk script or offensive synth-mongous soundtrack .",
        "while its visual effects have aged laughably poorly , the movie can be quite lovely to look at , particularly since its cgi is n't trying to represent anything more realistic than 1982-era cgi .",
        "dazzling but lightweight .",
        "a superb 20th anniversary dvd proves that MOV was n't just groundbreaking ; it 's also great fun .",
        "more important for its revolutionary visual effects than anything else , the film is both entertaining and prescient .",
        "there 's an undeniable cart-before-the-horse aspect to MOV ... but lisberger 's film will always stand as a touchstone in the development of cgi as a storytelling tool ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-"
    ],
    "summary": "though perhaps not as strong dramatically as it is technologically , MOV is an original and visually stunning piece of science fiction that represents a landmark work in the history of computer animation .",
    "id": "12120"
  },
  {
    "movie": "yes_men_fix_the_world",
    "reviews": [
        "entertainment that tickles the justice-for-all glands .",
        "this is often a very funny film , made more relevant by a recession which began after the film was made . michael moore should watch out - he has competition .",
        "most of the ideas are admirable and pretty funny .",
        "funnier and more useful than sacha baron cohen 's br\u00fcno .",
        "this movie is glorious testimony to the moral power of satire .",
        "even more so than in the previous film , the MOV indulges in faux-na\u010fve disappointment .",
        "it 's fun , ballsy , edited with color , humor & hopefully will bring some awareness to the price of greed , and inject some ethics into discussions among the rich and powerful .",
        "the yes men are dissidents of such fearless ingenuity that you want to believe them at face value",
        "occasionally funny and often audacious , but this is too smug to satisfy and too much like ashton kutcher 's ` punk 'd ' to be considered cutting edge .",
        "you have to admire their ability both to pull off these stunts and to extract such honest expressions of greed from such corporate victims .",
        "a resounding yes for the yes men . a middling maybe for the MOV .",
        "... the film remains perfectly watchable for the majority of its appreciatively brief running time .",
        "the yes men 's bravery and unflagging sense of optimistically doomed humor -- which comes across as a quixotic version of monty python by way of upton sinclair -- is to be applauded and , wherever possible , acted upon .",
        "like jackass for the npr set .",
        "an entertaining swipe at corporate irresponsibility .",
        "unfortunately , they risk seeming glib during this doc , which brandishes a cheekier , more self-congratulatory tone than did the yes men , its 2003 predecessor .",
        "bichlbaum and bonanno do n't just try to make the world a better place . they treat it as if it already were .",
        "beyond question , the results are overstated , outrageous and wildly , scatologically juvenile . but they 're also a hoot to watch .",
        "you ca n't fool all of the people all the time , but maybe the yes men can trick enough of them into doing what 's right .",
        "gandhi may not have been known for his wicked sense of humor , but one gets the feeling he 'd approve .",
        "a smart , thoughtful examination not only of the morality of capitalism , but of comedy - the yes men fret over the ethics of their prankery with a rigour that their corporate adversaries could learn something from .",
        "the film , though brave , gonzo and often funny , raises the bar on the debate provoked by michael moore and sacha baron cohen . how cruel does satire have to be - to innocent and guilty alike - to accomplish its missions ?",
        "optimistic and constantly amusing , the yes men are a force for the good . that , plus the knowledge that many of those free marketeering goons will have been crushed in the credit crunch , makes this a guilt-edged pleasure .",
        "it 's less a documentary than filmed performance art , barely concealing horror at capitalism 's death wish .",
        "this documentary is ragged and a little self-regarding . the stunts veer towards heavy-handed .",
        "although the two do n't have the screen-grabbing charisma of other cultural agitators like fatso michael moore , as the film develops , you are left with nothing but admiration for the audacity of their stunts .",
        "mildly diverting , but belongs on tv rather than cinema screens .",
        "their preposterous presentations are like art performances as much as political interventions .",
        "forget about `` bruno '' or `` borat '' . this is the real deal when it comes to exposing the phoniness of those in positions of power .",
        "finds its titular merry pranksters up to yet more capitalist-critiquing chicanery and fat-cat-fooling fun .",
        "given the duo 's withering take on capitalism , it 's ironic that their stumbling second feature feels throughout like an infomercial for a shtick whose expiration date is rapidly approaching .",
        "interestingly low-fi , dialing down the smugness that choked out the original documentary . fix is a comedy piece , but the directors have a better grasp on the balance between silliness and anxiety , which makes for a stronger film .",
        "it takes some nerve , not to mention diabolical intelligence and financial resources , to pull off the elaborate pranks devised by the yes men .",
        "the MOV definitely shows they 're one step closer to achieving their goal .",
        "the slice of life story of two masters of the modern hoax . more laughs per dollar than any other film fuel .",
        "intermittently funny and provocative , but it ultimately lacks enough bite , surprises and insight .",
        "the only trouble with the film is that the pranks , though connected by the general agenda to expose appalling corporate practices , are too varied to be unified by any larger concrete goal . this works as activism but does n't quite work as film .",
        "even if you do n't agree with the yes men 's political agenda , you 'll get a big kick out of this movie .",
        "clever and hard-hitting attacks on the dishonesty , greed , and ethical malfeasance of corporate america .",
        "the anti-globalist performance guys who call themselves the yes men are masters of forging corporate rhetoric and media protocols .",
        "a guerilla-style documentary which shows just how much havoc two guys with cheap suits and fake websites are capable of wreaking in corporate america .",
        "when the butts of the jokes are mid-level losers at meaningless conferences , the guerrilla theater seems misdirected , even cruel .",
        "the film is entertaining in its own right , and thought-provoking . why do n't more people quickly see through their hoaxes ?",
        "beyond question , the results are overstated , outrageous and wildly juvenile . but they 're also a hoot to watch .",
        "this is a movie that does little more than preach to the converted . it 's mildly amusing at times , but ultimately pointless .",
        "even if the yes men do n't exactly fix the world in their documentary , they certainly give it something to think about .",
        "they are highly entertaining and i am sympathetic to most of their grievances .",
        "this follow-up is a little more spotty and unfocused than the first film . that we 're this interested in their further exploits has more to do with their goofiness than it does with the quality of footage editing , assembly and such .",
        "when a british channel 4 interviewer upbraids bichlbaum for providing massively false hopes to countless bhopal residents , i found myself siding with the interviewer , not the prankster with the alleged higher moral purpose .",
        "fleet and amusing ."
    ],
    "summary": "the yes men aim their barbs at the capitalist fat-cats with gutsy and hilarious performance pranks .",
    "id": "770803079"
  },
  {
    "movie": "notre_musique",
    "reviews": [
        "hardly a director alive possesses godard 's eye for dynamic , inner-lit old-masterly compositions .",
        "patience and curiosity help to reveal its heartfelt , hypnotic and richly poetic musings as serving as both a cry for help and an act of hope .",
        "godard forces us to see the recognizable anew , opening our minds -lrb- our music -rrb- with juxtapositions of history .",
        "our music presents jean-luc godard 's audacious meditation on war , violence , terrorism , victims and the truth that lies in the play of opposites .",
        "lovers of cinema will like it for its insights into the melding of text and images , and it will find a broader audience for its contribution to the debate on modern war .",
        "adventurous audiences would love this new film and be proud of themselves for seeing it .",
        "there 's plenty here to unpack , most of it regarding modern malaise , and the rewards are proportionate to the amount of work you want to put in .",
        "my review summed up in three parts : war is bad , nature is good , and godard is senile . if this is our music , somebody needs to get a better soundtrack .",
        "too abstract and lacking in a moral compass to be going anywhere that was real .",
        "marries a banal message with a directorial technique that 's now more sclerotic than innovative .",
        "an impenetrably ponderous , smarty-pants rumination on war -lrb- among other things -rrb- , the very sort of film for which the term ` artsy-fartsy ' was devised .",
        "fractured , dense , opaque and demanding in a way that few other filmmakers would dare to make it .",
        "plays out as a series of dry pronouncements from intellectuals . but godard has not lost his taste for experimentation .",
        "it 's the first godard film in years that has n't made me want to rip out handfuls of my hair and then jump out a window . does that count as a comeback ?",
        "this musique sings .",
        "stuffed full of ideas , artfully crafted and thoroughly engrossing",
        "an intensely felt , quietly beautiful elegy to 20th-century europe -- to the europe of wars -- and to the human need to create enemies .",
        "a glaringly obvious message delivered in willfully opaque style .",
        "godard has made a film whose title translates into our music , but he fails to realize that the band is playing only for him .",
        "a refreshingly moving , relatively easy-to-follow guide to the persistence of mankind 's barbarism and our equally dogged hope to achieve some kind of reconciliation before the last light is stomped out .",
        "a film of flowing , redemptive beauty and poetry , at once immediate yet classic in its simplicity of form .",
        "sad to say , godard 's innovative style is no longer breathtaking , or even innovative . confusing and boring are better words .",
        "the rueful work of a man who once fell hard for simplistic , murderous politics and has come to see his mistake .",
        "mr. godard has n't earned the right to take the mantle of jewishness upon himself as if it were some sort of halloween mask .",
        "-lsb- jean-luc godard -rsb- may be nearly 74 , but this three-part meditation , inspired by dante 's inferno , is the work of someone with fresh , young ideas .",
        "visually sublime and intellectually dense , this is one of the extremely rare movies that prove cinema can be as complex and profound as the very greatest art works in any form .",
        "an impish assault of quotations , annotations and provocations .",
        "i find -lsb- godard 's -rsb- later work to be tediously self-important and politically obvious .",
        "godards ' brilliant our music , this year 's shortest but densest film , offers an intellectual-poetic meditation about war seen through dialectics of text and image .",
        "godard locates the heart of the world in that divide , that moral schism . the movie then asks , without answering , can it ever be repaired ?",
        "MOV 's wistful mischief and gentle provocations will keep mind and soul humming long after you 've carried them out of the darkened theater .",
        "too touchy-feely for some hardcore godardians , MOV is the most lucid of the master 's recent films .",
        "though godard has often mixed avant-garde technique with conventional narrative in the past , here there 's a firm line dividing the two modes from one another , and it makes the film much more cohesive , but a bit less intoxicating .",
        "structured like the divine comedy , jean-luc godard 's new film is a journey through hell and purgatory in search of a paradise .",
        "this tiresome series of ruminations on the meaning of existence , as well as man 's inhumanity to man , demonstrates that godard is still stuck in the same groove , that he makes the same movie over and over again .",
        "the result is , alas , more an illustrated lecture than illuminating insight , a little chunk of purgatory for all but the most diehard of godard 's fans .",
        "godard has become a nonsensical rambler whose vision surpasses his reach .",
        "jean-luc godard has another movie out ... and we all know what that means .",
        "jean-luc godard has had a tendency to be combative and obscure . he 's a lot calmer and steadier in his latest feature .",
        "a lumpy mix of real-life and fictional events that shows age has n't diminished the famed filmmaker 's zeal to experiment .",
        "packs more thoughts and ideas into any two minutes than most movies have at all .",
        "it will mean much more to those familiar with his work . but those moviegoers will experience intense pleasure in watching a great innovator at a personal high point .",
        "for those willing to ponder , this is a worthy feast of words and images .",
        "like his series histoire -lrb- s -rrb- du cinema , MOV suggests snapshots inside godard 's head . they 're often fascinating , but at times they are also like listening to that boring old uncle .",
        "this film , which awakens your inner philosopher and encourages it to breathe , may not be an experience for everyone ; if only it were .",
        "director jean-luc godard , the enfant terrible of the french new wave , is now in his mid-seventies , yet he 's lost none of his desire to challenge an audience .",
        "jean-luc godard 's unfathomable influence on filmmaking has allowed him to enjoy a kind of grandfather clause in recent years .",
        "the 73 year-old enfant terrible can still take society to task for failing to recognise that it 's our dualities that enrich life rather than any fanciful notions of global unity .",
        "godard attempts to paint modern europe as dante 's various circles of hell -- but one fears he has lost 90 percent of the audience in the first 10 minutes",
        "jean-luc godard returns with another of his extraordinary , heated , agitated essay films .",
        "godard establishes then subverts his clean , mirrored construction with an array of fascinating ideas that attempt to understand symbiotic but unequal relationships .",
        "godard 's montage is as deadly as ever and his palette is seemingly every camera shot that has ever been made .",
        "this intellectually scintillating think-piece from the eternally relevant jean-luc godard finds hell and purgatory right here on our sorry , scorched earth .",
        "it 's glorious . musical . amazing and lovely and smart and stylish and fascinating ."
    ],
    "summary": "a dense , but thoughtful meditation about war by jean-luc godard .",
    "id": "19005"
  },
  {
    "movie": "brave_one",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- jordan -rsb- transforms here into a hollywood hack , out to satisfy the lowest-common-denominator movie-exploitation prerequisites .",
        "my one complaint about this otherwise excellent film involves the ending , which does n't ring true to me .",
        "eventually we wake up . this is really just another ms. .45 revenge flick , only with artistic pretensions .",
        "we loved looking at the movie . the performances from foster and howard are absolutely terrific . what the hell any of it means escapes us .",
        "it 's lily-livered narrative cowardice , and i reject it .",
        "it is vengeance porn dressed up as an important film , a reverse slasher movie feigning some weak pretense of meaning beyond its own bloodlust .",
        "two terrific lead actors under the direction of the estimable jordan are n't enough to overcome the proven axiom that although you can make a bad movie from a good script , you ca n't make a good one from a bad one .",
        "some form of this eye-for-an eye argument could probably be made , but the MOV never bothers to make it . instead , it relies on sentiment , platitudes , plot holes and fear itself .",
        "less a brave movie than a foolhardy one . trapped in a no man 's land between seriousness and pulp trash , it plays like a combination of death wish and the hours . if that sounds like an awkward fit , it is .",
        "the likes of the great , loony ms. 45 and dozens of asian exploitation movies did -lsb- this subject -rsb- trashier . yet , somehow , many of those felt more honest .",
        "thoughtful action picture ? meditation on grieving ? the MOV tries to be both but just misses its target , despite the presence of a magnetic jodie foster .",
        "the MOV is as bold a movie as we are likely to see this year , a movie that has more in common with 1970s provocations like straw dogs and taxi driver .",
        "dirty jodie",
        "kill 'em jodie .",
        "jodie foster 's commanding performance compensates for a film that ca n't decide whether it 's an updated version of 1970s vigilante actioners a la death wish or a more provocative chronicle in post-9 / 11 new york .",
        "led by jodie foster , the MOV is an adult hollywood thriller a notch above most vigilante movies . powerful and provocative , it will keep you thinking long after you 've left the cinema .",
        "foster 's moments of quality drive home how shaky and inconsistent this vigilante drama is . want something to avenge ? how about the way it fails to live up to the sum of its reputable talents . now that 's criminal ...",
        "neil jordan ought to be doing more challenging material than this overblown , overwrought thriller that has only obvious points to make about the moral swamp that is urban vigilantism .",
        "as you 'd expect , the talented foster and howard clearly relish sinking their teeth into a pair of well-rounded parts , their relationship teetering between cop and suspect , and the possibility of a romance .",
        "it wants to be a modern taxi driver ; it manages to be the new falling down , with foster as fierce as ever .",
        "foster is terrific and jordan 's direction is impressive , but the film does n't quite succeed , due to the strain of trying to be both angry revenge thriller and emotional , thought-provoking drama .",
        "beautifully played , the tantalising accretion of mutual understanding between foster and howard is one of the film 's strengths , yet the plot machinations required to lever it into position would overstretch credibility in the clunkiest action flick .",
        "foster convinces as the petrified victim turned vengeful killer and howard is superb as the world weary detective . together , they just about managed to save a frequently ham-fisted script .",
        "jordan 's most interesting film since the butcher boy .",
        "with a title that suggests the start of an epic poem or perhaps a fairy tale , the MOV is a startling achievement for stars jodie foster and terrance howard , and yet another notch in the growing artistic oeuvre of neil jordan .",
        "every slimeball erica encounters menaces her with remorseless , repulsive sadism -- there 's never anyone who just has a lewd comment , say ... everyone wants to bludgeon or shoot her , mutilate and molest her ...",
        "in the final reel , jordan and foster serve up violence and revenge as cynical button-pushing , which the audience eats up with a pavlovian response .",
        "almost tortuously high-tension and exciting , it switches gender with charles bronson 's `` death wish . ''",
        "ok , jodie , if you 're making comparisons to `` taxi driver '' : one 's a masterpiece about the penchant for emotionally apocalyptic violence . the other is manipulative junk tapping into its star 's success at kicking butt . guess which of those is `` the MOV . ''",
        "the moody tone and carefully balanced drama turn a grubby premise into something unexpectedly elegant .",
        "a true shocker that will shatter your nerves and get you talking .",
        "why is the MOV so much less satisfying than death wish ?",
        "one guesses this slick , decidedly mainstream project is little more than a paycheck -lsb- for director jordan -rsb- . unfortunately , it shows . the minutes pass quickly enough in watching the MOV , but it is a waste of time .",
        "the MOV celebrates its avenging angel as it pretends to examine her .",
        "you long for all this combined talent to be in the service of something more deserving than a retread of a story that has lost the edge it had 33 years ago .",
        "jodie foster and director neil jordan shift the genre to the murky left , where right and wrong are not so black and white .",
        "a violent action movie with a heart and soul . watching it is difficult ; forgetting it is more so .",
        "it 's a throwback girl-with-a-gun exploitation tale , as well as an evolved feminist fable ; and an impeccable dissection of gun control , as well as a wicked mockery of nra mentality .",
        "jordan 's ballsy and sometimes bonkers movie is more ambitious and alive -- more worth writing , talking and thinking about -- than anything that has tumbled off the hollywood assembly line in a good long while .",
        "foster is remarkably believable . she never seems to be ` acting ' .",
        "worth watching for foster 's fiercely arresting performance .",
        "clever , calculated , ` responsible ' filmmaking .",
        "suggests a real lack of imagination on the part of the filmmakers and a sad capitulation to the idea that violence is the only answer .",
        "it is foster and howard 's performances that really help this movie rise above just a revenge fantasy .",
        "alas , moral niceties are blown away in a frenzy of retribution , and a `` controversial '' ending undoes any plausibility .",
        "the film 's final unforgivable fault is its sheer , plodding dullness .",
        "it is tough and challenging and twists and turns in ways that are not expected or obvious or easy .",
        "powerful themes , intense emotions and a faultless performance from jodie foster are central to neil jordan 's film , yet i have a fundamental problem with the story 's morals , condoning violence , revenge and the protagonist taking the law into her own hands",
        "foster keeps us gripped with a convincing display of steely determination and moral ambiguity .",
        "what you ca n't deny is foster 's expertise at mixing vulnerability with an inner rage that half excuses what she is doing .",
        "as with all revenge movies , it simply provides its thrills by bumping off the bad guys .",
        "like foster 's character , erica bain , the movie makes a tortured show of conscience , then trades it in for a leather jacket and a semi-automatic .",
        "the MOV wins out , if nothing else , because it knows the power of the gun .",
        "everything about foster 's ocular intensity is riveting , but little in this hushed vigilante drama makes sense .",
        "a cheapjack vigilante potboiler .",
        "dreadful misfire casts jodie foster as a vengeance-fueled vigilante bent on cleaning up a new york that has n't existed for years .",
        "put a cowl on her and she 's batman ...",
        "the very fact that it 's so well-made actually makes the picture all the more morally dubious .",
        "riddled with illogical plot contrivances , pat irony , half-formed subplots , and a climax that stretches the boundaries of what can be swallowed .",
        "jodie foster creates a symphony of raw emotions . a huge crowd pleaser .",
        "the MOV seems to be implicitly saying that only men are capable of forceful action , only men are interesting at the centre of a moral quandary -- or at least , women who resemble men .",
        "foster 's subtle but gut-wrenching performance gives you a palpable sense of adrenaline and self-loathing at the same time",
        "a bold and powerful thriller",
        "both viewers and the characters onscreen must deal with the fact that we like when criminals get what 's coming to them , regardless of who 's pulling the trigger .",
        "the MOV has opened the fall movie season with a bang , indeed with a lot of bang , bang , bangs . do n't miss it .",
        "this one 's all about performance : ms. foster 's as a gun-toting angel of vengeance overcomes flaws in plot .",
        "the MOV thinks it has something to say about how we live in this real world today , and it wants to say it while hoping we 'll overlook one plot hole after another .",
        "with all the thematic false starts and missed opportunity , the MOV boils down to violence begets violence , and says it cures all the pain of loss .",
        "... one of the most compelling and flat-out exciting revenge thrillers to come along in quite some time .",
        "-lsb- despite some flaws , -rsb- i do recommend the movie - for foster 's stunning performance and for the story 's willingness to explore the honest-to-goodness implications of violence .",
        "i think the MOV could have been a better film with a different ending , but it 's still a well-crafted , thought-provoking story with outstanding performances .",
        "unfortunately , with each bullet she discharges , credibility takes a hit .",
        "jordan 's brave delves into a showy yet sluggish crime drama that incorporates all the cliched parts of a fatalistic fantasy audiences have seen over and over .",
        "foster and howard are outstanding actors and they play their roles very well in this film , keeping the empowerment-by-murder plot from sinking until the end .",
        "should have been a quickie revenge flick , but turns out to have a lot more meat on its bones thanks to foster 's strong performance and assured direction by neil jordan",
        "an ugly , nasty , self-deluding piece of sadistic trash .",
        "as polished as it may be on the surface , ` the MOV ' is never satisfying because the complexities of eloquent language or imagery are not present .",
        "unfortunately , the plotting in the MOV is rather pedestrian and often flawed , undermining this film 's potential for greatness .",
        "uncertainty helps keep the MOV on its toes .",
        "those going into this film expecting some kind of corollary to foster 's other film about random violence , the accused , will be disappointed for the simple reason that that was a serious film , and this is not .",
        "the thing that keeps one from totally sailing off the tracks terrence howard .",
        "an emotion-filled commentary on loss , revenge and redemption , the MOV is a smart , well-acted , engaging thriller ...",
        "as its blandly heroic title forecasts , `` the MOV '' is a revenge fantasy that floats like a narrative helium balloon waiting to find its ceiling .",
        "the performers , however , almost make us forget the problems with the script . foster and howard are a riveting pair .",
        "suggests something tailored for people who buy their cds at coffee shops and approve of how rudy giuliani pimped out times square to the disney company .",
        "what could impel jodie foster and director neil jordan to whisk us back to the bad old days of death wish and ms. 45 ? were their credit cards maxed out ?",
        "although it is bloody and at times brutal , it does n't revel in the violence . there 's more to the movie than initially meets the eye for an eye .",
        "by the time foster says ` i want my dog back ' , you might be saying you want your money back . but by then , it will be too late . you 'll have been seduced ...",
        "foster 's achievement is maintaining her humanity and keeping us on her side at all times .",
        "at its best , this high-toned vigilante picture depicts a woman almost literally transformed by violence , first as a victim , then as a participant ; she could be a cousin to one of the car-wreck victims in david cronenberg 's ` crash . '",
        "too unpleasantly stern to be exploitation , and too bloodthirsty to be drama .",
        "masterwork of craft , manipulating viewer emotions to elicit unthinking responses and unabashed bloodlust .",
        "jodie foster and terrence howard deliver unforgettable performances that elevate this movie to more than a revenge film .",
        "the fire goes out long before the film ends .",
        "be care of the bait and switch . the film flip-flops from start to finish between a heart film with a vigilante and a vigilante film with a heart .",
        "and that brings us the bad stuff , heretofore known as the script . the story keeps on putting erica in harm 's way , so much that you 're not sure why . i mean , would a woman alone really ride on the subway at night ?",
        "bravura performances ca n't save this '' ` one , '' a run-of-the-mill vigilante flick from director neil jordan -lrb- not known for his run-of-the-mill anything -rrb- .",
        "in jordan 's hands , the film becomes a tormented trip into a nightmarish world of murky darkness and neo-expressionist camera angles .",
        "works as exploitation but fails at anything more socially relevant .",
        "despite some quality performances , from both foster and her co-star , terrence howard , the MOV is every bit as ludicrous and every bit as wrong-headed and distasteful as those other -lsb- vigilante -rsb- films .",
        "the finale is bad enough to make you wish the actress were working more often , so that the blatantly commercial stuff was n't all she was letting us see .",
        "in the end it 's a film that does n't know what it wants to be - on the one hand it 's visceral entertainment -lrb- b-thriller ? -rrb- , and on the other hand it tries for some arch conservative , reaganesque view of conflict resolution .",
        "with a smart script , sure-handed direction and strongly internalised performances , this film astutely blends a personal drama with a revenge thriller .",
        "jodie foster has a good shot at awards recognition in this flawed but still disturbing vigilante drama .",
        "foster 's pistol-packing turn as an avenging dark angel nearly sustains director neil jordan 's grim vigilante drama through a string of implausibilities and occasionally trite psychological framing devices , with deft support from terrence howard .",
        "in exploring what fear has done to erica , jodie foster gives one of the best performances of her career .",
        "director neil jordan , usually a master at creating atmosphere , keeps us at a remote distance throughout .",
        "curtis the dog and erica bain review the MOV .",
        "the MOV is glossy trash masquerading as a meaningful and important drama , and that 's the biggest shame of all .",
        "you half expect the csi : new york characters played by gary sinise and mila karakanedes to show up at the first , second or third crime scenes .",
        "the MOV , though well cast and smoothly directed , is just as crude and ugly as you want it to be .",
        "foster is n't the only one abused in this film . viewers are , too .",
        "there 's a lot to admire in the MOV . it just does n't cut as deeply as it needs to .",
        "has neither the depth of character nor of theme to justify the condoning of her actions .",
        "jordan je , koriste % u0107i svoj nesumnjivi re % u017eijski talent , snimio film koji je istovremeno i staromodan i moderan",
        "the switch is flipped so quickly by erica that i did n't root for her vengeance , i felt sorry for her .",
        "deplorable urban-vengeance melodrama",
        "you know what would be brave ? making an unflinching film about a difficult-to-tackle topic and complex characters , and sticking to your message , damn the torpedoes .",
        "jodie foster and thoughtful irish international director neil jordan take us to places we 'd probably rather avoid .",
        "the MOV can at times be a brutal , violent and harrowing portrait of an over burdened system , where thugs rule the streets and the corrupt contaminate the upper echelon of society . it is also an un-original revenge/vigilante story .",
        "they 're trotting it around at all the festivals trying to distract everyone from how bad it is .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- dopey action movie featuring the contributions of people too talented to waste their time on something this risible .",
        "the MOV is worth seeing for the scenes between terrence howard and jodie foster .",
        "the MOV is not merely the most morally repellent film of the year , but a contender for the stupidest .",
        "you may hate yourself for yielding to the expertise of the manipulation , but the vicarious thrill of the MOV is the sense of pulling your own trigger on pure evil and watching the bullet tear through .",
        "the MOV is death wish with a guilty conscience , and while it may be a bit of a hypocrite as vigilante thrillers go , the internal contradictions of the thing make for a very interesting picture .",
        "foster is so good , and the plight of an ordinary person destroyed by violence so compelling , that the movie is likely to be a hit .",
        "even the masterful jodie foster ca n't manage to raise this sluggish vigilante yarn above other movies of its ilk .",
        "foster and howard are both wonderful actors and they try very hard to make this soul stuff work . but the absurdity of the script does them in .",
        "fundamentally insane .",
        "erica finds herself in mortal danger so often you 'd think new york had reverted to pre-giuliani anarchy .",
        "where once -lsb- foster -rsb- made nell ... and , yes , silence of the lambs , now she makes commercial trash like this . she , and her fans , deserve better .",
        "an ugly , manipulative mess .",
        "psychological suspense is what makes the MOV spellbinding . the movie does n't dine out on action scenes , but regards with great curiosity how these two people will end up .",
        "what the screenwriters do n't achieve in dialogue , director jordan often delivers visually . he and his cinematographer employ a particularly powerful way to evoke erica 's resurfacing . it resembles a slow blink ; it suggest a brain grappling to make sense .",
        "the MOV is oppressively plot-driven . all the mood is snuffed out . the filmmakers so want erica 's actions to make sense to us that the movie usually seems illogical despite itself .",
        "what might have been a serious drama about coming to terms with violence and loss turns into a crowd-pleasing and increasingly far-fetched remake of death wish .",
        "regardless of the artistry involved , the MOV ultimately never really strays from the same moral low road as death wish .",
        "not unlike its heroine : conflicted and unsure of which way to go . ... -lrb- foster -rrb- emphasizes erica 's anguish and the shock that comes from realizing that you 're capable of doing things you once would have found abhorrent .",
        "it can never seem to decide if it 's escapist action or social commentary and , as a result , it never commits to either .",
        "foster does her best with a flawed story whose ending rings even less true than the rest of it .",
        "following her first vigilante act , the movie starts hemorhagging iq points and the faux hand wringing escalates . this movie never stops lying to itself",
        "the only thing that could have made this movie better is if it were revealed at the end that our leading lady was really a man . but we 've been down that path before .",
        "it 's entertaining but it 's certainly not the essay on violence it purports to be ... at least it 's not boring . whenever you see a scumbag , at least you know she 's going to shot him in the face .",
        "is there really a difference between full review | original score : c +",
        "somehow , foster and howard make it work .",
        "the MOV might have been honest , perceptive , and troubling . instead , it becomes aimless revenge porn .",
        "an unapologetic genre picture powered by a pair of honest performances that plucks our emotional strings and races our pulses .",
        "you will be rooting for her to off more bad guys , rather than understanding that she is disturbed and out of control .",
        "in this dreary , cockamamie valentine to new york city haters , concocted by the father/son team of roderick and bruce a. taylor -- a good argument for the government sterilization of a certain family 's genes -- radio personality erica bain -lrb- foster -rrb- is confront",
        "just a more superficially sober version of death wish .",
        "the profoundly discouraging ending does n't work .",
        "una pel\u00edcula mediocre , sensacionalista y manipuladora filmada por un buen director .",
        "the MOV feels like a superhero movie , charting the familiar story of an unsuspecting everywoman who discovers one day that a gun gives her special powers to right wrongs and uphold justice .",
        "audience identification with the movie really rests on whether you 're turned off by this freestyle , really pissed off judge and jury female assassin , or else in the mood to cut this loose cannon sexy sniper some slack .",
        "if nothing else , enjoy nicky katt 's hilariously smart-ass one-liners .",
        "the movie never seems entirely plausible . yet it makes no difference ; we still get involved with it .",
        "MOV is n't death wish , but there are moments where i could see jordan giving in to that impulse .",
        "hoorah for vigilantism ! who needs the rule of law when you 've got guns ?",
        "because it wants the applause both of the chatting classes and the blood crowd , the MOV does n't take a firm position about vigilantism .",
        "a seventies ' revenge movie with a woefully unconvincing patina of intellectual justification , the MOV is the sort of genre movie that gets more credit than it deserves .",
        "drama , action , humor and sex appeal . what more could you ask for ?",
        "forget about comparing this film to death wish , as many already have this is n't good enough to deserve comparison to death wish 4 : the crackdown .",
        "the MOV moves at a brisk pace and foster and howard do a fine pas de deux as the plot develops .",
        "did n't i just see this film two weeks ago with kevin bacon in death sentence ? terrance howard is strong , though . funny lines from nicky katt .",
        "it wants to be a moody , dark exploration of pain and revenge -lrb- the same feelings i experienced during and after the movie -rrb- .",
        "remind me not to piss jodie foster off !",
        "-lsb- jordan -rsb- presents the material with intelligence . unfortunately , intelligence is not what this movie needs .",
        "bull 's - eye .",
        "it 's as much about the unfocused feelings of vengeful rage many americans had after 9/11 as about a woman going on a killing spree .",
        "armed with good performances -- and contrivances .",
        "nyc as a dangerous metropolis where a gun-toting fem avenger indulging in a cerebral bloodsport has a close brush with death every five minutes or so .",
        "got the exploitation part right but could n't get much else right .",
        "decent revenge flicks allow some viewers to continually ask `` what if . ''",
        "in that moment , the movie changes too , from a subjective contemplation of her grief and loss to an erratic vigilante pic .",
        "... sullied by sludgy screenwriting , but jodie and jordan almost pull it out of the mire . it 's a misfire , but an interesting one ."
    ],
    "summary": "magnetic by between jodie foster and terrence howard ca n't quite compensate for the MOV 's problematic and unconvincing eye-for-an-eye moral .",
    "id": "770670843"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lumumba",
    "reviews": [
        "framed by the shameless burning of congo 's national hero with only a smidgen of kootchi-coo family sentimentality , MOV richly deserves its best picture award at the 2001 pan african film festival .",
        "utterly absorbing .",
        "a tellingly discouraging testament to the inherently complicated and manipulative workings of a formerly subjugated culture not fully freed from its oppressors .",
        "for better and worse , peck is no oliver stone nor even a spike lee , another director who can make a mountain of a film out of a molehill of suspicions .",
        "serves as a gut-wrenching requiem for the hope of peace and prosperity in post-colonial africa .",
        "the visceral force of MOV is a sober reminder that there 's nothing more incendiary than the reopening of a forgotten chapter of history .",
        "both compelling and occasionally bewildering .",
        "a powerfully rich and incredibly sorrowful portrait .",
        "peck 's subject and lead actor elevate his film above its mediocre production .",
        "eclipse any political film oliver stone has made in quite a while .",
        "gives a neglected giant of african independence his due .",
        "manages to give us , from the start , a comprehensible , if necessarily simplified , sense of an extremely complicated moment in history .",
        "ebouaney , as MOV , imbues the man with the fury and calm that complicates peck 's construction of him as a symbol with a legacy .",
        "a powerful portrait and provides more than enough material for someone like me who knew nothing .",
        "a biographical drama as fiery as the man whose brief existence it illuminates .",
        "a great film and a great performance .",
        "the tumultuous events surrounding the rise and fall of the congo 's first prime minister are rendered with passion and complexity .",
        "utterly enthralling even for viewers unfamiliar with the congo 's complicated political history .",
        "the trouble with the film is not canonization but , again , the recurrent defect in pictures about such people . the ideational data are so sketchy that it is as if we were riffling the pages of a complicated book .",
        "the term for this type of film is ` self-important . '",
        "as clich\u00e9-rich as it is compelling .",
        "raoul peck 's detailed telling of the machiavellian maneuverings proves gripping and haunting , with a resonant performance by eriq ebouaney as the charismatic leader .",
        "never much more than hagiography that lets the context of its hero 's death remain confused .",
        "MOV may not seem like the kind of film you 'll want to run out to see , but you wo n't regret it if you do .",
        "what director peck , who grew up in congo/zaire , fails to do is give us the proper background .",
        "a taut , well-drawn story .",
        "at the heart of the movie is ebouaney 's performance as MOV , every bit as intense as denzel washington 's as malcolm x.",
        "earnestly but amateurishly acted , the movie feels more like a play with the actors exaggerating their gestures so that even those in the cheap seats wo n't miss anything .",
        "one day , when ebouaney is a huge star , people will look back at this film and say ` that 's what did it . '",
        "peck , who assayed MOV 's life in a 1991 documentary , now paces the doomed man 's story like the genuine thriller it is .",
        "it 's a prime example of how a historical drama can be politically correct but thoroughly embalmed . the memory of patrice MOV deserves better .",
        "drawn from life or not , film people need some flaw , some depth , a facial betrayal of emotional struggle . if not , they are the stuff of action adventure , rooted for but at once forgotten .",
        "MOV overcomes some minor shortcomings and becomes an important and gripping feature .",
        "bites off way more than it can chew , it is often artlessly made , and it assumes that we know more than most of us do about the congolese nationalist movement .",
        "the story of the congo and its struggle for independence from belgium is a bloody and torrid one , but MOV does n't really imbue the tale with much spirit .",
        "-lsb- c -rsb- ompelling .",
        "strong , bloody and sad .",
        "packed with incident , the film also crackles with danger , simmers with hope .",
        "his story is told with admirable crispness and a surprising lack of bias .",
        "too many meetings and ` important ' events , not enough of MOV himself .",
        "captures the volatility and chaos of a nation struggling to find its identity and purpose .",
        "a solid , interesting , educational and honest docudrama",
        "complex , powerful , intensely dramatic .",
        "draws an indelible portrait of how a young nation can be turned into a civic basket case .",
        "seeing it should n't be taken as some sort of educational chore . though informative , it also happens to be smashing good drama .",
        "ebouaney is given the daunting task of carrying a heavy film , and rises to the challenge with denzel washington-esque conviction .",
        "as fluid and intellectually stimulating as the man himself .",
        "moving , poignant , and quietly angry .",
        "ebouaney is easily the best thing about this import .",
        "a tense drama told with style and ambition -- and with a remarkably steely , energized performance at its core .",
        "an engrossing film that attempts to unearth a dark period of african history and the short-lived tenure of MOV 's power .",
        "the vividness of the figures and situations whets the appetite ."
    ],
    "summary": "ebouaney 's fiery performance makes MOV compelling .",
    "id": "20910"
  },
  {
    "movie": "barbershop_2_back_in_business",
    "reviews": [
        "low-key to the point of being listless .",
        "like going out for a bad meal with a group of people you love being with . you 're happy to be in their company ; you just wish you did n't leave feeling hungry .",
        "an uplifting , and funny , film about real people .",
        "outside of being well-acted and funny , barbershop 2 is actually about something .",
        "twice the amount of cedric makes this twice as funny as the original !",
        "`` barbershop 2 '' shows a maturity over the original , making it a worthy sequel .",
        "some jokes hit and others miss , but the laughter , camaraderie and warmth will keep you smiling as much as it did the first time around .",
        "-lsb- fumbles -rsb- around with what had been a winning cast of characters , reducing their living , breathing relationships to a series of exchanges of cheap insults .",
        "it 's a warm , often funny reunion of the sassiest , chattiest characters ever to buzz a brother 's head .",
        "heartstrings will be tugged and ribs tickled , particularly thanks to cedric the entertainer .",
        "a more serious but equally entertaining comedy than its predecessor , film provides enough food for thought and laughs to satisfy diehard fans .",
        "it never strains , even though pulled muscles are a common sequel injury .",
        "grooves to its own drummer , yet remains dynamically true to its roots .",
        "the pointed , no-taboos banter that was the soul of barbershop gets the short shrift in this entertaining but too-cursory sequel .",
        "does n't overreach the original 's modest ambitions , does n't mess with the endearing , well-rounded characters and never forgets that the jokes are all in service of a sincere message about what it means to be a community .",
        "hysterically funny , historically aware , politically nuanced , culturally sophisticated and productively self-critical all at the same time -- and you 'll need a second viewing just to catch all the jokes .",
        "even when it falters , barbershop 2 is sharp and hilarious .",
        "the concept has eroded from pleasant surprise to charmless franchise , which is ironic , considering that the plot of the second film involves competition from cookie-cutter corporate invaders .",
        "takes the characters deeper than the first film , revealing new dimensions to all of them , and it balances its bright humor with a melancholy sense that the changes that come to a neighborhood are not always good ones .",
        "affectionate and deeply funny .",
        "warmhearted and surprisingly ambitious .",
        "as long as it is simply being a barbershop , the gab has a razor-cut charm .",
        "it 's still funny and warm and neighborly inside calvin 's barbershop ; it 's just a little predictable as soon as you step outside .",
        "as fragmented and heavy-handed as the first installment was smart , funny and , yes , at times unexpectedly sweet .",
        "the connection between the still-potent issues of the civil rights movement and the rich vs. poor economic disparities that continue today -- although ` the man ' could now be either black or white -- gives barbershop genuine potency .",
        "it 's the chemistry between all the characters , which has deepened since the first movie , that makes barbershop 2 worth watching despite its sluggish , sometimes sloppy pace .",
        "just as sharply funny and as heartwarming , yet unsentimental , as the first .",
        "a showcase for the loose , occasionally very funny , give-and-take between instantly recognizable characters .",
        "a dutiful mood -- call it sequelitis -- has descended on the place .",
        "easily the first film 's equal , if not an improvement .",
        "this smart , feisty comedy is still ghetto-fabulous enough to make you laugh until your short , back and sides ache .",
        "the banter is tighter and funnier , and calvin 's musings on the importance of community seem more heartfelt .",
        "it 's the kind of set-piece ensemble that has proven immensely successful as a sitcom formula but tends to struggle to meet the demands of a movie .",
        "provides enough solid , character-based amusement to put customers in the chairs and send them out content with services rendered .",
        "manages to throw away everything that made the first film so good .",
        "great message delivered in an edgy hip-hop movie .",
        "barbershop 2 is a weak , too rarely humorous , too long bore .",
        "it ai n't high art , but it is a fun flick .",
        "inane banter soon takes over and is not helped by an unlikely , flashback-heavy subplot about eddie -lrb- cedric the entertainer -rrb- and a lost love .",
        "schoolyard jokes about religious faiths , genetic traits , and sexuality which only work if you enjoy laughing at people because they are darker-skinned , or curlier-haired , or perverted , or have emigrated from another continent .",
        "a better , funnier , more closely cropped movie than its enjoyable predecessor .",
        "-lsb- eddie 's -rsb- irrepressible spirit remains the key to the movie .",
        "this one 's a winner by more than a hair .",
        "a movie that cares about its audience , cares about the concept of community and makes you laugh time after time after time .",
        "constantly engaged and intelligent while generally conscious of retaining the entertaining goods , barbershop 2 is anything but your business-as-usual sequel .",
        "these characters really are like old friends -- there 's something almost comforting about going back and hanging out with them again .",
        "what barbershop 2 : back in business lacks in stealth and surprise , it makes up for in style and confidence .",
        "as funny as the first movie , but it 's narratively scattered .",
        "funny and entertaining .",
        "barbershop 2 is that rare exception of a sequel that actually surpasses the original .",
        "the filmmakers clearly put considerable thought and imagination into making as a good a sequel as they could .",
        "picks up where the first film ended by celebrating community , exploring responsibility to one 's neighborhood and , most important , providing big , big laughs .",
        "the sequel is like year two of a once-promising sitcom -- when the characters are methodically stripped of the edges that made them interesting in the first place .",
        "although it lacks the freshness of the original film , barbershop 2 is still enjoyable and often laugh-out-loud funny .",
        "a sequel that sacrifices the chat for storytelling -- following exactly the wrong vein of raw materials .",
        "as in the original film , it 's the chemistry among the actors that really counts . and fortunately , the filmmakers have reassembled the terrific cast .",
        "what 's intact from the original is the premise 's big heart and the wonderful ensemble led by ice cube .",
        "it is n't a bad hair day , just a limp , uninspired one .",
        "the high-velocity comic additions provided by latifah and the flashbacks relating to eddie 's youth are enough to make this sequel one more sharp cut .",
        "there 's no question eddie was the chief asset of the first film , and sequels are required by law to exploit the original 's strengths . but the filmmakers have misread eddie 's appeal .",
        "still a nice place to hang out .",
        "sullivan clearly has his own ideas , but wisely uses the established characters to flesh them out instead of making them act out of character for his purposes .",
        "for all of the snappy verbal sparring and romantic complications that embellish the film , it is ultimately about community ...",
        "too often we 're locked out of the barbershop and stuck in a bad movie , our faces pressed up desperately against the window .",
        "improves on its predecessor",
        "the first film arrived with freshness and an unexpected zing , but this one seems too content to follow in its footsteps .",
        "a generous and infectious blending of the old school with the fresh .",
        "a warm and tasty second helping complete with smart visual flourishes , strong laughs and a willingness to take a few bittersweet cuts with its scissors .",
        "a movie featuring ice cube bellowing ` no more profanity ! ' and meaning it should produce a lot more laughs than this intermittently amusing sequel .",
        "ice cube sticks with the formula that made barbershop so successful , yet manages to keep the material feeling fresh .",
        "the seriousness with which barbershop ii treats its political conscience offers an unexpected weight to what 's essentially a big screen sitcom .",
        "barbershop 2 works best when its characters are being funny and fighting with each other or lambasting pop-culture blemishes ...",
        "yet another sleeper hit becomes a cynical franchise . i guess ` nappy-cutz ' wins after all .",
        "tries hard , but the routine feels a little too familiar . it 's like getting a trim when what you really need is a new style .",
        "they need to find the edgy magic that they had with the first blockbuster .",
        "this likable , lackadaisical comedy proves more focused than the first film yet lacks much of its comic bite .",
        "barbershop 2 achieves what most sequels can only wish for : it 's actually much better than the original film .",
        "the gist of this film can be summed in one short phrase : ` sorry . my bad . '",
        "both films are flawed and unfocused . both have thin plots that must rely on even thinner back-stories to flesh out a feature length film .",
        "a direct hit on jesse jackson .",
        "cube is still adorable , but the potentially poppin ' battle between the shop and big-box competitor nappy cuts gets obscured by sloppy chronology and flat , cartoonish politicos .",
        "ice cube warms up and cedric the entertainer lives up to his title in this unexpectedly rich and rewarding comedy sequel .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- s funny as the original .",
        "it 's like going back home for a visit .",
        "this sequel is overstaffed with a cast that 's underserved by don d. scott 's schematic script and kevin rodney sullivan 's crude direction .",
        "barbershop 2 : back in business is the second episode of a big-screen sit-com . it may be three times longer , but it is also three times funnier .",
        "... succeeds adequately enough at the lower expectations it establishes .",
        "an appreciation of ritual and exchange , a generosity of spirit .",
        "funky good vibes permeate this soulful follow-up to ice cube 's 2002 surprise success .",
        "barbershop 2 , like most sequels , ca n't begin to capture the spirit , magic and charm of its predecessor .",
        "the dialogue is dumber , the plot is weak and it is more politically correct , but it still has those same loveable characters , curmudgeons all .",
        "there are some laughs in the movie , some nice moments between the characters , and some occasional glimmers of the old magic . however , there are not enough of them .",
        "a sorry little excuse of a film created to advertise pepsi products , queen latifah 's spin-off movie , and to exploit the success of the first barbershop .",
        "it is an ok sequel , but what it really demonstrates is that this would play much better as a tv series .",
        "the story gets bogged down in some pace-stopping scenes about community gentrification , some mildly confusing temporal transitions , and some exchanges that should be side-splittingly funny but are only mildly amusing .",
        "perhaps if the movie had been funnier , it would 've been easier to overlook the bizarre dramatic interludes ...",
        "successful only in sullying the memory of a superior movie that did n't warrant a sequel , particularly one so glaringly lacking in imagination and purpose .",
        "affords a feel of life in a big-city neighborhood .",
        "glossier and more focused than its scruffy predecessor",
        "what made the first film such a success -- the hilarious banter in the shop ; the moving but never sappy personal dramas ; a respect for history ; the true affection for the city ; and , of course , the brilliance of cedric the entertainer -- is still intact .",
        "overall , barbershop 2 is a sweet comedy minus the sap , hilarious yet devoid of crudity , and political without ever being preachy .",
        "the barbershop franchise is like cheers for people who are n't boring .",
        "the actors anchor the film with their live-on-the-spot rhythms .",
        "earns a visit , if only by a hair ... if the business is n't quite so brisk this time around , there 's an amiable familiarity that warrants your continued patronage .",
        "barbershop 2 is both entertaining and edifying with its funky portrait of the challenges facing many urban neighborhoods across the country .",
        "a sequel with all the humor , compassion , raunch and camaraderie of its predecessor .",
        "this time around , the razors are a little duller , the clicks not as slick , the patter not as snappy .",
        "the second cut goes a little deeper in this sequel to the feel-good ensemble comedy .",
        "climaxing with a politician-worthy podium speech , the film has too many creaks in its gears to earn a wholehearted recommendation .",
        "there is never a single moment where it manages to justify its existence as anything other than a soulless cash-in enterprise .",
        "... a surprisingly topical sequel that warmly embraces universal themes and values under its veil of comedy .",
        "thoughtful and humorous in equal measure , it 's a complete and satisfying package that manages that most elusive of cinematic tricks : it delivers on its promises .",
        "they 're a likeable bunch whose schtick grows on you . but their material is just a little too thin .",
        "the sequel does n't surprise us ... but that does n't make the visit any less pleasant .",
        "now that those hobbits are wrapped up , hollywood ought to turn its attention to making a `` barbershop '' trilogy .",
        "this return visit to calvin 's barbershop is like settling back in with old friends .",
        "still funny and warm , and blessed with wonderful characters , bright lines and far more perception of the human condition than you generally find in modern-american comedies .",
        "from the opening credits , which trace the history of black coiffure , it 's a tribute to african-american culture .",
        "you get the feeling the screenwriter is scraping around inside a mine that was n't meant to be visited more than once .",
        "taken as a pair , the ` barbershop ' movies are an exuberant lesson in how comedy is a better format for penetrating social commentary than drama .",
        "this series offers an inner-city equivalent of mayberry , where greed and cynicism do n't stand a chance against homespun truths , family values and just plain folks ."
    ],
    "summary": "the humor is less sharp and more warm-hearted this time around , and the characters are enjoyable to revisit .",
    "id": "10839"
  },
  {
    "movie": "true_romance",
    "reviews": [
        "the pacing is frantic , and the character interplay generally engaging . perhaps the problem is that when it 's all over , i 'm not quite sure whether there was a point beyond a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing .",
        "it 's tarantino 's gutter poetry that detonates MOV . this movie is dynamite .",
        "the movie may be stylistically visceral , but it 's aesthetically corrupt . it might as well have been called pump up the violence .",
        "too often the bloodbath mentality simply washes away the film 's more appealing elements .",
        "the movie has a kind of goofy charm .",
        "this film 's various outrages are committed unapologetically , and are very much in the service of its bizarre story .",
        "an instant cult classic . not only is it self-referential , stylish and exciting , it 's also better written than most genre films , with plenty of memorable dialogue , compelling characters and yes , MOV .",
        "MOV , despite not displaying tarantino at his best , is still a tarantino film and it delivers the goods to all those who expect some stylish entertainment .",
        "if you 're in the mood for this sort of absurd , violent nonsense ... MOV does deliver .",
        "made with such energy , such high spirits , such an enchanting goofiness , that it 's impossible to resist .",
        "insanely transcendent",
        "provides some amazing encounters , bravura acting turns and gruesome carnage . but it does n't add up to enough .",
        "... -lsb- a -rsb- violently funny genre mishmash that gave tony scott 's new life , and also transmitted quentin tarantino 's vision more credibly than the screenwriter and then-novice director could have done himself .",
        "if shoot - 'em - up , gobble - 'em - down movies like the fugitive and jurassic park are rated pg-13 these days , what does an r-rated action adventure look like ? like MOV : violent to a fault , glam to the max .",
        "the only thing that goes wrong with the movie is christian slater ... the failure of its central character ends up being an irritation , but not a film-crippling problem .",
        "... a pulpy good time that holds up remarkably well two decades after its theatrical release ...",
        "a hall of fame guy 's movie ... -lsb- with -rsb- a macho '90s ensemble eclipsed only by glengarry glen ross ... the monologues -- oh , the monologues ! -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "... a chase picture , a gangster picture , and a wacky , turbulent romance ... sort of a bonnie and clyde on speed .",
        "about as good as contemporary hollywood movies get .",
        "such a rush that it 's only towards the end that you realise the picture is less than the sum of its impressive parts .",
        "nothing if not consistently entertaining .",
        "the movie is exciting , thanks to the script , but when it comes to the bullet-ridden showdown , scott shows it in fast cuts , without giving us a perspective of the action or the space . it 's ruined .",
        "sifting through the bloody , pulpy trash of MOV -- should you care to -- you 'll find amusing , smart-alecky nuggets planted by screenwriter quentin tarantino .",
        "it plays out like candied noir , with a classic dialogue scene at least once every ten minutes .",
        "overrated , but still quite a bit of fun .",
        "bombards the audience with images of blazing guns , brutal beatings , and lots of gushing blood while telling a twisted and entertaining tale .",
        "despite tony scott 's occasional blundering , MOV is still a visceral roller coaster .",
        "god i wish i had written this movie .",
        "a hip , clever and irreverent high-voltage thriller with nary a dull moment .",
        "fast , fun and fantastically performed ... one hot little movie",
        "one of the most dynamic action films of the 1990s .",
        "my favorite movie of all time",
        "based on an early script from tarantino , tony scott 's wild movie is amour fou for youth of the 1990s , a gutsy , violent , often exciting picture likely to divide film critics .",
        "if the romance seldom seems ` true ' , the spiralling violence -lrb- script , quentin tarantino -rrb- does succeed , in a brutish , cod-jacobean kind of way .",
        "like always , walken owns the movie"
    ],
    "summary": "fueled by quentin tarantino 's savvy screenplay and a gallery of oddball performances , tony scott 's MOV is a funny and violent action jaunt in the best sense .",
    "id": "17105"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hills_have_eyes_2",
    "reviews": [
        "the mutants may or may not live to kill again , but at this point , these fussed-over grotesques are better suited to wax museums than movie theaters .",
        "the national guardsmen and - women are picked off one by one in scenes of birth , death , rape and other carnage that aim to be as grotesque as possible .",
        "it 's no better or worse than most films of its genre .",
        "this team 's descent is soon revealed as cockamamie : they 're no longer trained fighters with automatic guns but victims in a splatter movie .",
        "cheesy and yucky , it 's a guilty pleasure .",
        "pure genre-pic boredom .",
        "a nastily effective piece of action-horror , as reflective of its time and its war as the vietnam-era deliverance was of its time and war .",
        "a secret comedy lurks within this decidedly shoddy piece of corporate horror .",
        "an enjoyable sequel if you like this sort of thing .",
        "another depressing example of a cult 70s slasher being cynically retooled for mtv-reared thrill-seekers .",
        "gratuitous , slow-as-molasses and interminably dull-witted ; this is a horror movie for no one . dialogue runs the gambit from `` shitman the barbarian '' to `` smelling like shit '' in a crappy stinker where even the cameraman blows .",
        "the film 's defining emblematic moment comes when a man crawls out of a port-o-potty covered in feces , thereby providing an approximation of the audience 's experience .",
        "i ca n't even bring myself to say , drop in , turn your brain off and enjoy , as the material presented is just not anywhere near as entertaining as the first run .",
        "if you do n't walk out in the first few moments , you deserve every gut wrench , gag reflex and skin crawl you get for the rest of the film .",
        "it 's extremely grisly , brutal and scary . and not bad at all if you like this kind of thing .",
        "it 's all just far too wes craven for its own good . he gave aja free rein to innovate , but as he writes this sequel he rests on every single genre clich\u00e9 because he does n't understand that they 're still clich\u00e9s even if he did invent them .",
        "director martin weisz does an adequate job of maintaining the movie 's tension and momentum , but the lack of compelling characters and the unusual level of nastiness makes this an arduous mission for all involved .",
        "the film may not be as scary as its predecessor , but it will make you think twice before you use a porta potti again .",
        "reasonably effective , although the low budget frequently peers through in the uninspired set design and laughably obvious bluescreen work .",
        "the only folks jumping out of their seats are the ones going for a drink refill .",
        "feels like an exercise , not a real film .",
        "it is only another by-the-numbers , do n't - mess-with-the-formula screen filler aimed at the gore-hound fan boys who sustain all these franchises while bemoaning their sameness .",
        "the roman numeral in the title is the most sophisticated thing about the sequel . otherwise , this radioactive spawn of wes craven is abysmal , stupid and -- horror of all horrors ! -- incredibly boring .",
        "although series creator wes craven wrote this sequel 's script with his son jonathan , the film has little of that filmmaker 's usual sass .",
        "it never generates a real sense of dread or building pressure . instead , it uses its feeble set-up to string together one grisly shock after another .",
        "one man-versus-mutant dust-up ends with a sledgehammer to the groin . enough said .",
        "written , disappointingly , by wes craven and his son jonathan , this limp sequel to last year 's remake of wes ' 1977 original feels like the work of a guy who 's spent a few too many days lost in the desert .",
        "have n't our soliders suffered enough ?",
        "maybe it 's just time to put an end to this mutant circle of life , or at least send it straight to dvd from now on .",
        "another shining example of the sorry state of horror filmmaking these days",
        "this horror fanatic does n't have room for craven in his genre anymore . collect your cash and call it a day already , wes ...",
        "a film as bloodily pointless as the current conflict in iraq that it so unsubtly allegorises .",
        "weisz ' first feature was ` butterfly : a grimm love story ' , a banal study of a real-life cannibal killer . like this sorry sequel , it amounted to far less than the sum of its body parts .",
        "a retro horror-comedy featuring quick deaths and cheapo-looking gore , with a few dorky laughs and gross-outs but not so many scares .",
        "a sequel to a remake that 's surprisingly intelligent and original , and it proves to be a worthy successor to both alexandre aja 's 2006 hills and wes craven 's 1977 original .",
        "bears no relation to the old 1985 sequel , which hardly matters since the hills have eyes ii is perfectly capable of being a rancid crapfest on its own merits .",
        "despite having almost as much ick-content as the last film , the MOV has n't the skill to make it unnerving .",
        "fingers in brains , thumbs in eyes and sledgehammers in the balls are straight outta tom & jerry : this time the hills are alive with the sound of larfing .",
        "pretty solid gory horror .",
        "the new movie is a pre-combat nightmare , whereas the first -- alexandre aja 's effective 2006 remake of craven 's low-rent 1977 original -- was pure post-nuclear paranoia .",
        "you 'd like to think such bankruptcy of imagination means we 've seen the last of these subterranean creeps . but you know they 'll be back soon to collect their royalties from the gore hounds who apparently do n't care how dull -lsb- it is -rsb- .",
        "this hurry-up sequel delivers the same brand of paranoid , blood-covered , barely clinging-to-an-r-rating action as in ' 06 , featuring a similar pack of desert-dwelling super freaks who wreak murderous havoc on unsuspecting visitors .",
        "wes craven would like the audience to think they 're having a nightmarish good time , but i do n't recall repeated internal urgings to run screaming from the theater in unstoppable bad movie agony in the recipe for fun .",
        "though written by wes craven and his son , jonathan craven , this is pretty standard stuff .",
        "it 's not scary , not novel .",
        "after this disgrace , it 's time to shut the hills ' eyes for good .",
        "although the ads warn , ` the lucky ones die fast , ' the truth is , ` the smart ones walk out early . '",
        "if the hills have eyes ii is to gain notoriety for anything , it is the invention of one of the most laughable methods of murder ever captured on film : death by leather wallet .",
        "helmer martin weisz , whose background is largely in musicvideos , meets the challenge of creating dread in broad daylight , before the entire cast of soldiers and carnivores heads underground , into the warren of mines and tunnels where the mutants dwell .",
        "being gross and gory is one thing , but the problem with the hills have eyes ii is that those elements are literally all it has going for it .",
        "there is not any plot worth discussing : people go into a desert , some die . the end .",
        "in case you miss what 's happening , one soldier wails , ` oh , man , we 're gettin ' picked off one by one , here . '",
        "it sucks balls .",
        "... dull and interminable ...",
        "as far as stuff like mood , atmosphere , tone , and intensity is concerned , this sequel is a completely empty vessel .",
        "the only thing the lowly hills 2 has going for it is the grossness , ferocity , and superhuman strength of the rampaging mutants . i mean , these guys put the ugh in ugly ; they make the original 's michael berryman look like a hunk .",
        "... could have been more than a pale shadow of the original if the filmmakers had taken their time ...",
        "the MOV offers another round of dull , gory fright scenes that neither push the horror envelope nor exhibit any noticeable ingenuity .",
        "rote and crass .",
        "there 's gore galore , but not much more . and it 's a bore .",
        "well , no , they do n't . if they did and if they could see , they would have read the script , passed on it , and we all would have been better for it .",
        "for anyone other than hardcore gore-hounds , this flipbook of deliberately invoked global-unrest horrors , from friendly-fire killings to rape as a breeding weapon , is effectively mean and unrelenting -- and pretty far from fun .",
        "better made than most low budget and derivative movies of its genre , but it just does n't have enough to stand out as anything more than an improvement upon those dregs ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV is a completely unoriginal sequel offers plenty of gore and clich\u00e9s , but few scares .",
    "id": "493950127"
  },
  {
    "movie": "diplomatie",
    "reviews": [
        "we know where this is going , or rather where it is n't ; but the fun is in watching the negotiations unfold .",
        "its minor thrills come not from not knowing what will happen , but from watching the cagey choreography of two acrobatic minds .",
        "diplomacy will work for those who appreciate dialogue-based character films in which plot is of secondary importance .",
        "although we know what happens , diplomacy keeps up the suspense and pulls off surprises as choltitz 's decision reaches its inevitable ending .",
        "you know , after all , what the end result will be , but `` diplomacy '' is strong enough to keep the situation intense and important .",
        "a little supporting personality could have made the proceedings feel less like a smartly staged character study and more like a wartime drama .",
        "arestrup and dussollier are mesmerizing as they attack and parry , argue and counterargue . they reminisce about their lives before the war and wax poetic about their families - then engage in battle again .",
        "the drama is made interesting and more substantial as hidden facts about the german 's situation are revealed , and his soldier 's perspective honored .",
        "gripping little drama shows the fate of paris in the hands of two men",
        "diplomacy induces pins and needles from the get-go and does n't let up until the credits roll .",
        "benefits greatly from the razor-sharp , theater-honed skills of two formidable french actors , niels arestrup and andr\u00e9 dussollier , who created the roles on stage .",
        "has enough visual panache to compensate for the static , conversational nature of the work .",
        "schl\u00f6ndorff does the expected thing with handheld cameras , slowly circling the combatants , but he also finds interesting and exciting ways to use the space .",
        "it 's the subtle duel between these two men , in addition to the film 's evocation of a besieged paris at the crossroads , that gives such vigor to diplomacy .",
        "the film is n't really fooling anyone into feeling doom-laden suspense -lrb- paris , after all , is still standing -rrb- , but the principal performers sell the momentousness of the drama .",
        "the film 's a little too flashy and theatrical , with too-neat ironies . as a duel between acting talents , though , this is first-rate .",
        "the result is a gorgeously shot , finely composed , tremendously acted bit of historical melodrama ...",
        "based on the french play by cyril gely and directed by volker schl\u00f6ndorff 's diplomacy is so soundly engineered and acted that it does n't seem stagey at all .",
        "the principal suspense in this fascinating movie is generated by the polite , and then not so polite , ferocity of the arguments between the two men .",
        "poses important philosophical questions through essentially a two character staged play . not exactly historically accurate but a serious and thoughtful film not to be missed .",
        "expanded from cyril gely 's stage play , this film remains finely focussed on a history-changing dialogue between two men on the day paris changed hands from the nazis to the allies .",
        "the result is intriguing and intelligent , but ultimately uninspired .",
        "it is a beautifully written and expertly acted two-hander that takes dramatic licence with real historical events to create an urgent , compelling high-stakes drama .",
        "gert fr\u00f6be and orson welles played the same parts in ren\u00e9 cl\u00e9ment 's sprawling epic , is paris burning ? -lrb- 1966 -rrb- . but this is superior in every regard .",
        "a highly civilised piece of work .",
        "if you 've had your fill of tony world war ii dramas , this probably wo n't renew your interest in the genre , but the leads are fine as usual and schl\u00f6ndorff succeeds in making the stagebound material feel reasonably cinematic .",
        "a solid two-hander from a pair of veteran european actors , but one that plays a bit fast and loose with historical facts .",
        "it 's surprising how much more imagination this modest film has of the possibility of such wanton destruction than edge of tomorrow had ... and in that tom cruise movie , the aliens actually destroyed the city .",
        "diplomacy is a tiny film that hits a big target .",
        "tere 's a fair amount of talking in circles , even with the film 's brisk running time . the dialogue also reflects the material 's stage origins in ways that do n't always translate well .",
        "a mesmerizing , tense and deeply human battle of the mind and heart with note-perfect performances by niels arestrup and andr\u00e9 dussollier .",
        "well-orchestrated and superbly acted . though we know the outcome , the fate of paris seems anything but guaranteed .",
        "the leads carry the weight of the world on their shoulders , articulating the uniquely delicate struggle at the core of this superbly executed picture .",
        "a brilliantly-acted , wwii gem from veteran schlondorff .",
        "adapted from a stage production written by cyril gely , it feels more theatrical than cinematic , but its historic importance is adequate to hold viewers ' attention .",
        "it 's quite a triumph for diplomacy in general and schl\u00f6ndorff 's pinpoint filmmaking in particular to involve us as thoroughly as it does in the ebb and flow of their compelling conversation .",
        "promises to come down to issues of principles and ideals in conflict but does not",
        "arestrup , dussollier and schl\u00f6ndorff make us all believe in a battle for paris that never happened .",
        "how can it be suspenseful when we know paris survived ? because schl\u00f6ndorff 's opened-up play adaptation showcases two mesmerizing actors reliving how individuals make history .",
        "a friendly discussion of life and death passes the time as the allies storm the last nazi defenses of the city of lights .",
        "it 's arestrup who really steals the show , turning von cholitz into a man who bears the weight of several thousand soldiers , not to mention an entire civilian population , and who suffers under that burden until making a final , eleventh hour decision .",
        "to be sure , we are in that authorial fantasy by which historical figures become shrewder , sharper and wittier than they surely were in life ... but when the actors and the dialogue are this good , one scarcely objects .",
        "diplomacy 's origins as a play -lrb- written by cyril gely and starring the same actors -rrb- are always evident .",
        "the value of `` diplomacy '' is that it produces at least as much unsettlement as relief , compelling the viewer to remain haunted by nightmarish thoughts of what might have happened .",
        "what g\u00e9ly lacks in historical fidelity he gains in dramatic interplay between men who held power very differently ."
    ],
    "summary": "for filmgoers who value character development and smart dialogue over plot , diplomacy yields rich , powerfully acted rewards .",
    "id": "771374337"
  },
  {
    "movie": "oceans_thirteen",
    "reviews": [
        "though `` ocean 's thirteen '' sticks to las vegas , rather than the lush palazzos of european cities , the atmosphere is still a privileged one where our heroes carry out another ultra-hip caper .",
        "the gang 's back in vegas , and back in top form .",
        "clooney , pitt and damon have now worked together long enough that they 've found a delightful sense of synchronicity that makes even the throwaway lines worth catching .",
        "there is one small bit of good news about ocean 's thirteen : it 's not as bad as ocean 's twelve . but when you consider just how dismal the latter was , this nugget will hardly be cause for rejoicing .",
        "steven soderbergh 's film is smooth , pleasing and lively . it 's also completely devoid of genuine dramatic tension .",
        "why put so much sheen on a movie that warrants and provokes nothing more than mild diversion ? it 's like serving sloppy joes on fine china .",
        "acknowledging that service employees and factory workers make casinos tick - and factoring them into the plan - is a welcome wrinkle in pressed-suit professionalism that 's on display in this thrillingly exciting franchise revival .",
        "this might be the first piece of escapism to have a whiff of public service at its heart .",
        "a fast-paced lark of a movie that makes it clear that in this cruel and crafty world , friends have to stick together .",
        "returning to las vegas but losing its winning streak , ocean 's thirteen lets soderbergh and the boys take a final bow while proving it is possible to have too much of a good thing .",
        "surrendering to ocean 's 13 's pleasurable surfaces is sort of like admitting your attraction to a luxury brand : sure , those alligator loafers are extravagant nonsense , but they feel so nice on your feet .",
        "it 's more apparent than ever that soderbergh , clooney , and company do n't care -- and that sense of gleeful nonchalance is contagious .",
        "it took a really weak sequel to realize what a long shadow ocean 's eleven cast , and it 's still present here .",
        "just so you know -- because this is important when you 're talking to fans of george clooney 's charming thief danny ocean -- it 's an hour and 15 minutes into ocean 's thirteen before he appears in a tux .",
        "it 's time to send the danny ocean franchise out to sea , for good .",
        "the smug `` it 's our party and you 're not invited '' vibe of the second film is gone , replaced by a fizzy sense of shady glamour that makes an insanely complicated story of scams and swindles go down as smoothly as an ice-cold bellini .",
        "with ocean 's thirteen , the gang 's all here , looking fighting trim and hollywood beautiful , at your disposable pleasure .",
        "ocean 's thirteen will please those who delight in its persistent self-mythologizing , but the thrill of the original is gone , and nothing can bring it back .",
        "ocean 's 11 's easy chemistry and effortless style return alongside the let 's - take-down-a-casino plot .",
        "the details , the plots , the stratagems , the counter-stratagems mount and mount and mount until the thing reaches a point of such overplotted density it ca n't be penetrated .",
        "hollywood 's summer of risk-free programming continues with the fourth three-peat in six weeks , ocean 's thirteen , the least overbearing of the franchise installments rolled out so far .",
        "like the first ocean 's , ocean 's thirteen is a satisfying story of a grand-scale swindle , but it also retains the impishness and charm of ocean 's twelve .",
        "for two hours , life as you drearily know it is effectively suspended and a summery delirium takes over . this may be one of the busiest movies ever made , but soderbergh keeps the activity percolating with a fizzy arsenal of retro editing flourishes .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is passingly enjoyable summer fluff , but if you can find a more genial , less edgy caper movie , you might want to own it as a pet .",
        "it 's not often that the third in any franchise lives up to the reputation of its predecessors . here steven soderbergh pulls it off by trumping the lackluster number two in the series and returning to the upbeat ambience and freshness of the first one .",
        "this time , the con is on the audience .",
        "predictably adolescent and smarmy , with the mix of sentimentality and cynical flippancy that 's becoming steven soderbergh 's specialty -lrb- even when he 's pretending to make art films -rrb- , this is chewing gum for the eyes and ears , and not bad as such .",
        "i know full well i 'm expected to suspend my disbelief . unfortunately , my disbelief is very heavy , and during ocean 's thirteen , the suspension cable snapped .",
        "has enough frothy frolic to make it worthwhile despite its lapses .",
        "thirteen is all about maintaining a barely perceptible smirk behind an impassive pose . the line between cool and cold is a thin one , however . cool is n't the word for thirteen ; it 's just smug .",
        "it 's just about good enough to make us forget how unfortunate ocean 's twelve really was",
        "when a movie keeps you this entertained without insulting your intelligence , it 's hard to complain .",
        "... a great diversion from , and a fine addition too , the three-peats filling up the local cinemas .",
        "a subpar a-team episode with george clooney as face .",
        "though ocean and the rest of the sexy squad have to act like they 're desperately dedicated to what they do best to get the job done , the whole technically intricate production comes off as more play than work .",
        "a cocky and condescending indulgence test for anyone who has n't automatically bought into its faux-cool suave .",
        "a renewed focus and sense of fun have returned to the proceedings .",
        "the `` ocean 's '' series started out popping like the bellagio . with `` ocean 's thirteen '' it has gone as dead as circuscircus . on a tuesday afternoon . during a shriners convention .",
        "what soderbergh thinks is ` style ' looks like a travelogue advertising hell .",
        "it is , in essence , one long caper from start to finish . and while it makes almost no sense -lrb- and never pauses for a minute to think about it -rrb- , everyone 's having a ball -- and this time , the audience is included .",
        "the party may well be ending for these gentlemen , but it was fun while it lasted .",
        "after the story 's wheels are set in motion , you pretty much know everything that 's going to happen , but director steven soderbergh makes it fun to watch your winning hand unfold .",
        "ultimately , if you give yourself up to its manufactured charm , it all becomes comfortingly familiar .",
        "move over , spidey , shrek and sparrow ... danny ocean 's back in vegas ! this romp is one of this summer 's guiltiest pleasures .",
        "it takes a special kind of talent to make a caper film without one iota of suspense ... ringadingding ... not !",
        "its a funny , chummy movie that is every bit as over-plotted , absurd and indulgent as ocean 's twelve . the big improvement ? this time the ham is served on wry .",
        "plot pieces barely fit , almost nothing is clearly explained , the gizmos and twists are stupid , the wit witless . this movie smokes a fat cigar of assumption , smug that most viewers will need to feel like insiders .",
        "the movie is all heist , which soderbergh carries off in high style .",
        "ocean 's 13 knows everybody loves to see the house lose , which is what makes watching the gang rig the casino to go bust so fun .",
        "all told , this thing has to be one of the dullest caper movies ever made .",
        "an entertaining night out at the movies . have some popcorn .",
        "even the title cards are splashy .",
        "not a bad way to spend a summer afternoon at the old picture show , even though it 's eminently forgettable .",
        "punch-lines seem both unknowable and strangely satisfying , as in rusty 's apparently clever , wholly contextless rejoinder : `` i said , ` what do i look like , a pancake eater ? ' '' read as you will .",
        "how many times can you keep conning the viewers and get away with it ?",
        "upping the ante in terms of intrigue while toning it down in terms of action , this downright comfortable diversion is a relatively-cerebral affair which offers an absorbing alternative to the summer blockbusters of the over-stimulating , special effects-dr",
        "... an airy entertainment that has the smarts to add a second , unexpected swindle that is more satisfying than the main event .",
        "you get what you came for , namely the usual suspects breezily hamming it up and a lot of forgettable banter going down incredibly easily .",
        "whereas previous ocean 's films have delighted in crossing their audiences , thirteen barely tries . and when the clever turns predictable ... well , it 's no longer clever .",
        "fantastically smug , empty picture , which comes complete with a nasty-tasting dab of misogyny .",
        "can audiences still be entertained by this baker 's dozen beating unbeatable adversaries , breaking unbreakable safes , or crashing uncrashable security systems ? i still am .",
        "bright and glitzy but ultimately ephemeral and rather silly , featherweight sleight-of-hand without much of a payoff .",
        "summer fun with a safety net .",
        "because soderbergh keeps things so simple , stripped-down , and straight to the point , ocean 's thirteen is the best ocean 's movie so far .",
        "a spectacle blatantly predicated on a smug gaggle of mega movie stars in boss threads ostentatiously having fun by pretending to steal the house 's money , while actually taking yours .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- delectably elaborate and savory souffl\u00e9 of a mother-of-all-scams sequel .",
        "most of the formula from the first movie has been rehashed without recapturing much of the magic or pizzazz , making this sequel more like ` ocean by numbers . '",
        "sometimes -- albeit not very often in the movie world -- three really is a charm . ... soderbergh gets lucky and comes up with a real winner .",
        "an embarrassment of riches as a-list movie stars saunter through the film in elegant suits and a rapscallion wink .",
        "pure entertainment , -lsb- as -rsb- bright and shiny as perfectly restored vintage neon",
        "soderbergh regains the balance he found in the first film and , in some ways , even improves on it .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is n't great , but as third installments go , it 's better than godfather iii .",
        "this one hits the jackpot as a sleek and stylish caper flick even sinatra himself would have loved .",
        "like james bond movies , it 's not about the reality of the situation but the fun you have watching it .",
        "creative scheming , in-jokes and movie star charm . that 's really all we have here ; essentially , this is heist movie porn .",
        "third time 's a charm . ocean 's thirteen outshines the second installment , offering that certain breezy fun the original provided . those cutie pies just work better in vegas .",
        "if this is the final ocean 's movie , saving the best for last is a wonderful way to go out .",
        "an exercise in stylish bravado that is as substantial as a catfight between supermodels .",
        "though it takes a little while before it really takes off , this slick bauble of a movie qualifies as the best of the summer ` threequels '' -- at least thus far .",
        "it 's not very funny . like everything in the third ocean 's movie , these scenes have a great set-up and no payoff . the casual charm that was displayed so easily in ocean 's eleven has turned downright lackadaisical .",
        "there 's actually a coherent script , and there are some real laughs . not big laughs , mind you , but a fairly steady stream of smiles and chuckles . and their newest caper is , as expected , fiendishly complex and outlandishly executed .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is the first sequel of the summer of 2007 not to fall on its face . the film is better paced and more involving than ocean 's twelve but perhaps not as well executed as ocean 's eleven .",
        "jazzy , snazzy , and a whole lot of fun ... not just the summer 's best sequel but the biggest mainstream achievement so far this year .",
        "... one of those bright , shiny things that delights us as if we were simple babies . if you do n't believe me , watch how it will even make some women drool .",
        "click for full review",
        "the action starts with the opening scene so there 's never a chance for it to slow down .",
        "soderbergh can no more put the fizz back in his flat bubbly than one can put a genie back in a bottle , but at least ocean 's thirteen can still give you a light buzz .",
        "you can beat the house and you can break the bank , but sequels always get long odds on defeating the law of diminishing returns -- yet ocean 's thirteen just about pulls it off .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is cool , hilarious and fun beyond all expectations . a fitting extension of the ocean 's gang story , and the perfect way to spend your movie-going evening , living life in the shoes of those smarter , wittier and way cooler than you .",
        "ocean 's thirteen still feels like one trip too many to the craps table , playing the same hunches , with the outcome unimaginatively clear from the start : categorical victory for the rascally good guys , utter defeat and humiliation for the villain .",
        "a pastry of a movie , airy , insubstantial , and meant to fill in the gaps between heartier meals .",
        "now there 's just self-fondling fizz -- no , not even that , just a kind of quasi-zen petulance palmed off as ` cool '",
        "ocean 's thirteen is one long set-up for a wholly unsatisfying and impotent climax .",
        "these actors have the characters they play down pat , and as long as they come up with some reason to pull off a heist , i 'll be watching .",
        "like a few dirty martinis , you wo n't remember much of it the next day , but it was pretty fun while it lasted .",
        "while it in no critical area improves upon the magic of its deliriously watchable original installment , it 's flashier and funnier than expected .",
        "i think it 's safe to say most will find the magic is back in ocean 's thirteen .",
        "basically , what you get with ocean 's thirteen is more of the same , but less .",
        "a genial time-waster .",
        "vremena su se promijenila , ali sre % u0107om , ne toliko da dana % u0161nje filma % u0161e sprije % u010de da prave kvalitetnu holivudsku zabavu .",
        "even the most cynical person must concede that it 's kind of fun watching beautiful people act cool .",
        "after two other movies in the series , ocean 's thirteen does n't exactly feel fresh , but what 's cool is that it does n't feel stale either . this is the rare movie series where the third entry is just as much fun as the original .",
        "flat , abstruse , predictable and unable to raise your pulse rate higher than a blip on an ekg .",
        "in a summer where every intended blockbuster has so far been the third in a series it 's a relief to note that the fourth third to come along is the best of the lot .",
        "if ocean 's thirteen often seems as budget-bloated and hollow as a vegas hotel , it still manages to coast on its surface charms ... . you may not have hit the jackpot , but you did n't get cleaned out , either .",
        "watching this movie is like eating cotton candy : it may not have any substance , but it sure tastes good .",
        "... an improvement , without the smug celebrity preening that marred ocean 's twelve .",
        "plausibility is the first casualty in ocean 's thirteen but it 's unlikely anybody is going to care .",
        "clooney and pitt provide plenty of eye candy in ` ocean 's thirteen , ' but this third ocean 's adventure often seems incoherent and listless .",
        "brisk and forgettable , the film is as memorable as a las vegas buffet : lots of goodies at the time , but afterward no taste that stands out .",
        "it 's the best looking of the bunch . for a movie that 's all posteur , that counts for a lot .",
        "another spectacle of celebrity narcissism and goofing off which can only be commended for not being quite as unbearable as its thoroughly self-satisfied predecessor .",
        "this is a gang of thieves that we could hang out with again and again .",
        "i was n't a fan of the previous two pictures in this series , but ocean 's thirteen qualifies as the first to even approach a winning hand .",
        "if this pays for another darfur benefit , then so be it .",
        "somewhere between the locker room ass-slapping , the bland heist plot develops , as if it really matters",
        "it 's fairly charming , extremely well put-together , and by this time next week i doubt i 'll remember even having seen it .",
        "goes down smooth and easy , but lacks any real bite .",
        "ocean 's thirteen feels mostly like just another job -- not only for the cast and crew , but for critics as well . audiences will likely find it to be superior to its immediate predecessor , but as in most of the games the ocean 's guys are trying to rig , the",
        "the suits are sleek , the dialogue snappy , the tone wry , the jazz hip . even las vegas -- bastion of neon kitsch that it is -- looks opulently graceful .",
        "so listless and logy it needed michael moore to take it to cuba for emergency medical treatment .",
        "-lsb- recaptures -rsb- much of the spirit of the original film .",
        "more than the previous segments , in this one , director soderbergh and his writers adopt the prevalent paradigm of howard hawks , centering the saga on male camaraderie , cool professionalism , and above all group loyalty .",
        "as smooth as a good mojito , as stylish as an armani suit and as meaningful in the grand scheme of things as yesterday 's las vegas betting odds , ocean 's thirteen continues the breezy good times of the first two series entries without missing a beat .",
        "hilarity-free .",
        "it 's an ok revenge pic but dan klores 's revenge movie , ` crazy love , ' costs 1/400th of the price to make , and is a superior film .",
        "soderbergh and company have said this is the last ocean 's film , and it should be - they finally got it right . anything that comes after will only tarnish the cocktail hour perfection of this movie .",
        "overall , the movie is ok enough ... but does n't have the energy , excitement and fun of the first film",
        "as cool and varied as ever",
        "ocean 's thirteen plays to known quantities , but with a graceful sense of ease and a sparkly smile a mile wide ... one of the best cinema experiences of the year .",
        "it 's totally in love with itself , of course , one that would hog the mirror from now until the sun froze if you let it -lrb- sort of the cinematic version of the popular kids in high school putting on a show -rrb- . but you end up not holding that against it .",
        "it may be way too clever for its own good , yet ocean 's thirteen has plenty of ring-a-ding-ding .",
        "` ocean 's thirteen ' is pure escapist fare that hits no jackpot , but pays off better than ` ocean 's twelve . '",
        "it 's probably not ` better ' than the first movie , but i 'll predict those who found the second one lacking will applaud the return to form .",
        "... possesses precisely the sort of light-hearted vibe that the series has come to be associated with ...",
        "au sein d'un \u00e9t\u00e9 o\u016f on se noie dans les suites d\u00e9cevantes , qui aurait cru que la plus satisfaisante concernerait quelques \u00e9l\u00e9gants cambrioleurs qui veulent venger un ami ? - in a sea of disappointing summer sequels this one shines without violence or explo",
        "this plush third installment in director steven soderbergh 's heist franchise recoups a good bit of the original 's escapist fun .",
        "it 's instantly disposable charm , but it 's charm nonetheless .",
        "the entire production is breezy enough to sit through and be entertained while the temperature outside reaches 90 degrees .",
        "if ocean 's 13 could treat theaters like clubs then they 'd place bouncers at the doors so that only the cool people would be let in . that would definitely cut into profits but it would be in keeping with how the film would like to brand itself ...",
        "the script is fun and breezy and not meant to be taken very seriously .",
        "robbing casinos ? shit , these guys should be in charge of katrina relief !",
        "this summer , the forecast is cool % u2026at least if you 're heading to the ocean .",
        "ugly . filmed through dirt . danny 's dead end kids infiltrate bin laden 's camp and hold him ransom for some old dude who rescued them from an orphanage .",
        "an intriguing heist .",
        "the cast and crew are having a lark , and the mood is infectious rather than insular , as it was in the second film .",
        "actors having a good time plus soderbergh 's style and lush vegas imagery compensate for the plodding prelude to the heist .",
        "ocean 's thirteen shows that summer movies and their attendant presumption of needing to turn one 's brain off can still be executed with style and wit .",
        "all the reasons that i did n't like the first two installments in the ocean 's series were the elements that worked for me this time around .",
        "it 's a great looking movie .",
        "having suffered a few no-doze moments , i 'd comfortably suggest that lovers of hi-roller comedy will not want to miss this roundup of ocean 's adaptive set of schemers .",
        "better than the disastrous sequel .",
        "a victim of its own pedigree .",
        "clooney/pitt are our sinatra/martin and we should use them while they 're still dapper and dashing and worthy of surname-only reference .",
        "personality is noticeably lacking in director steven soderbergh 's cotton candy caper confection that should , but will not , end his superfluous `` ocean 's '' franchise .",
        "marks a return to form after the self-indulgent tomfoolery of its globe-hopping predecessor , even if the revenge heist scenario now feels very tired .",
        "this is more like it .",
        "it 's watchable , colorful and intermittently funny , but given the level of talent on display , it 's reasonable to want more than that .",
        "is it possible that only a director so distrustful of surfaces could surrender so thrillingly to the big lie ?",
        "sure , it could n't be much more self-indulgent , but the fun is infectious .",
        "as ever the chemistry between the lads -- especially clooney and pitt -- keeps the rhythm snappy , and this time , the emphasis on friendship and loyalty makes them easy to root for .",
        "after a lot of buildup , not much happens at the climax .",
        "this is soderbergh 's point : that fiendishly clever new gadgets can work with old-fashioned morals to brilliant effect . we forget that at our peril . this point alone is reason enough why ocean 's thirteen is the best of soderbergh 's heists .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is pretty much a confection of silly gags , great visuals , male bonhomie and goofy comedic ` suspense . ' and i 'm not , per se , complaining .",
        "it 's a lot better than twelve , and even though it does n't quite go to eleven , at least it comes close enough .",
        "it 's just fun . you want to be challenged ? not your movie .",
        "... the perfect movie for an air conditioned theater and a big tub of popcorn .",
        "trapped by the very conventions it created , ocean 's thirteen is a disappointing fake . one last job ? sure ... but it 's a hack job .",
        "but while it 's an improvement on the last movie , ocean 's 12 , it 's not quite in the same league as the first film , ocean 's 11 , principally because the storyline is the same and the sheer buzz of seeing so many megastars sharing the same screen has worn off",
        "thematically , though , this is an improvement on its forebears , mainly due to the way it deals - much like scorsese 's best work - with the archaic nature of the criminal set .",
        "unfortunately , with the arrival of ocean 's thirteen , it 's beginning to seem that the spectacle of a-list salaries on parade may not be enough to sustain the series much longer .",
        "you know it 's one sequel too many , well , actually two sequels too many , when brad pitt and george clooney start finishing each other 's sentences while strolling down the vegas strip and reminiscing on the good ole days .",
        "funny , finely-tuned and flashier than an essex boy on a night out in romford ... go see !",
        "does n't add anything new to its routine equation but a hundred and thirteen minutes pass swiftly and fourteen actors have a good time -- an enjoyable , disposable lark",
        "a lightweight but altogether entertaining romp-reunion that seems like nothing more -- or less -- than a do-over for the steven soderbergh-george clooney gang 's ponderous , too-hip-for-the room ocean 's twelve .",
        "in hollywood 's version of vegas , i 'll have the surf , and the turf , and the vegetarian , and anything else soderbergh wants to serve me .",
        "thirteen goes back to the basics of slick , empty entertainment . and it leaves you feeling amused yet unfulfilled , so i guess all involved should be congratulated for a job well done . or , depending how you look at it , slapped .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is enjoyable fluff and a testament to how far wit and charisma can carry a film . in a summer full of wholly unnecessary sequels , this is the best one so far . that may be faint praise , but for this franchise , it 's a big step up .",
        "with so many events , you kinda had to be there . and ocean 's thirteen never manages to give us the sense that we are .",
        "something seems to be off when the actors onscreen are having a better time than the audience . just like the first ocean 's film , this is n't so much a movie as a private party .",
        "an ocean that fulfills the promise of all this great talent .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is hack hollywood garbage , the sort of film that thinks so little of its supposedly sure-thing audience that it never breaks a sweat . that 's not cool ; that 's lazy .",
        "if it ran five minutes longer it would cross the line from amusing to annoying . but it does n't .",
        "for all its forced twinkle , ocean 's thirteen leaves you with no real warmth , like a croupier who 's just cleaned you out before he wishes you a nice day .",
        "a sequel -lrb- or three-quel , if you will -rrb- that returns to the vicarious fun of the first movie , ocean 's eleven , and all but erases the not-so-fond memory of the preening ego-trip that was ocean 's twelve .",
        "better looking than shrek the third , less convoluted than pirates 3 and as satisfying as spider-man 3 .",
        "the sleek script makes gleeful use of expository dialogue , building ludicrous situations and winding its way out again .",
        "despite a few diverting and modestly amusing moments , thirteen does n't match the 2001 comic-caper remake ocean 's eleven . and the whole hipper , cooler , more clever formula is starting to wear thin .",
        "ocean 's thirteen is as lazy and laid-back as a softball game with the beer keg at second . and it 's just as enjoyable .",
        "evocatively shot with the saturated color of '60s film and accompanied by david holmes ' retro-mod score , ocean 's thirteen is a boy 's - night-out lark that girls can enjoy .",
        "to call the ocean 's films frivolous would be kind , implying that these arduous concoctions are somehow light on their proverbial feet .",
        "danny ocean and company ought to seriously consider retirement .",
        "it was more fun when they were a little bit hungry and more than a little bit greedy . let 's hope they remember that before the next one .",
        "the most enjoyable thing about the ocean 's movies is that nobody involved seems to take them seriously . the star wattage is immense but the stars themselves are refreshingly self-deprecating , almost satirically so ."
    ],
    "summary": "ocean 's thirteen reverts to the formula of the first installment , and the result is another slick and entertaining heist film .",
    "id": "462983441"
  },
  {
    "movie": "everyone_says_i_love_you",
    "reviews": [
        "the dance numbers are clever , fun and , sometimes , funky and are cleanly choreographed .",
        "a charming , sweet-natured divertissement .",
        "woody allen 's lively musical is a whimsical journey with surprising in-tune performances from a-list stars .",
        "the preoccupation with rich , uninteresting , new yorkers continues to distance his audience from his work more and more with each movie .",
        "modern musical will not interest teens .",
        "warmhearted , original , but not entirely successful tribute to classic hollywood movies of the 1930s , specifically capra 's you ca n't take it with you .",
        "MOV won me over completely .",
        "slight but pleasing middlebrow fare -lrb- much like a bob hope musical comedy -rrb- .",
        "woody doing a musical ? ok , it 's a bit uneven , but the all-star cast holds it together . goldie hawn is a delight .",
        "magical experiment from woody allen .",
        "a trifle , yes , but a cute and enjoyable one at that .",
        "it 's a world of both serene privilege and surreal possibility , and it offers a delightful and witty compendium of the film maker 's favorite things .",
        "it would take a heart of stone to resist this movie .",
        "an odd mix of old and new , realism and fantasy , craft and amateurism that should n't work but is inventive and hilarious anyway .",
        "entertainment with excess .",
        "woody allen 's musical comedy .",
        "a delightful and infectiously happy movie .",
        "on paper , the plot seems quite complicated , but things flow very smoothly on the screen . the multiple storylines really do n't matter anyway . magic and happy endings are what the film is about .",
        "who would have thought that woody allen could graft the trappings of an old-fashioned musical-comedy onto his own nebbish , angst-ridden film style and come up with something as wonderful as MOV ?",
        "if it does n't quite mandate a viewer song burst , this sweet conceit ought to glue a grin on your face until its crucial next-to-last scene hits a clunker note .",
        "in allen 's sweaty palms , `` everyone '' often strains itself trying to entertain . even when the movie hits its mark , you 're usually aware of how much work it took to get there .",
        "woody allen 's musical exploration of the variety and vagaries of romantic love .",
        "-lsb- allen 's -rsb- most purely enjoyable movie since 1987 's radio days .",
        "listening to the others sounding like a spouse in the shower makes one wonder : how bad could barrymore be that she had to be dubbed ?",
        "much of the film 's story is half-hearted , its jokes hit or miss , and what starts out feeling genial ends up unavoidably thin .",
        "\u00e9 impressionante a capacidade que woody allen tem de surpreender at\u00e9 seus f\u0103s mais fi\u00e9is .",
        "allen never seems to make up his mind about whether he is offering an homage to the great musicals of yesteryear or parodying that easy-to-josh genre .",
        "for a picture that 's almost a complete misfire , it 's painless to sit through .",
        "it 's difficult not to be impressed by what allen has achieved with this film : successfully reviving the musical comedy in such a thoroughly delightful fashion .",
        "it 's just great dumb fun , as a musical should be .",
        "styled as a romantic confection , MOV is , in fact , steeped in an unacknowledged middle-aged sadness that leaks from the writer-director and saps the energies of his cast ."
    ],
    "summary": "a likable , infectious musical , woody allen 's MOV is sometimes uneven but always toe-tapping and fun .",
    "id": "151436302"
  },
  {
    "movie": "memento",
    "reviews": [
        "a very clever , complex and extremely well constructed movie which demands intelligence and constant attention from its viewers , yet is put together using only a handful of simple elements .",
        "walking out of MOV , we can be glad that we do n't share leonard 's amnesiac condition ; it 's the kind of film you do n't want to forget .",
        "it 's absolutely brilliant -- a terrific little thriller that takes the genre and turns it inside out .",
        "MOV is not just a movie , but a puzzle .",
        "although gimmicky at times , MOV takes an innovative approach at storytelling that yields a surprising amount of mystery and suspense .",
        "a con in the mode of bryan singer 's the usual suspects -- the scam of the year .",
        "a film that simply gets so much right that there does n't seem to be anything of real worth left to say about it once you see it .",
        "a joyously twisted rubik 's cube of a movie . one of the year 's best films .",
        "christopher nolan 's extraordinary film is a brainteaser and a heartbreaker .",
        "films so seldom take chances anymore , it 's refreshing to see one that at least tries for something different .",
        "watching MOV is a unique experience : tense , irritating , and all-absorbing .",
        "although it 's being trumpeted for its undeniably ambitious narrative structure , MOV feels mostly like an audacious prank .",
        "this is a sparkling but forgettable film .",
        "MOV is an experience for serious filmgoers , those who have the stamina to focus on what is happening on the screen .",
        "the whole backward thing might sound gimmicky , but it works extremely well -- redefining terms like ` intricate thriller ' and ` broken time . '",
        "absolutely brilliant from end to beginning .",
        "a thinking person 's thriller with some occasionally startling albeit split-second sounds and striking imagery , nolan 's movie is an original .",
        "that rare film that needs -- and deserves -- second viewings . it 's that unique .",
        "christopher nolan 's film is a meditative study of the duplicituous nature of memory .",
        "whether viewed as an existential exercise or just a snappy thriller , this is a true original .",
        "not since `` the sixth sense '' has there been a movie that made viewers want to go back to see what they missed the first time as much as `` MOV . ''",
        "an all-consuming movie experience .",
        "one of the coolest , twistiest pieces of movie mystery ever made .",
        "... maravillosa . un nuevo cl\u00e1sico -lsb- rese\u0144a en castellano -rsb-",
        "few films this year have been so dizzyingly complex , and none so richly rewarding .",
        "nolan has a magician 's flair for distracting his audience 's attention while he accomplishes his trickery .",
        "a dizzying array of brilliance , an exercise in brain stamina and one of the year 's best films .",
        "MOV weaves a dense and suffocating web .",
        "this is a genuinely great movie and attendance should be mandatory .",
        "probably the most devilishly fascinating movie i 've seen in months , if not years .",
        "this jolting jigsaw puzzle of a movie grabs you and wo n't let go .",
        "the movie forces you to work , but any puzzle addict will be exhilarated by the effort .",
        "when it comes to making a top 10 list for 2001 , one title i wo n't forget is MOV .",
        "a moody craftsman of dazzling vision and skill .",
        "deconstructs time and space with einstein-caliber dexterity in the service of a delectably disturbing tale of revenge .",
        "the actors do a great job messing with perceptions .",
        "fantastically taut , crafty and utterly original .",
        "MOV is a puzzle of a movie ... worth solving .",
        "this is virtuoso filmmaking , stylistically dazzling and head-scratchingly intricate .",
        "film noir has never been so labyrinthine .",
        "sharply written , ingeniously constructed , strikingly shot and fast-paced , MOV is at once a satisfying mental game and an exhilarating cinematic stunt .",
        "a genuinely original film which makes you want to see it over and over and over again .",
        "a convoluted tour-de-force .",
        "a terrifically compelling little mystery .",
        "pearce gives a first-rate performance and MOV likely will stay with you like a tattoo on your mind .",
        "in most mysteries , you 're dying to know what happens next . in this one , you can hardly wait for the beginning .",
        "those who stay with it will experience perhaps the most dazzling film released so far this year .",
        "MOV is like an existential crossword puzzle , or a pungent 50 's b-thriller with a script by jorge luis borges .",
        "relentlessly suspenseful and , at perfectly timed intervals , outlandishly funny .",
        "mind-blowing fun that defies you to solve it before the movie does it for you .",
        "MOV is a deliciously taut film noir with more twists than a twizzler .",
        "MOV does n't just draw you into a dramatic mystery , it makes you aware of human mystery . and that 's food for thought and entertainment .",
        "with its capable cast , twisty plot , and gritty style , MOV is a real keepsake .",
        "provocatively structured and thrillingly executed film noir , an intricate , inventive use of cinema 's possibilities that pushes what can be done on screen in an unusual direction .",
        "an engaging brainteaser , even if the solution is a bit of a letdown .",
        "if you remember only one thing : see this movie .",
        "it does work , brilliantly . mind-blowingly .",
        "you might suspect that it 's told backwards because telling it forwards would tip us off much sooner that it does n't make a whole lot of sense .",
        "in a word - genius .",
        "pearce ... dominates the picture through his feral performance .",
        "one of the few recent films to recognize how closely a movie can resemble a memory bank .",
        "kudos to writer-director christopher nolan -lrb- co-written by jonathan nolan -rrb- for coming up with a very original film .",
        "an unnerving , but deeply penetrating experience that elevates what could have been a routine mystery thriller into a meditation on the slippery nature of reality itself",
        "nolan pulls off this complicated narrative structure with great flair .",
        "the movie does n't supply the usual payoff of a thriller -lrb- how can it ? -rrb- , but it 's uncanny in evoking a state of mind .",
        "it is a film about subjectivity , and so the truth remains just beyond our reach ...",
        "wow , what a movie !",
        "at once disturbing and titillating .",
        "the most disorienting and trippiest data-retrieval caper in years .",
        "a tribute to the art of juggling .",
        "a suspenseful story which evolves as a result of its protagonist 's abnormal cognitive processes .",
        "it 's a film that leaves you saying ` wow ' and ` so what ? ' at the same time .",
        "incredibly hard to describe and absolutely astonishing to watch .",
        "MOV makes you feel like you 're scrambling just to keep up -- and , more , that you enjoy the scrambling -- and that 's an immensely pleasurable sensation for a moviegoer .",
        "MOV stands on its own as a thriller , but it also works as a profound tragedy , stunning in its portrayal of a man teetering on the edge , though he does n't even know it .",
        "MOV delivers a potent right-left combination of innovation and emotional depth .",
        "more a puzzle than a meaningful story , it reminds me of how edmund wilson compared reading a mystery to eagerly unpacking a box of excelsior , only to find a few rusty nails at the bottom .",
        "occasionally the film trips over its own complexity , but it 's tense , devious and evokes leonard 's disorientation quite brilliantly . operation of heavy machinery after watching is a definite no-no .",
        "treats the audience with respect without being overly pretentious",
        "this is the kind of movie that gas-bag instructors use to illustrate the concept that one man 's reality is another 's fiction . but it 's puny stuff compared to kurosawa 's rashomon .",
        "innovative movie with a mature premise .",
        "MOV is one of those jigsaw puzzles whose pieces snap together more tightly with each viewing . fueling it all is a performance by guy pearce that 's as indelible as the tattoo ink covering his body .",
        "nolan built a better mousetrap of a neo-noir , using the tricky gimmick of a complex , purposefully disorienting narrative . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "a brilliantly told mindbender , a perfect example of how the right approach to storytelling can elevate a film",
        "christopher nolan 's breakthrough feature is a terrific film noir , witty , inventive , thrilling and intriguing from the first frame to the very last .",
        "more than an enigmatic , jittery , occasionally funny treatise on vengeance 's fruitlessness , `` MOV '' never abandons an emotional quandary : how can a man unable to feel time expect to heal ? leonard loses himself , as we all do , in habit and repetition .",
        "this is one of the best movies i 've seen in years . i have n't felt as exhilarated coming out of a movie since 1998 .",
        "if you want to send your brain to the gym , this is the film for you .",
        "MOV is a thriller for people who are sick of thrillers , a puzzle movie in which the puzzle is actually worth the time and effort to solve .",
        "a hard and bright and tough film in all the best ways .",
        "MOV offers a remarkable twist on the revenge thriller -- made even more challenging because the movie starts at the end .",
        "challenge all viewers and gives them plenty to ponder after the credits roll , the lights go out and they reach the parking lot .",
        "in forward progression , the narrative would garner little interest , thus making the reverse storytelling a filmmaker 's conceit .",
        "full of odd , hypnotic menace .",
        "somebody ought to buy this guy a handspring visor with a digital camera attachment .",
        "nolan uses the structure simply as a gimmick to refresh a stale story of revenge , crime , sex , a film noir that never gets any darker than gris .",
        "wild , daring , smart and funny , MOV is this year 's quirky film-festival hit that deserves to break out of the art houses and into mainstream consciousness .",
        "written and directed by christopher nolan , and based on a short story created by his brother jonathan nolan , MOV is a bizarre and provocative art-house movie .",
        "MOV is a tonic for audiences weary of sloppy narrative -- a timepiece of a movie , as complex and as perfectly synchronized as a swiss watch .",
        "this terrifically satisfying film brings to mind '40s and '50s noir films in which the audience is as unsure about the protagonist 's hold on reality as the protagonist is himself .",
        "it seems less than the sum of its time-slicing moves .",
        "bound to be talked about , debated and eviscerated far more than it 's understood .",
        "worthy of repeated viewings .",
        "the movie for those of us who have been waiting for something new and original .",
        "a calculated , well-told gimmick , and not much more .",
        "unique , tantalizing and ultimately brilliant .",
        "just when you thought film noir was dead and buried , along comes the memorably mind-bending MOV .",
        "there 's grade a work from all concerned , especially pearce , but in the end this is nolan 's film . and he delivers , with a vengeance .",
        "of all the ironies which fill the film , the most complementary may be that this is film which will not soon be forgotten .",
        "i am neither upset nor disturbed by MOV , only vaguely dissatisfied . i simply do n't buy jonathan nolan 's thesis that audiences know all the tropes and tricks of crime thrillers backward and forward .",
        "writer-director christopher nolan toys with our minds as each scene ends where the previous scene began in a sort of tidal regression and progression of story and character .",
        "the film is cool , contemplative , a puzzle movie in which you see the finished puzzle right up front and then watch as it disassembles itself .",
        "nolan 's sophomore effort is a near peerless psychological thriller .",
        "`` MOV '' is a crime-revenge story that relies on its one big gimmick .",
        "MOV is as bleak as they come . but sometimes staring into humanity 's heart of darkness is a healthy thing .",
        "fans of film noir and the usual suspects will find much to appreciate about MOV , with its circular loop of lost memory .",
        "it is sleek , exciting , witty , suspenseful and easily the most original american film to be seen so far this year .",
        "MOV is an engrossing journey into a world without memory . do n't miss this amazing experience .",
        "nolan 's skill lies in creating an atmosphere for this story .",
        "ironically , it 's one of the most memorable films so far this year .",
        "... forces the viewer to wrap his mind around an entirely new kind of storytelling .",
        "the brilliance of christopher nolan 's MOV lies in how such commonplace occurrences , which resonate in every viewer , are stretched to the extreme and packaged in a taut revenge thriller . movie going has n't been this much fun for a long , long time .",
        "an interesting little film indeed .",
        "an engaging twist on the thriller genre .",
        "brilliant and original twist on the traditional detective thriller -- one of the best films of the year .",
        "if ever there was a fresh approach to one man 's personal hell , it 's this one .",
        "the mystery requires a lot of concentration , but the stunning final scene is ample reward . not just an indulgence , the ingenious structure makes the point that memory , although unreliable , is what we depend upon for our sense of reality .",
        "if nothing else , MOV is a savvy comment on the queasy uncertainties of the postmodern condition , in which history goes no further back than yesterday 's news .",
        "this terrific movie , about one man 's quest for vengeance , does everything a thriller is supposed to do : intrigue , involve and keep you guessing .",
        "you have to pay close attention to MOV , the most original thriller to come along in years -- and one of the best .",
        "pearce 's central performance is as compelling as the film 's premise and nolan 's execution of it . in pearce 's hands , leonard is a time bomb with a short fuse .",
        "the three leads are excellent , but it 's the masterful execution of an almost-too-clever-for-its-own-good concept which really makes this the most delicious kind of food for the mind .",
        "the astonishing payoff takes the film to another level entirely , unleashing a battery of existential questions that shed new light on everything that precedes it .",
        "the young british writer and director christopher nolan , who has every intention of putting us through the mill , doubles his fun by running the whole story backward .",
        "writer-director christopher nolan 's second film is one of the most original and ultimately confounding mind games to reach the screen since the usual suspects .",
        "i ca n't remember when a movie has seemed so clever , strangely affecting and slyly funny at the very same time .",
        "some have said that the film would work just as well beginning to end . i disagree .",
        "every incident , every conversation is a mini-mystery waiting to be unraveled .",
        "... for all its formal wizardry , ultimately an ice-cold feat of intellectual gamesmanship . once the novelty wears off , there 's nothing left .",
        "undeniably talented and way underused , pearce brings just the right balance of bewilderment , anger and melancholic acceptance to a role that must almost single-handedly carry the entire movie .",
        "if pulp fiction represents the birth of post-modern filmmaking , MOV marks its adolescent spurt .",
        "the movie is a trip .",
        "it 's all pretty confusing , but then again , so were many of the classic film noirs .",
        "part of what makes MOV so involving lies in the performances .",
        "MOV is a movie that definitely earns the distinction of being termed unforgettable .",
        "several movies in recent years have tried to invent new cinematic storytelling forms to counteract the cookie-cutter mentality that is hollywood . this is the one that finally achieves it .",
        "MOV 's boldest stroke is its ingenious synthesis of structure and theme .",
        "MOV becomes less a fascinating portrait of a damaged man than a typical revenge thriller . but it 's still a very cool movie .",
        "there 's far more to this jaw-dropper than gimmicky plotting . cloaking itself in the guise of a contemporary film noir , MOV questions the trustworthiness of memory itself .",
        "nolan is a breath of fresh air as a filmmaker .",
        "it will be an unadventurous or lazy filmgoer who does n't want to play the movie 's ingenious game .",
        "destined to become a new noir classic .",
        "a puzzle thriller about a man with amnesia that turns out to be an intriguing probe of identity , loss , mental instability , mystery , and trust .",
        "MOV is that rare motion picture that offers a bevy of riches to the audience . it is also the kind of movie that deepens on closer inspection , while multiple viewings are almost required to fully appreciate all it has to offer .",
        "the sort of picture that is so engrossing that you 'll want to come back and see it again soon .",
        "it 's a weird , murky thriller that toys with your mind , culminating in an unsettling universal truth : `` i have to believe that , when my eyes are closed , the world 's still here . ''",
        "... a film like `` MOV '' stands out , dares to challenge , and ultimately gives birth to a new mold of storytelling . it is the jackhammer for our frozen imaginations .",
        "the biggest accomplishment here is writer-director christopher nolan 's , who uses an editing method that conveys the sense of time loss of his main character directly into the perception of his audience .",
        "brillantemente dirigida y tremendamente innovadora , es una de esas cintas que , literalmente , lo dejar\u00e1n con el ojo cuadrado .",
        "a completely engrossing experience that demands and deserves multiple viewings .",
        "the structure works because it manages to put the viewer in the same state as leonard .",
        "by the conclusion , your immediate reaction is to want to see the movie again to try to put the pieces together . your second instinct is to give it a rest .",
        "it 's pointless to knock MOV . the proof of the film 's success is that 10 minutes after you 've seen it , it 's exactly as if you had n't .",
        "intriguing and accomplished as it was , MOV left me unpersuaded that this trip was really necessary .",
        "christopher nolan has written an ingenious script , the likes of which you ca n't believe a single human being can write . bring a friend . you 'll want the company afterwards .",
        "um grande exerc\u00edcio de l\u00f3gica e t\u00e9cnica narrativa ."
    ],
    "summary": "christopher nolan skillfully guides the audience through MOV 's fractured narrative , seeping his film in existential dread .",
    "id": "13052"
  },
  {
    "movie": "miss_congeniality",
    "reviews": [
        "marc lawrence 's screenplay is n't particularly fresh , but it does include an assortment of snappy one-liners , most of them tripping off the velvet tongue of michael caine ...",
        "mais um ponto para sandra bullock , que prova merecer , assim como sua personagem , o t\u00edtulo de miss simpatia .",
        "with this cutesy bit of ick , sandra bullock squanders the good will she engendered with her surprisingly complex portrayal of a party girl in rehab in 28 days .",
        "taking a potshot at the beauty pageant industry , MOV is entertainment as light as a well-shaped hairdo , fitted out with skin-deep characterizations and a plot that has the all complexity of a g-string bikini .",
        "sandra bullock is in a class of her own and it 's only partly a matter of beauty . perhaps the larger part is that shining , irresistible personality that lights a room , a runway , a silver screen . she can get you interested in the phone directory .",
        "caine may save the movie , but bullock is the movie . the confection rests on her considerable off-center charm and beauty .",
        "like most beauty pageant contestants themselves , MOV is all charm and little substance .",
        "watching michael caine and sandra bullock interact testily with each other is this film 's special treat .",
        "the title refers to the miss america pageant award given to `` the person who was nicest to everyone , '' and this seems perfectly apt for bullock 's winning performance .",
        "sandra bullock gives her regular-gal aura a serious workout in MOV as an ugly-duckling fbi agent transformed into a beauty-pageant swan . and , by gum , she pulls it off .",
        "sandra bullock still has that winning smile but little else . someone should give this misguided star/producer some sound career advice .",
        "bullock 's performance and a couple of new twists on the classic formula make it a pleasant and entertaining effort .",
        "it 's a paint-by-numbers film that runs too long considering its lack of content .",
        "just retype the plot , slap in the same complaints , and bam -- new bullock movie review .",
        "what say we let these folks take another stab at it with a better script , ok ?",
        "it all coalesces in a tv-level pleasantness , which is n't quite enough to fill a big screen .",
        "it misses so many genuine opportunities for comedy that it becomes another reminder of writers not doing their homework and slapping together a paint-by-numbers plot .",
        "tapping inner reservoirs of comedic talent that even her fans probably were n't aware of , bullock hits every joke out of the park .",
        "bullock proves adept at tackling a more physical brand of comedy than she has attempted in the past .",
        "things get as shaky as grace adjusting to high heels when her warranted contempt for her vapid competitors is worn down by nothing more than superficial bonding at a giggly pizza party .",
        "you could do a lot worse during the holiday season than this sparkling , congenial tale .",
        "this is minor stuff more suited to an up-and-comer than an established marquee headliner .",
        "this film is a mess -- it ca n't make up its mind whether it wants to be a drama , a comedy , or an action movie .",
        "a barrage of dangling plot strands , inconsistent characterizations , and suspense-free shootouts .",
        "the screenplay lacks any sense of consistency , treating all the contestants derisively -- and then trying to convince us that , deep down , they 're all really wonderful women .",
        "seems happily , deliberately second-rate , as if its ideal audience consisted of weary airline passengers .",
        "it is funny and knowing , detached enough to take a bemused stance toward its calculated tone .",
        "-lsb- bullock 's -rsb- spunky humor and vibrant screen presence have n't been used this well since while you were sleeping .",
        "like any good beauty pageant contestant , it tries to make everyone happy , and ends up looking as if it 's held together by vaseline and duct tape .",
        "what makes it a good movie ... is bullock herself in a strong role that appeals to the feminist in me .",
        "there 's a whiff of desperation about MOV .",
        "dutifully follows each clich\u00e9 to its painfully obvious conclusion .",
        "a delightful , endearing little comedy with a wonderfully clever script and great performances from bullock and michael caine .",
        "it comes across as shrill , contrived and forced .",
        "the film stomps along desperately looking for big laughs .",
        "it 's an amiable comedy and provides a forum for -lsb- bullock -rsb- to showcase her gift for comedy .",
        "without help from either script or director , poor bullock gets stuck as a distant runner-up in this featherweight farce .",
        "once again , bullock is willing but the material is weak .",
        "the jokes are lame , the set-up is stupid and bullock , occasionally a winsome comedienne and here a co-producer , is annoying as heck .",
        "with bullock , you do n't have time to wrap your mind around the notion that she 's a butt-kicking tomboy before she 's reverted to her trademark cutesy-poo act .",
        "donald petrie has made a fun film , not a great film , but fun .",
        "if you take this movie on its light , fluffy , cutesy , poopsy level , you will more than likely enjoy it as much as i did .",
        "this is definitely -lsb- bullock 's -rsb- funniest role since while you were sleeping .",
        "there could have been a better film in there .",
        "the film is completely derivative .",
        "truly , we have mined the beauty pageant satire to death , have we not ?",
        "it 's time for a career makeover for bullock , who keeps squandering her girl-next-door likeability on trivial projects like this one .",
        "it 's an average film , packing some good grace-harty laughs while others gags fall off the mark .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- amiable but thoroughly uninspired piece of fluff .",
        "gracie is n't just unattractive outside , she 's unattractive on the inside , and the whole point of makeover movies is you 're supposed to want to identify with cinderella .",
        "seems predicated on the notion that today 's audiences will tolerate just about any kind of plot hole , continuity lapse , or ` i do n't think so ' moment .",
        "-lsb- bullock -rsb- trips , we laugh , but we also hope she gets up -- so she can do it again .",
        "assures us that a silk purse can be made from a sow 's ear , but that 's never true for a bad script .",
        "the movie is whipped into a froth with ... skill and humor -- just like those doris day comedies .",
        "it 's a likeable comedy with many pratfalls , a couple laugh-out-loud moments , and a deep understanding of pageant superficiality .",
        "it is n't bad so much as it lacks any ambition to be more than it so obviously is .",
        "a sad illustration of the decline in hollywood screenwriting .",
        "does n't exactly turn things around for -lsb- bullock -rsb- , but it 's funny enough and agreeable enough to at least start her on the road back .",
        "bullock seems to be stuck in a rut of cookie-cutter roles in films with half-baked concepts .",
        "pleasant and entertaining ; for teens and older .",
        "its story is far from logical , let alone realistic , yet we laugh and completely buy into the fun .",
        "bullock 's talent for gentle farce is not enough to carry her here ; there are only so many times she can get a laugh out of stumbling in her high heels and talking with her mouth full .",
        "while there may not be many surprises , there 's little to dislike either .",
        "sandra bullock -lrb- who also produces -rrb- takes a lame idea of a script , splashes her considerable allure all over it , and comes away with an amiable , light-hearted holiday charmer .",
        "basically , this is like a really bad film from the eighties , that seems to be remade with sandra bullock digitally grafted onto the horrible plot .",
        "MOV is n't awful , but it is n't utterly entertaining or incredibly original either , it 's just right in the middle .",
        "predictably cute and idiotically misleading .",
        "convenient bimbo stereotypes , bolstered and magnified .",
        "no one does this kind of thing better than bullock , but one wonders for how long she can pull it off . perhaps for as long as it pays .",
        "bullock knows how to showcase her vulnerability , but unfortunately she ca n't compensate for plot implausibilities that do n't have to be implausible , or clich\u00e9s that do n't have to be clich\u00e9d .",
        "the screenplay ... is a reeking refuse heap of recycled cliches and half-baked humor that only occasionally rises even to the level of a so-so tv sitcom .",
        "if , as has been much noted , lampooning beauty pageants is like shooting fish in barrel , why do all the movies that attempt it end up looking sadder than the third-place runner-up ?",
        "the players are game . too bad they do n't have much of a coach or a plan .",
        "it 's inoffensive , dim-witted fun .",
        "bullock is cute as ever . her script selection -lrb- 28 days , hope floats -rrb- , though , remains suspect .",
        "an ideal vehicle for sandra bullock , who just keeps proving she 's one of the finest physical comediennes in hollywood today .",
        "petrie 's formula of keeping it light and bright , and not too confusing , works .",
        "bullock is just plain funny .",
        "-lsb- caine 's -rsb- performance is probably as deft as the one he gave last year in the cider house rules .",
        "pro forma hilarity .",
        "it 's one thing to be far-fetched -- we 'll put up with a lot in a broad comedy -- but it 's quite another to be so absurd as to render the film utterly unbelievable .",
        "despite the film 's predictable trappings , bullock shines , tackling the physical comedy with bodacious aplomb .",
        "a rinky-dink comedy .",
        "there 's something so friendly and unabashedly silly about this production that it pretty much won me over .",
        "for bullock fans , it 's a delight , jolly junk in the season to be jolly .",
        "decidedly inconsistent .",
        "stuck in its sitcom-style take on an easy target for ridicule , director donald petrie chooses cutesy over clever .",
        "it 's unlikely that MOV will stem the backwards slide of bullock 's career momentum .",
        "had the proceedings had more bite or intelligence to them -- let alone humor -- the film could have been far better .",
        "in producing MOV , -lsb- bullock has -rsb- cast herself ideally , so as to show off her tomboyish giddiness , with a hint of sexy brashness .",
        "only a real diva can pack mace and a gun under her evening gown and still look good .",
        "although the script grants its leading lady some snappy verbal and physical humor , the film flickers and dies under a surfeit of stereotypes and one critical piece of ill-judged casting .",
        "a light-as-a-feather comedy that 's neither ambitious nor particularly original .",
        "rent drop dead gorgeous if you want to see how a funny movie on the beauty pageant world is done ! this is all formula .",
        "completely devoid of wit or grace , but heavy on straining obviousness .",
        "it 's a measure of -lsb- bullock 's -rsb- comic talent that she makes this creamy slip of a film as genuinely engaging as it is .",
        "sandra bullock , who also helped produce the movie , simply shines as gracie hart .",
        "a confused mess that 's partly funny and partly boring .",
        "it takes some doing to make a beauty pageant flick that features an intellectually vapid caper plot while being a slap in the face to feminism .",
        "a genuine crowdpleaser boasting a charming star turn , MOV is indeed difficult to dislike , but hey , sometimes it 's worth the effort .",
        "if you 're expecting action and comedy , you 'll find this film has little of either .",
        "has a lot of charm , which accounts for its success .",
        "a movie that seems to have no potential at all and still works remarkably well .",
        "unless you think it 's a riot to watch bullock fall over herself repeatedly in high heels , this miss is a mess .",
        "sandra bullock single-handedly makes this a movie worth seeing .",
        "bullock 's confident turn can not , alas , save this beautiful women falling down entry .",
        "bullock has such excellent timing , and such a superb sense of physical comedy , that we would happily watch her -lrb- and we have ! -rrb- in much worse films than this .",
        "there are many great actresses working in film today , but few of them have the flair for comedy that bullock does .",
        "sandra bullock is simply irresistible , displaying great comedic flair with impeccable timing ."
    ],
    "summary": "though critics say bullock is funny and charming , she ca n't overcome a bad script that makes the movie feel too much like a fluffy , unoriginal sitcom .",
    "id": "10560"
  },
  {
    "movie": "naked_gun_2_12_the_the_smell_of_fear",
    "reviews": [
        "in the limbo of comedy , few can go lower than zucker without visibly straining .",
        "nielsen 's secret is that he does almost nothing , and certainly nothing he seems to think is funny .",
        "somehow this sequel never reaches the heights of inspired lunacy that made the original so memorable , and there are no extended set-pieces that work as well as the first film 's opening battle with america 's enemies or the climactic baseball game .",
        "the opening and closing credits alone are almost worth the price of admission .",
        "something of a disappointment .",
        "smells bad .",
        "a lesser laugh trip than the original , yet still one worth checking out .",
        "this sequel might feel like a simple reworking of the first film if leslie nielsen were n't so consistently appealing in his role as frank drebin .",
        "one of the funniest movies starring a multiple murderer .",
        "provides sporadic laughs , but not as consistently funny as the first one .",
        "ribald , wild zucker comedy with leslie nielsen in usual wild form .",
        "even if the laugh machine is n't operating at top efficiency , it still cranks out a few choice bits of irreverent lunacy .",
        "not quite as fresh as the first .",
        "a feeble sequel .",
        "a nifty , crisp package , but not quite up to the standards of the original picture . a dildo drill ca n't solve every problem .",
        "amusing even if the law of diminishing returns is starting to kick in .",
        "what 's at work here is the comedy law of diminishing returns : if you tell the same jokes over and over and over again , they become less and less and less funny .",
        "nielsen combines b-movie earnestness , exuberant mugging , and a trouper 's slightly desperate cheerfulness : he turns this rather alarming character into a sweet , ebullient lunatic -- albeit one who 's hell on innocent bystanders .",
        "filled with slapstick antics",
        "not good , not bad , not really much of anything -lrb- except exactly what you expect -rrb- .",
        "strained spoof with intermittent -lrb- yet solid -rrb- larfs .",
        "a real step down after the brilliant movie and tv show .",
        "amusing , if limp , sequel to the first naked gun .",
        "no joke is passed up or thrown away . there just might be a little too much .",
        "the enthusiastic zucker , zucker & abrahams style of movie parody is too rarely seen to prompt much head-shaking about gags that do n't work .",
        "this is strictly a hit or miss film .",
        "`` amusing , unmemorable sequel ''",
        "an even sequel that misses the freshness of the original or the tv series ."
    ],
    "summary": "the slapstick antics of this sequel provide a few laughs , but fail to equal those of the original .",
    "id": "12666"
  },
  {
    "movie": "taxi_driver",
    "reviews": [
        "perhaps the most formally ravishing-as well as the most morally and ideologically problematic-film ever directed by martin scorsese , the 1976 MOV remains a disturbing landmark for the kind of voluptuous doublethink it helped ratify .",
        "one of the best and most powerful of all films .",
        "MOV -lrb- 1976 -rrb- is director martin scorsese 's and screenwriter paul schrader 's gritty , disturbing , nightmarish modern film classic that examines alienation",
        "jarring urban psychological drama .",
        "an utter masterwork of shifting tones and flowering angst .",
        "new york may have changed , but MOV is as powerful and painful as ever .",
        "what a mad and brilliant film it is : 1,000-degree proof seventies cinema .",
        "is travis a hero or a monster ? the question is never answered to any satisfying degree , and herrmann 's score makes sure of that by always playing up the counterpoint of a scene .",
        "a grimy film that perfectly reflects its grimy subject matter . travis bickle -lsb- is -rsb- one of film 's most complex characters . when you talk about super heroes , he truly is one minus the tights and powers .",
        "the blend of schrader 's script , scorsese 's direction and de niro 's performance is both riveting and unnerving . a film that will stay with you forever .",
        "acclaimed for its gritty realism , but it has an equal amount of cinematic reverie .",
        "get in and take a nightmare ride on perhaps scorsese 's best picture , the story of vietnam vet travis bickle 's fight to win the woman of his dreams in the seedy big apple .",
        "if you have n't seen MOV , your education in film has n't even begun .",
        "a movie to educate us about life on darker sides of the soul , or steer us away from living that life . it draws us in with a conviction that makes us feel like we 're living it .",
        "director martin scorsese 's nightmare vision of manhattan is important , impulsive work .",
        "de niro is brilliant , but the film as a whole is less successful than its formidable reputation suggests",
        "you may want to argue with MOV at the end , and with good reason , but it wo n't be a waste of time .",
        "MOV is one of the best films ever made . movies do n't get any better than this .",
        "there have been few films that have created and sustained the sense of constant , underlying dread that pervades every frame of martin scorsese 's scorching urban masterpiece",
        "centering on de niro , the michael and julia phillips production mixes politics , prostitution and philosophy as a complex man attempts to combat the corruption he can no longer tolerate .",
        "do n't let the endless barrage of morons imitating the `` you talkin ' to me ? '' bit put you off .",
        "bickle is complex , intriguing and never one-note .",
        "hitchcockian unease permeates the film , but so too does a godardian use of space and a bressonian focus on obsession heighten the mounting sense of dread .",
        "melodramatic as it often is , the film is a riveting watch and de niro provides a character study it is impossible to forget .",
        "the bustling helter-skelter of scorsese 's mean streets gives way to a measured , chilly calm , and cinematographer michael chapman ensures the big apple glistens with barely concealed menace .",
        "... a portrait in psychosis and dislocation with a protagonist whose racism and intolerance becomes his excuse to unleash his anger in a violent spree under the guise of heroism .",
        "writer paul schrader and director martin scorsese made names for themselves with this exquisitely crafted window into the contemporary male psyche . MOV seems aimless , taking as many u-turns and detours as a cabby does in the night . but it 's",
        "like werner herzog 's aguirre or coppola 's apocalypse now , MOV is auteurist psychodrama .",
        "portrait of a very disturbed man ; not for kids .",
        "scorcese 's first masterpiece .",
        "its themes of urban decay , anomie and violence which infuse the impending sense of doom at the heart of this film still hang like black clouds over many cities today .",
        "-lsb- scorsese -rsb- seems to need scripts with well-designed humor and performers with the spirit of ellen burstyn to compensate for what seems to be a fundamentally depressed view of life and the belief that sobriety is the equivalent of seriousness .",
        "martin scorsese 's masterly MOV both encapsulates and transcends its times .",
        "martin scorsese 's history-making scald is truly a phenomenon from another day and age . which is to say , imagine a like-minded film of this decade killing at the box office and getting nommed for best picture .",
        "a compelling and unsettling film exploring many of the fears , aches and dislocations of contemporary urban life",
        "powerful drama and portrait of insanity .",
        "so much of this study of evil is brilliant .",
        "probably did for cab drivers what psycho did for showers .",
        "for film buffs and those wondering what all the fuss is about , MOV remains a singular experience .",
        "in a brilliant touch , scorsese uses bickle 's voice-over narration , his continual talking to himself , as a symptom of emotional isolation and mental deterioration rather than for the usual exposition of or commentary on a story .",
        "the heart and soul of MOV are twisted in a way that ca n't be faked or copied .",
        "but despite anything , -lsb- the -rsb- average viewer at the end actually cheers for travis .",
        "the symbolism used by scorsese , the extremely effective acting by robert deniro , and the superb writing by paul schrader , turn this movie into a cinematic adventure of many layers .",
        "one of the great ones",
        "its brilliant performances and haunting final bernard herrmann score assist in making this classic about as perfect as a movie can be .",
        "the thing i 'm never sure about is whether travis is actually psychotic , and paul schrader 's script , scorsese 's direction , and de niro 's performance do n't give us any easy answers .",
        "it is a brilliant , bloody movie with a haunting portrayal of urban life , and is arguably one of the top 10 movies ever made .",
        "a masterful psychological study , the depth of which can only fully be appreciated on repeat viewings .",
        "since the mid-1970s , the movie has become presciently emblematic of our emotionally diseased , violence-prone culture .",
        "an undeniably brilliant , nightmarish portrait of one man 's personal hell .",
        "a haunting , visceral trip through the mind of a man on the edge of his own sanity .",
        "this is an extraordinary film . de niro in the central role delivers one of those powerhouse performances that simply blows the audience away .",
        "the classic cinematic thunderstorm - paul schrader 's cool , sexually repressed formalism drifting into the humidity of martin scorsese 's lurid , urban expressionism .",
        "MOV is grounded in its socio-political context , yet it also touches on something more universal ... how one finds purpose and identity in a collapsing capitalistic society .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- so much of american popular culture , and modern cinema 's urban aesthetic , owes a debt to martin scorsese 's groundbreaking fourth feature film that it is impossible to imagine a world without `` MOV . ''",
        "even more unnerving than his own psychotic behaviour is the easy way in which -lsb- travis bickle -rsb- is assimilated and integrated into the very society that he endangers .",
        "what strikes you are n't just the iconic moments , but the little ones .",
        "it 's a powerful film and a terrific showcase for the versatility of star robert de niro .",
        "MOV is a brilliant study of alienation , obsession , paranoia and perverse desire . there 's an undeniable power and grittiness that very few films have come close to capturing since .",
        "scorsese 's masterpiece of urban alienation ..."
    ],
    "summary": "a must-see film for movie lovers , this martin scorsese masterpiece is as hard-hitting as it is compelling , with robert de niro at his best .",
    "id": "16625"
  },
  {
    "movie": "batman_forever",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's great bubble gum for the eyes .",
        "not as dark as its predecessor but still a great visual feast",
        "minds in neutral , zoning out on the eye candy .",
        "kilmer 's good , not surprisingly , but he does n't get to do a lot .",
        "the best to date .",
        "weak plot , complete lack of character development and at least some actors who did n't look particularly interested in their roles .",
        "the film ultimately lacks genuine suspense , and schumacher unwisely moves the film back towards the camp of the 1960s television series .",
        "takes two giant steps backward .",
        "as for kilmer , he gamely steps into the dual batman/wayne role but ca n't get much traction , finding , as michael keaton had , that beyond a stern jaw there 's not much to be done with it , since the suit does most of the work .",
        "the second sequel to tim burton 's 1989 blockbuster makes its predecessors appear models of subtlety and coherence .",
        "joel schumacher submits to the wagnerian bombast with an overly busy surface , and the script by lee and janet scott batchler and akiva goldsman basically runs through the formula as if it 's a checklist .",
        "a grand - scale effort that 's more awe-inspiring than completely successful as entertainment .",
        "boring and near-unwatchable ; its title sums it up with cruel accuracy .",
        "see website for more details .",
        "the motion picture equivalent of a twinkie , this is simple , high-cholesterol entertainment that does n't pretend to be anything else .",
        "this loud and boisterous comic book confidential is serviceable enough to satisfy .",
        "mildly diverting , brainless fun that feels like a long trailer for a better film .",
        "kilmer 's appeal in the role may be partially due to the fact that his actual public persona resembles bruce wayne more closely than that of any other bat-thespian .",
        "the fatuousness of that title sums up schumacher 's approach . the director allows his few scrupulous choices to be overwhelmed by garish vaudeville .",
        "jim carrey plays the riddler and once he shows up , all the other actors might just as well go home .",
        "bigger , battier and better .",
        "MOV is in and out but wins in the end by staying true to its unbridled comic spirit .",
        "this is a film not designed to be the best piece of pop art it can possibly be , but calculated to draw the widest possible demographics in order to please wb 's merchandising partners .",
        "MOV is louder and gaudier than burton 's films , so be prepared .",
        "a thoroughly fun movie to sit through , but paper thin in substance .",
        "under joel schumacher 's helm , this third chapter is disappointing -- despite a new batman -lrb- the vain val kilmer -rrb- , new femme , new villains and characters , new costumes and even new batmobile .",
        "die-hard batman fans will be even more disappointed with this than they were with burton 's version .",
        "has n't aged very well .",
        "by now , jim carrey is doing sarcastic takes on his own sarcasm , and there 's something funny and a little scary in that .",
        "as for two-face , my favorite batman baddie on the printed page , tommy lee jones makes a complete mockery of the character with a broad performance that 's difficult to stomach .",
        "the gulf between the dark universe burton 's film set up and the tremendously silly camp world that -lsb- MOV was -rsb- hunting for was too great to hybridise the two .",
        "batman is transformed in to flesh gordon with a phallic bat mobile , bat nipples and sexual chemistry with his young ward ...",
        "a flashy movie that 's more like a video game .",
        "you can tell that a series is transforming to a product when the original creative people start having less and less to do with the new chapters .",
        "no surprises , no mysteries , no moments out of time that fill us with awe or wonder . the best that can be said is that the movie does what it sets out to do very well .",
        "MOV ... and ever ... and -- yawn -- ever .",
        "i was bored from the beginning .",
        "the highs ? jim carrey 's riddler , hands down .",
        "carrey lights up an otherwise over-scripted , over-frenetic potboiler .",
        "it 's lighter , brighter , funnier , faster-paced , and a whole lot more colorful than before .",
        "the plot has enough holes to drive the batmobile , the batplane , and the batboat through .",
        "a big batbore",
        "what a mess !",
        "it 'll pass the time , but it wo n't fire your imagination .",
        "the film recovers from that initial confusion to get stronger as it goes along , and to shape up as a free-form playground for its various masquerading stars .",
        "otherwise known as , ` when schumacher goes and wrecks a good thing . '",
        "pluses : tommy lee jones and jim carrey as two-face and the riddler , respectively ; and the stunning production design .",
        "the script is pretty lame .",
        "this would only appeal to die-hard fans of batman . then again , it might make die-hard fans cry .",
        "the best batman ever . james carrey is the riddler .",
        "schumaker proves that someone can make a batman movie even worse than burton . val kilmer 's portrayal of the dark knight is stilted and lifeless .",
        "where is tim burton when you need him ?",
        "more campy than burton 's batman , but still good ."
    ],
    "summary": "loud , excessively busy , and often boring , MOV nonetheless has the charisma of jim carrey and tommy lee jones to offer mild relief .",
    "id": "11174"
  },
  {
    "movie": "waking_life",
    "reviews": [
        "the question comes up often in life : what 's your favorite movie ? since october 2001 , the answer has been easy and one i shoot back reflexively almost before someone 's finished the question : `` MOV . ''",
        "this inventive animated film , which takes linklater back to his roots in austin and slacker , represents a summation of all the philosophical concerns that have defined him as spokesperson for gen-x .",
        "a true independent film that uses animation techniques to their utmost .",
        "form and content fit perfectly : even if the highbrow babbling gets a bit much , the hypnotic animation means that there is always something to watch , like characters suddenly dissolving into smoke or spectacles expanding .",
        "a brilliant film that provokes thought , idea , and conversations within the audience through its surreal animation and incredibly profound conversations .",
        "a far-out-man poetry slam , art exhibit and imaginative philosophical discourse all at once drifts gently down a stream of consciousness until merrily , merrily , merrily , merrily , `` MOV '' is but a dream . who says existential fiction must be dreary ?",
        "love-it-or-hate-it film best for older teens .",
        "a commercial ripoff designed to confuse art-house patrons",
        "truly special , truly different -- a wondrous talky roundelay about and for people who love life .",
        "the endless philosophising is a bit sophomoric and more jokes would help , but this is one of a kind that grows more absorbing the longer it runs .",
        "the novelty of the much-lauded animation style wears off about halfway through , with the end result a film that 's more interminable than anything else .",
        "somewhat hit-and-miss , but just when you think linklater 's philosophizing and his digital foofaraw are about to try your patience , both begin to cohere and resonate .",
        "a thrill , a trip to a fabulous new frontier .",
        "agony . a penance to sit through . when was the last time thirty people lectured you in a dream ?",
        "linklater deserves many congratulations and possibly a few awards .",
        "even without the animation , MOV remains a living , breathing entity , full of real thought , conversation and ideas .",
        "breathtakingly original .",
        "a pretentious snoozer ... while there 's a good deal in the picture to excite the eye , there 's not much to stimulate the ear or ... to engage the mind .",
        "an interesting , thought provoking experiment",
        "animation serves the dialogue in this movie as it served the music in `` fantasia ... '' the monologues themselves are like jazz improvisations , wildly playful ...",
        "adds up to little more than a series of disconnected impressions , but it holds interest despite an almost nonexistent narrative , and that 's something .",
        "an instant cult film , or maybe it is just an odd , interesting mistake from a very gifted director .",
        "often surreal , MOV transcends boundaries of technology , imagination .",
        "it 's so bogged down in grand proclamations about truth and spiritual communion and collective memory that it never strikes a single personal note , one that can be connected to on a purely emotive level .",
        "the movie asks you to be awake as you watch it , so you are not consuming so much as you are processing , in a very self-conscious way .",
        "when it 's over , we may not want to wake up .",
        "`` MOV '' is `` slacker '' remade as a navel-gazing series of monologues , structured like a bunuel dream farce and run through a computer paint program .",
        "a work of art .",
        "like my dinner with andre and other appallingly smart movies , this one reminded me that i need to read more books and watch less television .",
        "linklater mixed his grad-student-on-speed discourses with a few genuinely engrossing yakkers .",
        "minute 69 evolves several geological epochs later into minute 70 -- and then there are 27 minutes left to go !",
        "it 's thoughtful , provocative , liberating and fun .",
        "a plotless rumination on the nature of dreams , reality , and identity does n't sound like the most mesmerizing of movie experiences , but richard linklater has managed that feat .",
        "anyone who finds value in wondering who we are or why we 're here , what 's real and what 's not , should be overjoyed to find a theatrical release with the same sense of curiosity .",
        "startling in its originality , dazzling in its erudition , it fearlessly tackles questions of free will , identity and ... reality ...",
        "the whole thing comes together in one of those deliriously exciting great leaps forward in film art .",
        "it reminded me of college .",
        "linklater 's most visually distinctive movie , with exquisitely detailed renderings ... that are at the same time unstable , floaty , in a way perfect for a dreamed reality .",
        "i applaud linklater for -lsb- directing -rsb- such an interesting ride . but it suffers from a lack of sensistivity to its audience ...",
        "it is not the best film of the year , nor is it likely to be one that i purchase and watch often . still , it is something that should be seen by everyone and experienced by any diehard film lover .",
        "fascinante filme sobre a natureza dos sonhos e a forma com que estes refletem e transcendem a realidade . a anima\u0437\u0433o \u0439 interessante , embora n\u0433o explore tanto as possibilidades da m\u043ddia .",
        "a breath of fresh air .",
        "MOV takes a peek into that other ninety percent of the possibilities of the cinematic medium that nobody ever explores . hopefully , others will follow .",
        "this audacious movie may put some people to sleep ; for others , it 'll be a wakeup call on the possibilities of screen storytelling",
        "a candy-colored my dinner with andr\u00e9 , which is both engrossing and boring at the same time .",
        "beautiful , weird , intellectual and riff-happy ... best served by single serving , scene-by-scene acceptance .",
        "at its screenplay 's level , MOV is self-indulgent academia . as a finished film , it 's glorious .",
        "an unconventional , audacious , delicious , unexpected treat of a type we have been denied for a long time .",
        "you watch movies . a lot of movies . some good , some not so good . once in a while , you see one and you 're like , whoa , now this is something else .",
        "just when you thought there was nothing new in cinema , especially american cinema , along comes richard linklater with one of the most radical and thought provoking films of the year .",
        "it 's weird and not totally successful , but worth seeing if only for the technique .",
        "digital video + digital animation + ancient questions = a visionary , stunning examination of the big picture .",
        "for a movie heralded as the cutting edge of visual innovation , MOV is disappointingly dull in every other respect .",
        "the pictures are gorgeous , and the words , well , if you listen hard enough , the words say exactly what one needs to hear : that is , to wake up and live .",
        "an intriguing and visually impressive film squarely aimed at the art house crowd .",
        "challenging and powerful , MOV reminded me why i love the movies .",
        "a smart , sensuous and sensory mind trip that caroms around a universe of thought .",
        "although MOV is likely to be described as a hallucinogenic , free associative ` trip , ' its secret is a very tight structure , and a series of deliberate choices .",
        "like eavesdropping on a theoretical discourse between kierkegaard & kerouac , while standing in a modern art museum as the paintings come to life & melt into your visual cortex",
        "richard linklater flexes his creative muscle in a unique way .",
        "linklater 's cerebral provocations allow for tickling visuals -- check out that car-boat -- and lively humor .",
        "it may not be for everyone -- the movie requires a high tolerance for statements such as ` there 's only one instant , and it 's now , and it 's eternity ' -- but it 's like nothing else in theaters right now .",
        "i was repelled by the two-ton subject matter , but drawn in by the beauty of its delivery .",
        "while a lot of honest , intelligent people will no doubt fail to grok this trippy , exhilarating movie ... -lsb- it -rsb- is the dreamiest film of this or any other year .",
        "visually and structurally unique .",
        "MOV '' tells us not to be afraid to think the big thoughts , not be dulled by our daily tasks .",
        "innovatively animated , philosophically curious , and a perfect representation of a dream world ... a marvelous work of art .",
        "a sterling example of the kind of picture that always plays better at film festivals than it does at the multiplex .",
        "pure greatness .",
        "groundbreaking filmmaking techniques and otherworldly rhythm ... liberating , dreamy , joyous .",
        "not fond of abstract observation in its rawest form , i found myself on the verge of discourse-induced slumber .",
        "this is a wildly invigorating , unexpectedly thrilling and even moving film .",
        "... one does expect it to say something of importance , you see , but it never does . for me , it was a classic case of the emperor having no clothes .",
        "a non-stop idea fest told in the form of real conversations people have .",
        "the film celebrates community to a greater extent than any narrative film i can think of .",
        "the most visionary , beautiful , awe-inspiring , and life-affirming cartoon i have ever seen . it 's near the top of the list for any film .",
        "it 's quite safe to say that films like MOV come about once in a blue moon .",
        "sus inquietantes discursos y preguntas sin respuesta se mantendr\u00e1n en la mente del espectador mucho tiempo despu\u00e9s de haber abandonado la sala de cine .",
        "you 'll find more self-involvement and cod philosophising here than in all the world 's coffee houses .",
        "it has taken a decade for linklater to move from slacker to MOV , and a comparison between the two brilliantly exposes the changes that have occurred over this time .",
        "explorar estas preguntas , y hacerlo de una forma tan grata en lo visual , es una forma de expresar j\u00fabilo , gozo por la vida , ... y por el cine y la animaci\u00f3n .",
        "if there was ever a film that made ontological exploration fun , this is it .",
        "little more than isolated -- and not terribly fulfilling -- masturbation",
        "even if you ca n't remember a line after you 've seen it , the images remain with you a long time .",
        "a fascinating work that leapfrogs its maker , richard linklater , from acclaimed indie filmmaker to visionary .",
        "worth seeing because of its groundbreaking animation style .",
        "as delirious , discombobulating and queasily funny as a post-pizza dream .",
        "it ends up staying with you long after the jittery animated images have faded from the screen .",
        "does n't leave you in a dream , specifically the dream of linklater 's previous films , so much as it traps you in an endless bull session .",
        "a terrific new picture that , despite playing tricks with your eyes and making your head hurt as you begin to obsess about your own dreams , is worth every single , precious minute .",
        "a tripped-out look at the life or dreams of a dreamer .",
        "whether it 's a product of stoic contemplation or reefer madness , linklater 's MOV becomes an elusive , one-way vehicle to god .",
        "so verbally dexterous and visually innovative that you ca n't absorb it unless you have all your wits about you . and even then , you may want to see it again to enjoy its subtle humor and warm humanity .",
        "linklater creates something truly new , a meta-movie that stretches the boundaries of both the audience 's consciousness and the medium of film .",
        "see it if any of this sounds appealing but do n't say you attended unwarned .",
        "the visuals are extraordinary , the kind of thing usually reserved for a 5-minute short . but we never get tired of watching it .",
        "a film for anyone who has ever wondered about life , about what it means to be human , about where the division between dreams and reality really is",
        "the overall effect of MOV is that of finally escaping a cocktail party full of ecstasy-laden philosophy students .",
        "... perhaps the best approximation of what a real dream is .",
        "sitting through `` MOV '' is like being trapped in a painting filled with philosophy students",
        "it is n't a great film , but it is important in a historical sense .",
        "worth it just to watch , this one 's destined for midnight art-house screenings for years to come .",
        "exhilarating , transporting , funny and haunting -- and at times maddeningly heady or narcotically logy -- MOV does n't compare to any other movie experience i 've ever had .",
        "forces a non-stop barrage of pseudo-deep theories and questions on the viewer that , more often than not , resemble a bunch of psycho-babbly hooey .",
        "as with slacker , linklater has made a seminal film which is also bound to develop a cult following , and deservedly so .",
        "one of the most inspired cases of the medium embodying the message ever captured on celluloid .",
        "a fantastically smart attempt at creating an evocative cinematic expression for some of our most complex metaphysical conundrums .",
        "i found it to be beyond words ; a combination of film , groundbreaking computer animation , and a difficult and profane script that produces a sublime interpretation of existence .",
        "the trick to flying , the late douglas adams suggested , is to fall but to miss the ground .",
        "for some , the conversations will be like fingernails across a blackboard . for others , the discussions will be as involving as the visuals are lilting .",
        "takes `` my dinner with andre '' into the university classroom : philosophy 101 .",
        "an indisputable landmark of animation from its first scene onward .",
        "a one of a kind experience , like no other film you 've ever seen .",
        "it does have the makings of a major cult item .",
        "despite its title , MOV is one big snooze .",
        "in order to ` get ' MOV , you have to think of it less as a movie than as a philosophy lecture that 's been animated .",
        "linklater commits not only to attractive images and thoughtful ideas , but images that are exciting in a way that is different from what we have seen before .",
        "an unusual and intriguing film full of philosophy and social theories .",
        "everyone has an opinion , nobody has the answers , but everyone -lrb- including the audience -rrb- gets energized by considering the questions .",
        "linklater 's earnest good tidings eventually win out over his fruity metaphysics .",
        "linklater 's landmark might just prepare us for an new , enlightened life at the movies .",
        "it 's like being in a college bar and listening to your companion blathering on about the secrets of the world .",
        "most of the film consists of talking heads that no amount of colorfully animated , lava-lamp-like undulations can make less static .",
        "whatever point -lsb- linklater -rsb- is trying to make with this wall of words is almost immediately wearying and soon yawn-inducing .",
        "my companion did enjoy it , and my friend with a degree in philosophy will also probably enjoy it , but overall i found it pretentious , tiresome , pedantic , and one-note .",
        "to paraphrase the enduring title of a new-wave album , it is pure pop for dream people .",
        "this movie seems alive , seems vibrating with urgency and excitement .",
        "like a long day in the college coffee shop , it 's more provocative than original and profound , but still time well spent .",
        "this unusual and memorable film is packed with smart observations on life , dreams and philosophy .",
        "a visionary animated film of deep play that is stylistically innovative and spiritually rich in content .",
        "the film , like timecode , is no more than a fascinating stunt . ... after a while , it 's hard to stay awake .",
        "the problem is that there are few things as boring as listening to other people 's dreams .",
        "truly a one-of - a-kind movie .",
        "the theater in which i saw this flick had 10 people in it when it started , and by the time it was over , only 5 people survived . unfortunately , i had to be one of them",
        "an instant cult classic , one that 's tailor-made for multiple viewings and bound to be popular among college students .",
        "it 's genuinely intriguing for about 20 minutes because it is an effective marriage of style and subject matter , but at 90 minutes it outstays its welcome .",
        "it is rare to find a feature film that is even plays in stylistic fields this far from the norm .",
        "that 's what makes it beautiful . it dares to look ridiculous and does n't care if you think it is .",
        "the must-see result seems like an entirely new art form ."
    ],
    "summary": "the talky , animated MOV is a unique , cerebral experience .",
    "id": "12877"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hilary_and_jackie",
    "reviews": [
        "profound and haunting !",
        "repetitious . annoying !",
        "what we never discover - and it is a fatal lapse in films like this - is why music has so seized jackie , why it is important for her to be an artist , at the risk of her sanity .",
        "you 're so disconnected from the protagonists in this film ... that you really do n't care what happens to either jackie or hilary .",
        "depressing rather than uplifting ; it does not offer catharsis-that relief or discharge of the sadness that would arise out of new understanding or insight .",
        "the story is told in such a chopped-up way that it often seems pointless and certainly devoid of much-needed editing .",
        "an uncommonly well-rounded portrait of a tormented genius .",
        "has already drawn comparisons to ` shine ' ... but ` hilary ' is a more accomplished and demanding film , one that does n't find a convenient villain to pin cellist jacqueline du pre 's troubles on .",
        "a thought-provoking and poignant ode to jackie du pre 's life .",
        "a flawed but powerful shine-esque tale of love , music , and madness !",
        "director anand tucker and screenwriter frank cottrell boyce have done a superb job of composing this piece of celluloid like a a piece of music .",
        "this one 's a winner .",
        "`` MOV '' is either an incredibly complex movie or an incredibly confusing one . since i ca n't seem to make up my mind which one it is , i guess i 'll have to cast my vote for confusing .",
        "while the raw material may be compelling , it does n't always add up to satisfactory cinema .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- interesting , insightful film ...",
        "emily watson as jacqueline du pre and rachel griffiths as her sister hilary are wonderful together !",
        "as exhilarating , passionate and profound as the music it celebrates .",
        "one of the best films of the year . an emotionally gripping tale about obsession , family and love .",
        "a good , if draining , film .",
        "shows the high price that must be paid by families with a genius in their midst .",
        "this is an actors ' film , and the actors are actually rather good . that may not make it a fashionable movie , but it 's not a negligible achievement .",
        "eye-grabbing performances from emily watson and rachel griffiths , who portray celebrated british cellist jacqueline du pre and her older sister , hilary , distinguish this ambitious but flawed biography , the debut feature from anand tucker .",
        "watson 's performance is virtuoso : passionate , sensitive , impressionable and sometimes grotesque ; and she 's well matched by the subtle griffiths and vibrant morrisey .",
        "no , it 's not a movie about two first ladies married to adulterous husbands .",
        "a powerful family drama focused on the lives of the title characters . a good recommendation for classical music lovers , too .",
        "one of the most insightful and wrenching portraits of the joys and tribulations of being a classical musician ever filmed .",
        "the film is a triumph that deserves the same roaring applause from motion picture audiences that jackie received from her musical ones .",
        "a compelling look at the life of a classical musician as well as the lasting effects of sibling rivalry .",
        "brilliant , heart-wrenching !",
        "it 's an artsy soap opera that would serve as a monumental tv movie , but shines dimly as a feature film .",
        "the film is quite an ambitious and stylized biopic , spanning decades and capturing the world of concert performance where time stops and sensory perception become excruciatingly magnified .",
        "gorgeous musical sequences and top-notch acting !",
        "a compelling film !",
        "watson is a mercurial presence with huge , nervous baby eyes , and when she cuts loose , an otherwise conventional film shudders with anxiety .",
        "an extraordinary film !",
        "the acting by emily watson and rachel griffiths , playing jackie and hilary , respectively , as adults , is first-rate .",
        "this is as rich and powerful a film as has been released in 1998 !",
        "a revelation when it allows us to see what people surrender for art , as well as why people surrender their art .",
        "this is a film that glows with confidence , sparked by a maturity for its material .",
        "MOV is not always comfortable to watch - but throughout , there is a strong integrity of passionate film making , approached confidently and with authority .",
        "gutsy , moving , provocative , intelligent and thoroughly grown-up , MOV is one of the best movies of the year .",
        "a superb biographical account of the tragic life of cellist jacqueline du pre and of the complex relationship between her and her older sister !"
    ],
    "summary": "brilliant performances , lush cinematography , and complex storytelling deserve audience 's attention .",
    "id": "16755"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_salvation",
    "reviews": [
        "a gratifyingly old-fashioned western of the sort hollywood long ago gave up making .",
        "in an untamed world where hypocrisy is loud and where no one can be trusted , salvation is one 's own business and actions speak louder than words .",
        "it 's pretty formulaic stuff , but levring has a good eye ; it 's a handsome film to look at .",
        "wild west vengeance gets a terrific homage and a bloody reckoning in this oater excursion ...",
        "writer-director kristian levring says there are 62 different references to classic westerns in his own oater `` MOV . '' perhaps the greatest compliment i can pay his film is that i never looked for them . i was too busy enjoying the film .",
        "with the help of two charismatic stars , it does conjure up its share of evocative genre moments .",
        "levring plays out his generic premise at a grindingly slow pace .",
        "mikkelsen in a danish western holds promise , but computer-aided style detracts and distracts",
        "its evocative sets and settings , superior acting and bleak-as-a-dead-rattle-snake ethos make it the most entertaining western to come steaming into cinemas since the 3:10 to yuma arrived eight long years ago .",
        "it 's a little too wedded to the cinematic past .",
        "mikkelsen makes a great western hero . in an earlier age , this might have been his entire career .",
        "a truly reprehensible revenge western .",
        "MOV is n't just for those who love westerns ... it 's a solid revenge thriller in its own right .",
        "this does n't add much to the genre but it 's always welcome to see a film that does it so well .",
        "it 's the detail -- the fly on the dead man 's face and all those close-ups of characters ' stirruped boots clanking on wooden floors -- that makes MOV so enjoyable .",
        "MOV is of that rare genre : the danish western , starring the always-magnificent mads mikkelsen as jon , a nordic settler in the -lrb- extremely -rrb- wild west of america in 1871 .",
        "the film has a pleasing old school commitment to the primal beauty of seeing frontier justice unleashed by taciturn men who take no pleasure in killing . but that 's also its problem .",
        "it never transcends reverent pastiche , down to the hackneyed twang of morricone-style guitars .",
        "a film reminiscent of a song that sounds familiar but offers its own pleasures .",
        "it 's disappointing that the movie , which begins with such a strong sense of moral murkiness and casual injustice , descends into a rather generic tale of revenge ...",
        "... a revenge western , photographed and designed in the grand , hyperbolic style of leone 's ` once upon a time in the west , ' complete with wide-angle interiors and dynamic close-ups ... mikkelsen subs nicely for jimmy stewart on vengeance trail .",
        "worth seeing just for the faces , starting with mads mikkelsen as the suffering hero , then moving on to jeffrey dean morgan as the rotten , savvy heavy , eva green as the mutilated woman , and jonathan pryce as the craven mayor .",
        "slick , hyperstylized , and lushly scored - a far cry from levring and co-writer anders thomas jensen 's dogme days-the salvation is , under its glossy western veneer , a simple , old-fashioned revenge thriller .",
        "`` MOV '' is one of those movies that deservedly -lrb- and desperately -rrb- requires a do-over . unfortunately , what you see is what you get .",
        "sadly , the director 's stylistic gambits get the better of him at the precise point when the plotting gets wobbly , and the result is a pile-up and a waste .",
        "nearly blazing saddles without the jokes : all genre conventions with none of the fun , just your inescapable expectations met around every sun-blighted corner .",
        "levring has little interest in investigating western lore or history but rather in manipulating characters and images from classic films he loved as a child .",
        "this familiar material is pitched ever towards the ridiculous , but it 's at least strongly played throughout .",
        "mads mikkelson has the face for the frontier and just the right level of internalised , righteous rage to keep MOV on a rusty-knife-edge throughout .",
        "levring is certainly the first of his countrymen to render an homage to the genre with quite this level of skill , while his outsider status allows him to damn every last american in the godforsaken land of his own invention .",
        "two bond villains and eva green walk into a western , and they emerge with a rugged - if far from revolutionary - old-school horse-opera throwback .",
        "-lsb- feels -rsb- like a period exercise in the modern , liam neeson-led trend of grim revenge films .",
        "the movie is boringly violent and glum , but as a mute widow with a killer glare , the inimitable eva green provides its one shard of campy color .",
        "one enjoys it the way one enjoys a forgettable genre entry that gets most things right , then largely dissolves from the memory . indeed , not even eva green as a mute , scarred gunslinger is very memorable .",
        "MOV is visually beautiful , morally down and dirty , and simplistic . but it 's marked by two haunted , quiet performances from stars mads mikkelsen and eva green , who make -lsb- an -rsb- otherwise predictable slog worthwhile .",
        "the film achieves nothing more than hollow caricature , too caught up in dumb dress-up pageantry to accomplish anything else .",
        "mostly for those who have the superior taste and intelligence to be mads mikkelsen fans .",
        "the story drifts and the pacing drags , failing to gather much steam until the final moments .",
        "mikkelsen 's icy stare , and a strong finale , make the film worth a go .",
        "MOV is a popcorn-ready old west revenge tale with little on its mind besides consecutive action beats .",
        "the individually strong elements of the movie all feel like they should add up to something much more than the whole .",
        "MOV is assembled of nothing but the most elemental components of the western , which gives genre specialists a lot to recognize and analyze and newcomers something to enjoy for its own sake .",
        "if MOV is not a perfect film , it 's pretty damn close to being one .",
        "MOV may be more of a genre exercise than an effective thriller , but compelling performances help elevate this danish western .",
        "surprises are few and far between in `` MOV , '' but for western fans looking for a fix , it 'll do the trick .",
        "MOV is severe and bloody stuff .",
        "there 's no harmonica-flavored faux-morricone score , no cutesy references ; this is n't an homage , but a director putting an outmoded genre style to work in a brisk , violent frontier flick .",
        "if you enjoy your meat rare , booze gulped out of a dirty boot , and tingle at the sound of jangling spurs , `` MOV '' is the movie for you .",
        "a solid , if very familiar , revenge western with a decent lead , a couple of well-staged shootouts and some dazzling desert landscapes .",
        "lack of mystery does n't hurt the movie , but rather fits a story as elemental as this , one that at times resembles an illustrated list of genre codes and conventions : black hat , white hat , six-shooter , horse .",
        "lacks enough complexity to hold clich\u00e9 at bay , and the cgi-heavy visuals are distracting .",
        "there are no surprises in this story , only the anticipation of justice being done one bad guy at a time until the final showdown .",
        "MOV is n't quite as extraordinary as john hillcoat 's the proposition , but it 's still an extremely solid western with a remarkable performance by mads mikkelsen .",
        "more sergio leone than john ford , it 's a visually expansive compendium of revenge-movie cliches suffused with scandinavian angst -- not a spaghetti western , but sort of a cheesy danish one .",
        "it is not a particularly light-hearted western but it 's also neither portentous nor pretentious , and it does n't wear out its welcome .",
        "even when we know the familiar iconography and storytelling tropes of old american classics that are thundering toward us , it 's great to see them again .",
        "MOV is such a loving embrace to the western genre you keep waiting for john wayne to sidle up , tip his hat , and say `` howdy ma'am '' .",
        "MOV has everything a good western should have .",
        "a very entertaining , pure breed , old school western with a modern twist - and mesmerizing casting",
        "perhaps there is no salvation , just survival in the savagery of this particularly wild west .",
        "... a loving and in fact overly adulatory genre film which is not so much a take on the revenge western as a deeply faithful recreation of it , at times so faithful as to veer dangerously close to pastiche .",
        "mikkelsen becomes a background player next to green ; he withholds , she combusts .",
        "this is a well made , passionately acted western that hands over plenty of bang for your fistful of dollars .",
        "... might seem generic by genre standards , but it 's also well executed on both sides of the camera .",
        "jens schlosser 's cinematography is stunning , at least until -lsb- director -rsb- levring goes style crazy at the film 's midpoint , fetishizing the visuals until his film bears more in common with `` sin city '' than `` dodge city . ''",
        "why does n't it work ? perhaps it 's the feeling that levring is ticking boxes , trying to include all the typical hallmarks of a western without ever giving them the time to properly develop .",
        "one of the most exciting cowboy movies to clip-clop onto screens in a while .",
        "for western fans , watching this movie is like encountering an old friend after a long absence ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's all but impossible to add anything new or fresh to the traditional western , but -- thanks in no small part to mads mikkelson 's performance -- MOV comes close .",
    "id": "771380369"
  },
  {
    "movie": "state_and_main",
    "reviews": [
        "offers a welcome group of arresting personalities and performances .",
        "by the end , you 'll wish they 'd actually made a movie called the old mill , because seeing what went behind the scenes will have completely intrigued you .",
        "the execution of these amusing ideas falls flat with too much going on with too many characters .",
        "an intersection of all kinds of filmmaking , genres and values that is ingeniously rich and one of the true gems of the year .",
        "a film that is laugh out loud funny and dinner-conversation smart .",
        "has the appearance of a film that was a lot more fun to make than it is to sit through .",
        "a hollywood satire as cynical and thickheaded as its supposed targets .",
        "the dramatis personae here are deliciously twisted , and the knowing cast obviously had a ball biting the hand that feeds them .",
        "this is sitcom the way sitcom is meant to be .",
        "mamet 's movie has its moments of wit and warmth , but here he 's mostly behind , not ahead of , the curve .",
        "mamet has his work cut out for him by making egotistical stars and exploitative directors seem funnily new . but MOV engages nonetheless .",
        "mamet 's jabs at tinseltown 's silken ruthlessness are quietly pointed , and the ensemble cast ... is brilliant .",
        "a quintessentially wised-up insider comedy , ideally cast and filled with sharp writing from start to finish .",
        "a surprisingly unpolished piece of work that plays as though it were written for the stage and only slightly modified for the screen .",
        "the first brilliantly biting showbiz satire of hollywood 's second century , and one of the subgenre 's most droll and original entries .",
        "as smart , witty and nasty as anything you 'd expect from the artist .",
        "for all its wit and sharp casting , MOV is way too pleased with itself to be funny or endearing .",
        "mamet has whipped up a frothy , good-natured screwball comedy ; it 's both the lightest and most fully satisfying picture he 's directed to date .",
        "has some very funny moments but does n't hit the mark , largely because its notions of hollywood seem either dated or false .",
        "a crackling ensemble comedy .",
        "this is exactly the kind of intellectual in-joke movie that a few people will adore with all their hearts , and a zillion people will go , `` ehhh . ''",
        "it 's a treat to see a movie that rewards its viewers for paying attention .",
        "funny , satirical , and touching",
        "... manages to be one of the most brilliant films of 2000 : a satirical , edgy and sweet comedy in which every person , detail and camera shot is of complete significance .",
        "... without a doubt one of the most well written scripts in the past few years .",
        "those who read the tabloids regularly will enjoy speculating about which real-life personalities mamet may have provided the inspiration for these daffy characters .",
        "the well-spoken scumbags are still there , but now they 're funny .",
        "like the good magician , mamet plays some tricks on us which cause bristles of amazement .",
        "mamet loves the interplay of words , rife with sharp exchanges and ready witticisms",
        "devilishly wicked if occasionally slight , mamet 's third film in as many years , is , alas , one of his weakest -lrb- but still strong compared with the rest of the holiday film pack -rrb- .",
        "an acerbic comedy by david mamet set in a small new england town where some ethically challenged filmmakers are shooting a movie about the `` search for purity . ''",
        "much like the sophisticated comedies of preston sturgess .",
        "classic screwball fare .",
        "has the hermetic , vacuum packed atmosphere of all the films that david mamet has directed , yet cleverness , heightened to a pitch of acid tongued amorality , is both its flavor and its meaning .",
        "as much fun to listen to as it is to watch .",
        "mamet has an unrivaled ear for dialogue .",
        "MOV is so entertaining and , yes , fun .",
        "a surfeit of farce and fast-talking makes up for a lack of plot .",
        "MOV offers much whimsical pleasure , even if it 's too loosely constructed to be deemed an unbridled comic masterpiece .",
        "a pleasingly literate construct of sight gags and wordplay .",
        "reasonably funny .",
        "cynics , people say , know the price of everything and the value of nothing . but boy , can they be funny .",
        "puts limp noodles like bowfinger to shame .",
        "a nice , light comedy filled with several interesting characters , a few really funny lines and an infectious easy-going score .",
        "from start to finish , MOV has so few lulls and so many memorable parts that it 's hard not to be hungry for more after it 's over .",
        "a welcome respite from -lsb- mamet 's -rsb- usual cynicism .",
        "resembles the cinema-obsessed work regularly generated by naive film school graduates .",
        "a wonderful film with equal parts romance and cynicism .",
        "features characters so real , so flawed and , for the most part , so instantly dislikeable , it 's hard not to find yourself immediately wrapped up in their antics .",
        "cute , cozy and wryly funny .",
        "an amusing picture with some nicely stinging lines and pungent observations .",
        "it 's highly watchable , and , at times , humorously compelling .",
        "an amusing trifle .",
        "a pleasant enough entertainment -- packed with star power -- that has n't the teeth to achieve true satire .",
        "a great film about making bad movies .",
        "MOV might be the perfect david mamet movie for people who do n't like david mamet movies . the nice thing about it , though , is that it wo n't disappoint the rest of us .",
        "MOV is a mixed bag .",
        "though mamet is definitely the real star of the film , his actors rise to the challenge of his genius .",
        "something admittedly slimy , but quite satisfying .",
        "hollywood corrupts absolutely , and mamet turns the toxic process into the year 's best and smartest comedy .",
        "mamet 's numerous barbs directed at hollywood and the whole film industry are , for the most part , well-placed , and his dialogue is as snappy as ever .",
        "a light , bright way to momentarily escape the fast lane .",
        "mamet gets about halfway to great screwball comedy before the picture runs out of steam .",
        "it 's mamet in a lighthearted mood , playing with dialogue , repeating phrases just because he likes them , and supplying us with a closing line that achieves , i think , a kind of greatness .",
        "one of the year 's smartest and funniest films .",
        "intelligent , witty and nearly always amusing , the dialogue is the kind we 'd all love to have rolling off our tongues at all times .",
        "the usually sharp-penned playwright slums it , giving us a pedestrian culture-clash comedy .",
        "there are fresher wisecracks packed in MOV than in just about any high-concept hollywood comedy of recent vintage .",
        "why is it only sort of amusing instead of side-splitting ?",
        "a film of unexpected warmth and geniality .",
        "lays to rest any doubt about whether mamet can write funny . he can .",
        "hilarious and surprisingly sweet .",
        "a finely tuned satire of the insane hollywood modus operandi , heightened by farcical flourishes and grounded with the kind of reportorial integrity that distinguishes mamet 's best work .",
        "when mamet 's new movie sticks to depicting the contagious amorality spread by the movie business , it 's darkly dirty fun .",
        "there is enough funny stuff here to make MOV passably entertaining , despite its complete predictability .",
        "works very well not only as a comedy but also as an ensemble character study .",
        "mamet lite , but still a lot of fun .",
        "in this age when dumb , broad , easy-to-market comedy continues to rule , mr. mamet 's literary wit is always welcome .",
        "mamet delivers a handful of offbeat gems .",
        "a delicious satire that benefits from a smart script packed with witticisms and performed wonderfully by a terrific ensemble cast .",
        "there 's not much here that would surprise any knowledgeable observer , but mamet presents it with such brio and simmering rage that the movie has the sting of anger in almost every scene .",
        "a frequently hilarious film .",
        "david mamet , that president emeritus of hard-consonant profanity , often seems as comfortable with softer stuff as a man wearing wool in july . but this on-the-nose hollywood satire played like preston sturges absolved of production-code limitations .",
        "one giant testimony to unmet potential .",
        "retains a lightheartedness that pokes fun at the film industry and gives some memorable performances",
        "intriguing characters , good movie for older teens .",
        "... quirky ...",
        "mamet 's most easy going and fun-loving film to date .",
        "david mamet tones it down a second time in the relaxed MOV .",
        "... a fine comedy that represents grown-up moviemaking at its very best .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- has been heralded as the second coming of preston sturges . correct me if i 'm wrong , but i do n't recall any of that comedic master 's films ever revolving around a statutory rape charge .",
        "in the end , MOV is little more than a pleasant diversion , but it is one that is accomplished with a degree of wit and grace and a healthy respect for its putative audience ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV offers plenty of wit and laughs in its lampoons of the movie industry .",
    "id": "14049"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lara_croft_tomb_raider_the_cradle_of_life",
    "reviews": [
        "at least in the first film , angelina jolie had conviction in her ability to break someone 's face and look good doing it . here , it looks like she ca n't wait to get to the next billy bob tattoo removal appointment .",
        "saying that the cradle of life is better than the original is on par with saying that sudden painless death is preferable to expiring by a long and painful disease .",
        "the direction is so workmanlike , so dispassionately competent , that it seems de bont may be as resigned to his career 's downward plummet as those of us who admired his debut film , the thrilling speed , are puzzled by it .",
        "angelina jolie returns as a globetrotting archaeologist ... in a sequel that redefines boredom .",
        "joyless princess .",
        "only reinforces what -lsb- lara croft 's -rsb- first movie showed us -- that she 's not readily approachable to other characters nor to the audience .",
        "there 's enough action here to keep the viewer awake . but just barely .",
        "jolie remains more magazine cover than actress -lrb- or movie star -rrb- , and the franchise she supports is more nintendo after-school time killer than rousing adventure cycle .",
        "is `` tomb raider : the cradle of life '' worth it ? no . if you 've sent the first , you 've seen the second .",
        "sure it 's hardcore dumb but its so amusing plundering this tomb that you wo n't notice -lrb- or care -rrb- how well the makers raided your wallet .",
        "jolie may be defining herself in a franchise whose memory will be hard to erase later in her career , but she does it with the style of a legend .",
        "it 's nearly humorless , which is deadly for such movies .",
        "as a collection of action sequences , the cradle of life could n't be less rousing were it performed by the cast of cocoon .",
        "at least a bit more comprehensible than its predecessor -- say , a second-rate indiana jones rip-off instead of a third-rate indiana jones rip-off .",
        "the new film is n't very good , but it 's possible to sit through it without holding your nose .",
        "everything in cradle of life has a kind of robotic precision to it , as if looking perfect were enough to give a movie a soul .",
        "a film as boring as its title is grammatically incorrect and long .",
        "despite extra scoops of action , lara croft tomb raider : the cradle of life is n't nearly as much fun as the original .",
        "this time the filmmakers understand how to treat this female fusion of indiana jones and james bond .",
        "action-packed .",
        "the cradle of life ai n't shakespeare and it does n't reinvent the action-adventure in any profound way . on the other hand , it 's a sleek , well-produced popcorn picture .",
        "lara croft is a stern , all-knowing , effortlessly competent \u00fcber-babe -- but you would n't want to know her .",
        "an action film with cold , colorless characters .",
        "not enough crazy gynophobia . perhaps paul verhoeven should direct tomb raider .",
        "this film 's biggest problem is that it 's just plain boring .",
        "the high point of the production is -lsb- angelina -rsb- jolie , who struts through the film with a sly smile and sexy self-confidence . she seems to be having a great time because she probably was",
        "stupid is good for comedies and some action movies . but this is n't one of them .",
        "delivers everything and more that fans of the first installment expect .",
        "game sequels generally rely on better graphics and better interactive play . this movie sequel has more imagination and situations that draw you in more . again , that seems appropriate .",
        "scenery ca n't save this blindingly dull sequel .",
        "croft , who must have pixels for brains , makes a series of incredibly stupid mistakes ...",
        "under de bont 's tutelage the franchise has shifted from amiably plodding but unique to relentlessly plodding and generic .",
        "lara , at least , appears to know who she is . now , if only her movies did her justice .",
        "like the video games that inspired it , this installment is n't better or worse than the first -- it 's just more of the same .",
        "how could something so expensive , so loud and so frenetic simultaneously be so mindnumbingly boring ?",
        "at least now we have a clue about what 's in pandora 's box : it 's movies like this .",
        "there will be little argument that cradle of life is a much-improved sequel over its predecessor . regrettably , it comes on the heels of a movie that should have never been made in the first place .",
        "uses imagination and exciting locations to give the movie the same kind of pulp adventure feeling we get from the indiana jones movies .",
        "the film plays out like the multilevel video game , but unlike its playstation2 counterpart , we have no control over the action .",
        "lara croft tomb raider : the cradle of life has the dubious honor of not only being the most lackluster action/adventure film of 2003 , but perhaps of the past several years , as well .",
        "a highly enjoyable summer thrill ride .",
        "barbara walters to angelina jolie : `` i know there are kids watching this , but can you show me the tattoo on your yoni ? ''",
        "avoid this one .",
        "it repeats the mistakes of the first film and compounds them with the cardinal sin of taking itself too seriously .",
        "this lara croft sequel really surprised me . it 's the most exciting action/adventure flick i 've seen since ` the mummy . '",
        "as is so often the case , robbers emptied this tomb of ideas long ago . but it does have a lovely facade .",
        "in the next `` lara croft , '' she 'll search for the weapons of mass destruction .",
        "the first movie was so bad it was almost good ; this one is almost good .",
        "wowsers can this chickbabe kick some *** !",
        "lara croft searching for a mystical `` box '' ? why does n't cradle of life play this for laughs ?",
        "an entertaining summertime diversion that does n't assault the senses .",
        "cradle has more story and more jolie but , at just under two hours , it unfolds like a leaden fashion shoot .",
        "if ever there was a movie fit for permanent entombment , it 's this sequel .",
        "another lifeless big-budget sequel that 's only going to remind audiences how much they really did n't like the original in the first place",
        "when we 're not offered dime-store cgi or cardboard temple settings , we 're attacked by action sequences that waver between `` stutter-step silly '' and `` slo-mo stupid '' .",
        "takes cool stuff like ancient myths and you call this archeology ? and motorcycling along the great wall of china and using bubblegum like macgyver and turns it all into something ... supremely boring ...",
        "there 's no pacing , no suspense and no vulnerability for the protagonist so it all soon gets numbingly tiresome .",
        "a confusing rehash of batman , indiana jones and james bond movies .",
        "cradle is n't art , but it 's exhilarating , funny and even a little romantic .",
        "jolie is a far better actress than this relentlessly shallow material warrants .",
        "the tepidly anticipated return of the videogame vixen belly-flopped on its us release , and it did so with a splat that could drown out several summer blockbusters ' worth of car-crunch and detonations .",
        "if you 're a fan of hers you 'll be able to find some enjoyment in this movie , but not as much as she seems to be having while making them .",
        "this indiana jones knockoff goes down smoothly enough , and jolie is n't bad at all .",
        "it 's all a confection , but the plot is tight , jolie is hot , and i 'll probably see the next one , too .",
        "better than the first , but not by much .",
        "the less welcome news is that most of the same shortcomings that cramped the first installment are still dogging the sequel , which delivers on action but dawdles through downtime .",
        "jan de bont seems to have lost the ability to intelligently direct an action scene .",
        "curiously fun-free , drab and ho-hum .",
        "it 's clunky , lifeless , murky , and worst of all incredibly boring .",
        "jan de bont 's direction is also disappointing , and while angelina jolie continues to be an eye catching female superhero , she will only do it for the most undemanding audiences this time .",
        "while there are more moments with flair than in the original fiasco , lara croft : tomb raider -- the cradle of life remains a one-dimensional and suspiciously lifeless affair .",
        "if you have to watch a movie this miserable , it helps enormously to have angelina jolie as its eponymous lead .",
        "there 's a great deal more fun in this sequel .",
        "silly , cheesy and tacky .",
        "sure , the movie blows but jolie is the new james dean , mysterious and the definition of cool .",
        "the plot is coherent enough to hold our attention , and inventive enough to move credibly among all the exotic locations .",
        "it 's only when angelina jolie and gerard butler are up close and personal that you get the sense that anybody was really all that interested in making this film .",
        "... this tomb raider also has some enormous dry spots ...",
        "bombastic it may be , but it 's rarely boring , as was the first tomb raider . keep your expectations in line with the source material and you may be pleasantly surprised .",
        "the film was directed by jan de bont , who now should be known as f.k. jan de bont ; the abbreviation standing for franchise killer .",
        "seems like a colossally bad movie , but in reality it 's just not colossal enough .",
        "lara croft lopes from one action set-piece to the next without developing any real rhythm or drive .",
        "drags a 60-minute b-movie premise into something twice that long .",
        "croft 's quest is to find pandora 's box before a mad scientist can get there first , open it , and unleash a series of second-rate special effects upon an unsuspecting world .",
        "inane claptrap that 's sure to be forgotten in the time it takes to rattle off its elongated title .",
        "this movie has a better plot , better characters , and better acting than the first one , but let 's be honest about it -- no one is going to see this movie for the plot , characters , and acting .",
        "this has less plot and worse acting than the 2001 original .",
        "after a dramatically disappointing debut in 2001 , this video-game character turned action film heroine bites back with an eye-catching and imaginative globe-trotting sequel .",
        "lara proclaims : ` some things are not meant to be found . ' i nodded quietly in my seat in agreement and then thought , ` some movies are not meant to be seen , either . '",
        "probably enough goodwill has been built up in the early sections that most viewers will not take offense when the movie abandons its plot and characters .",
        "` es una pel\u00edcula regular que si se ve con el humor adecuado puede llegar a gustar , pues lo \u00fanico que promete - y ofrece - es un rato de esparcimiento '",
        "tomb raider ii may be a pleasure as banal as the archetypal evil scientist . yet it 's a pleasure nonetheless .",
        "there remains the essential truth -lrb- and tomb raider 2 's fiscal failure speaks to this -rrb- that even without analysis , there needs to be some meat on the bone .",
        "the pace can best be described as similar to crawling through quicksand with two broken legs and a refrigerator strapped to your back .",
        "sorry to say , but all the breasts , guns , and monsters are n't enough to save this franchise .",
        "it 's not perfect -lrb- it 's a sequel after all -rrb- , but the latest lara croft film is smart , sexy and great summer fun .",
        "it seems the refreshing originality that breathed life into the first film is still trying to catch its breath .",
        "better than its predecessor -- and , yes , that 's every bit the backhanded compliment it sounds like .",
        "... true to the look and spirit of the game and ... more fun than watching someone else play ` tomb raider , ' which was the bane of the first lara croft installment .",
        "the new lara croft has no reason to exist except that the first one made money .",
        "the best thing about cradle of life ? it 's a whole half-hour shorter than bad boys ii .",
        "` tomb braider ' is able to leap from tall buildings , jump a motorcycle off the great wall of china , flip a speeding jet ski , and trick-shoot while riding sidesaddle - all without messing up her hair .",
        "banal dialogue , ludicrous and uninspired plotting , dull but vicious fight scenes .",
        "it 's refreshing to see a female action hero who can hold her own , quip for quip and punch for punch , against indiana jones and every other cinematic raider of lost things .",
        "she may be playing yet another -lrb- so-called -rrb- empowered woman in yet another film made for teenage boys , but you get the impression that jolie is far too intimidating and too womanly to fit into their pathetic little fantasies .",
        "here -lsb- lara 's -rsb- a cookie-cutter action hero .",
        "there are levels of acceptable stupidity in summer movies , but i 'm afraid lara croft too often dips below the line .",
        "tedious , clunky and , for the big budget and all the exotic locales , surprisingly chintzy-looking .",
        "the storytellers behind the cradle of life concentrate mostly on transportation : the best parts of the movie depict our heroes getting from place to place .",
        "uninvolving and formulaic , spiced up in the stretch with a couple of cgi -lrb- and looking every bit like it -rrb- tree hulk-type monsters .",
        "the end result is a movie that tries -- and fails -- to be much more than it really is .",
        "both tomb raiders suffer from rampant action-adventure cliches and the sort of lumbering dialogue that harks back to the saturday morning serials of yore .",
        "overfamiliar and uninspired .",
        "more sex , more exotic locations , but still no decent story .",
        "as impressive as angelina jolie 's many physical feats may be , it takes even more stamina and fortitude to stay awake during the movie 's seemingly endless two-hour running length .",
        "a distinct if distinctly minor improvement on the first .",
        "some romantic/sexual interplay is kept alive by hints and promises , always at arms length . we would n't want to gross out the prepubescent sub teenage audience , would we ? these filmmakers know where boxoffice coin will be coming from .",
        "diverting but far from memorable .",
        "i still had to slap myself to stay awake .",
        "it 's part travelogue and part james bond caper , with a thrilling opening and a wonderfully weird finale . ... what 's been sandwiched in between is mostly run-of-the-mill stuntwork and gunplay ...",
        "more like a cradle of tedium , and despite the high-decibel sound and fury , you may wish you had brought a pillow .",
        "while there 's compelling evidence that angelina jolie is a real person , you 'd never guess it watching lara croft tomb raider : the cradle of life .",
        "for a movie based on a video game , the story is as far-fetched and the characters as one-dimensional as one might expect .",
        "another sequel cashing in on its pre-sold audience without providing anything by way of sparkle , wit or originality .",
        "more indiana jones than james bond , lara croft does better this time around with exotic locales and an almost down-to-earth story .",
        "with movies of this sort becoming as prevalent as they are , there has to be more than just expensive looking stunts on display .",
        "anyone who appreciates aesthetic pleasures will enjoy tomb raider 2 on a certain non-visceral level .",
        "too conscious that both critics and audiences alike united to practically riot at the disappointment of the first tomb raider adventure .",
        "the movie is an embarrassment of asinine riches .",
        "without sacrificing velocity , de bont gives us a clean , watchable film , with some exciting sequences .",
        "obvious hokum , but it 's served up with dash and energy ... an expertly-crafted bit of dumb fun .",
        "i would rather see lara croft as a role model than charlie 's angels",
        "calling it ` tomb raider of the lost ark ' is too easy , but the similarities are striking .",
        "an action for action 's sake movie .",
        "after a while , you stop speculating how croft will wriggle out of each fine mess and start checking your watch .",
        "for every scene of national geographic - grand photography and showy action stuntwork put together by chick-action veteran director jan de bont , a little bit of jolie 's old dangerousness goes missing .",
        "director jan de bont barely inspires enough adrenaline-flick flash to hold anyone 's interest - and it does n't help that he seems overly enamored of slow motion ...",
        "the film ironically does the opposite of what an archaeologist is supposed to do - it takes a rare and beautiful treasure and buries it under a ton of junk .",
        "starts strong , ends weak .",
        "the original `` tomb raider '' was dreadfully dull and still took in almost $ 300 million at the worldwide box office . not to worry this time . oscar winner angelina jolie returns to the lead role in all her acrobatic , stunt-filled glory .",
        "although jolie is perfect in the lead with her cartoonishly provocative figure , the comely starlet ca n't make this shoddy story work .",
        "as incoherent , dumb and stupefyingly bland as its woebegone predecessor .",
        "it 's better than the first one . now please stop .",
        "em uma entrevista para divulgar o filme , angelina jolie reclamou que o contorno de seus mamilos haviam sido apagados dos cartazes de divulga\u0437\u0433o da produ\u0437\u0433o . da pr\u0443xima vez , espero que ela se preocupe menos com seus mamilos e mais com o roteiro .",
        "i wish i could say that even though the film was predictable and the plot egregiously insipid , that i still managed to get lost while watching the movie and had fun . if only .",
        "the whole movie is gratuitous , in whatever it does . excessive shooting , jumping , flying , freaking , whatever . totally disposable .",
        "the preposterous plot line does give de bont an excuse to send jolie flying in a handful of heartstopping stunt sequences . but she 's her own special effect , as protean , mercurial , and dangerous as any piece of wirework or cgi .",
        "an extremely disappointing sequel that 's actually boring .",
        "a vast improvement over its impenetrable 2001 predecessor .",
        "there 's a ton of stuff that makes absolutely no sense , and the bad guy could be a bit more colorful but again , please grade using the bond curve .",
        "the cradle of life is infinitely more fun and feral than its precursor , and it exudes an attitude worthy of the diva that rides it .",
        "a story that plods along with dialogue that blazes new trails in banality",
        "the first movie had grey stone and blue light and orange beams , and it just looked cooler and more together .",
        "it 's still terrible ... but in a much more fun way .",
        "jolie does her best , delivering her mediocre lines like they were the cleverest writing in the history of cinema , but goodwill for the star only carries a film so far .",
        "angelina jolie returns as video game vixen lara croft in a by-the-numbers sequel that is weaker than the original .",
        ". proves again that jolie makes a better magazine cover than actor and lara croft a better game than rousing archeological adventure . .",
        "sucked the life right out of me .",
        "tomb raider : the cradle of life has n't the nerve to be truly bad , but it 's unexciting , has no attitude , and -lrb- despite the camera 's infatuation with jolie 's figure -rrb- is inhumanly sexless .",
        "doubtless the game will be cherished for years to come , as a big screen franchise though , tomb raider looks dead and buried .",
        "angelina jolie 's once again strapped on those hilariously-huge fake bazookas , which are about the only things that lift this movie from its celluloid plateau .",
        "this is just disappointingly average ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the sequel is an improvement over the first movie , it 's still lacking in thrills .",
    "id": "10579"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_impossible_2012",
    "reviews": [
        "riveting for a spell , but imbued with a phony uplifting sensibility that detracts from the thailand tsunami 's real story .",
        "very intense story of family 's survival against the odds .",
        "MOV recreates an unthinkable event and its aftermath with breathtaking-and heartbreaking-credibility .",
        "this is pretty much a point-of-view film that puts you right into the heart of the chaos of this tsunami , which struck without warning in the morning as the family relaxed poolside at an upscale resort .",
        "a sentimental slog that encourages us to celebrate the survival of european tourists while turning a blind eye to the deaths of thousands of others .",
        "an inspiring tale of familial strength under pressure and perseverance against all odds ... it 's practically impossible to resist the pull of this film .",
        "this film is not especially complex , and not subtle , but there is judgment and intelligence in the simple idea of survival being the most agonising thing , and making survivor guilt the psychological aftershock of a shattering and irreparable blow .",
        "in the end , bayona 's film is more frustrating and exhausting than inspiring .",
        "technically flawless MOV is a film with a raw emotional wallop that will move even the hardest heart .",
        "do we really want to cling to catastrophe 's single comfort station , as if it tells us more , or medicates us with a more meaningful moral and spiritual message , than all the horrors that did n't end in a hug , a homily and a final heave of rapturous music",
        "a riveting portrayal of the tidal wave and immediate aftermath . terrific computer-generated effects bring the colossal onslaught of the tsunami right into our faces .",
        "ewan mcgregor is much better than usual , though it 's odd how watts becomes the latest in a long line of lovelies who takes off her top in a movie in which he is starring . perhaps it 's written into his contracts !",
        "we can only imagine what it must have been like to experience the great asian tsunami of 2004 . now , `` MOV '' has my imagination working overtime .",
        "the film is well acted , the makeup convincing , the turbulent mise en sc\u010dne impeccable .",
        "... always aware of how this traumatic experience would be filtered through this particular family .",
        "still a boy but having to harvest the strength of an adult , lucas carries the emotions of the audience with him . we cry when he cries ... cheer when he cheers .",
        "MOV takes the breath away with its powerful restaging of the catastrophe ; but if the wave 's visceral impact knocks you off your feet then it 's the story 's emotional undertow that sweeps you away .",
        "forget national lampoon , this is the real vacation from hell !",
        "unlike some films that have become critics ' darlings , ` MOV ' has no pretensions . it is n't edgy and i do n't think it has a hidden subtext .",
        "the ultimate heart-wrenching roller-coaster ride made all the more powerful by a superb cast .",
        "`` MOV '' is about as subtle as a wall of water .",
        "this is one of the most gut-wrenching and emotional pictures i 've ever seen . i walked away from it physically exhausted .",
        "i hesitate to use this term , since it is so often equated with hokey , but MOV is life-affirming .",
        "for all the visually impactful moments that all but put an audience directly into the horror of the boxing day tsunami in MOV , the true test of this drama comes in the emotion conveyed in its simplest moments .",
        "MOV is primal stuff , a tribute to the power of family , to the determination of a mother and father , defying nature , defying the odds , driven by hope .",
        "when it 's over , you will feel enlightened , drained and grateful just to walk away .",
        "here is a searing film of human tragedy .",
        "MOV confirms that bayona is a major talent , with a skill for constructing sequences that build tension as masterfully as steven spielberg did in his '70s heyday .",
        "with a mixture of practical and digital trickery , we experience the unthinkable in `` MOV '' firsthand .",
        "levels the playing field of fundamental human need and behavior , often revolving around luck that we have no control over whatsoever .",
        "naomi watts gives one of her finest , most physically commanding turns .",
        "it 's a truly visceral piece of filmmaking , but alas , it 's hindered more than helped by a certain composer 's shameless attempts to get our tears swelling right along with his overwrought strings .",
        "a sad spectacle we can watch , at a safe distance , without hating ourselves later .",
        "although it 's ostensibly based on true events , MOV is not so much an inspiring tale of survival as it is an action flick .",
        "to dispel the two talking points attending MOV , juan antonio bayona 's dramatization of the 2004 indian ocean tsunami : no , it 's not racist , and no , you do n't have to be a parent to feel the film in your bones .",
        "as fine as -lsb- watts -rsb- and ewan mcgregor are as the parents , tom holland stands out as eldest son lucas , a slightly sullen teen who learns to put other people before himself .",
        "difficult to watch but difficult to turn away from , MOV makes shattering impact .",
        "director j.a. bayona beautifully embraces the power of the human spirit .",
        "while it may have been changed for the screen , this story of a family 's ordeal is one from which any parent - any person , really - ca n't turn away .",
        "you are involved in the family 's plight , and you do suffer along with them . but gnawing in the back of your mind is the thought about all those nameless others who lost loved ones or whose stories of survival are probably just as miraculous .",
        "part of the appeal of this affecting and powerful drama is that it puts the viewer right in the moment at every stage , using authentic locations and tsunami survivors to hammer home the reality of this tragedy .",
        "not since jaws has the sound of ocean water heard on a movie screen been so terrifying .",
        "bayona , like spielberg before him , has the gumption of a master manipulator , and really does n't hold back , holding off catharsis , scene by scene , with all the sheer chaos at his disposal .",
        "MOV is one of those rare films that comes along once in a blue moon . flawless in its delivery , from script through to production design to the remarkable performances from all the cast .",
        "thoughtful and well-made , but it also might be a little too simplistic and straightforward for its own good .",
        "there is a troubling complacency and a lack of compassion in `` MOV , '' which is less an examination of mass destruction than the tale of a spoiled holiday .",
        "bayona 's skill is evident from the movie 's first moments .",
        "visually stunning but manipulative in the extreme - try not to roll your eyes as the various family members miss one another by inches - MOV nevertheless contains two of the year 's best performances .",
        "it 's not a momentous story about heroism writ large , but an intimate tale of the small acts of kindness and connection that can occur when people are most desperate .",
        "from the harrowing special effects to the strong performances , ` MOV ' does the seemingly impossible in making a heartwarming story come out of an awful tragedy . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "the tsunami sequence is so well-executed , nothing else in the movie really comes close to matching it in terms of intensity .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he juxtaposition of the two stories -- the family 's and those in the background -- puts the entirety of this story in the proper context .",
        "`` MOV '' is one of those movies that 's good , but leaves you with the nagging feeling that it could have been better .",
        "there is an incredibly emotional story to be told from this family 's experience , but due to the weak structure and awkward third act , `` MOV '' fails to deliver it .",
        "south east asian tsunami survival saga is a test of endurance",
        "the tsunami sequence is amazing , right up there with the one clint eastwood staged in hereafter .",
        "the most challenging aspect of disaster movies to make the disaster believable . but performances are n't all about screaming , and this cast does a remarkable job of convincing us of their complexities and humanity",
        "there are many powerful scenes in this true life and death scenario about the impact of the 2004 boxing day tsunami to one family , but none can match the potency of the scene when henry -lrb- mcgregor -rrb- borrows a mobile phone from a stranger to ring home",
        "director juan antonio bayona spins the focus in on a single family caught up in the disaster , personalising the horror and bringing it home in unashamedly melodramatic fashion on its very own tidal wave of emotion .",
        "alas , the movie tells a rather commonplace story .",
        "there 's some cringe-worthy stuff in this ... and i say that to the film 's credit . it 's tough to watch at times .",
        "MOV reminds that no matter the odds , human kind has the potential to rise above adversity no matter how great , for the human spirit knows no bounds .",
        "this is an unforgettable tribute to the determination of a very special family .",
        "profound & touching",
        "one might leave the theater wondering how much can one be entertaining by suffering ?",
        "a first-rate drama about a family vacationing in thailand when the 2004 tsunami hits .",
        "disaster film done as well as one can be done",
        "it is a heart-stopping ride and when the water stills , the adrenalin comes from the uncertainty of their situation .",
        "viscerally vigorous , it 's a grim , gritty , graphic chronicle of disaster .",
        "spectacular and emotionally riveting re-creation of one family 's nightmarish ordeal while vacationing in thailand during the historic 2004 tsunami is the kind of classy disaster pic that should attract broad audiences .",
        "the key selling point is bayona 's ten-minute reenactment of the tidal wave and its carnage , which is brutal , visceral and without peer .",
        "MOV is not only an extremely well-made survival thriller , but a poignant celebration of the human spirit .",
        "an unforgettable film that combines epic spectacle with the intimacy of loving relationships in a celebration of the invincible human spirit .",
        "MOV 's strength is its conveyance of the loneliness and chaos that settles in the disaster 's aftermath .",
        "what reeks most about MOV is that it mistakes adventurous titillation for humanitarian mourning .",
        "the massive numbers of people in an overflowing hospital with overwhelmed staff is nearly as gut wrenching as the disaster that created this landscape of human debris .",
        "MOV has enough going for it to earn a mild recommendation , but it 's unfortunate that it ends up self-destructing as rapidly as one of those mission : impossible messages .",
        "the tsunami is easily more effective than anything to come out of a roland emmerich disaster sequence .",
        "... a story of resiliency and humanity that is somewhat overwrought but emotionally exhausting and ultimately powerful .",
        "a more accurate name for this new age disaster movie might be ` the lucky ' or ` the coincidental . ' if we accept the brits ' survival as something miraculous , what does that imply about the tens of thousands of asians who were wiped out ?",
        "bayona has the uncanny ability to put viewers in the moment , allowing them to vividly experience the family 's struggles . but for all his formidable skills and artistic vision , his compassion is distressingly myopic .",
        "-lsb- b -rsb- rings a new heart to the disaster film , focusing not on the large scale of physical destruction but on the small scale of fragile , traumatized people amidst the unimaginable scale of the catastrophe ...",
        "yet one more example of a real-life story someone thought would `` make a great movie , '' `` MOV '' is as flat and predictable as they come .",
        "nothing beats god 's eye for scale and perspective .",
        "` MOV ' is a confounding misfire : so much artistic vision , combined with moral and emotional shortsightedness .",
        "director juan antonio bayona 's instincts are spot on for the first act with watts , less successful when it switches to a more mawkish tone .",
        "the movie is not , as the trailer suggests , a tale of the triumph of the human spirit . it 's about luck . it 's about sadness . but it 's also about the way that victims of the disaster -- of any disaster -- band together .",
        "... a brilliant disaster film and a refreshing recalibration from those of the sensational sort .",
        "when it comes to human emotions ... the filmmaker is all thumbs , crassly fumbling for audience response via clich\u00e9d uses of dropped-out sound and the occasional twinkling piano .",
        "-lsb- its -rsb- horrors , and the absorbing performances of watts and mcgregor , will soon be undermined by a surfeit of sentiment .",
        "... veers between being overwhelming and overwrought .",
        "while the final third of the film feels forced , its emotional power comes earlier - in the catastrophe of the tsunami , the immediate aftermath and random acts of heroism .",
        "a harrowing celebration of the human spirit and the will to survive .",
        "the film is a remarkable visual achievement , made more affecting by the depth the actors bring to their characters .",
        "their physical and emotional journey will pin you back in your seat .",
        "it 's nearly impossible to do better than buying a ticket to MOV .",
        "say a prayer that MOV is the closest that you or i or anyone anywhere will get to the kind of catastrophe that makes this movie so harrowing , riveting -- and uneasily `` uplifting . ''",
        "takes dicey material -- the story of one privileged family 's suffering during the 2004 indian ocean tsunami -- and transcends its political incorrectness by focusing on the human condition .",
        "an earnest , extremely grueling , prodigiously crafted true-life drama that takes one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history and reduces it to a bad day at club med .",
        "while the microcosmic nature of this tale of survival neglects the native people that it affected most , its portrait of humanity is compassionate and inclusive .",
        "MOV is immersive only when it 's fully immersed .",
        "impressively directed and superbly written , this is a powerfully emotional drama with a trio of terrific performances from naomi watts , ewan mcgregor and young tom holland .",
        "it feels like the wrong story , one that asks us to ignore the suffering of a devastated nation and focus , instead , on a couple of big-name stars whose vacation is spoiled .",
        "the movie manages to pay tribute both to the extraordinary heroism of its characters and the astonishing losses all around them .",
        "unlike a lot of movies that have the `` based on a true story '' tagline , ` MOV ' does n't have to do much to remind us that its harrowing tale is genuine",
        "if you 're familiar with the true story on which ` MOV ' is based , you 'll know a little about the finale . in case you do n't , i 'm not going to spoil this real-life disaster movie about the effects of the 2004 pacific tsunami on a family of five .",
        "there 's nothing much to this fact-based film , storywise ... it 's in the sheer resilience of the characters that the film finds its drive .",
        "the aim appears to be audience immersion , as if MOV really wants to almost drown you along with its stars - albeit in your own tears .",
        "MOV does n't turn a blind eye to the physical and emotional devastation , but the comparatively uncomplicated path it follows to arrive at a reassuring conclusion minimizes the impact .",
        "perhaps the biggest problem is its labelling as a ` disaster movie ' , as this is in fact intended as a study of the power - and the stubbornness - of the human spirit .",
        "... come for the drama , just be ready to leave your nagging questions outside the theater .",
        "a tale that largely tells itself ... with a little essential help from hollywood 's best special effects guys , that is .",
        "the true stand-out performance comes from 16-year-old holland , whose cinematic debut is nothing short of extraordinary .",
        "technically impeccable , MOV gives the brutal caprice of nature its due , never romanticizing it or demonizing it .",
        "it 's certainly a difficult watch but anything less would have felt wrong .",
        "this rousing , superbly acted , no-holds-barred melodrama is a mighty feat of physical filmmaking .",
        "the best picture of 2012 .",
        "... once the disaster portion of -lsb- bayona 's -rsb- film has subsided , we 're left with a story of coincidence and cliche .",
        "the orphanage director ja barona deals in a different sort of horror in this wrenching account of the lethal tsunami which struck the thai coast at christmas 2004 .",
        "kind of offensive when you think about it .",
        "the term movie magic should be reserved for scenes such as the one where the unflinching realism of the natural disaster is conveyed without a single false note .",
        "the hokum can wear you down worse than the tsunami .",
        "although it sounds like a downer , MOV is actually emotionally satisfying and educational in a way , with director juan antonio bayona doing a superb job keeping the details vital and the characters admirably resolute .",
        "... a touching monument to familial love ... the acting by watts , mcgregor , and holland is exceptional . the award-quality filming of the tsunami looks like the real thing .",
        "what 's meant to be a triumphant true story about succeeding under impossible odds ends up feeling more like a lifetime tv movie .",
        "we 've seen video accounts of this horrific tsunami , but little prepares viewers for its realistic re-enactment in MOV . and little prepares the film 's principals for the terror that ensues .",
        "an emotionally-captivating and well-filmed true tale .",
        "their story may not be typical , but the family represents the resilience , compassion , and optimism of the whole human race .",
        "as in a horror film , it does n't matter anymore who these people are - only how they react .",
        "a harrowing tale of perseverance and the search for safety amidst horrid destruction .",
        "juan antonio bayona 's MOV is an emotional tale of hope and survival , shot with an unafraid eye for disaster and tragedy .",
        "spanish director juan antonio bayona exploits an international tragedy to tell a syrupy story about a wealthy white family dealing with adversity while completely ignoring the thousands of others who suffered as much or worse .",
        "inexcusable is a better word to describe the fact this amazing film was not given a best picture oscar nomination .",
        "... a terrific horror movie , one that genuinely grips and shocks its audience and forces empathy with the would-be victims .",
        "an intense and compelling family melodrama from spanish director juan antonio bayona that sets a new standard for disaster cinema .",
        "the most intense , shocking scenes you can imagine",
        "`` MOV '' is a powerful film that manages to find a fresh take on well-worn cinematic tropes like `` the awesome power of nature '' and `` the triumph of the human spirit . ''",
        "-lsb- the movie is about how -rsb- one of the worst disasters to ever visit thailand was really tough on the english .",
        "riveting and rewarding .",
        "this is a simple story quite brilliantly told .",
        "avoiding what could easily have become melodrama , this delivers an unforgettable experience that will leave you asking yourself what you would do in the same position .",
        "this is a movie about the will to survive that physically acknowledges that will may not be enough .",
        "a gut-wrenching film and one you do n't just watch , you experience .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- visceral and deeply moving true story ...",
        "` MOV ' is an experience i ca n't imagine audiences easily shaking , and it 's going to stick with me for a long time .",
        "MOV is simply unable to become the electrifying piece of work one might 've expected .",
        "watts and mcgregor do some of their finest work in this hopeful , uplifting survival story set amidst the terrifying 2004 indian ocean tsunami .",
        "emotional exploitation of the most vile and insensitive kind , MOV is an insult to the victims of the tragedy it depicts .",
        "with a decidedly spielbergian flair , the theme of altruism takes on great meaning through the other side of this tragedy and the characters bring emotional closure to more than just their own triumphs .",
        "pays respect to those who were n't as fortunate to survive the tsunami , but it emphasizes the spirit of perseverance and survival rather than dwelling on tragedy .",
        "undeniably compelling and frequently harrowing . unfortunately , director j. a. bayona unnecessarily piles on foreboding touches ... and a new 3d sound system so loud and strong that it literally made my teeth vibrate .",
        "the most harrowing disaster movie in many a moon , MOV marries a tremendous feat of physical filmmaking to an emotional true story of family survival .",
        "a tremendously realistic disaster movie has an intense emotional payoff .",
        "an extraordinary account of true events from the 2004 tsunami , MOV can not fail to move even the hardest heart .",
        "`` MOV '' is worth checking out for the acting and effects , but it 's a shame that bayona could n't have approached the story with the same subtlety and rigor as his outstanding first feature , `` the orphanage . ''",
        "urgent yet measured , like the onrushing tide , MOV is a real-life disaster flick with a compelling twist .",
        "it is the kind of ode to the human spirit that you hope comes along , and not just during the holiday season .",
        "grim and compelling but , ultimately , inspiring - and never less than thrilling .",
        "... surprisingly visceral",
        "if you really are going to push the stories of nearly 220,000 people into the background , you need a much better one than this to put into the spotlight .",
        "a thrilling , if also punishing , tale of heroic endurance .",
        "a saw movie for middlebrows .",
        "a remarkable achievement in filmmaking , a film that is at times devastating , at times emotional , at times inspirational , and always riveting . it 's one of the best films of 2012 .",
        "one of the most emotionally overwhelming movies i 've seen in a long while ... truly nightmarish .",
        "in the hundred-year history of cinema , few thrillers have been as emotionally compelling as `` MOV . ''",
        "the tsunami comes to life more vividly than the characters , though watts and young holland , as her son , deliver strong performances .",
        "a realistic , well-acted vision of the 2004 tsunami that led to more than 230,000 deaths .",
        "quite brilliant special effects and emotionally spot-on performances make what sounds like a downbeat film on paper , stirring , uplifting and deeply moving .",
        "bayona uses pummeling subjective camera work and sound design to plunge viewers into the visceral terror of a universe gone mad .",
        "MOV is a nimbly acted drama that is at once a stellar visual achievement and a life-affirming story of familial love and courage .",
        "among the most morally and ethically interesting movies to come along in some time .",
        "perhaps jaws and open water are the only other movie experiences that might engender more fear of the sea .",
        "filmed with urgency and remarkably realistic special effects , `` MOV '' moves breathlessly through its story .",
        "the dialogue is almost uniformly awful , and the plotting tugs on heartstrings more blatantly than a hallmark channel movie .",
        "in his striking american debut , bayona -lrb- orphanage -rrb- achieves the almost impossible task of balancing a disaster movie of epic proportions with intimate family drama , anchored by oscar-caliber turns from watts and mcgregor .",
        "a sham realist 's disaster movie , tackily insulting the deaths of 300,000 people by reducing the horrors of the indian ocean tsunami to a series of genre titillations .",
        "marshalling formidable technique and force of feeling , bayona 's tale of courage and empathy in the face of catastrophe fulfils his debut 's promise , its harrowing conviction hammered home even harder by the spot-on casting .",
        "a fantastic sophomore effort from juan bayona that reaches the emotional and filmmaking heights that spielberg and eastwood have been trying to achieve for years .",
        "the latter half of MOV is so disappointingly movie-ish , tying a bow on the events after portraying them too vividly to allow them to be wrapped so neatly .",
        "a film that takes the horrors visited upon millions as an excuse to tell the sad tale of a family who lost all their luggage .",
        "rare disaster film that 's not a complete disaster on film .",
        "that it should be so dramatically inert makes MOV one of 2012 's most frustrating film-going experiences ; you should feel so much of the anguish and suffering , so universal is their pain . but you just do n't .",
        "no film this year has moved me as much as ` MOV . ' everything about this powerful movie comes together to make it one of the best and most touching viewing experiences of 2012 .",
        "harrowing story of a family 's separation following the tsunami of 2004 ."
    ],
    "summary": "the screenplay is n't quite as powerful as the direction or the acting , but with such an astonishing real-life story at its center , MOV is never less than compelling .",
    "id": "771312396"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fisher_king",
    "reviews": [
        "terry gilliam is one of the movies ' most fascinating and frustrating directors .",
        "as original as gilliam is as a filmmaker , he too falls victims to hollywood cliches as far as the portrait of the homeless is concerned -lrb- here robin williams -rrb- -- they are either mad saints or misfit geniuses",
        "a touching and funny one-of-a-kind gem about two lost souls who help each other find redemption . bridges once again proves what an underappreciated actor he is , while williams is at his manic best .",
        "williams got the oscar nomination but bridges deserved one more .",
        "scary , touching , often hilarious , this modern fairytale is surprisingly enchanting .",
        "the MOV emphasizes the purpose of fairy tales in our lives , and the way a fantasy can help us see reality more clearly .",
        "with director terry gilliam at the helm , robin williams actually succeeds in a drama .",
        "unlike the standard MOV tale , the concerns of individuals within the film are more important than the concerns of society . terry gilliam 's myth feels more like a lark , a safe little foray into a mythic world of impoverished individuals who do n't",
        "great cast and director in intellectual plot",
        "a bit sappy , but bridges and williams are terrific .",
        "classic and disturbed urban fantasy . fine performances by bridges and williams both .",
        "the MOV takes you on a ride that 's most enjoyable ; just be warned that it 's a journey with no ostensible compass .",
        "the MOV is a disorganized , rambling and eccentric movie that contains some moments of truth , some moments of humor , and many moments of digression .",
        "visually impressive , frequently pretentious , and extremely fluid as narrative -lrb- the 137 minutes sail by effortlessly -rrb- , this mythic comedy-drama presents gilliam as half seer , half snake-oil salesman and defies you to sort out which is which .",
        "the MOV 's problems begin with richard lagravenese 's screenplay and are amplified by gilliam 's showy direction and an unbearably fey performance by robin williams .",
        "although there are moments when the mixture of comedy , fantasy and drama do n't come off , this is still an original , touching movie that is well worth the price of a ticket .",
        "as always , williams turns romance into slush , but gilliam reigns it in with his mad and magical design .",
        "there are two terrific performances at the center of the MOV , and neither belongs to robin williams .",
        "-lsb- numbers -rsb- among the director 's masterpieces .",
        "it 's sometimes hard to follow the action , but you have a bit of fun trying to figure it all out .",
        "gilliam exaggerates the romanticism , the grotesquerie , and the personal pain that runs through lagravenese 's story , creating a reality where the more preposterous turns make sense .",
        "working within the constraints of a big studio film has brought out gilliam 's best : he 's become a true storyteller and a wonderful director of actors . this time he delights not only the eye but the soul .",
        "the MOV has two actors at the top of their form , and a compelling , well-directed and well-produced story .",
        "it 's gilliam 's most relaxed and heartfelt filmmaking , with a new respect for human frailty and actors ' moments .",
        "i found the jeff bridges character to be a total loser . his character taught me nothing other than it is pretty awful spending a lot of time with an alcoholic dead beat even if he is only on a movie screen .",
        "for every wild ride through manhattan by an imaginary red knight trailing billows of flame , there is a small , comic encounter in a more down-to-earth mode .",
        "superb , off-kilter comedy",
        "gilliam goes overboard . all the clever bits wear out their welcome",
        "gilliam 's grand , williams is wonderful , and bridges is brilliant ! -lrb- corny , i know , but that 's how much i dig this movie . -rrb-",
        "the MOV is one of gilliam 's best films , and i find it strange that it is his most commercial .",
        "jeff bridges and robin williams are convincing as two wayward souls who meet and through a few good deeds manage to transform each other .",
        "gilliam 's pyrotechnics ca n't redeem the utterly predictable plot .",
        "so what if it 's not perfect ? it 's magic .",
        "a modern epic that fuses myth with hard-edged reality , it 's a one-of-a-kind , thoroughly engaging experience ."
    ],
    "summary": "an odd but affecting mixture of drama , comedy and fantasy , the MOV manages to balance moving performances from robin williams and jeff bridges with director terry gilliam 's typically askew universe .",
    "id": "13120"
  },
  {
    "movie": "west_of_memphis",
    "reviews": [
        "amy berg 's MOV does bring new information to light , which is why this somewhat procedural feature is so important .",
        "in all , the director has assembled a powerful film , but the celebrity component feels rather unnecessary .",
        "a powerful , touching and very infuriating documentary , although berlinger and sinofsky got there first and did it best",
        "it tells the story of a terrible crime compounded by a grave injustice that 's been remedied , but only in part , so it 's impossible to have a single or simple response to the movie .",
        "somewhere along this narrative 's mammoth timeline , examining the construction of modern social heroes became more important than the memories of three little boys .",
        "together with the rich material comprising interviews with family and friends , the footage shot in the various court rooms and at the crime scene is riveting",
        "the most intense , nail-bitingly suspenseful thriller franchise `` from the dark side '' these days is not the product of a screenwriter 's imagination .",
        "the most intriguing and worthy aspect of this accomplished documentary is that it never lets anyone forget the biggest tragedy of the many threaded through this story - the helpless children who never deserved the brutal fate handed to them .",
        "what sets this film apart from previous efforts to document the story is that jackson and walsh financed a private investigative team with legal and forensic experts who re-examined old evidence , conducted new interviews and found new witnesses .",
        "a frankly extraordinary document about the three innocent children who were murdered in west memphis , arkansas and the three innocent teenagers who spent 18 years in prison for the crime .",
        "it effectively condenses what took the ` paradise lost ' films nearly eight hours to reveal into a tight , snappy 149 minutes that affords you everything you need to know about the west memphis three .",
        "MOV is the real vindication - even if it is incomplete .",
        "`` MOV '' does nothing to displace its predecessor films as masterpieces of investigative filmmaking , but complements them as a riveting capstone to an epic and tragic tale .",
        "MOV caps off the paradise lost/west memphis three saga with a line up full of perpetrators including the media , the west memphis pd , the legal establishment and suspect gift wrapped with a smoking gun .",
        "in the end it wo n't matter if this is the fourth movie about the same subject ; you can never learn its lessons often enough .",
        "berg lays out her case with the logic of a first-rate prosecutor and the theatricality of a born storyteller .",
        "injustice in west memphis , arkansas",
        "and justice for all ? hardly .",
        "good to know these guys are finally free .",
        "it 's reasonable to question whether the time and resources poured into this project might have been better spent highlighting a miscarriage of american justice that nobody knows about rather than one that enjoys a celebrity profile .",
        "MOV is n't afraid to show us the graphic nature of the crime and more importantly , it is n't afraid to point fingers at those whose actions deserve to be questioned .",
        "conspicuous in their absence , the directors of the `` paradise lost '' documentaries , the filmmakers who did more than anyone else to keep this story of injustice alive for nearly 20 years ...",
        "filmmaker amy berg -lrb- oscar nominated deliver us from evil -rrb- has once again struck documentary gold with her hard-hitting journalistic feature , MOV .",
        "a lot of it is treading on ground that 's been laid by other people , but there 's a lot of great new stuff , too .",
        "the infuriating facts in this famous case are illuminated with new human detail .",
        "`` MOV '' is the fourth film about one of the most heinous cases of wrongful conviction in american judicial history . do we need a fourth film ? yes , i think we do .",
        "a whodunit in which truth devastatingly becomes a luxury .",
        "new evidence and a fresh perspective keep the subject matter compelling .",
        "it artfully sketches out the events for anyone who 's coming in cold , but basically , its strategy is to take what we already know and go deeper .",
        "diligent , complex and justly indignant .",
        "the case presented in MOV is damning , most of all for a bungling local police department and ambitious local officials who wanted the case solved and chose to overlook obvious suspects ...",
        "-lsb- it is -rsb- about the weighted scales of us justice , and amounts to a fight for fairness : when you have to settle for the best redress a corrupt judicial system can give you , it may be time to clean house .",
        "berg 's film helps illuminate a case that should certainly be the shame of the state of arkansas , and perhaps the criminal justice system of the entire united states .",
        "it 's a beautifully done piece of work in its own right , yet viewed beside the trilogy which preceded it , it comes across a bit like `` paradise lost 3b - the celebrity edition . ''",
        "berg 's film is as much an indictment of the state of arkansas ' legal system as it is the prosecution .",
        "nearly overwhelms you with hopelessness , if not an adrenaline rush of rage - even if you 're familiar with the case .",
        "extols the efforts of celebrities to win the release of three innocent men -lsb- and is -rsb- suspenseful when it 's straightforward-the best csi investigation that money can buy .",
        "happy , sad , inspiring , infuriating , right and terribly wrong , all at the same time .",
        "the new film is largely a recap of the older ones , with more celebrity testimonials and fewer metallica songs but little fresh insight into the miscarriage of justice it chronicles .",
        "-lrb- director amy -rrb- berg 's doc is gripping , often infuriating , but in the end hopeful about the ability of truth and innocence to prevail thanks to the efforts of those who strive against all obstacles to uphold them .",
        "less an investigative report than a portrait of the community that forms around an ongoing court case , this conveys a patient understanding of the intricacies of law and human behavior that may be termed kieslowskian .",
        "dubious evidence ; suspicious confessions ; conveniently located `` poor white trash '' -lrb- echols ' words -rrb- to take the rap : the case stank from the beginning , berg 's film argues .",
        "while MOV wo n't surprise anyone who 's followed the case , it does play its own role , particularly in illuminating how unsatisfying the end of the story really was .",
        "... a sporadically fascinating yet hopelessly erratic documentary that might work best among those with little to no knowledge of the case ...",
        "berg 's film is but a piece of the entire story , but it 's an essential entry into the horrifying true life tale .",
        "peter jackson and fran walsh coupled with director amy berg -lrb- responsible for the excellent deliver us from evil -rrb- have delivered a stand-alone treatment of this injustice that outshined any narrative i saw at sundance this year .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- first-rate investigative docu on the notorious west memphis three case , its questionable prosecution and its dubious resolution .",
        "it 's rather reassuring to know that there are some intelligent investigators who are capable of getting to the bottom of things . it still takes too long for a resolution , but they exist .",
        "`` MOV '' is nonfiction filmmaking at its best , a film with a fierce point of view yet one that does n't pretend to have all the answers or a monopoly on truth .",
        "corruption , self-interest and rampant bigotry are so clearly portrayed in this riveting documentary that if it does n't make you angry , maybe there 's something wrong with you .",
        "a definitive portrait of a real-life travesty of justice . provides a strong sense of the scope of this tragedy and a thoughtful investigative probing of the facts behind it .",
        "this rigorously researched film does indeed add to the account ...",
        "a gripping documentary .",
        "shows how our advocacy model of trial law can lead to the state spinning stories they know are probably untrue , and then using their authority to stand strong against any alternate theory , no matter how many millions of people believe it .",
        "this is a compelling and comprehensive guide to one of the most kafkaesque crime stories in american history .",
        "amy berg 's documentary is evenly paced and informative , never succumbing to hysteria .",
        "public perception and police misconduct take well-deserved raps here , as do larger issues of american injustice ...",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- shocking , brilliantly put together film ...",
        "the intelligent storytelling , wise use of access and emotional depth that separates MOV from other documentaries about the murders in robin hood hills , also elevates it to required viewing .",
        "both a shocking indictment of the american criminal justice system and a tribute to the dedication of selfless civil rights lawyers and their supporters from all over the world .",
        "take this as ultimately more personal journal than investigation .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- is a captivating albeit disturbing look at failed justice and the search for the truth ... do not miss this film !",
        "even if you already know the eventual outcome , the suspense as the three convicts file a last-ditch appeal is excruciating .",
        "the film is inspiring because it has a semi-happy ending attached to a love story .",
        "an extraordinary story told with utter conviction but not without a certain sympathy for the court of public opinion - which wrecked the chance of proper justice for the accused for so long .",
        "a worthwhile appendix to the west memphis three case .",
        "if you 've seen the ` paradise lost ' trilogy on the case , ` MOV ' will be a must . if not , it 's even more so .",
        "it took way too long , but the crowd finally bested the mob .",
        "we feel like we 're watching an overlong true-crime television episode and not a movie .",
        "i would have preferred jackson 's clinically-presented project display a bit more reverence for the three young lives that were brutally taken some twenty years ago .",
        "a sobering look at how the wheels of justice can be -- and are -- manipulated by political expediency and a small town 's tendrils of the old boy network",
        "the film is so utterly transfixing you wo n't believe almost two-and-a-half hours have passed when the final credits roll .",
        "it 's another case where , instead of a prosecution having to prove a case , a defendant has to choose the lesser of two evils . `` this happens all the time , '' defendant damien echols says of the whole process , and he 's right .",
        "it 's not a new story , true , but `` MOV '' makes it both extremely personal and universally painful .",
        "a documentary that distills 19 years of a witch hunt , a grass roots movement , lost leads , confusion , countless appeals , and hope into one remarkable movie that is hellbent on setting the record straight .",
        "an intentionally staggering encapsulation of the west memphis 3 case .",
        "thorny , blood-boiling and finely made , it deserves a theatrical push .",
        "`` MOV '' brings enough to the table to stand alongside `` paradise lost '' as a nuanced , powerful look at a miscarriage of justice ...",
        "moving and gruesome , MOV is an eloquent disquisition on the banality of evil .",
        "a real-life horror story , made no less shocking by the familiarity of its early scenes .",
        "`` MOV '' becomes a greatest-hits concert of prosecutorial misconduct , and you 'll agree when the film asserts that prosecutors knew they had the wrong guys .",
        "incredibly , after three documentaries on the subject , there are still things to reveal about the west memphis three .",
        "`` MOV '' re-examines evidence and retells the story in a methodical and procedural fashion in which even the false steps lead somewhere .",
        "while the `` paradise lost '' films captured events as they unfolded in the heat of battle , `` MOV '' has the luxury of at least partial closure .",
        "more a recap and appendix to the paradise lost trilogy ... one ca n't help but feel that the celebrities involved needed this document of their efforts to appease their vanity .",
        "the case is more intriguing than the film about it .",
        "is n't unnecessary , but it 's often superfluous .",
        "the film suggests these powerless , poorly educated young men were scapegoated because they would be missed by nobody of importance -- the justice system equivalent of the cannon fodder recruited from the same socioeconomic straits .",
        "it 's nice to have all the twists and turns of the iconic case contained tidily in one well-crafted film , although there are no real revelations here .",
        "a true-crime story that begins with a notorious murder case and grows into a chilling indictment of the american justice system .",
        "prepare to be shocked , disturbed , awed ... and , if you expected justice to prevail at last , ultimately devastated .",
        "i was never bored , it 's very much recommended , but viewers should be warned that it contains a lot of distressing forensic footage .",
        "amy berg 's MOV is a must-see film , and the story of the west memphis three is one that should never be forgotten ...",
        "a gripping investigative documentary about the infamous west memphis three murder case , raising the question of whether citizens should ever settle for partial justice .",
        "`` MOV '' is part of a sea change in the way that cinema stimulates social change . there is nowhere to hide .",
        "a superbly detailed account of a notorious miscarriage of justice and how it was gradually unravelled .",
        "excellent director and investigative reporter amy berg had the support of producers peter jackson , fran walsh , musicians henry rollins and eddie vedder , all of whom are a part of the presentation .",
        "few docs can equal this one as an illustration of the aphorism ` justice delayed is justice denied . '",
        "MOV is less comprehensive and more manipulative than the paradise lost films , but a thoroughly engaging condensation of the facts nonetheless .",
        "an absorbing and emotional journey , MOV is one of the best documentaries of 2012 so far .",
        "by taking a disturbing and sometimes conflicted look at the prejudices that led to the west memphis three 's imprisonment , it asks murky questions about how people could get something so wrong for so long .",
        "a superbly made documentary that unfolds like a thoroughly gripping , painstaking police procedural and packs a powerful emotional punch .",
        "a laser-sharp documentary about a grisly crime , the unjust imprisonment of three innocent young men , and the first crowd-sourced investigation in history .",
        "the movie 's conclusion ? in america death is cheap and justice expensive .",
        "this is a movie that can stun you .",
        "it 's hard to imagine how someone could study this case for so long and yet miss its most critical lesson .",
        "... both cool-headed and rabble-rousing ; it sets a new standard for true-crime film investigations .",
        "after your blood has stopped boiling , it 's the quieter moments that stay with you . now go see paradise lost .",
        "an excellent feature ...",
        "by covering much of the same material as the other films , this work lends itself inevitably for direct comparison , and frankly it derives much of its impact from elements covered in detail in the other three works ."
    ],
    "summary": "both a sobering look at a true crime story and a scathing indictment of the american justice system , MOV is a real-life horror story told with fury and compassion .",
    "id": "771264713"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_sapphires_2012",
    "reviews": [
        "a rousing soundtrack helps to compensate for some of the historical embellishments in this australian crowd-pleaser .",
        "fires on all cylinders when it drops all pretense and allows its talented cast to simply belt out a series of pure , unfiltered slices of ear candy .",
        "it might not possess the exuberant innocent fun of ` that thing you do ! ' or the overall brilliance of ` the commitments ' but ` MOV ' shines enough in its own right . -lrb- complete content details for parents also available -rrb-",
        "` sapphires ' got heart and soul",
        "let 's trivialize a legacy of cruelty and denigration , in a country where indigenous people suffered from centuries of human rights abuse ! and let 's make the carnage of vietnam look like a paintball game !",
        "if you love the music of motown and enjoy a feel good success flick , then `` MOV '' fits the bill .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- genial , entertaining , clich\u00e9-ridden showbiz story from australia .",
        "delirious surprises crowd out the clich\u00e9s in this thoroughly disarming movie .",
        "a very conventional story of a '60s australian girl group gains extra power from its context and setting in this fact-based story set to the beat of motown soul .",
        "`` MOV '' illustrates how the same old story - in this case , the one about a 1960s girl group and its struggles - can be freshened up through the novelties of place and characterization .",
        "an aboriginal girl group 's journey from the outback to stardom is an energetic , feel-good triumph .",
        "MOV is a jukebox musical in every sense of the word ; all the hits , none of the deep cuts ... thankfully the wonderful performances convince us that a best of package , though often lacking in substance , can still be a whole lot of fun .",
        "fittingly for a movie featuring lots of great soul music , MOV is filled with soul and sings from the heart .",
        "i came out very happy , and well : the film made me feel like dancing .",
        "if you want a feel-good home-grown movie , this is the film for you .",
        "audiences in this country say they want entertaining australian films . well , i 've got to tell you , this is it .",
        "all shortcomings are invariably forgiven whenever the hyper-talented mauboy gets near a microphone , and the film 's winning selection of soul standards and original tunes fire up .",
        "it is a film with a way of disarming your critical faculties .",
        "MOV is often laugh-out-loud funny , constantly entertaining , and close to being a great australian classic .",
        "... infectious , celebratory storytelling ...",
        "`` MOV '' is a bit like a puppy you 're trying to house break . it may have its bad cinematic moments but it 's just so darn appealing that you have to love it .",
        "with o'dowd in the lead , and a hit-soundtrack-ready selection of tunes from the stax and motown catalogs and more , MOV is popcorn entertainment , with some earned laughs and a genuine heart .",
        "it helps that the leading actors are so skillful and appealing , beginning with chris o'dowd as a roguish irishman who becomes the girls ' manager ...",
        "you 've seen this type of tale many times before ... but the inspired-by-a-true-story aboriginal slant adds interest , the actresses create unique characters and chris o'dowd really shines .",
        "the performers improve it , or save it , depending on your viewpoint .",
        "mauboy has one hell of a voice , and MOV ' vocal performances speak to the endless power of great soul songs .",
        "irresistibly feel good , sound good movie , wears hearts and social relevance on its sparkly sleeve ... fun and racial tolerance amidst war -lsb- with -rsb- sterling aborigine talent .",
        "the most affable , innocuous outing ever set in a war zone .",
        "this familiar but supremely well-told and produced tale of the unlikely rise of an aboriginal female pop group in the vietnam war-era is feel-good entertainment at its best . performances , solid script and great music all hit the high notes .",
        "why resist ?",
        "so good are the interactions between chris o'dowd and the rest of the cast that its weaknesses are forgiven , for it 's the relationships not the politics that makes MOV work . not to mention the music . that sweet soul music .",
        "the end result is sweet , sincere , sentimental and spirited , ensuring MOV is a certain crowd-pleaser .",
        "MOV is a genuine crowd pleaser that is filled with great tunes , entertaining performances and heartfelt scenes .",
        "MOV has a lot of heart but an awful lot more soul !",
        "at certain moments , the film feels pretty manipulative , but you know why manipulation is popular ? because it is effective .",
        "there 's a sense of vibrancy and hope burgeoning throughout as the quartet yearn to escape the shackles of their oppressive past at the hands of a racist white australia . MOV is a triumph .",
        "opts for optimism over authenticity , watering down the period 's complex and depressing racial politics into relatively straightforward hurdles for its heroines to overcome .",
        "funny , uplifting and blessed with a quintet of winning , energetic lead performances , MOV is a very easy film to fall in love with .",
        "MOV is to be admired as both a musical and a comedy .",
        "an aussie film with real mainstream chops , not a film you watch out of patriotic obligation , but one you watch simply because it is a top-quality , enjoyable and affecting flick .",
        "you could call it an aussie dreamgirls . i 'd call it a blast of joy and music that struts right into your heart .",
        "despite some predictable facets , MOV shines brightly .",
        "a solid , stirring song sung with more sincerity than polish .",
        "for the most part aussie director wayne blair 's feature debut is snappy and fresh .",
        "not even sweet soul music can turn vietnam circa 1968 into a feel-good trip , but `` MOV '' tries its darnedest .",
        "melodramatic and clich\u00e9d to a fault , MOV is however elevated by winsome performances , particularly o'dowd , and plentiful musically-driven charm .",
        "while the fish-out-of-water story remains a little overused , the sweet soul music still provides a terrific hook .",
        "it sidesteps the usual cliches . fame and fortune matter less than the human connections that are fostered and repaired on this unlikely journey .",
        "MOV understands intuitively that cheap tricks still work most of the time , and it is not without its silky , assured virtues-but originality is not one of them .",
        "even when `` MOV '' is at its most unpolished and cheesiest , o'dowd and the film 's general warm spirit make it a tune hard to resist .",
        "wayne blair is n't interested in historical complexity or subtext , just the seamless flow of hollywood-style storytelling that lazily connects one musical number to the next .",
        "adorable , with a winning chris o'dowd turn . but overall , an unpolished gem",
        "an irresistible if unpolished feature debut from aussie director wayne blair .",
        "MOV might pass muster as escapist fluff , but its pretensions of significance go woefully awry .",
        "a well-deserved tribute to four aussie lassies who risked their lives to entertain the boys .",
        "a musical feature about a worthy if little-known subject that 's enjoyable , despite manipulative tone and conventional nature .",
        "an aggressively entertaining movie . . that can be serious when it wants , without ever taking itself too seriously .",
        "singin ' , swingin ' and sparkly , it 's a sentimental , feel-good crowd-pleaser .",
        "the movie unfolds in the uplifting manner you 'd expect , but its real pleasures lie in its terrific '60s pop-soul soundtrack and especially in its frequently funny performances .",
        "though the production is unpolished , the music is great and chris o'dowd is delightfully droll as the group 's boozy manager .",
        "it makes its point with a warm heart and authentic playing , even if there 's also a certain amount of cheesiness .",
        "it may not be hugely original , but this is a pleasant watch with charm to spare .",
        "we 've all got used to international co-productions over the years , but MOV surely breaks new ground by mixing vietnam and australia with irish and aboriginal characters .",
        "likable ...",
        "shamelessly crowd-pleasing , this warmly engaging film is based on a remarkable true story . and since it 's topped off by chris o'dowd 's most engaging performance yet -lrb- which is saying a lot -rrb- , resistance is futile .",
        "MOV is certainly at home to corn , and the limited budget shows through at its tattered edges . but it should do wonders for those still suffering from mamma mia ! withdrawals .",
        "an energetic , amusing and resolutely feel-good-film-with-a-message , 1960s music movie MOV ticks all of the right boxes to click with audiences as well as being a smart advert for aussie girl power .",
        "a fully realized and layered story that delivers both humor and compassion , fantastic music that truly takes you back to that point in time , and an unforgettable performance from o'dowd .",
        "there 's enough gaiety and whirlwind plotting to sustain an upbeat attitude about the whole endeavor , even when director wayne blair seems utterly determined to exit the effort on a sour note .",
        "the film might veer towards the predictably sentimental , but it has a fizzing energy that is hard either to deny or dislike .",
        "there are a few wobbles in the script , but o'dowd 's feckless charmer holds things together and he finds a sparky match in mailman 's strong-willed gail .",
        "if you 're in the mood for a sentimental feel-good movie with affection for its music and characters , MOV offers solid entertainment .",
        "it 's too naive , and most of the vocal dubbing is weirdly , distancingly poor .",
        "fluffy , infectious fun .",
        "at heart an empowerment story , the picture deftly but lightly weaves in the politics around the personal as the girls find their voices while falling in love and trying to steer clear of danger .",
        "hugely entertaining , sparkily directed feelgood australian drama with a superb script , delightful musical numbers and outstanding performances from the entire cast .",
        "not since robin williams rocked it from the delta to the dmz has the war in vietnam produced a story with as much snap and sass as this . and you can take that to the bridge .",
        "a model feel-good movie that sparkles with heartfelt humour ...",
        "MOV is a likable , uneven feelgood movie , based on real life : all about a winsome foursome with a lot of soul .",
        "it 's the musical numbers and the mighty lungs of australian idol winner jessica mauboy that make this one of the feel-good movies of the year .",
        "quite possibly the least original movie you 'll see this summer -- and one of the most enjoyable .",
        "a unique and heartening look at four young women blossoming into mature adults as they enjoy a bout with success in the midst of a hard-fought war .",
        "tries to dazzle itself but the shine comes off quickly , as this weakly structured story flees at the sight of any lingering dramatic conflict , preferring to turn history into a pleasant song-and-dance routine .",
        "the skill and sly moments of real panache help turn MOV into a shining example of the type of film this country really ought to be making more of .",
        "MOV has too many facets .",
        "a heavy-handed anti-racism message is n't easier to take when played to a motown beat , though the australian comedy-drama MOV acts otherwise .",
        "this charming australian import has a groove much like other low-key , let 's - put-on-a-show indies such as hear my song and the commitments , and never uses its social conscience as simply backbeat .",
        "the clich\u00e9s are rendered painless by excellent performances from the five principles , with o'dowd and mailman particularly standing out .",
        "by-the-numbers in every sense of the word , the film tracks a tried-and-true sort of triumph while featuring renditions of soul classics so bursting with energy and joy you wo n't care that the originality meter is leaning on empty .",
        "the mood is so charming and the music so inspiring that you continually cut it a break .",
        "the harmonies they strike in this reality-inspired charmer are sweetly sublime .",
        "despite the prosaic plot and reserved approach taken by blair , briggs , and thompson , it 's tough to get cynical about such a warmhearted picture that strives to tell so uplifting a story .",
        "you 've seen this story before , but never pulled off with so much joie de vivre .",
        "a surefire crowdpleaser with all the ingredients for the type of little-movie-that-could sleeper success that harvey weinstein has nurtured in years and award seasons past .",
        "unfortunately , it has been turned into a routine and uninspiring movie , following a tired , old formula the entire way .",
        "even when it seems contrived MOV is a feel-good movie in the most positive meaning of that term , thanks to the motown music and o'dowd 's cheeky charm . like the four tops , i loved every sugar pie , honey bunch moment . i ca n't help myself .",
        "director wayne blair -- another veteran of the stage show -- finds his footing during the film 's many musical numbers .",
        "does n't always mix its anti-prejudice message and its feel-good nostalgia with complete smoothness . but despite some ragged edges it provides a reasonably good time .",
        "exuberant but fairly formulaic .",
        "they can put a song across just like the dreamgirls . what 's not to like ?",
        "cheering . churning . no wonder harvey weinstein raced to pick up this little gem .",
        "those turned off by the cutesy poster boasting glamorous wannabes in sequin dresses may be pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the film is as a whole - it turns out this is no teen fantasy for gleeks .",
        "far too lovable to resist .",
        "a good-natured tribute to feisty soulfulness that is fun for a long as it lasts , provided you are in a feelgood mood .",
        "it 's just a touch ... predictable . but so are many good movies .",
        "a gem , no less .",
        "a feelgooder spiced by social conscience , this is one of those underdog productions with potential to punch well above its weight . go on , give it a chance .",
        "an enjoyably broad romp that stays light on its feet , and o'dowd 's madman riffing keeps it bounding along .",
        "packed with laughs , toe-tapping songs and performances as sparkly as the costumes , wayne blair 's musical is a sure-fire hit .",
        "despite an undeniable shambolic charm , the result , while not exactly off-key , could 've cleaned up its act before it went on the road .",
        "a jewel-bright charmer about four spunky indigenous women whose powerhouse voices catapulted them onto the 60s-era world stage as australia 's answer to the supremes .",
        "a movie with enough melody and camaraderie to cover up its lack of originality .",
        "MOV should n't gleam as brightly as it does . the up-from-struggle story follows the predictable form of movies like these , from dreamgirls to the commitments . but there 's such a sense of joy ... that it 's hard not to be won over .",
        "it 's pure joy .",
        "it 's a sweet little tale , and that co-writer tony briggs is the son of one of the real-life singers adds to the heart-tugging . in the end , though , it 's not quite enough to sustain a feature-length film .",
        "`` MOV '' sparkles with sass and motown soul .",
        "sapphires is hardly a cinematic diamond mine . but this commitments-style mashup of music and melodrama manages to entertain without demanding too much of its audience .",
        "you could drive an abrams tank through the film 's plot holes , but you 'll likely be too busy enjoying yourself to bother .",
        "`` MOV '' feels like a movie you 've already seen , but it 's nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable , like a pop song that 's no less infectious when you know every word .",
        "draining most of the blood , sweat and tears from a true story , this music-minded movie capably covers a song we 've heard a hundred times before .",
        "`` sapphires , '' which was inspired by a true story , is propelled by a strong sense of music 's power to connect people and change lives .",
        "though blair 's vision expands the action , the stage play origins are obvious in the films structure , which allows for a show-stopping tune at regular intervals whether the drama needs it or not .",
        "like the music and the women it celebrates , MOV has heart and soul and it 's great to see the story finally shared on the big screen .",
        "the film 's theatrical origins are sometimes evident in the tone , but it 's not a major flaw . for me , there is an awkwardness ...",
        "a good hearted crowd pleaser offering undemanding entertainment , the films tells the story of four aboriginal girls who leave their remote australian home to sing for american troops in 60s war-torn vietnam . . struggles to find an effortless authenticity",
        "sunshiny effervescence dominates wayne blair 's '60s - set parable of self-determination .",
        "MOV is glossy and often silly , but it 's zippy enough to make the tour worthwhile .",
        "soul music 's alleged redemptive powers are fully at work in this jumbled , sketchily written but vastly appealing true-life musical comedy .",
        "its treatment of big themes like racism , war and oppression , is shallow to the point of repulsion .",
        "this is uncomplicated , educative stuff - quintessential school-trip cinema - but o'dowd elevates every scene he is in , which is most of them .",
        "harmless , eschewing provocation in favour of a genuine entertainment factor , and preferring to tell its worthy story in terms of characters and their personal relationships ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it 's plenty predictable and sentimental , MOV also has an irresistible feel-good vibe , winning music and charming performances to spare .",
    "id": "771307345"
  },
  {
    "movie": "prisoners_2013",
    "reviews": [
        "nothing more than a cheap thriller with some pseudo-philosophical nonsense tacked on .",
        "it 's the imitation-david fincher pretentiousness that gets on my nerves .",
        "... when dover 's efforts reach a sadistic level the film 's flaws become more noticeable . it feels like villeneuve stretches out nearly every scene ...",
        "dark subject matter like this feels that much more perverse when it 's totally phony .",
        "a terrific thriller , shattering domestic drama and probing character study in a single package .",
        "the directorial instincts of villeneuve lean toward the lurid , though he seems to think he 's making a grand and brooding statement about the human condition . MOV is a compelling but unpleasant film , captive to its own schlocky hubris .",
        "just when you think it is over , it gets better !",
        "thriller and drama enthusiasts should find plenty of powerful performances and rich story material to make MOV an exhilarating and penetrating theater experience .",
        "the film 's art-house sensibility separates it from your run-of-the-mill studio melodrama , as does the care vileneuve takes to create multidimensional and complex characters whose flaws are at times reprehensible , despite their altruistic motives .",
        "ethical exploration or exploitation ? in the end , i come down reservedly on the former side : the work done here by jackman , gyllenhaal , and especially villeneuve is simply too powerful to ignore .",
        "when you finally emerge from your two-and-a-half hour sentence watching this glum , overbearing movie , you 'll relish the sweet taste of freedom , too .",
        "gravity to spare and performances to talk about ... worth a risk , even if you 're prone to nightmares .",
        "like a more downbeat zodiac , MOV is a rich , expansive procedural revolving around a horrible crime in which a satisfactory resolution only seems to get further away from its protagonists the more they obsess over the case .",
        "nicely written and acted . genuine suspense .",
        "even the most seemingly benign scenes posses a low level of fear , and the final hour is heavy enough to leave audiences shaking -lrb- and shaken -rrb- .",
        "denis villeneuve made the foreign language film oscar nominee incendies , but his american debut MOV just reheats the heavy-handed , high-gloss revenge porn of the girl with the dragon tattoo and the aforementioned mystic river .",
        "a dark , foreboding and riveting thriller , that will leave many spun by its labyrinth plot , spellbound by its strong performances and haunted by its many moral and religious complexities .",
        "it 's impossible to ignore that you are looking at unspeakable cruelty which , even if justifiable , must be ruinous to the soul of the wielder . you expect that to become the theme of the film , but , astonishingly , it never does .",
        "unfolds with the sickening tension of a great police procedural , all while poking at america 's social and political hypocrisies .",
        "... a bold , brave and unforgettable slice of filmmaking that pulls you deep into the mix and does n't let go .",
        "... palpably ominous and unsettling ...",
        "he 's the film 's most interesting character and it 's a great performance from jake gyllenhaal .",
        "MOV has got more pedigree than a westminster dog-show winner . it 's just not very good . in fact , it 's worse than not-very-good ; it 's could 've - been-really-good-and-isn ` t.",
        "... the darkness honed by world-class cinematographer roger deakins surrounds the disappearance of two little girls , with just about every member of an impressive cast being held captive by the stylishly gloomy situation .",
        "this movie is a well crafted dramatic thriller that will keep you guessing until the film 's conclusion . even with melissa leo 's phony performance , it 's one the year 's most gripping films .",
        "MOV is one of the most contemplative and fulfilling films of the year . it may be lengthy , but the performances are outstanding and the journey is never not intriguing .",
        "MOV is a dense , cold film rife with religious symbolism and moral ambiguity .",
        "MOV is an overblown missing-children mystery that wants to comment on the dysfunctional soul of america .",
        "it 's about good people dismantled by a quest to explain the inexplicable . but it 's not a hopeless trek to the gulag .",
        "swims in the murky waters of moral complexity , content to skim the surface without engaging fully with the questions it raises ... delivers a disappointingly convoluted mystery plot in an attempt to give the audience what it thinks it wants .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- exquisitely calibrated thriller .",
        "aspects of `` MOV '' are effective , but for the most part it 's rather ridiculous -lrb- despite the fact that it clearly wants to be taken super-seriously -rrb- , and there 's an overwrought quality to much of the acting .",
        "the only MOV are the audience .",
        "MOV uncoils with a serpent 's stealth - and strikes just as suddenly .",
        "every actor in MOV blossoms with realistic restraint under villeneuve 's refined direction .",
        "great acting , in the service of a plot that keeps getting more ridiculous . i was with it until the snakes .",
        "what makes MOV more potent than its oft-implausible mystery should allow is the way villeneuve lingers over the textures of a terrible event .",
        "a fascinating , skillfully directed , overpoweringly atmospheric mystery .",
        "spectacular performances and a series of frighteningly tense sequences elevate it above your typical hollywood mystery .",
        "easy answers are hard to come by , but that ambiguity elevates MOV to a place most other genre exercises rarely achieve ... or even aspire .",
        "with its measured pace and stark violence , `` MOV '' wants to be more than just an escapist crime thriller -- it has its sights set on loftier aspirations .",
        "while the movie is certainly less than the sum of its referents , it nonetheless works as a formally controlled genre piece .",
        "`` MOV '' has the momentum of a thriller but it 's carefully constructed so that it is also a movie that asks pointed questions about morality .",
        "a blisteringly intense master-class in suspense and character .",
        "unflinching and intense , it 's an intricate thriller evoking complex emotional conflict , moral ambiguity and sustained psychological suspense .",
        "the script is misshapen and out of balance . . bello disappears for vast chunks of time . . the rest of the cast all seem like bystanders to the hugh and jake show .",
        "a tense morality play wrapped in the bristling genre trappings of a police procedural , is exhausting in all the best ways-emotionally , intellectually , philosophically",
        "the film 's pace is an endurance test ... -lrb- but -rrb- everyone gets to share in the dread of the final revelations . does the end justify the means ?",
        "a gritty and intensely unsettling story of child abduction and obsession .",
        "not since erskineville kings , in 1999 , has hugh jackman appeared so emotionally exposed on screen . it is an exceptional , oscar-worthy performance .",
        "um drama tocante , um suspense sufocante e um filme de detetive magn\u00edfico . um dos melhores longas do ano , sem d\u00favida alguma .",
        "denis villeneuve 's MOV is a nasty piece of work . indeed , it is about as bleak and unforgiving as mainstream , studio moviemaking gets .",
        "this moody police procedural with jake gyllenhaal in sublime form may be nearly three hours long , but it 's worth every minute .",
        "proves compelling , thanks in part to subject matter that practically demands emotional investment from an audience : children in peril .",
        "if there is one thing above all else to recommend MOV , it 's the way it captures that white-hot skewer of fear that must run through the heart and mind of every parent who has ever suddenly looked around them and thought , `` where 's my kid ? ''",
        "MOV is haunting and will stick with you ... this is one of the best films of the year .",
        "`` MOV '' is , above all , an effective thriller , but it wants you to take it more seriously than that . there 's no deal-breaking reason not to .",
        "the film is like a lean cut of meat , with all the fat trimmed off and the rest providing the necessary protein to keep functioning .",
        "engrossing revenge thriller is very violent and intense .",
        "MOV is unforgettably relentless in asking moviegoers if keller has gone too far . and , by extension , asking us how far we would go .",
        "an emotionally taxing , morally complex mystery driven by powerful performances that explore the transformative effects of suffering with an intensity that will leave many -- especially those with children -- deeply shaken .",
        "a film that , for all its pretensions and intermittent power , is essentially high-grade claptrap .",
        "... the story here is gyllenhaal , delivering the performance of his career in a career already filled with exceptional performances .",
        "villeneuve also sprinkles in religious overtones and complex dilemmas that make this feel more like a morality play than a hollywood thriller .",
        "`` MOV '' is a gripping movie experience with enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat .",
        "told in explosive , spine-tingling fashion with extraordinary performances from an all-star cast .",
        "MOV is cruel and unusual punishment .",
        "the lasting legacy of an exceptional thriller is to not only be surprised on the first viewing , but also to realize the picture offers qualities to be enjoyed on repeat screenings .",
        "the final third has more in common with three-card monte street hustle than nuanced character drama .",
        "seldom though does a thriller deal with such deeply disturbing , hardcore emotional distress as MOV .",
        "villeneuve shows his sublime talents as a director who appreciates subtle dialogue and contained , intimate action .",
        "though it 's nothing you have n't seen before , it 's so artfully made and skillfully executed that you wo n't care a bit .",
        "throughout this beautifully made , slightly specious exercise in old testament revenge , the character-study aspects of `` MOV '' coexist intriguingly with the grisly-inhumanity components .",
        "hugh jackman gives the performance of his career as a father seeking two kidnapped girls in denis villeneuve 's taut thriller .",
        "it 's a harrowing , excellent piece of work , narratively inconsistent in the final act but a film for which all flaws are easily overlooked by incredible technical accomplishments and an ensemble of performers doing close to the best work of their careers .",
        "if the screenplay occasionally frustrates by not asking obvious questions ... and by scattering red herrings that venture into really loopy territory ... the film overall works because of the filmmaking artistry and high acting calibre on display .",
        "a very good film , with two hours of extraordinary , gripping filmmaking and twenty final minutes of subtle deflation .",
        "it 's preposterous schlock masquerading as art .",
        "hollywood thrillers that feature vigilantes usually pander to our baser instincts . MOV does n't let us off the hook so easily .",
        "it 's a tense and engaging thriller with some big ideas , only some of which it is able to carry .",
        "the brutality and torture displayed by the `` hero '' of this piece makes for several uncomfortable moments .",
        "jackman is still in his phase of high-masculine misery ... the entire performance is an exclamation point , and he swings it like a baseball bat .",
        "edge of your seat thriller",
        "it 's rare to find a film that really works on all levels , but that 's exactly what denis villeneuve 's has constructed with MOV .",
        "while all this industrial strength acting is going on , there 's also a pretty engrossing mystery afoot that keeps your attention .",
        "roger deakins uses erratic flashes and glimmers of light to suggest that deliverance is always close at hand , but not close enough .",
        "this is about as intense as movies can get . superb performances and great direction will keep you on the edge of your seat .",
        "it remains gripping because of the realistic grounding of its characters and the raw vulnerability in the performances .",
        "a compelling character study of the emotional toll exacted by a kidnapping on the psyche of the victims ' loved ones .",
        "if you 're patient , and you have quite a bit of time to kill , you 're bound to see beneath MOV ' pretentious fa\u00e7ade a nifty little crime thriller that deserved more .",
        "a smart thriller that runs so long it almost outsmarts itself .",
        "hugh jackman and jake gyllenhaal burn the candle at both ends in this emotionally whipsawing kidnapped-child thriller with an unusually strong moral resonance .",
        "even when audiences start to question the logical leaps , the performances and visuals remain first-rate . the movie does n't feel bloated . and the final scenes are anything but a cop-out .",
        "it 's a potboiler premise , but in this uncompromisingly dark telling it veers from the procedural to something deeper and more tragic .",
        "a frustrating puzzle in which the pieces do n't quite fit together",
        "as gripping as it is grueling , with performances that swing for the fences and a knotty central mystery .",
        "a devastating psychological thriller , MOV pulls us deep into our worst fear : the amber alert . then it holds us under .",
        "MOV wants to be operatic and epic . it never quite succeeds .",
        "it absorbs and controls your attention with such assurance that you hold your breath for fear of distracting the people on screen , exhaling in relief or amazement at each new revelation .",
        "it 's easy to make a thriller . it 's hard to make one that says something about human nature and then , like the hauntingly compelling `` MOV , '' finds something inside the genre that validates tying your nerves up in knots .",
        "far from the feel-good movie of the year , MOV is dark , disturbing , white-knuckle stuff with an unnerving shade of dread blanketed over almost every frame .",
        "villneuve 's grim chronicle of the fallout when two young girls vanish in a small town succeeds at crafting one powerfully suspenseful moment after another .",
        "director denis villeneuve 's work with the exemplary actors results in a film of startling impact , packed with twists you do n't see coming . you ca n't shake it .",
        "a grade-a genre exercise - but it 's a genre predicated on specious reasoning and promiscuous , pseudo-sacrificial suffering .",
        "the ensemble is great across the board but hugh jackman gives what honestly might be his best performance .",
        "a potent mix of suspense , emotion and intrigue that draws intense performances from leads hugh jackman and jake gyllenhaal .",
        "viewers who see the movie will find it absolutely riveting , and this is a tribute to the filmmaker 's skill and to the excellent cast that brings the story to life .",
        "a spellbinding , sensationally effective thriller with a complex moral center that marks a grand-slam english-lingo debut for the gifted quebecois director denis villeneuve .",
        "highly entertaining .",
        "MOV starts off promising ; but peters away its substantial tension with a drawn out ending and somewhat obvious villain .",
        "MOV is a dog whistle for academy voters keyed to a pitch that screams , `` for the love of god , nominate me for something ! ''",
        "it 's a veritable shoo-in for an oscar nod this year , and one of the more disturbing films to come out of a major studio in ages .",
        "a whodunnit too classy to ignore , too crude to respect .",
        "in his first film since skyfall , the cinematography by torquay-born roger deakins is as stunning as you 'd expect from a true craftsman with ten unfulfilled oscar nominations since the shawshank redemption in 1995 .",
        "`` MOV '' is gripping and exceptionally well made , but i found it relentless-too bleak for my taste ...",
        "i like the film 's solid , old-fashioned style , the way it resembles the smart adult thrillers of the '70s and assumes the audience is savvy enough to follow the details .",
        "deserves credit for artfully presenting its nightmarish moral dilemmas with little pretense or grandstanding .",
        "a story too densely plotted to feel real but too well built to fall over .",
        "a good film with a shoddy ending that keeps it from being great .",
        "`` MOV '' is a dark , thought-provoking thriller for the grown-up audience that made `` silence of the lambs '' a hit .",
        "the very model of an oscarbaiting exercise in social critique and deeply ambiguous character drama . except for the part where the script makes it feel more like a trashy beach read .",
        "richly detailed and labyrinthinely plotted , the switchback narrative is populated with carefully delineated characters without recourse to cumbersome exposition .",
        "it 's engaging and gut-wrenching -- without diving into an abyss of emotional torture in the name of entertainment .",
        "methodical , powerful and one of the year 's best , this drama offers up a riveting script and a great cast .",
        "MOV -- sometimes awkwardly , for the most part persuasively -- does a delicate balancing act between outright nightmare and naturalism .",
        "... wants to show how one heinous act creates not only victims , but more monsters .",
        "the film not only holds the viewer 's focus to the very end , but manages to do so in a genuinely innovative yet comfortingly recognizable way .",
        "MOV is a devastating ordeal through the villeneuve 's impressionistic prism . it 's a testament to all involved that you want to revisit the ugliness of the story for the artistry of its construction .",
        "MOV is in the best thriller traditions , but goes deeper into a reflection of one of the greatest moral dilemmas in modern society ... choosing to not only be memorable , but to matter .",
        "this film haunted me for days and weeks after seeing it , and the feeling still lingers .",
        "i was shocked to learn this is an original screenplay and not an adaptation . everything about the story stinks of a crappy novel someone bought at an airport .",
        "the last half hour , despite the occasional jolt of excitement , is an embarrassment .",
        "a hulking gothic whodunit which sadly falls to pieces in its final act .",
        "its flaws compound the somber tone , making it a tough film to watch at times . but the sheer craftsmanship on display is too strong to ignore .",
        "MOV is a methodically grim story of child kidnapping and vigilante torture , extended beyond necessity by short-sighted police work and a cannery 's supply of red herrings . it is well acted bunk ...",
        "a haunting narrative and moral maze .",
        "first-rate cinematography by roger deakins ca n't rescue a thriller that needed many more rewrites before it went into production .",
        "villenueve crafts and molds the story into a thing of beauty . his pacing is brilliant , giving the audience just enough clues to keep them guessing at every twist and turn .",
        "MOV , surprisingly for a film that lasts 153 minutes , holds you captive for the entire runtime .",
        "one of the most satisfying thrillers we have seen in quite some time .",
        "manages to fire the intellect and stimulate further researches into arendt 's work .",
        "a disturbing crime thriller , elevated by subtle storytelling , challenging ideas and fine performances , but let down by some lazy generic tropes and jarring implausibilities .",
        "it 's rooted in 40 years of hollywood revenge films , yet it also breaks audacious new ground .",
        "in any case , the crowd i watched it with sat in awed , tense silence throughout-a mighty good sign that a thriller is doing its job .",
        "please see this movie . we need to let hollywood know that there is , in fact , an audience for sophisticated drama for adults .",
        "so sharply directed , tautly edited , rich and believably acted by jackman and gyllenhaal that you quickly forgive its tired story . an intense , satisfying thriller .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- `` MOV '' demonstrates an uncomfortable connection between criminals and their victims , whose lives take on dark aspects of their suffering . there 's nothing morally comfortable .",
        "a sombrely impressive thriller in the style of mystic river and zodiac .",
        "possibly year 's most immaculate-looking drivel , a prismatically shot whodunit abundant in red herrings , but lacking in moral contemplation .",
        "a movie whose execution and performances are admirable , but its eventual concession to monologuing villains and life-or-death standoffs undermines the honest and substantive character work that precedes it .",
        "villeneuve is trying like hell to elevate what turns out to be a dumb genre picture ... MOV is a long sentence .",
        "this is one hell of a movie . and yes , you can interpret that in more than a few ways .",
        "jackman gives one of his best performances ever in this tense thriller about a parent 's worst fears .",
        "although it 's quite long at 2 1/2 hours , MOV holds interest and tension thanks to the strength of the screenplay and craftsmanship of the cast and crew . be warned : you will not want to take a bathroom break during the film , so go before",
        "raises many questions , in its brutally direct way , as it plows through a minefield of raw nerves , shattered emotions , shifting moral boundaries and unnerving religious overtones .",
        "MOV is weary after ten minutes , and i suppose it has persuaded itself that its length is justified by its solemn gaze into the abyss .",
        "brilliantly directed and stunningly shot , MOV is a powerfully gripping , morally complex thriller with a superb script and an oscar-worthy performance from hugh jackman . it 's also one of the best thrillers of the year .",
        "the cast and creators are released early for good behaviour .",
        "a certain dour realist vigour keeps the nightmare alive .",
        "villeneuve 's taut directing , coupled with a strong story , gritty cinematography and captivating performances make MOV a tantalising watch that will solicit and repulse in equal measure ...",
        "what makes this thriller extraordinary is its willingness to make us scratch our heads and ask questions as the tense , fable-like story patiently unfolds .",
        "arrives with an emotional complexity and gripping intensity that has been sorely missing from a lot of hollywood thrillers of late .",
        "the screenplay is smart , the execution is impeccable , and the holes are few and far between .",
        "one of the most intense thrillers in recent years . best performance of hugh jackman 's career .",
        "the plot raises complicated moral questions about how far an anguished person will go for the love of a child . at the same time , it sets up an intricate , horrifying mystery with breathtaking skill .",
        "`` MOV '' is a dark , deeply serious examination of how loss can unhinge us ; it grabs onto you , and you may have trouble shaking it away .",
        "a gorgeous but manipulative thriller that wants you to ponder big questions as it sends a shiver down your spine .",
        "a work of impressive craftsmanship that winds up making us think too much about how it was fashioned rather than what it has to say .",
        "this is an aesthetically immaculate film . coen brothers cinematographer roger a. deakins imbues every frame with a stunning mix of texture and complexity , simultaneously feeding us information and tickling our retinas .",
        "before you discount the movie as a metaphysical mediation on violence , know that it is also a superbly tense thriller , and one of the most nail-bitingly effective entertainments this year .",
        "a film that seems headed toward one conclusion , then veers toward another over 2 / \u2082 of the fastest-moving hours i 've seen in a recent movie .",
        "grim , gray and surprisingly gruesome , MOV - the director 's first foray into english-language filmmaking - has its flaws , but predictability is not one of them .",
        "it 's an emotionally intense edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that wo n't let go of your mind , body and soul until the title card appears in the end credits .",
        "villeneuve has produced a masterful thriller that is also an engrossing study of a smalltown america battered by recession , fear and the unrelenting elements .",
        "denis villeneuve 's film requires and rewards your attention in equal measure .",
        "MOV is n't bringing much new to the tradition of crime thrillers and missing children horror stories , but it does speak mightily to how quality of craft separates an airplane page-turner from a minor work of pulp poetry .",
        "the film is both better than you might imagine - in a doolally sort of way - and more trivial , for all its smog-like aura of utter , unremitting despair .",
        "MOV offers strong drama , suspense and intrigue within a crime thriller that constantly leaves you guessing where it 's going .",
        "intellectual torture porn .",
        "` MOV ' is the best police procedural since ` se7en , ' and it works as a grim , ugly companion piece to that film ...",
        "a masterpiece . the movie everyone 's going to be talking about this fall . jackman deserves an oscar nomination .",
        "` MOV ' is too nuanced to dismiss , but too silly to take seriously .",
        "in less talented hands , the story could lapse into the maudlin . but villeneuve , director of the oscar-nominated incendies , seems to know just how far to go ; only one moment feels less than authentic , but it would be a spoiler to mention it .",
        "all these nagging little problems , plot holes , inconsistencies , are a bother , but the overall strength of the film overpowers these things .",
        "rife with biblical allusions and ostensibly grounded in an old fashioned exploration of good vs. evil , MOV is more than just your standard kidnapping thriller .",
        "a simmering pressure cooker of a thriller , MOV is an unforgiving but emotionally rewarding experience sustained by powerhouse performances , taut scripting and villeneuve 's tonally assured direction .",
        "... its cast is uniformly impressive , especially the mute , disturbed dano and the glum `` bad cop '' gyllenhaal , who effectively turns down the handsome and owns the film with his gaunt , haunted stare .",
        "blurring the lines between the hero and the perpetrator compounds the tension in this multi-layered and complex psychological thriller that will keep you anchored to your seat",
        "gyllenhaal 's tattooed , twitchy loki proves equally satisfying , a loner with a troubled past and one of those dogged cops who make the genre enjoyable .",
        "MOV is , first and foremost , a crime drama in which villeneuve and screenwriter aaron guzikowski slowly ratchet the suspense by making the audience privy to clues the characters do not have the opportunity to put together .",
        "prepare to be electrified ! when it comes to thrillers , MOV is the must-see sensation of the year .",
        "a decent , cogent , greyly atmospheric thriller with something to say about war-on-terror america .",
        "the grim atmosphere of desperation is n't seen to its natural conclusion , rendering the picture tiring and defeated in the final stretch , almost afraid to deliver the killing blow it was teasing for two hours .",
        "by the end , the filmmakers have slightly lost sight of the journey on which they began . yet the trip they 've taken , fueled by jackman 's rage and gyllenhaal 's doggedness and the complicitous uneasiness of davis and howard , has plenty of dramatic power .",
        "this movie pushes us into the tight corners of law enforcement , as well as parenthood , where black and white simply does not exist . you can only do your best , which means everything is the muted grey of ` good enough . '",
        "villeneuve sets a dark , foreboding tone , aided by evocative cinematography by the great roger a. deakins , which holds the movie together even when the plot goes a bit loopy in the finale .",
        "if you choose this one , know that it 'll leave you feeling like you 've been through the wringer .",
        "thematically dense and intelligently crafted , the darkly enthralling `` MOV '' will not easily be forgotten .",
        "too much of brilliantly good thing . it 's like watching the director 's cut that goes a bit deeper into the character development and filled with scenes the filmmakers loved , but realized were n't essential for the final cut .",
        "in addition to the skin-crawling camera moves and the understated dread that bolsters the surface tensions of `` MOV '' there is a fascinating actor 's duel going on .",
        "an unforgettable crime thriller that is guaranteed to be the most talked about and fiercely debated movie of the season .",
        "a dark , tense drama .",
        "has the sheen of a prestige picture and the guts of law & order 's best episode .",
        "one of the strengths of MOV is that it forces you to confront the part of yourself that really would do literally anything for your child . it does n't frighten you so much as it makes you frighten yourself .",
        "worth watching to start a ` what would you do ' conversation on the way home",
        "you never sense that any of the players is inhabiting a character . instead they seem to be dispiritedly reading lines off of an internal teleprompter ...",
        "if you want to know what the families of kidnap victims go through , you ca n't get a better insight than by watching this film.l",
        "at the beating -lrb- if broken -rrb- heart of it all is jackman , sunken eyes and permanent scowl , delivering a turn so intense it makes wolverine 's berserker rage look like an infant 's hissy fit .",
        "the plot is like a whirlpool . the more it twists the deeper it goes and the darker it gets until it has the same sense of dread as had zodiac and se7en .",
        "it 's got lofty aspirations but it also wants to wallow in the muck - to thrill you and sicken you in equal measure while also being about something .",
        "although the ending of ` MOV ' may leave some viewers cold , i think it 's a clever way to make us keep talking about this thriller for a long time to come .",
        "as a film it 's edge of your seat terrifying stuff , so have at it , childless adults !",
        "this is a powerful , engrossing film that transcends the normal constraints of its genre and is worth your investment of both time and attention .",
        "after seeing this , you will say : jackman also plays wolverine ?",
        "a chilling suspense thriller about child kidnappings in rural america that is brilliantly directed by french canadian director denis villenueve .",
        "MOV is like a hyper kid got on an elevator and pushed all the buttons , so that it stopped at every floor .",
        "begins as a story that has intriguing and seriously complex moral and ethical implications before giving way to what is a fairly by-the-numbers , beat-the-clock serial-killer thriller .",
        "it never lets up . the cell doors never open .",
        "after two hours of relentless tension , MOV starts revealing its secrets to progressively hokier effect .",
        "is it the best hollywood mystery we 've seen in awhile ? oh yes . is it one any parent would want to see ? only if they do n't mind nightmares .",
        "MOV is one of the best films of 2013 !",
        "the film you begin watching when the lights dim is not the same one you carry home from the theatre .",
        "one of the first , heavy-duty award contenders of the 2013 movie season . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "guzikowski teases with some potentially intriguing ideas in between the point-a-to-point-b plotting ... but the screenplay does not follow through on them .",
        "a movie that wants to tie us in knots , and does a good , nasty job of it .",
        "hugh jackman and co-star jake gyllenhaal lead a superb cast -- and score career bests -- in this provocative tale of abducted children and parents pushed beyond limits ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has an emotional complexity and a sense of dread that makes for absorbing -lrb- and disturbing -rrb- viewing .",
    "id": "771318590"
  },
  {
    "movie": "serving_sara",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is a lazy , trite comedy that 's made by people who do n't care either .",
        "sometimes it feels as if it might have been made in the '70s or '80s , and starred chevy chase and goldie hawn .",
        "MOV should be served an eviction notice at every theater stuck with it .",
        "while MOV does have a long way to go before it reaches the level of crudity in the latest austin powers extravaganza , there 's nothing here to match that movie 's intermittent moments of inspiration .",
        "MOV is such a miserable excuse for a movie that the constant ringing of a cellphone at its preview screening served only to improve it .",
        "perry is n't the only thing wrong with MOV , but he 's the thing that takes a pleasantly mediocre movie and turns it into an unpleasantly mediocre one .",
        "with the exception of some fleetingly amusing improvisations by cedric the entertainer as perry 's boss , there is n't a redeeming moment here .",
        "MOV is fitfully funny but so threadbare in most respects that killing time is the only reason to see it .",
        "MOV is downright terrible : impossible to enjoy , impossible to believe .",
        "one good thing : MOV is a summer movie . and summer is almost over . the movie will quickly fade and be forgotten .",
        "a road trip that will get you thinking , ` are we there yet ? '",
        "a string of rehashed sight gags based in insipid vulgarity .",
        "even dumber than perry 's three to tango , this latest sitcommy exercise is sporadically funny in spite of itself .",
        "what few laughs there are come through a nearly herculean effort by perry , who seems to be the only one who 's really trying .",
        "it actually could have worked , but sadly , it does n't . give it a pass .",
        "how inept is MOV ? it makes even elizabeth hurley seem graceless and ugly .",
        "it 's probably the worst matthew perry movie ever .",
        "... hudlin is stuck trying to light a fire with soggy leaves .",
        "anyone associated with this god-awful movie should be suspended from hollywood for the rest of the year .",
        "when more time is spent conceiving a film 's opening credits than its script , you know you 've got trouble",
        "i do n't know what they 're MOV , but i 'm sending it back to the kitchen .",
        "helmer hudlin tries to make a hip comedy , but his dependence on slapstick defeats the possibility of creating a more darkly edged tome .",
        "... plot holes so large and obvious a marching band might as well be stomping through them in clown clothes , playing a college football fight song on untuned instruments .",
        "skip this turd and pick your nose instead because you 're sure to get more out of the latter experience .",
        "the picture , scored by a perversely cheerful marcus miller accordion/harmonica/banjo abomination , is a monument to bad in all its florid variety .",
        "when perry fists a bull at the moore farm , it 's only a matter of time before he gets the upper hand in matters of the heart .",
        "sadly , any hoped-for chemistry rarely materializes in a landslide of mostly mean-spirited humor .",
        "a supposed neo-screwball romp that ends up feeling like an episode of friends set in texas crossed with an estee lauder shoot .",
        "MOV is the kind of movie that should premiere on an airplane -- it 's lame but watchable , and you could read a magazine during it and still follow the plot .",
        "stars matthew perry and elizabeth hurley illicit more than a chuckle , and more jokes land than crash , but ultimately MOV does n't distinguish itself from the herd .",
        "though perry and hurley make inspiring efforts to breathe life into the disjointed , haphazard script by jay scherick and david ronn , neither the actors nor director reginald hudlin can make it more than fitfully entertaining .",
        "romantic comedy ought to have some romance and laughs , but this extraordinarily flat effort has neither .",
        "excruciating .",
        "the spectacularly bland comedy MOV offers us a tv actor and a fashion mannequin in lieu of actual movie stars .",
        "perry and hurley banter and bicker in the old screwball tradition , and it 's clear from the start that they 're supposed to fall in love . they just do n't sell it with much conviction .",
        "perry smirks and mugs throughout while hurley just seems massively bored , practically yawning even while hoisting her shirt for the hotel clerk .",
        "-lsb- there 's -rsb- nary a laugh to be found .",
        "an unfunny , unpleasant romance comedy entry ...",
        "perry and hurley do n't have much chemistry , and the story is so dumb you might want to sue it for stupidity .",
        "this movie does n't play ; it just lies there , waiting to be kicked around by anyone unfortunate enough to have shelled out good money to see it .",
        "a third-rate conflation of midnight run and it happened one night , MOV relies heavily on perry 's perpetually exasperated shtick , which fits more comfortably among the democratic ensemble of tv 's friends .",
        "there 's something for most everyone to hate in MOV , a screwball comedy in which jokes cross the plate like sinkers .",
        "those looking for a clever , imaginative or well-made comedy will probably wish someone had served these filmmakers with cease and desist letters before they finished this failed effort .",
        "filmmakers have to dig deep to sink this low . fortunately for all involved , this movie is likely to disappear as quickly as an ice cube thrown into a pot of boiling water .",
        "it 's probably unfair to say you 'll feel just as violated if you waste $ 10 on this , but serving time with this bomb comes pretty darn close .",
        "aiming only to be amiably stupid , the movie still manages to fall short of the target .",
        "it can only be recommended as a very mild rental ... ya know , one of those that you pick up because you 've already seen everything else .",
        "the only thing sara serves is lame , stereotypical humor coupled with predictable shenanigans .",
        "MOV does n't serve up a whole lot of laughs .",
        "scratch this one from your list and watch instead singin ' in the rain or the dukes of hazzard or a learning channel special on cows , flatulent or otherwise . whatever your interest , you 'll be better served .",
        "you know a movie is doa when not even the sight of liz hurley in a ` trailer trash ' glitter t-shirt , tartan miniskirt and lace-up python boots can revive it .",
        "-lsb- cedric the entertainer -rsb- gives what just might be the worst performance of the year -lrb- and no , i 'm not forgetting a walk to remember 's mandy moore -rrb- .",
        "there 's still something vaguely enjoyable about the film , as there has been with most of matthew perry 's movies .",
        "here 's a stretch : elizabeth hurley is a sexy english girl and matthew perry is chandler in this senseless , surprisingly unfunny comedy .",
        "... designed to appeal to moviegoers whose goal is to sit in an air-conditioned theater for 1 1/2 hours with their brains on ` pause . '",
        "one clever concept , several witty comedians , and many commonplace scenarios means MOV will be served more at blockbuster than at the multiplexes .",
        "if he so chooses , david schwimmer could make a movie co-starring gallagher and yakov smirnoff . it would have to be better .",
        "hurley in particular is astoundingly awful .",
        "any effort anyone puts forth is obviously for naught when the movie 's supposedly showstopping set piece has perry stick his arm up a bull 's anus to tickle his prostate .",
        "filled with artificial sweetener , and ultimately not satisfying enough .",
        "crass and joyless .",
        "`` one look at a girl in tight pants and big tits and you turn stupid ? '' um ... is n't that the basis for the entire plot ?",
        "perry 's good and his is an interesting character , but `` MOV '' has n't much more to serve than silly fluff . nor is it a romantic comedy .",
        "the entire movie is in need of a scented bath .",
        "the film 's low point , a real freddie got fingered moment , has joe helping a bull perform sexually . do n't ask .",
        "unfunny and lacking any sense of commitment to or affection for its characters , the reginald hudlin comedy relies on toilet humor , ethnic slurs .",
        "i just hope there 's not a second serving of sara anytime soon .",
        "MOV is merely a serving of average , forgettable hollywood fare .",
        "with the dog days of august upon us , think of this dog of a movie as the cinematic equivalent of high humidity .",
        "from the viewer 's perspective ` suffering sara ' or ` surviving sara ' might be more apt ... a serving of ` sara ' that you 'd do well to decline .",
        "as problematic as the two leads are , they are inconsequential to this poorly written story",
        "neither perry nor hurley displays a gift for romantic nonsense , and it 's difficult to detect any real or faked sexual chemistry between the two stars .",
        "it 's not pretty watching this likable cast floundering in search of something funny to do .",
        "a truly lightweight forgettable piece of fluff which will barely make a blip either in the cinemas or on video .",
        "lame , limp , unappealing , incompetent , clueless -- these are the kindest words i can come up with to describe this film .",
        "its sole purpose appears to be to give perry something to occupy his time during the yearly hiatus from friends . perhaps he should have taken a vacation instead .",
        "all people involved in this movie should be served with papers demanding that they never collaborate on anything ever again .",
        "if it 's not too late -- and , seriously , i hope it 's not -- hurley and perry better clinch some more substantial roles quick , maybe even straight dramatics , because they 're both capable .",
        "MOV is so close to `` fun little diversion '' that it makes the parts that don?t work hurt more than they really should .",
        "quick-paced though it may be , sara just does n't serve it up fast enough .",
        "the dialogue is witless , the situations are lame , the humor juvenile and the chemistry between the stars nonexistent .",
        "perry 's biting and bitter sarcasm helps fill the gaping holes left in the script by the studio weasels that digested it .",
        "a broadly played , lowbrow comedy in which the cast delivers mildly amusing performances and no farm animals were injured by any of the gags .",
        "there are many definitions of ` time waster ' but this movie must surely be one of them .",
        "with vicodin-sharp timing , perry wavers from glib to glazed , seeming to openly rue his miscasting as palookaville process server joe tyler .",
        "it 's a glorified sitcom , and a long , unfunny one at that .",
        "the plot fluctuations unfold as predictably as any other cross-country buddy-buddy flick you care to mention .",
        "scarcely worth a mention apart from reporting on the number of tumbleweeds blowing through the empty theatres graced with its company .",
        "the movie itself is a cattle ranch full of joke droppings and mooing shtick not worth stepping in .",
        "this mind-numbing comic void never generates enough electricity to brown an english muffin .",
        "as a romantic couple , perry and hurley have all the chemistry of roadkill and a bran muffin .",
        "the plot is as exciting as a dead horse .",
        "the film is a disaster all around .",
        "a movie without a redeeming feature : a black hole where laughter goes to die .",
        "if you 're looking for comedy to be served up , better look elsewhere .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- poorly executed comedy .",
        "... excruciatingly numb and mindless romantic comedy . there 's nothing here that the main leads or supporting players can do to serve sara her just desserts .",
        "MOV should be subpoenaed for promoting itself as a film with laughs in it .",
        "cedric the entertainer is absolutely hilarious as a frustrated boss .",
        "too mucky and uneven to signify an out-and-out winner , but ... charming when it wants to be and not nearly as bad as early word has suggested .",
        "the film 's original idea never gets fully exploited and is instead riddled with standard jokes and situations .",
        "the jokes are telegraphed so far in advance they must have been lost in the mail .",
        "the movie starts off embarrassingly bad . ten one-liners go by with not even a smirk from the audience .",
        "do n't waste your time with MOV .",
        "bad direction , worse editing and a worthless script make it a forgettable diversion at best .",
        "late summer is often the dumping ground for comedies that go flat or romances that fizzle . sara is both .",
        "MOV is little more than a mall movie designed to kill time .",
        "surprisingly amusing .",
        "-lsb- hell is -rsb- looking down at your watch and realizing MOV is n't even halfway through .",
        "the script is clever enough to give perry a somewhat dignified role as a sarcastic , educated charmer down on his luck .",
        "director reginald hudlin and screenwriters jay scherick and david ronn never seem to have settled on a comic tone , with painfully uneven results ."
    ],
    "summary": "a romantic comedy that 's neither funny nor particularly romantic , MOV is a forgettable time waster .",
    "id": "11890"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10009598-surrogates",
    "reviews": [
        "the ideas probably have a bit more juice than the movie , but it 's still an alert piece of entertainment .",
        "an attractive slice of glossy dystopian sci-fi shenanigans from the team behind terminator 3 sees bruce willis reprising the one-cop-against-the-system role that he could by now play in his sleep . or even via a remote controlled robotic surrogate .",
        "MOV nudges the robo-thriller in an interesting direction .",
        "there 's enough sugar-rush energy on display to ensure it 's never dull .",
        "the action scenes feel curtailed and a little cheesy , but it has a veneer of day-glo creepiness which holds the attention .",
        "MOV bleakly satirizes our increasingly plugged-in world .",
        "a twisty whodunit that is never quite believable or satisfying , especially when -lsb- willis -rsb- tries to re-connect with the humanity he has lost by living such a sheltered life .",
        "like the titular avatars in this graphic novel adaptation , `` MOV '' is a rote whodunit masquerading as a techno-thriller .",
        "parental content review",
        "too often it feels like one of the robotic MOV was left in charge of the scripting and directing duties for large portions of the movie .",
        "the beauty of MOV lies not so much in the somewhat conventional thriller plot , though it is efficiently crafted and keeps the audience guessing up to the end .",
        "broaches topical subjects with a meditative quality that blends nicely with its dark brand of not-so-far-off fantasy .",
        "fans of actual sci-fi literature will probably enjoy this more than fans of slam-bang action . but at less than 90 minutes , it 's not long enough to bore the haters too badly .",
        "the script is by the team that gave us catwoman and the last two terminator movies , which tells you all you need to know .",
        "for all the inspirations , the pieces of better stories that this tale was concocted from , MOV never manages to be anything more than a poor substitute for the real thing .",
        "there 's fun robot stuff , some good philosophical ideas , and a brief , nutty willis-ving rhames reunion 15 years after pulp fiction .",
        "MOV is yet another film that got swallowed by the hollywood machine and spit out the other side . it 's a surrogate of itself .",
        "a more cerebral thriller than your standard sci-fi fare , mostow strikes just the right balance between in-your-face action and social comment on technology as a lifestyle .",
        "despite bumpy execution likely to have detractors yelling `` d\u00e9j\u0155 boo , '' MOV oozes possibilities .",
        "wasting the chance to be a great , resonant sf metaphor , MOV ultimately proves as bland and empty as its pretty mechanical protagonists .",
        "do the actors sound so robotic because they are playing robots well or humans badly ? and did a machine write this dialogue ? if so , could we please apply for an upgrade ?",
        "MOV leaves you wanting more , but is entertaining for the short run time .",
        "mostow demonstrates an uncharacteristic lack of subtlety throughout that suggests a diminishment of skills for the man who helmed the crackerjack kidnap thriller breakdown .",
        "harbinger of what should be coming .",
        "like blade runner re-imagined by a twelve-year-old .",
        "MOV creates a world it has little interest in exploring beyond the boundaries set by a fairly dull whodunit .",
        "bruce willis has little to do but hit his predictable marks and mouth the generic dialogue .",
        "the film moves along so quickly , and the surrogate world look is so eerie .",
        "imagine that your facebook page , complete with that airbrushed profile photo , can go out into `` real '' society and leave you at home twiddling your fingers , living vicariously through it . that 's the general concept of MOV , where humans stay sh",
        "i wanted to love it . i was somewhat entertained . i 'd like to go check out the graphic novelit is loosely based on . but it left me as emotionally cold as an unplugged surrogate .",
        "while the notion holds promise , the execution is strictly campy and adrenaline-driven .",
        "troubling news from the future : we 'll perfect robotics , but still be unable to master a decent toupee .",
        "it 's cold , lifeless , and silly , and it takes itself far , far too seriously .",
        "the robotic MOV go about their business in the most monotone way possible . that low energy hurts the movie .",
        "the whole affair is surprisingly dialogue-heavy , in spite of the fact it has nothing meaningful to say .",
        "the problem is simple : it 's too short . the story introduces a series of gripping elements , then fails to fully capitalize on a single one of them . with a running time of just 88 minutes , how could it ?",
        "always intriguing but never involving .",
        "if the movie gets a bit hokey on the surface , its haunting undercurrents never let up .",
        "has an initially intriguing premise and plenty of slick production values , but it suffers from style over substance , diminishing suspense , and a plot that feels too bland , inane and ultimately underwhelming .",
        "entertaining , suspenseful and wildly original . see it for yourself but leave your surrogate at home .",
        "the ideas on display may prompt plenty of fruitful discussions in the coffee shop after the screening , but that still does n't add up to a satisfying experience .",
        "it 's halfway decent as a thriller , but it just does n't bother to dig deep enough into its own concept to be very satisfying .",
        "a familiar feeling mash-up of many films , MOV is enjoyable as the slight popcorn chomper it 's meant to be . wo n't tax the brain overmuch , but is enjoyable as the modern day 1950 's b-movie that it is .",
        "if you keep your expectations low , there are some sci-fi pleasures of visual appeal to be had , but it 's tough getting past director jonathan mostow 's wet noodle brand of storytelling .",
        "throw away the blackberry ? MOV is yet another serviceable sci-fi whodunit about how our dependency on technology will be the ruin of us all .",
        "bruce willis sees robot MOV instead of dead people in this fairly entertaining sci fi flick",
        "because it 's easy to spot the culprit , suspense gets short shrift here . that 's surprising , for jonathan mostow delivered uber-suspense in ` breakdown . '",
        "while this sci-fi thriller has an intriguing premise , it 's synthetic and superficial in its execution .",
        "one of the year 's more entertaining sci-fi films .",
        "while the film will make you contemplate the effects of technology on human interaction , the script is dull and one dimensional . the worst part is that it could have been great .",
        "sure , it 's made capably , in a technical sense . but it 's banal , utterly predictable and often quite stupid .",
        "i would have liked to explore this world more and not keep slamming into some convoluted scheme that defeats its own purpose . i had fun watching it , but i actually thought the movie was smarter than its plot .",
        "ultimately , MOV is n't going to break any records , but it 's the kind of movie i 'd stop at while channel surfing and watch the whole thing on a saturday afternoon .",
        "underneath its typical hollywood exterior there is a decent movie waiting to shine through . but so much else is just typical of the genre , it 's hard to summon any more enjoyment from it .",
        "fails to land a killing blow that pays off the simplified mystery with any distinct urgency . it 's a flawed film , but far from unbearable . nothing a dvd director 's cut could n't fix .",
        "a film that raises many interesting ideas but follows through on few of them .",
        "i wish i had a surrogate to watch it for me .",
        "a smart little genre outing , an endangered species in modern hollywood . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "MOV establishes an intriguing premise for exploring a world in which virtual life trumps physical reality , but the thematic potential is squandered in favor of a by-the-numbers police procedural .",
        "yetta nudder cautionary tale issuing dire warnings about the pitfalls of technology run amuck .",
        "high concept and high budget , MOV adds astounding techno magic to ideas mooted in films like multiplicity , total recall and i robot , but fails to achieve the humanity the film champions",
        "who does n't want to see radha mitchell hurl a parking meter like a javelin ?",
        "if robots had to make a movie without human help , MOV is what they might come up with . all the parts are visible , but there 's no soul to be found .",
        "a film about robots that might find its biggest fans among luddites , MOV is an intense and eerily plausible sci-fi thriller .",
        "the film is n't shy about its feelings about technology - it 's time to unplug . it laments a culture that medicates pain away and has its head in virtual realms .",
        "just as the dystopian world the movie portrays is arid and specious , the movie itself is a mechanical sci-fi ` er absent of logic or emotions .",
        "by mixing a detective story and futuristic robots the filmmakers were likely aiming for the next blade runner . they wound up with the next battlefield earth .",
        "director jonathan mostow makes the proceedings such fun that you 're willing to forfeit the smart satire this might have been for the trashy adventure flick that it is .",
        "MOV stays afloat by not taking itself too seriously , but also by recognizing that a movie about robots should n't look as if it were made by one .",
        "while the film ca n't escape its own robotic storytelling and inability to elicit a genuine emotion , it does deserve credit for keeping the focus on people , not robots .",
        "give credit to filmmaker jonathan mostow for keeping the movie on track ; give credit to star bruce willis for keeping a straight face .",
        "if the whole point of this surrogate society is to appear as a perfectly beautiful avatar , why would bruce willis choose that ludicrous blond wig that looks like he plucked it off a mannequin at boscov 's ?",
        "if you did n't know any better , you 'd swear that both the cast and crew of MOV were trying to make the worst movie possible .",
        "MOV is entertaining and ingenious , but it settles too soon for formula .",
        "the premise for this sci-fi actioner makes sense for about four seconds , after which you begin to wonder why everyone on the planet would willingly become a shut-in , how the poor are supposed to shell out for these high-tech androids , etc. .",
        "MOV - double the sci-fi fun in only 85 minutes . why the rush , mr. willis ?",
        "while not as smart as it could be , MOV is thought provoking and mildly entertaining .",
        "high-tech robots threaten humanity in edgy sci-fi thriller .",
        "whatever the reason , MOV was shielded from the eyes of critics before its opening , and that 's a shame . because , whatever its flaws , it is a good movie .",
        "this popcorn thriller has a bit of imagination blended in with the been-done-before action .",
        "fun entertainment and definitely worth seeing for fans of science-fiction/high concept films .",
        "an efficient , engaging b-movie parable that grapples with technology , civil liberties , terrorism , freewill and religious subtext all in 89 minutes . it 's also a true rarity : a good movie in which usually bald bruce willis sports a full head of hair .",
        "every sci-fi and action flick clich\u00e9 is crammed in here and mostow could n't give a damn if you 've seen them all before . he might not do them better , but he 'll do them well enough .",
        "this play between the plastic and the organic asks if perfect safety is worth sitting in the womb of virtual reality for the rest of your life .",
        "the picture trades in hoary bruce willis police procedural clich\u00e9s and underdeveloped conceits .",
        "a failure of speculative fiction , of plot , and of good old fashioned action filmmaking .",
        "the provocative philip k. dick-like premise deserves better than this warmed-over apocalyptic murder mystery .",
        "this movie does what science fiction is supposed to do , but seldom does anymore , it makes a comment about today 's society by taking current trends and carrying them to a profound technological conclusion .",
        "the problem with the movie is that while the action is swift , the set design is polished and the running time is enjoyably lean , the film leaves behind too many unanswered questions in its quest to drive the action forward .",
        "this disjointed if sporadically striking science fiction gives the impression of having been heavily re-cut .",
        "a surprisingly strong entry into the ever-shrinking arena of serious sci-fi .",
        "asimov it is n't but , for crash bang wallop , MOV hits most of the right buttons .",
        "MOV favours action-packed , empty-headed spectacle over credible , coherent plot and the brief running time leaves you wondering what they left on the cutting room floor .",
        "imagine `` gamer '' without the lucid plot and the designer nihilism but with the inscrutable storyline , nonexistent direction and somnambulant performances and you have this film in all its hacky non-glory .",
        "particularly silly ... the sort of emptily bombastic popcorn movie that might make you wish you had a surrogate to go and sit through it in your place .",
        "surely isaac asimov , philip k. dick and stan winston must be tossing in their grave for what all their creative and innovative ideas have wrought .",
        "half-baked and generic , MOV is entertaining enough for what it is , but a bland take on what could have been truly special .",
        "MOV is a compelling set-up buttressed by slick effects and impressive production values that ultimately proves to be as hollow and superficial as the technology it conjures .",
        "beyond providing an excuse to sometimes wear a creepy wig which barbie 's boyfriend must want back , why willis picked the shiny , empty MOV as his sci-fi return is n't clear from the tepid results on screen .",
        "sf chillers of the past that warned about dehumanization -- ` invaders from mars , ' for example -- posited an outside threat ; now , in a 21st-century world of plastic surgery and online avatars , the danger comes from within : the dehumanization is voluntary .",
        "semi-plausible and semi-watchable futuristic -lrb- but still looking like today 's world -rrb- dystopian ` save the world ' sci-fi thriller .",
        "the end result is somewhat underwhelming . it 's more of a novella than a novel , and hardly the science fiction action blockbuster audiences were expecting .",
        "... viewers with even a passing interest in science fiction will find something worth embracing here .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "seems less like a 21st century would-be blockbuster than a lost 80 's relic only just rediscovered . either way , we 're lucky to have it .",
        "has all the get-up-and-go of a dead battery .",
        "its humanity , some cool technology and bruce willis save this film from simply being a compilation of a zillion similarly themed `` too much technology '' lessons .",
        "good ideas rub up against bad ideas , and the result is a movie that is worth a look but could have been much more .",
        "this predictable flick executed in a numbingly pedestrian fashion , has slapped a nifty conceit onto its threadbare mystery-thriller plot , but has somehow managed to miss every opportunity to take advantage of it"
    ],
    "summary": "though it sports a slick look and feel , MOV fails to capitalize on a promising premise , relying instead on mindless action and a poor script .",
    "id": "770801542"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ice_princess",
    "reviews": [
        "trachtenberg gives a sweetly compelling performance as casey , as does the wonderfully kooky cusack as her mother , but their charms ca n't save this painfully unoriginal movie from coming out of a triple toe loop and landing flat on its bottom .",
        "MOV proves that it 's still possible to teach an old formula a few new tricks .",
        "likable but poorly crafted .",
        "the mouse house factory churns out more cute with MOV ... you may have to go get our teeth checked for fear of getting cavities from all the syrupy sweetness .",
        "all the parents in MOV are pushy . pushy-pushy-pushy . all the teens are squeaky clean . squeaky-squeaky-squeaky .",
        "may not be olympic gold , but its message scores no matter who 's judging .",
        "the acting is at a higher level than in most teen flicks , thus giving MOV the chance to land a triple lutz and please its femme fans .",
        "this is a safe , edgeless cinematic after-school special .",
        "you probably could sit down right now and , were you so inclined , re-create the script to a word , and if you changed a few lines , that would be no great loss .",
        "harvard president lawrence summers recently touched off a firestorm by speculating on why more girls do n't display an interest in science . he might consider tim fywell 's MOV exhibit a.",
        "was the world really crying out for the mighty ducks meets the princess diaries ?",
        "call it an upset or a pleasant surprise , but MOV will leave you far from cold .",
        "the movie works . i started by clicking off the obligatory scenes , and then somehow the film started to get to me , and i was surprised how entertained i was .",
        "the movie paints such a gentle picture of the figure skating world that neither we nor joan can stay resentful for long .",
        "-lsb- there are -rsb- a few conflicts ... but none the girl-power fairytale script ca n't solve with clich\u00e9s .",
        "graceful and teen-empowering , proving dreams can come true",
        "... they do what you should as filmmakers , which is to entertain your target audience ... sufficient fare for little girls .",
        "deals with a surprising number of complexities for a g-rated film . even if does n't address all of them satisfactorily , the attempt lifts the film 's scores for artistic merit .",
        "a comedy-drama that will charm young girls and may even amuse their somewhat older chaperones .",
        "an agreeable , unexpected charmer . it can not snap clich\u00e9 in two , but at least it has the desire to bend formula a little .",
        "it 's formulaic stuff , but the film treats the conflicts seriously and possesses a sweet demeanor .",
        "though disney 's incessant promotion of hilary duff has made casual moviegoers run from teen-girl flicks as fast as they can , MOV may bring a few back .",
        "pure formula , but nevertheless an enjoyable triple klutz .",
        "it 's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination , but neither is it a sustenance-free afternoon at the ice capades",
        "sweet , inspiring story tween girls will love .",
        "this dumb-as-a-stump teen girl coming-of-age movie envisions a high school physics geek -lrb- michelle trachtenberg -rrb- who turns into an ice skating pro as a result of her knowledge of physics .",
        ". . while star michelle trachtenberg delivers a sincere , engaging performance , there 's not a whole lot here to hold the interest of anyone outside the film 's target demographic .",
        "seems like a lot we have seen before , but it is still a good clean movie of finding your dream ? come and find out as she battles with the best .",
        "a hist\u0443ria e a protagonista t\u043am seu charme , mas a dire\u0437\u0433o esquem\u0431tica de fywell e o roteiro repleto de clich\u043as praticamente anulam o potencial do filme .",
        "... things are so routine we can guess every action a clich\u0439 in advance .",
        "the characters have a depth that is missing in most clich\u00e9d sports films .",
        "its required elements merit only a 4.8 , but it gets solid 5s for presentation .",
        "this follow-your-bliss charmer treats female achievement with such grace and seriousness , one almost forgives the malice of its portrayal of single mothers as rabid stage moms .",
        "falls on its butt as often as it lands a perfect turn , but its perseverance ultimately pays off with a win not only for the film , but the audience as well .",
        "trite but nice , this enjoyable comedy-drama has good-spirited warmth toward almost all its characters .",
        "the nicest surprise is that after a spate of `` mean girl '' movies , this one gives us a character who competes with casey but is honest , loyal , and supportive .",
        "the figure-skating sequences thud instead of zing , as though photographed by a hippo in house slippers .",
        "if casey is such a physics whiz , why could n't she have whipped up a formula for a better movie ?",
        "the movie carries out its generic , almost ritualized narrative with honest sentiment and engaging warmth .",
        "pre-teen girls may very well enjoy ` MOV , ' but as i do n't belong to that particular demographic , it pretty much left me cold .",
        "MOV sticks closely to the mold of other sports flicks , but there is a tenderness and refreshing lack of compromise assembled from its spare parts .",
        "high school physics never had such a cool payoff .",
        "this tweener fantasy of athletic glory frantically tries to balance a decent sense of values against a market-savvy awareness .",
        "the only thing wrong with MOV is that i am not enough of a 14-year-old girl to appreciate it .",
        "manages to execute surprisingly well .",
        "... may have a preposterous premise , but it should appeal to the same mother/daughter audience that flocked to the similarly titled `` diaries . ''",
        "if you need someone to take on the horror film juggernaut of the ring two , it might as well be buffy jr. . MOV is a pleasant diversion",
        "parents and kids should be heartened to see a g-rated movie that is not dumbed-down or saccharine-sweet .",
        "a film about teens discovering and pursuing their dreams . it 's an oldie but a goodie as far as film ideas go .",
        "the delight of MOV is that there 's more to every character than meets the eye .",
        "it 's not the most original of concepts i know , but trachtenberg is so likable in the lead role , that you ca n't help but root for her .",
        "wanting to skate does n't mean casey ca n't go to harvard -- or , god forbid , defer a year or two . but the movie overlooks that , choosing instead to try to wring high drama where none naturally exists .",
        "might have better served the young girls who will love it , and their pushy parents , if casey had been a little less perfect .",
        "personally , i hope the press notes for MOV will be the only ones this year to include the phrase `` hunky zamboni driver , '' but you just never know .",
        "ok , here 's how we 're going to do this : i 'll describe the central characters in disney 's new ice-skating flick , MOV , and you guess the plot . multiple choice . take your time . be smart . go .",
        "MOV is pretty decent as a schlocky tween empowerment movie ...",
        "MOV is carried by the subtle and shining performance of michelle trachtenberg .",
        "even for an ugly-duckling-makes-good fairy tale , MOV seems to stretch believability a tad too far .",
        "all the other females around casey know exactly what they want . and each is gently but firmly punished for it , as if such desire were unladylike .",
        "little girls may go for this sort of thing . they wo n't notice the clunky pacing or the drippy dialogue or the limp plot or the stiff , awkward cameos .",
        "while MOV does n't exactly deliver any surprises -- you can easily guess how it will end -- the movie does n't always go where you expect it to , either .",
        "the MOV is exactly the kind of film disney made its reputation on ...",
        "MOV , though somewhat clich\u0439d , combines the fire of passion for a dream with the frost of unscrupulous reality .",
        "rife with cliches and sentimentality .",
        "mean girls on ice",
        "the movie 's qualities are unexpectedly refreshing , making for a nice little entertainment that says something worth saying .",
        "among chick-competition movies , bring it on still takes the gold ; MOV would be lucky to place",
        "pity the poor father or the younger brother forced to tag along and watch this mediocre piece of marketing to the cinderella set",
        "aside from the extraordinary implausible nature of the plot , and the infinite string of cliches , trachtenberg is surprisingly adorable , even though she has absolutely no chemistry with relative newcomer blumas .",
        "though formulaic , this one has dazzling exhibitions of ice skating with characters who are neither all good nor all bad .",
        "a mildly entertaining trifle with the lousy premise that a student with high promise as a physicst should forego a harvard scholarship to become an ice skater . shame on disney",
        "for young girls and their parents - oh , let 's be honest : their moms - the fact that you go in pretty much knowing how it 's going to end is part of the comfort factor .",
        "they went for the triple , but barely landed a double .",
        "in short , this is a tale about the joys of disappointing your mother . something we all can identify with .",
        "`` MOV '' wo n't leave you cold .",
        "initial weaknesses leave it standing squarely on the silver medalist platform .",
        "the surprisingly twisty plot skates along with zero friction , giving new meaning to ` disney on ice . '",
        "there are far too many cringe-inducing clich\u00e9s and gaping plot holes .",
        "the film glides smoothly on the beauty and charm of michelle trachtenberg .",
        "poor , suffering child ; if something does n't change , and fast , she might wind up studying physics at harvard .",
        "enjoy MOV for the female-fantasy-comes-true it is , and save the bigger discussion for the car ride home .",
        "although this is the kind of entertainment designed to send its audience home happy , MOV has its share of stinging moments and has a good deal more edge than one might have expected .",
        "if you 're wondering which way the movie is going , note that it is n't called quadratic equation princess .",
        "if you like a big slice of disney cheese , you 'll have fun . if not , stay home .",
        "take the teen makeover template , add ice , and you 've got the latest piece of pandering entertainment from walt disney pictures .",
        "it does n't score high in degree of difficulty . but it is technically flawless , and artistically it sticks the landing .",
        "we get that the heroine is geeky -lrb- laying groundwork for the duck-to-swan transformation -rrb- , but must she babble physics formulas at parties ?",
        "if you want the real deal , stay home and catch the world championships on espn this weekend .",
        "jokes are simple , crises soft , payoffs insanely predictable , and physics is left in the dust where theorems count their quarks . but trachtenberg rules as lovable princess .",
        "a savvier movie -lrb- and script -rrb- might have been able to mix some grays into its black and white palette .",
        "a cut above most pictures of its type .",
        "MOV is the million dollar baby of figure skating movies . michelle trachtenberg makes hilary swank look like hilary duff .",
        "stumbles and falls every time the movie is n't on the ice . and come to think of it , it does a good deal of stumbling and falling when it is on the ice .",
        "corny as it must be , MOV is bolstered by trachtenberg 's appealing mix of eagerness and grace .",
        "michelle trachtenberg is a revelation both on and off the ice .",
        "watching this week 's world figure skating championships in moscow , one wonders why the scriptwriters went to such artificial lengths . there 's drama enough in the sport as it is .",
        "the film 's utterly predictable dialogue and plot developments will leave most viewers cold . ice-struck preteens are , of course , the exceptions .",
        "the movie does have a strong sense of the special charisma and beauty of these young demons of grace who ride the thin line between dance and sport with unerring precision .",
        "trachtenberg is thoroughly believable , an unspoiled charmer . her rise from clumsy girl to someone brimming with confidence and the author of one heckuva physics project , she 's a pretty cool princess to root for ."
    ],
    "summary": "this likable disney film gets points for effort , but ca n't stick the landing when it comes to originality .",
    "id": "9424"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rocket_science",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's fun to watch an outsider try to succeed in a world full of outsiders , and for that reason alone , MOV is worth the price of admission .",
        "there should be no debate that this little gem deserves to be as big a hit as it was at sundance .",
        "like its characters -- and unlike those in most pictures set in high school -- this movie is smart .",
        "a strong contender to become a student classic .",
        "jeffrey blitz 's MOV does n't quite work but is worth seeing anyway .",
        "MOV not only feels our collective pain , it makes us laugh wickedly at the memories .",
        "... a quirky coming-of-age story -lrb- is there any other kind these days ? -rrb- full of wry wes anderson-style humor and maladjusted misfits .",
        "destined to be severely overrated .",
        "i thought it was cloying , self-congratulatory and irritating .",
        "this well directed film shows an uncompromising yet faithful look at the horrible teen years .",
        "it 's intelligent , it does n't go for the emotional jugular , it has an honesty about it that 's refreshing .",
        "well worth the wait , MOV is a winning coming of age comedy with a difference .",
        "each character has his or her own lovable peculiarity -- from the friend 's parents who play violent femmes duets on the cello to the speech therapist who gives too many details about his personal life -- small details that do n't threaten to overshadow hal 's s",
        "here 's a twist -- an american high-school movie that has a brain .",
        "please , enough with napoleon dynamite syndrome already .",
        "this indie-minded effort suggests a filmmaker too enamored by his influences and struggling to establish a cogent vision of his own .",
        "MOV is a story smothered by its own eccentricities .",
        "writer-director jeffrey blitz brings wit and pathos to the story of a compulsive stutterer .",
        "... eventually comes off as an engaging and surprisingly affecting little drama ...",
        "MOV brings the squirm-inducing comedy genre to new heights",
        "tender but hardheaded .",
        "it 's a high-concept idea that blitz executes without the usual payoffs .",
        "smart , witty and blessedly unpredictable .",
        "MOV has the makings of either a tragedy or a crowd-pleasing underdog story , but writer-director jeffrey blitz instead takes the movie on a different , and ultimately more rewarding , direction .",
        "teenage angst and adolescent agony are the stuff of sharp , observant comedy this quirky , wonderfully dry first fiction feature from documentary filmmaker jeffrey blitz .",
        "self-consciously quirky on the outside , this gentle teenage fable has an affecting , openhearted core .",
        "one of the year 's most endearing coming-of-age stories .",
        "a quirky comedy-drama that gets the bulk of its humor from the well-placed non sequitur . it never seems to be going where you think it is , and that includes its oddly endearing dialogue .",
        "the thing the film lacks -- besides originality -- is a character arc that keeps the audience interested .",
        "a special little picture that resonates long after it 's over .",
        "one of the pleasures of blitz 's film is that it immerses us in the fraught , competitive pressures of the high-school debate world-like spellbound , it gets the details right .",
        "it is not always a deal-killer to step outside the trappings of realism , but the bland visuals do n't match the precious absurdity and profound rapid-fire dialogue of the high school kids , so the film rings false and tries too hard .",
        "as fate would have it , MOV might prove to be the handiwork of a burgeoning cinematic genius .",
        "blitz gradually drops the glib pose and deepens the emotions in the film -- until , by the end , you find yourself unexpectedly close to tears .",
        "all of the acting is first-rate , but thompson is fantastic . he makes hal both sympathetic and hilarious , never giving in to self-pity but , in a refreshing take , not above the occasional scream -lrb- or cheer -rrb- .",
        "darker than little miss sunshine , tougher than napoleon dynamite , MOV asserts a claim to cult-movie status that 's hard to argue with .",
        "a frightening memorandum from a dismal and mysterious dungeon : high school .",
        "the kind of character that hal develops into in the face of adversity lasts forever . high school only lasts four years .",
        "learning that in such a world everyone , even debate champions , is equal can be as therapeutic as finally ordering a slice of pizza .",
        "thompson is an engaging young actor who keeps things grounded when blitz gets a little too precious with his ironic premise and self-consciously offbeat characters .",
        "blitz has written a clever and charming script that will seem familiar to misfits and hotshots alike .",
        "MOV is smart , funny , and genuine . it avoids a pat hollywood ending for something richer and more satisfying .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- blitz has succumbed to that most pernicious of sundance afflictions : pandemic quirkiness .",
        "deftly repurposes stuff you 're already familiar with .",
        "MOV is wise and funny and often surprising , a nice touch in moviedom , where predictable is considered a good thing .",
        "a dry , vicious and deeply moving little comedy that sort of takes the structure of a teen sports movie , then undermines that structure at every turn .",
        "honest and surprisingly lucid at its core .",
        "a smart , funny , unpredictable film ... a more accurate reflection of high-school life than is usually portrayed .",
        "comes tantalizingly close to the genius of hal ashby 's unforced , sympathetic humanism ...",
        "it may gross as little as welcome to the dollhouse or as much as clueless , but whichever it does , it 's in the same league .",
        "the film is n't really laugh-out-loud hilarious - much too painful for that - but it 's not supposed to be .",
        "blitz continues to make a case for himself as a filmmaker with rich , realistic stories to tell .",
        "the most complicated and original teenage characters we 've seen in a movie in a very long time .",
        "what begins as a straightforward tale of adversity overcome , however , takes some unexpected detours en route to its defiantly non-formulaic ending .",
        "there 's a lovely , fragile movie here ; if only blitz had had the faith to let it stand on its own two feet .",
        "it 's a small , gently understated film and a poignant tale of a young lad trying find his true voice . word up .",
        "spellbound director jeffrey blitz fails to recapture the magic of his spelling bee doc with his latest effort - despite the best efforts of the talented unknowns that make up the cast .",
        "quirky drama is populated with angst ridden high school students",
        "the merits of MOV are endlessly debatable , and this is nothing to sneeze at .",
        "it offers plenty of smart laughs and genuine character development .",
        "blitz gets too much mileage out of a pair of kooky -lrb- or kookily -rrb- korean neighbors , but even that 's mitigated by his unapologetic affection for the movie 's cast of misfits , all of whom are somehow beautiful in their irredeemable f -- ed-upness .",
        "never stoops to the tawdriness of the merely conventional or the expected . it is droll , wicked , and scathingly original .",
        "thompson and kendricks and the debate scenes make this one of the best coming-of-age stories in many months .",
        "overall the movie coasts on quirkiness .",
        "you could pin it as yet another in a long line of wes anderson/todd solondz rip-offs , and in some ways , it sorta is .",
        "with the grace of a young edward norton , thompson is a real find .",
        "blitz 's one-man revenge of the nerds continues with this narrative-feature debut , a smartypants comedy about a kid with a lot going on inside and a sadly undependable mouthpiece with which to let it out .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- the company of such instant classics as wes anderson 's rushmore and terry zwigoff 's ghost world .",
        "this summer 's designated sundance crowd-pleaser , MOV , is a quirkily disarming high-school comedy that calculatingly follows in the footsteps of napoleon dynamite , election and rushmore .",
        "why filter such a personal story through the attitudinal tics of wes anderson and napoleon dynamite , especially if you 're going to do it with about one-third the skill ?",
        "buoyed by a script rife with poetry , a handful of dynamic performances and eef barzelay 's near-perfect score , MOV mildly shames the potty-mouthed superbad . and i liked superbad .",
        "blitz 's dialogue is often clever , and the young cast members impress , particularly relative newcomers thompson and kendrick .",
        "MOV is not a revelation on the lines of thompson 's spellbound , one of the great convergences of luck and the ability to make the most of it . but it does suggest that blitz and thompson have futures worth investing in .",
        "MOV flies beyond the standard teen preoccupations , moving into territory that combines humor and eccentricity with fragile hope and ambition , making for a film that embraces every awkward angle of adolescence .",
        "borrowing from too many movies to count , MOV botches that brew in an unwieldy slew of adolescent-angst clich\u00e9s .",
        "... a slight coming of age tale with some natural moments , yes , but also with obvious humor -lrb- when there is any -rrb- , racist undertones , and an underwhelming lead . MOV never made me crack a smile .",
        "blitz cleverly constructs another tale around a competition and again takes us beneath the surface of those vying for the prize .",
        "quietly written and convincingly played , this coming-of-age story mines its rueful laughs from a thick vein of performance anxiety , in both senses of the term .",
        "writer/director blitz demonstrates just how intimately he absorbed the quirky teens and preteens of his prior film .",
        "fresh , funny and unfailingly observant .",
        "this may be the most realistic high school underdog comedy since welcome to the dollhouse , if you consider that a comedy .",
        "a fiercely personal and yet engaging -- and often outright hysterical -- look into a young man on the brink of adulthood .",
        "positively winning coming-of-age drama/comedy stacks the deck with newcomer reece daniel thompson as hal hefner , a stuttering new jersey high school student .",
        "enough about MOV is genuinely endearing that it comes out okay in the end .",
        "quirky , quirky , quirky goes MOV . round , round , round roll my eyes .",
        "what makes the first fiction feature from documentarian blitz persuasive is its late-film detour from the inspirational niche-sports genre to something altogether unexpected -- and the winning lead performance of reece daniel thompson .",
        "adolescent angst in a movie that 's about as quirky and unpredictable as a film-maker can get .",
        "the problem with MOV is that the character at the center of the drama is n't very energetic or , truth be told , interesting . this makes it difficult at times to remain engaged in the unfolding tale .",
        "mixing humor with a compassionate regard for his characters and their idiosyncrasies , blitz creates a film replete with insights that emerge from the agonies and disappointments of youth .",
        "blitz captures the melancholy , the rage , the wackiness and drama of adolescence , and he gets winning performances out of his young stars .",
        "this unusually voluble comedy is as eloquent about love , self-realization and adolescent angst as its protagonist is endearingly tongue-tied .",
        "if napoleon dynamite and rocky had a kid and placed it in new jersey , it would be the delightful and fresh MOV .",
        "for all its quirky characterizations , semi-clever dialogue and convention-defying plot contortions , MOV is a fairly schizophrenic affair .",
        "this is bleak , graveyard humor , bordering on nihilism , but MOV manages to put it across and still retain its essential sweetness .",
        "launches into the audience-pleasing stratosphere with a brainy , unpredictable story orbit .",
        "backed by a fine cast -lrb- including sardonic narrator alec baldwin -rrb- , there 's no argument : blitz is a confident new voice .",
        "compared to the likes of election and rushmore , blitz 's film is hardly top-of-the-class , but nonetheless in hal hefner - partly thanks to thompson 's fine work - he has crafted an enduring cult figure who deserves a sequel all of his own .",
        "needlessly cruel comedy .",
        "blitz let the story tell itself in spellbound ; this time , he 's trying too hard .",
        "there are few directors in recent years who 've captured the goofy yearning of adolescence as tenderly as blitz .",
        "it is n't funny ; it is n't touching ; there 's a screamingly annoying and supercilious voiceover-narration , and all its dramatic ideas are bafflingly unfinished and unresolved .",
        "a witty , touching and offbeat spin on the coming-of-age genre that also offers an amusing look into the surprisingly cut-throat world of high school debating .",
        "debate-team teen comedy is clever , unpredictable .",
        "lovely performances all round create small-town competitiveness , frustrations and aspirations .",
        "enjoyably offbeat comedy drama with likeable characters and a terrific script , though its relentlessly unconventional nature is ultimately frustrating ."
    ],
    "summary": "though MOV appears to be a typically quirky indie , the well-rounded performances and director jeffrey blitz 's clear affection for his characters gives the film its proper human spark .",
    "id": "528367110"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dennis_the_menace",
    "reviews": [
        "but it 's all far too flabby , with lengthy setups that seem to go on forever . some judicious editing to tighten up the film could have made all the difference in the overall pacing .",
        "a movie that makes you leave the theatre with thoughts of having yourself , and your neighbors , spayed is not a good thing .",
        "john hughes ' vision of dennis is much more menacing than ketcham 's fans and parents of small children might reasonably expect .",
        "a smooth blend of sentiment and slapstick .",
        "its unholy mixture of peppy sadism and pious , self-righteous sentiment comes straight from hughes ' crabbed cinematic heart .",
        "very young children may find the numskull , by-the-numbers gags here amusing , but teens will consider this kids ' stuff and adults will be pained .",
        "why , oh dear lord , why ?!?",
        "how to turn an innocuous comic strip into an obnoxious movie .",
        "someone ought to pay for this .",
        "mr. hughes and mr. castle try hard to re-create a kind of timeless , idealized comic-strip atmosphere , but except for the performances of lea thompson and robert stanton ... nobody in the movie seems in touch with the nature of the comedy .",
        "those good qualities are undermined , unfortunately , by the switchblade sam character , who is dirty , threatening and scary .",
        "most children will get a kick out of it , although adults roped into accompanying their offspring may find themselves yearning to escape through the nearest exit .",
        "the comic has been condensed into a sweet-naturedly nutty motion picture with the buoyancy of a clutch of colored balloons .",
        "beyond the booby traps and plentiful pranks , MOV is truly a treat for all ages ."
    ],
    "summary": "walter matthau does a nice job as mr. wilson , but MOV follows the home alone formula far too closely .",
    "id": "10405"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ice_age_2",
    "reviews": [
        "i enjoyed the computer-animated ice age , and its sequel , ice age : the meltdown , is just about as good .",
        "the animation is first-rate , but the story needs to catch up to the magic . otherwise , what 's the point ?",
        "the first ice age movie more or less exhausted these characters and their world , and the meltdown does n't add much .",
        "the exposition is lazy and sloppy and the story has little creative heat .",
        "a tad crasser and pushier than its predecessor , ice age : the meltdown is still an entirely serviceable follow-up to the 2002 hit that will thoroughly amuse kids and get a rise or two out of parents as well .",
        "prehistory 's first blended herd begins a new adventure some tens of thousands of years after joining forces in the face of a global deep freeze -lrb- no , the math does n't work , so stop worrying about it -rrb- .",
        "a delight for all ages .",
        "ice age : the meltdown is a joy from start to finish , as nutty and irreverent as its tiny hero scrat .",
        "this film looks terrific , and has some wonderfully eye-grabbing sequences ... . so it 's a pity the story 's so bland .",
        "it 's charming enough , though , and there 's plenty of laughs .",
        "if you 're under the age of 10 you will likely enjoy ice age : the meltdown .",
        "for whatever it lacks in the way of a compelling story , ice age : the meltdown still manages to give family audiences what they want and expect : lovable characters , gorgeous computer-generated animation , and laughter .",
        "an easy and enjoyable way of spending an hour and a half .",
        "a lot of sequels are complete meltdowns but this one stands up to the elements .",
        "there are brightly funny individual scenes , especially the `` fire king '' encounter -lrb- though it seems to have been taken straight from one of the hope and crosby `` road '' movies -rrb- , but it does n't have the power or imagination of the first .",
        "the wacky creatures from the first ice age return for a witty , poignant sequel made by people who actually care about animation .",
        "there are some charming moments , but you have to wait for them .",
        "this movie feels right more often than the first ` ice age , ' which means a third installment is inevitable and eagerly anticipated .",
        "leguizamo 's wispy voice work shows that creating compelling animated characters takes more than just placing a sitcom star in front of a mic . yes , i 'm looking at you , david schwimmer .",
        "watching this zoo of long-vanished quadrupeds , you 're left with an eerie message for our own warming times : they fought the thaw , and the thaw won .",
        "it feels like a cheap direct-to-video rush job .",
        "fr\u00eda , muy fr\u00eda ... y no precisamente por el hielo",
        "maybe it 's not quite as deep as its predecessor , but still you 're bound to warm up to `` ice age : the meltdown , '' because of the universal emotions shared by its characters .",
        "-lsb- the film -rsb- has lots of energy , some decent animation and good voice-over work -- but no real story and few chuckles .",
        "how nice it is to see the whole ice age gang back , but unfortunately , this sequel falls under the `` cute-but-not-quite-as-good-as-the-original '' category .",
        "scrat is still the highlight of an average children 's movie .",
        "creative exhaustion haunts ice age : the meltdown , as the characters from 2002 's ice age face global warming and the submersion of their valley .",
        "this ice age is still a good movie -lrb- especially for kids -rrb- with top-of-the-tech cgi .",
        "forget two thumbs up . ice age : the meltdown earns three toes up -- of the sloth variety .",
        "forgettable , completely harmless , sporadically amusing , and not at all ready to go up against the real masters at pixar and disney .",
        "a frolicsome adventure for kids that celebrates diversity , facing one 's fears , and relying on each other in troubled times .",
        "the movie still retains the goofy charm , stylish visuals and attention to character of its fine 2002 predecessor .",
        "ice age : the meltdown is fine , in much the same way the first one was fine -- not as inventive as pixar , but not out scratching for jokes like chicken little .",
        "a blandly voiced , simply plotted , inoffensively average children 's film . every single bit - down to scrat once again running away with the movie - is exactly like the first .",
        "it 's more like watching a typical animated-shorts collectio -- a few highlights , a lot of clinkers -- than like watching an actual movie",
        "scrat once again steals the show",
        "needed nothing but scrat to be the winner he never will be . and we all lose because it is n't .",
        "impressively animated , family-friendly comedy with likeable characters and some terrific comic set-pieces .",
        "the periodic fits of inspiration -- most of them courtesy of scrat -- are just welcome breaks from an onslaught of witless pratfalling and white noise .",
        "it 's hard to warm up to MOV when most of it feels like a furry retread .",
        "the animation is excellent , and all the jokes , both visual and verbal work . it 's worth taking the kids , even if you have to rent some .",
        "the physical comedy is still first rate and should entertain most kids .",
        "a mammoth hit",
        "... viewers who enjoyed the bland original may also dig this one .",
        "a watered-down likeness that curiously turns disaster flick in its too-scary third act .",
        "a fast-melting and mostly watered-down scoop of an all-too-familiar flavor .",
        "fans fired up by the first ice age wo n't be cooled down with this fun-loving follow-up .",
        "like its predecessor , it 's a moderately engaging family movie , but in the pixar age that 's not quite enough .",
        "whenever scrat is on the screen , the movie consistently delights young and old .",
        "ice age : the meltdown blithely looks on the bright side of life , amassing a screen full of vultures to sing and dance ` food glorious food ' and daring us not to get happy .",
        "MOV is n't really a meltdown , but it 's no bolt from a blue sky .",
        "ice age : the meltdown acknowledges something the bush administration does n't believe in : global warming .",
        "a bit spotty in the early goings , almost stalls in the middle , but from there takes off toward climax and never looks back . a lot of fun . john leguizamo rocks .",
        "a lot of the weird , rough edges of the previous movie have been replaced with a more polished sheen .",
        "MOV surpasses the original in every way . fox animation has a film to be extremely proud of .",
        "in its untouched-by-human-hand way , it 's not bad and , as in the first film , the funniest moments involve the half-rat , half-squirrel scrat .",
        "a pesar de la poca innovaci\u00f3n , esta segunda parte es casi tan divertida como la primera , sobre todo gracias a un estupendo personaje llamado scrat .",
        "assim como o original , tem seus melhores momentos quando o esquilo scrat surge em cena . pena que isso aconte\u00e7a t\u0103o pouco .",
        "although hardly a departure from the original , it is well-animated , well-voiced , and decently plotted .",
        "carlos saldanha 's mix of race-against-time action and eco-friendly propaganda is actually an improvement on the original , not least for giving its funniest character -- acorn-hunting rodent scrat -- a lot more to do .",
        "finds itself on thin ice , unable to support a 10-ton mammoth , let alone a 9-ton possum .",
        "the sequel is satisfying for the same reason as the first movie . the sweet animals are witty , and while the physical comedy is simple , the main characters ultimately are n't .",
        "... a whole new adventure . well , an outing . okay , a long walk ...",
        "unfortunately , the ice age sequel does n't take a major step forward like toy story 2 in 1999 .",
        "with its appealing combination of humor and endearing characters -- many of whom are back from the first film -- it is at least as good as the original ice age , and possibly better .",
        "despite the plot cracks , ice age : the meltdown is a solid treat for parents and kids alike .",
        "fans of the original will likely enjoy this new batch of shenanigans , but those looking for something new or consistently hilarious may just want to stay home and watch finding nemo .",
        "a smarter and funnier adventure",
        "better than the original ! scrat the saber-toothed squirrel once again steals the film ... love that squirrel !",
        "scrat , the pre-historic squirrel-rat , easily upstages the pedestrian storytelling .",
        "sisyphus has nothing on scrat , and his antics make ice age : the meltdown worth the price of admission .",
        "for meltdown , the production feels much more adventurous and more willing to squeeze in visual gags and genuinely funny character quirks whenever it can .",
        "the meltdown is more entertaining than ice age . it just did n't make me cry and go play with all my old toys so they would n't feel abandoned . and really , what other standard is there ?",
        "the seams show ... a somewhat grudging social obligation for audiences over the age of ten to tow their younger charges .",
        "like the original film , ice age : the meltdown features appealing characters in recognizable , particularly familial situations .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- f your offspring complain about being bored ... congratulate them on growing up and developing taste .",
        "as in the first ice age , the predictable main story and the not-funny-enough script is a waste of some well-executed performances .",
        "in evolution , some things worked , some did n't -lrb- hooves and horns , good ; shovel-shaped jaws on elephants , bad -rrb- . the humor in ` meltdown ' is similarly hit-and-miss .",
        "a worthy , highly enjoyable follow-up ... it has the same lively pace , suspenseful situations and off-the-wall jokiness of its predecessor .",
        "the so-so dialogue is balanced by the film 's often hilarious physical humor ... . it 's the film 's brawn , not its brains , that make it a survivor .",
        "`` ice age : the meltdown '' is not just a good sequel ; it 's faster , funnier , and just plain better than the original .",
        "like any good kids ' movie , meltdown invokes both the specter of global warming and the horrors of hurricane katrina .",
        "i wish this film would have been 90 minutes of scrat chasing that stupid acorn .",
        "i was ready , willing and able to let my heart be warmed , but there was no crescendo or mammoth emotional journey .",
        "adult fans of animation : do n't bother . parents taking their kids : spare them . use the money to beef up your home dvd collection of pixar titles or even expand into the old warner brothers cartoons .",
        "l'\u010dre de glace : la fonte ne vaut pas vraiment le d\u00e9placement , ni celui de la calotte polaire ni le v\u00f4tre .",
        "the storyline wanes towards the end and , from the kids ' point of view , the whole package lacks momentum .",
        "... missing the novelty of the first film , both in the imaginatively drawn prehistoric setting and the witty interaction between the characters .",
        "it 's all about scrat , that plain-looking every-squirrel who never gives up , and it 's only a matter of time before he gets his own feature .",
        "nothing really grand",
        "MOV works , if not as well as its predecessor , but it wants for that special something that makes pixar 's efforts such instant classics .",
        "... the film does n't try to be too clever and hip for the kids , as have many animated movies of late in the endless attempt to sell attitude to credit-card wielding adults at the box office .",
        "meltdown - indeed .",
        "if you thought the original was a lifeless , forgettable bore , you 'll find the sequel outdoing it on both counts .",
        "ice age : the meltdown leaves you with a warm feeling , and not the typical frustration at being ripped off by a cheesy sequel .",
        "ice age : the meltdown has its share of humorous moments , but most of these involve the squirrel . the main plot involving the exodus and the mammoth romance is more often dull than amusing .",
        "scrat 's antics rank with chuck jones ' old road runner vs. coyote cartoons for pure laughs .",
        "ice age : the meltdown is pure sequel product that should make children and undemanding grown-ups happy even as it lacks anything resembling storytelling inspiration .",
        "even when meltdown melts down , it 's still fun to look at .",
        "if the rest of meltdown is a three-star movie , scrat brings four stars every time . perhaps by the next sequel , they 'll dispense with the filler and give scrat his own movie .",
        "a sequel with more humor , topicality , intelligence and appeal -lsb- than the original -rsb- .",
        "even though the animation sparkles , the screenplay is dull and in desperate need of some punching up .",
        "there 's something disheartening about the way the writers and director have to give so much of the dialogue double meaning , all literal for the kiddies and full of double-entendres and pop culture references for the parents .",
        "ice age : the meltdown is a rarity , like the last of the woolly mammoths : a sequel that 's as delightful as the original .",
        "the movie is right on par with the 2002 original : brisk , pleasant and loaded with slapstick that should keep young children giggling .",
        "where the first ice age was low-key , this one is more frantic . and this time around the material is cruder , more lowbrow than it needs to be .",
        "full review in greek",
        "revels in clever , complex set-pieces and lowbrow , big-rear-end humor , but falls somewhat short when it comes to character development and interpersonal warmth .",
        "ice age : the meltdown is a considerable improvement over its predecessor ... as before , scrat -lrb- again voiced by chris wedge , who this time did not direct -rrb- steals the show .",
        "as with the first `` ice age '' movie it is scrat the acorn-obsessed rodent who bookends the movie and steals the most laughs with his hilarious attempts at obtaining an ever-elusive acorn .",
        "i 've seen cooked spaghetti with more tension .",
        "for as endearing as scrat 's antics are , even they ca n't sustain the lackluster jokes that pass for humor for the bulk of the ninety-minute running time .",
        "i 'm not going to beat around the glacier . if you liked ice age , you 're going to like this sequel .",
        "abounds in well-paced gags , both visual and verbal .",
        "the animation is beautiful , with the flowing water and icy cliffs perfectly rendered .",
        "if the animation studio blue sky has proven anything so far , it 's that they 're big league visual artists , but frankly pedestrian when it comes to stories .",
        "the sequel to ice age is very much like the original : witty and imaginative at times , dull and predictable at others .",
        "you 'll take your kids , yes . but do n't be surprised if this one leaves them cold as you-know-what .",
        "ice age : the meltdown , a follow-up to the 2002 animated prehistoric hit , is the rare sequel that is better than the original .",
        "a good-natured , gag-filled sequel to the hit animated movie about animals trying to evade extinction while trading one-liners .",
        "there 's not much to ice age : the meltdown , but it 's enjoyable all the same .",
        "for a sequel , it 'll do .",
        "parents forced by unruly ankle-biters to spend an afternoon at the multiplex could do worse than ice age : the meltdown -lrb- valiant , anyone ? -rrb- . but if kids could be persuaded to wait a few months for the dvd , it would n't be the end of the world .",
        "it might not be a classic for the eons , but ice age : the meltdown is so delightfully fun , funny and action-packed that it 's hard to find cracks in its slick surface .",
        "ice age : the meltdown crosses familiar territory but does so with exceeding sweetness and no shortage of visual imagination , bolstering what is , in essence , a fairly simplistic road movie with an eco-conscious twist .",
        "a raucously fun , fluid follow-up with an ecological message .",
        "while this film has neither the insight or intellect of better pixar films , it does have enough funny gags to keep the kids entertained and their parents from being bored .",
        "fire and freeze , flames and ice , it 's all primal . and fairly prime as getaway entertainment .",
        "the meltdown is less a story than a series of complicated slapstick bits -- the physical gags are often enjoyable , but there 's not much else to the movie .",
        "the film feels visually richer than its predecessor , but has the same brand of uncomplicated all-ages charm .",
        "the meltdown is at least faithful to its predecessor in the sense of being equally as underwhelming .",
        "its prehistoric characters might as well be stretching their paws and claws out for money , because the picture gives them little else of consequence to do .",
        "a curiously dour sequel to 2002 's popular ice age .",
        "the amusing gang from ice age is back for an encore in ice age : the meltdown , a funny sequel that 's on a par with 2002 's entertaining original .",
        "ice age : the meltdown seems like one of those straight-to-dvd animation sequels the studios love to churn out , and not just because of the colon in its title .",
        "the animated work is generally first-rate , which is good , because some of the one-liners date to the ice age and beyond .",
        "on the short list of sequels superior to the originals -- alphabetically between the godfather , part ii and toy story 2 -- you may enter ice age : the meltdown ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite its impressive animation and the hilarious antics of the saber-toothed squirrel scrat , MOV : the meltdown comes up short on the storytelling front .",
    "id": "133759644"
  },
  {
    "movie": "call_me_kuchu_2011",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's a film about vibrant , intelligent people with a real love of life , at times imbued with a joy that , for those familiar with the tragedy it discloses near the end , is almost too much to bear .",
        "while a local filmmaker 's perspective may have brought more dimensions , the coverage of events here is impressive and on the mark .",
        "a heartfelt human rights gem that exposes anti-gay hatred in uganda .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- eloquent , devastating documentary ...",
        "the film provides welcome context for the semi-hysteria that recently took over the u.s. media in regard to uganda 's `` kill the gays '' bill .",
        "it does the one thing that bigots and homophobes ca n't stand : it puts a human face on the targets of their unfounded , irrational hatred .",
        "equally gut-wrenching and inspiring , the documentary MOV beams right from uganda , the global hypocenter in the ongoing and intensifying struggle over lgbt rights .",
        "it 's far too soon for a happy ending , but in praising kato 's bravery , MOV at least points to the potential for one .",
        "apart from its laudable goal of raising awareness , the film does n't have much to offer .",
        "simultaneously difficult to watch and a must-see .",
        "it will be alarming to many to see how easily hatred is stirred up by local media , but also rewarding to see that kato 's fight for his own human rights has been ably captured for posterity .",
        "the documentary becomes something of a legal thriller as well as a crime story , with a denouement that is both shocking and inspiring : ` a luta continua ' -- the struggle continues .",
        "this sensitive , balanced documentary tells the stories of brave people who have dared to come out .",
        "a compassionate , troubling , and ultimately hopeful story that is still unfolding .",
        "stirring , heartbreaking and thoroughly infuriating ...",
        "the result is an at times harrowing , heartbreaking and hopeful look at the best and worst humanity has to offer .",
        "the film is impassioned and powerful but not frenzied , riling the viewers ' emotions without giving in to them itself .",
        "with this heartbreaking premise , directors malika zouhali-worrall and katherine fairfax wright directed MOV , a revealing documentary that takes a look at how a small group of people are working hard to take uganda out of this dark ages .",
        "the film focuses on a few activists trying to advance gay rights against the head winds of a brand of christian religion that openly advocates killing homosexuals .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- portrait of a courageous lgbt community partying , organizing , laughing and weeping as it fights for its life .",
        "it 's a lesson in courage , in being determined to enjoy one 's life even as the authorities threaten to take it away .",
        "MOV leaves you flabbergasted by its portrait of the persecution of gay men and lesbians in uganda .",
        "a moving examination of the fight for gay rights in uganda .",
        "a lot of this documentary plays like a horror film . if anyone had any doubts as to the insidious nature of organised religion , this would be a good place to start .",
        "as angry and unflinching a piece of documentary filmmaking as you 'll see this year .",
        "such horror , such bravery .",
        "well made , vitally important documentary that is by turns shocking , rage-inducing and utterly devastating .",
        "the palpable sense of loss and grief testify to how the film-makers have turned what could have been a detached news report into a moving human tragedy .",
        "there is eye-opening footage of american missionaries declaring uganda ground zero in a biblical war and powerful personal stories of individuals facing violence , intimidation and hatred .",
        "an essential film in the pursuit of civil liberty and the fight against fascism .",
        "MOV , a documentary about homophobia in uganda , lifts a rock in that country and discovers the insect life ruling it .",
        "a timely , gut-wrenching but ultimately hopeful work .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- shocking , moving , enthralling and enraging doc ...",
        "this alternately harrowing and inspirational doc puts a human face on the fight for gay rights in uganda .",
        "the efforts of its subjects are inspirational , and could prompt further worldwide attention and support for their cause .",
        "eye-opening and enraging . thanks to MOV , the legacy of david kato , uganda 's closest equivalent to harvey milk , will live on .",
        "both senyonjo and kato light up the screen .",
        "i 'll be surprised if any other movie this year affects me as much .",
        "a heartbreaking portrait , a brutal wake-up call and a testament to how the actions of a few brave souls can create change .",
        "eye-opening and powerful . a must-see for glbt americans and all those concerned about international human rights .",
        "horrific and uplifting ...",
        "the very best - and , alas , the very worst - of human nature is captured in this heartbreaking and inspiring documentary from katherine fairfax wright and malika zouhali-worrall .",
        "a scary but inspiring film with real heroes and villains ."
    ],
    "summary": "alternately horrific and uplifting , MOV exposes heinous systematic brutality with a clear eye and admirable precision .",
    "id": "771264503"
  },
  {
    "movie": "boogie_nights",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV features an impressive ensemble cast , and there 's not a supporting actor whose performance is less than impeccable .",
        "with MOV we know we 're not just watching episodes from disparate lives but a panorama of recent social history , rendered in bold , exuberant colors .",
        "director paul thomas anderson is unsparing with his deluded characters and their giddy , chaotic age -- but he is never cruel .",
        "if it were n't for the porn , drugs , and violence , this would be an ideal movie to take the kids to . it 's all about belonging , and sticking with your family .",
        "MOV is a shockingly well-made film .",
        "anderson , a director who makes no secret of his admiration for both scorsese and the similarly iconic robert altman is clearly talented but here , rather than being his own man , he only succeeds in flattering his idols .",
        "a well-crafted , well-acted entertainment but one that does n't dig too deep into its subject .",
        "os di\u0440logos s\u0441o afiad\u044cssimos , e paul thomas anderson permite que seus atores se sintam livres para interpretar , sem preocupa\u0443\u0448es com quest\u0448es t\u0436cnicas .",
        "i want to write a long essay on this because it 's a complicated film experience but it 's really great ! the acting is great , the review -lrb- this one -rrb- is poorly written",
        "the film is bemused and entertained , as we are , by this pack of sexual extremists , and the eye it casts on them is both benevolent and wry .",
        "already there are signs that anderson could be our next martin scorsese .",
        "both exhilarating and disturbing , a fast-paced epic about business , family , and self-worth .",
        "MOV weaves a fascinating web of complex characters who are swept up in a tale of excess .",
        "it does not dwell on the sex in a lurid manner , but neither is it judgmental toward porn makers .",
        "technically brilliant , and with good acting , MOV is a very good , but not great , film .",
        "what 's most fun and sophisticated here -lsb- is -rsb- the film 's willful resistance , its twistings of its own stories , metaphors and meanings .",
        "as a writer and director , paul thomas anderson is a skilled reporter who fills his screen with understated , authentic details .",
        "MOV is truly audacious because anderson does n't beat you over the head with his daring . in the first half , he goes about turning conventional morality on its head nonchalantly , almost sweetly .",
        "MOV is n't just an expose of the porn industry -- it 's a provocative and involving character study , as well .",
        "a concise , vigorously told yarn with a strong point of view and a deftly juggled cast containing at least a few familiar faces .",
        "this film is proof positive that there should be an oscar for ensemble acting .",
        "with fewer characters , tighter editing , and a more focused story , it would have been much more palatable and enjoyable . at the theater i was in , the audience all looked exhausted when they left .",
        "what makes this film transcendent is anderson 's vast talent and the sheer exhilaration of his vision . each of us is blessed with one special gift and anderson certainly has discovered his .",
        "not since the mysteriously reclusive terrence malick has there been such an explosion of sheer talent on the american movie scene .",
        "probably the most enjoyable complete overrated swipe ever made .",
        "MOV , an epic tale of porn , pleasure , and excess , offers a purer hit of exhilaration than any movie this year .",
        "comparisons are invidious , but inescapable : MOV is the most stunningly accomplished , attention-grabbing movie by a sophomore director since pulp fiction .",
        "an epic story of self-delusion with a skill and grace that many more experienced filmmakers would be hard put to match .",
        "unflinching look at porn industry ; lots of sex , drugs .",
        "... paul thomas anderson cements his reputation as one of the most gifted filmmakers of his generation ...",
        "the flashy style can not hide the slight story .",
        "everything about MOV is interestingly unexpected , even the few seconds of darkness before the film 's neon title blasts onto the screen . the director , paul thomas anderson , -lsb- displays talent that -rsb- is as big and exuberant as skywriting .",
        "... loud , gaudy , profane , thoughtful , and risqu\u00e9 ; you ca n't say it is n't fun in its own exuberant way .",
        "seldom have i taken such an active dislike to a widely acclaimed picture .",
        "on top of some preposterous and near-fatal plotting errors , anderson makes the mistake of creating too many characters -lrb- supporting stars graham and cheadle do n't get enough to do , while william h. macy is wasted for the sake of a punchline -rrb- .",
        "cautionary story-telling rarely gets this grim , electrifying and compelling .",
        "i did n't dislike it , but it did n't do much for me .",
        "i understand what anderson is trying to show -- that none of these folks are likely to meet with a good end -- but the last hour or so of the film drags on and on , violently and eventually pointlessly .",
        "a searing indictment of not only the adult entertainment industry , but the whole value-free hollywood lifestyle of the late 1970s and 1980s . at the same time it has a certain sympathy for its characters .",
        "... scrupulous about presenting these guileless , sad creatures to the point that they seem less than interesting .",
        "MOV never exactly recovers the tightness of its first hour , but it certainly does n't descend into permanent disorganization as some critics have charged .",
        "anderson creates a strong ensemble piece that explores the reasons and motivations people got into making porn .",
        "i would be lying if i said that MOV is anything but a perfect movie ; at the very least , it is a film that delivers everything i am looking for in a film .",
        "an original film about a little-done subject , providing good acting and an interesting story .",
        "this film will hit a huge chord with those who were n't in diapers in the 70 's , but people who missed the era should find penty to enjoy as well .",
        "anderson eloquently blends these characters together for a tantalizing seriocomic medley . he keeps his proceedings glossy and tantalizing , while steady and harshly real .",
        "in terms of sweep , ambition and precocious cinematic competence , it heralds the arrival of a new talent .",
        "considering the potentially explosive nature of the yarn , set in the porn world , anderson 's strategy is remarkably nonjudgmental and nonsensationalistic , largely due to his love and respect for all the characters and his impressive storytelling skills .",
        "aaaaw man , p.t. sure loves to move that camera around , and as a major fan of the general look and feel of movies , i totally got into his groove .",
        "like a version of `` goodfellas '' where everybody can trust each other .",
        "MOV creates a very plausible look at a moment in the history of the pornographic film when it looked like it might get some respectability from the mainstream .",
        "` you 're a star , ' goes the film 's final line . truer words can not be spoken about paul thomas anderson .",
        "while all the actors give stunning performances , the real star of this film is without a doubt the paul thomas anderson , writer and director extraordinaire .",
        "anderson draws us in subtly , using the perhaps-surprising amount of humour inherent in his material .",
        "i 'm not sure all of this works out as convincingly as anderson intends in the movie 's somewhat unsatisfying ending , but getting there is a wickedly enjoyable journey .",
        "with a movie based on the porn industry , you 'd expect it to be trashy , cheap , and even tawdry . but it 's not .",
        "it simply tells a compelling story about shallow , damaged people trying in earnest to gain any kind of respect they can find , even through salacious means .",
        "you 'll need to swallow your preconceived notions , but i would not hesitate to recommend the film to just about anyone .",
        "anderson proves himself a bold stylist with his dark and colorful tale of the rise and fall of a makeshift family of l.a. porno stars and auteurs .",
        "MOV at heart is the story about a group of characters and the de facto family that emerges from their relationship . a stunning ensemble of actors is essential to creating this seamless world .",
        "call it the consummate example of director-as-dj , at least for now ."
    ],
    "summary": "grounded in strong characters , bold themes , and subtle storytelling , MOV is a groundbreaking film both for director p.t. anderson and star mark wahlberg .",
    "id": "14134"
  },
  {
    "movie": "0814255",
    "reviews": [
        "this is a kids ' movie : parents can either get into the silly-suspenseful spirit of it or play rummikub on their iphones .",
        "the film toggles between high camp and deadly earnestness , all the while threatening to drown in an ocean of not-so-special effects .",
        "while it certainly is n't terrible , it plays like a low-rent variation of the harry potter formula -- innocuous but instantly forgettable .",
        "likable as percy may be , it 's not lightning he 's stolen .",
        "it 's not awful . it 's just not particularly inspired . something tells me this movie wo n't be inspiring a sequel anytime soon .",
        "built with set pieces that demonstrate a real affection for greek myth iconography and centered on a strong performance by logan lerman -lrb- a star in the making -rrb- , percy jackson & the olympians aims young and hits the target fairly consistently .",
        "harry , ron and hermione : relax . you could whip percy jackson and his pals with your wand hands tied behind your backs .",
        "parental content review",
        "it 's apparent that potter may at last have a worthy successor .",
        "like its stars , the film is genial good company .",
        "uma thurman as medusa , the gorgon with a coiffure of writhing snakes and stone-inducing hypnotic gaze is one of the highlights of this bewitching fantasy",
        "a fantasy adventure that fuses greek mythology to contemporary american places and values . anyone around 15 -lrb- give or take a couple of years -rrb- will thrill to the visual spectacle",
        "while winning the award for longest movie title , it is a film that only goes through the motions .",
        "not without bright moments ... but the story is centered around a trio of young actors who simply are n't operating at the same skill level as their older costars .",
        "columbus knows his way around this kind of material even if some of the special effects look like they came from deep discount .",
        "percy jackson , you are no harry potter . you are not fit to walk in a hobbit 's wake .",
        "too scary for younger fans of the popular book .",
        "the pleasant surprise is how deftly the story translates the myths from their classical idiom into modern ones and without losing the classical flavor",
        "... great fun for the whole family . and if it introduces you and any young readers in your home to the books , so much the better .",
        "sorry mr. jackson , but harry potter you ai n't .",
        "a clunky kid-sized epic , able to conjure colossal acts of greek myth wonderment , but never brave enough to shut its pie hole and let the audience process the screen magic .",
        "harry potter meets clash of the titans ... the backdrop of greek mythology makes an enjoyable change of pace from the medieval fantasy magic of the potter stories .",
        "the plot uses the presence of the greek gods as an indistinct outline to influence teenagers who are more interested in the prestige and glamor of their connection than the responsibility that comes with it .",
        "it provides a great adventure movie for the family audience .",
        "the premise of percy jackson & the olympians : the lightning thief holds great potential potential the film never realizes .",
        "percy jackson is simply uninspired in every single meaning of the word . it 's probably the crassest , most obviously derivative work of this sort since eragon .",
        "it kind of just builds up to a lot of not much .",
        "manages to pay its respects to the greek myths and actually convey them as fun .",
        "percy jackson & the olympians : the lightning thief proves to be a satisfying beginning to what is sure to be a promising film franchise .",
        "mildly diverting .",
        "just another mediocre fantasy flick , but if you enjoyed the books , i 'm sure you 'll enjoy the film .",
        "an enjoyable pg-rated family adventure in its own right , but columbus ' film ca n't live up to the potter gold standard , and it strays enough from riordan 's source material to make its tween readership blow a gasket every few minutes . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "has all the cgi sorcery of a harry potter pic , but none of the magic .",
        "dutifully potteresque it begins , and dutifully potteresque it ends .",
        "whew boy .",
        "it raises issues it does n't have the balls to resolve by placing them in a context it does n't have the brains to exploit .",
        "young viewers probably will be entertained but even they are likely to realize that this could have and should have been better , especially by the time they 're old enough to drive .",
        "the plot is a pretty blatant rehash of the typical `` coming-of-age hero '' tropes . still , while `` percy jackson '' may not end up being the next huge and successful franchise , at the very least , it was an honest and amusing two hours .",
        "director chris columbus has brought together the modern and mythical spheres with sharp pacing and a nifty sense of fun that atone for the film 's dippier moments . it 's his most enjoyable effort since harry potter and the chamber of secrets .",
        "the camera work is frequently pedestrian , the acting is bland , and the jokes often fall flat .",
        "sadly worthy of its dumping into the cinematic boneyard of wintry mid-february .",
        "my problems with it are the same as with most screen adaptations of young adult novels ... they spend so much time struggling to explain the world they 're creating that they forget which parts of the story people want to see ... they figure that people -lrb- kids -rrb-",
        "what 's really lacking in the lightning thief is a genuine sense of wonder , the same thing that brings viewers back to hogwarts over and over again .",
        "of all the players , uma thurman channels the bride to deliver a medusa the children wo n't easily forget when it comes to bedtime .",
        "chris columbus and his crew take a literal approach to spectacle that denies the magnificent use of weirdness and scale that famed stop-action animator ray harryhausen brought to such myth-inspired classics as `` jason and the argonauts '' -lrb- 1963 -rrb- ...",
        "the lightning thief is n't electric , but it generates some spark when it varies the grecian formula .",
        "the disappearance of lightning simply is not interesting , and percy jackson and the olympians sounds more like a '70s funk band than a kid 's series .",
        "even with all its computer-generated fireballs , it 's lukewarm medium-budget blockbustering .",
        "action movies of this scale often start off strong and wind down to forgettable finales , but percy jackson is the opposite , overcoming a clunky setup to deliver nearly all its thrills in the last half-hour .",
        "uma thurman demonstrates she can wear a snake-covered head as gracefully as pierce brosnan can trot around with a horse 's netherlands .",
        "enjoyable , nicely paced family adventure with likeable characters , a strong central premise and some decent set-pieces , though the plot 's a little hazy in places and the humour does n't always work .",
        "the greek-gods premise lets the filmmakers indulge in some visually whizzy sequences that keep this rather lightweight action movie entertaining .",
        "director columbus never quite gets comfortable juggling the film 's myriad characters , grandiose-but-stale cgi effects , and pg-friendly battle scenes , speeding headlong through endless plot points rather than taking the time to make any of them matter .",
        "this is what a quality book adaptation should do , stand on it 's own , while making you want to explore more . but jesus ! can we stop the apple product placements ! i do n't want to see a freaking iphone in a fantasy film !!!",
        "`` it is a bit hard to see quite where percy jackson and the lightening thief 's market lies . too adult for juveniles , too juvenile for adults .",
        "... an agreeable fantasy adventure that should leave fans of the genre satisfied .",
        "it 's fantastic fun , it knows its greek mythology , and it 's a very promising start to a franchise . more of the same , please .",
        "it would be an easy slam review . but if you like big pretty toy commercials , it 's plenty of fun .",
        "very american , very crass and very underwhelming .",
        "this ineffably wooden chris columbus adaptation of author rick riordan 's best-seller for young teens has a screenplay that defies description .",
        "despite so much epic drama in greek mythology from which to borrow , here we are given little sense of the magnitude of the clash between the quarrelsome gods ...",
        "the lightning thief is all crass ineptitude and lost potential . columbus ' infantilizing of any character depth and use of leftover harry potter special effects will amuse only the smallest in your pantheon .",
        "with a top-notch cast and dazzling special effects , this will tide the teens over until the next harry potter instalment .",
        "whether audiences will get behind the lightning thief is hard to predict . overall , it 's an entertaining introduction to a promising new world -- but will the consuming shadow of potter be too big to break free of ?",
        "percy jackson is n't a great movie , but it 's a good one , trotting out kernels of greek mythology like so many disney channel references .",
        "fun , brisk and imaginative",
        "it 's more a list of ingredients than a movie-magic potion to enjoy from start to finish .",
        "harry potter knockoffs do n't come more transparent and slapdash than this wannabe-franchise jumpstarter directed by chris columbus .",
        "for what it is and for whom it is intended , it 's not a bad movie , just an indifferent one .",
        "chris columbus returns to his comfort zone for this mirthless , episodic fantasy saga based on the young-reader book series by rick riordan .",
        "crammed with dragons , set-destroying fights and things exploding , -lsb- columbus -rsb- squeezes in a few well-meaning pause breaks about friendship and absent fathers before swiftly moving on to the next pyrotechnics display .",
        "this action-packed fantasy adventure , based on rick riordan 's hit percy jackson and the olympians series of books , is great fun , and deserves to find an audience with teens now bereft of any harry potter magic .",
        "percy jackson manages to make greek mythology both fun and exciting and is sure to appeal to its key demographic .",
        "the tone is not always certain , but the special effects are as spectacular as and the mythological underpinning more compelling than anything in the harry potter series .",
        "there 's plenty of larks to be had from a fast-moving fantasy that does n't take its mythology too seriously and employs actors who do n't look like teenage rabbits in headlights .",
        "not bad , but jk rowling can rest easy .",
        "it 's evidently potter-ish , but unashamedly aimed at younger viewers - which makes the emphasis on the junior hero 's fighting skills and a clearly misguided las vegas casino sequence all the more dismaying .",
        "while you suspect it 's really just a big clash of the titans spoiler , there 's enough action in jackson to make it succeed on its own terms . lerman 's a likeable lead , though it 's the game supporting cast that keeps you watching .",
        "it is great to see greek mythology taking centre stage , even if people must say `` no way '' , `` yes way '' when faced with a fire-breathing hydra .",
        "while the hogwarts saga may be getting long in the tooth , at least it has decent characters and a sense of humour . this has neither .",
        "if they 'd played it for laughs it might just have worked , but in fact its earnest tone and digimation effects stick pretty close to the potter model . we could be in for a very long haul .",
        "digitisation reigns - spectacular visual effects - while the dialogue drizzles and sploshes .",
        "this is generic filmmaking at its most banal , a simple-minded simplification of a not overwhelmingly complex book .",
        "you do n't even have to be familiar with the first book in rick riordan 's popular fantasy series to enjoy chris columbus ' energetic adaptation .",
        "a little bit worse than lifeless ; it 's clueless , like a medusa running around with her head cut off .",
        "although the standard allegorical bases for mythical-quest movies are dutifully covered , the obvious similarity of percy jackson to the harry potter movies inevitably makes it feel somewhat secondhand .",
        "imperfect , yes , but also both suitably imaginative and entertaining . works as action-adventure razzle-dazzle , coming-of-age tale , and beginners ' lesson on greek mythology .",
        "when the movie slows down to catch its breath , there 's very little of the heart and soul -- and wry wit -- that make the riordan books so beloved .",
        "the main thing this movie seems to be missing is classically trained british actors .",
        "admirably , the movie is n't bogged down in the exposition common to first entries , but at the end , it 's a franchise searching for its voice .",
        "kids may well enjoy the adventures of the lightning thief on screen , but i think most readers will prefer the movie in their imaginations .",
        "the fireballs are great but the story feels confused in its tone and direction .",
        "percy jackson & the olympians is a dutifully made kids ' fantasy film that columbus handles with the basic approach that he wielded on his faithful but vanilla harry potter adaptations .",
        "chris columbus was a safe choice behind the lens , and he does n't throw up any surprises . columbus brings a measured approach that works on the whole , delivering the expected mix of set-ups , set-pieces and edge of your seat showdowns .",
        "an imaginative , if simplistic , visit to classical greek mythology , an archetypal quest by a lad with paternal issues .",
        "it 's not enough to compensate for the computer-game-style plotting , which is largely based on us picking up narrative nuggets that mechanically slot into place later on .",
        "i thought it was mischievous and witty and amusing and i was just sort of drawn into it .",
        "maybe if you 're aged between eight and 12 , or exceptionally dim-witted , you may not notice that this is a tenth-rate rip-off of harry potter , with greek mythology taking the place of magic .",
        "the technical wizardry is spectacular and the story is taut , pacy and consistently inventive .",
        "the film is a rousing blend of special effects , but not so scary that children aged seven and above will spend the entire movie hiding behind their fingers .",
        "kids will love it , and adults may relish pierce brosnan 's centaur , and steve coogan as hades - in his personal hell just under hollywood .",
        "a slab of market research in search of an actual movie .",
        "an attempt to steal some of harry potter 's thunder that also stands on its own as a well-made large-scale adventure that works well enough to entertain the teens it 's hoping to strike .",
        "with great effects -lrb- and a few surprises -rrb- it 's a fun , saturday-matinee adventure .",
        "columbus directs with his usual frying pan to the head . music is forever swelling majestically . characters are always opening wide their eyes and mouths to gaze in wonder .",
        "while this might not rival the later , better harry potter movies or the lord of the rings trilogy , it 's more fun than you might expect .",
        "percy jackson & the olympians sounds like an otis redding cover band . it is , instead , an unofficial cover of the harry potter franchise .",
        "the movie feels like a cut-rate potter knockoff with a dash of ray harryhausen .",
        "in columbus ' hands , it once again all breaks down into a series of rushed , breathless special-effects setpieces , in a thrill ride that is n't headed anywhere new .",
        "the lightning thief makes the idea of a sequel seem like an inviting proposition .",
        "columbus aims at nothing more than providing a rambunctious romp . he nimbly avoids the fate that has snared other film adaptations , like eragon and inkheart .",
        "gets so many things right that when it goes astray that you kind of wish it had n't tried in the first place",
        "there 's not one single thing in it that will appeal to a person who has ever seen a mythological origin story before , much less any other sort of adventure movie .",
        "remember the first time you saw harry potter on the big screen ? this is more like the third time you saw him but with bigger effects and greek mythology replacing the occult .",
        "the whole thing is piffle , but it moves fast enough to stay entertaining .",
        "grand prize goes to uma thurman as snake-headed medusa . it 's also a pleasure to see steve coogan in hell .",
        "the greek gods had outsized powers and petty grievances . these gen-y demigods are no different - it 's a whole generation of kids with daddy issues",
        "an awful lot of acting talent goes to waste in this film , but there is barely enough here to marginally satisfy the younger set .",
        "it 's all jolly good fun , rattling along at a perfect pace with enough action setpieces and spectacle to keep both youngsters and adults happy .",
        "it looks like the characters of color in percy jackson have been paired off , a remarkable choice in a movie that is , in essence , about the glories of half-breeds .",
        "... an attempt to replicate the phenomenon that is harry potter .",
        "so trite and ludicrous it is no threat to the harry potter franchise",
        "of all the would-be potter projects that have hit the screen over the years , this is one of more polished and enjoyable ones .",
        "click to read full review",
        "not a perfect film , but the movie does have a certain passion that a lot of other franchise attempts have lacked . if you like greek mythology and are looking for an antidote to clash of the titans , this may be what you 're looking for .",
        "a great family film , with just the right measures of action , mythological allusions , humor , and adventure .",
        "another attempted launch of a teen-aimed franchise , but this show-boat is rowing through the motions . seen-that , been-there fantasy-epic stuff with dialogue more wooden and hollow than the trojan horse .",
        "what surprised me is that i had some affection for an action adventure film the way i would have in the days of the ray harryhausen 's best films .",
        "... a sprightly harry potter clone and an eye-candy-coated intro to greek mythology .",
        "while this flick may not have harry potter 's complex world and multiple layers , it also does n't have the angst and darkness . it replaces them with one thing in bulk : fun .",
        "a fun , effects-filled , escapist adventure , with several clever notions : medusa sells garden statuary as a cover , and the parthenon in nashville is home to a hydra .",
        "a safe , bland , test-marketed product made for tween mass consumption . like most films arriving with ampersands and colons in the title , it 's a bore .",
        "percy jackson may not be `` harry potter good , '' but kids will really enjoy it and parents will be happy to have a moviethey can bring them to that 's family-friendly .",
        "-lsb- p -rsb- erfectly inoffensive , occasionally clever ... it 's in the few genuinely cinematically joyful moments , the ones that do rise above the formula , that you realize how much more this could have been ...",
        "lerman has a presence even with a mouth full of bad dialogue .",
        "a dull , scattershot affair that owes much to both x-men and greek mythology but which never seems to slow down enough to make any sense whatsoever .",
        "unfortunately , the movie lacks that good old potter charm , trading harry 's dark whimsy for a handful of cgi magic beans .",
        "there are lots of cool surprises along the way , and the special effects are fantastic , especially the ones that create uma thurman 's medusa snakedo .",
        "the best thing you can say about chris columbus 's adaptation is that he 's incapable of destroying whatever magic and wonder it is in these books that has kept kids coming back for more .",
        "this cast is simply too generic . none of the young thespians stick out .",
        "this film is replete with plot holes .",
        "some moments of inspired silliness save this escapist adventure from complete dullness ."
    ],
    "summary": "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 .",
    "id": "770805263"
  },
  {
    "movie": "friday_night",
    "reviews": [
        "this film is so understated and restrained that even the bedroom scenes seem detached .",
        "glamorously hyper-ordinary , lemercier and lindon make a pleasant pair of mature lovers .",
        "even during long moments without dialogue , we never tire of watching these actors ' finely calibrated performances .",
        "claire denis gives stunning visual life to a fantasy that all of us in the audience have had .",
        "oddly gawky and tepid .",
        "denis ' skill lies in turning a potentially sordid tale of a one-night stand in a cheap hotel into a romantic tale of unexpected passion .",
        "lemercier and lindon give beautifully synchronized performances .",
        "MOV is slight in the same way fleeting thoughts are-it runs through our imagination quickly , but leaves a pleasing and lasting afterglow .",
        "an intensely , yet sensitively , realized account of a one-night stand , -lsb- that -rsb- masterfully builds tension as it shows us its protagonist 's very subjective point of view .",
        "MOV is an evocation of one woman 's uncertainties , flights of fancy and elusive joys .",
        "beguiling and wonderful .",
        "if you give yourself over to it , this romantic tale of a liberating one-night stand proves oddly seductive and generates a warm afterglow .",
        "it is driven by the finely expressed -- if nearly mute -- performance of lemercier .",
        "this is a story about two lovers meeting improbably and fleetingly , but it 's layered with strata of tenderness and deep bliss , as if a lifetime of connection could be packed into just one night .",
        "the film 's complex underlying sound mix ... adds a haunting texture to what could have been the slightest of stories about a woman 's ephemeral victory over emotional numbness .",
        "the gifted director claire denis ... turns it into a mesmerizing erotic odyssey .",
        "ziplessness has rarely looked so inviting , nor have a couple of actors seemed so much like real people .",
        "a poetic and resonant long night 's journey into day .",
        "part tone poem , part love song , and all pure magic .",
        "a daydream of a movie cast in nightshade .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- gloriously uplifting work of pure cinema",
        "might make action fans pull their hair out .",
        "denis continually references the dreamlike non-reality of the situation , which makes the experience feel more private and personal .",
        "i 'm not arguing that it 's bad , only that it 's french . its virtues seem , uh , like some delicacy not really suited for the uneducated palate .",
        "denis ' metaphors are obvious , but no less engaging for their lack of subtlety .",
        "with a mesmerizing score and expressionistic visuals , it 's still an engaging ode to paris and the romantic abandon it inspires .",
        "a very dreamlike experience -lrb- especially if you fall asleep while you 're watching it -rrb- .",
        "very little happens in the picture , and what does happen happens very slowly . it 's a well crafted movie that i admired but ca n't say that i liked .",
        "its warmth and tenderness help make for a deeply romantic experience .",
        "i did n't buy it for a minute , though i did enjoy it .",
        "i had seen -lsb- `` vendredi soir '' -rsb- in september of 2002 at the venice film festival . i give the film credit that , now , months later , the images and emotion remain strong within me .",
        "this one does n't have the crackle of denis 's best efforts ... but it quietly rewards those who have enormous patience .",
        "MOV is the most sensuous and intimate work of cinema of the past few years , a film that luxuriates in the immediacy of the moment .",
        "laure is uptight , slightly vacant , often confused . that the film becomes slightly surreal in the second half does n't help .",
        "not terribly engaging , but surprisingly moving .",
        "a great and simple movie romance .",
        "MOV never makes the leap from a little fantasy about sex with a stranger to a larger story about a woman settling down for life .",
        "denis imbues the simple details of a one-night stand with powerful eroticism and humane understanding .",
        "probably ... too low-keyed and deliberately paced for some , but its rewards are ample for the patient and attentive .",
        "i would not want to spend my MOV watching this MOV . it 's bad enough to sit through it on wednesday morning .",
        "-lsb- denis -rsb- creates so many dazzling little moments that she turns what might have been something slight and forgettable into something occasionally magical .",
        "an economically constructed road movie , beautiful to look at and full of minutely observed details",
        "there 's something about denis 's filmmaking style that is deeply affecting .",
        "a most rewarding cinematic journey",
        "beautiful and moody , fiercely intelligent and astoundingly chilly .",
        "it will make you long for the weekend ... a picture that seems to ramble its way through an essentially tepid little anecdote .",
        "... if you go with the ebb and flow , MOV can be as intoxicating as a good cocktail .",
        "the film 's wonderful final scene is a generous pay-off .",
        "the alluring city of paris is a major character in this fascinating drama about a woman in transition to a new life , a monumental traffic jam and the alternative she finds with a stranger to the anger and frustration on the streets ."
    ],
    "summary": "a dreamy , visually poetic film .",
    "id": "770679979"
  },
  {
    "movie": "man_who_fell_to_earth",
    "reviews": [
        "if you want to go into another world in which imagination leads you into recesses and crevices you have n't visited , the MOV is a fantastic guide .",
        "among the most bizarre films in nicolas roeg 's oeuvre .",
        "it has lost none of its ability to startle all these years later , and for that alone it deserves respect .",
        "the casting of the androgynous-bent rock-star david bowie as an alien was inspired .",
        "a little dated bit nic roeg is always good value and david bowie is perfetly cast .",
        "establishes -lsb- its -rsb- british director as one of the most talented and imaginative new filmmakers in this part of the world . it 's a demanding effort which will provide a challenge .",
        "-lsb- roeg -rsb- has come up with some memorable imagery , as well as coaxing a suitably enigmatic performance out of bowie .",
        "nicolas roeg 's obfuscating style tricks it up , though the film is ultimately an empty thing .",
        "roeg , often using a dazzling technical skill , jettisons narrative in favour of thematic juxtapositions , working best when exploring the clich\u00e9s of social and cultural ritual .",
        "... a cogent meditation on the corrosive power of capitalistic endeavor and hallucinatory dreams .",
        "nicolas roeg 's cult movie boasts striking , haunting imagery and a great performance by david bowie as the alien .",
        "-lsb- video column -rsb- ... david bowie transforms into his alien persona with a preternatural instinct that is purely seductive .",
        "roeg 's style ... suits `` the MOV 's '' alienation and gives a hallucinatory sheen to the tale .",
        "bowie 's screen debut still fascinates whenever he 's on-screen , and it 's full of little reminders of how much has changed since the movie was made .",
        "david bowie as a visitor from planet wtf .",
        "the MOV reminds us of the truly independent and challenging films of the 70s .",
        "you cried when the earth nearly killed e.t but he got to make a friend and go home . our home becomes bowie 's home and the result is a broken spirit . imagine spielberg making something like that .",
        "feels like a tedious historical artifact . it 's a sci-fi `` days of wine and roses '' for the arthouse crowd .",
        "undeniably long , panavision-wide , but of questionable depth .",
        "the most intellectually provocative genre film of the 1970s .",
        "imaginative sci-fi elements and intense performances ruined by leaden pacing .",
        "what we have here are pieces of a vast , ambitious , complex conception . some of the pieces are , in themselves , so very good that we really regret they do n't fit together .",
        "the film was made in 1976 , but its message about the cutthroat realities of industry is even more relevant today",
        "this is the great calamity of the MOV . for humans , the hurt ends at death . for thomas , it may continue on indefinitely ... perhaps , forever .",
        "the film has turned out to be prophetic , and , in so doing , demonstrates one of the wonders of great films : their ability to mean different things at different times .",
        "it is n't so much the lightness of being that is unbearable as the gravity of its entropy .",
        "there are quite a few science-fiction movies scheduled to come out in the next year or so . we shall be lucky if even one or two are as absorbing and as beautiful as the MOV .",
        "by turns , creepy and cheesy , literate and vapid .",
        "the MOV is mentally stimulating , adventuresome , and imaginative .",
        "though roeg 's special effects looked hokey even 35 years ago , some of the technological elements of the film have proven oddly prescient .",
        "an experiment touching on intergalactic irony and the deepest inner disconnection , a work of telescopes and microscopes",
        "the real stranger from another planet is nicolas roeg .",
        "the cinematography by anthony b. richmond still looks fantastic and bowie 's androgynous screen presence is never less than fascinating .",
        "the film is a more poignant -lrb- and infinitely bleaker -rrb- portrait of extraterrestrial homesickness than `` e.t. ''",
        "the MOV today plays like a movie that fell from the sky , origins unknown .",
        "iconic , and nearly canonic .",
        "`` bleakly gorgeous , with a growing sense of ennui . ''",
        "brimming with smart ideas - not to mention a stellar turn from bowie - but roughly-hewn and completely excessive .",
        "still as mad and brilliantly infuriating as ever ."
    ],
    "summary": "filled with stunning imagery , the MOV is a calm , meditative film that profoundly explores our culture 's values and desires .",
    "id": "15364"
  },
  {
    "movie": "et_the_extraterrestrial",
    "reviews": [
        "to dismiss an artist the caliber of spielberg solely on the accusation of treacly sentimentalism is to dismiss the great american poets of our history .",
        "when a movie has stuck around for this long , you know there 's something there . it 's that good .",
        "definitely worth seeing in the theater whether you 've seen it before or not .",
        "a film that connects so beautifully to our sense of wonder and joy .",
        "an astonishingly warm and enjoyable family film full of genuine sweetness and heart .",
        "for the most part , however , spielberg and mathison have their priorities straight .",
        "it remains a timeless classic : it blew my mind when i saw it as a kid , and watching it again 20 years later , i still adored it .",
        "one of the most popular movies ever made .",
        "an uplifting tale appealing to child inside us all .",
        "this is spielberg 's masterpiece , a near perfect film directed with astonishing skill and unafraid to get sentimental ... without crossing the line into syrup .",
        "one of the great children 's movies of all time has lost none of its charm in this 20th anniversary re-release .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- may become a children 's classic of the space age .",
        "most importantly of all things , the original unaltered , unblemished , and gloriously widescreen 1982 version is included , so all complaints are tempered with a sense of overall satisfaction .",
        "the story itself holds up fairly well though , twenty years later , does come off as thinner than i recalled .",
        "i doubt if the public that fell so much in love with this cute disney-like tale had looked too deeply at this religious parable and examined how overwrought and crude it really is .",
        "the film remains pure cinematic enchantment in every sense of the word .",
        "e.t. is n't my favorite movie ; it 's not even my favorite spielberg movie , but no one can deny the powerful effect it had on the film industry , our attitude toward extraterrestrial life , and our culture .",
        "come 2022 , i 'm sure i 'll be seeing it again with my kids .",
        "the simple truth is , no other movie has the same power to unite audiences in wonder and fulfilment .",
        "now that 's entertainment .",
        "make no mistake about it : the magic of e.t. the extra-terrestrial is best appreciated on the big screen .",
        "spielberg 's movie effectively shows adults a world as seen from the point of view of a excited boy .",
        "bravo .",
        "twenty years after smashing box-office records , steven spielberg 's gentle sci-fi fable returns to screens as vital and accomplished as ever .",
        "if we approach with sympathy and curiosity , we will be rewarded with same . and our souls , not to mention our bicycles , will soar to the heavens .",
        "it 's a movie with a stationary camera and spare gestures , reminding us of spielberg 's genius for simplicity .",
        "do n't phone home , phone the theater and buy tickets early .",
        "the hard , cold , cynical me now realizes how precious and rare things like friendship and gentleness can be that the film touched me in different ways than when i was 13 .",
        "the tenderness of the piece is still intact .",
        "viewers returning to it , as well as those discovering it , will find it an enduring children 's film -- but one whose impact has diminished with the passage of time .",
        "the film remains the kind of unabashed delight that can make even the most cynical filmgoer feel like a kid wrapped up in the fantasy of it all .",
        "there is hope for the movies , even if that means that the best film currently playing in theaters in 2002 happens to be one of the greatest films to emerge in 1982 , or any year .",
        "a devastating rebuke to anyone who has presumed to patronise this great film-maker .",
        "oda a la inocencia de la ni\u0144ez , la aventura de la juventud , la majestuosidad del universo y la magia que envuelve a los j\u00f3venes de coraz\u00f3n .",
        "the newly enhanced effects can not affect what 's most important to the film . its heart is still there , completely intact , and that 's really all that matters .",
        "like peter pan , who also took children flying until it was time for them to grow up , e.t. represents the wonder of childhood , of a time that we must all leave behind .",
        "do n't forget to bring tissues .",
        "a few moments seem clunky in retrospect , but overall , the film has aged well . its still-strong emotional impact is now reinforced with a sense of nostalgia for an age when life was simple .",
        "i 'm a tough guy ; i can handle this stuff . that 's not even a real alien . it 's a puppet . pffff .",
        "as i watched this film 20 years later , it was chastening to note how little of what innocence we once possessed has survived .",
        "time has done little to diminish the power of e.t. 's signature moments .",
        "the film is full of funny scenes and magical moments .",
        "though marred by spielberg 's usual carelessness with narrative points , the film alternates sweetness and sarcasm with enough rhetorical sophistication to be fairly irresistible .",
        "e.t. remains spielberg 's finest demonstration of his ability to merge the feelings of suburban dissatisfaction - alienation , if you will - that permeates a lot of his work , with a unique sense of childhood wonder and imagination",
        "it is the kind of film that young people are going to want to see again immediately after they 've seen it .",
        "this is a special , delightful adventure , in which spielberg manages not only to entertain young children but also reach out to the child in all of us .",
        "you 're still gon na need those tissues .",
        "e.t. the extra-terrestrial still evokes laughter , tears and that heart-lifting surge of joy only a great movie can bring .",
        "unchecked goodness has its price , after all , and childhood wonder would n't be nearly as sweet if it did n't fade . that may explain the film 's appeal . it trapped that feeling , and its sense of possibility , in amber -- then , now , and for any time .",
        "among all that corniness , there 's a great little movie",
        "it is an exceptionally visual film and an exceptionally emotional film , but the kind that most of us do n't mind being manipulated by .",
        "spielberg left it open for all of us . that 's the sign of a great filmmaker : he only explains what he has to explain .",
        "a magical film .",
        "steven spielberg 's masterful film has lost none of its power to sweep the viewer away in the most ` excellent ' late-20th century boy 's adventure one could hope for .",
        "feel free to go sob in your popcorn .",
        "a sublime modern fairy tale , a movie that , if anything , looks subtler , darker , and more intimate now than it did when originally released .",
        "the film is a pure gem , proving once again what an incredible visionary spielberg truly is .",
        "what 's intact is the film 's powerful yet unmushy message of friendship , unconditional love , helping those in need ... geez , what does n't this film have that an impressionable kid could n't stand to hear ?",
        "real classics improve with age as does e.t.",
        "... the `` old-fashioned '' puppeteering still works and you do believe in the little guy .",
        "a masterpiece that deserves to be seen and appreciated on a big screen .",
        "for the most part , the film does hold up pretty well .",
        "the new effects might not be to your liking , but the strength of the filmmaking , the power of the story and the wonder of e.t. should be more than enough to warmly remind you of the last time an honest film about childhood innocence was made .",
        "it 's also a better -- no , make that far better -- movie than nearly everything else that 's currently in theaters .",
        "a sophisticatedly sappy masterpiece .",
        "forsaking the overload of special effects and high adventure that marked his previous successes to focus instead on a small story propelled by heart and imagination , spielberg has made a film that will touch audiences for years to come .",
        "a masterwork .",
        "this is an outstanding family movie , with themes of loyalty , friendship , trust , and caring . one of the most purely magical scenes in the history of film is when elliott 's bicycle lifts off up into the sky .",
        "we have yet to recover from his revelation : that there is nothing more real than sitting in your own back yard -- waiting for the unreal to come down , take a handful of candy , and fly you to the moon .",
        "unquestionably a classic .",
        "it remains a classic .",
        "it works because it touches that -lrb- uncritical , non-analytical -rrb- childlike part of us that we often need to be reminded is still there .",
        "e.t. . the extra-terrestrial -lrb- 1982 -rrb- is the immensely popular magical fantasy movie myth ...",
        "steven spielberg 's e.t. . the extra-terrestrial showed me for the first time in my life the power of movies .",
        "sweet , heartwarming , adventuresome , and joyful .",
        "all the right strings are pulled : one cries , laughs and cheers at all the right places -- just like spielberg intends us to do .",
        "only the most hardened heart should be able to resist the glow from the one that anchors this classic .",
        "it 's the epitome of true cinematic art , a movie that touches you on all levels .",
        "what do ernest hemingway , carl sandburg , albert einstein , and e.t. have in common ? the eyes , according to spielberg .",
        "steven spielberg 's e.t. . the extraterrestrial touches the heart , engages the senses , and playfully challenges us to cavort with its allusive meanings .",
        "e.t. is a film i will continue to watch over and over for the rest of my life . it is one i will never grow sick of , no matter how many times i watch it .",
        "it 's a simple beautiful story about loneliness , friendship , and the bittersweet pangs of childhood .",
        "... a bona fide classic that has something to offer moviegoers of all ages .",
        "although conclusively demonstrating spielberg 's preeminence as the popular artist of his time , e.t. finally seems a less impressive film than close encounters .",
        "though marred by spielberg 's usual carelessness with narrative points , the film alternates sweetness and sarcasm with enough rhetorical sophistication to be fairly irresistible .",
        "what i see is simply a timeless story about friendship , loss and maturity -- and , perhaps , an idealized america of the kind hollywood and politicians strive to convince us could really exist .",
        "what e.t. does so well is to capture that moment in life when childhood seems to be slipping away .",
        "the ooooos and ahhhhhhhhs are contagious , the cheering as elliot , michael and their friends take to the air as they 're being chased by the feds will still raise a cheer .",
        "the movie is emotionally tumultuous and evenhanded and serene .",
        "it is a hugely enjoyable romp , but compellingly spiked throughout with little stabs of anxiety .",
        "there are many big moments in e.t. , but also plenty of magical small ones that make it work after all these years .",
        "my heart still soars as elliott goes airborne and pedals across the face of an impossibly full harvest moon on his bike .",
        "spielberg 's direction and melissa mathison 's script never lose sight of the realistic , low center of gravity world of childhood , in which such marvelous adventures happen every day .",
        "it holds up beautifully .",
        "captivating , endearingly optimistic and magical at times , steven spielberg 's fantasy about a stranded alien from outer space protected by three kids until it can arrange for passage home is certain to capture the imagination of the world 's youth .",
        "what 's perhaps most amazing about e.t. , what distinguishes it from many of the other fantasy films of its era , is its ability to put an audience under a spell of childlike wonderment without infantilizing it .",
        "spielberg would seem to be groping towards a virtual theology of space , space as heaven , offering solace to a world which has foolishly renounced its traditional god but still aches to extend its own spiritual frontiers .",
        "e.t. is essentially a spiritual autobiography , a portrait of the filmmaker as a typical suburban kid set apart by an uncommonly fervent , mystical imagination . it comes out disarmingly funny , spontaneous , bighearted .",
        "it helped alter the course of sci-fi movies by suggesting that intergalactic aliens might not be monsters but friendly , even loving , creatures . this does n't make it a masterpiece , but it 's fun .",
        "a contemporary classic .",
        "it makes us believe in magic again even as grizzled , cynical adults .",
        "... a celebration of kid culture from a time when fun meant riding your bike and playing d&d with your friends .",
        "steven spielberg at his most pure .",
        "one of spielberg 's two or three masterpieces , an extremely satisfying sci-fi fable .",
        "spielberg triumphantly succeeds in bringing the magical to the everyday .",
        "an appealing film this new one is , with some charm , some glee in the childrens ' triumphs , some share in their friendship with e.t.",
        "on inherent merit , the movie would not warrant such a highly publicized re-release , but this is one of those films that transcends what 's on the screen .",
        "more than the work of any other filmmaker , spielberg 's output seems uniquely designed to induce in me this queasy false-memory syndrome ."
    ],
    "summary": "playing as both an exciting sci-fi adventure and a remarkable portrait of childhood , steven spielberg 's touching tale of a homesick alien remains a piece of movie magic for young and old .",
    "id": "10489"
  },
  {
    "movie": "friday_night_lights",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- t -rsb- he belief that high school athletics is something worth ruining lives over is more likely to strike one as pathetic than praiseworthy .",
        "lights only diverts narrative tedium when the gladiators take the field ; effectively drowning out the nonsense that eventually takes place off the field .",
        "MOV fires up a gritty , grubby look at the dark underside of texas ' primary religion - football .",
        "this is flat-out the rawest , most realistic piece of storytelling about the sport that i 've ever seen .",
        "this impressive , inspirational story not only captures the exhilaration of the gridiron action but also the intense pressures of these communal rites and rituals .",
        "MOV is a slice of small town life where the success or failure of their beloved team will resonate and set the mood of the townsfolk for the entire year",
        "a largely appealing drama , the kind of sports movie that anyone , even non-fans of football -lrb- like myself -rrb- , can get wrapped up in and care about .",
        "... so ineptly and annoyingly filmed that it should be used in filmmaking classes ... to demonstrate how not to make a movie .",
        "profoundly upsetting and pointed in its criticism , it 's concerned not just with football , but with the people who play it and the people it affects .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- lifestyle advertisement for the noxious small-town culture that turns high-school football players into local heroes , no matter what price these young men have to pay .",
        "the movie works because berg never forgets to keep his heart in the game and not just his head .",
        "viewers will be able to read into the do-or-die philosophy whatever they choose , and in the meantime simply enjoy this big-screen ode to the madness .",
        "MOV can be seen as hoosiers in shoulder pads , especially in the emotional connection between the townspeople and the team .",
        "billy bob thornton delivers one of the best acting jobs of his career .",
        "expertly infuses humanity into the unforgiving , obsessive world of high school football .",
        "when did director peter berg become mr. reliable ?",
        "a solid football movie .",
        "it has an intentionally rough , gritty , bleached , documentary feel but berg is in complete control , with every shot a small gem of precision and mastery .",
        "but all in all , this is a movie for football fans ... if you do n't like the sport , then you might as well forget it and try something more to your tastes .",
        "MOV is a movie that gets the gridiron action exactly right , but does not dig deeply enough into the lives of the players off the field .",
        "black is positively riveting to watch ; who would have expected the gangly kid who befriended carl childers in sling blade to now be muscling his mentor out of the picture ?",
        "an accurate potrayal of texas high school football and the overzealous participation of those not even on the team . great stuff !",
        "the saddest sports movie since hoop dreams .",
        "the movie demonstrates the power of sports to involve us ; we do n't live in odessa and are watching a game played 16 years ago , and we get all wound up .",
        "... refuses to shy away from the way high school football ... can trample a kid 's love for the game .",
        "gripping ? gut wrenching ? sure , but if you 've seen one high school football movie , especially one set in texas , you 've seen them all .",
        "a passably made , grittily acted slice of life in texas that veers not an inch from the norm for this sort of picture .",
        "there 's not much in MOV that you have n't ever seen or could n't have imagined . relative to most hollywood sports movies , however , it just feels new .",
        "peter berg 's skilled vision and billy bob 's retrained performance result not only the best football film we 've seen in years ... but also one of the best movies of 2004 .",
        "the movie shows the good , the bad , and the brutality of the sport ... with all the chills and thrills that you need , plus some .",
        "a stand-up example of how effective underdog sports movies are , no matter how many times you 've seen this kind of thing before .",
        "MOV scores .",
        "the film delivers what sports fans really want .",
        "filled with plenty of bone-crushing , helmet-crashing action .",
        "electric , witty , sad and wise .",
        "the film does n't completely gloss over the rough stuff and remains , for the most part , true to the text .",
        "an exciting and involving sports drama that more than does justice to the cliches it presents as ` a true story . '",
        "more watchable than it ought to be .",
        "a movie that feels genuinely lived in .",
        "a very good movie .",
        "MOV is a feel-good movie , but it 's not real . it 's a hard-hitting hallmark greeting card . it 's no wonder it appealed to larry king % u2014 it 's safe , easy , conventional , and feigns incisiveness .",
        "... an unusually dark and serious examination of the intense pressure put on -lsb- high school football players -rsb- in a poor town .",
        "editing out many of the body blows and personal fouls from bissinger 's hard-hitting account , MOV on film tends to punt just when true insight demands going for first down .",
        "in a movie where the players are ordered to give 110 percent , berg holds back .",
        "the movie is full of both crushing disappointment and hope , resignation and joy , ugliness and great beauty .",
        "while its apparent effort to be both a critique and a reverential homage leaves lingering doubts , what 's unquestionable is the high quality of the filmmaking on display .",
        "not a rah-rah remember the titans-style tribute to the excitement of football . ... even in the movie 's happiest sequences , a sense of melancholia seems to be lurking nearby .",
        "peter berg directs this texas high school football extravaganza in a tough , gritty style that gives it an unusually fine and vivid sense of place .",
        "MOV is a razzle-dazzle movie about a texas town and what their win-at-all costs ethic does to the young men on the high-school football team .",
        "MOV is the best -lsb- football movie -rsb- i 've seen , and i 'm hard-pressed to think of another film about sports -- any sport -- that surpasses it .",
        "MOV captures this aspect of team spirit with honesty and passion .",
        "score !",
        "MOV bursts through the line of those beefy sports cliches , only to switch uniforms and join them .",
        "it honors the book of the same name .",
        "contains just the right mix of grunting , cheerleading and backbiting , of failure and success , of broken dreams and great expectations .",
        "does a terrific job of exposing the pressure , intensity and , yes , near-insanity of high-school football in the west texas town of odessa .",
        "given -lsb- the editing and jittery camera work -rsb- , it 's hard to know exactly how to feel about the film . fortunately , the story is just compelling enough , its performances convincing enough , to help .",
        "the best sports movie for years , as it 's not about sport at all . forget fears of jingoistic grandstanding , this is an un-american all-american tale that deserves attention .",
        "the movie 's principles are seriously out of whack , even as it angles toward a big life lesson about learning to live with falling short of greatness .",
        "a good film , but it is preaching to the converted",
        "an excellent effort that packs a solid , emotional punch .",
        "a friday night movie if ever there was one .",
        "MOV is a film about football , but it shares more in common with films from the horror genre than with its predecessors .",
        "its script is pure corn , drenched in syrupy sentiment and topped with prize ham in the shape of billy bob thornton 's tub-thumping coach .",
        "thornton anchors the film with his understated but no less effective performance but the stand-out is derek luke -lrb- antwone fisher -rrb- - the scene where he finally realises that his football career is over is truly heartbreaking to watch .",
        "both a great sports film and a terrific commentary on human nature .",
        "there 's nothing particularly universal or relevant about this place - and sport-specific ode to american football . although it 's a gripping and watchable true story .",
        "a hard-hitting , fast-paced , stirring film .",
        "MOV does n't capture the essence of h.g. bissinger 's bestselling book , but it does embody the spirit of texas high school football .",
        "berg fashions a spike lee-esque prism through which he sheds light on the game , though berg has n't so much got game as he got highlight .",
        "football here serves as the fulcrum of an entire society , in which everything ... is distilled into the pressure cooker of fourth and long at the 35 .",
        "one of the best football movies ever .",
        "as you watch this film , you gradually begin to realize that it 's not delivering the emotional highs of the genre , and is going to a different place entirely .",
        "an emotionally fulfilling experience .",
        "by abandoning all attempts to explore the town 's obsession with the game , opting instead for sports-movie cliches and more slow-motion tackling , the filmmakers fall short of the goal line .",
        "always slick and pumped up , MOV is real enough around the edges to hold our attention even if it sacrifices accuracy for storytelling ease .",
        "as a survey of the anti-intellectualism and rage at the heart of the heartland , it burns with intelligence and energy .",
        "sometimes , life just is n't fair . and `` MOV '' takes that right out onto the field .",
        "it is admirable how the movie delves into the psychology of a pathological need to win . a fantastic film .",
        "a routine , rah-rah sports movie .",
        "we do n't need a movie reinforcing that high school is the best time in your life because it 's not . if it was for you , get out there and do something more .",
        "with the exception of debbie does dallas , this is the best sports movie i have ever seen .",
        "-lrb- billy bob -rrb- thornton and -lrb- lucas -rrb- black -lrb- who could mature into a true acting force -rrb- are magnificent together as the young , unsure quarterback and his caring coach/mentor .",
        "tells an engrossing story with such conviction and honesty , embedded in a surplus of stylistic flourishes , that it becomes one of the best sports movies in recent memory .",
        "does a terrific job of showing the competitive nature of not just the kids but their parents and the pressure put on teenagers to perform ...",
        "berg 's choice of intense closeups and handheld camerawork gives up the bigness of the game , but in exchange we get up-close-and-personal views of how the players see the game .",
        "lights will make leave you cheering long after you digest its unflattering portrait of small-town obsession .",
        "a long time ago i played under MOV and let me tell you something , this movie gets it all right .",
        "for high school football fanatics , this is a touchdown .",
        "director peter berg 's adaptation is the cinematic equivalent of a recovered fumble : not disastrous , but also not terribly good .",
        "after stumbling out of the huddle and getting flagged for a few false start penalties , MOV finally gets the chains moving in the second half .",
        "a powerful and poignant ode to the heartache and thrill of the game .",
        "i 'll stop short of calling it the greatest sports movie ever created , but it 's certainly got to be up there in the top five .",
        "far too long with too many magnolious collisions on the field with little consequence , pretty much a movie without a premise .",
        "dizzying handheld camera shots make us part of every hard-hitting tackle",
        "MOV is a captivating movie for anyone from the most avid football fan to the people who are n't sure how many points you get for a touchdown",
        "the games are dynamically filmed ... but they lack credibility as players on both teams are obviously on a script and big plays are stage-managed to a ridiculous degree .",
        "these kids are not fighting the power , much as they or you might want to believe it .",
        "delivers first-rate football action .",
        "what curdles the film beyond rescue by good acting and rousing action is the relentless emphasis on how warlike and painful football can be .",
        "people who like sports movies will love MOV , but so will people who do n't like sports movies and would never think of seeing a high school football game .",
        "this film deserves a stronger , unifying theme .",
        "there 's an interesting movie struggling to get out of MOV , but every time it tries it gets rushed and tackled .",
        "director berg uses a smart blend of constantly moving camera and gritty film stock to give the film a documentary feel that 's both engaging and perfectly suited to this story .",
        "a poignant celebration and a chilly condemnation of the high school gridiron as god 's country .",
        "the arcs of the characters have the persuasive authenticity of real life , as do the dramatic mechanics of the big-game finale .",
        "a compelling and stirring film .",
        "the script spends at least as much time exploring the psychologies of the young players and the problems they face at home as it does rallying the audience behind their efforts on the field .",
        "few films have shown so powerfully the slashing double edge of sports fever .",
        "while the atmosphere is excellent , and the general elements all strong , the film sadly fails to give any real insight or depth in regards to explaining the hows and whys of the near fever over the game and its players .",
        "a heart-pounding big-screen treatment that captures all the action of a tumultuous season while showing the emotional toll on the players .",
        "what MOV offers is the perspective that , for the people and young players caught up in this whirlwind , football simultaneously means everything and ultimately nothing .",
        "so much more than a football movie .",
        "... had me literally in goose bumps and with my heart going into overdrive .",
        "football flick that will have you crying like a little baby . powerfully directed , well-written with stalwart acting . however , gritty audio/visual may abrade .",
        "you 'll be surprised -- and thrilled -- by how completely this film engages you .",
        "how you view the film will undoubtedly depend on how much you share the movie 's unhealthy attitude towards competitive sports .",
        "lights feels real , honest and -- most of all -- heartfelt , and it 's filled with good performances and a fine spirit .",
        "you will watch as though you 've been rooting for the panthers your entire life . the movie is that good .",
        "the affecting , gruelling result is less a document of recreational sport than one of obligation and ordeal .",
        "you 'll leave the theater somewhat emotionally spent -- feeling like you 've been tackled by a 220-pound linebacker -- but it 's worth the ride . one of the best sports movies ever .",
        "as football movies go , it 's a great one .",
        "the film feels like an anthology of cliches from a hundred football movies .",
        "MOV is a disappointment in the end because it could have been so much more .",
        "unparalleled realism and hard-hitting performances make MOV one of the great sports movies .",
        "emotional gut punches are plentiful in director peter berg 's stunning ` MOV . '",
        "if you 're not a football fan , MOV wo n't make you one , but if you are , it will give you a good deal more to think about than your average gridiron flick .",
        "-lsb- made -rsb- with a skill and grace that lifts the material up ; all of the actors , and everyone involved in the film 's production , came together and made something special .",
        "substitutes slick , cynical point-scoring for insight .",
        "bland pop americana .",
        "unusually well drawn characters and the empathy its creators have for them are just two of the things that distinguish peter -lrb- very bad things -rrb- berg 's latest from most sports movies .",
        "we see just how serious texans -- fans and players alike -- take their football .",
        "this west texas football saga is a real , wrenching look at players , fans and the game that 's much more than a game .",
        "graduate work in the jerry bruckheimer school of overproduced , underwritten gut shots . though berg 's big-game finale will win fans , the buildup feels like one long time out .",
        "despite minor bugaboos , the film works because each play and conversation is filled with a nervy feeling of how fate could turn on its characters at any moment .",
        "as a football movie it scores , but as a drama that goes beyond the field and into the lives of the characters playing the game , it falls short of becoming a champ .",
        "had billy bob thornton not been so good in so many films , people would be talking about this as his greatest role .",
        "the story gestures at a cross-sectional view of america on a nashville scale .",
        "an emotionally draining viewing experience that only briefly threatens to be undermined by the requisite climactic locker-room pep talk that teeters ever so slightly toward the saccharine . still , there 's a lot of truth here .",
        "the extreme close ups and use of a hand held camera part of the time was tedious , but as the film progressed , the excitement built to a tumultuous conclusion .",
        "i ca n't help looking at this as an indictment of the high school football system .",
        "a true-life yarn that was dubbed by si as `` one of the greatest sports stories of all time '' has now been turned into one of the dullest sports films of recent years .",
        "a good sports movie with amped up sports action , good acting , and an ending that sneaks up on you with surprising emotional power .",
        "MOV is the real deal , a grim , in-your-face expose of one west texas school 's fanatical sports program .",
        "experiences most of its success by its disturbing depiction of adults living vicariously through their children .",
        "berg takes you so deep into the action , you can hear the bones crunch .",
        "MOV is like a third-down play that needs to pick up four yards but gets only two .",
        "-lsb- the characters are -rsb- much more flawed that the usual cookie cutter characters found in sports flicks , and it 's difficult not to become emotionally involved in their plight .",
        "there 's a surge in momentum through the playoffs and into the texas state championship game , which occupies a quarter of the film 's nearly two-hour running time .",
        "the film lets you get caught up in the excitement of this religion and the addictive nature of those stadium lights .",
        "boilerplate stuff , though livened by flashy editing and cinematography .",
        "a stringent , stirring real-life drama .",
        "the documentary feel of the film drives home the message of `` it 's just a game , guys ! ''",
        "might have been a truly great deconstruction of the secular religion of football had it not come dangerously close to buying into the very myth it is trying to dismantle",
        "what elevates this ode to brotherhood from other sports dramas is that its subplots , the bulk of its thematic substance , are n't seeped in dating and teammate-envy turmoil .",
        "this is the rousing football movie any given sunday failed to be .",
        "my favorite film of 2004 .",
        "might very well be doomed to comparison solely with other sports movies . but at least within that realm it looks pretty darn good .",
        "the film , just like the sports battles , allows spectators to get caught up in the excitement and become intoxicated on the glare of the blinding stadium lights .",
        "as someone who normally finds football about as exciting as golf , i was often on the edge of my seat , particularly during the climactic championship game .",
        "nuance typifies both mr. thornton 's highly calibrated performance and the film 's absence of unnecessary underlining .",
        "the film really lives out the metaphor realistically , just like life",
        "a crowded film in which the main characters emerge as people who have skewed and unsympathetic priorities ."
    ],
    "summary": "an acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie .",
    "id": "10213"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sunset_boulevard",
    "reviews": [
        "arguably wilder 's best film .",
        "while it 's not an absolute masterpiece , it has definitely withstood the test of time much more than 96 % of its contemporaries , and has some wickedly funny lines to boot .",
        "few pictures are greater than MOV , billy wilder 's scathing assault on hollywood 's magnetism , aura , and fear of watching it pass you by ...",
        "a concentration of classic filmmaking at its peak , a specimen of director billy wilder at the razor 's edge of his brilliance .",
        "still the best hollywood movie ever made about hollywood .",
        "one of wilder 's finest , and certainly the blackest of all hollywood 's scab-scratching accounts of itself .",
        "a cynically dark recognition to hollywood 's forgotten stars .",
        "gloria swanson and william holden give definitive , oscar-nominated performances as the fading star and hack writer , respectively , in bily wilder 's darker than dark comedy about the inner workings of hollywood at a crucial phase of the industry 's change .",
        "a tour de force for swanson and one of wilder 's better efforts .",
        "the casting is perfect .",
        "this cold-blooded satire is at once subtle and savage .",
        "... they rate a nod for daring , as well as credit for an all-around filmmaking job that , disregarding the unpleasant subject matter , is a standout .",
        "the best film to capture the transitory nature of film fame .",
        "even as the movie industry grows more and more appalling , MOV just gets better and better .",
        "wilder certainly gives an intimate portrait of hollywood with all its warts and imperfections .",
        "the picture will keep spectators spellbound , while their reactions shuttle with lightning speed of the story 's constantly changing aura of pathos , satire and humor .",
        "the best thing about watching old movies is discovering the ones that feel so modern that , with a few touches here and there , barely altering the original product , they could actually fit right in with the quality movies of today .",
        "the kind of film of which legends are made and a film that has become a legend itself -- and deservedly so .",
        "a demented circus of obsession , greed , and hollywood",
        "the closest thing wilder made to a horror film -lrb- in lighting , score , and character dynamic -rrb- after the lost weekend .",
        "no other motion picture about hollywood comes near billy wilder 's searing , uncompromising and utterly fascinating portrait of the film community .",
        "remains the best drama ever made about the movies because it sees through the illusions , even if norma does n't .",
        "a virtually unimpeachable fugue for all manner of hollywood deaths , those of people , minds , careers , dreams , and baboons .",
        "caustic , scalding , and forever fabulous .",
        "what 's not recognized enough is the indelible , self-sickened performance of william holden as desmond 's boy-toy/hired hack .",
        "perhaps the best film ever made about hollywood .",
        "marvelous hollywood-on-hollywood satire , balanced exquisitely between all about eve and mulholland drive .",
        "black comedy , creepy noir , and timeless hollywood satire ... as good as they come .",
        "magnificent stuff .",
        "a then-unprecedented throwing back of the velvet curtain to reveal the exciting , but often sordid and dehumanizing , mechanics that run the hollywood dream factory",
        "while all the acting is memorable , one always thinks first and mostly of miss swanson , of her manifestation of consuming pride , her forlorn despair and a truly magnificent impersonation of charlie chaplin .",
        "this is the greatest film about hollywood ever put on celluloid by hollywood .",
        "the ultimate depiction of hollywood burnout",
        "MOV -lrb- 1950 -rrb- is a classic black comedy/drama , and perhaps the most acclaimed , but darkest film-noir story about `` behind the scenes '' hollywood ,",
        "this legendary tale of hollywood glory and decay still provides a biting portrait of the dream factory .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- billy wilder 's deft weaving of gothic elements , not the least of which is nora 's decrepit mansion , casts a spell from which joe is unable to break free . he , like the audience , is stuck in a terrible place awaiting an equally frightful fate .",
        "rarely is fiction shot through so glitteringly with real life .",
        "an uncompromising study of american decadence displaying a sad , worn , methodical beauty few films have had since the late twenties .",
        "one of the great joys of the film is watching the way in which william holden 's naturalistic performance clashes with an actress and performance style from an earlier age .",
        "a must for fans of ruthless black comedy .",
        "norma is something of a living legend , but she 's also an unaware ghost : no longer of the world in which she thinks she lives .",
        "tears away at the curtain that keeps reality away from fiction .",
        "MOV 's entire point of view is based on a gimmick . whether one considers it an `` artistic cheat '' or a valid and audacious device depends up his ability and desire to suspend his disbelief .",
        "dark comedy . film noir . tragic romance . hollywood satire . ` MOV ' has it all .",
        "if you have the dream to make it to tinsel town , you might want to check this flick out because hollywood is as hard on dreams as it was back in the 1950s"
    ],
    "summary": "arguably the greatest movie about hollywood , billy wilder 's masterpiece MOV is a tremendously entertaining combination of noir , black comedy , and character study .",
    "id": "17003"
  },
  {
    "movie": "young_victoria",
    "reviews": [
        "ostvarenje koje istinsko zadovoljstvo mo % u017ee pru % u017eiti jedino publici koja se sastoji od najzagri % u017eenijih rojalista",
        "the MOV is an attractive film . while many period pieces overwhelm with flashy production design in order to get attention , the stellar art direction found here is luscious yet never vulgarly so .",
        "talky and stately , but it has a degree of humanization making it far more enjoyable and relatable than others of its kind .",
        "emily blunt joins the ranks of great screen monarchs .",
        "a veddy proper film that would n't presume to misbehave with an ounce of unnecessary melodrama and abandon . we are amused and entertained but not terribly so .",
        "consistently engaging , with an appealing sense of relevance for today 's audiences .",
        "blunt 's performance , restrained and fiery , holds together the personal and the political threads of this handsomely mounted drama .",
        "quite a bit dry , even for a historical drama .",
        "rich in personal drama , political intrigue and royal pageantry but also satisfyingly compact .",
        "es el t\u00edpico producto de calidad que se aprecia m\u00e1s que nada por sus valores de producci\u00f3n -lrb- y aqu\u00ed son realmente excepcionales -rrb- y por un elenco , en este caso brit\u00e1nico , donde se luce especialmente la estupenda emily blunt .",
        "yes , it 's history , but give it some context , some drama at least !",
        "pretty , classy , and really all quite boring .",
        "the MOV feels like a wasted opportunity and is among the least impressive in a long line of motion pictures about british royalty .",
        "love , respect , romance , partnership , teamwork -- MOV gives you all that in one package , with a monarchy thrown in .",
        "director jean-marc vall\u00e9e bathes the frames in the details of its luxurious surroundings , and the screenplay , by gosford park writer julian fellowes , does a passable job of laying out all the factions jockeying for power around blunt 's victoria .",
        "blunt 's sprightly read of the title character is just so irresistibly endearing that it feels churlish to pick apart the thin material she is working with .",
        "a solid piece of drama , giving fans of the genre a ripe core of hesitation to sink their teeth into , while also bringing actress emily blunt to the forefront with an impressive depiction of uncertainty and immaturity .",
        "victoria 's schooling in responsibility takes a back seat to the emergence of passionate womanhood , not cheapened by cinema 's usual descent to sex steam .",
        "it works as an old-fashioned wallow in nineteenth-century british royal romance and parliamentary infighting .",
        "what filmmaker jean-marc vall\u00e9e has done in this delicious historical romance is capture that hot blush of pure emotion that comes before kisses , sex , heartbreak and the rest can dilute it .",
        "blunt , her eyes sparking , her manner playful , smart , and proud , shines in the title role . if the film itself is n't brilliant , its star most definitely is .",
        "if molly ringwold had taken a shot at ` respectability ' in a merchant ivory oscar-bait film , this might have been the perfect screenplay .",
        "a full package period romance , from the performances to the costumes to the lush setting and the rich score .",
        "plush , plodding stroll through the dowager queen 's early years",
        "... worth seeing for emily blunt 's radiant performance as victoria and for the eye-popping recreations of life and ritual at the english court .",
        "a passable depiction of what looks to be a rather unspectacular slice of history .",
        "this is blunt 's chance to follow in the footsteps of gwenyth paltrow , anne hathaway and keira knightley in becoming a leading lady in a period piece .",
        "the life of a princess is n't necessarily a fairy tale .",
        "this victoria is not particularly victorian , but then she is young ; and everyone wants a piece of her , politically speaking . emily blunt is lovely and strong-minded as the young vic .",
        "`` the MOV '' is a sumptuous character study that takes its time charting the transformation of a young girl born to rule into a queen ready to rule .",
        "this may be the perfect shared entertainment for daughters just growing out of their princess phase and mothers with their own challenges balancing love and work .",
        "as old queen v. herself supposedly said : we are not amused .",
        "if the viewer favors such bbc type royalty genre films , they will more than likely bow down in appreciation to this appealing one .",
        "mostly harmless .",
        "director jean-marc vall\u00e9e 's images have a creamy stateliness , but this is no gilded princess fantasy -- it 's the story of a budding ruler who learns to control her surroundings , and blunt makes that journey at once authentic and relevant .",
        "although it 's somewhat lacking in tumultuous , bodice-ripping intrigue , it 's an elegant , entertaining , genteel biopic .",
        "blunt strikes me as the real deal : languid but biting , like jeanne moreau , yet able to command a scene while somehow appearing to shift to one side -lrb- as moreau would never do -rrb- and observe with a skeptic 's smile .",
        "the failure of the film is not so much a lack of historical accuracy or detail as a dearth of historical liveliness .",
        "man , british heritage cinema can be dull when assembly-lined for the export market .",
        "this is a lavish and lovingly detailed period piece that attempts to re-create england 's last golden age , but the enchanting ms. blunt is the whole movie , and it would n't register even a small bleep on the richter scale without her .",
        "vall\u00e9e and his lead get high marks for kittenish revisionism . in all other respects , however , this movie is indistinguishable from every other throne-and-scepter biopic to hit the screen .",
        "two movies in the inimitable pbsmasterpiece theater style . john keats falls in love , gets tb and dies.a movie in the inimitable pbs masterpiece theater style . queen victoria marries prince albert and resolve to help lift up the british workers while surro",
        "production is nicely detailed , from lensing to costume , makeup and set design and make the history lesson one that you will not mind learning .",
        "the production design ensures that every frame is a feast for the eyes , but what elevates the film is hagen bogdanski 's sometimes expressionistic cinematography , which never calls attention to itself or obscures the detail of the sets and locations .",
        "blunt is always compelling as the feisty , good-hearted victoria .",
        "another in the endless stream of movies about the british monarchy , but a cut above the average in terms of story and acting .",
        "the MOV turns out to be as interested in charting the sexual and societal awakening of a royal naif as in examining the historical events that shaped her destiny .",
        "nothing much new will be learned , but the journey along the way is beautiful to behold .",
        "whether in her chemise or her coronation robes , blunt exudes a vitality that will not be suppressed . she is wonderful as victoria and alone reason enough to see the film .",
        "the way this story is told is just basically by people reading letters in voiceover while you look at beautiful furniture .",
        "i wonder : was the director of the MOV wearing a corset right alongside emily blunt ? this is one tightly constricted period drama .",
        "three centuries before avatar , in a faraway world called coffee table film , there dwelt a beautiful princess who became a powerful ruler , the MOV .",
        "emily blunt is remarkable , her sleepy eyes -lrb- true to photographs of queen victoria -rrb- compensated by a vibrant physicality and the sense that something 's going on behind her gaze , a rare and valuable quality in actors .",
        "as portrayed by blunt , she 's smart and confident , but also somewhat naive ; it 's an impressive performance in a surely daunting role .",
        "blunt looks the part , and as always , she 's good .",
        "an intimate , small-scale story of a young woman 's struggle to be independent of her scheming relations and to find equality in a very unequal marriage .",
        "the main focus is on victoria 's romance with prince albert -lrb- rupert friend -rrb- , which takes two full acts to get going and has very little heat once it does .",
        "emily blunt finally gets a chance to blossom into the star representative of her talent in this highly entertaining film .",
        "the MOV is a very well-made if not especially memorable picture , moving with all the grace and steadfastness of a waltz victoria and albert share , but absent any urgency or anything particularly exclamatory .",
        "it 's a muddled but plush experience overall , and if you 're a royalist completist or a historical romantic , you 'll probably have a decent time . as much as blunt may have wanted the role , though , i 'm not sure it suits her .",
        "masterpiece theater on a larger budget .",
        "the biggest problem , though , is that while there 's no denying it looks good , the whole thing is just so exasperatingly bland . period films do n't have to be this way .",
        "quality period drama does n't come any finer than this , so let the MOV reign supreme .",
        "well-groomed , upscale , three-hankie entertainment for the masterpiece theater crowd .",
        "what the film lacks is a sense of its awful era - if only dickens could have had a hand in the script .",
        "the MOV is thus about as sexy as a cold fish and as imaginative as a kipper .",
        "all the period trappings - decor , duds , dances - are immaculate , though presented in the manner of a set-text reconstruction rather than a living , breathing drama .",
        "full of intriguing details about queen victoria 's early reign , although it only lightly examines the political intrigue and romantic melodrama",
        "hugely enjoyable biopic with a great script , impressive production design and delightful performances from emily blunt , rupert friend and a strong supporting cast .",
        "emily blunt is utterly charming in this dramatization of the MOV 's ascension to the throne and her courtship with prince albert .",
        "what emerges is a genuinely affecting love story , although it takes patience to negotiate the early intrigue .",
        "if i can find any quibble with this richly rewarding film , it 's that it 's about queen victoria and prince albert -- a subject that in itself is n't that inherently exciting .",
        "you do n't have to be a royalist to be moved by beautifully staged coronation and wedding moments , and composer ilan eshkeri scores such scenes with music so thrilling you 'll feel you 've got a front-row seat to the real thing .",
        "could certainly be a whole lot worse , and this is something i clung to as no uncertain comfort during the film 's 104 minute running time that feels a good deal longer .",
        "this victoria is layered and real , and in turn elevates the film from just another yawn-inducing costume drama .",
        "i did n't quite believe that this tiny girl could become the most powerful woman in the history of the world , but at the time perhaps no one believed it .",
        "no wonder filmmakers have favored elizabeth i : on her side , a reign of beheadings , burning heretics , and armadas as against , here , a scandal about retaining the wrong ladies-in-waiting .",
        "this is a beautiful film . the cinematography is lush , the pomp and circumstance majestic , and oh -- those costumes are divine !",
        "it has everything you could want in a period piece -- drama , humor , costuming and a wonderful soundtrack .",
        "blunt is magnificent here , surrounded by a sumptuous ensemble who give life , passion and warmth to this fast paced and engaging tale , suitably worth of its royal lineage and glorious in every way .",
        "pomp and circumstance are plentiful though not overdone as we worm our way into victoria 's court -lrb- and world -rrb- at the start of her reign . there is perhaps less clarity in the writing than desirable , but the production is spectacular",
        "this charming costume drama might lack the bodice-ripping rowdiness of other recent historical romances , but it is classy and clever .",
        "yet another queasy entry into the ever-growing queensploitation genre .",
        "MOV is like a breath of fresh air for the genre .",
        "a pleasant but plodding biopic of our longest-serving sovereign , mainly to be recommended for those with a limitless appetite for stately homes , lavish costumes and mills & boon romance .",
        "i spent an hour and three-quarters waiting for this movie to start .",
        "friend , as albert , is this film 's secret weapon - ardent , subtly proud , a little shy , and a man with an intellectual philosophy he intends to preserve . the film glows as it gets to know him , and your resistance , like victoria 's , melts away .",
        "dignified and charismatic , blunt gives great lip-wobble , and friend pulls off the role of sidekick , but historical twiddling ca n't render victoria 's love life interesting .",
        "it 's decorative , but suffers from a stultifying lack of drama .",
        "emily blunt 's vic is as feisty as alistair darling and the story does n't give her enough to get excited about .",
        "the history is by mills & boon , the visuals are wall-to-wall frou-frou . add the banality-packed dialogue -lrb- `` even a palace can be a prison '' -rrb- and some substandard mise-en-sc\u010dne , and we feel like crying , `` call back merchant ivory ! ''",
        "the film sags in its third act as it succumbs to all-out adoration for victoria , but the ever-impressive blunt carries it admirably with an affecting portrayal .",
        "exquisitely produced but dramatically erratic .",
        "a lovingly-detailed , lavishly-recreated british period production with all the right cast giving all the right performances .",
        "it 's actually a quite lovely film ; gorgeous locations , fabulous costumes , and truly excellent performances . emily blunt is totally believable as the young queen , she 's establishing herself as a fine young screen actress .",
        "watching the slow , cautious courtship between victoria and albert is so pleasurable , so surprisingly not-boring , that it does n't matter how much of the ending we already know .",
        "victoria 's secrets : octomom plus one party animal who wears the pants , or rather crown in the family , and later for charles dickens .",
        "emily blunt 's performance succeeds because she makes the ultimate icon relatable .",
        "a biography that is quite enjoyable to watch , and a bit too easy to forget .",
        "the MOV is slow and pretty and nobody has quite enough to do . luckily , there 's plenty to look at in the way of costumes and furniture and crown jewels and palace tchotchkes .",
        "beautifully costumed , intelligent performers peering out from the film 's glossy surface keep you involved .",
        "` the MOV ' is at heart a love story -- and , for me , it hits all the right notes on that score .",
        "perhaps because of the directing or perhaps because of stilted manners of the late georgian and early victorian era the film never again catches fire as it does in the early scenes .",
        "strong performances , production qualities and courtly intrigue ensure that audiences will wish this romantic drama went for just that little bit longer .",
        "the production is full of such electrifying moments , ensuring that there will be no cobwebs in this history exercise .",
        "`` MOV '' is a well crafted period romance made personal by emily blunt 's disarming performance .",
        "emily blunt gives a commanding performance in this technically impresive but dramatically bland biopic of the young queen victoria , a feature that 's pleasant to watch but too old fashioned to really engage .",
        "the film looks great and blunt gives a wonderfully confident performance , but the end result lacks real insights into what made victoria the great and enduring queen she became .",
        "caught between real quality and heritage for export , the film falls between two disparate stools .",
        "a pretty , likeable romantic drama with initial political interest , this ends so abruptly it feels like the first part of a mini-series .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- seems rather quaint , resulting in a movie that is well-meaning , and certainly well-mounted , but somewhat devoid of real excitement .",
        "history is used as a backdrop to the main event , being the relationships of emily blunt 's victoria . blunt is lovely , delivering just the right mix of feisty , vulnerable and stubborn to engage us in her conflicted , manipulated world",
        "the MOV feels like a breath of fresh air . it is a charming costume drama that peeks behind the pomp and pageantry to capture the human side of britain 's longest-reigning sovereign .",
        "like cate blanchett 's elizabeth , it 's a solid , workmanlike effort that shifts the emphasis away from the haughty stereotype and casts victoria in a new light .",
        "it swirls with passion and intrigue , with blunt 's sovereign feisty in state matters and charmingly flirtatious with prince albert .",
        "MOV creates a world of rich detail inhabited by a woman clashing against social constraints and expectations . it 's pure escapism and unashamedly romantic .",
        "an elegant , entertaining , informative picture with a gallery of vivid supporting turns , this provisionally crowns the winning blunt as a brit-pic star - but it skimps a bit on the bodice-ripping , blood and thunder .",
        "rose-tinted it may be , but this portrait of britain 's longest-serving monarch never drags . blunt and friend secure your sympathy as the mutually adoring v&a , while vall\u00e9e sleekly braids the personal with the parliamentary .",
        "blunt is appealingly inexperienced but shrewd in the title role and once rupert friend becomes firmly entrenched in the action the film seems to find itself .",
        "a film with many admirable individual parts that form a surprisingly forgettable whole .",
        "the MOV is good , old-fashioned period drama _ not terribly lively , not terribly insightful , but rich in pageantry and fine moments of drama , the whole show hinging on a beguiling performance from blunt .",
        "the damp of england lends this whole film a certain sogginess . indeed , in the whole of the MOV , there 's barely a crackle or crunch to be had .",
        "blunt and friend strike a few flinty sparks , and julian fellowes 's script has its share of dry-as-dust witticisms . most of the time , though , it 's a stiff pageant .",
        "frivolously entertaining .",
        "queen 's biopic is more tender romance than historical saga .",
        "if the MOV never transcends its fussy trappings -- it 's still a familiar costume drama -- it remains brisk and intelligent .",
        "if you ever saw the devil wears prada , you know blunt can be the most dynamic , scene stealing , vivacious actress on the screen . what happened ?!?!?!",
        "frothy , spirited and fairly inconsequential . i like that about it .",
        "the MOV may impart copious amounts of detail about its fascinating protagonists , but it 's not a mere tutorial : it 's a heady , thoroughly transporting plunge .",
        "the film could n't be more square or old-fashioned if it tried",
        "vallee takes care to make sure his movie stays intimate . the characters are involved in world-changing events , but the film feels personal because those events turn on the little decisions of human beings .",
        "if you like this sort of movie -- and actually , cards on the table , i like this kind of movie -- you will not be sorry you saw it . but you will not come away from the experience feeling that you 've seen victoria , young or otherwise .",
        "the MOV is a simple story sumptuously told .",
        "fans of romantic movies will savor the MOV ... with all its pomp and circumstance",
        "parental content review",
        "ultimately , it is this mature understanding of the couple 's relationship , which goes beyond politics and romantic love , that makes the MOV affecting .",
        "an elegant costume drama about the early years of victoria , the longest reigning queen in english history .",
        "respectful without being at all stuffy ."
    ],
    "summary": "emily blunt shines as victoria in this romantic but plodding royal portrait .",
    "id": "770802544"
  },
  {
    "movie": "control_room",
    "reviews": [
        "yes , the filmmakers ultimately lean left , but it 's the u.s. military 's pr guy , josh rushing , who stands out as the strongest and most likable personality .",
        "movies do n't reveal the truth , but good ones like this can provide an intimate and nuanced glimpse at some alternative reality .",
        "-lsb- e -rsb- xplodes the myth of objectivity ... -lsb- but -rsb- leaves you with the very hopeful feeling that there 's a wide middle ground that has room for all perspectives .",
        "em um ano que gerou \u00f3timos filmes como f9/11 , bush 's brain , the hunting of the president e outfoxed , este ainda se destaca como o mais eloq\u00fcente .",
        "explores the difficulties that journalists face in a war situation better than most films do .",
        "is simply up to what all journalists should be about in the face of a corporatized , monolithic media - ruffling feathers . this advisory could n't have come sooner .",
        "`` MOV '' acknowledges wartime journalism sits between objectivity and propaganda , indifference and passion . neutrality does n't exist ; to avoid gore is a stance . in a way , it 's tv 's true reality - the impossibility of objective footage of horror .",
        "fascinating documentary for mature older teens + .",
        "it might at least make you stop and think the next time you hear something on the news that 's presented as gospel .",
        "iraqis do n't question the military power of the u.s. , but rightly have plenty of evidence to question its wisdom",
        "what noujaim does show is the side rarely seen over here , and she does so in a way that 's brisk , informative and even entertaining in its own wrenching way .",
        "an eye-opening , important film that examines the war in iraq from both arab and western perspectives .",
        "it 's an intriguing , entertaining glimpse at the inner workings of the most-watched television channel in the world .",
        "riveting documentary about al-jazeera has a simple , sturdy structure , a critical eye and a plain-spoken style .",
        "whatever your beliefs about the war in iraq , there 's something here to make you question them .",
        "an overdue antidote to the carefully managed news that came out of the u.s. central command during the war .",
        "an enlightening documentary about how the u.s. networks and the arab satellite news channel al jazeera covered the early days of the war in iraq .",
        "it puts us in the shoes of men and women for whom the war is not something distant and intangible but a bloodbath in their own back yard , which makes them the very definition of embedded journalists .",
        "it 's hard to come out of this film without wanting to ask questions - you may never watch the news the same way again .",
        "this modest yet necessary documentary digs into the tussle between bias and balance in modern journalism and sends you out debating where one side 's reporting becomes the other side 's distortion .",
        "a thoughtful look at the network the pentagon describes as `` the mouthpiece of osama bin laden . ''",
        "takes us behind the scenes at the much-maligned -- but much-watched -- al-jazeera before and during the war , and the result is fascinating and revelatory .",
        "the optimistic viewer will see in all this blunt and messy contrariness the emergence of the first free press in the arab world .",
        "bush and rumsfeld have called al-jazeera `` the mouthpiece of osama bin-laden . '' you might find truth to that statement next to saddam hussein 's weapons of mass destruction .",
        "noujaim has done better than most of us at being in the right places at the right times to catch the imperial machinery in its most vulnerable , damning moments .",
        "in the words of an al jazeera producer : ` rumsfeld calls this `` incitement . '' i call it true journalism . '",
        "noujaim 's viewers will learn little new about the inner workings of al jazeera , its philosophy , or its influence on its 40 million viewers .",
        "lieutenant josh rushing emerges as a voice of reason , a moral arbiter between al-jazeera and fox news .",
        "`` MOV '' is more than just a compelling film . it 's a public service .",
        "shines most brightly when it 's exploring unexpected ambiguities .",
        "jehane noujaim utilizes an easy observational style to get her point across .",
        "the revolution will be televised",
        "judicious and revealing ... despite some unfortunate omissions ... tune it in , and it may tell you something you did n't know -- and entertain you as well .",
        "compelling cinema verite documentary chronicling the working methods of the al jazeera news agency during the prelude and beginnings of the iraq war .",
        "like the best documentaries , MOV spurs questions rather than promoting an agenda .",
        "-lsb- the filmmaker got -rsb- home with a bunch of marginal scenes and only the sketchiest chance of editing them into a story .",
        "of films that should be required viewing as the conflict in iraq continues to drag on and be reported , this is surely among them .",
        "the most profound work to date on how our government has manipulated news coverage in iraq .",
        "the zippily edited doc is relentlessly entertaining , with plenty of drama and even a few moments of dark humor .",
        "noujaim ably reveals the splits between truth and perception , raw anger and calculated hypocrisy .",
        "more illuminating than not , and shines its brightest light on a truth that war and warmongers so ferociously ignore : look hard into the other 's camp and what you 'll likely see is yourself .",
        "it gives audiences in the western world a glimpse into newsgathering efforts that are rarely if ever seen here .",
        "modest in scope and not as well structured as it could have been , MOV may not seem all that compelling 10 years down the road . but right now , at this very moment , it is essential , imperative viewing .",
        "in this documentary , you get the feeling that people are actually listening to each other . it 's refreshing in these times of michael moore .",
        "` the press , not war , is the necessary evil in MOV and information is now more powerful than missiles . '",
        "noujaim 's documentary is clearly sympathetic to the journalists of al-jazeera , who all seem to be professional , intelligent and reasonable , but it is not blindly biased .",
        "with the western and arab worlds increasingly at one another 's throats , the sliver of hope for finding common ground this film provides is nothing short of a revelation .",
        "MOV demonstrates little filmmaking skill ... all video stock and mostly harsh fluorescent lighting . what is being portrayed is more important than how .",
        "important not so much in that it is a great documentary , but it raises some of the implications of our own biased media coverage .",
        "given that most americans know the network only by reputation , or via donald rumsfeld 's public denunciations of it , a little more objective information would not have gone amiss .",
        "the film 's focused portrayal of al-jazeera clashes with its more haphazard grouping of american media outlets .",
        "noujaim 's anxiety-provoking documentary about how the light of truth shifts when filtered through a screen of nationalism , arab or american .",
        "nobody interested in world affairs can afford to miss it .",
        "a timely and provocative critique of the notion of journalistic objectivity .",
        "the most stunning fact elicited by this film is that al-jazeera is hated as much by some arab rulers as by conservative americans .",
        "reveals the humanity of the opponents on both sides ... and government 's attempt to deny that humanity at all costs .",
        "at once a clear-eyed document of the war , an inquiry into the way events become filtered into news , and a complex , surprising portrait of the personalities behind the scenes .",
        "this absorbing , significant , and shamelessly entertaining movie not only goes through the looking glass but , no less significantly , turns the mirror back on us .",
        "shows how propaganda works on both sides and how the truth is often somewhere in between .",
        "the mood of jehane noujaim 's bristling documentary about al jazeera , the satellite news network , is both frenetic and grim .",
        "an absorbing behind-the-scenes documentary about al jazeera shows .",
        "what makes the MOV important is that it gives us a glimpse of a viewpoint we might not otherwise see .",
        "a documentary as subtle , insightful and evenhanded as fahrenheit 9/11 is obvious and one-sided .",
        "a perceptive picture of the way in which modern warfare has turned the information battle into its permanent second front .",
        "the value of the film is limited in only pointing out that the network is not really as monstrous as portrayed in the american media .",
        "insightful and gripping .",
        "takes an unusually balanced look at the consistently unbalanced coverage of the war in iraq .",
        "enlightening documentary looks at the arabic satellite television network al-jazeera .",
        "an eye-opening documentary .",
        "truth is , one country 's propaganda is another country 's truth .",
        "americans watch cnn . the arab world watches al-jazeera . this movie watches both and helps us understand how no attempt or pretense of objectivity can ever escape bias .",
        "puts a tormented human face on the demon that has been such a thorn in the side of the bush administration .",
        "the struggle to report news , or even to decide what constitutes news , pervades the american war against iraq .",
        "we do n't have barry maguire and angry bob dylan , but we do have this -- let 's hope it 's enough .",
        "hits you in the head like a right hook",
        "an invaluable record of the media 's role in a war that some analysts have likened to the ` quagmire ' of vietnam .",
        "noujaim 's eye-opening documentary consistently asks the tough questions , while giving its subjects -lrb- and , implicitly , the audience -rrb- a remarkable forum for discussion .",
        "essential viewing for anyone who cares about the nature of propaganda .",
        "a fascinating document and demands to be seen and discussed by every adult american .",
        "unlike most american media outlets , al-jazeera happens to be one news service that the pentagon has n't been able to `` manage . ''",
        "shows the value of being in the right place at the right time and how doing so can untangle sympathetic and unflattering contradictions to reveal a truth .",
        "the value in MOV is simply that it shows what america never got to see while also serving as a reminder that nobody serves up the real truth , everybody just serves up their truth .",
        "it does a good job of showing just how much media manipulation is taken for granted by those who have the job of massaging the facts and the ones who simply lie back and enjoy it .",
        "this fascinating look at the inner workings of the al jazeera arab news network ca n't help but cause viewers to question everything we 're fed by the media beast .",
        "this engrossing portrait of competing notions of truth is at once a thrilling real-time chronicle of the birth of a free press and a sophisticated philosophical treatise on the nature of objective reality .",
        "enlightening , if structurally relaxed documentary .",
        "we all have our rigidities , and MOV may wake you up a bit .",
        "if you 're interested in keeping an open mind on the still developing iraqi saga , MOV is a first-rate way to encounter more than one point of view .",
        "as a portrait of the media 's own iraq war , this is a memorable , if not fully satisfying , film .",
        "a glimpse of a world where everything is reversed , where our most cherished preconceptions are called into question and reality proves to be a more complex business than we imagined .",
        "a riveting documentary by jehane noujaim that gives a insightful and diverse behind-the-scenes look at the al jazeera news operation during operation iraqi freedom .",
        "is al jazeera perfect ? certainly not , but when you watch how they put together their news , you realize that the best journalism during the war was n't coming from the us .",
        "it 's a worthwhile exercise in bridging the east-west culture gap .",
        "if there are indeed two sides to every story , MOV offers an unparalleled opportunity to observe the other side and then make up our own minds .",
        "MOV should be required viewing for anyone within reach of a tv signal .",
        "for those who are interested in wartime truth , this film reminds us that the casualty has been somewhat reduced .",
        "biased and boring .",
        "... a raw , unblinking examination of how the first draft of history is revised by those who filter it .",
        "a must-see movie .",
        "while it provides some insight into the arab perspective on the war , MOV is a mere peek inside a window that would benefit from being thrown wide open .",
        "without being didactic , the documentary raises important issues about bias and objectivity .",
        "offers us a fierce yet often surprisingly friendly debate about the clashing ways in which the u.s. invasion and takeover of iraq have been portrayed by american and arab journalists , placing matters in context ."
    ],
    "summary": "a fascinating , enlightening behind-the-scenes look at the al jazeera network .",
    "id": "18123"
  },
  {
    "movie": "small_time_crooks",
    "reviews": [
        "funny and nostalgic in a complex way .",
        "the film has plenty of laughs , delivers woody firmly tucked back in his humor saddle .",
        "the film features some of the best comedic acting that you will ever see . period .",
        "MOV is a small-change woody allen film . it 's also the writer-director 's funniest in years .",
        "a slight and competent movie .",
        "an enjoyable and refreshing piece .",
        "as funny as any of his recent comic successes .",
        "more fun than anything woody allen has written and directed since bullets over broadway .",
        "in MOV , woody allen gets back to what he does best .",
        "a lighthearted romp that combines caper high jinks and social satire in an enjoyably satisfying manner .",
        "very funny .",
        "it 's sad to see the deterioration of such a giant of the art form .",
        "MOV , is n't anywhere near as hilarious as i hoped it would be .",
        "a silly , mildly amusing diversion , missing its potential to be a hysterically funny screwball classic .",
        "unexciting acting .",
        "thin , clich\u00e9d comedy of crime and social climbing contains some scattered laughs and whole lot of padding .",
        "it 's familiar stuff , and some of the jokes are thin .",
        "allen fans could find it a depressing experience .",
        "a collection of twitches .",
        "sloppily conceived .",
        "allen 's performance , like the movie , feels less manic than his standard comic persona .",
        "delivers small time laughs .",
        "this is vintage allen , his powers intact after a string of increasingly cranky , creaky films in the last few years .",
        "sweet and affirmative .",
        "i do n't know if MOV would appeal to a regular fan of woody allen 's , but it should delight tracy ullman fans no matter what .",
        "elaine may steals the show .",
        "the talented comedian tracey ullman carries this comedy with her \u00e9lan and spunky contentiousness .",
        "the obviousness of the humour is fine , because the tone is so old-fashioned .",
        "tracey ullman is allen 's best on-screen match since diane keaton in annie hall ; smart , funny , a fully-developed character .",
        "n\u0103o \u00e9 um filme espetacular , como alguns dos trabalhos anteriores de allen , mas \u00e9 bastante superior a diversas bobagens produzidas por hollywood nos \u00faltimos tempos .",
        "not much here to interest to children .",
        "i 'm happy to report that the new film , MOV , is a return to good laughs and good fun .",
        "aching for conceptual wisdom .",
        "there are just enough woody sight gags and one-liners for this film to keep its head above water .",
        "a bit slow , a bit been-done , and the bottom line is that allen in a pair of shorts these days is a little rough on the eyes .",
        "hardly unique .",
        "allen 's first motion picture of the 21st-century , and , no doubt , one of his brightest and sunny in years .",
        "although it has a few nice laughs , the movie never rises above forgettable fluff .",
        "a welcome return to the wacky woody .",
        "everything gels in MOV , thanks largely to the chemistry between woody allen and the remarkable tracey ullman .",
        "acting aside , crooks ultimately succeeds on the strength of a wickedly hilarious script that proves woody still has his funny bone .",
        "a wonderful alternative to the season 's bloated blockbusters .",
        "a pleasantly surprising little treat .",
        "it 's ripe with zingers .",
        "... its slack pace , aided by allen 's insistence on slow , improvisational acting styles , plus its soft center turn the film into an allen also-ran .",
        "it plays more like a second draft than a final product .",
        "MOV is appealing .",
        "while MOV may not be the most successful of -lsb- allen 's -rsb- straight comedies , it 's still a pleasure to watch .",
        "the ensemble cast performs in perfect cadence .",
        "the characters in MOV are smarter , edgier and more original than the dreary crowd in so many new comedies .",
        "what it lacks in weight and depth , it more than compensates for in enjoyment .",
        "a delicious comedy .",
        "the grown-up 's comedy of choice for summer .",
        "allen does n't push the material as far or as hard as he might have .",
        "this hit-and-miss effort is a bit like watching your favorite home-run hitter trying to play out his career on two bad knees .",
        "i wish i could recommend MOV more strongly , but the truth is that it 's a weak -lrb- bordering on inconsequential -rrb- entry into the director 's canon .",
        "more palatable than anything allen has done for a while .",
        "a cheerfully silly caper comedy that mixes in a little of ` my fair lady ' and a lot of ` the honeymooners ' as it breezes along . ... allen and tracey ullman spar and slander each other with an almost maniacal glee .",
        "these people offer no sense that they exist beyond the bits of exposition that allen has written into his screenplay .",
        "a half-baked affair that 's a pastiche of better , more inventive comedies .",
        "it 's very , very lightweight stuff .",
        "ullman and grant are fun to watch , but the real standout performance is elaine may as frenchy 's dim-witted cousin .",
        "a lot of it is enjoyable .",
        "allen 's most likable and funny comedy in quite some time .",
        "MOV , finally , brings allen back to form .",
        "while MOV is certainly enjoyable enough to merit a recommendation , any notions of a full-blown return to the zaniness of sleeper or take the money and run can be dismissed as wishful thinking .",
        "a return to the good old days of woody allen comedy .",
        "MOV stacks up pretty favourably to woody 's cinematic debut .",
        "alert jokes .",
        "allen 's funniest , least sour outing in nearly a decade is a small movie with a tidy payoff .",
        "MOV finds woody allen back in a comfortable comic groove .",
        "an entertaining laugh fest ."
    ],
    "summary": "woody allen rises from his recent slump with MOV . a simple , funny movie , crooks proves allen still has the touch that made his name synonymous with off-beat comedy .",
    "id": "11792"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1071267-arrival",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- sheen -rsb- spends most of the movie in a kind of sweaty apoplexy that makes one worry for his health .",
        "this is not a dumb movie ; in fact , with its heavy reliance upon real science , it 's startlingly credible .",
        "the movie is as smart as `` mission : impossible '' is dumb .",
        "a movie that shoehorns a blunt warning into its silly but entertaining story of a young radio astronomer 's one-man battle against sinister extraterrestrials .",
        "no logic , little character development and a thin story that is supposed to be compensated for by startling effects .",
        "the MOV is part sci-fi action flick , part conspiracy thriller , and all preposterous nonsense .",
        "a hokey summer entertainment that is full of big machinery , satellite dishes du jour , long embarrassing close-ups and gaps in logic through which large ufos could hurtle .",
        "`` the MOV '' is a good 20 minutes too long and heavy with useless scenes in which we learn far too much about sheen 's relationship with his girlfriend .",
        "it 's like `` stakeout '' with a glossier sheen .",
        "the aliens-among-us plot gets a very entertaining and inventive update .",
        "you know a movie 's in trouble when it 's called the MOV and nothing arrives -- the film 's aliens are already here .",
        "what it lacks in sophistication -lrb- everything -rrb- , it partly makes up for in sheer gall .",
        "less an alien invasion movie than a conspiracy film -lrb- it just hapens to turn out that the conspirators are aliens -rrb- .",
        "sheen is working outside of his element , but the energy he puts into his multidimensional character helps keep the story moving .",
        "it 's a strong , lean piece of writing that moves quickly . nothing is wasted , and nothing happens the way you 'd expect .",
        "... the MOV is a stylish and fast-paced thriller .",
        "a good premise , hampered by a weak ending ."
    ],
    "summary": "stylish and inventive , the MOV offers a surprisingly smart spin on the alien invasion genre .",
    "id": "12510"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_trip_to_italy_2014",
    "reviews": [
        "now we know just what to expect from coogan and brydon , although as long as you 're willing to settle in for the ride , that 's not necessarily a bad thing .",
        "underneath the achingly beautiful surface , a sense of opportunities lost and roads not taken often lurks .",
        "at its heart , MOV is more than just a travelogue about food . it 's about friendship and the appetite for experience we all share .",
        "as enjoyable as the first movie was , its follow-up successfully evolves that formula into an equally enjoyable film .",
        "MOV is a near-perfect sequel once again filled with delectable treats , non-stop laughter , and a slew of impressions that almost outshine the gorgeous plates of 5-star italian delicacies .",
        "michael winterbottom and his gifted actors still have n't quite solved the riddle of portraying social disconnection in a manner that 's anything other than sporadically involving .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- everywhere you look , history keeps rearing its inevitable head for coogan or brydon to tickle when they are n't feasting on italian food and wine . this is a vacation you 'll want to go on more than once .",
        "after all their decades of comical sparring , rob brydon finally makes steve coogan crack up on camera",
        "the whole thing is a thin and flimsy travelogue but the banter between the pair makes it better and far funnier than it has any right to be .",
        "i could watch brydon and coogan read the phone book , because they 'd make it funny . in fact , watching them eat and riff is not far removed from reading a phone book ; and it is very , very funny . a total delight from start to finish .",
        "british comedians and dueling partners steve coogan and rob brydon are back in this witty and incisive follow-up to `` the trip . ''",
        "rob brydon surprises in the best way possible and proves to be the x-factor that makes this trip to italy that bit different and more interesting than the first .",
        "it 's difficult to imagine how anyone with even a mild affinity for dry english wit and ennui could be turned off by brydon 's and coogan 's sharp brand of self-aware , self-deprecating banter .",
        "while steve coogan and rob brydon are fun and draw some solid laughs from the limitations of the premise , this particular trip is still baggy and self-indulgent .",
        "MOV is just an assault of laughs ...",
        "there is no denying coogan and brydon 's comedic chemistry ; their impersonations are humorous -lrb- especially their elongated bit about the dark knight rises and tom hardy -rrb- , but that alone can not carry an entire narrative .",
        "one would have hoped for a fresher menu of gags , situations and conversation topics ... a likeable travelogue with some lovely scenery , it 's pleasant time-killing stuff .",
        "but the chief pleasure lies once again in the free-flowing and largely improvised chitchat between rob and steve , little sketches and impersonations , riffs built on the latest fads and fashionable cliches .",
        "the scrumptious combo of good food , beautiful italy and the unbridled wit of steve coogan and rob brydon makes this a compelling affair",
        "it 's still a distinct pleasure watching banter between comedic actors this good .",
        "this hedonistic japery is shot through with middle-aged melancholy and the fear of death .",
        "`` MOV '' does feel kind of like a second helping of pasta - just as tasty as the first , but not quite as necessary .",
        "if it 's your cup of tea , you 're likely to spill it from laughing so hard . somebody send these two on another holiday .",
        "consists entirely of dueling impressions , food porn , and spirited breakdowns of alanis morissette songs . of course i loved it .",
        "an expanded traveling road show of goofy my dinner with andre moments without the pretension of hardcore art-house approach",
        "comedy sequel MOV is almost exactly like its predecessor the trip , and for the most part , that 's a good thing .",
        "a sadder , more penetrating - yet still very funny - work that may linger in the mind longer than the trip .",
        "is it inappropriate to laugh in the presence of a petrified victim of the volcanic eruption at pompeii , even if that ` presence ' is footage on a movie screen ? if you think the answer is ` yes , ' then please avoid ` MOV . '",
        "tagging along with these exaggerated versions of the two stars is just about as enjoyable the second time around .",
        "it 's that melancholy within each man that saves the film from disposability .",
        "as coogan warns brydon early on , `` it feels odd to do something for the second time . '' like all good advice , though , it falls on deaf ears .",
        "yes , these friends play rough and you would n't want to compete at their table , but through winterbottom 's funny and slyly serious film , you can experience their creativity from a seat nearby .",
        "the funniest bits are when the mimicry and the insults converge .",
        "the celebrity mimicry and the shouted jokes still ca n't conceal how stale around the edges the concept is getting .",
        "while this second course may not be as startlingly scrumptious as its predecessor , this dandy reunion still serves up a mighty delicious treat .",
        "neither of the `` trip '' movies is just random comedy bits ; although partly improvised and deliberately episodic , they are actually carefully constructed narrative films with actors and characters .",
        "ah , to be famous or just funny enough for someone to pay for your freewheeling jaunt along the amalfi coast !",
        "the sumptuous views of gorgeous locations and savory foods combine with the improvised dialogue and behavior to give these movies a sensuous sort of spontaneity .",
        "the pair bicker cheekily and needle each other in clever , amusing ways . at their best , they have almost a syncopated rhythm to their comical sparring .",
        "what i find appealing about these films is their sloping , improvisational air , their quality of catching a moment of life on the wing , as when brydon startles coogan with a joke so good he ca n't stop himself from laughing .",
        "the result is delectable , in spite of mr. coogan 's self-conscious misgivings-meta-commentary on the film itself , one imagines-about repeating the trip .",
        "even if getting older can be a drag , at least the meals get much , much better .",
        "MOV 's total lack of necessity has little bearing on its enjoyability .",
        "more very funny impersonations from rob brydon and steve coogan .",
        "if you go in for allusive british humor that builds slowly from dry to uproarious , as executed by two absolute masters of the form , `` MOV '' will work for you , i believe .",
        "as befits its settings , MOV aims higher than its predecessor-maybe too high-and is n't as fresh . i enjoyed it , though .",
        "MOV ends abruptly , but for almost two distinctly pleasurable hours , the film lets audiences be third parties in coogan and brydon 's dinner conversation .",
        "coogan and brydon make terrific companions for us partially because , at least as they appear onscreen , they 're so amusingly incompatible themselves .",
        "as the film moseyed on i wished director michael winterbottom would sharpen his focus a bit and get to the point , any point .",
        "should they go on to explore the dining options of other nations , they 'd be well advised to expand their comic horizons a little bit and leave the phony efforts at drama behind .",
        "in MOV , it feels as if they 're simply doing a routine , and it 's the same shtick we 've already seen .",
        "while rick steves possesses an extensive amount of useful information , he may have some competition if steve coogan and rob brydon ever start compiling travel guides .",
        "a virtual duplication of the original trip experience .",
        "if steve coogan and rob brydon were even 7 percent less amusing , `` MOV '' would have no reason to exist , even with its casually gorgeous scenery and shattering close-ups of seafood pasta fresh out of the kitchen .",
        "`` MOV '' may not quite measure up to `` the godfather , part ii , '' the platinum standard for movie sequels , but it 's very funny , and slightly serious , all the same .",
        "while the conceit of michael winterbottom 's MOV is basically a carbon copy of 2010 's the trip , this follow up is no less winning and is actually more charming than its predecessor .",
        "another often hilarious buddy/food/road trip through some of the most picturesque vistas italy has to offer .",
        "if it 's engaging male banter you crave , it does n't get any better than this .",
        "if you enjoyed the first trip , there is no reason you wo n't enjoy the second . it 's familiar enough with its brand of improvisational humor , but just different enough -lrb- apart from the location -rrb- to stretch out the expiration date .",
        "this is a sequel that , for a change , was worth making .",
        "coogan and brydon are locked into a routine that reliably amuses but , perhaps , one they have mastered too well to examine their own privilege .",
        "a tasty food tour film and a buddy road movie , that registers as a pleasing comedy .",
        "you wish they 'd challenged themselves a bit more with this film , and not gone the `` if it worked once , let 's do it again '' route .",
        "it 's ` second verse , same as the first . ' thank god .",
        "... yields some big laughs , some picturesque scenery and some amusing celebrity impressions , although it 's not as consistently funny or fresh as the prior installment .",
        "counterbalancing these shortcomings , however , is the comic chemistry of coogan and brydon . numerous sterling moments result from their brainy , breezy pairing .",
        "we asked for more , and we got it . but maybe two is enough .",
        "dueling comics and great scenery",
        "here 's hoping winterbottom does n't wait another four years before cooking up a third course .",
        "better than the first perhaps because the cultural references are tied more organically to the emotional state of their characters . or perhaps it 's because `` MOV '' is just funnier , tighter , and more focused .",
        "the leads ' tart comedic rapport remains exquisite as they once again play fictionalised versions of themselves , traveling , eating and riffing for our considerable amusement .",
        "their improvisation has been honed to the point where the jokes land solidly without losing naturalism and the pair of them are clearly enjoying la dolce vita ...",
        "coogan , brydon and winterbottom journey to the mediterranean in this warmly enjoyable continuation of their improvised cultural and culinary adventures .",
        "we know the recipe now-winterbottom never departs from it , giving this installment slightly less kick-but the guys have curious appetites they barely understand .",
        "coogan and brydon are endlessly entertaining . watching these two have a go at each other is a pleasure .",
        "MOV is a hilarious romp through the italian countryside .",
        "plenty enjoyable for fans of the first one , but by the end , it also has the consistency of reheated comfort food .",
        "` MOV ' is probably the most fun i have had at the movies so far this year .",
        "MOV ... presents less a narrative than a series of dinnertime conversations between fictionalized versions of steve coogan and rob brydon .",
        "steve coogan and rob brydon are reinvesting the so-called buddy comedy with the concept that , sometimes , friendship is not enough .",
        "it is when they -lsb- coogan and brydon -rsb- get serious and move away from the buddy road trip that brings `` MOV '' down a notch .",
        "you come for the conversation , and in that , `` MOV '' rarely disappoints .",
        "we get more michael caine impersonations with garbled `` dark knight '' christian bale and tom hardy takes ... while this sounds like recycling , some of it is side splitting , as is quick-witted punning on such things as a woman 's gait and kumquats -lrb- ! -rrb- .",
        "i 'd follow these guys '' ` round the horn '' in a second . maybe that 's where they 'll head next time .",
        "it 's a skimpy premise for a movie , but it works because the two men are just so darned funny .",
        "steve coogan and rob brydon work hard to be funny in this ultimate piece of luxuriant fluff requiring a surfeit of viewer indulgence .",
        "taken on its own terms , though , it 's a pleasant trifle aided immeasurably by a setting that 's just as sumptuous -lrb- if not more so -rrb- than any of the rustic italian meals the stars chow down on .",
        "if `` MOV '' begins shakily , it ends with expansive bliss ...",
        "if you laughed at coogan and brydon 's -lrb- sometimes astonishing -rrb- mimicry in `` the trip , '' you 'll smile again . if not , you probably wo n't go out of your way to find the sequel .",
        "in a summer full of sequels , who would have thought one of the best ones would feature two british comedians having even more conversations over dinner ?",
        "MOV does n't feel entirely new , but there 's comfort in familiarity , too .",
        "the script 's guideposts are tighter , and both men are even more on their game .",
        "where comedy provides the tonic in so many films , it 's the hint of reality that pushes in at the edges and changes the pace here . these guys are funny . but they know their longer trip will continue once the last plate of pasta is empty .",
        "leisurely and sublimely sybaritic , filled with irrepressibly clever repartee",
        "in pompeii they confront their own mortality and brydon does his man in a box bit , never more appropriately .",
        "director michael winterbottom may entice us with five-course gourmet meals and historic hotel rooms formerly inhabited by bogie and garbo , but nothing is as appetizing as watching coogan and brydon serving up their rolicking improvisational skills .",
        "by the time coogan is addressing brydon as yorick in a skull-filled catacomb outside naples , the film 's true subject has been made as crystal clear as the case surrounding a lava-crusted corpse in old pompeii .",
        "... a stale rehash of its demonstrably superior predecessor ...",
        "ever been on a trip with absurdly witty people who constantly one-up each other , to the point that it 's either hilarious or exhausting ?",
        "some second courses are delicious , others an acquired taste . this pasta-filled follow-up to `` the trip '' is a little of both .",
        "sequels are often criticized , and rightfully so , for merely repeating whatever it is that made the first film a success . but `` MOV '' realizes that sometimes there 's nothing wrong with serving up a second helping of a satisfying dish .",
        "with winterbottom 's first-ever sequel , his `` trip '' films now rival linklater 's `` before '' series in charting how a twosome evolves over time . plus , they 're bloody hilarious .",
        "as we watch , the thought keeps returning , over and over : why watch these people ? what 's the point ? film anybody 's trip to italy , and it would be more interesting than this , or at least equally boring .",
        "the movie soon grows tedious ; coogan 's irritation with his traveling partner has diminished significantly , and the laughs along with it .",
        "the caine impressions are still good , as they were in the first film , but some of the others are hard to figure out . and much of the material seems stale .",
        "MOV will rekindle an appreciation for that special friend -lrb- or friends -rrb- with whom you can always be yourself , who knows how to make you laugh , who accepts you without judgment and without fail .",
        "`` MOV '' is like most vacations : a few bumps here and there , but over all too quickly ."
    ],
    "summary": "while perhaps not quite as fresh as coogan and brydon 's original voyage in the trip , MOV still proves a thoroughly agreeable sequel .",
    "id": "771371773"
  },
  {
    "movie": "aberdeen",
    "reviews": [
        "intelligent , moving and often beautifully photographed .",
        "a ferociously observant study of two characters .",
        "a raw , haunting experience .",
        "difficult to watch , but it 's also impossible to take your eyes off the screen .",
        "moland has again directed skarsgard into a new frontier of dramatic acting , and what is probably the most nakedly convincing performance of his career .",
        "a sentimental and painfully mundane european drama .",
        "a little european indie pic that digs down to the roots of its characters , describing people 's lives and relationships in ways that resonate with clarity and heart .",
        "clean and transparent , with no movie director tricks .",
        "i can not think of another film that treats so heatedly the range of emotional possibilities between a young woman and her father .",
        "-lsb- headey 's -rsb- performance not only gives definition and emotional force to a shapeless movie , but it 's the kind of star turn that will have hollywood producers and agents engaged in kickboxing death matches to ink her .",
        "contrived or not , anything that stirs raw emotions as MOV does is worth a viewing .",
        "a gripping film about the tattered ties of familial love that matter even to ferociously wayward and addicted individuals .",
        "moland ... has a fine eye for landscapes , but an even surer touch with actors .",
        "the movie is to be admired for refusing to romanticize alcoholism and for finding , in its bleak story , much humor and emotion .",
        "the acting alone ca n't fill the motivational gaps .",
        "hans petter moland avoids the usual movie cliches of addiction and abuse in his fierce , discomforting portraits ...",
        "a strangely lyrical tale of addiction and family distance .",
        "evokes the long , lonesome noir tableaux of american painter edward hopper .",
        "grips us precisely because its actors are so utterly absorbed in their roles , so unfettered and nakedly expressive .",
        "the material is treated with such brutal honesty and the performances are so strong that it actually makes what should be stale material look fresh .",
        "the near-perfect cast has talent to burn .",
        "a magnificently acted , bold tale of a father-daughter relationship that is hard to shake .",
        "like all family reunions , this one 's difficult to attend -- but worth it .",
        "moland brings to his film a sensitivity to the complexities of evolving relationships .",
        "directed with a fierce honesty by norwegian hans petter moland .",
        "it 's a confusing road-trip flick , but headey 's terrific outing is more than enough to hold the mess together .",
        "skarsgard 's remarkable , drunk or sober .",
        "the people who made the scottish MOV could have saved themselves some trouble if they 'd come to america and watched a couple weeks ' worth of tv movies .",
        "under the guiding hand of co-writer-director hans petter moland , the leads offer beautifully realized performances .",
        "the characters , irritating as they can be at first , grow on you as they grow up .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- frank father-daughter drama .",
        "for all its attempts at bending the rules , MOV still comes off as frustratingly conventional .",
        "an uncompromising family tale , one that 's dark but lyrical and moving in its rendering of the ties that bind even the most dysfunctional families , despite valiant efforts to destroy them .",
        "it 's a twisted , very human ride where the remarkable , effortless acting of both headey and skarsgard is rich with sympathy , heartbreak and morbid humor .",
        "miraculously manages to sidestep easy manipulation .",
        "a raw , harrowing film with a streak of dark , sometimes rowdy humor .",
        "no matter how much insight we eventually gain into tom and kaisa one must ask exactly who would want to gain insight into these people ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the characters are difficult to watch at times , MOV burns with ferocious honesty and strong performances .",
    "id": "20846"
  },
  {
    "movie": "chicago",
    "reviews": [
        "this film adaptation , written by bill condon , is somewhat kinder and gentler than the stage versions that preceded it .",
        "the curtain on `` MOV '' goes up this week , and with it the resurgence of movie musicals ... if anyone else can make one this good .",
        "with her dynamic dancing and singing , catherine zeta-jones emerges as a force of nature in this killer musical .",
        "funny , smart , and with enough energy for two musicals , MOV is one of the best films of 2002 , and one of the best musicals ever .",
        "while MOV boasts plenty of razzle-dazzle , jazz and pizazz , it 's not quite the bedazzling broadway-to - hollywood musical triumph some of us have hoped for all these years .",
        "MOV is n't a great musical , but in an era when the filmed art form has all but died out , a musical that does n't look like a music video is a welcome sight .",
        "... MOV is dazzling entertainment ...",
        "this is a funny , entertaining , scintillating 113 minutes that everyone should enjoy .",
        "spectacular , extravagant , and ` all that jazz ! '",
        "this could jump start movie musicals .",
        "MOV looks better than it sounds",
        "a piece of stagecraft so thrilling -- and spontaneously combustible -- that audiences at the two screenings of the movie i attended kept erupting into applause .",
        "the best thing you can say about MOV is that it 's a great advertisement for the real , live thing .",
        "with its instantly catchy score , imaginative choreography and rat-tat-tat pacing , MOV is as weighty as a bag of cotton candy , and just as addictive .",
        "it 's not just one of the best movies of the year , but one of the best movies in many a year .",
        "dazzling and sugar-sweet , a blast of shallow magnificence that only sex , scandal , and a chorus line of dangerous damsels can deliver .",
        "the picture opens big with ` all that jazz ' and goes out bigger with ` all that i want ' and ` razzle dazzle . ' this is an all-around crowd pleaser .",
        "the screen ` MOV ' is missing the hard , perverse edginess that made the broadway revival so effective ... the edges have been rounded , the ironies softened and replaced with flashy camera work and cutting .",
        "big , bright , brassy and almost dangerous to know , MOV does to sceptics what al capone did to stool pigeons .",
        "marshall depicts flashes of thought and lust for fame with spaghetti straps , sequins , rolled stockings , songs through lush lips , gyrating hips and clever segues , as the act of murder blurs into top-notch movie entertainment .",
        "MOV represents something of an artifact from a dark and dangerous era , reconstructed with lots of zest and little depth .",
        "look , this is a terrific flick replete with dazzling camera-work , dancing and music .",
        "there are a lot of words that could describe this musical , but the best summation would lay within these two : it 's alive .",
        "now , that 's entertainment !",
        "` two hours of chocolate-coated pleasure . '",
        "by the end of MOV , just about everyone in it has razzle-dazzled someone , and so has the movie , which leaves you thrilled at how good it feels to see life , death , and girl power turned , once again , into a cabaret .",
        "fun and entertaining .",
        "this is as breathtaking a spectacle as these eyes have seen in years .",
        "choreographer rob marshall makes his feature debut , toning town the fosse-ness and keeping things snappy .",
        "marshall betrays the dancing by never letting us see it properly .",
        "i really enjoyed MOV during its theatrical run , and now that i 've seen it twice more on dvd , the thing 's fast becoming a personal favorite .",
        "a wildly cynical and sardonic piece , yet hysterical in its own right - about as unlike seven brides for seven brothers as you can get",
        "MOV is every bit as good as advertised .",
        "the energy of the performances and john kander and fred ebb 's enduring score push the musical scenes and the entire film over any hurdle -- yes , even including that misbegotten casting of gere .",
        "MOV does not explore an issue . it just shows us the problem . it 's a pretty song about dry rot . it 's a can-can about cancer .",
        "MOV has been brought to the screen by first-time movie director rob marshall , who has shot it like one of those commercials for broadway musicals , the ones that run on the late news in new york city .",
        "the audience in my theater cheered and hollered after each show stopper .",
        "a technically well made film that glorifies all that is rotten in the human spirit .",
        "MOV does not have the visual pyrotechnics of moulin rouge , but it makes that movie 's storytelling look sluggish .",
        "rob marshall 's film of MOV is n't just the most explosively entertaining movie musical in a couple of decades . it 's going to be the most influential .",
        "rob marshall 's feature film debut is spectacular and sleekly entertaining , given considerable luster by an all-star cast who really can sing and dance .",
        "MOV is a rousing , sultry , scintillating spectacle that mixes adultery and murder with comedy , drama and dance",
        "rousing throwback and up-to-the-minute satire , MOV puts the `` all '' in all that jazz .",
        "a very good bet for those who do n't have the leisure to make it to london for the stage show , and want a reliable , cheaper ticket-price approximation with -lrb- mostly -rrb- proper americans in the cast .",
        "marshall frequently cuts between the songs and the story , a trick which will keep mtv audiences interested . still , he does n't use the intercutting so much that older viewers will complain of headaches - as some did with the sensory overloading `` moulin ro",
        "with few respites , marshall keeps the energy humming , and his edits , unlike those in moulin rouge , are crisp and purposeful without overdoing it .",
        "a sexy film that puts tang in its tango",
        "all the main performances are entertaining and touching - if there 's an unearned confidence in zeta-jones ' shirking shoulders , it 's appropriate to her character . they all deserve credit - though when a real singer like queen latifah has her moment , we un",
        "the trouble is the jazzy vaudeville-like musical numbers are energetic but hardly memorable .",
        "`` you ca n't wait for the next song to blast onto the screen in all its chic , sexy , stylish glory . ''",
        "if you like musicals , you will like MOV , as do i . but i 'm sure that i 'll be wondering just how great it could have been for a long , long time .",
        "`` MOV '' is a near-perfect translation of a stage musical that might have worked even better without richard gere .",
        "zellweger ... channels no one less than marilyn monroe . just watch the word ` booze ' drip from her lips .",
        "it 'll knock ya dead , dollface .",
        "it 's zeta-jones who keeps you watching from start to finish .",
        "big-talent movie musical jazzes up a broadway classic -- and provides renee zellweger a chance to truly shine .",
        "gives everyone something to shout about .",
        "MOV is a stunning show stopper , a seamless integration of toe-tapping tunes , riveting routines in the wicked and wonderful seedy side of the swing city .",
        "good , easygoing , sometimes inspired entertainment .",
        "here , finally , is a movie musical made by people who know what they 're doing .",
        "each musical number builds to such a frantic climax that the audience is nearly moved to applaud the actors on screen .",
        "MOV has so much razzle-dazzle that viewers may end up both raised and dazed . it 's remorselessly inventive , trying anything fast and sassy to keep you watching .",
        "considering that none of the three leads is a pro singer or dancer , MOV is surprisingly a brassy , enjoyable movie musical , with at least a couple of risque production numbers .",
        "oscar-winning satire all about the razzle-dazzle .",
        "as the show has always taught us , the public is fickle and fame is fleeting . but some things turn out to be timeless . MOV looks like one of them .",
        "a shallow work without a true moral framework , it sees the world as a posturing showbusiness arena , a stage for celebrities to briefly strut their stuff and go on their way .",
        "this oscar-laden movie rendition , directed by rob marshall , suffers from the kind of ants-in-your-pants mtv editing that prevents you from simply watching and enjoying the musical numbers .",
        "MOV is sexy , sordid and sensational , the windy city 's biggest hit since the st. valentine 's day massacre .",
        "what makes this more than a film of a great stage show is the way that the action spills seamlessly from the stage sets into real life . magic .",
        "whatever one 's qualms about the material , its execution here is rock solid in ways that keep on impressing , right through to the niftiest end credits sequence in years .",
        "as a reproduction of the stage show , MOV is n't bad , but it makes no persuasive case for itself as a film .",
        "marshall and company have given the old genre a swift , vigorous kick in the pants . MOV is one movie that wo n't let us down ; it 's our kind of town .",
        "you know you have just witnessed a good musical when you leave the theatre or cinema with one , or more , of its songs still ringing in your head ... . but after seeing MOV , i did not whistle or tap my way home .",
        "bawdy , funny and exhilarating , MOV is great entertainment .",
        "MOV may not rank with the classics , but it 's the best traditional movie musical in many a moon .",
        "perhaps someone should have reminded rob marshall that framing , camera angles , and edit points have meaning beyond the provision of eye candy to dissipate potential audience distraction .",
        "in both concept and execution , MOV is the real thing , and may someday be remembered with the very best of its genre .",
        "ren\u00e9e zellweger , catherine zeta-jones and richard gere put so much palpable verve into their high energy performances that one would be scared of wishing them the proverbial , ` break a leg ! ' lest they do .",
        "it 's about time a movie gave us a reason to tap our toes again . here 's to the resurgence of a grand hollywood tradition .",
        "the song and dance numbers are very well staged , even though zellweger and gere are not experienced song and dance people .",
        "after being stuck in years of development , MOV finally arrives on the big screen and the result is spectacular .",
        "this is the sleekest and sexiest movie musical to slither , shake and scintillate on-screen since cabaret .",
        "MOV is no cabaret , but if all you want from your evening 's entertainment is jazz , it 's all that .",
        "fosse would have been pleased by the results .",
        "it 's a delicious movie experience and the best movie musical of the past few decades .",
        "in the rousing and rhythmically spry MOV , marshall delivers a finger-snapping gem that radiates jubilance and promotes its lyrical spirit -- its bounciness and endless energy will have audiences giddy with delight .",
        "when the movie gets it right , it gets it right with pizazz .",
        "when you leave the theater , you 're all jazzed up and ready to go back for another dose of razzle-dazzle .",
        "the song-and-dance numbers are calisthenic but unspectacular , with too much fast cutting , and the tone throughout is harmlessly facetious .",
        "the net effect of the incessant dazzle is depressing .",
        "from the incredible performances to the outstanding songs to all of the technical marvels behind and in front of the camera , there is n't a single weak link to be found .",
        "rob marshall 's screen version of the near-venerable show looks great , in its razzly-dazzly neo-fosse way , and sounds good , especially when renee zellweger 's gorgeous roxie hart is singing her heart out .",
        "despite the hype and an expected bonanza at the box office , the film is actually a disappointment . quite simply , it is edited to death .",
        "it took more than a quarter of a century to bring the 1975 musical MOV to the screen , but it was worth the wait to get it right .",
        "it 's refreshing to see a robust , streamlined adaptation that drips with steamy sex appeal while staying true to the original .",
        "with performers as good as these and the freshness of bill condon 's screenplay and marshall 's direction , there 's really very little wrong with MOV . what it lacks is something intangible -- heat .",
        "just when you think the movie musical has gone the way of the western , along comes rob marshall 's glittery , high-spirited MOV to show that there is astonishing life left in the form after all .",
        "the film has punch , but it never really conveys the delicious , redeeming sense that life can be lived on the hoof .",
        "MOV is a great movie musical .",
        "a delight from start to finish .",
        "a funny , rousing crowd-pleaser .",
        "MOV is my kind of movie musical .",
        "slickly produced and infectiously energetic .",
        "MOV offers much colorful eye candy , including the spectacle of gere in his dancing shoes , hoofing and crooning with the best of them .",
        "director rob marshall went out gunning to make a great one .",
        "renee zellweger is amazing and richard gere brings a life to the screen that he has n't in several years .",
        "rarely has a broadway show been transferred to the screen as inventively and successfully . not only is it one of the 10 best of the year but the participants should be top contenders for oscar gold .",
        "MOV is sophisticated , brash , sardonic , completely joyful in its execution .",
        "this MOV does n't toddle , it swings , it lindy hops , it charlestons the night away , and probably all your woes along with it .",
        "one of the movie events of the year .",
        "the energy of the performances and the enduring score push the musical scenes and the entire film over any hurdle -- yes , even including that misbegotten casting of gere .",
        "MOV is , in many ways , an admirable achievement .",
        "chockfull of so many musical numbers that you might want to sit in the front row so you can kick your feet along to the beat without knocking out the person ahead of you !",
        "from its opening note to its final beat , MOV presents a razzle-dazzle spectacle of song and dance that will make your head spin with its kaleidoscope of cynicism , wit and flash .",
        "sure , there are flaws , but the moments that do things properly see the screen burst with confidence , rhythm , heat and pizzazz .",
        "the film is a kind of ragtime flavored jamfest , laced with noirish nastiness .",
        "where moulin rouge was all cinema trickery and no guts , rob marshall has found a perfect balance of the two . MOV is absolutely visceral .",
        "empty to the core ... it strives to be endearing in the most appalling way possible .",
        "a vigorous and creative musical .",
        "it 's fun , splashy and entertainingly nasty .",
        "it 's part of the basic zeta-jones bio that she can really sing , and , wow , can she .",
        "the fabulous bones of this oft-told tale have been picked over so often that there 's no flesh left on them . but mr. marshall and the screenwriter bill condon get a terrifically sweet concoction out of this fabled skeleton .",
        "marshall has created a glitzy , seductive , high-energy movie that feels more like a filmed play than a play made into a film .",
        "you leave MOV sated -- and elated .",
        "marshall deserves credit for taking what threatened to be a worn-out bit of broadway entertainment and turning it into an evening 's worth of fun .",
        "MOV improves upon the long-running broadway show by kander and ebb in many ways .",
        "what a great way to end a year of movies - on a high note , a low note , and all that jazz !",
        "credit editor martin walsh for doing a bang-up job on many of the numbers to keep our attention shifted away from the staginess while still maintaining the viewability of the very thing we came to see in the first place .",
        "i wondered at times if these people had even seen the show , or if they were just working from the script and sheet music .",
        "intoxicating ! i love love love it . i hope you will too . but you can never say they do n't give you every penny 's worth .",
        "a stylish cast and some clever scripting solutions help MOV make the transition from stage to screen with considerable appeal intact .",
        "delivers the sexy razzle-dazzle that everyone , especially movie musical fans , has been hoping for .",
        "a failure on almost every level .",
        "MOV is , quite simply , one of the two or three best movie musicals i 've ever seen .",
        "renee zellweger and catherine zeta-jones put on quite a show in rob marshall 's dazzling cinematic rethinking of the 1975 kander and ebb musical directed by bob fosse .",
        "if you 're a fan of broadway , this is made for you . if you like this cast , you 'll be delighted by a whole other side of their talents . if you like a high paced , high kicking good time with singing and dancing , do n't stay away .",
        "musicals attempting to emulate the razzle and dazzle of cinema now come full circle to to multiplexes in MOV",
        "a theatrical celebration of pure cinema .",
        "for all its pretensions of ` razzle-dazzle ' , most of ` MOV ' is actually hohum-humdrum .",
        "-lsb- zeta-jones -rsb- makes velma the coal-lump heart of MOV a movie that is as dark as it is danceable .",
        "watch for roxie 's dance with the mirrors , for the courtroom three-ring circus , for billy 's tap dance , and for roxie 's and velma 's big finale in front of a wall of light . for those who have seen `` MOV , '' these scenes are likely burnt into your mind . for",
        "the big screen musical is back . bravo .",
        "i 'd give real money to see the perpetrators of MOV torn apart by dingoes .",
        "leggy zeta-jones is so hot in the ` all that jazz ' number , she 's flammable . and zellweger defines delicious .",
        "this MOV has hugely imaginative and successful casting to its great credit , as well as one terrific score and attitude to spare .",
        "MOV lacks heart , but has a great look and more than enough glitz to go around .",
        "a lazy assemblage of set-pieces that fail to add up to anything much .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- magical piece of musical cinema with unforgettable songs and characters . and something to say as well .",
        "a review from a guy who has n't seen the stage play -- it 's quite fun in its ability to play tongue-in-cheek from beginning to finish . oddly , playfully cynical .",
        "that rare thing : a nutritious hard candy .",
        "if you love the play , or if you 've never seen it , this is an outstanding and entertaining adaptation that i would highly recommend seeing in theaters .",
        "as close a merge as you 're likely to see of the force of living musical with the unique possibility of celluloid",
        "MOV is on one level a tribute to fosse 's genius , without fosse 's own prodigious ego .",
        "every dance becomes about seduction , where backstabbing and betrayals are celebrated , and sex is currency .",
        "zellweger 's part seemed the most challenging , both physically and emotionally , and i think she really nailed it - it 's one of the year 's best performances .",
        "takes off with one mesmerizing song after the next , interspersed between exposition sequences that are mere filler for the main attraction .",
        "gere steals the show .",
        "i have no idea if zellweger and zeta-jones are good dancers , because you never see them dance . you think you do , but what you actually see is a bunch of 1/8th-second clips of them dancing , strung together from countless takes , rapid-fire .",
        "once the musical numbers start , the editing does nearly everything it can to inhibit proper evaluation or appreciation of talents of the performers .",
        "the opening scene is a stunner -- catherine zeta-jones storming through a black alleyway in high heels . it makes you want to applaud her just for walking .",
        "are we meant to be appalled by the way the film 's merry murderesses play the system , or are we merely meant to be entertained and titillated ?",
        "the film 's main characters are despicable , but the movie is so much fun that you find yourself rooting for some of broadway 's shadiest characters .",
        "zeta-jones , livelier and sexier than she 's ever been on screen , and zellweger , who nails down roxie 's brassiness with aplomb , are a scintillating duo .",
        "by the time it ends in a rush of sequins , flashbulbs , and back-stabbing babes , it has said plenty about how show business has infiltrated every corner of society .",
        "if you take the film as a bitterly funny , wild ride of song , dance and cinematic invention , it 's a winner nearly all the way down the line .",
        "fun ... but not the crowning achievement that everyone seems to be making it out to be .",
        "MOV will have you tapping your toes and humming along with its various songs long after you leave the theater .",
        "overall , MOV earns that highest of praises -- i ca n't wait to see it again .",
        "MOV is my kind of town -- and now it 's my kind of movie musical .",
        "MOV becomes less of a literal skewering of how celebrity criminals manipulate a rigged game , and more of a pure fantasy , not meant to be taken seriously .",
        "as sentimental as a plywood casket , MOV has satirical bite and a mean wit that somehow never obscures its characters ' unlikely likability .",
        "it 's a totally unexpected film , and all the more welcome -- a modern reproduction that resurrects the spirit , look and sound of a great era of hollywood professionalism .",
        "more and more i 'm beginning to suspect that what killed the musical was the introduction of 1960s fast-editing styles . what revs up the energy in a thriller or a modern love story does n't function as well during a musical number .",
        "MOV is entertaining in spots but could have been great .",
        "while neither zellweger nor gere have superior singing voices or terpsichorean skills , they try their best and give likable , effective performances . as for the slinky zeta-jones , who can sing and dance , she 's pure hubba-hubba .",
        "while MOV 's huge musical scope starts to wear thin -lrb- and us out -rrb- once the end credits roll , it is still a very accomplished movie achievement .",
        "not only for theater aficionados , MOV is a musical for people who do n't even like musicals , weaving its deliriously dark tale with enough cyanide-laced cynicism to win over folks who would n't know oklahoma ! from oh ! calcutta !",
        "instead of aping the likes of oklahoma , -lsb- marshall -rsb- takes what fosse did in his 1972 adaptation of cabaret and pushes it even further into the realm of originality .",
        "i 'm ready to say MOV is the only movie of a broadway musical i 've seen that 's better than the show it 's based on .",
        "if this film were any smoother , it would be frictionless .",
        "musical numbers are important , but it 's the performances of those singing that helps `` MOV '' achieve greatness .",
        "delicious .",
        "MOV pode at\u0439 ser um filme divertido e cativante -lrb- como \u0439 -rrb- , mas acaba representando um passo que vai na dire\u0437\u0433o contr\u0431ria \u0430 evolu\u0437\u0433o dos musicais .",
        "it 's zeta-jones who emerges as the singing-dancing revelation .",
        "la pel\u043dcula no es s\u0443lo una cadena de n\u044ameros de canto y baile , sino una edici\u0443n soberbia de escenas y recursos de teatro con cuadros y elementos de cine .",
        "MOV glorifies murder , glamorizes sex & death -- in other words it is just right for today 's unsunny times .",
        "` brillante , llena de energ\u043da y coraz\u0443n , MOV es un claro ejemplo de que el g\u0439nero musical no ha muerto y puede ser hecho con inteligencia , p\u0439sele a quien le pese . '",
        "the results are certainly not broadway-caliber performances , that 's not why people go see musicals -lrb- or it should n't be , unless you want to be disappointed -rrb- .",
        "look for it to gather a few accolades in the coming award season .",
        "it 's a great deal of sizzle and very little steak . but what spectacular sizzle it is ! ... in this incarnation its fizz is infectious .",
        "dull and dreary ...",
        "as rousing , robust , and extremely contagious as any film i 've seen this year .",
        "the real star of this movie is the score , as in the songs translate well to film , and it 's really well directed .",
        "ren\u00e9e zellweger , catherine zeta-jones , richard gere , queen latifah and even sad-faced ol' john c. reilly will have you singin ' and dancin ' in the aisles .",
        "the film is more promising as a continuation of a welcome trend than an unqualified success .",
        "perhaps the best movie musical since fosse 's own cabaret , it feels like a movie directed by bob fosse -- which is high praise indeed .",
        "a show-stopping big screen experience that has treacherous energy coursing through its veins .",
        "it 's nice to know that the more perspective we gain on the o.j. simpson murder case , the more commercially viable it becomes as a musical comedy .",
        "it 's not nearly as rousing as the broadway revival -lrb- then again , it 's rare that the cinematic version of a musical comes close to the stage incarnation -rrb- , but , for those unable or unwilling to see a live production , it represents a sparkling replacement .",
        "i do n't think i 've had more fun at a movie theater in a long time . the whole viewing was spent tapping my toes and trying not to sing aloud . heck , i even wanted to clap after each number !!!",
        "when actors who usually play more subtle roles are up there hoofing it and belting out broadway melodies , you ca n't help but feel you 're getting your money 's worth .",
        "the final result makes for adequate entertainment , i suppose , but anyone who has seen MOV on stage will leave the theater feeling they 've watched nothing but a pale imitation of the real deal .",
        "if 2001 's moulin rouge proved that modern audiences would support a large-scale musical , then MOV confirms the genre has got legs -- lots of legs , actually .",
        "in marshall 's virtuoso hands , this movie version of the 1975 bob fosse broadway musical based on the 1942 ginger rogers movie roxie hart based on the 1926 play MOV , the rhinestones shimmer like diamonds and brass glows like solid gold .",
        "MOV is sexy , smoky , cynical , hyper-kinetic and claustrophobic . it just grabs you by the lapels and never lets go .",
        "some great songs , zellweger and zeta-jones sharpening their claws on prison bars and richard gere running around in boxer shorts and a flat cap . two out of three ai n't bad .",
        "it now plays as almost pure parody , more outright comedy than bitter satire",
        "my goodness , queen latifah has a lot to offer and she seemed to have no problem flaunting her natural gifts . she must have a very strong back .",
        "ladies and gentlemen , welcome to chicago-the city that never shuts up .",
        "not since the 1972 cabaret has there been a movie musical this stirring , intelligent and exciting .",
        "a slew of great movies were released this month , but few have been as fun as MOV",
        "the unusual lack of exterior shots suggests a fear on marshall 's part to fully embrace the potential of the cinematic medium .",
        "much more than one of the best movies of the year , MOV is destined to become the most popular screen adaptation of a stage musical since grease .",
        "rob marshall 's style is to make everything relentlessly brassy and fake , and his MOV simply looks like a filmed stage play .",
        "ultimately , in the history of the academy , people may be wondering what all that jazz was about `` MOV '' in 2002 . zellweger 's whiny pouty-lipped poof faced and spindly attempt at playing an ingenue makes her nomination as best actress even more of a an a",
        "the movie is appealing , thanks to the cleverness of the kander-ebb songs and the enthusiasm of the performances , but it lacks any urgency or erotic spark .",
        "big , brassy fun .",
        "MOV is , even for the most disavowed theatre enthusiasts , a terrifically entertaining film based on a terrifically entertaining stage musical , that exists solipsistically as an entity for entertainment ...",
        "MOV is hyperactive , but instead of throwing everything and seeing what sticks , it intoxicates you like a glitzy , neon narcotic .",
        "extremely enjoyable , although it says it all about the 2003 oscars that this was a winner .",
        "MOV may or may not be a movie for the ages , only time will tell , but its theme of instant celebrity is topical and its music and acting are entertaining for the nonce .",
        "come on , give me a break . who wins a globe for having passed basic dance 101 ? MOV is a decent film , a real toe-tapper directed with much flair and performed with competence - but only competence .",
        "a big , splashy , brassy confection wrapped up in a bow with enough bugle beads and sequins to circle the globe twice and finish with a flourish .",
        "for sheer , audacious musical entertainment it tops last year 's moulin rouge , and ranks among the greatest adapted broadway shows ever .",
        "a magical musical masterpiece !",
        "structured like `` cabaret , '' with musical numbers commenting upon the action and establishing character motivations , but where that musical had sweeping scope and rich characterization , `` MOV 's '' numbers have but a simple story peopled with shallow , unsym",
        "the most vibrant movie musical since ` oklahoma . ' that 's ` MOV . '",
        "director rob marshall has taken the spirit of the broadway show , opened it up and delivered nearly two hours of wonderful song , dance , choreography and drama . this is the best movie musical in years .",
        "the usually quiet zellweger is the revelation : like her character , the actress seems happily amazed to find herself crossing a polished dance floor , sheathed in silk and diamonds , having the naughty , self-glorifying time of her life .",
        "zellweger and jones are a joy to watch -lrb- and both can really sing -rrb- , but as each musical number tries to top the previous one , it gets a little redundant .",
        "zellweger has gone about the business of making her roxie huggable -- which is as exhausting for us as it is for her .",
        "eminently watchable and mostly enjoyable .",
        "a fluffy , naughty , cynical , and most of all - musical - good time .",
        "the accolades currently pouring in for this fosse-derived piece of claptrap only prove that american musical theater is dead as a doornail .",
        "though we might not normally think of zellweger or zeta-jones as musical talents , both are sensational .",
        "a lusciously raunchy and defiantly un-p.c . film that 's both movie-movie and theater-spectacle at the same time .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- exhilarating musical that does n't put a foot wrong .",
        "the film is bright and flashy in all the right ways .",
        "zellweger and zeta-jones provide a perfect contrast -- the former a naive child-woman who wants only to see her name in lights , the latter a been-around-the-block cynic fighting for survival .",
        "this cinematic version of a theatrical experience should find favor in any court in the land .",
        "it prances . it struts . it kicks up its heels . it bumps and grinds and gyrates and works up a sweat and has a cigarette afterwards .",
        "MOV is everything a musical is supposed to be , with good songs sung by people who sing well , and with lots of sexy dances featuring women who are gorgeous and men who do n't get in the way .",
        "a great movie musical ."
    ],
    "summary": "a rousing and energetic adaptation of the broadway musical , MOV succeeds on the level pure spectacle , but provides a surprising level of depth and humor as well .",
    "id": "10061"
  },
  {
    "movie": "into_great_silence",
    "reviews": [
        "this wondrously meditative documentary is an artistic portrait depicting solitude . the fact that there is no narration , no dialogue to speak of is remarkable in itself .",
        "the only place the camera does n't go is the brewery . that 's where the monks bottle their world famous chartreuse liqueur , which sustains them financially .",
        "for two hours and 42 minutes , MOV offers painterly images of an existence that is , almost literally , too reverent for words .",
        "something to behold .",
        "despite his restrictions , groning finds light and shade , contrasting the natural - more chaotic world - with the regimented life within the cloister .",
        "by the final third of the documentary , we evolve to a state of envy - envious at their resolute commitment and their utter faith - and even the most cynical atheist might find himself convinced that if anyone will find god , it is these men .",
        "the silence before bach : illuminates a complexity of ideas , including the passive reflection prior to creative conception and organic to musical formulation and the space between sounds , that fascinate the filmmaker , both musically and cinematically .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- gr\u00f6ning creates a trance-like rhythm of visual and aural patterns , ranging from the repetition of duties and behaviors to biblical quotations .",
        "i have never before experienced a greater example of utterly transcendent filmmaking .",
        "this silence is truly golden .",
        "gr\u00f6ning shows us , instead of telling us , what this life entails . through this organic approach , MOV allows the audience to experience , at least for a few hours , the same enviable sense of peace these men carry with them .",
        "their silence is full to the brim with incidental sound that functions as both score and narration in this hyper-empathic film .",
        "MOV moves into the realm of humble observation . gr\u00f6ning traces the passing of the seasons with beauty shots of god 's creations , from snow drifts and rain puddles to flower petals and kitten whiskers .",
        "a non-verbal contemplation of time in itself and of man 's place in that dimension , ` MOV ' is striking visually but a trial for viewers .",
        "already easily ranks as one of the great cinematic documents of our time .",
        "navigates to a state of both enlivened permanence and vibrant grace .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- groning has made a startlingly beautiful , virtually silent three-hour documentary about monastic life that appeals primarily to the senses , and has really very little to do with religious experience .",
        "the achievement of MOV is the way it captures the slow , delicate rhythm of the carthusian monks .",
        "a rapturous , absorbing experience -- it has no voice-over , no back story or history , no archival footage and no talking heads -- but only if you can surrender yourself to it .",
        "a mesmerizing mood piece which steeps the viewer in the humbling stillness of monastic life , thereby inducing reflection upon one 's own relation to god versus the trappings of technology and the rampant materialism of modern society .",
        "it sounds more like an endurance test than entertainment , yet this one-of-a-kind experience proves surprisingly immersive .",
        "it 's not hard to appreciate the film 's gentle pace , mesmerizing imagery and subtle but rich panoply of sounds , as well as its insights about the human drive to lose the trappings of the world and assume a godlier disposition .",
        "an exquisite meditative journey inside a carthusian monastery where silence is practiced as a way of honoring the mystery and the majesty of god .",
        "a 162-minute journey into a cloistered world of ritualistic repetition , always with the promise of revelation and transcendence .",
        "gr\u00f6ning 's extraordinary new documentary ... beautifully bucks the trend of so many recent documentaries .",
        "a challenging but worth-it experience for more reasons than one can actually speak -lrb- or write -rrb- in words . it 's a documentary to be watched over time , with a carthusian level of contemplation .",
        "watching MOV is like running a marathon or reading the dictionary : worthwhile , but you 're glad to be done with it .",
        "MOV is a film of great spiritual intensity and haunting minimalism that enlarges your concepts of movies and of life .",
        "have i got a movie for you . MOV is a two-hour-and-40-minute documentary about monks , and it is one of the transporting film experiences of this or any other year .",
        "the silence captured in this documentary may be the most eloquent you 'll ever hear .",
        "on a philosophical level , MOV emphasizes the virtues of the ascetic life , returning again and again to the idea of giving away all possessions in order to become a true disciple .",
        "at nearly three hours , this overlong and repetitive film is not for everyone , but patient viewers will find their time well-invested .",
        "-lsb- some -rsb- viewers are likely to consider this nearly three-hour , nearly soundless documentary as a chance to catch up on their sleep .",
        "as we vicariously participate in their daily rituals , we find ourselves at the ground level of spiritual worship . it 's hard to recall a similar documentary that brings viewers so palpably close to that sacred experience .",
        "the movie captures the feeling of silence , of timelessness , of contemplation , of spiritual discipline , of communion with god and the rejection of the material world .",
        "there are definitely moments of poetry and sweetness , and it is a notable achievement , years in the making .",
        "though there are dozens of images here that you might want as a computer-screen saver , MOV does not add up to a valuable or engrossing documentary .",
        "what seems to happen when you watch a movie in near total silence is that you become almost sensory-starved -- a meditative state by definition , i suppose .",
        "pure cinema at its purest and most exalted ... a transcendent meditation on the human pursuit of meaning , on man as a religious and social creature ; on the rhythm of work and prayer , day and night , winter and spring .",
        "the film 's pacing and its meditative , almost hypnotic quality are completely in fulfillment of -lsb- director -rsb- gr\u00f6ning 's intentions , not at all a failure to engage . silence wo n't engage everyone , but it achieves its purpose .",
        "more than any film outside bresson , this non-judgemental document allows us to feel the spirituality of the ecstatic privations guiding their journey . a christmas gift of time and contemplation .",
        "simply put , the film goes on much too long . there 's no real shaping of the story , no real structure to the documentary . what on paper sounds like it could be a fascinating prospect in execution turns out to be something of a snooze .",
        "a sanctuary of silence , contemplation , respect and inquiry into a quickly vanishing tradition that helped build the world we live in . and it only requires 164 minutes -- hardly a lifetime .",
        "charming documentary on monastic existence .",
        "viewing MOV is meant to mimic the experience of living with the monks .",
        "such a poetic essay on the slowed-down rhythms of life , that its quiet pleasures carry the viewer along at a pace commensurate with the monks ' own unhurried sense of time .",
        "after an hour or so , you can appreciate gr\u00f6ning 's meditative pacing - but by the end of the second hour , contemplation may be overwhelmed by an itch for a good car chase .",
        "at once eerie , picaresque , evocative , and utterly alien to the reality most viewers inhabit , MOV is a daring and breathtakingly constructed documentary dream .",
        "if you can slow your personal pace down sufficiently to spend 162 minutes with these monks , your life might be changed .",
        "a wonderfully quiet , serene portrait of carthusian life edited to reflect the rhythm of the monastic regimen .",
        "this 2005 feature is demanding to say the least , but its pulse-slowing rhythms leave a real sense of peace .",
        "more visual meditation than documentary",
        "makes you wish -lsb- director groening -rsb- would have kept the film to about 90 or 100 minutes . a little time spent in the monastery is fine , but nearly three hours is an endurance test .",
        "a transcendental piece of filmmaking .",
        "MOV is one of those films -- martin scorsese 's kundun is another example -- wherein the spiritual aspiration of the filmmaker informs , and even exalts , the film itself .",
        "exquisitely boring .",
        "groning then moved into the isolated , centuries-old monastery and for six months , minus crew or artificial light , recorded the monks ' daily routine . the result is the seductive documentary MOV .",
        "an old , blind monk describes very simply the joy of giving oneself over to god . gr\u00f6ning finds him in his filmstock ...",
        "moving , impressionistic , and worth slowing down for .",
        "as a place to enter and meditate , MOV is imminently worthy , but as a documentary , it does n't do enough to probe the meaning of the quotation gr\u00f6ning returns to repeatedly : `` oh lord , you have seduced me , and i was seduced . ''",
        "the film 's `` great silence '' is , like much of monastic life , an ascetic ideal to be pursued , but never attained .",
        "though it likely will not persuade people to join the ranks , experiencing life behind the walls has an undeniable effect . we 've been allowed a glimpse of eternity . and who would not be changed by that ?"
    ],
    "summary": "a meditative , deliberately paced doc capable of absorbing patient viewers into a whole different world .",
    "id": "381420887"
  },
  {
    "movie": "texas_chainsaw_massacre",
    "reviews": [
        "all the bad-rehash mojo from friday the 13th to the blair witch project has infected scott kosar 's script .",
        "it 's horrible and explicitly violent , but never authentically scary .",
        "another pointless remake , and it turns a horrific movie into generic slush .",
        "-lsb- m -rsb- ay be the most literal example in movie history of squeezing blood from a stone .",
        "gruesomeness and shock editing are different things from suspense ... the MOV offers plenty of the first two but little of the latter .",
        "al\u00e9m n\u0103o gerar tens\u0103o alguma no espectador , ainda torna-se enfadonho a partir de sua metade .",
        "a little stylised , but still a genuinely creepy tale worth watching .",
        "it adheres to the hollywood formula for horror remakes : twice the gore , half the scares .",
        "the biggest question for me is ` why ? '",
        "the best one can say is that his version is not slavishly in thrall to hooper 's : boring , fright-free and pointless , maybe , but not craven .",
        "for the new generation of slasher fan , the remake is a true gross-out with plenty of satisfying frights . for the rest of us , it 's one more chapter in a neverending story .",
        "a contemptible film : vile , ugly and brutal .",
        "what 's scarier then a faceless chainsaw wielding psycho ? right ! a redneck inbred faceless chainsaw-wielding psycho !",
        "the original movie has been ripped off so many times over 29 years that a genuine remake comes off as a copy of the copies .",
        "this is easily the most gruesome , most pointless , episode of scooby doo ever .",
        "exists to scare teenagers the old-fashioned way and generate sequels . in that , it will probably succeed , as it 's catering to a less-than - discriminating crowd .",
        "i do n't know if nispel and scott kosar , who make their feature film debuts here , are the worst director and writer in the world , though they might well represent the united states if anyone holds a competition .",
        "a lame re-do of the 1974 cult classic that lacks not only the gritty and grim ` charm ' of the first film , but also features little in the way of shocks , thrills or chills .",
        "a well-oiled suspense machine .",
        "... the film never improves upon hooper 's vision , so why bother ?",
        "the original wanted to scare you . this one just wants to separate you from your money .",
        "rent the original .",
        "reminds us what the `` slasher flick '' genre is all about and why we used to love it so much",
        "the blood and other body parts are plentiful , and some special-effects shots -lrb- like a pull-back through a woman 's freshly cored skull -rrb- are beyond gratuitous .",
        "all about style and jessica biel in a wet t-shirt ... what 's wrong with that ? not much .",
        "marcus nispel 's modern take ramps up the gore , eliminates the subtext and delivers a run-of-the-mill modern slasher movie that is n't even scary , much less unsettling .",
        "here 's a slice of advice : go to the video store and rent the original .",
        "you 'll have to overcome resentment towards this unnecessary remake before you can be properly terrorised but , on its own terms , it plays well .",
        "even a paint-by-numbers slasher is a novelty in this decade .",
        "this poor mediocre remake brings nothing and adds nothing to an already classic film ...",
        "hard to do worse than this extremely gory mess .",
        "it 's r. lee ermey of full metal jacket fame who deserves most of the credit for this remake earning its mutilated thumbs-up .",
        "just needlessly ugly and unpleasant , not to mention hollywoodized down to its muddy shoes .",
        "inevitably , given a bigger budget , it lacks the cheap , raw quality of the earlier film that , along with george romero 's outfit in pennsylvania , showed you could make profitable exploitation shockers on an independent basis far from hollywood .",
        "` inspired by a true story ' presumably adds to the sordid thrills ; maybe we should look forward to entertainments about nazis torturing children .",
        "an initially promising , but quickly disappointing retread of tobe hooper and kim henkel 's hugely influential horror classic .",
        "right up there with the `` faces of death '' series in the punch of nausea it likely will generate in some viewers .",
        "rarely do re-makes ever need to be done , and rarely are they ever any good . this one is better !",
        "how many times do we need to see the story of low-rent texas cannibals cutting up innocent teens ?",
        "there 's a simple philosophy behind a movie like this : add more squishing , add more screaming , and it 'll be better . or at least it 'll make more money .",
        "has that rare quality of not thinking too much of itself but knowing exactly what it is capable of .",
        "the original was at least fresh meat .",
        "the makers of this new version of tobe hooper 's 1974 drive-in classic may revere the original , but they display no understanding of anything that 's good about it .",
        "for dedicated admirers of the original , this version is just another rehash of the classic , but for new-comers or those who are looking for a good , old-fashioned scare , then there is plenty of meat on this table .",
        "... although the story 's high on gore and low on almost everything else , leatherface still inspires a hell of a lot more fear than freddy or jason .",
        "bloody is n't the same thing as scary . it 's got the atmosphere and the tone to a t. lay off the abuse , and you 've got yourself a movie .",
        "it 's a gory , stylish , and occasionally scary push-button factory of shocks and shrieks remarkably better than anyone had the right to expect .",
        "biel rises above the rest of the cast , as a compelling protagonist in a role that mostly requires her to scream and run around in a tight tank top .",
        "perhaps it 's my fault that i 'm unwilling to accept this new type of horror movie , and this review is evidence of my stubbornness .",
        "updated in sleek , visually intoxicating , but rather meaningless fashion .",
        "given the opportunity to work with such classic material , all the director manages to do with it is to turn the whole movie into a shallow calling card for his visual skills .",
        "a feeble retelling that guts the integrity of the original and wears its own cynicism like a ragged mask .",
        "the remake is not obscene because it 's disgusting ; it 's obscene because it 's carefully structured to be absolutely devoid of meaning .",
        "my predominant thought was that we need less talking and more chainsawing .",
        "it might be dumbed down when compared to its predecessor , but it gains an immeasurable amount of visceral impact as a result .",
        "while the original gave us a snuff film on the origins of violence , the only significant contribution of the remake is a chance for r. lee ermey to act crazy .",
        "one of the best remakes i 've seen .",
        "by the time it comes back to its bracketing device of police crime scene footage , niespel , bay and kosar 's movie has very much wasted its promising start and descended into a pointless exercise .",
        "grossly lacking in the social/political subtext of the original , but surprisingly effective on a sheer horror scale .",
        "if i had n't already seen the original film , and was n't desensitized from a lifelong horror addiction , i think i might have been frightened by some of it .",
        "mostly this is just another lame monster-in-the-backwoods movie that makes us flinch because of the sheer gruesomeness of what 's on screen",
        "not only is this useless `` revision '' ignorant of history , it panders to its modern audience with look-ma visual brouhaha .",
        "redoes the original by making a weird mesh of old and new .",
        "it is , first and last , a hardcore genre movie . the teens are hot , horny and high . the massacr-teers are grotesque , angry and out for blood . the air hangs heavy with death . and you 're never quite sure what 's coming next .",
        "... a bloody good time of a b-movie .",
        "movies of this genre are a refuge for that variety of no-name young actors who confuse hanging on a meat hook with career momentum .",
        "let 's get this `` based on a true story '' thing straight , once and for all .",
        "ah , leatherface ... where has your menace gone ?",
        "while it ca n't really compare to tobe hooper 's brilliant original , this michael bay produced remake is surprisingly decent .",
        "being trapped in the theatre with this movie is almost as bad as being trapped in the hewitt house - you come out shell-shocked .",
        "anyone who calls him/herself a horror fan should check it out . the squeamish should walk right past this one .",
        "sheer simplicity of the idea gets overwhelmed by , of all things , production values .",
        "not without memorable visuals , a handful of macabre , original ideas and b-movie jumps , but after awhile , the gore and the game plan -lrb- run , chase , maim , repeat -rrb- cease to be campy and grow oppressive .",
        "consider yourself warned .",
        "an effectively scary slasher film .",
        "there are so many jump-out - of-your-seat surprises that it 's bound to be embarrassing for a number of moviegoers .",
        "replaces horror with gore , social commentary with carny freaks and black humor with r. lee ermy",
        "completely watchable , but brings virtually nothing new to the horror/gore table .",
        "drowns in red rivers of excess .",
        "it 's so caught up in concept and layout that it frequently forgets to push the jolt buttons .",
        "a remake that turns every kill into an opportunity for overkill .",
        "i would like to officially start a campaign to nominate jessica biel 's white tanktop as best supporting actress in a movie this year .",
        "hacks away everything different and inventive tobe hooper 's original film did for the horror genre .",
        "go you skeptics and be shocked all over again . this remake does not take a thing away from the original . it 's a movie worthy of the name , the MOV .",
        "about a threatening as a nine inch nails music video .",
        "though not bad looking , the look here conveys nothing like the simultaneously open-air and claustrophobic beauty of its predecessor .",
        "those upset about being shortchanged in the bathful-of-blood-bucket-of-giblets department can rejoice , since whatever the new chainsaw lacks in the organs-a-poppin ' sweepstakes , it makes up for in sadism .",
        "a barfola , it is happiest when the audience is the most nauseated .",
        "extremely effective , but because we still have the original it has no reason to exist ...",
        "while it 's far from bad , it also falls far short of the icy frissons produced by the original .",
        "it 's doubtful that the new MOV will attain the cult status of the original , but as remakes go , this is a solid piece of work .",
        "basically , if you like gory , scary slasher-flicks , then this delivers in spades .",
        "an overproduced , video-director remake , slick and grue-marinated and loud as a sonic boom .",
        "most resembles not tobe hooper 's 1974 masterpiece , but james cameron 's 1986 masterpiece , aliens .",
        "it took the MOV about 15 minutes before all my anticipation was completely stripped away and replaced with utter boredom .",
        "iconic horror film gets a modernized remake that 's as well done as it is blood-soaked .",
        "a lot more violent and a tad less creepy than the 1974 original , the much-changed remake delivers enough gory , belligerent mayhem to keep horror fans screaming .",
        "this bloody , exploitative mess is the cinematic equivalent of a dumpster fire -- stinky but insignificant .",
        "all we really get is a chainsaw that sputters before it splatters , leaving the sleepy audience anxious to saw logs .",
        "the remake moves faster and sounds louder , but comes off as callous rather than creepy .",
        "rather than exhilaration , this bilious film offers only entrapment and despair . it 's about as much fun as sitting in on an autopsy .",
        "she screams . he chases . she runs . we yawn .",
        "one gets the feeling the movie is little more than product meant to entice the unsuspecting -- neither new nor improved , merely the same wine in a different bottle .",
        "remakes are invariably a letdown ; this one , at least , does n't slip too far .",
        "while the remake is a faithful up to a point ... there is still plenty of fun for those of us who 've practically memorized every stitch in leatherface 's mask .",
        "if this sort of thing is to your taste , it 's a better-than-average example ; but it will never achieve the cult status of hooper 's grotesque , unforgettable version .",
        "... people who do n't like scary movies are really going to hate this one .",
        "as for nispel 's polished but run-of-the-mill hedonistic remake of chainsaw , this blood-stained offering is about as fun and adventurous as counting roadkill along a dark country pathway .",
        "the first remake of the classic horror thriller that matches the intensity of the original .",
        "too many production values get in the way here . shock-horror movies should n't have sizable budgets and familiar faces in the cast .",
        "has the confidence and capability to wriggle under your skin and freak you out for 98 minutes , if not torment your dreams in the dark of night .",
        "... a curious form of cinematic matricide worthy of kabuki drama is being committed here - the offspring is rising up to disembowel its celluloid parent , visiting cruel punishment on tobe hooper for the unforeseeable sins that have sprung from the genre h",
        "all in all , massacre is proud to be nothing more than it intends to be , namely a straightforward , non-moralizing and unrepentant horror flick .",
        "all of those outraged holier-than-thou reviews -lrb- `` revolting ! '' `` a waste of time ! '' -rrb- that wrongly came out about the original in 1974 could be correctly applied to this new version .",
        "this updated version strikes a glaringly inferior note from beginning to end ... however , judging it on its own merits exposes it to be a pretty good , stylishly crafted slasher flick .",
        "the new movie is n't bad -- not bad at all -- it 's just not very texas chainsaw massacre-ish .",
        "it is its own nightmare -- recycling the past in a frightful present .",
        "so creepily obsessed with the specifics of torture and pain that it 's not much fun .",
        "the new massacre lowers the bar much the way the original ` dead teenager ' horror flick did way back in 1974 , and makes a mockery of that industry self-policing rubber stamp known as the ratings board .",
        "merely -lrb- and mildly -rrb- reshuffling the oft-imitated elements of tobe hooper 's teens-vs . - hillbillies psychodrama .",
        "you realize how hard this is on me , to have to tell you what a superb job director marcus nispel has done re-creating , yet also revising , 1974 's grisly , gristly , protein-centric masterpiece .",
        "weakens , dilutes , disinfects and otherwise undermines the legacy of tobe hooper 's 1974 original .",
        "next to this redundant , pointless and witless retread , the classic status of tobe hooper 's original version is officially beyond dispute .",
        "so utterly unimaginative it does n't even count as hommage ; it 's just a smudgy copy of a still chilling original .",
        "mainly it 's a vapid , vicious thrill ride that washes away immediately .",
        "really nothing more than clever , exploitative marketing . but , taken alone , it 's a reasonably satisfying diversion .",
        "highlight : biel in a meat locker . a very chilly meat locker . lowlight : pretty much everything else .",
        "unlike movies such as seven , there is n't enough style in the new the MOV to justify the bloodbath , and it 's riddled with too much been-there-done-that to endure as a classic .",
        "this particular reconceptualization actually does an impressive job of capturing the nasty dread of the original .",
        "it 's just as guilty as blair witch 2 for smothering bare-bones fright with ladles of gore .",
        "there 's nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking here , but the film delivers with enough consistency to warrant a qualified recommendation for those seeking a few extra scares at this time of the year .",
        "you 'll be frightened , at least a few times . but you 'll also be bored with these uninspiring young folks .",
        "while the original MOV was genuinely creepy , this one is simply explicit .",
        "a scary and nauseating film , which is precisely what it set out to be and that 's what makes it such a cut above the rest .",
        "offers full , living meaning to the word ` gratuitous ' as it applies to film violence and is an exercise in being grossed out .",
        "gruesome enough ; what it lacks is a distinctive revolting personality of its own .",
        "for those who 've seen the original , no surprises will be unearthed other than an altered story -lrb- not for the better -rrb- and more gore .",
        "does convey the sense of being caught in a nightmare . a stupid person 's nightmare .",
        "a splatterfest remake that relentlessly assaults the senses and mind with no discernable redeeming social value .",
        "just as humorless as the original , but it 's also slicker , glossier and resoundingly artificial .",
        "it 's as if they did n't know whether to do a faithful remake or a modernist departure , and the result is a dissatisfying middle ground .",
        "efforts to expand the envelope of grotesquery make the film repulsive and suspenseless , and it sorely misses original director tobe hooper 's grisly , wily sense of humor .",
        "junky and disposable but fast most of the time .",
        "this is n't some lark crafted to make you jump out of your seat and then start laughing . you do n't dare laugh . this is the real thing .",
        "if you 're into this stuff , it 's a fun , scary time .",
        "it is nearly as tense and nasty as the original and , to be fair , features far better acting , most notably by jessica biel , who is compelling even when she is n't about to burst out of her wet t-shirt .",
        "that it escaped the straight-to-video bin suggests that hollywood 's contempt for today 's youth audience has reached a new level .",
        "a bold , boisterous , bloody good time - and any old-school horror freak able to get over the `` how dare they ?!? '' attitude should absolutely find a lot to enjoy here ."
    ],
    "summary": "an unnecessary remake that 's more gory and less scary than the original .",
    "id": "13328"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cinderella_2013",
    "reviews": [
        "if it were n't for the imaginative and eye-catching costumes by three-time oscar winner sandy powell , MOV could be mistaken for a typical disney channel special .",
        "this `` MOV '' wo n't make anyone forget the 1950 classic ... but it works as a frothy , fun retelling , entertaining on its own merits .",
        "this movie is proof that sometimes the best way to play it is straight .",
        "possibly the best adaptation of the classical fairy tale yet .",
        "beautifully directed by kenneth branagh , every fame sparkles with an opulent vibrancy that perfectly captures the faerie tale element .",
        "the new film ... is nothing if not a tribute to old-fashioned virtues , of care and craft and modesty , of simple stories well told .",
        "it might be easy to deride disney for once again playing the MOV card , especially so soon after the meta-musical into the woods . but let 's be thankful the people commissioned to retell the fairy tale did n't treat it as a moldy relic .",
        "the story is retrograde malarkey , but branagh infuses it with majesty and delivers a spectacle with flourish .",
        "helena bonham carter is great dotty fun as fairy godmother .",
        "it 's almost too easy to make a parody of MOV . what 's tough is to do is create a film this earnest and this lovely -- everything from the performances to the set design to the costumes -- that will play to the cynics of 2015 .",
        "such a beautiful film , walt disney himself would be proud of his namesake company for making it .",
        "there are handsome palaces and forests and computer animated renderings of squeaking mice and geese turning into MOV 's party entourage . but the real reason to see it is the humans .",
        "kenneth branagh 's `` MOV '' does something extraordinarily rare among fairy-tale adaptations : it leaves out nothing we want and adds nothing we do n't .",
        "steeped in a dazzling array of confectionary colors and sparkling magical whimsy that compares beautifully to the 1950 animated classic , MOV makes a strong case to be first in our thoughts .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't just a re-enactment of the original film but an enrichment . for disney fans , it could be another treasure worth cherishing .",
        "a gorgeous re-imagining , bringing to life the specific beauty and charm of the fairy tale . but it 's also rather hollow , doing little to add its own spin .",
        "such a gallant anachronism ... that it offers , without ever raising its voice , a ringing cross-examination of our whole era of dark , gritty fairy-tale revisionism .",
        "without resorting to post-wicked good-girl/bad-girl reversals in the manner of maleficent and -lrb- dare i say it ? -rrb- frozen , branagh and weitz see the fairy tale afresh .",
        "branagh has modernized the spirit of MOV , while staying true to its roots with a lovely french countryside meets mini-versailles setting , lush romantic lighting and costumes , and most important , a goodhearted core .",
        "MOV is a balmy but beautiful take on both the 1950 cartoon and the original charles perrault fairy tale .",
        "branagh makes this familiar tale feel so fresh , even though you know exactly where it 's going , staging it with the full-scale splendor of a period drama rather than a bedtime story .",
        "no matter how cynical you might be -- hardened by the current climate of remakes , reboots and incessant sequels -- it 's impossible to avoid getting caught up in the magic of a little bippidy-boppidy-boo .",
        "there are many highlights , but none more memorable than when the clock strikes midnight ... it 's a bumpy ride for the radiant ella -lrb- lily james -rrb- ... as the pumpkin bursts - just like her dreams",
        "much magic at play in this `` MOV . ''",
        "if the film belongs to anyone , however , it is cate blanchett as the wicked stepmother , looking as though she could lacerate someone with her cheekbones .",
        "disney 's live action MOV benefits from ken branagh 's kudos in being able to attract the kind of cast and achieving the kind of tone such a well known and loved fairy tale needs",
        "the studio has managed to do the impossible , and portray a version of the classic fairy tale heroine who 's even more of an insipid doormat that the one in its 1950 animated classic .",
        "branagh pulls off the same sort of trick he did with thor : he creates a visually overwhelming , heavily gilded world , and then keeps the focus on the characters within it .",
        "i wan na go to disneyland ! i wan na go to disneyland right now !",
        "it looks terrific . it 's also faithful to a fault -- and that 's exactly the problem , since it makes it on the dull , unadventurous side .",
        "it 's a lavish , handsomely staged production , but it 's also dramatically inert , a pretty diorama led by a pair of good-looking but forgettable tv actors .",
        "sweeping , intimate and whimsical , `` MOV '' does the disney brand proud with a faithful yet expansive retelling that never misplaces its heart in exchange for shallow extravagance . this is one happily ever after worth believing .",
        "cate blanchett is perfectly marvelous . nothing steals a scene from her , except sandy powell 's costumes and dante ferretti 's production design , which are all kinds of wonderful .",
        "a charming and wonderfully-enchanting film . director kenneth branagh proves that he 's more than up to the task of bringing this delightful story to the big screen in a new and unique way .",
        "disney 's live-action version of the familiar fairytale boasts a glittery cast , but the overwhelming production design eats its own scenery .",
        "branagh and company are probably making this version not just for us jaded adults but for a generation of children who perhaps never had a chance to see `` MOV '' on a big screen . for them , it will be a brand new adventure .",
        "really , really made me mad . like , seething . like , i want this entire review to be : what is the point what is the point what is the point what is the point what is the point ?!",
        "it 's easy to get swept up in the prettiness of it all , and hard to give a damn whether it might end one minute or the next .",
        "branagh has cracked the disney do-over code with `` MOV , '' hopefully gluing the creative dials in place for all future productions .",
        "gone are the active , spunky heroines of recent disney efforts , and in their place is a bland , pre-modern one .",
        "... tweaks the more objectionable details of conventional fairy tales while still retaining their traditionalist structure . it 's a nice compromise .",
        "filmgoers need another fairy tale flick about as much as they need another pirates of the caribbean sequel -lrb- oops , too late -rrb- , yet MOV swiftly casts aside all doubts and derision to reveal itself as a particularly enchanting piece of cinema .",
        "` MOV ' is made of disney magic .",
        "the actors in the film all give strong performances . this film is gorgeously staged with wonderful costumes , sets and production design . scenic locations are expertly lensed by cinematographer haris zambarloukos .",
        "branagh knows how to sweep us up in the ecstatic thrall of the familiar without breaking from fantasy or making his central messages about bravery , compassion and self-confidence feel superficial .",
        "nearly a century after that black-and-white cartoon short , and 65 years after a `` classic '' animated feature that missed the mark , disney finally got MOV right -- for now and , happily , ever after .",
        "the colors - good lord . they 're like nothing you could experience in the real world . MOV 's behemoth of a ball gown alone is 50 shades of blue .",
        "MOV is a wonderfully realized family feature that retains the strengths of its source material while at the same time updating it for today 's audiences .",
        "production values are outstanding , the actors give very watchable performances , and the glorious royal ball sequence simply takes your breath away .",
        "most fairy tales on film contain either enough wit or verve or spectacle to engage an entire audience , but there is nothing here to engage the adult viewer . nothing .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- branagh 's well-steeped history of producing , directing , and acting in film versions of shakespeare 's plays echoes in the context of a much beloved , -lrb- formerly animated -rrb- children 's classic .",
        "a product of the disney princess machine . its highest ambition is to move a new line of toys . or to evoke despair in the fairy-tale-ization of girls ' lives .",
        "what crowns the movie , flourishing the fullness of its purpose , is color .",
        "branagh , working with a high-wattage cast led by the winsome and genuine lily james , sticks to tried-and-true narrative formula , and infuses it with wit and style . if the glass slipper ai n't broke , he seems to be saying , why fix it ?",
        "a lovely , lifeless and mirthless corpse",
        "those without a sweet tooth might be turned off by this saccharine-ish movie , but i was won over , seduced by its warmth and easy good looks , its quaint , modest proportions .",
        "enchanting and beautifully filmed . disney 's live action translation of their 1950 animated classic is the perfect family movie . a great cast includes the stunning lily james and a complex evil stepmother from the great cate blanchett .",
        "this is a straight , no-chaser fairy story , a picture to be downed with pleasure . it worries little about sending the wrong message and instead trusts us to decode its politics , sexual and otherwise , on our own .",
        "sitting in theater its hard not to get swept up in branagh 's old-fashioned cinematic magic .",
        "a retrograde fantasy with the depth of a dressing-up box , but it 's spirited , genuinely funny and played to the hilt by an excellent cast .",
        "disney 's new live-action version is for the most part beguilingly good , even though it 's no replacement for the studio 's 1950 animated classic .",
        "even with blanchett playing her , the stepmother remains the same uncomplicated villain she was in the 1950 disney animated film . this is even more disappointing than the MOV character lacking gumption , since she 's always been bland .",
        "it 's pleasing to come away from a movie such as `` MOV '' having felt something for , and with , the archetypes on the screen .",
        "this is a sweet movie , a happy movie . there 's no other way to put it , really . and if that sounds like it may register too low on the hipster meter to merit your consideration , well , your loss .",
        "disney 's live-action retelling of its cornerstone princess tale is an often sparkling movie that never disrespects the kid audience even as it wins over the parents .",
        "gorgeous , elegant and wondrous , the new live-action MOV is a jewel in disney 's treasure trove .",
        "director kenneth branagh 's lavish and live-action version of disney 's 1950 animation MOV delivers a colourful take that blends old-fashioned mouse house heart with modern cg magic .",
        "the film feels neither dated nor updated . rather , it treads , with a light and careful step , the difficult middle path of timelessness .",
        "the world did n't need yet another `` MOV '' story , but the one we got is one of the best versions ever put on film .",
        "`` MOV '' has been made with enough skill and sincerity to disarm all but the most jaded viewers . it 's a happy ending for everyone -- disney 's accountants most of all .",
        "provides a little geopolitical context for the story 's fantasy kingdom , without forfeiting the magic - both supernatural and romantic - that has made MOV such an enduringly necessary tale for generation after generation .",
        "such is the affable tone and vivacious , good-natured spirit of this charming piece of cinema , that you are able to look past any flaws , and enjoy this for what it is .",
        "`` MOV '' does not try to be transgressive , or even progressive , and unashamedly sells itself as the old-fashioned wish-fulfillment little-girl fantasy that ` fifty shades ' tries to whip its way out of .",
        "though this lavish , live-action ` MOV ' could never replace disney 's animated classic , it 's no ugly stepsister , either .",
        "anyone nostalgic for childhood dreams of transformation will find something to enjoy in an uplifting movie that invests warm sentiment in universal themes of loss and resilience , experience and maturity .",
        "with all -lrb- the recent -rrb- twisting and sculpting of classic stories , it 's refreshing to watch ... MOV because it remains largely faithful .",
        "slightly eerie in its dead-eyed coldness , but you get used to it .",
        "this is the film of a full-blown romantic who believes in true love , happy endings and the importance of an absolutely fabulous wardrobe .",
        "a remarkably faithful , full-hearted live action rendition of MOV , well cast and sumptuously staged , picking its way carefully between walt disney 's classic musical animation of 1950 and perrault 's definitive text .",
        "the thing that makes this disney live-action remake so wonderful is the same thing that might put off some audience members : it 's a pure fairy tale ...",
        "the story is as enchanting as ever , the handsome cast does n't miss a beat , while the costumes and set design are wonders to behold . but the movie 's sheer flawlessness turns out to be a flaw in itself .",
        "branagh and company whip up a handsome slice of old-fashioned family entertainment .",
        "darlings , just breathless with the news : kenneth branagh 's MOV is a sumptuous , candy-coloured rush of romance , with added thespian backbone from cate blanchett as the evil stepmother .",
        "chris weitz 's screenplay updates the old charles perrault yarn in a fresh and witty way . the performances are very lively too .",
        "in its lack of experiment , this latest MOV does feel positively experimental .",
        "based on the classic fairy tale , but borrowing heavily from the 1950 film , MOV is enchanting , a wonderful and stylish film with a charming lead and emotional narrative .",
        "lily james shines as MOV . -lsb- she -rsb- plays ella with the right balance of sweetness and sincerity . it 's a genuine and charming performance ; she carries the film very well .",
        "after all the other films that seem to be aimed at them and really are n't , little children and the people who love them could really use a slice of simply delicious cake like this .",
        "yes , it 's enchanting , but this beautiful version is also something very much more .",
        "with beautiful visuals and a sense of fun , director kenneth branagh has crafted a fetching , playful delight .",
        "the filmmakers cut the film to emphasize the story 's familiar plot points , rather than highlight any instances of personal visual artistry .",
        "young girls and adult disney fans should really enjoy MOV , but if simply watching the original cartoon does n't sound appealing to you , then this live-action version wo n't be of interest to you either .",
        "this telling of MOV adheres strictly to that book . and yet it 's a lavish delight sure to enchant audiences of all ages well past midnight .",
        "for those who do n't look for miracles , this MOV resolutely delivers everything you could reasonably expect .",
        "sir kenneth branagh 's adaptation of MOV may not add anything new to the beloved tale , but with an excellent cast and an elegant sense of style , it makes for a magical and quite charming version of the story that all ages can enjoy .",
        "running contrary to its message , the film seems content to fit in rather than stand out from its numerous predecessors on stage and screen .",
        "in the title role , lily james is a revelation : sweet without being sugary , simple without being simple-minded and beaming with what must be the most radiant smile in movie history .",
        "if the young girl who sat in front of me is to speak for children everywhere , they are going to adore this film .",
        "the problems with the story are still present - this is most certainly not a feminist polemic - but one ca n't help but be caught up in branagh 's theatrical spirit .",
        "cate blanchett steals her stepdaughter cinders 's show .",
        "takes the all-too-familiar beats of the story and plumbs them for deeper levels of feeling and physicality , merging the sensual and the chaste in a way that is uniquely compelling in its experiential bliss",
        "they aim for the heart , not the head . darned if they do n't pull it off .",
        "this fairy tale adaptation is as close as you can get to a dream come true .",
        "this `` MOV '' is all dressed up with nowhere very interesting to go .",
        "-lsb- branagh -rsb- manages to de-toxify disney 's flagship fairy tale without overcorrecting away its prettiness , sincerity , or charm .",
        "disney 's MOV has been magically transformed into as sumptuous a live-action re-imagining of its 1950 animated classic as any princess could dream of .",
        "mr. branagh 's ascension into big-budget studio directing largely remains a mystery , and there 's little in `` MOV '' beyond its faces and gowns that captures the eye or the imagination .",
        "young children are guaranteed to love this , even though it 's rated pg for no reason -lrb- fine , `` mild thematic elements '' -rrb- .",
        "`` MOV '' is so scrubbed of personality , it 's not even worth calling a mess .",
        "as pure of heart as its heroine , `` MOV '' floats across the screen like a gossamer confection , full of elegant beauty and quiet grace .",
        "MOV does n't tear down and rebuild the classic giving us something fresh , innovative , and unrecognizable . kenneth branagh does a tremendous job of adapting a well-trod narrative , however .",
        "walt disney 's MOV is the best film yet in their `` turn our animated classics into live-action blockbusters '' sub-genre .",
        "while it might have been nice to see the new-model MOV follow frozen 's progressive , quasi-feminist lead , the film 's naff , preserved-in-amber romanticism is its very charm .",
        "uplifting and full of that hard-to-capture sparkling sense of wonder , this is an enthralling addition to the trustworthy disney brand of memorable , magical fairy tales .",
        "it 's all very sweet and harmless , though you ca n't help wishing that cinders got her happy ending for more than being kind to her digital mice and weathering a lot of crap with a never-ending smile on her face .",
        "very little is out of place in branagh 's do-over , but that 's almost a problem : there 's a feeling , throughout , of going perfectly through the motions .",
        "this glass slipper may look a bit cold and univiting because it 's so familiar , but it is also -- as the fairy godmother points out -- surprisingly comfortable once you try it .",
        "faithful to the story and tone of the original , but goosed with just enough character development that it does n't feel socially backward . if anything , it 's really quite magical .",
        "MOV enthralls with its ravishing style and timeless message of resilience , decency and kindness triumphing over evil .",
        "most recent disney movies look suspiciously at traditional fables and their values . this MOV wants viewers to believe in them with every fiber of their being .",
        "making such a traditional MOV film really illustrates what a weak story MOV is to begin with .",
        "the MOV fable is a lot like leonard cohen 's `` hallelujah '' : it 's been covered .",
        "the result is a pleasant surprise , and just goes to show : if it ai n't broke , do n't fix it .",
        "kenneth branagh 's lavish live-action telling of the folktale made familiar to many by disney 's 1950 animated feature film is a faithful take that derives pleasure in updating expectations and absolutely never dashing them .",
        "sumptuously appointed and elegantly well-acted , looks and feels magical and should delight even the most skeptical cynic .",
        "there are times , particularly when the bland madden is on screen , that the wholesomeness gets a bit much . but kids will likely have a ball .",
        "this is an enchantment - with the occasional touch of nostalgia - just the way it should be .",
        "witty , richly drawn and unashamedly old school , this is a smart adaptation that understands the enduring appeal of its source material , and does n't feel the need to subvert or reinvent .",
        "delivers exactly what it promises . perfectly . beautifully . magically .",
        "it 's good-natured and silly , with nice support from rob brydon , nonso anozie , derek jacobi and katie west .",
        "there is a lot of dying early on and also quite a lot later on , when you will feel you are dying , of boredom , of ennui and , possibly , the full weight of the patriarchy , pressing down hard on your chest .",
        "it 's all so very enchanting , just as a fairy tale should be .",
        "the film dares you not to like it with its sumptuous craftsmanship , fine actors and heart-felt sentiments .",
        "a magical , emotionally affecting screen version of this classic fairy tale .",
        "the visual design is exquisite , coming remarkably close to replicating the original movie 's technicolor splendor .",
        "little girls-of all ages-will have a great time ...",
        "MOV and her prince get a bit lost in all the flounces and flouncing , but they do n't seem to mind -- you , and legions of tiara-clad little girls , quite possibly wo n't either .",
        "it sticks to the tried-and-true -- so much so that surprises are few -- but under the watchful eye of the quality team assembled , this `` MOV '' does the story justice .",
        "while the music of the animated original is missed , almost everything about MOV is well done .",
        "MOV practices what it preaches by having courage , being kind , and exceeding all expectations .",
        "the story of the abused but honest poor girl who wins the heart of a prince could n't have landed in better hands .",
        "`` MOV '' feels real enough to be sincerely touching at the same time it 's visually inventive enough to be magical . we 've all seen this story , true ; but we have n't seen it told this effectively .",
        "turn back the clock on filmmaking and get ready to be charmed by `` MOV . '' director kenneth branagh has outdone himself with this outstanding live-action version of the 1950 disney animated classic .",
        "even with its attractive leads , lily james and richard madden , grand fairy-tale settings and , when it counts , affecting moments , this live-action `` MOV '' is only modestly engaging .",
        "a lavish , classy affair ... but while long on beauty , branagh 's film falls short on whimsy ... -lsb- and -rsb- the film 's most affecting emotional moments ... stand apart from the story 's central conflict .",
        "every second i was amazed at the beautiful scenery , costume designs and the magic that was captured .",
        "while the heroine 's disinclination to stand up for herself does n't relay the most feminist agenda , the maternal advice she lives by , to ` have courage and be kind , ' is a message no one could fault . director kenneth branagh once again surprises ...",
        "not just any `` MOV '' , but genius visionary kenneth branagh 's majestic , gorgeous , sweeping version of this beautiful tale of a kind , courageous girl .",
        "it 's a flawless production , filled with solid acting , fabulous costumes , music that captures the grandeur of the story , and a perfectly matched royal couple .",
        "directed by kenneth branagh with a sprinkling of stardust , dashes of good humor , and a respect for the corniest kinds of romance , MOV is a winning re-do of disney 's 1950 animated classic .",
        "the 1950 disney flick is 74-minutes . this one is 112 . does it need the extra 38-minutes ? no . but it 's a great story and a beautiful movie so the padding is forgivable .",
        "disney 's new live-action `` MOV '' is not a reboot . it 's a case of sliding a glass slipper on a movie to make sure it 's the classic that studio executives are looking for .",
        "the movie grinds down ... in plot details that fatten the narrative while deflating the spirit .",
        "it is really lovely .",
        "it 's old-fashioned in the right ways , just like lily james is MOV in all of the right ways .",
        "for all its gossamer , gauze , filigree and refinement , `` MOV '' drags when it should skip as lightly as its title character when she 's late getting home from the ball .",
        "in being faithful to the traditional tale interpreted by disney in their animated 1950 classic , this MOV is crisp escapist enjoyment .",
        "for a movie that has no reason to exist beyond maximizing disney 's back catalogue , kenneth branagh 's live action MOV is an entirely enjoyable piece of fairy tale theater .",
        "this MOV is n't flashy and does n't forge a new path , but it does have adorable mice to cheer for and a villain to hiss .",
        "they did n't turn MOV into an action heroine or reboot the story for our cynical age . and thank heavens for that ...",
        "the audience already primed for more `` happily ever after '' will be more than satisfied with the results . everyone else will wonder what the studio was/is thinking with this strategy .",
        "for the adult viewer , one of the joys of the film is the presence of cate blanchett , gloriously gowned , evoking the great female movie stars of the past -lrb- joan crawford , bette davis -rrb- as the wicked stepmother .",
        "this new MOV tells more or less the same tale with little variation in terms of story -lrb- fair enough -rrb- , tone -lrb- problematic -rrb- , or characterization -lrb- very problematic -rrb- .",
        "with enough respect to eschew the easy option of modernising it with a hip and radical make-over , it 's kind enough to the characters to get round the problematic sexual politics of the story without making a big statement about them .",
        "special effects , cate blanchett make a familiar tale entertaining",
        "above all else , the best reason i can give to see this film is cate blanchett . she 's incredibly good as the evil stepmother .",
        "disney 's first-class , straight-faced , irony-free , live-action remake of its own 1950 animated classic is a delightful explosion of colour , costumes , virtue and snarling ... a truly beautiful film .",
        "it 's hard to see this new cinders as anything more than a brand-based cash grab when its sole function is to succeed -lrb- and perhaps replace -rrb- a movie that 's ageless .",
        "after dehydrating the pulpy fun from a marvel superhero and tom clancy spies , you can imagine how branagh mishandles MOV , reverent and corny when a touch of mockery would n't hurt .",
        "there 's plenty to like , and a little to love .",
        "hollywood filmmakers are no slouches these days when it comes to subverting or sending-up fairy-tale conventions . but kenneth branagh does something much more daring . he plays things straight .",
        "MOV is nice and serviceable , with a refreshing lack of twists on its universally recognisable story .",
        "here 's how magic happens : you take the familiar and transform it into something extraordinary .",
        "by believing in the story 's timeless beauty , and infusing it with enough visual splendor and empowering ideology to delight modern audiences , kenneth branagh has made a MOV so unexpectedly magical as to rival disney 's original .",
        "i could choke on it all , like a 24-hour binge of buttercream cake frosting . but let 's be honest . there is no denying the fact that this is the best MOV of them all .",
        "elegant , enchanting re-imagining of the romantic folk tale for the 21st century ...",
        "i suppose i just was n't wowed by it . MOV was exactly what i expected , which means it lived up to my expectations .",
        "a lush , opulent , romantic fantasy that still believes in love at first sight . it 's just that the dress has a lot -- but not everything -- to do with it .",
        "some of the supporting players , most resplendently cate blanchett as the wicked stepmother and derek jacobi as the ailing king , are very fine . the film never soars , though .",
        "what it lacks in modern quirkiness compared to `` the princess bride , '' `` MOV '' makes up for with a timelessness and a sincere embrace of its concept and characters .",
        "MOV plays it overly-safe in transitioning from cartoon-to-live-action but is sure to entertain disney 's go-to juice box crowd .",
        "it 's a expansive , expensive faux-period romance with all of the resources and craftsmanship of the great british costume dramas ... but , you know , for kids .",
        "` MOV ' is a gorgeous production that is true to its fairy tale and animated roots , yet adds enough intrigue and situations to charm adults as well as youngsters .",
        "i 'm all for confection , but this movie takes that too far . MOV and the prince look like they belong on a wedding cake .",
        "kenneth branagh and the filmmakers tried to make the story feel new again , and for the most part they succeeded . but oddly , the movie 's best moments are the ones that did n't change at all .",
        "there 's precious little to carp about in the new release , unless you choose to take exception to the fact that there 's precious little to carp about .",
        "if you can get past the giant pumpkin in the ballroom - really , why bother to remake MOV in 2015 if you have no new spin on the material ? - there 's a lot to like about director kenneth branagh 's gorgeously fanciful tale .",
        "... there is no harm in getting yourself momentarily overjoyed and swept away by all the magic .",
        "if you 're looking for a tried-and-true telling filled with elaborate settings and beautiful ball gowns , this glass slipper is the right fit . however , if you 're looking for a fresh , modern take on your average fairy tale , do n't bother trying on this one .",
        "all concerned here really believed in this project and put a lot of love in it . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "tackling the fairytale in such a direct manner could have been branagh 's undoing . instead , he presents the tale with such joy and passion that it becomes a nostalgic journey to a time of childhood dreams .",
        "the fizzy cocktail combination of blanchett 's cartoonish hauteur and branagh 's visual razzle-dazzle and confectionary sets manages to take a tale as wheezy as MOV and make it feel almost magical again .",
        "a visually attractive but curiously flat retelling of the old chestnut .",
        "true to the spirit of the classic story but fresh and filled with heart and magic .",
        "its goal is simply to tell this story without much embellishment or distraction but , more importantly , to tell it with plenty of care and admiration ."
    ],
    "summary": "refreshingly traditional in a revisionist era , kenneth branagh 's MOV proves disney has n't lost any of its old-fashioned magic .",
    "id": "771270966"
  },
  {
    "movie": "clockwork_orange",
    "reviews": [
        "real horrorshow , that .",
        "a visual joyride , something that is terrifyingly pertinent in an eerie sort of way .",
        "it demands thought , compels the attention , and refuses to be dismissed .",
        "made in 1971 , based on a novel from 1962 , a MOV resonates across the years .",
        "one of the most thought-provoking films ever to be made .",
        "it is one of the most memorable british films ever made , and one that is still valid , entertaining -lrb- in its own way -rrb- and peppered with many extraordinary scenes .",
        "a good movie , but a completely misunderstood one .",
        "at once -lsb- kubrick 's -rsb- most thematically problematic film and his most unforgettably sensational .",
        "it may not make for escapist viewing but can not be missed by serious filmgoers .",
        "a MOV -lrb- 1971 -rrb- is producer / director / screenwriter stanley kubrick 's randomly ultra-violent , over-indulgent , graphic film",
        "producer-director stanley kubrick 's adaptation of the anthony burgess novel is a strangely overwhelming experience % u2013 at time contemptible , and yet always valid in its sardonic outlook .",
        "a merciless , demoniac satire in the future imperfect .",
        "the rare film that hits you in the head and stomach simultaneously .",
        "a violent meditation on violence . not for kids .",
        "the music made me do it",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- there 's stanley kubrick 's `` a MOV , '' and then there 's everything else .",
        "a film chiefly about making us watch terrible things and recognising that we have made the choice to watch them . it 's a dirty trick to play on a viewer , but a fair one .",
        "there is no other director who can transfix the human condition with such galvanic images .",
        "kubrick 's contributions are his wit and his eye . the wit , too much at times , is as biting as in dr. strangelove , and the production , while of another order , is as spectacular as in 2001 .",
        "a painless , bloodless , and ultimately pointless futuristic fantasy .",
        "a brilliant , darkly poetic work that is able to both enrapture and disgust .",
        "a most unusual -- and disorienting -- movie experience .",
        "a chilling classic .",
        "although you feel you must look away and catch your breath , your eyes are glued to the screen .",
        "may be kubrick 's greatest film , for its lasting influence and social significance .",
        "a MOV is an ideological mess , a paranoid right-wing fantasy masquerading as an orwellian warning .",
        "it 's a very dark message , but maybe that 's why the film caught on as a video cult item in the 80s .",
        "technically , the film is a marvel . it 's easily kubrick 's best and boldest work .",
        "a tight-fitting example of a neo-classic .",
        "so , was it worth the wait ? definitely .",
        "a disturbing yet thought-provoking masterpiece .",
        "`` a MOV '' is on of kubrick 's best and a marvelous adaptation of the anthony burgess novel .",
        "jarring , uncomfortable , surprisingly moving and ultimately unforgettable .",
        "one of kubrick 's masterpieces , a film will continue to strike chords and rattle nerves for years to come",
        "a sexless , inhuman film , whose power derives from a ruthless subordination of its content to the demands of telling a good story .",
        "ice cold , indecent , and way too obvious to be in any way deep .",
        "spectacular , operatic , colorful , and exquisitely photographed .",
        "ambitious and stylized -lrb- perhaps to a fault -rrb- , kubrick 's poignantly prophetic satire of crime and punishment , redemption and free will , is still much misunderstood by critics emphasizing its ultra-violence .",
        "directed with assurance and filled with the cynicism , paranoia , visual flair -lrb- and lurid titillation -rrb- that characterised so much of his work , this is vintage kubrick and classic cinema .",
        "all of kubricks films have generated controversy , but this one engendered outright hostility .",
        "who else but stanley kubrick could successfully direct an ultra-stylish , sci-fi cult film about the impossibility of redemption in the absence of freely willed sin ?",
        "remains as unsettling and shocking today as the day it was released .",
        "a very bad film -- snide , barely competent , and overdrawn -- that enjoys a perennial popularity , perhaps because its confused moral position appeals to the secret nietzscheans within us .",
        "stanley kubrick 's latest film takes the heavy realities of the ` do-your-thing ' and ` law-and-order ' syndromes , runs them through a cinematic centrifuge , and spews forth the commingled comic horrors of a regulated society ."
    ],
    "summary": "disturbing and thought-provoking , a MOV is a cold , dystopian nightmare with a very dark sense of humor .",
    "id": "15694"
  },
  {
    "movie": "i_capture_the_castle",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is a well-acted and perfectly realized english drama about the crash course in emotions experienced by a sensitive and imaginative seventeen-year old girl .",
        "wise and moving adaptation of dodie smith 's beloved 1948 novel .",
        "an enjoyable if sudsy growing pains yarn .",
        "a sweet , lovely , if perhaps overlong movie .",
        "overly mannered and schmaltzy .",
        "... it 's just a soap opera , and not a very good one .",
        "a quiet , charming picture -lrb- if not a dazzling one -rrb- that 's true in spirit to its source material .",
        "it never talks down to its teenage characters , or exploits them for easy jokes ; it never panders to them , either .",
        "despite the period setting , the mortmains ' tribulations will be familiar to anyone who ever felt a stranger in his/her own family or despaired of finding a place in the world .",
        "a newcomer who exudes confidence , romola garai steadily guides us through the story 's early comedy and the surprising betrayals that follow .",
        "a classy english film that lovingly re-creates a teenage girl 's coming of age in the 1930s .",
        "an absorbing enough period piece , which creates a special , enclosed world of its own .",
        "its chief selling point is , damning with faint praise , its complete inoffensiveness .",
        "for those of you , men or women , who love , have loved , or will love-this film will have something to say to you .",
        "castle -lrb- captures -rrb- a coming-of-age story and the changing romantic and economic relationships between family , friends , and paramours . it 's a diamond in the rough .",
        "feels every bit as oppressive and joyless as the rather odd choice of homes in which many of the film 's characters live .",
        "the filmmakers ca n't seem to unearth the novel 's inherent lightheartedness and instead treat too many events with earnest seriousness , trampling the original story 's lively spirit in heavy-handed drama .",
        "in a summer full of `` summer movies , '' MOV is a fortress reminding you what is most real and important in life is within .",
        "it 's not a bad movie , mind you , just a spotty and rather aimless one loaded with dreary and uninvolving characters .",
        "dollops on the usual romantic , family and class conflicts with a very heavy ladle , which pretty much smothers the whimsical mood fywell strains so hard to attain .",
        "with eloquent dialogue but scant smoldering passions , the mushy machinations nicely nudge director tim fywell 's gentle little film .",
        "complicated family relationships , good performances , and the film is surprisingly funny ... an easy film to like .",
        "tells romantic truths in a beautiful and indelible way",
        "even with a preconceived notion of where this film would take me , i found its surprising twists and fine dialogue sweetly entertaining .",
        "a fabulous film .",
        "a delightful coming-of-age movie that teeters on contrivance but never topples .",
        "a compelling and emotionally rich coming-of-age drama .",
        "the psychological darkness that underpins this film does n't seem inappropriate to its wit and charm .",
        "feels like a respectable bbc television drama rather than a movie .",
        "immerses its audience into another time and place just like a good read on a rainy day",
        "a sunny , wonderfully romantic alternative to the special-effects driven summer blockbusters , MOV is the essence of charm .",
        "one of the season 's most captivating surprises .",
        "the evident affection that the filmmakers bear toward smith 's novel , and toward the odd , spirited people who inhabit it , gives the film a modest , hardworking appeal .",
        "a complex , moving tale about dealing with life , not accepting second best and having the courage to both love and be loved . that it avoids the grit and lapses into schmaltz every now and then can almost be forgiven .",
        "a classy adaptation of the much-loved dodie smith classic .",
        "a page-turning soaper .",
        "smith 's book is a charmer , but the keys to this castle have been misplaced .",
        "flat and suspenseless .",
        "beautifully filmed silliness , and fetchingly acted tweeness .",
        "these filmmakers have a deep appreciation for the source material , and if this sweet and funny film does n't get lost in the dog days of summer , perhaps they will bring a new generation into the MOV fold .",
        "a charming story with a most satisfying conclusion .",
        "a notch above usual masterpiece theatre fare .",
        "one of those movies in which the main characters talk endlessly about the great passions and burning fires of love , but the movie itself is so timid and restrained that it might make your eyelids feel heavy before it makes your heart feel light .",
        "warm and bittersweet and funny and a little bit heartbreaking .",
        "it would be fun to be a member of the mortmain family -- maybe the younger brother , who shows every sign of growing up to be harry potter .",
        "a clear-headed , straightforward version of dodie smith 's 1948 novel .",
        "it 's a pleasantly quirky love story with a wry sense of humor and standout performances from the youngish cast .",
        "director tim fywell , a veteran of british tv drama , executes his work handsomely and self-consciously .",
        "it may be best to think of MOV as a kind of comfy chair with a few frayed edges and telltale leaks in its upholstery . perfect furniture , in other words , for a lazy summer afternoon .",
        "neither conventionally told nor resolved , and able to make the most eccentric situations believable , MOV is both an ordinary story and a special one -- and that , finally , is the secret of its success .",
        "the versatile garai holds the movie together ... making even the more ridiculous passages of voiceover work into something heartfelt and believable .",
        "all of the performances are engaging -- especially from romola garai -- and translate the book 's appeal warmly .",
        "this coming-of-age drama , based on the dodie smith novel , has the feel of a proper bbc production , but it lacks the energy to compel on the big screen .",
        "garai provides the film 's heart ; every key action or decision of her family or the fellows seems to seep through her and become imprinted on her soul .",
        "a richly colored , intricately textured film that revels in slow but mesmerizing character development .",
        "a refreshingly mature look at first love and life 's often-rough transitions .",
        "take your book-smart teenage daughters .",
        "cassandra 's flowery narration may prove a tad irritating for those not in the mood for such soapy operatics but this glibly engaging melodrama ... at least plays to mature audiences wanting an alternative to the latest hollywood blockbusters filling up our",
        "a fresh reminder of the tart taste of first love and the disarming sweetness of becoming an adult .",
        "not a new story , and some of the goings-on are just plain silly , but it 's pleasant , nicely photographed and well enough told .",
        "never shies from indulging us and our desire for a gentle and generous world that does n't slip into easy answers .",
        "a rarity , a clear-eyed comedy .",
        "better on set-up than follow-through .",
        "the film is a charmer . it 's romantic , funny and satisfying .",
        "a quirky story about young love in the 1930s and all of its intense aches and longings .",
        "it has just enough charm to be watchable .",
        "the fancy-pants accents and period costuming make one feel intellectually smug , as if the afternoon had been spent watching a merchant-ivory film - only without the tedium of actually sitting through a merchant-ivory film .",
        "... mines the rich veins of both austen and fitzgerald . but fywell lets his focus wander . by the end castle seems to come apart stone by stone .",
        "a quirky and handsome family drama that nicely captures the pangs and pleasures of adolescence .",
        "comes across as contrived and artificial , missing the sense of dreamy enchantment for which it 's clearly striving .",
        "sweet and sleepy , MOV might feel most comfortable in a sunday-afternoon slot on the bbc : the humor is gentle and broad , the camerawork awkward , the landscape pastoral .",
        "... boasts a number of essential , if slightly twisted , fairy-tale elements that give the movie an engaging , slightly otherworldly air -- one that occasionally clashes with , but more often enhances , the all-too-human foibles at its heart .",
        "it did n't excite me or hold my interest , though everything about it was modestly successful .",
        "romala garai is utterly convincing as the smart , wistful girl with the notebook ."
    ],
    "summary": "a handsome and charming adaptation of the novel .",
    "id": "13959"
  },
  {
    "movie": "superman_ii",
    "reviews": [
        "an especially fun movie and a rare instance of a sequel that not only equals , but even betters , its original .",
        "a solid , classy , cannily constructed piece of entertainment which gets down to action almost immediately .",
        "it 's an entertaining and fun follow-up that definitely made good on the promise of evil doers who 'd challenge the man of steel for all he 's worth .",
        "on some levels soars above its predecessor with a more personal story ; credible , menacing villains and an impeccable cast .",
        "let 's face it , times change , and superman and friend have sweetly embraced the spirit of the '80s as well as each other .",
        "witty , action-packed superadventure with big themes .",
        "a fine follow-up , it 's easy to understand why some consider MOV to be the pick of the series .",
        "manages to gain classic comic book feature status through a combination of great stunts and a great human angle .",
        "this is first class entertainment with a little bit of everything thrown in for good measure .",
        "as good a matinee movie as could be imagined .",
        "acaba sendo salvo pelo mesmo elemento que contribuiu para o sucesso do original : a din\u00e2mica e a qu\u00edmica entre christopher reeve e margot kidder .",
        "... as uneven and overlong as the first one .",
        "the spectacular battle scenes , the tenderly poignant love story , and the still-amusing work by hackman make its broad transgressions quite forgivable .",
        "a definitive look at the strange , impossible love triangle of clark kent , lois lane and superman ... not perfect , but in the annals of comic-book movies it remains an indispensable touchstone .",
        "tighter , funnier , and generally better than its predecessor",
        "i thought it was great when i was nine , but now ... oh my god !",
        "by its very nature , the resulting film is severely compromised , but still rip-roaring , unpretentious entertainment .",
        "the combination of richard donner 's superb original casting and visual attack with lester 's wit and his ear for sound proves a pretty formidable alliance .",
        "perhaps not as good as the first superman , this one offers more action and laughs a minute .",
        "both kidder and reeve shine .",
        "MOV made me cheer when i was seven years old , it makes me cheer now that i 'm thirty , and it 'll make me cheer when i 'm ninety .",
        "aside from some unfortunate slapstick , it 's a truly spectacular superhero sequel .",
        "almost as fantastic as the original .",
        "the controversy surrounding it continues to be much ado about nothing . it 's a terrific follow-up to the incomparable original ... no matter whose name is on the credits .",
        "substantial credit should also go to terence stamp 's casually menacing general zod , who transcends his terrible costume and make-up to appear a convincing threat .",
        "the rare sequel that 's even better than its predecessor .",
        "better than the first , but still overrated .",
        "a less inspired but mostly entertaining sequel . superman 's battle with the three kryptonian villains is hammy but fun . relationship with lois lane is promptly abandoned .",
        "worthy follow up",
        "three kryptonian villains and superman kicking the snot out of each other and tearing up the town ? who ca n't love this ?",
        "the best superman . great villains and great clark insecurity subplot .",
        "superman 's sequel is probably as good as the original .",
        "MOV is a lively spree brimming over with action and adventure .",
        "edgy and exciting .",
        "MOV is a marvelous toy .",
        "MOV begins in midstream , and never looks back ..."
    ],
    "summary": "the humor occasionally stumbles into slapstick territory , and the special effects are dated , but MOV meets , if not exceeds , the standard set by its predecessor .",
    "id": "10656"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1030887-punisher",
    "reviews": [
        "the real problem is that it just is n't very exciting .",
        "marred by cheeseball sets and special effects , lame fight sequences , and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen .",
        "the only positive spin i can put on this movie is that if bad comic adaptations like it had n't been done in the late 1980s and early 1990s , marvel never would have needed to have its current , high-quality big-screen resurgence .",
        "often underrated comic-book adaptation that lacks the trademark skull logo but delivers the superhero presence that the thomas jane remake sadly lacks .",
        "\u0439 dif\u043dcil escolher o que \u0439 pior : os di\u0431logos ris\u043dveis , a dire\u0437\u0433o amadora , as lutas nada convincentes , a p\u0439ssima atua\u0437\u0433o -lrb- oh ! -rrb- de lundgren ou sua `` maquiagem de deprimido '' .",
        "a terrible one-man-army action flick . the 2004 version is far more effective .",
        "much better than the 2004 version . a surprisingly potent blast of '80s action moviemaking .",
        "with origins in a marvel comics character , the MOV is , as might be expected , two-dimensional .",
        "destructive , reprehensible , and marvellous fun .",
        "it maintained a tongue in cheek attitude toward all the violence and hokum , which made it comic book lite and easier to take .",
        "carefully tended facial stubble trimmed to give him a skull-like appearance , lundgren is truly impressive as a character defined by emotional emptiness ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite the seemingly indestructible dolph lundgren with a crossbow , the MOV is a boring one-man battle with never-ending action scenes .",
    "id": "13624"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wedding_singer",
    "reviews": [
        "one of the sweetest movies you 're ever likely to come across .",
        "adam sandler falls for drew barrymore",
        "herlihy 's screenplay offers few laughs on its own ; the film 's most humorous moments come from sandler 's low-key , off-hand delivery .",
        "like the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy , it might make you yak , but it tastes pretty good going down .",
        "sandler proves here that he 's not only a brilliant comedian , but a talented actor .",
        "director frank coraci exerts little control over his picture , which drifts aimlessly from bad to good and then back again .",
        "it 's mushy and funny , slobbery and predictable -- but gee , i like it .",
        "if you like a pleasant and predictable romantic comedy , then this is the one for you .",
        "the film is just a trifle , but in the mid-winter cinematic wasteland , you have to grade on a curve .",
        "in essence , the MOV is a k-tel hits package posing as a movie .",
        "drew barrymore and adam sandler have an unexpected chemistry that oozes off the screen and steals your heart .",
        "an hour and a half of solid entertainment .",
        "one of the sad byproducts of the dumbing-down of america is that we 're now forced to witness the goofy plots of the 1930s played sincerely , as if they were really deep .",
        "adam sandler 's basic schtick is his lack of talent .",
        "it 's charmingly bad and an excellent date film .",
        "uneven and silly ? yes . enjoyable ? most definitely .",
        "director coraci has done a fine job re-creating and spoofing some of the cultural trends of the 1980s , a time in which yuppie-worship replaced hippie-adulation .",
        "fairly typical comedy , in that moments of genuine humor are spread out too thinly over a schmaltzy -lrb- sorry , `` heartwarming '' -rrb- script . but how can you give a failing grade to a movie that spotlights silly early eighties music ?",
        "all the movie 's tender moments ring false , especially since sandler always looks like he 's on the verge of cracking up , and ultimately the movie has less flavor than a supermarket wedding cake .",
        "this movie is great for a few laughs , especially if you fall into the right age category . but do n't expect it to change your life .",
        "too much of the MOV has a disconcerting reluctance , reigning itself in at unexpected moments and failing to capitalize on several potential jokes ...",
        "barrymore shines like a new penny on the strength of pure movie-star personality .",
        "the almost never-miss comedy makes up for the unexceptionnal storyline , and frank coraci happens to be a skillful mainstream director .",
        "besides music that harks back to the days when mtv was worth watching -lrb- martha quinn forever ! -rrb- , the MOV is also a sweet , beguiling romantic comedy .",
        "ridiculous and surprisingly likable -- sweet , silly and light as a soap bubble .",
        "it 's a nice diversion for undemanding and unsophisticated moviegoers who want to wile away about 100 minutes .",
        "the movie is a tame affair , shot on calm , manicured streets ; the interiors are decorated in pastels .",
        "the MOV is two movies for the price of one , and they 're both awful .",
        "the MOV turns out to be an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes laughing at the past .",
        "the plotting is simplistic but cute and the gags are consistently funny , particularly for anyone who grew up in the 1980s .",
        "you ca n't help pulling for the kids .",
        "yes , it 's sappy . it 's also silly , utterly unironic , a sketch stretched out to feature length , and , if you 're in the right mood , pretty darned cute .",
        "barrymore and sandler are lovely together , and the movie , set in 1985 , was also among the first to tap into 1980s nostalgia .",
        "called on to replace some of his happy gilmore shtick with the emoting of a romantic lead , he does just that but in an unpersuasive on/off fashion .",
        "supporting players are uniformly strong , and coraci deserves much credit for exacting just the right degree of outrageousness without spinning into some wild orbit .",
        "the tone set by director frank coraci tends to the cartoonishly broad while making jokes at the expense of grotesques . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "although the movie is remarkably schmaltzy , it 's sweet and affecting , too , with sandler 's character as genuinely nice as he can be .",
        "the chemistry between sandler and barrymore is something special to see here , and i think ` the MOV ' ends up being sandler 's best movie .",
        "not the most original comedy , but many will enjoy .",
        "an enjoyable , nostalgic , and even a bit touching time at the movies .",
        "with a decent screenplay and better directing , this would have been a good film , but as it is , it is just average .",
        "the ending is predictable , but the two stars are appealing , especially since sandler actually tones down his usual obnoxious shtick .",
        "a simple love story from a simpler time , crafted as skillfully as ever .",
        "as robbie hart , a former lead singer in a rock band reduced to performing at weddings , sandler goes for more than the easy laughs .",
        "finally , an adam sandler comedy that you can sit through without wanting to throw a mallet through the screen .",
        "sandler makes nice to please the female demographic .",
        "sandler shows an emotional range beyond his usual mercurial knucklehead ; barrymore drops her adolescent nymph in favor of a more sensitive , mature persona .",
        "at its best , it is a gentle , well-portrayed , feel good film .",
        "limpia , sencilla , divertida .",
        "a sparkling romantic comedy , the kind of picture that glides by so gracefully and unpretentiously that it 's only upon reflection that you realize how much skill , caring and good judgment had to have gone into its making .",
        "lightweight romantic comedy , with just enough funny moments to keep it adrift , but not so many that it 's truly memorable",
        "suddenly i can see that when he stops whining , sandler has a certain adolescent charm about him .",
        "one of the nicest surprises of the year so far .",
        "this movie is sickeningly sweet , and only a die-hard romantic or an avowed adam sandler fan will be able to sit through the ninety-five minute feature without going into sugar shock .",
        "hokey as robbie and julia 's courtship turns out to be , mr. sandler really does draw some empathy for his character 's lonely plight .",
        "grab a date , grab this movie . end of story ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's decidedly uneven -- and surprisingly sappy for an early adam sandler comedy -- but the MOV is also sweet , funny , and beguiling .",
    "id": "10214"
  },
  {
    "movie": "trainspotting",
    "reviews": [
        "wickedly funny , sick , insightful , depressing , dirty , unjudging , awesomely acted and brilliant .",
        "others , if they choose , may praise MOV for its squalor ; i prefer to praise it for the invigorating perspectives of a writer and a director with ideas and the ability to convey them .",
        "exuberant and pitiless , profane yet eloquent , flush with the ability to create laughter out of unspeakable situations , `` MOV '' is a drop-dead look at a dead-end lifestyle that has all the strength of its considerable contradictions .",
        "the movie has been attacked as pro-drug and defended as anti-drug , but actually it is simply pragmatic . it knows that addiction leads to an unmanageable , exhausting , intensely uncomfortable daily routine , and it knows that only two things make it bearable",
        "this is not dour social realism . it 's a shot - from-a-cannon youth movie , with likable young people sticking needles in their arms in working-class edinburgh .",
        "it 's MOV , and it 's great .",
        "based on irvine welsh 's novel , this visually rich , culturally allusive film focuses on a small group of friends who are frustrated , rebellious and full of passions .",
        "a cocktail of scuzzy charm , nerve and despair that seduces and repulses in nearly equal proportions . it packs a jolt , all right . but it leaves you with a brutal hangover , too .",
        "... rapid-fire youth-culture freak show : random sex , in-your-face scatology , senseless violence and rampant profanity delivered in haggis-thick brogues .",
        "this is probably the most honest movie ever made about drug addiction .",
        "unapologetic and hard-hitting , irvine welsh 's controversial bestseller is brought to the screen as a dazzling assault on the senses .",
        "MOV , buoyed by a great brit pop soundtrack and brian tufano 's agile cinematography , captures the stoned-out , gut-churning experience of hardcore addiction with hallucinogenic acuity .",
        "MOV has its creative moments and sometimes it can be funny , but the viewer should be prepared for a downbeat experience and should expect to find himself some places he would never go of his own accord .",
        "you stop cringing and start smiling , laughing even , and these kids , who seem like aliens at first , grow on you . they 're weirdly likable .",
        "a fine example of efficient , resourceful filmmaking .",
        "brazen , hilarious , disgusting , audacious , altogether fresh .",
        "by turns cheeky , surreal , exhilarating and stomach-churning .",
        "funny , disturbing , tragic and deeply addictive .",
        "an unprecedented and unrivalled piece of entertainment .",
        "MOV 's saving grace is that there 's a heck of a lot of entertainment value in this particular form of shallowness .",
        "a grimy bolt of celluloid lightning unspooling at 24 crackling frames a second , this episodic tale of smart-aleck scottish lads on heroin is the year 's most exciting film -- and surely its most controversial .",
        "heroin , as it turns out , provides the characters in MOV with something the filmmakers ca n't -- motivation . without the drug , boyle ca n't convincingly explain the actions of renton and his friends .",
        "all this doped-up ennui eventually proves wearing . junkies , given to nodding out and living in squalor , do n't make good company for too long .",
        "far from nihilistic , though certainly calculated to butt up against various puritanical norms , -lsb- the film is a -rsb- feel-good jaunt about young scottish heroin addicts and their degradation and betrayals of one another .",
        "una historia excepcionalmente narrada .",
        "the most controversial film of the summer is both disturbing and exhilarating in its evocative rendering of a smackhead 's chaotic universe .",
        "MOV will have to go down in the annals as one of the great anti-heroin films of all time -- better than otto preminger 's the man with the golden arm , and on a par with alex cox 's sid and nancy , maybe even better !",
        "put simply , MOV is one of those films that gets the mixture just right . the dialogue , the music , the performances , the direction , the production values , the humor , the shock-value .",
        "danny boyle 's MOV is a blast of ice-cold water across a sweaty brow ; it 's a lively , vibrant and pulsatingly addictive movie .",
        "a pop culture sensation that drew notice to its own urgency and immediacy .",
        "though dark in tone and the bulk of the humor is blacker than a raven 's wing at midnight , boyle 's sense of humanity persistently creeps in around the edges .",
        "among its deeper merits is that it proves a movie does n't have to be mean to be fresh .",
        "this may not have the weight of ` great art ' , but it crystallises youthful disaffection with the verve of the best and brightest pop culture . a sensation .",
        "full of repugnant junkies so unpleasant that i was hoping they 'd all od just so i could escape this torture test .",
        "a spirited , energetic , hilarious take on one of the least spirited , energetic , or hilarious topics of all : heroin addition",
        "this might not be the first movie to get inside the mind of an addict , but it 's the only one that captures the life-consuming power of addiction in all its complexity .",
        "it 's strange that a film about a stupor-inducing drug should be the most -- and maybe the only -- exciting cultural export from britain since the sex pistols .",
        "the movie tags at the heels of edinburgh social dropouts renton , spud , sick boy and begbie , for whom getting off beats getting out .",
        "... nastier , funnier , and scary enough to keep me away from any kind of drugs ...",
        "-lsb- has -rsb- a wild cinematic style that suggests a lust for the new , the different .",
        "it has the power to shock , terrify and disgust audiences one moment and make them burst with laughter the next .",
        "instead of the social-realism approach taken by most movies dealing with drug subcultures , MOV observes its subjects with a mordant eye -- an inclusive perspective ...",
        "... we are taken full speed into a world of despair and self-destructiveness that is more fun than any action film , more thoughtful than any hokey hollywood drama , and more clever than a typical hollywood romantic comedy .",
        "MOV is one of the most effective anti-drug movies i 've seen in a long time . its depiction of heroin addiction is so raw and gritty that you walk away with the realization that heroin is a drug not to be messed with .",
        "be mentally strong , for you might become psychologically vulnerable from the mind-altering MOV experience .",
        "the film comes off as inventive and enlivening , even as it makes clear how destructive heroin is .",
        "a few patches are subtitled , but the general effect is of watching an opera without having read the libretto .",
        "... in MOV the filmmakers are so far over the line , that i could not like the picture no matter how hard i tried .",
        "for better or worse , sometimes strictly for the sake of shock value , the stylish irreverence of `` MOV '' mimics that drug high and delivers its own potent kick .",
        "its four main `` anti-heroes '' are such unsympathetic losers that it is difficult to care whether they live or die .",
        "it 's all attitude , and little substance . still , its attitude is catchy at times , filled with humor and sparks of energy .",
        "this is n't an examination of the scottish drug culture from the outside looking in , it 's one from the inside looking out .",
        "hip , brutally honest and humane ...",
        "if the essence of generation x 's journey from restless youth to semiproductive maturity could be encapsulated into one film , it would be MOV .",
        "a rarity : a highly anticipated film that exceeds - and confounds - expectations .",
        "`` MOV '' manages to be hip , happening , graphic , tragic , violent , cool , filthy , sick , and very funny , and the tragically hip arthouse crowd on this side of the ocean are going to eat it up .",
        "the film is about joy -- in conniving and surviving , in connecting with audiences , in its own fizzy , jizzy style . and that 's why , compared with it , most other films look zombified .",
        "graphic look into heroin addiction . not for kids .",
        "it would be hard to imagine a movie about drugs , depravity , and all-around bad behavior more electrifying than MOV .",
        "the characters are without recognizable virtues , and neither they nor the movie asks us to like them . but they are full of energy and underplayed wit , endlessly picking themselves up off the filthy floor .",
        "there 's no denying that the visual imagery boasted by danny boyle 's MOV rivals anything you 're likely to see on the big screen .",
        "MOV is a searing pop-art portrait of a lost generation blowing out its brains . as they rail , chuckle , shout and dive into darkness , you 're trapped yourself between a bellylaugh and a scream .",
        "it 's hard to recall a movie that etches the horrors of drug dependence more shatteringly than this british tragicomedy , which danny boyle has directed with ferocious energy .",
        "a movie that dares to challenge the audience",
        "MOV is a singular sensation , a visionary knockout spiked with insight , wild invention and outrageous wit .",
        "the experience of watching MOV -- the electric , nasty and slick descent into the milieu of young scottish junkies -- is a little like speeding through the digestive tract of some voracious beast .",
        "an uncompromising , dark and hilarious film .",
        "a monster hit in britain , MOV is defiantly contradictory : an exhilarating portrait of heroin use , a black comedy of errors capped off by one character 's sarcastic decision to `` choose life . ''",
        "scabrous , brutal and hip , MOV is a clockwork orange for the '90s .",
        "another great movie from the guys who did shallow grave .",
        "danny boyle 's movie achieves -- at least for a while -- the psychedelic high for which it clearly aims , but like the heroin fixes he vividly portrays , his film does n't have much long-term impact ."
    ],
    "summary": "a brutal , often times funny , other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction in edinburgh . not for the faint of heart , but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use .",
    "id": "16743"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10008423-cool_school",
    "reviews": [
        "a lively film that does n't linger too long on any one thought or with any one interviewee .",
        "no one emerges very well defined from this historical shuffle , but those who know the artists ' works , or names such as hopps and blum , but have never heard them speak , will find the MOV absorbing and informative .",
        "MOV is a must for anyone interested in 20th century american art .",
        "the MOV , a breezy , lively documentary about a thin slice of the los angeles fine art scene in the 1950s , is easy on the eyes , and the ears too .",
        "diverting .",
        "thoughtful and thought-provoking .",
        "though designed more for the devotee of the arts than your average moviegoer , the film is still apt to enthrall even the uninitiated who would n't know a jackson pollock from a willem de kooning .",
        "largely avoids sharply delineated portraits , with its focus on the scene at the expense of individuals , ultimately resulting in a documentary that does n't rise above the functional .",
        "all told , and well told , this is essential history .",
        "documentarian morgan neville takes an appropriately lively , left-field approach to the MOV 's eye-opening history of the beat-era left coast art scene -- a lesser-known chapter in the story of american modern art .",
        "morgan neville 's quick-paced documentary the MOV recounts the rise and fall of ferus gallery and the mark it made on american art .",
        "... a fun , jazzy look at l.a. 's first real wave of modern artists",
        "it is a fascinating journey through a piece of art history , the full impact of which may be yet to come .",
        "what the MOV does so well , through its color accents and black-and-white photography ... is impart a sense of discovery .",
        "sweeps you off your feet with quick-witted visuals and cleverly used archival footage .",
        "makes the case that there 's more than basket weaving and freeway driving going on in the seedbed of originality we know as the great basin of l.a.",
        "veteran documentarist morgan neville 's illustrated history of the painters and sculptors associated with venice 's ferus gallery -lrb- 1957-1967 -rrb- is at once lively and analytical .",
        "breezy doc lives up to its title .",
        "the MOV is neither as lively nor as complete as it could be , but as an introduction to modern art , it 's a fine freshman course .",
        "morgan neville 's ` the MOV ' is a slickly packaged document of the burgeoning modern art scene in la during the late '50s and early '60s which sadly submerges its fascinating subject matter in technical clutter and contrived set-ups .",
        "occasionally too reverent , this remains an effective evocation of a vibrant and interesting art scene , not to mention a touching paean to lost youth .",
        "the MOV is a history of the la art scene which will be most interesting for those who are involved in it .",
        "surf 's up in southern california as the modern art world invades nixonville and reagan city in the 1950s . a fascinating look at the start of something big : modern art in los angeles .",
        "definitely proves that , contrary to certain opinions , los angeles is not a cultural wasteland where fine art is concerned ."
    ],
    "summary": "a breezy and lively modern art documentary , revealing that la is not a cultural wasteland when it comes to fine art .",
    "id": "770761007"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tempest",
    "reviews": [
        "these gifted actors sometimes seem to be saying the words as someone with a chain-saw cuts firewood in the next room .",
        "it 's unimaginatively staged and poorly acted by everyone involved , especially russell brand , who has never seemed so lost .",
        "visuals evoke the themes of order and chaos , with steps vertiginously reaching up and prospera 's mixture of natural material and tight , civilizing straps and stays .",
        "everything that makes shakespeare 's final play a great expression of the dangers and risks of ambition in western civilization is lost in this sex change .",
        "a noble stab at the bard but ultimately an unsatisfactory film .",
        "-lsb- m -rsb- essy but thrilling ... -lsb- b -rsb- rings a new perspective on the play , and a new appreciation for it , which is the best we can ask for the umpteenth adaptation of a centuries-old work ...",
        "despite the best efforts of an impressive cast , taymor 's adaptation ends up a curious mix of arse-achingly dull , and clangingly misjudged .",
        "the special effects are intrusive and anything but magical and the text is rather curiously edited . but it 's worth seeing for mirren .",
        "mirren is a powerful presence : maybe gender-bending shakespeare is the only way to give mirren the movie roles she deserves .",
        "lost for a *** holes .",
        "misjudged , un-poetic and tedious - like a pompous production of mamma mia , without the abba songs .",
        "a game cast including helen mirren , russell brand , ben whishaw and tom conti ca n't save this listing interpretation of the shakespeare play .",
        "certainly good enough to leave us once more astonished by shakespeare 's invention , yet it ultimately lacks the interpretative authority that might have made it something special .",
        "an inspired , but sometimes irksome take on 400 year old material .",
        "`` to go or not to go ? '' is not the question . `` why ? '' is the question .",
        "the costumes designed by sandy powell - leather gowns and military uniforms , renaissance in silhouette and detailed with zippers - are the film 's most arresting element .",
        "the effects are dazzling , the cast is stellar , the play is timeless , the movie is wretched .",
        "although there is some gimmickry , this is one of the most straightforward versions of the `` MOV '' ever filmed , making it edifying as well as -- when taymor hits a groove -- dazzling .",
        "a singular disappointment from julie taymor , who has failed to make this play sing on the screen .",
        "a pretty frustrating adaptation of shakespeare 's play , one that dog-paddles around in ever-more-frenetic circles , searching for a way inside the material .",
        "the result is cacophonous .",
        "just another example of middling , muddled shakespeare .",
        "the role of ariel -lrb- whishaw -rrb- is always a bit difficult . the camera spent an excruciatingly long time making sure we noticed those breasts . after a while , i wanted to yell , ` i get it . unisex . move on . '",
        "there 's sound and fury , but the result is more drizzle than MOV .",
        "a tiresome mess that 's completely bereft of a quiet moment in speech or manner , the MOV aches for the wisdom of discipline .",
        "theatrically ambitious , musically busy , and in the end cinematically inert ...",
        "too often the visual effects in the MOV ' look like something that would have seemed high-tech during the early days of mtv .",
        "this is no titus ... and no forbidden planet either .",
        "i found myself wishing that taymor would turn off the sound and fury and let the MOV speak for itself . my wish was n't granted .",
        "lacks some of the magical qualities that lifts its story into the realms of classic fantasy . but it has two performances , apart from mirren 's , exempt from that criticism .",
        "bold and ambitious , like all of taymor 's movies , this MOV is a failure on any level , especially a kitschy visual style that detracts attention from shakespeare 's poignant text .",
        "slow and grinding , taymor 's version of the MOV would be dwarfed by any teapot she might decide to set it in .",
        "julie taymor 's the MOV adapts shakespeare to the screen with boldness and imagination . bard buffs are likely to love it , despite the liberties it takes .",
        "one is reminded of the `` mystery science theater 3000 '' joke about one of the robots staging `` an all-furniture ` hamlet ' '' -- it 's the sort of switcheroo that smacks more of desperation than of creativity and redefinition .",
        "taymor , by turning prospero into a woman while retaining an `` imperialist '' view of caliban , will no doubt simultaneously please and enrage left-wing critics . the rest of us can enjoy the movie 's strengths ...",
        "what taymor , mirren et al have given us is not exactly a MOV for the ages . but in the balance struck between talent , traditional casting , technology and the tale at hand , it manages to stand firmly on its own two feet as a MOV for today .",
        "taymor excels at creating visuals that are so beautiful you want to hang every frame on your wall , but content-wise this film falls really flat .",
        "taymor tries a little too hard , neither breaking nor broken by the play , but ultimately losing the wrestling match . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "while this had the potential to be a stirring cinematic experience , director julie taymor 's trademark innovation and visual flair never soars .",
        "the film has plenty of detractors who see taymor 's approach as strained and overwrought , but mirren finds some grace notes that no prospero could ever have sounded .",
        "dispensing with tableau compositions , this adaptation feels liberated from static theatrical and , to a lesser degree , cinematic convention by the overall openness of its staging and camerawork that 's somewhere between handheld and steadicam .",
        "julie taymor has a theatre director 's idea of how movies work . that 's not a compliment .",
        "hundreds of years ago , shakespeare would have never imagined this story could look like taymor 's vision .",
        "there are two reasons to watch the MOV : if you 're a fan of shakespeare , or a fan of helen mirren .",
        "shakepeare 's premise was leveraged more cleverly and thoughtfully on `` lost . ''",
        "as a re-imagining , particularly by a director so well renowned , the MOV is depressingly pedestrian .",
        "shakespeare is spinning in his grave .",
        "primarily an exercise in eccentric -lrb- and , i would argue , empty -rrb- spectacle .",
        "normally i 'd watch helen mirren in anything , even if she was just putting out the laundry or reading the phone book . but , given the roteness of her line readings here , it might have been better if the phone book rather than shakespeare was her text .",
        "taymor seems to have assembled an interesting cast and colorful costumes and chosen a fitting locale-some scenic , forbidding corners of hawaii-and hoped for the best . occasionally she gets it .",
        "mirren , of course , is wonderful - in those few scenes when the cgi stops . but those rare moments are separated by tedious songs and far too many close-ups of ariel laughing , laughing , laughing .",
        "`` i can do real rocks and seas , '' cries cinema . to which the right response is : `` we do n't want real rocks and seas . we want the ones in our head , put there by shakespeare . ''",
        "you expect nicolas cage to pop up from behind a sand dune on a harley brandishing a rocket launcher .",
        "taymor 's MOV may whip up a special effect storm yet never engages as a compelling narrative : the characters remain vague and distant .",
        "has a striking setting and a handful of good moments but is ultimately let down by uneven performances , poor pacing and some truly atrocious special effects .",
        "it 's left to the actors to lend gravitas and depth , with varying levels of success .",
        "full of crazy spectacle and huge over-elaborate costumes that make look mirren like a raven constructed out of obsidian shards , and it 's all bent towards absolutely no coherent end .",
        "in the end , i wanted this MOV back in its teapot and off the screen . -lrb- parental review also available -rrb-",
        "the MOV is like a shakespearean version of the 1980 flash gordon movie , with some zany baz luhrmann-esque touches thrown in . unfortunately , it 's not as good as that might make it sound .",
        "masque , retirement speech , valediction , celebration of youth and of age , ` the MOV ' is art and it is life . and now it is well served as cinema .",
        "would thou dost remain unslumbered , a pity whilst befall thine eyes .",
        "smaller parts are n't on par with the lead role , and special effects are overdone and cheesy . at times , the essence of shakespeare 's poetry is drowned out .",
        "one can see splashes of taymor 's visual style ... , but unless one is familiar with shakespeare 's play beforehand , `` the MOV '' will be a confusing muddle , at times downright tedious .",
        "overall , even if it does n't completely mesh , there 's still much to like in this MOV .",
        "julie taymor 's new film version of the MOV is n't as disastrous as it could have been , though it does fundamentally fail shakespeare 's play .",
        "ms. taymor 's overscaled sense of stage spectacle can be impressive and effective , even moving , but her three-dimensional , high-volume compositions translate awkwardly into the cosmos of cinema .",
        "in contrast to shakespeare 's gift for weaving words into enchanted worlds , taymor 's MOV leeches most of the magic out of his language ...",
        "with so much going for it , why does the MOV become a mere storm in a teacup ? the reasons are many .",
        "-lsb- mirren -rsb- is powerfully vibrant as a female prospero : she commands the screen whenever she is on , which unfortunately is not all the time . . interweaving of three disparate groups becomes disjointed and tiring , never comes together in a meaningful way .",
        "although it falls off precipitously , it 's better to have julie taymor 's the MOV than not : the first half-hour is nearly as unfettered as shakespeare 's language .",
        "no amount of gimmicky effects , splendid hawaiian locations , bombastic music or high-caliber actors can distract from how consistently dull this MOV is .",
        "a movie that veers from ethereal beauty -lrb- its closing credit sequence , as a book of magic softly drowns in a dark sea , is a stunner -rrb- to mystifying cheesiness .",
        "far less daring than her 1999 titus , which took an electrifying , stylized approach of a lesser-known play , the MOV in comparison looks disappointingly middle-of-the-road .",
        "so kitschy , yet curiously drab and banal .",
        "the best sequences in `` MOV '' are all quiet , not that there are many of them .",
        "an idiosyncratic but oddly pedestrian take on one of the bard 's more elusive yet entrancing works .",
        "this gender-switched MOV lacks energy and thunder -lrb- not to mention quality cgi -rrb- , and fizzles to a disappointing drizzle .",
        "most plays-turned-movies try to open things up . taymor still thinks like a theater director , ending up with a `` MOV '' that takes place in a teapot .",
        "the words still provide the most magic .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- fragmented and almost incomprehensible mess , garishly over-scored , full of embarrassingly bad special effects and a great tragic-comedy romance never given the chance to simply stretch its cumbersome limbs .",
        "taymor 's visual pyrotechnics -lrb- used better in her 1999 shakespeare adaptation `` titus '' -rrb- come across as forced , dampening any warmth in shakespeare 's final play .",
        "a surprisingly unengaging and charmless fantasy from a director whose previous films -lrb- `` across the universe , '' `` titus , '' `` frida '' -rrb- were , despite their other issues , never boring ."
    ],
    "summary": "director julie taymor 's gender-swapping of roles and some frenzied special effects ca n't quite disguise an otherwise stagey , uninspired take on shakespeare 's classic .",
    "id": "770805051"
  },
  {
    "movie": "battle_royale_3d",
    "reviews": [
        "une oeuvre faisant l'objet d'un v\u0439ritable culte que l'on imagine mal voir sortir d'un studio d'hollywood .",
        "a minor sensation in japan where questions were asked in parliament , this noisy and bombastic adaptation of a recent pulp novel does n't shape up as satire or death-sport fantasy .",
        "the basic storyline just is n't very good , and any attempt to say anything meaningful or moving is ham-fisted and obvious , which quite simply is n't good enough for a film as in-your-face as this .",
        "races along with the swift , brutal precision of a samurai sword cutting through cotton .",
        "some will be uncomfortable or appalled , and the mix of humour and horror is uneasy , but this is n't a film you 'll forget easily . and , seriously , what would you do ?",
        "a modern classic about the folly of violence .",
        "os intert\u043dtulos e o excesso de flashbacks comprometem um pouco o ritmo do filme , mas , de modo geral , a a\u0437\u0433o \u0439 muito bem conduzida e os personagens , satisfatoriamente desenvolvidos .",
        "what it does have is plenty of splatter , noise and energy .",
        "fukasaku , who is now 70 , is the most durable master of all that 's hard-boiled in japanese filmmaking .",
        "its content will earn it a following from as many witless viewers as it will thoughtful ones , but that 's no reason to condemn it",
        "ultimately battle royale falls attempting to stand on its politics alone . its redeeming triumph is that it is immensely entertaining - either as a teenage film or hefty slice of exploitation .",
        "fukasaku 's film maybe ca n't maintain the sheer exhilarating rush of its first thirty minutes , but it 's an outstanding work nevertheless .",
        "catapults you from the cinema in a state of breathless disbelief .",
        "` battle royale ' is another deeply flawed addition to the deeply offensive phenomenon of ` reality tv ' .",
        "once it dropped a lot of its satirical baggage , i was able to stop considering it an important film , and start watching it as an entertaining one .",
        "a hell of an action movie , an admission that makes me feel a little guilty .",
        "as twisted as it sounds , killing off 41 teens takes a great deal of creativity and an innate sense of pacing in order to avoid , well , cinematic boredom .",
        "this is a heart-stopping action film , teaching us the worthy lessons of discipline , teamwork , and determination , but wrapping them up in a deliberately provocative , shockingly violent package .",
        "as usual , fukasaku directs battle royale with force and conviction , even as the tone of the picture veers back and forth from unabashedly ludicrous to deadly serious .",
        "a vicious take-off on reality tv that turns a high-school milieu dominated by cliques and childish relationships into a war zone .",
        "a disturbing film to say the least , and definitely one that could never have been made in the united states .",
        "departing from two decades ' worth of domestic and personal dramas and returning to his roots as japan 's maestro of mayhem , kinji fukasaku has delivered a brutal punch to the collective solar plexus with one of his most outrageous and timely films .",
        "it gets no points for subtlety , but this confronting , devastating , hilarious and extremely fun film is a masterpiece all in its own right .",
        "gloriously sick and twisted . a masterpiece .",
        "disturbing , gory , shocking , and very original .",
        "battle royale is a film that should not be easily ignored , and will not be easily forgotten ... the faces of those kids are likely to linger long after the credits stop .",
        "fukasaku 's set pieces are dynamic , composed and edited with a neatness that is missing from the shaky-camera esthetic of the movie 's successor , ` the hunger games . '",
        "battle royale is a masterpiece of mayhem , violence and unfettered teen melodrama .",
        "battle royale is the hunger games not diluted for young audiences .",
        "it 's fascinating , tense and grisly ... but a bit of a muddle really .",
        "maybe battle royale 's ultimate punchline is its inexplicable ability to fool some people into taking it seriously .",
        "battle royale 's dystopia reflects a hyper-tech japan still deeply concerned with social cohesion and the value-gaps between the generations . it 's the disturbingly dark social frame , not its bloody canvas , that makes this a battle worth watching .",
        "sharply written , bloody , and darkly funny , this is a cut above your usual exploitation fare .",
        "stylistically it 's a beauty , with khaki-uniformed waifs fighting for their lives to a crashing classical score .",
        "awful deaths -lrb- and hysterical reactions to them -rrb- punctuate declarations of love and friendship , revelations of treachery and heavily armed expressions of angst .",
        "before the hunger games there was battle royale . the bloody spectacle of japanese schoolchildren being forced into a sadistic game of `` last man standing '' packs an emotional wallop .",
        "a gloriously entertaining ride , provided you have a taste for dark material and do n't mind the occasional poke in the ribs .",
        "a wonderfully exciting , incredibly idiosyncratic actioner .",
        "3d conversion of a classic teen massacre thriller raises the gore level .",
        "forgive the film its small flaws of histrionic performances and cheap execution for the giddy rush of its banal , verhoevenesque atmosphere ...",
        "it may suit a certain worldview , but battle royale 's cynicism is still a form fantasy-a balm as well as a bomb .",
        "pitched with the insatiable verve of a tv game show and the vacant regret of a grand theft auto videogame .",
        "although the film can be seen as a satire on everything from the japanese education system to reality tv , ultimately its absurdism resists easy interpretation ."
    ],
    "summary": "battle royale is a controversial and violent parable of adolescence , heightening teenage melodrama with life-or-death stakes .",
    "id": "136269391"
  },
  {
    "movie": "men_who_stare_at_goats",
    "reviews": [
        "if this is what a hollywood liberal conscience looks like , it 's a glib and useless thing .",
        "one ca n't help remembering that clooney himself drew more humor and resonance out of the iraqi dunes a decade ago in three kings .",
        "the narrative flips and flops ruin the comedic flow .",
        "the MOV is a handful of hilarious scenes looking for a movie .",
        "for a movie about people learning to focus their minds , -lsb- it -rsb- proves to be strangely and disappointingly unfocused .",
        "heslov 's deadpan handling of the movie 's strange-but-true vibe , coupled with clooney 's full-tilt devotion to his outlandish character , smooths over the rougher patches of peter straughan 's quirky screenplay .",
        "perhaps the funniest war movie since stripes .",
        "does a slick job of putting assumptions of all types to the test , and resists the temptation to make sport of any of them while still retaining a sense of fun",
        "neither as quirky as it thinks it is nor as witty as it wants to be , the MOV is a low grade military send-up .",
        "it 's brisk and witty and the cast makes it all such great entertainment that you could almost overlook the more or less absent story .",
        "offers just a few moderately amusing moments , and by and large proves curiously flat , despite all the talent on the screen .",
        "`` the MOV '' falls into the politically impotent sub-genre of lightweight satire of which `` charlie wilson 's war '' and `` the informant '' are recent touchstones .",
        "you ca n't make this stuff up , but you can botch the telling of it , and that 's what sinks this satiric drama based loosely on a 2004 nonfiction book by london-based journalist jon ronson .",
        "it 's ... two-thirds of the way to being awesome . had heslov eased back a bit , goats might 've made it the rest of the way .",
        "what had been a slightly quirky satire becomes first a wild comedy , then an impassioned expos\u00e9 . taking itself too seriously -lrb- and treating the military as a joke -rrb- , it quickly begins to unravel .",
        "the film may remind some of the low-key and decidedly quirky comedies by the coen brothers . and not just because george clooney is one of its featured performers .",
        "t 's mostly about a chance to see clooney in agreeable goofball mode . the movie is forgettable , but his demonstration of the psychic-warrior 's `` sparkly eyes '' technique is destined for his appreciation reel .",
        "neither absurdist enough as a comedy nor trenchant enough as a war satire , this effort elicits a few chuckles but little else .",
        "the light-heartedness of the movie 's tone goes from pratfall humor to a wrenching depiction of the consequences of foolishness .",
        "it 's hard to resist a satire , even when it wobbles , that insists the most unbelievable parts are the most true .",
        "an outrageously funny , tongue-in-cheek satire filled with lively , amusing performances , but its comedic momentum gradually loses steam and leaves you wishing that it had more consistent cleverness and bite .",
        "more movies going nowhere should be this much fun !",
        "what went wrong with this movie ?",
        "loopy enough to stand out from the homogenized pack but not bold enough to truly go the distance .",
        "yes , they really stared at goats , if you believe the reports on which this movie is based .",
        "the inmates here are running the asylum , trying to walk through walls because they 've been trained to believe that they can . they are jedis , or so they think , and though the force may elude them , their belief is unshaken . yoda would be puzzled but proud .",
        "it falls a bit short of the high bar it has set for itself , yet i respect the film 's willingness to aim that high . and it does get enough right to be worth seeing .",
        "if i could make a mix tape of scenes from this film i 'd watch them repeatedly . but as a whole , it was a missed opportunity . and the ending ... even obi-wan would roll his eyes . definitely not the droids i was looking for .",
        "-lsb- c -rsb- heeky , baffled madness ... -lsb- but -rsb- there is no doubt that the yearning and the questioning and the skepticism it all encapsulates about modern masculinity is achingly authentic ...",
        "the movie gets off to a strong start that is both amusing and highly entertaining but it ca n't maintain the high level of incredulity . it drags , sputters and then loses its fizz .",
        "the closer you look at the MOV , the better you see that its shaggy coat is covering some pointed truths .",
        "it 's clooney who holds this film together with his charismatic personality and inscrutable demeanor . cassady may be crazy , but there 's enough evidence that he is n't to keep us in suspense .",
        "no doubt is aiming for a catch-22 or dr. strangelove ... it feels more like the mel gibson/robert downey jr. vehicle air america .",
        "a quirky and clever movie about the oddball adventures of some psychic spies dedicated to nonlethal combat .",
        "the MOV has no edge . -lsb- it -rsb- is merely a slight , innocuous diversion . it depends on how tolerant you are of such meanderings as to how much you will enjoy it .",
        "equal parts `` dr. strangelove , '' `` three kings '' and a hope/crosby `` road '' picture .",
        "an absurd comedy that borders on genius",
        "it 's all amusing and loopy , while also insincere and unfocused . the film mocks rigid militarism and faddish alternative movements both , but it offers few fresh observations about either .",
        "here 's a subject that really could have used a stanley kubrick or a john frankenheimer or a robert altman . but are there any great cinematic satirists left , auteurs with the knack for black comedy and cold-blooded irony ?",
        "the MOV is a premise in wait for a movie -- the pilot episode for a tv series that got canceled before it got cooking .",
        "the MOV is a comedy , and i laughed quite a few times while watching it , but that sobering reality almost makes me want to cry .",
        "satire is never easy . the promise of this wartime comedy made me pine for classic movies such as catch-22 and mash : two savvy armed service send-ups that hit the mark all the way .",
        "george clooney dazzles and jeff bridges shines in a scattershot but often hilarious military farce .",
        "this lively satire looks destined for future cult status .",
        "in fits and starts , director heslov captures a lot of the drolly incredulous spirit of the book . it 's just too bad the dots do n't connect better .",
        "what 's mildly exasperating is that there is an actual quest involved : the MOV goes out to the desert in search of its tone-and never finds it .",
        "there are a handful of funny moments -- most of which appear in the trailer -- but overall , this is a film that would have benefited from someone staring at some rewrites .",
        "a smart satirical comedy .",
        "clooney gives it everything , but what does he get in return ? a void where the story is meant to be .",
        "as an insider , i know that goats is not 100 % true , but true enough to enjoy .",
        "a series of barely tethered surrealistic shenanigans perpetrated by coasting a-listers .",
        "... an odd movie that falls in between the cracks of dramedy and military satire . while it has a fine cast and some terrific moments , this story of an experimental u.s. military unit with allegedly psychic powers never really gets off the ground .",
        "strained and uncomfortably buffonish . everybody -lrb- except clooney -rrb- is mugging when they should 've just tried acting . real satire draws blood . this one nudges you in the ribs .",
        "silly psychics make good characters but do n't have enough to do",
        "while this often hilariously haphazard film draws you in , you 're ultimately left trying to discern fact from fiction .",
        "despite this offbeat film 's shortcomings , one ca n't help but admire director grant heslov and his influential pal clooney in bringing to the screen yet another timely reminder of war 's ludicrousness and ultimate futility .",
        "the film meanders in a nonsensical way and never reaches a satisfactory conclusion . it 's got a coen brothers edge to it and will leave many viewers scratching their heads .",
        "it 's more like a series of amazing anecdotes and crazy adventures than a fully formed story",
        "like its intriguing title , this ` more of it is true than you would believe ' satire about us intelligence , psychic spies , hippies and super soldiers is a trip to the wacky side",
        "dancing with goats",
        "it 's smugness -- unleavened by wit -- that makes goats so offensive .",
        "surreal and absurdly satirical , claiming , ` more of this is true than you 'd care to believe . '",
        "no amount of clooney mugging or priceless spacey glowering can fill in the gaps left by this meandering screenplay .",
        "blithe and teeming with actors having the time of their lives , goats is a hilarious , freewheeling descent into the abyssal madness of the military machine .",
        "the MOV is a magical-realist sitcom war farce that ends up being about nothing but its own slovenly smugness .",
        "there 's not much action in the MOV , despite ostensibly being a `` war movie '' -- but then again , that 's about what you 'd expect from a film about a military unit trained to fight with their minds instead of guns . and while the satir",
        "it actually does n't matter if the book is truthful . it does n't claim the paranormal powers are real . ronson simply says some officials thought they might be -- and that if they were , we had to get there first . the movie is funny either way .",
        "for a movie that searches constantly for a consistent feel , sometimes within the same scene , the MOV is remarkably entertaining .",
        "it 's broad and yet realistic , silly and yet never exhuberantly goofy .",
        "knowing exactly what really happened would be a lot more provocative than what we get : an offbeat jumble that feels like coen brothers-lite .",
        "this freewheeling war comedy is deeply entertaining due to the crazy-but-believable premise and wonderfully outrageous characters .",
        "heslov 's directing debut proves that he 's a more skillful writer-producer than helmer : his anti-military satire is narratively and technically shapeless , with half of the text funny and witty and half flat and tedious .",
        "a delicious and funny trip through the powers of the mind ... you could n't ask for a better cast of actors for this offbeat and frequently hilarious tale .",
        "a jokey mess so far from the humane , satirical alchemy of three kings that a revocation of the producer-star 's cinematic passport to the land of military-industrial japery seems in order .",
        "an amusing film -lrb- albeit in spurts -rrb- ... -lrb- although -rrb- armando iannucci 's in the loop is a hard act to follow for any politically-tinged comedy .",
        "at once optimistic about what the military could do if it replaced its guns with flowers , and cynical about what the non-believers and opportunists can - and did - do to that dream",
        "... infused with an unapologetically silly and irreverent sensibility ...",
        "intended as a farcical antidote to big-screen bores about afghanistan and iraq , it 's twice as pompous and endlessly tedious .",
        "it 's highly entertaining , wildly unconventional , and oddly thought provoking .",
        "with material like this , one would have liked a more incisive comedy to materialize around the decline and fall of the new age movement .",
        "the picture lacks discipline and focus at times , but it 's fun despite the chaos , although a wandering-in-the-desert scene goes on far too long .",
        "... the final product matches the title in both weirdness and drollery .",
        "MOV is one massively long star wars joke that gets annoying quick .",
        "at its best , goats maintains a giddy dr. strangelove-via-the-coen-brothers vibe .",
        "if looks could really kill , this film would already be dead .",
        "this coens-lite comedy squeezes every last drop of craziness from its source but is undone by a thin third act . mcgregor 's a good straight man , but it 's clooney 's show .",
        "the sense of emotional detachment keeps things feeling smooth and low-key , but , as is clear in the film 's last few scenes , the playful tone shades into the simply trivial , which in the setting does n't quite play .",
        "an amusing little farce inspired by some genuinely hair-raising true stories . but it loses its nerve in its second half as the need to impose conventional narrative closure eclipses the wacko subject matter . fun , but forgettable . burn after viewing .",
        "what we see is both true and not true , absurd and deadly serious . that works well to begin with , and the first hour or so is funny , engaging and occasionally poignant .",
        "it lacks the control of the coen brothers , in whose image the movie has been only serviceably created by first-time director grant heslov , and merely encourages the audience to stare at an all-star cast for 90 minutes or so .",
        "easily the funniest movie ever to feature a goat-slaying psychic .",
        "a disappointingly generic finale gives way to an ingenious final gag , however , with the gleefully anarchic spirit that drives the film leaving a much bigger impression than the patchy story .",
        "feels less like a transcendental breakthrough than a bit of conjuring misdirection . fun trick , though .",
        "stare at the goat all you want , but he 's not going to come up with a script . he might eat one , but write one ? naaaaaa .",
        "a competent , polished outing for heslov and his cast . but despite its undoubted qualities , its slightly smug attitude means it never quite matches the bite of earlier military satires .",
        "a raucous and rapid-fire military comedy that channels the absurdist spirit of catch 22 and three kings but is often something else entirely .",
        "if we ca n't be sure how much is just being made up , then we have to rely on the entertainment factor , and that is marginal .",
        "either someone missed the memo about other people 's lsd trips being a colossal drag , or else they fed it to a goat .",
        "erring on just the right side of silliness , its combination of slapstick and off-the-cuff sitcom mostly hits the right marks .",
        "the film is just so darned entertaining .",
        "not the acerbic , strangelovian satire one might expect but a pleasant , good-natured film that adopts the happy hippy vibe of bridges ' far-out vietnam vet ...",
        "this story is a myth , but it is pleasant , gentle and funny . like all myths , it reveals certain truths .",
        "mind-altering drugs just might make it seem better than it is .",
        "a quietly wacky military satire good for scattered chuckles and laughs .",
        "begins with the subtitle : `` more of this is true than you would believe . '' it 's the perfect beginning to a film that deftly combines truth and fiction .",
        "setting up easy targets , the MOV seems less clever than behind the times .",
        "psychic spies . jedi warriors . clooney delivers big time , but the story could have been better .",
        "comes to us as the latest political satire to have inadvertently sliced off its own pair .",
        "there 's a lament for perverting the purity of essence in enlightenment to military-complex exploitation . like the film 's test goats , it 's been de-bleated and , given the pithy talk of jedi warriors , this is not the political satire you 're looking for .",
        "through the whole film one has the feeling that the real story is just about to begin , but like the original military project , we go nowhere and nothing ever comes of anything .",
        "while i 'm sure that truth is indeed even stranger than this fiction , there is little here to drum that fact home with conviction . dr strangelove it is not , by a very long way .",
        "one of the year 's most unique films .",
        "the smug , are n't - we-clever tone does n't invite us to react to what we 're seeing because the movie already has satisfied itself that it 's delightful .",
        "a laidback , slightly underwhelming farce on the madness of the military .",
        "there are amusing moments , but you 'll need extra-sensory powers to spot the plot .",
        "does a passable imitation of a coen brothers comedy .",
        "interesting title , promisingly quirky subject , top-drawer cast - such a duff movie .",
        "a likable , lightweight , absurdist comedy .",
        "despite a strong cast 's admirable efforts , though , this ends up as a bit of an ill-defined muddle that should have focused more on fact than quirkiness .",
        "the film starts hopefully , drifts into the desert , ends up starved of point , pith and pattern .",
        "a serendipitous marriage of talent in which all hearts seem to beat as one .",
        "the MOV is a light-hearted and highly entertaining antidote to pompous large scale movies about iraq or aghanistan .",
        "the actors were having a much better time making the film than i did sitting in the theater watching it .",
        "it seems too much a privilege to be chuckling in the theater about psychic warfare while the unfunny business of combat in iraq and afghanistan continues .",
        "caution : staring at ` the MOV ' may result in your falling down laughing , courtesy of a devilishly smart script , subversive japery and a flawlessly funny cast .",
        "this is grizzled , wild-eyed clooney , not the suave sophisticate , and it 's a nice change of pace .",
        "a refreshingly unpredictable and fizzy comic fantasy .",
        "clooney and bridges model an assortment of wigs and facial hair as they labor to put across their outsize characters .",
        "heslov directs for the first time in a career that , i pray , will consist of one movie .",
        "despite whatever my illustrious partner writes , i found `` the MOV '' vastly entertaining .",
        "at best , it 's an assembly line of disconnected gags that rely entirely on mr. clooney 's sub-deadpans and mr. mcgregor 's innocent mug working perpendicular to the jokes . at worst , it 's a meditation on the greater absurdities of new age beliefs and ideals .",
        "the most watered-down episode of m * a * s * h * looks like a joseph heller classic by comparison",
        "baaaaaddddd . what a disappointment with clooney no less . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "komedija % u010diji protagonisti imaju profesionalnih razloga buljiti u koze sve najbolje gegove potro % u0161ila je u traileru",
        "remember how much fun the cast of ocean 's 12 looked like they were having while the audiences watching it were n't ? same thing .",
        "not a perfect satire by any means , but it does capture the insanity of our military using esp as a weapon . just one step ahead of ronald reagan using an astrologist .",
        "sometimes the movie can not get past being merely smile-inducing , but it 's a gently funny story of belief in one 's inner potential and in the general goodness of most people . i may forget i ever saw it , but i had a pretty good time nonetheless .",
        "a nearly apolitical farce where clooney 's combination of wide-eyed lunacy and steely-eyed conviction mesh nicely ... and where bridges is quite dude-like in his hippie-dippie demeanor .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "this outlandish , bizarre film is funny enough to keep your attention diverted .",
        "what a waste of a great premise .",
        "still , there is clooney 's deceptively layered performance , some startling bits of laugh-out-loud absurdity , and the not-at-all-negligible pleasure to be had in a cockeyed point of view .",
        "definitely a film for those looking for something off the beaten path , though the lack of a more defined plot keeps this from being a must-see film .",
        "may not measure up to the book that inspired it , its irreverent sense of humor and colorful cast of characters make it a more than worthwhile viewing .",
        "from casting to conclusion , it feels like second-tier stuff , throwing away an opportunity for provocative satire in favour of a tribute band trying out familiar riffs , hamstrung by their own lack of technique .",
        "a sincere enough , well-played , pleasant distraction .",
        "inspired daftness . and well worth a stare for fans of clooney and inventive comedy alike .",
        "the star of the show is undoubtedly clooney , who delivers one of his best performances .",
        "peter straughan 's peppy , star wars-reference laden script matches clooney 's star power , but the plot goes a bit too far off the rails at the end .",
        "heslov leaves his deadpan-preening actors with nowhere to go . thus , like the shaggy , stubborn subjects of their daffy telekinetic experiments , they mostly stand around chewing their own cud .",
        "now that bush is n't in office the satire feels less enraged , the funny stuff seems aimed at whoever happens to be in the way and the entire movie feels like something the coen brothers felt was n't mean enough for them to bother with .",
        "even clooney seems to be spinning his wheels here , playing the same self-aware looniness we 've seen from him in coen brothers movies , just as jeff bridges is right back in `` big lebowski '' territory .",
        "a one-trick pony , or should i say one-trick goat , which relies heavily on slight variations of a running joke which gets stale pretty fast .",
        "lesser version of catch-22 .",
        "even if you have n't seen a movie about psychic jedi warriors in the u.s. army who kill goats with their mind , you may come out of -lsb- this film -rsb- thinking that you 've seen a lot of it before .",
        "the MOV meanders aimlessly without ever reaching a satisfying conclusion .",
        "take a wonderfully farcical premise based on fact and turn it into a mostly entertaining , sometimes sluggish film about men playing preposterous war games % u2013 with their minds .",
        "heslov thinks he 's making a coen brothers movie , so clooney and especially bridges continuously play up how `` off '' they are , but the source material did n't need any help .",
        "gets by on its goofy , absurdist charm and gonzo characters without ever making a significant impact",
        "it 's a disappointment .",
        "everyone involved seems to have had a pretty good time , but this one looks like it was more fun to make than it is to watch .",
        "it probably sounded funny on paper , and yes , onscreen , there are a few moments of deadpan wackiness .",
        "it has a quick pace and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments , though you might wish it had tried to do something a little more substantial .",
        "hilarious and also sobering .",
        "loopy war comedy 's offbeat humor may appeal to teens .",
        "and yet , while `` the MOV '' may not completely succeed as a whole , it has so many worthwhile individual elements that it should not be completely written off either .",
        "a pleasant comic diversion that 's salvaged by its veteran cast .",
        "parental content review",
        "a loopy , fact-scattered comedy close to woeful in its failure at producing laughs and some much-needed levity . if there is some big , meaningful point to the film , it is lost in a landmine of slapstick and mugging .",
        "there are moments of levity throughout the film , but it 's made with pedestrian craft and feels more like a set-up and a series of vignettes than a compelling yarn .",
        "by throwing both paranormal rumors and sadly true events at the wall , the writer and director make the whole production feel like a messy experiment -- but one that , nonetheless , is a lot of fun to partake in .",
        "george clooney , jeff bridges and kevin spacey get the audience wrapped up in one of the silliest and goofiest movies of the year .",
        "a silly movie that puts the loony in clooney and the ewww in ewan",
        "maybe it is just easier to laugh at things that happened decades ago , but the contemporary story never attains the same power as the flashbacks .",
        "whatever george clooney and his friends are smoking , could they please pass some of it around ? we 're confused and we need it .",
        "... clooney is tongue in cheek convincing .",
        "a likable little movie that feels more indie than most indies , is n't afraid to shamble along , and , sadly , seems oblivious to the fact that it 's in need of a bigger ending .",
        "i walked out feeling as if it had been enjoyable , even though the word on my lips was , ` huh ? '",
        "feels all too light ; it 's a movie wherein all the best , funniest bits were shown in the trailer .",
        "sometimes hits big with genuine laugh-out-loud moments , but more often , this comedy leaves us scratching our heads , wondering where it all went so wrong .",
        "the picture soon runs literally and figuratively into the sands and ca n't dig itself out .",
        "too shallow for satire and not funny enough for comedy , the infantile goats is really just a silly absurdist movie trying to pass for an antiwar film .",
        "the slapstick is broad and the jokes are scattershot , but the satirical digs at the self-delusion directing much of american foreign policy are well aimed .",
        "una comedia sat\u00edrica y anti militarista mucho menos graciosa de lo que promet\u00eda .",
        "all in all , goats would have been groaningly familiar , even back in the 1960s .",
        "the film aspires to the kind of quirk the coen brothers do so well . it delivers quirk in droves . it just stops short of the big yucks .",
        "although clooney 's charm factor helps cassady rise above the caricatures created by the rest of the cast . ... it wo n't necessarily elevate a mediocre film into one worth watching .",
        "the MOV makes -lsb- true lies -rsb- seem like a sensitive and balanced take on american/middle eastern relations .",
        "the oddity of its subject matter ca n't quite find a suitable groove between weird believability and preposterous put-on .",
        "a genuinely funny film packed with acting talent -lrb- ... -rrb- well worth 90 minutes of anyone 's time .",
        "it 's heslov 's sarcastic , assuming tone , not the actors , that makes goats so intolerable , and it begins immediately with the opening credits .",
        "even at a brief running time of 87 minutes , the film feels stretched , leaving you as `` the person who blankly stares at the screen '' ... until it 's finally over .",
        "the juxtaposition of bridges ' tripped-out troops and iran-contra-era skullduggery makes for a few easy laughs , but the movie 's satire never grows teeth ; its depiction of the military as obsessive goofballs makes their excesses seem more trivial than dange",
        "the yarn unravels without ever identifying its satirical targets . is it a lampoon of peace-and-love mysticism ? a critique of militant war-for-profit privateers ? ultimately , it 's a shapeless wad of goat cheese .",
        "this is the anti-hurt locker experience : where that iraq war film was absorbing and deadly serious , the MOV is irreverent and lighthearted .",
        "the MOV does n't stay with you long , but it 's good fun while it lasts .",
        "there 's not much of a story here . all that energy , all that enthusiasm and all that self-generated propulsion are about one thing : distracting us from realizing it .",
        "there 's no doubt we need more movies for grown-ups , with jokes that do n't hit us over the head , but the MOV does n't fit the bill . at best , it might hypnotize you into a stupor .",
        "if there does n't seem to be enough story here to make a movie , seeing the film 's practiced farceurs at work ca n't help but be amusing . a lot more fun , all things considered , than trying to will yourself through a wall .",
        "you may wonder if this screen version of the book of the same name is as unfunny and strangely mushy as it seems , but trust your instincts .",
        "the MOV has a glorious good time satirizing the extravagant lengths to which the military and intelligence establishments will go if they think there 's a payoff at the other end .",
        "nagging deficiencies aside , i ca n't deny that i found this to be a fizzy , funny little romp ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the MOV is a mostly entertaining , farcical glimpse of men at war , some may find its satire and dark humor less than edgy .",
    "id": "770790932"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bread_and_roses",
    "reviews": [
        "loach 's politics are almost as insultingly simplistic as his melodramatic plotting and one-dimensional characters .",
        "it often feels inauthentic , sometimes preachy .",
        "the entire blend just does n't jell .",
        "give me a heroine who is n't so egocentric and utterly worthless .",
        "loach is more committed to his message than to his characters .",
        "the film is full of pungent and telling observation .",
        "you wo n't be able to look through cleaning people again as if they were invisible . on that count , it 's a godsend .",
        "makes a powerfully persuasive case .",
        "if you want social commentary but absorbing entertainment , gritty realism but fictionalized whimsy , something for the head but something for the heart , too , MOV delivers .",
        "will this movie change anything , or this review make you want to see it ? no , probably not . but when you come in tomorrow morning , someone will have emptied your wastebasket .",
        "while much of the film 's politics is rather simplistic , loach grounds enough of the movie in the story of the two sisters to make it interesting and immensely viewable .",
        "we become so engrossed in the lives and relationships of the characters that the presentation of the message seems like a natural extension of the story , not something grafted heavy-handedly onto the plot .",
        "entertainment that 's good and good for you .",
        "the whole thing has a feel of bad propaganda to it .",
        "the script 's dull , the long improvised scenes could use some polish and inexperienced newcomer padilla leaves an emotional vacuum in the center of the drama .",
        "the themes here are obvious , and there 's very little entertainment value at hand , but until julie taymor -lrb- or whoever -rrb- delivers a janitors ! musical , this is a fine study of the conflict .",
        "MOV is not just a well-acted and moving drama about the plight of a group of latino janitors ; it 's also a wake-up call to get our collective head out of the sand .",
        "the strength of this vibrant , stirring film is that it does n't get sidetracked by trying to encompass a love story , and furthermore dares to end on a note that is decidedly bittersweet .",
        "an involving story is lost under preachiness .",
        "a collection of small , heroic acts that lead the characters and the audience to a greater knowledge of yet another injustice .",
        "reality is achieved in the acting ... not through some annoying shaky video camera work .",
        "a powerful , occasionally didactic but deeply resonant film .",
        "loach distills transformative drama and subtle interpersonal revelations that rival the most elaborate epic productions .",
        "loach treats -lsb- the story -rsb- as a late-breaking sidebar to a narrative that essentially amounts to a tract on the glories of unskilled trade unionism .",
        "what makes loach 's effort memorable is his impeccable eye for detail , both in human behavior and physical setting , and the performances he pulls from his players .",
        "despite its occasional over-simplification , however , MOV is a powerfully affecting film .",
        "it does n't really succeed in illustrating the workers ' plights in a way that is ultimately sympathetic .",
        "... less dogmatic and milder than most of loach 's work , with a kind of sweet dignity about it",
        "loach 's left-leaning social activism is at the service of a potent and touching story",
        "at times `` MOV '' looks disingenuous ...",
        "it might make emotional sense , but it does n't make legal sense , and the plot rests heavily on legal issues .",
        "loach and a very good cast make it work .",
        "presents a slice of life that has hardly made a scratch on american celluloid . with any luck , that scratch will help generate a real itch .",
        "there 's every reason to watch MOV",
        "a tough sell .",
        "there are many intimate scenes that make the characters of sam , rosa and maya very personal .",
        "the problem with ken loach 's half-spanish , half-english film is n't the lefty politics , it 's that the brit knows nothing about los angeles .",
        "a picture without much passion .",
        "loach ... has made his most appealing and involving movie to date with the touching , naturalistic MOV .",
        "is n't a bad movie , just a painfully obvious one .",
        "loach and screenwriter paul laverty draw everything in simplistic , overstated terms .",
        "as didactic as it sometimes gets , its heart is always bigger than its ideology .",
        "a touching , realistic , heartwarming drama based on a struggle to unionize janitors in l.a.",
        "a somewhat awkward plot , and too many scenes consisting of people in meetings or singing protest songs .",
        "brody ... gives the movie a comedic side that is jarringly out of place with the rest of the drama .",
        "even viewers of completely different political views from loach 's may find it difficult to remain totally unmoved by it .",
        "preaches to the choir and overreaches its grasp , but it could n't be timelier .",
        "builds to the kind of derisorily bittersweet finale that earmarks productions that are infatuated with their own beliefs .",
        "ken loach 's passion for social justice shines through the experiences of these latino characters and ignites our hearts .",
        "has a sort of straw-man quality .",
        "yet in a period of stylistic ostentation , loach 's modest transparency of means is salutary .",
        "... the actual execution unfortunately does n't carry the full dramatic weight the movie makers believe .",
        "an impassioned work of integrity and a human drama of observation , insight , and great import .",
        "a stirring and thought-provoking look at some uncomfortable truths that most americans ignore .",
        "michael moore can do a much better job of making potentially unsympathetic people more likeable in his pursuit for truth and justice ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has powerful moments , but it also sometimes descends into preachiness .",
    "id": "14301"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bee_movie",
    "reviews": [
        "amiable but no more .",
        "unfortunately , bees just are n't that funny .",
        "a surprisingly unfunny , belabored and unimaginative comedy , MOV is a huge disappointment considering the extent of seinfeld 's participation .",
        "watching this pun-filled cartoon is like falling into a tray of children 's watercolors -- the warm end , where oranges and yellows and ambers wave .",
        "MOV has a few charming moments and a scene or two with legitimate hilarity , but mostly it 's just mediocre .",
        "MOV does n't touch the bar raised so high by pixar , but it creates a little buzz of its own .",
        "MOV is a cute movie . not that there 's anything ... well , you know the rest . but cute is not what adults expect from jerry seinfeld , although children will be delighted .",
        "feels slight and attenuated , even at a brisk 82 minutes .",
        "the movie has some pretty pictures and a few good jokes , but not nearly enough . and the story suffers from sitcom attention-deficit disorder , veering off in a new direction every half-hour or so .",
        "what i like about MOV is its comfy , off-the-cuff charm : unlike a lot of animated family entertainment , it 's not all thwack smash kaboom .",
        "the film is undistinguished visually . worse , it is n't especially funny .",
        "some humor in MOV is too sophisticated for little kids , but there are enough dazzling action scenes to compensate . youngsters wo n't get an allusion to the graduate , but they 'll enjoy the slapstick that follows .",
        "it 's bee-buzzingly silly .",
        "all of this material , written by seinfeld and writers associated with his television series , tries hard , but never really takes off .",
        "i got antsy in the MOV .",
        "the depth of talent in the cast and gag writing shines through , but it 's only just enough to take your mind off of the flat animation .",
        "amusing comedy with likeable characters , colourful animation and several great gags , though the script is n't as focussed as it should have been .",
        "passes the time , but undoutedly one for the little ` uns .",
        "MOV has its moments but all in all there is very little sting in its tale .",
        "bright , sunny and almost instantly forgettable , even jerry seinfeld ca n't stop MOV from boldly going where far too many cgi animations have gone before .",
        "whatever happened to no hugs , no learning ? it 's enough to bring you out in hives .",
        "the animation is fine , the plot accessible enough for youngsters and it clocks in at a snappy hour and a half .",
        "events veer from the apocalyptic -lrb- the near-extinction of america 's flowers -rrb- to the inexplicable -lrb- the finale is a parody of an ` airport ' movie -rrb- , all presented with a glib yada-yada sense of inconsequentiality .",
        "sadly the animation fails to bee-dazzle - often looking a bit flat . overall , it has to be a bee-plus .",
        "this dreamworks film is not the sliced-bread marvel it has spent an enormous amount of money pretending to be . but it must be said that seinfeld 's script is a thing of wonder .",
        "on the whole , this is another disappointing animated effort and it resides considerably lower on the totem pole than this year 's current non-live action champion , ratatouille .",
        "the film is nutty , ecological , antically funny , and moving , all at the same time .",
        "what a treat to see a comedy that starts funny , is funny in the middle , and ends funny - unlike the usual hollywood model in which all the humour is used up in the first act setting up the premise , and then winds down into sentimentality .",
        "the best we can award is bee minus .",
        "seinfeld the professional cynic has become seinfeld the environmental crusader . who 'd have thunk it ?",
        "what distinguishes this better than half-decent comedy is its detailed insight into the bee brain",
        "this curiously flat animated comedy simply does n't have the sparkle one expects from a jerry seinfeld project .",
        "bee sure to see this .",
        "cleverly acted and beautifully rendered , `` MOV '' is another animated triumph from the studio that brought us `` shrek . ''",
        "anyone smarter than a fifth grader will get a kick out the ingenuity , stellar animation , and relentless higher level humor -lrb- what , no poop jokes ? -rrb- of a film that will reward multiple viewings .",
        "amusing and likeable , but scarcely memorable .",
        "given the amount of talent involved - ren\u00e9e zellweger , matthew broderick , rip torn , and seinfeld himself - it all feels like a terrible waste .",
        "it is mercifully less than 90 minutes long , but make that an hour and a half of witty , captivating enchantment .",
        "seinfeld has completely dumbed-down his normal clever wit in order to appeal to younger kids ; they 're probably the only ones who might enjoy this .",
        "if only every bee were named ` chris rock ' the movie would have the stinging humor it sorely lacks .",
        "the big monster in this movie is n't the human race , but those humans who failed to make a compelling film .",
        "a giddy , freewheeling , clever , delightful animated romp ` about nothing , ' a thing onto itself , the very definition of existential phenomenon .",
        "maybe it would have been better for seinfeld to make an animated movie about nothing .",
        "seinfeld , what happened ? you 've gone soft on us . sure , some of it is fun but where 's the sting ?",
        "MOV is never an unpleasant experience , but it 's never a particularly engaging or funny film either .",
        "seinfeld 's sardonic wit is as sharp and irresistible as ever ...",
        "will small children even care about what bees do ? all they care about is not getting stung .",
        "a friendly , joke-stuffed animated feature .",
        "a desperate , unfocused collection of bits and schtick that sends you out of the theater exhausted and unsatisfied .",
        "as its potential trans-species romance can never be consummated , the movie turns instead into a peculiarly balanced relationship comprised of financial and legal accord .",
        "call it the curse of high expectations but with jerry seinfeld involved , laughs should flow like honey but they do n't - unless you 're really into bee puns .",
        "seinfeld 's animated feature flies a little too fast to leave a lasting impression .",
        "seinfeld 's pleasingly idiosyncratic comic voice comes through in the haphazard , slaphappy storyline . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- his comedy provides sporadic chuckles but , you 'll pardon the expression , drones on for much of its running time .",
        "a kids movie with a moral , that 's rare ! ...",
        "... tries mightily to be cute and cuddly , and in this regard it succeeds ... at least for kids .",
        "personally , i think i liked `` nothing '' better .",
        "... may not be `` about nothing , '' but it is not about much more than the puny pun in the title .",
        "a consistently amusing bit of animated whimsy from funnyman jerry seinfeld that has the observational comic 's fingerprints all over it .",
        "has there ever been an uglier animated feature ? the eerie , fever-dream-like faux three-dimensionality , the cyborg-like humanoids , the septic , etiolated colors .",
        "its moral that even the smallest creature can make a world of difference is one to be appreciated . it is a shame , however , that it could not keep up its energetic and fun pace established within its first act .",
        "the hyperactive comic randomness is deadening",
        "it 's impersonal . it does n't come from anywhere interesting .",
        "the weak storyline hovers over a scene while foraging for material and then flits off to a new situation . without a strong narrative , the movie tends to drone on .",
        "while most animated features , even the bad ones , champion individuality , MOV flies in the opposite direction by rallying around the notions of conformity and subservience .",
        "`` MOV '' has a little bit of something for everyone . it 's loaded with action and sight gags for the kids and enough adult humor to keep the grownups happy .",
        "enjoyable fun even if it 's not particularly original .",
        "smarter than it is funny with delicious design .",
        "i was thoroughly entertained in this lively burst of nonsense that has little agenda except to amuse",
        "a falta de estrutura n\u0441o \u0436 o \u0449nico problema do roteiro , que ainda \u0436 prejudicado por di\u0440logos pouco inspirados e pelo desenvolvimento descuidado de v\u0440rias situa\u0443\u0448es .",
        "great fun",
        "what MOV really lacks is a compelling hero . seinfeld is essentially playing himself , so what we get is a stand-up comedian in a black and yellow sweater .",
        "another ground-breaking show about nothing -- a hornet 's nest of hype for a fat hive of nothing .",
        "not nearly as funny , clever or witty as one would have hoped .",
        "a big-screen , 90-minute saturday morning cartoon that 's really for grown-ups , but happens to be relatively safe and thoroughly entertaining for kids , too .",
        "one of the better animated films of the year , an enjoyable and consistently clever ride courtesy of the very original comic viewpoint of the man who made arguably the best sitcom of all time .",
        "MOV will make you think twice before swatting one of the yellow and black guys next time you 're being buzzed .",
        "here 's the biggest problem most folks will have with MOV : it 's not ratatouille .",
        "unless your idea of wit is an unrelenting stream of groan-inducing insect puns , `` MOV '' offers little more than buzzkill .",
        "it has enough buzzing wit and eye-popping animation to win over the kids -- and probably more than a few parents , too .",
        "kids should get a kick out of it , but anyone craving seinfeld 's usual brand of funny business will have to stick to tv reruns .",
        "while never as clever as it thinks it is , and lacking the internal logic that makes a pixar project hum with indescribable brilliance , MOV is still a witty , imaginative romp .",
        "MOV is fun , if not formulaic in its humor and story approach . the writers threw in every ... bee joke and situation you could think of , yet the movie still works .",
        "this well-meaning but comically limp offering from dreamworks animation inspires boredom more than anything .",
        "seinfeld 's droll , witty observations add to the adult appeal of ` MOV , ' and youngsters will probably enjoy its eye-popping colors .",
        "all in all , MOV 's large team of writers and directors scrape together enough for kids to enjoy , but kids these days have come to expect more than just `` enough '' from their animated movies .",
        "i liked MOV because it was cute , funny , family-friendly , and mercifully brief .",
        "there will be more gags and puns in the reviews of press pundits than could be found in the entirety of this film , which fails to create a bee world of any logic or surprise .",
        "a snazzy-looking mixed bag . kids will be diverted , adults will tolerate it , and all involved will be expecting something more imaginative than what jerry seinfeld has whittled together .",
        "it 's still the dreamworks model of big , recognizable voices playing their personas , but this time it 's an actual movie too . they wait a while to unload all the major pop culture references .",
        "harmless fun for the whole family .",
        "the jokes are bad -lrb- the puns are worse -rrb- , the voice direction is pitiful , and logic is thrown out the window in order for the third act to even exist .",
        "the most genuinely apian aspect of MOV is that it spends a lot of its running time buzzing happily around , sniffing out fresh jokes wherever they may bloom .",
        "MOV is certainly not low-budget , but it has all the staying power and creative value of a b-movie . the secret life of bees , as told by seinfeld , is a bore with a capital b.",
        "MOV is n't a b movie , it 's a z movie , as in dizmal .",
        "made for kids with more bee puns than carrot top and kenny bania could ever imagine",
        "bet you 're just itching to see `` MOV . `` this little honey was launched with an ad campaign possibly equal to the cost of launching a space shuttle ... bees have been everywhere .",
        "instead of gently skewering the conventions of contemporary animation , it simply follows them to a t",
        "begins warily as a mild chucker and then reveals itself to be an increasingly clever and very funny appreciation of a bee 's existence .",
        "certainly MOV could 've been smarter , faster , and far cleverer , and it 's disappointing to watch seinfeld settle for less . for a man who made a mint reveling in comedic risk on a weekly basis , his first movie lacks serious sting .",
        "jerry seinfeld returns to the mainstream spotlight with MOV , which proves as awkward and ineffective as george costanza 's attempts to wear a toupee .",
        "MOV just lacks spirit and energy . part of the problem may be that , as far as i 'm concerned , any animated movie released this year -lrb- and possibly in years to come -rrb- suffers in comparison with brad bird 's ratatouille .",
        "MOV feels phoned in on every level .",
        "pleasant but entirely forgettable .",
        "it 's on the easygoing level of surf 's up , and a full tick up from , say , over the hedge or the ant bully . but given the seinfeld pedigree it 's something of a disappointment .",
        "at its relaxed best , when it 's about , well , nothing , the slyly comic MOV is truly beguiling .",
        "does bee survive the hype ? not quite , but it is semi-charming and reasonably clever in that facile dreamworks animation kind of way .",
        "this digitally animated feature is not a great movie , but it is colorful , imaginative and solid entertainment . in many respects , it 's more educational and more exciting than it is laugh-out-loud funny .",
        "MOV is n't the second coming of seinfeld , but there 's just enough of his singular personality to engage fans and enough buzzy action to delight the holiday kid audience .",
        "seinfeld comedy is cute fun for the whole family .",
        "it 's one of the better animated movies of the year -- admittedly , rising to the top of a shallow pool .",
        "an often-inspired smart comedy for kids , and a vintage seinfeld laugh for adults .",
        "beyond its basic concept , MOV has n't the first idea where to go .",
        "this is a beautifully animated , cleverly executed , warm and funny adventure .",
        "regardless of its pg rating , if you are a fan of jerry seinfeld 's comedy style , then you will probably find a lot to like here . this is an incredibly witty film .",
        "the movie 's more than cute , funny , and -lrb- at 81 minutes -rrb- brisk enough to move families in and out of the multiplex in mass quantities , like the social insects we are .",
        "compare this to the output of a studio like pixar , and the movie really fits its title : a second-rate computer-animated comedy .",
        "seinfeld 's quick wit and glib personality are strong enough to give the scattershot story an illusion of coherence .",
        "rock has but two scenes in the film , but he needs a hundred more . give the man his own movie , please , if only because it 'd bee far better than this one .",
        "too confusing to be humorous .",
        "-lrb- regarding -rrb- ... the relationship between woman and bee ... a tender moment of their holding hands -lrb- yes , one is a bee hand -rrb- while on the terrace is sort of cute , sort of creepy .",
        "a spelling bee . a busy bee . a killer bee . but a seinfeld bee ? sorry jerry , your hapless honey-seeking hero does n't create much of an animated buzz .",
        "mostly amusing and good-natured , occasionally hysterical , and actually manages to sneak in a subtle lesson about nature .",
        "it 's not worth seeing , but if all the hype has you expecting a classic , you should lower your expectations .",
        "seinfeld 's observational humor is relegated to the edges of a lightweight story .",
        "absurd enough to delight kids , overstuffed with verbal and visual in-jokes for grownups , it 's a 90-minute joyride that barely pauses for breath . this is unquestionably the best movie that ever began as a bad pun .",
        "the riskiest move seinfeld made was to create an unlikable protagonist who is wrong every step of the way , but treat him like a hero .",
        "never funny , never meaningful , never coherent , never animated .",
        "it 's a minor film . it 'll be amusing once and then forgotten .",
        "if it 's not toy story , well , what is ? but MOV offers plenty of entertainment for all ages -- though , truth be told , the older the better .",
        "not a flawless animated adaptation of seinfeld 's sometimes-cynical , always-obsessive takes on the trivial . even at 91 minutes , it 's long , and some of its voices too shrill , but the energetic brio of its social satire stings without turning inappropriate .",
        "MOV is best viewed as an oddball career move rather than as a successful movie .",
        "a welcome diversion from dreamworks animation 's increasingly trying shrek series .",
        "the vibe is loose-limbed and fluky , and the gags have an extra snap that 's recognizably seinfeldian . if i believed in a sitcom afterlife , i 'd swear the whole thing was cooked up by kramer and george 's dad .",
        "infectiously amusing ? more often than not .",
        "after shrek the third 's flatulence jokes , the return of that seinfeldian wit brings animation up a level .",
        "you might have been able to get away with stuff like this in the pre-pixar age . not anymore .",
        "yet another animated flick with a starry cast in which a creature that ordinarily would seem pesky is rendered as not just harmless but even lovable and idiosyncratically human . enough already .",
        "is n't quite as funny as the swarm ... neither frisky nor imaginative enough to merit even its short ninety-minute running time .",
        "the mock outrage and dry sarcasm of seinfeld 's comic persona defines the movie 's hero , a worker bee with a high-pitched , often cracking whine .",
        "nothing about the movie resonates emotionally .",
        "jerry seinfeld 's comic sensibility enlivens this tale of a bee who wants to fly by the seat of his pants .",
        "seinfeld does n't need to go back to his ` show about nothing ' premise , but here 's hoping his next project can be about just a little less .",
        "a kid film with not enough going on .",
        "is it as bold as it might be ? does it blaze with invention ? is it the best babbling-bee urban biopic , bar none ? just about .",
        "everybody 's least favorite hive workers get an anthropomorphic makeover , courtesy of jerry seinfeld , in this animated flick that 's got some stinging wit but a story that 's strictly for the birds .",
        "it leaves no unpleasant aftertaste . if you take impressionable kids , you should be prepared to explain two things : no , bees and humans do not normally live happily ever after ; and yes , bees sometimes just sting you for the hell of it .",
        "the film 's charm , quickness and design carry the day .",
        "the whole thing 's pretty cute and breezy .",
        "genuine silliness is so rare a quality these days that it should n't go undervalued , even in a sweet little nothing of a picture like MOV .",
        "what a pleasure . after a cackle of serious dramas and actual letter grade b movies , this silly insect film was just the ticket to put a little honey in my tea .",
        "bland , watered-down seinfeld-ian humor for kids , amusing at best , grating at worst .",
        "relentlessly uneven yet basically entertaining ...",
        "without a particularly strong storyline and loaded with only modestly enjoyable gags , it putts along like a familiar old jalopy , reasonably likeable if eminently forgettable .",
        "MOV is a solid mix of comforting gags , clever language and a meandering plot that does n't seem to have enough gas to stretch out into a full feature .",
        "never sappy , often clever , and always great to look at . in short the perfect vehicle to keep the kiddies -lrb- and their adults -rrb- amused while getting across a well-framed message about species interdependence",
        "bee-boundaries are so last-year and fans are likely to understand it in seinfeldian-hysterical terms . to the rest of us it 's an overstretched been-there , seen-that concept .",
        "decade-old leftovers reaching for laughs .",
        "i ca n't believe i 'm going to say it , but this film is as busy as a bee .",
        "dreamworks animation is not pixar , no matter how hard it tries . dreamworks ' animated films lack the sort of effortless charm , animated grace and satirical wit that pixar seems to generate instinctively .",
        "MOV is a light , moderately entertaining romp . not that there 's anything wrong with that .",
        "an agreeable though tame animated picture that more than does the trick but is unlikely to become a super buzz flick .",
        "jerry seinfeld 's disappointing labor of animated-movie love is more of a lukewarm handholding experience than a full embrace .",
        "not only are the bees nonsensical , so is the plot , even grading on the fantasy curve ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has humorous moments , but its awkward premise and tame delivery render it mostly forgettable .",
    "id": "390896977"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10008587-beverly_hills_chihuahua",
    "reviews": [
        "why ?",
        "delgado -lrb- voiced by andy garcia -rrb- , a reluctantly heroic german shepherd , definitely deserves a movie of his own ! eat your heart out , rin tin tin .",
        "a shallow cinematic shill at best .",
        "kids movies over the past few years have proven they can be just as good as grown up films -lrb- wall * e -rrb- , but this one brings us back to the drawing board .",
        "in less enlightened times those responsible for making animals talk would have been burnt at the stake as sorcerers . that 's why those times were known as ` the good old days . '",
        "tremendously routine , in a way that an adventure film about talking chihuahuas should not be .",
        "the script 's one original idea , a lost aztec city populated solely by militant chihuahuas , comes too late to save this dog of a movie .",
        "MOV is n't terrible . ok , it 's kind of terrible , but it 's a talking-dog movie , and anyone who goes to a talking-dog movie without being prepared to step in poop deserves to ruin his shoes .",
        "even after a slow start , this silly kiddie flick has a little more pep than you might expect . it 's no doggie classic , but neither does it deserve a pooper scooper .",
        "for the seven year olds out there , this is a perfectly fun movie and there 's nothing that a cranky film critic can say to sour the experience .",
        "while cgi works its ventriloquism on the doggy mandibles , it neglects the human contingent , who are left to fend for themselves amid the manipulated menagerie .",
        "while it does n't work particularly well on any of those levels , it is a colourful addition to the always popular talking dog genre .",
        "upbeat talking-animal adventure is fun for kids .",
        "you could say MOV is lady and the tramp meets viva zapata ! , but seriously , i 've seen zestier attitude in a purina commercial .",
        "like cnn , the film assumes it needs nothing more than our unlimited interest in the drama of a white female gone missing in a foreign country .",
        "sure , it 's essentially legally blonde told from a dog 's perspective , down to chloe 's newfound self-awareness , but darned if it is n't awfully cute .",
        "compared to the best doggie flicks , it may be the runt of the litter , but like most mutts it grows on you .",
        "a surprise charmer that mixes family-friendly slapstick with shrewd adult humor .",
        "for kids who like dogs and grown-ups who do n't mind a movie filled with pro-adopt-a-shelter-dog messages , it could theoretically be worse .",
        "a painfully unfunny , virtually charmless talking-animals pic . what did the lovely jamie lee curtis see in this project that she felt warranted coming out of semi-retirement for ?",
        "in truth , this good-natured disney comedy is an engaging romp .",
        "this live-action disney comedy is the kind of family film which is aimed not so much at parents , as small children and their goldfish , as long as the goldfish do not have too long an attention span .",
        "it 's put across with enough brio to excuse the inherent stupidity of the premise .",
        "only watch this if you adore seeing dogs wearing shades .",
        "watchable , largely average family movie , enlivened by decent performances and the occasionally surreal , off-the-wall moment .",
        "you want to cringe as the picture begins , but you end up quite enjoying it .",
        "what does n't make sense is that while the doggies can follow human speech , the humans do n't get pooch talk , it 's all yap-yapanese .",
        "silly beyond reason , it somehow manages to win us over despite our doubts , and by the end we 're ashamed that we ca n't stop giggling .",
        "it 's cute and sweet and funny .",
        "it kind of reaffirmed a lot of cultural stereotypes .",
        "actually better than its premise and its trailer might lead you to expect .",
        "the story 's a bit dog-eared , but the voice cast adds plenty of energetic bite .",
        "it 's cute alright , with wild ideas , funny lines and a central premise that reinforces loyalty and being true to yourself . beyond the obvious frivolity",
        "ticket buyers older than 8 should simply close their eyes and ponder a more stimulating concept : beverly hills cujo .",
        "as depressing as it is to find so many gifted artists reduced to making a talking-dog picture , MOV turns out to be genuinely sweet .",
        "this anthropomorphic tale will likely please the kiddies , and the animal trainers and vocal talent are to be commended , but anyone over the age of twelve will be bored .",
        "some will think this is a cute funny movie , and the rest of us will go running and screaming from the theater begging god to take away our eyesight so we never have to see it again",
        "depending on your tolerance for talking chihuahuas , this live-action comic offering from disney could make for a fun family night out .",
        "chihuahua turns out to be a pretty good family comedy that is more than the sum of its effects .",
        "most movies in the talking-dog genre -- yes , unfortunately , there are enough of them to be a genre -- feature dogs doing stand-up shtick . but the pooches in beverly hill chihuahua have character , and so does the movie .",
        "aside from some obvious racial stereotypes and voices that occasionally stray into frito bandito territory , chihuahua has charm to spare for the adults , while offering plenty to keep young pups enthralled .",
        "a welcome surprise .",
        "i spent a lot of time in the early scenes wondering how much jamie lee curtis had to be paid to go on cooing in a demented way as viv , chloe 's besotted owner .",
        "once it gets the dumb ` talk to the paw ! ' jokes out of its system , it 's actually a reasonably charming , mostly benign kids ' movie that adults can watch without their heads exploding .",
        "an unfunny , uninventive live-action variation on animated disney animal adventures lady and the tramp , oliver and company and the aristocats .",
        "could cheech marin ever have predicted that he would once again appear in a movie that features his signature song , `` low rider , '' and that it would be such a dog ?",
        "portraying mexico as a breeding ground for criminal activity , imagining the local police as incompetent fools , and encouraging lines such as `` hold your tacos ! , '' the movie does n't exactly make a strong case for racial harmony .",
        "like most recent disney movies , this one has way too much going on in it , as if the producers were assuaging their distrust of the premise with meandering subplots and unnecessary characters .",
        "the good news is that `` MOV '' is not the 90-minute-long ethnic joke that the incessant trailers have been promising for the last few months . the bad news is that it is n't much of anything else either .",
        "quite sweet .",
        "the predictable story may be enough to keep dog-obsessed children entertained , assuming they do n't get distressed by the pups-in-peril aspects , but for adults it 's only sporadically entertaining .",
        "sublimely silly and oddly poignant , MOV -- that 's right , the one with the talking canines -- is lady and the tramp for lap dogs , roots for pooches , legally blonde told from bruiser 's point of view .",
        "at first glance , it seems like just another ` cute ' movie where we see life through the eyes of an animal . your first glance would actually be pretty accurate but as far as this genre goes , the kids should love it and adults wo n't need to keep checking the",
        "if celebrity purebred tinkerbell sees this canine consciousness-raiser , there could be a putsch in paris hilton 's purse .",
        "the real stars of this film are the dogs . the humans were lackluster in comparison . but the reality is that you ca n't beat talking dogs on the cuteness meter .",
        "in a year light on family films , this may be a good bet . exciting adventure , admirable messages , and good , clean fun -- but be warned , its bite is worse than its bark !",
        "paris hilton and lower-level office workers who own calendars featuring weimaraners wearing hats will love it .",
        "for most of MOV , all i could think about was drew barrymore . what might she have been up to while she recited her lines for chloe , the spoiled yet sad-looking live-action chihuahua that speaks in her voice .",
        "disney is now content with the likes of the wholly inoffensive , uninventive MOV , whose canine antics will divert undemanding youngsters and adults who believe the simple absence of profanity , sex and violence counts as a virtue .",
        "-lsb- during the credits -rsb- disney warns people to be careful when picking a dog and that all dogs deserve a good home . if only they were that concerned about their movie .",
        "it 's hard to go wrong with a movie full of talking dogs . but the makers of MOV sure try .",
        "the good news : MOV is not the apocalypse-signaling , cultural abomination its trailers make it out to be . the bad news : that 's pretty much the best thing that can be said about it .",
        "what appeared to have all the potential of a so-bad-it 's - fun masterpiece turned out to just be an average friendly enough kid 's flick that often wanders the deserts of mexico without much direction .",
        "younger audiences will adore this canine caper , though grown-ups might feel its one joke is stretched too far .",
        "it 's hugely silly , but peppy enough to be tolerable . what grates most are the patronising racial stereotypes : the dirty mexican dogs are just waiting to be rescued by la ladies and given a good bath .",
        "this piece of egregious silliness from disney - featuring live-action canines with cgi moving mouths - is n't quite as awful as it sounds .",
        "in a triumph of animal wrangling and cgi tinkering , the canine cast turn in better performances than some of the humans .",
        "... ultimately about as enthralling as a low-rent saturday morning cartoon .",
        "a kid 's film does n't have to be an all time classic to be watchable - once anyway - for the whole audience . no one in MOV seems to care enough to bother . and if they do n't care , why should i ?",
        "an appealing film for dog lovers and those seeking escapist entertainment .",
        "gosnell gracelessly walks us through cheap , generic talking dog material , while parents everywhere groan silently to themselves .",
        "a state-of-the-art kid-pleaser for sure , but recession-weary parents will probably find it a mite obnoxious .",
        "not that anybody would expect perfection from a film called MOV , but the chewed bone of a story makes it all mutts ado about nothing .",
        "it 's still only october , but i 'll go ahead and say it : MOV is the best film of 2008 starring a purse dog .",
        "if chihuahua is no babe or charlotte 's web , at least it 's in the alvin and the chipmunks ballpark . just remember nobody went to the pet store and grabbed a chipmunk on the way home after that one .",
        "a live-action movie with a boatload of cute pooches that , despite bewitching effects and a charming voice cast , buries its sentiment in a too-tangled tale .",
        "despite its superficial lip-service to self-actualization/realization , there has to be more to life than what MOV is putting out there , which is fit for neither man nor beast .",
        "MOV approaches but never quite achieves a truly spectacular level of absurdity .",
        "the film is MOV . the audience is the fire hydrant .",
        "in the words of another famous talking dog , MOV looks like something for me to poop on .",
        "MOV is hardly best in show when it comes to disney dog movies .",
        "a lady and the tramp for the taco bell set , MOV fits nicely into the long line of disney dog movies designed to delight children and animal lovers .",
        "this being disney , wholesome character-building messages abound , but for once they 're freshly spun as cautions against stereotyping both ethnic and canine .",
        "it 's a happy report that the preview 's bark is far worse than the movie 's bite . there is a chihuahua brigade -lrb- fronted by placido domingo , no less -rrb- , but thankfully no musical numbers . it 's a modestly charming old-dog family film with few new tricks .",
        "a doggone good movie for kids",
        "... it 's a lapdog of a script , all gussied up . and the beverly hills scenes made me want to arf .",
        "the terminally cutesy chihuahua is just another demonstratively derivative kids ' narrative that barks up the wrong creative tree ... -lsb- a -rsb- forgettable fleabag farce ...",
        "a single moment of magical realism shows the babe-that-might-have-been , very charitably speaking , had the makers of this doggie adventure-comedy chosen a more daring and creative route ...",
        "what is more confusing , the spelling of the word chihuahua or how a movie this dull has been number one at the box office two weekends in a row ?",
        "MOV is by no means a good movie , but as plain-old bad ones go , it 's as generic and inoffensive as they come .",
        "... a sort of live-action hybrid of lady and the tramp and saludos amigos ...",
        "awwww , chihuahua !",
        "watch some rich folks with unbelievably pampered pets in an la enclave make money for studio executives . what would be ` depressing ' is if the ` real ' world out there ever made the sight of clothed and bejewelled lapdogs talking unfunny , right ?"
    ],
    "summary": "despite hitting some sweet notes , MOV is little more than disposable family entertainment .",
    "id": "770767902"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hollow_man",
    "reviews": [
        "the violence in this movie is very graphic , so if that is n't your thing ... skip it .",
        "invisible man tale mixes high-tech effects and old-fashioned chills for out-of-sight entertainment .",
        "one of these movies that you know are n't very good but still enjoy .",
        "there are two ways to not see this invisible man . the best option is skipping the movie .",
        "his habit of sneaking up and molesting women is disturbing , but other than that there 's nothing frightening about an invisible man .",
        "even for mature viewers , this is a flop .",
        "all this magical computer-generated whiz-bang , and they ca n't do more with it than a climax ripping off your choice of slasher movies and alien films ?",
        "... one ca n't help but admire the glee with which verhoeven has imbued the film 's more disgusting moments ...",
        "`` MOV '' trots out verhoeven 's usual bag of tricks , including voyeurism , considerable violence against women and having the characters use about four times as much profanity as they would in real life .",
        "os personagens s\u0103o absurdamente formulaicos , permitindo que o espectador deduza , desde o in\u00edcio , quem ir\u00e1 morrer ou sobreviver ao longo do filme .",
        "it 's time to give up and hope someone , someday , can turn this premise into something genuinely exciting .",
        "you 'll realize this is nothing more than a sharp-looking slasher flick , bad one-liners and all .",
        "MOV shines cinematically with blockbusting effects .",
        "this film becomes a more sublime work than i thought at first .",
        "a bloody , gripping , gruesome , big-budget , popcorn-munching horror movie -- and it works . scientific logic , be damned !",
        "a labored , implausible piece of action-movie hack work .",
        "i had more interest in the secondary characters .",
        "it brings nothing to the party except the most simplistic elements .",
        "the real invisible man here is verhoeven , whose talent can barely be seen in MOV .",
        "as MOV scrambles toward its conclusion , the dialogue founders and logic retreats .",
        "with her quick wits and stamina , -lsb- shue -rsb- steps to the fore , and we 'd watch her even if bacon were n't invisible .",
        "verhoeven balances that sadly predictable last act with a pair of early sequences that are as remarkable as anything seen on the big screen .",
        "is a combo of thrills , juicy one-liners and fine star turns by kevin bacon and elisabeth shue .",
        "the special effects really are great .",
        "awesome special effects .",
        "MOV does much more than just peek and grab .",
        "MOV has a wicked , dirty soul -- and that 's why it 's special .",
        "a fascinating piece of work despite its flat , obvious script .",
        "MOV is erotic , fascinating , imaginative , gory and , yes , a bit scary .",
        "nicely done .",
        "it 's a full throttle creepshow with the year 's most delirious and stunning visual effects .",
        "man 's frightening special effects are probably the best i 've seen since the matrix .",
        "a successful experiment in special effects , but also presents a gripping story .",
        "MOV is a major improvement on director verhoeven 's recent turkeys -- showgirls and starship troopers -- but not quite up to the promise shown in such early work as the fourth man , or even robocop .",
        "eye-popping visual effects ... become lost in yet another typical slasher movie .",
        "while it is not nearly as effective as the future-punk social satire of `` robocop , '' the subtext of `` MOV '' still brings a few questions to mind .",
        "` hollow ' is a good way to describe the screenplay as well .",
        "an effects-laden exercise in mediocrity .",
        "if you liked -lrb- insert any verhoeven film here -rrb- you 'll love MOV ! i did n't , so i do n't .",
        "it churns out moderately solid summer fun with enough flourishes to gloss over its disposable nature .",
        "hollow indeed .",
        "there 's a lot of noise and blood and action , but the main thing that 's invisible here is the point .",
        "verhoeven -- no doubt alarmed by the poor box-office showing of his last few films -- is clearly out to pander to a teenage audience .",
        "the movie is same-old , same-old .",
        "the action becomes a who 's - going - to-get-sliced-and-diced-next gore fest .",
        "-lsb- verhoeven -rsb- just leaves you hanging .",
        "MOV is a film without a core that also does n't have much of a skin .",
        "at its core MOV is a hollow movie . the characters are shallow , the action is clich\u00e9d , and the ending is predictable .",
        "there 's so little of the verhoeven touch in MOV that it could have been directed by almost any studio hack .",
        "the movie proceeds by the hoariest sci-fi clich\u00e9s .",
        "MOV is just that -- a hollow excuse for a movie .",
        "if not for cable and video , MOV would 've been an invisible film .",
        "the top-billed shue may be one of our smartest actresses -- but she does n't depict intelligence well onscreen .",
        "genuine trash , tempered only by verhoeven 's disconcertingly cool , classical direction .",
        "despite a wealth of special effects and direction by paul verhoeven , mr. over-the-top himself , this movie is surprisingly inert , more dull than anything else , with little to recommend it on any level .",
        "MOV is related to the man on the stair who was not there again today . how i wish he 'd go away .",
        "paul verhoeven 's exceedingly violent , surprisingly pointless invisible-man tale nearly warrants a trotting-out of the union-tribune 's dreaded ` dog ' designation .",
        "this is lowest-common-denominator moviemaking that definitely rings hollow .",
        "the film 's degree of viciousness , which certainly is n't limited to caine 's nocturnal wanderings , makes one hope verhoeven is n't taking any potions .",
        "great special effects ca n`t save a story that devolves into generic horror movie schtick .",
        "how much more interesting would it have been to have an all american guy , like tom hanks , turn invisible .",
        "the film becomes so much urgent nonsense , its killing spree -lsb- is -rsb- neither cheaply thrilling nor even more cheaply cathartic .",
        "at least the title fits .",
        "MOV was met by hollow laughter from mocking audience members .",
        "the movie is stuck in the middle of nowhere , halfway removed from quality and with no means of finding its way home .",
        "paul verhoeven has in MOV come up with a movie empty of purpose .",
        "verhoeven simply makes a mess of it .",
        "all this is handled as playful , invisible-boys-will-be-boys fun .",
        "too bad they could n't figure out a way to make the whole movie invisible .",
        "it feels like a failure of nerve .",
        "ejemplo de c\u00f3mo una buena premisa puede degenerar en un producto totalmente comercial y mal terminado",
        "a sub-par script .",
        "will paul verhoeven ever make a good film again ?",
        "even the performances are n't all that good .",
        "while shue makes a more credible scientist here than she did in the saint , it 's still a stretch to see her in a role that is n't either a prostitute or a babysitter .",
        "by the time MOV was half over , i wished i could have disappeared , too .",
        "from the talent that gave us robocop and total recall , it 's a pretty hollow effort indeed .",
        "the most surprising aspect of MOV is the fact that shue agreed to work in such garbage .",
        "MOV is empty in almost every respect .",
        "the opening sequence with a small rodent alone is worth the price of rental -- oops , i said rental , did n't i ? yes , something must be wrong .",
        "MOV is hollow is because there 's a void where its imagination should be .",
        "it 's your standard-issue summer moron-o-rama .",
        "at times i wanted the whole film to be `` hollow '' . see a matinee .",
        "women in the audience now have as many bad role models on screen as the men sitting around them .",
        "ultimately the title is most revealing . it 's hollow , man .",
        "this expensive turkey will disappear from theatres more quickly than its protagonist fades into nothingness .",
        "verhoeven sets up and then fails to deliver lavish satirical ways of having fun with invisibility .",
        "invisible movie .",
        "bacon , usually solid and sensible , is more than a little fried as the sneering and leering villain who is n't all there ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite awesome special effects , MOV falls short of other films directed by paul verhoeven . this flick over time degenerates into a typical horror film .",
    "id": "14339"
  },
  {
    "movie": "guerrilla_the_taking_of_patty_hearst",
    "reviews": [
        "one of the things the film captures most astutely is the beginnings of the american media frenzy that has become a staple of the news cycle .",
        "` as powerful and effective as owen morris ' the fog of war '",
        "demonstrates the tragic lengths that unhinged revolutionaries will go to when ordinary political change seems impossible to achieve .",
        "the twists of the story are still gripping and director robert stone does a solid job of assembling the information for a moviegoing generation to whom the mid - '70s are ancient history .",
        "unlike the recent weather underground , which dealt with another group of '60s radicals and showed us where they are today , guerrilla is content with the surface of this story .",
        "a meticulous and often fascinating reconstruction of a chaotic time .",
        "an engaging film , but it 's a documentary and nothing more .",
        "a case study in cultural analysis that aims at too much and achieves too little .",
        "a fascinating reminder of the level of political discontent in america during the early 1970s .",
        "as an indicting work of journalism , it 's very entertaining .",
        "it 's the death of radicalism -lrb- and the sla 's criminality , sure -rrb- that 's being documented in this gripping , fascinating film .",
        "a stunningly bizarre , stranger-than-fiction tale of the stumbling of a revolution and the semi-automatic transformation of a princess .",
        "guerilla is a fascinating and cleanly delineated compendium of outrageous footage .",
        "a riveting account of this demented and scarcely believable american story .",
        "urban terrorism inspired by robin hood .",
        "a gripping , thought-provoking film that works as both a thriller and a social document .",
        "british director robert stone takes a dispassionate look at this circus , and his retelling of events makes the situation more complicated than i remembered .",
        "the footage is astonishing , revealing the events of 30 years ago and some scary truths about where the world is today .",
        "a mostly compelling and exceedingly fair-minded look back at the case .",
        "fine as far as it goes -- a worthy lesson in counter-culture history and the rise of media hysteria .",
        "younger audiences will receive the kind of modern-history lesson that 's never taught in school .",
        "guerrilla is so dull that it almost makes you wonder what was all the fuss about the symbionese liberation army .",
        "sometimes a documentary is only as good as the interviews the filmmaker gets . ... -lsb- and -rsb- those who could provide insight to hearst 's ordeal are either dead or not talking .",
        "to misquote buffalo springfield , something was happening here ; what it was ai n't exactly clear .",
        "a fascinating trip down memory lane .",
        "a must-see account that casts a harshly illuminating light on a key period of recent american history .",
        "an in-depth look at the sla , full of an impressive amount of historical footage and interviews with former members , journalists and other observers .",
        "gives a fascinating and alarming taste of how a 1974 kidnapping that now seems quaint has morphed into the monstrous terrorist tactic it is today .",
        "uses rare news footage and exclusive interviews to illuminate one of the biggest stories of the 1970s .",
        "in retrospect the group 's story is a painful example of the warped idealism of the radical left and its fateful romance with violence .",
        "a flawed yet still worthwhile record of a turbulent and divisive period in recent american history .",
        "it 's like watching a movie about bonnie and clyde that fails to mention the depression .",
        "a compelling piece of press criticism as it probes the media as terror 's conduit of choice , spreading message and validating violence in the 1970s and today .",
        "fascinating stuff from start to finish",
        "guerrilla , though a bit less seamless than similar docs such as the weather underground , is an absorbing glimpse of some rather strange american history .",
        "a sobering account of a chaotic two-year period .",
        "a searching , questioning , purposefully irresolute investigation of the way that a country founded on revolutionary ideals transformed , in just over 200 years , to one in which it is nearly impossible to trump the status quo .",
        "a gripping documentary that uses voluminous period evidence ... to brilliantly reconstruct the entire freak event .",
        "the great achievement of guerrilla : the taking of patty hearst , besides its unearthing of gripping archival material and its groundbreaking new interviews , is its insistence on context rather than sensationalism .",
        "interviews with two former sla members provide this recounting with much-needed depth .",
        "stone lets it all play for the theater of the absurd that it is , the last , dying gasp of '60s activism , taken to ridiculous , misguided extremes ."
    ],
    "summary": "guerilla is a riveting documentary that chronicles in enlightening fashion the 1974 kidnapping of heiress patty hearst .",
    "id": "770854629"
  },
  {
    "movie": "taxidermia",
    "reviews": [
        "despite non-stop horror and perversity , nothing in the movie seems gratuitous . its vision remains so comprehensive and convincing that it justifies everything that it puts you through .",
        "if the imagery is always grotesque , and if the characters are always reduced to their basest drives , p\u00e1lfi presents his carnivalesque concerns in an artfully aestheticised package that belies the ugliness within .",
        "it 's an allegory of sorts , and very different from the fastidious golden age of hungarian cinema in the seventies and eighties .",
        "the new film will ambush the unwary , appal the squeamish and get unwanted attention from the prurient . but it has a signature , a wit and a kind of grim strength .",
        "it 's one of the most astonishing , energetic , chaotic films you 'll ever see . and best of all , it could make you decide to give up the diet forever .",
        "what is most impressive is palfi 's imagination and the way he develops it on the screen . gross-out it may be , but there 's rather more to it .",
        "it breaks taboos with an insouciance that makes last tango look like mary poppins .",
        "you 'll need to drag it kicking and screaming from your mind .",
        "the advantage of being the sneak is that sometimes you can also sneak out of a film screening .",
        "overall , this is a desultory , schizophrenic film that does n't seem to know what it is .",
        "i still have next to no freaking idea what i just sat through , but -lrb- despite the surreal ugliness of the thing -rrb- i ca n't say i actually regret watching it .",
        "` MOV ' undoubtedly has its own unsavoury humour and gratuitous shock value , but its extremities and enormities yield less than the sum of their dismembered parts .",
        "MOV is a brilliant , often grotesquely bizarre allegory on life in hungary from world war ii to the present , a surrealist fantasy exploring the limits of the body and its desires and altogether a darkly funny comedy .",
        "MOV sets a benchmark for body horror in the cinema .",
        "MOV is frequently funny , for those who can stomach it .",
        "for those who can handle it , a viewing is an experience not soon forgotten .",
        "to palfi 's credit , he never attempts to titillate . his mind-boggling visual imagination is ably supported by gergely poharnok 's camera and the art direction .",
        "p\u00e1lfi 's fascination with the body -- its daily excretions and emanations -- borders on obsession",
        "the gluttonous middle section of the film is by far its most successful .",
        "mr. p\u00e1lfi 's grandiose vision and technical bravado are nothing short of mesmerizing , yet there are also plenty of tender moments amid the go-for-broke follies .",
        "as sweeping in scope and vision as it is in viscera .",
        "surreal , grotesque and bitterly funny hungarian art horror film ... aspires not to cult status as a torture porn totem but to the highest cinematic art . -lrb- it 's not that , but give it points for trying . -rrb-",
        "ybridio cronenberg kai monty python poy san metallagmenos korios rokanizei tis basikes ormes kai tis laimarges taseis poy mas kleidonoyn stin apoksenosi kai ti monaksia",
        "bizarre , disturbing , with gaggles of unwatchable elements",
        "produces nightmarish horror and formal beauty in a surreal , central european blend .",
        "and now a word of advice from your friendly film critic : if you go to see the hungarian black comedy MOV , do n't plan to eat afterward .",
        "p\u00e1lfi 's skill at making something as churlishly repulsive as a scene of self-mummification completely mesmerizing is a testament to his unparalleled dedication to imaginary grotesques .",
        "visionary hungarian director gyorgy palfi -lrb- `` hukkle '' -rrb- creates a grotesque satire that dissects hungary 's nationalist self identity with a pitch black sense of humor and extended gross-out sequences ...",
        "MOV is merely slimy biological vaudeville .",
        "all this helps to shape p\u00e1lfi 's crudely bombastic but impressive philosophical view of the body as landscape and art , a source of personal discovery , wonder , and annihilation .",
        "contains some of the most viscerally troubling images , it is the bravura leap of imagination and brilliant cinematic techniques that make it special",
        "nothing if not an intriguing failure . one does not care about what happens so much as one grows increasingly alarmed at where director gyorgy palfi will take his film next .",
        "there is , no doubt , a serious social commentary under all the vomit , but it takes a committed viewer to dig it out and hose it down .",
        "MOV is a visually striking , provocative dish served up with the most horrid ingredients imaginable : greed , revulsion , alienation and loneliness .",
        "director gy\u00f6rgy p\u00e1lfi is a talent to watch with your fingers over your eyes , but he 's also a proper filmmaker , fascinated by his characters ' hereditary fetishes and finding consistently clever ways to surprise us with his camera .",
        "curiosity seekers wo n't be disappointed ... just sickened .",
        "five-star direction , however , can only take you so far if your audience have followed their stomach contents out of the building .",
        "keeping it surreal has never been so nauseating and , at times , hilarious .",
        "where hukkle 's circle-of-life surrealism had a certain twisted charm , this film 's sense of the grotesque is more glum than fun . on the tail of such a promising debut , it ca n't help feeling like a hiccup .",
        "a real cinematic oddity , MOV is assured cult status thanks to its disturbing scenes of sex , violence and body horror . it 's somewhat slight but it marks p\u00e1lfi as a director to watch .",
        "visually dazzling and outlandishly obscene .",
        "in the grotesque storybook satire MOV , palfi 's so-thought cynicism is merely observing plain -lrb- if sickeningly hilarious -rrb- truths about our excesses ... an intense , disgusting , and probably brilliant experience .",
        "-lsb- p -rsb- ulls out all the stops in a vicious attack on the senses that leaves no ugly truth about mankind unsaid -- nor unseen . it is a tribute to palfi 's talents that the film is also compulsively watchable .",
        "tthose who reveled in such cinematic synapses as the eyeball being slit in un chien andalou will gravitate toward this outrageous , and frequently hilarious , piece de film ."
    ],
    "summary": "surreal and visually striking , MOV is , at times , graphic and difficult to watch , but creatively touches on disturbing subjects with imagination and wit .",
    "id": "377596921"
  },
  {
    "movie": "waiting",
    "reviews": [
        "you 'd have more fun actually working in a restaurant . probably .",
        "some jokes hit their mark , but mostly in `` MOV % u2026 , '' what you 're really MOV for is inspiration .",
        "despite its flaws , it really is a funny , witty , and suprisingly charming slob comedy",
        "for what 's essentially a raucous , gross-out comedy , this is a surprisingly tame film .",
        "an undercooked , overdone raunchy comedy .",
        "... a spare premise that 's utilized to surprisingly positive effect ...",
        "luis guzman is especially funny as a sex-crazed head cook obsessed with a staff game that becomes a centerpiece of the film 's humor .",
        "it made me laugh . out loud , a lot , and wildly , and i 'm not ashamed to admit it .",
        "we have to watch -lsb- the cast -rsb- struggle and squirm just to make each scene not as horrible as the last .",
        "mckittrick neglects to realize that his target audience -lrb- males , ages 18-25 -rrb- presumably are n't interested in seeing or hearing about the male genitalia at any time ...",
        "a silly , awkward , but sometimes very funny movie .",
        "subplots include a running gag where the guys all compete at flashing their dicks . you know it 's a 21st century movie because the characters are self-conscious about their sexism and homophobia .",
        "frequently offensive and doggedly disgusting .",
        "an ugly-looking movie with even uglier attempts at humor .",
        "ew . `` MOV '' longs to shock its audience . and does .",
        "the only things you 'll find on the menu are rancid leftovers .",
        "the funniest scene is also the saddest : the kitchen crew , having cleaned up , watching the clock like new year 's , goes nuts when a couple is seated a minute before closing . this is pain .",
        "if this movie had a brain , it would take it out and scribble graffiti of the ` for a good time call ... ' variety on it .",
        "you can do gross-out stuff and be funny , but it has to have some decent dialogue and characters .",
        "rob mckittrick 's debut is most successful at its simplest - unflinching in the way a lot of 20somethings talk and act in the company of friends ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV ... is a gross-out comedy that is more gross than comic .",
    "id": "8569"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_way_2011",
    "reviews": [
        "... is uplifting without being maudlin , and has a heart on its sleeve sincerity that sidesteps sentimentality . it 's also a bit too long .",
        "` MOV ' is a rare movie in that it deals with religion and family issues without playing like a sermon or a satire .",
        "a nice little movie , and very obviously well intentioned . unfortunately , it 's also predictable and so corny that it sometimes feels like a joke in search of a punchline .",
        "uplifting and sensitive without being sentimental , the mystic destination is worth the arduous trip .",
        "like the big year it contains blissful moments of clarity and awareness that few movies have lately . you walk out of the theater feeling better about yourself . not enough to hike 900 miles or chase birds around north america , but it 's a start .",
        "i 'm guessing more than a few moviegoers will lace up their hiking boots for their own pilgrimage .",
        "with `` MOV , '' writer-director emilio estevez has made a respectable failure .",
        "heartfelt if occasionally plodding .",
        "it could have come out sentimental , but does n't . the secret is the matter-of-factness .",
        "MOV is real personal cinema . it 's an estevez family project . but it 's not a vanity project -- it 's a spiritual legacy .",
        "... the film 's pervasively pleasant atmosphere -lsb- is -rsb- heightened by sheen 's winning performance and a frequent emphasis on scenery that 's nothing short of breathtaking .",
        "but somehow , despite the simple and sometimes obtuse storytelling , there is something strangely intimate and mesmerising about this film .",
        "it 's something of a relief that , even at 70 , sheen remains a commanding presence who holds our attention throughout every stage of his seemingly endless trek .",
        "gentle , likable and profoundly touching , it makes you want to dig out the hiking boots and make the same journey .",
        "overlong , at times boring , but in the end it seems worth it - although you 've no idea why . which , for a film about a pilgrimage , is pretty apt .",
        "this modest , heartfelt and utterly unpretentious cinematic spirit-quest is too sincere to mock , and yet somehow does n't succumb to outright sentimentality .",
        "estevez takes full advantage of the beautiful mountain scenery , dramatic skies and ancient architecture to give us moments of quiet wonder .",
        "MOV almost immediately loses its way and stays lost .",
        "okay , since the destination is preordained , what does the script do en route ? estevez 's answer is two-fold : minor episodic adventures + incessantly repeated montages .",
        "it 's the kind of mushy pic you might be inspired to walk out on .",
        "this is a quiet , warm film that some will find actually spiritual .",
        "smartly written and directed with a master filmmaker 's eye , `` MOV '' is one of those films you 'll want to see again and again .",
        "the film does make a nice travelogue as tom walks MOV and takes in the scenery . it 's not a badly made film but it does aim for very low hanging sentimental fruit .",
        "MOV is a worthy effort and a sign that estevez may yet emerge as an excellent filmmaker .",
        "between the sprightly soundtrack , the sensational on-location shoot , the anchoring performance by sheen , and the methodological freedom permitted so that avery 's pilgrimage can naturally take its course , MOV immerses body and soul .",
        "on the whole , it 's a well-intentioned and nicely performed piece .",
        "made with great sincerity and charm , even if dramatically it meanders rather too purposelessly at times .",
        "a sincere , well-intentioned story about grief and faith , it feels almost daringly old-fashioned .",
        "a lovely , inspirational film which fuses the irish/spanish roots of the est\u00e9vez family into a wizard of oz-style story about how wearing out your soles can help to heal your soul .",
        "much like sean penn 's into the wild , it 's a heartfelt quest and not without its rewards .",
        "sheen is on good form , the basque-country locations look great , and the gentle , meditative messages put out make this hard to dislike .",
        "the film becomes lovable , like a naif precocious son who expatiates about things he does n't understand but has picked up from o and a levels .",
        "thoughtful and emotionally engaging , this is a nicely shot , well acted drama that 's heightened by the obviously personal nature of the project , though the writing occasionally falters and the film is slightly too long .",
        "it goes on and on , and just when you think you ca n't take any more insufferably trite good intentions , it keeps on going .",
        "thoughtful , well-intentioned and with the odd moment of true emotional resonance , but also overlong and with sometimes rather pat revelations .",
        "the film is arguably too long but is pleasantly sincere in its efforts to prove the difference between `` the life we live and the life we choose '' .",
        "although the story meanders , there 's food for thought about grief , community and faith , plus the odd laugh and tear , along MOV .",
        "it looks good , is occasionally touching , always over-explicit , and usually predictable .",
        "sheen internalises his character 's anguish and we see sadness welling up in tom 's eyes , underscored with occasional moments of humour .",
        "what the film lacks in intrigue or edge it atones for with subtle gradations of emotion from its leading man .",
        "it 's a film that could only have been made by an american . they 're welcome to it .",
        "there 's little in MOV that does n't succumb to platitudinous conceptions of spirituality or lowest-common-denominator filmmaking .",
        "it 's a plucky film that covers a lot of ground and uncovers this wonderful , ancient ritual that people of many faiths and from all walks of life take on .",
        "though too long and rather padded , this meditative drama derives grand power from the very real connection between its stars , and also that between player and director .",
        "sheen 's admirable efforts to keep sentimentality at bay are undercut somewhat by estevez 's clumsy script and uneven direction .",
        "it 's not quite a road movie nor a real redemption story , nor a buddy movie ; it 's a diary where the journey is more important than the getting to the destination",
        "estevez has made a gentle and immensely likeable film that flows naturally , whose heart comes from the solid , grounding performance by his father martin sheen",
        "MOV is inspiring , cathartic , poetic , hopeful , and makes you want to throw on a backpack , start walking and find yourself .",
        "MOV is a serene experience that prefers to take you by the hand rather than drag you by the foot .",
        "MOV moves both the heart and the soul with its deeply spiritual exploration into grief and pilgrimage .",
        "estevez and sheen combine in a touching father-son tale of grief and reconciliation .",
        "emilio estevez directs a road-trip movie with a different twist : the characters are all walking . ` MOV ' refers to the camino de santiago de compostela , a catholic pilgrim 's journey that reaches 550 miles across france and northern spain .",
        "emilio estevez has n't just been making wine lately . his film MOV , an inspirational drama , is a thoughtful travel pic worth seeing .",
        "easygoing , touching , and a nice vehicle for martin sheen",
        "martin sheen shines in a beautifully made , unforced tale of spiritual reawakening and self-discovery that is as life-affirming as it is entertaining .",
        "-lsb- the -rsb- dramatically inert , spiritually generic MOV seems like it was far more fun to shoot than it is to endure .",
        "MOV 's honey-toned landscapes and shots of alfresco meals shared by international pilgrims at rustic albergues are enough to make anyone ready a backpack and head off on walkabout .",
        "there 's a contemplative loveliness to MOV , an affecting personal project both for emilio estevez , who wrote , directed , and plays a small role , and for his father , martin sheen .",
        "there 's no better film this year that illustrates the idea that what 's important is the journey , not the destination .",
        "goes exactly where you expect it to - and yet this journey is worth the trip because the destination ultimately proves so moving .",
        "should have been reserved for estevez family gatherings only .",
        "it 's a sweet and sincere family pilgrimage , even if a little too long and obvious . audiences seeking uplift will find it here .",
        "in many ways a cut-and-dried , by-the-numbers road picture , MOV puts sheen on the camino for a life-changing journey , but over the course of the trip , the film changes as much as he does .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- treacly inspirational drama ...",
        "charlie sheen , estevez 's brother , is nowhere in sight , though there are times the film could use a shot of tiger blood .",
        "`` MOV '' does not have a moneymaking bone in its body , and i mean that in a good way .",
        "for all his awkwardness estevez is undeniably sincere , regarding both people and nature with disarming good will and maintaining a steady , soothing pace that allows the life lessons to resonate .",
        "the performances are solid , the cinematography is stunning , and the setting is intriguing . but the whole thing feels bloodless , hitting us over the head with its understatedness .",
        "one of the more joyous movies of the year",
        "open yourself up to this thoughtful , moving personal adventure and you 're in for a uniquely memorable experience .",
        "mr. estevez is both writer and director of this film , and also turns up in a small role , but he gives the spotlight to his father , who makes quite a lot out of a low-key story that could easily have degenerated into mush .",
        "fathers and sons , wives and children , reconciliation and uplift for the soul -- undemanding schmaltz but most comfortable for its type .",
        "the dialogue in `` MOV '' is sincerely platitudinous , and estevez has less of an idea about where to put the camera than when he started two decades ago . he is - how to put this ? - not a good director .",
        "a pretty long slog ... while it clearly comes from the heart , it does n't touch it very deeply .",
        "a heartfelt project , scrappy and engaging , MOV has its way with audiences despite , not because of , its sentimental excess .",
        "it 's sincere and sporadically beautiful , producing an authentic sense of passage for the pilgrimage . estevez truly captures the steps of catharsis , and he was pretty smart to ask his dad to join him on the tour .",
        "estevez does embrace the spiritual and religious elements of his movie . but he 's as interested in the journey as the destination .",
        "at times it has the feel of a television movie but the scenery is spectacular and estavez has a good sense of timing and a gift for cinematic storytelling .",
        "i have no doubt that many viewers will resolve to walk the camino at some point in their lives after watching the film . count me among them .",
        "`` MOV '' might have been a bit more eventful . still , it 's good company .",
        "`` MOV '' has the makings of a movie that should n't work , but it navigates many of those potential faults with surprising competence .",
        "there 's nothing startlingly original about estevez 's screenplay , yet it has a modesty you seldom see when hollywood tackles spiritual subjects .",
        "a sensuous , expansive hymn to travel and transformation in a movie that honors earthly pleasures as readily as it contemplates higher things .",
        "the father-son dynamic is played just right , tom 's sightings of his deceased son arriving at key moments . if only that resonance carried into the rest of the story 's episodic progression .",
        "there is certainly no way a documentary about father sheen and son estevez walking the camino de santiago would be less interesting than this drivel .",
        "MOV never arrives anywhere you could n't see coming a mile away , but it does so with such empathy that its conclusions feel comforting rather than overly predictable .",
        "... a pervasive air of disarming , unpretentious sincerity .",
        "it 's more about the journey than the story in `` MOV , '' and what a pleasant trip it is .",
        "`` MOV '' is overly earnest and clumsily directed by emilio estevez -lrb- the non-prodigal son of sheen -rrb- . yet it is nonetheless effective in evoking empathy and introspection .",
        "emilio estevez has made a beautiful film about community , connecting , and moving forward .",
        "estevez has captured a sense of spirituality as a universal human experience ... that does not necessarily have to have anything to do with the supernatural ...",
        "earnest and thoughtful , with a fine performance by martin sheen at its center .",
        "`` MOV '' is one of the better films of the year .",
        "it 's not just a good film because of its subject matter or in comparison to some other , more overtly self-conscious -lrb- and self-proclaiming -rrb- christian films . it is a great film , period .",
        "there is nothing terribly spiritual about the journey for any of these people , and yet the sheer arduousness of the trek , the beauty of the countryside , and the personal revelations that ensue all combine to create a transcendent haze ."
    ],
    "summary": "it may be a little too deliberately paced for more impatient viewers , but MOV is a worthy effort from writer/director emilio estevez , balancing heartfelt emotion with clear-eyed drama that resists cheap sentiment .",
    "id": "771201462"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fast_runner",
    "reviews": [
        "it brings a myth vividly to life on screen , remaining true to the original while doing so ... an extraordinary experience .",
        "few three-hour films manage to be so engaging , or so vast .",
        "the MOV ' transports the viewer into an unusual space",
        "for nearly three hours , this sweeping epic captivates its audience in the way the inuit elders must have done while reciting the story to spellbound children .",
        "the kind of primal storytelling that george lucas can only dream of .",
        "it may be the most satisfying experience you 'll have at the movies this year .",
        "going to this movie is a little like chewing whale blubber - it 's an acquired taste that takes time to enjoy , but it 's worth it , even if it does take 3 hours to get through .",
        "a powerful , absorbing and thoroughly transporting film experience .",
        "there 's never been a movie quite like it .",
        "vastly overrated , this award-winning film features amateurish , unbelievable acting and a minimal storyline . take away the indigenous people , and no one would be talking about it .",
        "a positively thrilling combination of ethnography and all the intrigue , betrayal , deceit and murder of a shakespearean tragedy or a juicy soap opera .",
        "it takes us to a world we 've never seen , to tell us a story both entirely foreign and completely familiar .",
        "i actually enjoyed the story , but it could 've been at least a half an hour shorter ...",
        "atanarjuat , unfolding on a cold-blasted primeval arctic plain , has the quality of totem .",
        "a landmark movie that becomes a priceless entryway into a distant land and its people , few of whom will ever seem as foreign and far away again .",
        "surviving and getting through the day becomes gripping drama . even if the good vs. evil story is overly familiar , i guarantee the beautiful , sensual setting is not .",
        "canada 's arctic light shines bright on this frozen tundra soap opera that breathes extraordinary life into the private existence of the inuit people .",
        "a challenging and stunning journey with one of the best chase scenes ever .",
        "one senses in its playing out that right here , right now , these people , these deeds , these lessons are the stuff of a great legend , one that will be told and retold for countless generations .",
        "an experience so engrossing it is like being buried in a new environment .",
        "this first feature ever in the inuit language is a demanding experience . but the rewards for those who risk the journey are simply extraordinary .",
        "a story with more than its share of surprises and unexpected turns",
        "the director has fixed this arctic potboiler , passed down through the ages as part of a rich oral tradition , onto digital video with ... breathtaking punch and such a sweeping sense of immediacy .",
        "one of the most enthralling three hours you 'll ever spend at the theater .",
        "authentic , and at times endearing , humorous , spooky , educational , but at other times as bland as a block of snow .",
        "remarkable in many ways .",
        "... immerses the viewer in the very texture of the land , the rituals and the pace of an existence that could n't be more different from life in our modern urban world .",
        "the film is filled with unquestionable grace and power .",
        "both a thrilling adventure about endurance and survival , and an elegiac examination of centuries-old tribal culture , fast-fading in the new millennium .",
        "at nearly three hours long , it 's an endurance test .",
        "do n't be put off by the 172-minute running time . it 's worth it .",
        "the messy emotions raging throughout this three-hour effort are instantly recognizable , allowing the film to paradoxically feel familiar and foreign at the same time .",
        "this is quite possibly the best canadian film of all time .",
        "at three hours and with very little story or character development , there is plenty of room for editing , and a much shorter cut surely would have resulted in a smoother , more focused narrative without sacrificing any of the cultural intrigue .",
        "damn hard to see where this is going to get its audience .",
        "an amazing achievement but it has a few problems .",
        "a film so crisp with detail that , like other great films , it whisks us away to a locale like nothing else we 've ever seen to tell a story that 's not quite like anything else we 've ever heard .",
        "... barely has enough material to fill a 52-minute cbc special , let alone a three-hour cinematic `` event . ''",
        "... takes you to a place you 've never been and tells a story as profound and ambitious as a shakespeare play .",
        "a trailblazer for its culture and certainly makes for a fascinating , if rather long , watch .",
        "it 's a spectacular movie ...",
        "if you can surrender to the pace , it 's more deeply satisfying than your usual summer fare .",
        "it 's creatively authentic , and its creators are also its subject .",
        "deserves a place of honor next to nanook as a landmark in film history .",
        "if it is adventure you want this season , this is the real deal . no guns , no explosions , no special effects -- just the exquisite suspense of watching a lone , naked warrior trying to escape his pursuers over the tundra .",
        "visually captivating .",
        "an inuit masterpiece that will give you goosebumps as its uncanny tale of love , communal discord , and justice unfolds .",
        "whatever combination of talent , happy accident and hard work was involved , the MOV is , for all its flaws , an enthralling discovery .",
        "with a marathon three-hour running time , MOV may not be tundras of fun for everyone , but trust us , this snowy epic is worth its salt .",
        "shot in digital video , the MOV is meant to be an epic but feels cramped by the limitations of an electronic medium .",
        "atanarjuat will make you laugh , make you cry and keep you on the edge of your seat for nearly three hours . is n't that what cinema was supposed to do all along ?",
        "a damn fine and a truly distinctive and a deeply pertinent film .",
        "it feels as psychologically uncomplicated as the similarly themed the lion king .",
        "not merely an interesting document from a far-off place ; it is a masterpiece .",
        "at once an incredible anthropological document and a compelling drama .",
        "the clan of the cave bear has nothing on atanarjuat , a sprawling three-hour epic that recounts the primal struggles of the igloolik people .",
        "the canadian arctic , a story of love and revenge , and you do n't need the $ 5000 that maupintour charges to visit .",
        "an impressively vivid and detailed depiction of a particular way of life .",
        "`` a sensorial smorgasbord where you become attuned to the symphonic marriage of pure sound and perfect image . ''",
        "this is more than ethnography , and much more than social gesture ; this is moviemaking at its eye-opening , startling best .",
        "spectacularly beautiful , not to mention mysterious , sensual , emotionally intense , and replete with virtuoso throat-singing .",
        "this is not some aboriginal folk-art curio but an enthralling and sophisticated work that fully exploits cinema 's potential as a visual medium .",
        "absorbing for what it reveals about the culture of the inuit , as well as the practical aspects of their everyday life in the canadian arctic .",
        "the acting , costumes , music , cinematography and sound are all astounding given the production 's austere locales .",
        "a bittersweet reminder to movie lovers of the enormous variety of the human adventure that film usually ignores .",
        "by any measure , the MOV is a passionate , remarkable film , a big story told with a respect for its bigness by a filmmaker gifted at incorporating his culture 's mysteries into universally appealing art .",
        "spellbinding visuals combine with compelling drama to make this sprawling epic , the first truly indigenous inuit feature , a triumph of storytelling .",
        "demands to be seen by anyone who thinks cinema is not just a laugh , a diversion or a time-filler on a date .",
        "it 's an experience in understanding a unique culture that is presented with universal appeal .",
        "the mammoth , 172-minute movie has its share of slow passages . it picks up speed , however , as it advances toward a payoff that has much to say about the ultimate besting of evil .",
        "the 167 minutes go by at reasonable speed after an irrelevant prelude .",
        "the pace of the film is often glacial .",
        "... squeezes in enough passion , jealousy , family feuding and murder to fuel a daytime drama for several weeks .",
        "the MOV , an epic story coming from northern canada , provides the perfect antidote to this summer of blockbusters .",
        "the story is told with such richness and attention to nomadic traditions that it wields the scope of a kurosawa samurai picture .",
        "though some will probably have problems with the film 's pacing ... the story holds your interest throughout .",
        "from its mystical-mythical opening to the stunning finale , this is storytelling at its most primal and filmmaking at its most original .",
        "it 's a masterpiece .",
        "murder , jealousy and infidelity are all part of this tale that proves the elements of a good yarn are the same no matter where you go .",
        "like the chilled breath of oral storytelling frozen onto film .",
        "a gorgeous , engrossing , utterly alien and fresh movie that has the human truth and impact of classic greek myth and the overwhelming beauty and mastery of the greatest epic films .",
        "` director zacharias kunuk , for all his careful and leisurely pacing , knows how to drive an image home ... '",
        "this is a movie that refreshes the mind and spirit along with the body , so original is its content , look , and style .",
        "this particular emperor , methinks , is naked .",
        "zacharias kunuk and his able team of filmmakers have proven that they know how to make a grand film .",
        "compelling as it is exotic , MOV has a plot that rivals shakespeare for intrigue , treachery and murder .",
        "a rare and remarkable portrait of place that could only be told by the people who own the story and had the sense to buy the cameras .",
        "often , the film feels more like a state of mind , combining the factual hardness of a documentary with the startling beauty of a surreal , fantastic dream .",
        "a beautiful , timeless and universal tale of heated passions -- jealousy , betrayal , forgiveness and murder ."
    ],
    "summary": "compelling human drama and stunning cinematography make the MOV an absorbing experience .",
    "id": "13805"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1012928-m",
    "reviews": [
        "... a touchstone , one of those classics that infects the popular imagination to the point that it 's really not necessary for most people to have actually seen it to recognize its signal moments ...",
        "fritz lang 's acute use of objects , symbols , letters , and codes to decrypt a relatively simple narrative remains as perfect an example of pure cinema in the sound era as one is likely to find .",
        "this is a movie that dares to sympathize with a sick person , that risks making the monster real and us -lrb- in an era when germany 's cinema was still shellacked in canted angles and fanciful shadows -rrb- .",
        "lang 's film is a must-see for even a moderately ambitious film buff .",
        "few films are gripping and effective 82 years after their original release , but this one surely is .",
        "the movie looms over our cinema like a hand of consequence , haunting us with its austerity and power long after others have faded from the mind .",
        "you 'll never look at a novelty balloon in the same way again .",
        "it is a cousin to the early hitchcock of the lodger , and i have always found something even something faintly ealingesque about its cynicism and satire .",
        "lang 's razor-sharp dissection of crime and punishment never puts a foot wrong .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- a precursor to the serial killer and policier genres , `` MOV '' is first and foremost a suspense thriller made all the more gripping because the identity of the killer is revealed in the first act .",
        "extraordinary and shocking - still .",
        "peter lorre became a recognized star as a result of this film and deservedly so , even though his speaking part was minimal and came only toward the end of the film .",
        "lorre 's performance as a desperate killer who insists he ca n't help himself remains his finest hour on film .",
        "arguably fritz lang 's greatest cinematic achievement , this unnerving tale of deranged child-killer hans beckert -lrb- lorre -rrb- stalking the dingy alleys and shadowy playscapes of berlin is as riveting a piece of filmmaking as you 're ever likely to see .",
        "fritz lang 's MOV is one of the great philosophical films , primarily because its anger and message are not bogged down in pretentious overtones with crush the story of the film , rendering it almost unwatchable a second time .",
        "MOV is one of director lang 's many greats .",
        "the film grows more unsettling when it becomes apparent that the child killer beckert is something of a child himself , forcing the audience into something beyond complicity , something dangerously close to identification .",
        "images of lorre 's oversized , fearful eyes and the yanking of children from the streets by protective parents set the mood of this picture more effectively than any dialogue could .",
        "it 's an impeccable film -- a model of psychological suspense and a stunning display of lang 's power and skill .",
        "fascinating early talkie that made peter lorre a star as child murderer hunted by all .",
        "put simply , without MOV to show the way , there might have been no subsequent films in which a hidden killer unmasks the ills of the society around him",
        "fritz lang entered the sound era with a bold expressionist thriller that captured the ugly mood of the years before the third reich .",
        "MOV is responsible for some of the most memorable images and sequences in cinema history",
        "remarkable early look at scientific and police detection - and of a city in fear",
        "an extraordinary , good , impressive and strong talker . again fine work by fritz lang , and his wife and helper , thea von harbou .",
        "the moral issues are complex and deftly handled : lorre is at once entirely innocent and absolutely evil . lang 's detached , modified expressionist style gives the action a plastic beauty .",
        "peter lorre 's finest performance , and a truly significant socially-themed film .",
        "even after 75 years , fritz lang 's first german talkie works beautifully as a carefully constructed thriller and police procedural .",
        "a subversive film , or more simply a movie brimming over with the ferment of lang 's imagination at its height ? you choose .",
        "fritz lang 's first sound film , his most chilling and provocative work , features peter lorre 's greatest performance as a child molester and murderer .",
        "one of lang 's most impressive achievements",
        "very likely the greatest film of one of cinema 's greatest directors",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- important film which rightly deserves its success .",
        "it 's clear that lang was ahead of most of his peers in grasping the promise of the motion picture form .",
        "a rather cold masterpiece .",
        "MOV is the most dynamic profile of a serial killer in film .",
        "it 's creepy and masterful with many indelible scenes and a knockout performance by peter lorre .",
        "this astonishing movie represents an unsurpassed grand synthesis of storytelling .",
        "the film does n't ask for sympathy for the killer franz becker , but it asks for understanding : as he says in his own defense , he can not escape or control the evil compulsions that overtake him ."
    ],
    "summary": "a landmark psychological thriller with arresting images , deep thoughts on modern society , and peter lorre in his finest performance .",
    "id": "17470"
  },
  {
    "movie": "te_doy_mis_ojos",
    "reviews": [
        "these kinds of films are hard to keep out of your mind .",
        "the film won a sack of goya awards in 2004 .",
        "handles the subject of domestic violence with intelligence and compassion .",
        "the performers are luminous .",
        "this small , somber drama says things to battered women they probably already know . what it says to their abusers -- of any country or culture -- they ca n't afford to ignore .",
        "we emerge worn but wiser , having stepped , if only momentarily , and secondarily , into the shoes of the brutalized .",
        "harrowing , psychologically astute drama about domestic abuse .",
        "the story is n't exactly new , but bollain , an actress in her own right , keeps take my eyes from sinking into clich\u00e9s .",
        "if take my eyes explored how a woman could still feel for a man who abused her , it might have gripped us with its difficult truths .",
        "for once , it makes sense that the battered wife always returns to the abusive spouse , even if we do n't believe his promises -lrb- ` i 've changed ' -rrb- any more than hers -lrb- ` i 'm never going back ' -rrb- .",
        "what makes the movie fascinating is that it does n't settle for a soap opera resolution to this story , with pilar as the victim , antonio as the villain , and evil vanquished . it digs deeper and more painfully .",
        "though deceptively straightforward in its exploration of the causes and effects of domestic abuse , take my eyes benefits from the grubby verisimilitude bolla\u00edn brings to his material , which otherwise might have lapsed into movie-of-the-week superficiality",
        "actors laia marull and luis tosar explore the intricate details of a relationship based on the laws of attraction and repulsion , in which the intellect is repeatedly devastated by primal passion .",
        "an extraordinarily truthful and piercing drama about spousal abuse .",
        "a mesmerizing and deeply disturbing film from spain .",
        "approaching potentially unpleasant subject matter with humor , intelligence and deep compassion for its flawed yet infinitely human characters , take my eyes is almost certain to rank as one of the year 's best films .",
        "domestic abuse has been portrayed on film before but never with this much complexity .",
        "every element of the production is well-crafted . take my eyes is highly recommended .",
        "this tale of domestic abuse breaks little new stylistic or psychological ground , but it is a searing , well-acted drama that should strike universal chords .",
        "the performances from marull and tosar ... are superbly nuanced , carefully tweaking your emotions until they ensure that take my eyes is one of the most moving films you 'll see this year ."
    ],
    "summary": "graced with effective performances , take my eyes compellingly explores the subject of domestic abuse while avoiding simplistic characterizations .",
    "id": "9187"
  },
  {
    "movie": "american-the-bill-hicks-story",
    "reviews": [
        "while many biographical documentaries reduce their subjects to museum pieces , american presents the erstwhile goat boy as a force of nature , as vital and essential as he ever was .",
        "see this movie . force people you know to see it with you . drag them kicking and screaming .",
        "impressively directed and impeccably researched , this is an extremely entertaining documentary that 's a must-see for hicks fans and a great introduction for the uninitiated , although there are a couple of frustrating omissions .",
        "using archival footage and photos under a running commentary from most key players in the comedian 's life , american : the bill hicks story brings the funny man back to life for 107 wonderful minutes .",
        "a little too in love with its subject , but a treat for fans .",
        "tells the story of comedian bill hicks ' tragically short life through the eyes of those who lived it with him .",
        "matt harlock and paul thomas ' doc is a triumph of style and content . it looks extraordinary .",
        "the film is an honest celebration of an inventive and daring comedian , whose influence was profound .",
        "piecing together a remarkable story from first-hand accounts , still photos and grainy video footage , filmmakers harlock and thomas assemble a gripping narrative documentary about a modern-day prophet .",
        "an intimate tribute that pays as much attention to bill the man as it does to bill the stand-up .",
        "this is a perceptive biographical documentary that includes a wealth of previously unseen footage and the affectionate personal testimonies of friends and family members who knew him best .",
        "a valuable and entertaining primary resource for fans and casual viewers alike , one that reminds us how brilliant , profound and ahead of his time he was .",
        "harlock and thomas have done their subject justice ; you can understand , if not necessarily applaud , hicks 's pre-eminence among stand-up comics .",
        "packed with interviews with his family and friends , some fine animation and plenty of highlights from his shows , it 's an illuminating and often moving affair although not quite as funny as it should be .",
        "if you want to experience bill hicks ' best cutting edge , controversial comedy and then decide for yourself if the praise he did receive was warranted , this documentary achieves none of that .",
        "a bit of hagiography which , with luck , will bring hicks to the attention of a wider audience . . recalls a lost artist . . a little bill hicks is better than none .",
        "the movie 's appeal extends to the manner of its construction ; it 's an almost hypnotic kind of hybrid animation in which hundreds of photographs of hicks in various poses and at various stages in his life are grafted onto two-dimensional backgrounds .",
        "`` american '' is a solid introduction to a man who mastered the art of telling painful truths with a twinkle in the eye . it 'll make you laugh , mourn and , above all , think .",
        "it 's heavy on facts , but short on insight -- a surface-level look at a performer of extraordinary depth .",
        "american is n't a necessary film , in that it wo n't really change anyone 's opinion about hicks nor does it bring a new interpretation to his life , but it 's a well-made and entertaining movie that gives the man his due .",
        "a magical , tragical mystery tour through late comic legend innovator 's standup rebel humor , and his politics of comedy that took on iraq , waco , the religious right , advertising and capitalism .",
        "recounts a bright-burning life while leaving us mostly in the dark .",
        "like man in the moon , american applies a thick gloss of reverence and sentimentality to the story of a comic pioneer who made his living challenging the kinds of neat , convenient , slickly packaged narratives presented here .",
        "hagiographic documentary of the late standup comic , with great visual style but gaping narrative and thematic holes due to the filmmakers ' remarkable decision to only interview hicks ' loving family and friends .",
        "the life and career of bill hicks , controversial stand up comic who died of cancer at age 32 , is chronicled in this entertaining and moving tribute film , rich with archival footage of hicks ' performances .",
        "american plays less like a primer than a devotional , a dangerous thing for a satirist committed to `` evolving ideas . ''",
        "directors matt harlock and paul thomas work wonders with the old photos , animating and enhancing them to simulate hicks ' excellent adventure .",
        "the greatest strength of this film is that the directors did not overly glorify hicks .",
        "it is a bit of a revelation to realize that hicks , who would develop into one of the angriest and edgiest standup comedians of his time , was once such a clean-cut and straight young man .",
        "does n't impart much in the way of hard facts about hicks , preferring an affectionate route of celebration , blindly fawning over this mystery man in a way that would likely make hicks himself retch .",
        "hicks deserves a truly great documentary , but for now this one will do .",
        "if you have any sort of interest in stand-up comedy , this is as fine a documentary as you will see on the subject .",
        "it 's greatness as a documentary is debatable , but as a eulogy , it 's damn near unparalleled .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- ... checks all the boxes for an entertaining and insightful documentary-bio .",
        "documentary american is stylishly told , but engaging chiefly because comedic wunderkind bill hicks is a bundle of contradictions .",
        "rather than simply panning around within still photos , -lsb- the filmmakers -rsb- have taken images apart by computer and composited them , even moving bits around . ... it 's a weird way to recreate missing events , but it 's not as dishonest as it sounds .",
        "american : the bill hicks story is the kind of film that every artist hopes will be made of their life 's work some day .",
        "it is more a celebration than a lament , and the emotions it evokes are as potent as the force behind hicks ' most inspired comedy .",
        "details about his personal life and what drove him professionally are lacking -- maybe the result of the film requiring the co-operation of hicks 's family .",
        "scenes of cut-out animation are the novel visual approach -- south park gone non-fiction -- while the vocal panache is supplied by hicks , blithely shooting down anything that sports or supports the stars and stripes and dares to brag about it .",
        "the best way to really understand who bills hicks was is still to listen to his albums . the second best way is to see this film .",
        "like many documentaries of this genre , it was made by fans , for fans . even casual observers , though , can see that hicks was talented , a conflicted young man who deserved more success than he ever got .",
        "hicks 's shtick is so good and his life so ordinary that it 's hard to escape the feeling that we might 've been better off just watching a compilation of the groundbreaking funnyman 's work .",
        "a well-produced , visually buoyant ode made by two fans and ready-made for hicks ' pre-existing fan base",
        "hicks was like the stand-up comedian version of a five-tool baseball player . he could do it all .",
        "the vitriolic comedian 's career gets a photo-animated documentary treatment which drowns out his voice with a chorus of friends and family .",
        "in the stand-up world , to be a cerebral comic in america is to invite anonymity . in his short life , bill hicks extended that invitation and , more or less , it was accepted .",
        "a portrait of the short-lived artist that will move fans while letting the uninitiated witness enough onstage highlights to leave them wanting more .",
        "ultimately , the doc comes off as yet another reminder that , in showbiz and elsewhere , one of the greatest tragedies in life is unfulfilled promise .",
        "american : the bill hicks story is not the last word on this enduring figure in comedy , but it 's certainly the most personal .",
        "a very entertaining examination of hicks ' life and legacy .",
        "they bring hicks back to life , his rants still sounding fresh and brilliant . scorched ears never felt so good .",
        "one of the marvels of this documentary , and bill 's life , really , is that it packs so much in such a small window of life .",
        "gracefully walking the line between fan-friendly greatest hits package and newcomer-friendly biopic ...",
        "even those who shrug at his combative style of humour wo n't be able to deny that this is a model of detailed and distanced biographical filmmaking .",
        "posthumous albums and now this film are securing his legacy and enduring influence .",
        "hicks had a great voice -- lucid , perceptive and outraged -- and it 's great to hear it again ."
    ],
    "summary": "a treasure trove of archival material and interviews , american : the bill hicks story is an exuberant celebration about a unique , sorely missed voice in comedy .",
    "id": "770820131"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the-third-man",
    "reviews": [
        "do her\u00f3i fragilizado e pat\u00e9tico ao fascinante vil\u0103o , passando pela fotografia inesquec\u00edvel , a trilha surpreendente e uma viena inigual\u00e1vel , o filme \u00e9 simplesmente perfeito .",
        "welles gives harry a mask of irony that turns all moral judgment back on itself . he turns a mass murderer into a wry rogue , and makes his villainy all the more horrifying because we rather like him .",
        "this movie is a mishmash of many different talents coming together in a way that seems magical .",
        "each dimension of the film 's partnerships is magnificent .",
        "this moody thriller about love & friendship , loyalty & betrayal and honesty and greed is a haunting tale whose images remain long after the film has concluded .",
        "reed ends film with the one of the longest but most powerful shots in the history of cinema .",
        "a classic .",
        "... one of the most robust and intelligent thrillers ever made , an incredibly effective mood piece , and a model of old school craftsmanship and polish .",
        "if MOV is a tragedy , it is n't just the tragedy of a hobbled city , scribbled with ruins and parsed into zones of occupation that ca n't communicate and do n't cooperate .",
        "greene 's story and screenplay , which he accurately described as `` a comic thriller , '' is a gift that keeps on giving , with patter that 's never less than brilliant . -lsb- criterion blu-ray -rsb-",
        "as you watch the film , you feel as though the screen is tilted higher , glowering over you as you wince in its devastating presence , which is probably how martins felt scurrying through the vienna darkness .",
        "it transformed the way i looked at the world .",
        "this is a unique classic .",
        "it 's a suspense-thriller-romance steeped in hollywood 's best influences and ` gimmicks , ' yet it 's crafted with enough looming european ` art-house ' style to topple fritz lang into an existential funk .",
        "an undisputed masterpiece , this movie captures the mood of vienna in post-wwii like no other , and is also a testimony to film as a collaborative art , benefiting from greene 's writing , reed 's direction , and stellar cast with orson welles at his scariest",
        "an iconic film noir that 's still fresh despite being familiar .",
        "succeeds both as a thriller and as a mood piece , evoking a joyless world in which almost everyone has a past they wo n't discuss and a future they ca n't fathom .",
        "despite his limited appearance , welles has remained the face of MOV for years , and rightfully so . his eleventh hour performance is one of the best of his career , and without it , the movie would n't be quite as memorable .",
        "MOV is full of greatness : the cinematography is remarkable ; dark , quirky , angular , it accurately reflects the characters ' stories .",
        "MOV is n't an eager crowd-pleaser , but it 's great . the film is distinctly british , with a wonderfully bizarre zither score by anton karas .",
        "... one of the great motion pictures of all time .",
        "wonderful entertainment .",
        "however hoked-up and self-regarding , MOV ... remains an indelible experience .",
        "one of the ten best films ever made .",
        "the movie 's verve comes from the abstract use of a jangling zither and from squirting orson welles into the plot piece-meal with a tricky , facetious eyedropper .",
        "MOV is like the exhausted aftermath of casablanca .",
        "reed rises to the challenge of graham greene 's screenplay .",
        "MOV belongs on that short list of movies which battle in my mind for being the greatest movie ever made .",
        "MOV -lrb- 1949 -rrb- is a visually-stylish thriller - a story of social , economic , and moral corruption in a crumbling vienna following world war ii .",
        "... in sparkling black and white ... a gorgeous example of the possibilities of cinematic chiaroscuro and among the most entertaining ` classic ' films of any genre .",
        "of all the movies i have seen , this one most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies .",
        "it seemed like the creation of a sensibility terribly old and wise , and most of all very european ; it was the very essence of world-weary sophistication .",
        "does a masterful job of recreating an era of complex politics and a city picking itself up from the ashes .",
        "the complete effect of MOV is of superficial mysteries wrapped around deeper mysteries of the human heart , all immersed in a desperate universe suspended by the silent witnessing of a thousand eyes .",
        "one of the glories of postwar cinema , and quite possibly one of the most sheerly enjoyable movies ever made .",
        "it is a bleak , hard-nosed crime story that encompasses a ruined continent , sick and cynical from war . MOV finally endures because it offers a simple thing that so many modern films neglect : the power of story .",
        "one of the greatest expressions of the noir attitude ever committed to film .",
        "a full-blooded , absorbing story",
        "for lovers of film noir , MOV is unquestionably a must-see -- one of the masterpieces of a genre that has contained everything from milestone motion pictures to low-budget potboilers .",
        "a triumph of atmosphere and grown-up concerns .",
        "few films more effectively capture the crumbling infrastructure and opportunistic lawlessness of postwar europe . and none better translate the snaking treachery of graham greene 's stories and his worlds of cynical expats and casual betrayal .",
        "set in postwar occupied vienna , the plot is a corker , littered with memorable moments and played to perfection by an unforgettable cast that 's led with distinction by orson welles and joseph cotten .",
        "best read not as an homage to hitchcock - or to special super secret guest star orson welles - than as a study of what carol reed biographer robert f. moss describes as ` the ineffectuality of goodness . '",
        "a lot funnier than you remember it , carol reed 's immortal 1949 film noir seems to exist in the space between two worlds : an earlier time when thrillers were mostly serious affairs , and a future one , when such supremely witty entertainments felt pass\u00e9 .",
        "MOV is a movie of sobering pleasures .",
        "a monumental arty thriller of british noir .",
        "the truth is often what one least expects it to be , and the ability to cope with the seemingly unbelievable is a dividing line between reed 's characters .",
        "as powerful and original now as it was in 1949 .",
        "one of british cinema 's most enduring and atmospheric thrillers . a genuine and endlessly rewatchable classic .",
        "directors like reed and wilder created an environment of spatial and moral confusion in which their pulpy narratives could take on the ethical weight of a biblical proverb .",
        "noir classic has great thrills , smart style .",
        "top credit must go to mr. reed for molding all possible elements into a thriller of superconsequence .",
        "it 's hard to choose just one scene to sum up this poetic thriller , but the legendary scene on the ferris wheel may best represent its perfect blend of great writing , acting , and directing .",
        "everything you ever wanted to know about the dark side of human nature can be found in orson welles ' smirking face",
        "is it perfect ? maybe the answer has more to do with semantics than film craft ; it 's at least indistinguishable from flawlessness .",
        "a true classic , wonderful selection for college film series audiences .",
        "seen today , MOV ... can be appreciated as a prophetic statement on the eventual moral bankruptcy of the one-world euphoria that clouded men 's minds immediately after the second ` war to end all wars . '",
        "this movie is a great piece of filmmaking .",
        "this handsomely shot black-and-white thriller has n't aged one bit . terrific writing , direction and acting never go out of style .",
        "essential graham greene , brilliant orson welles , and one of the best thrillers ever made .",
        "a true classic , MOV was ranked 57 on the afi 's list of the top 100 films .",
        "about as close to a perfect film as you 're likely to get .",
        "this is a film which does away with such cretinous inanity as offering up goodies and baddies , instead presenting its cast of characters as doing things which they believe to be good , but are not seen as such through the eyes of observers .",
        "`` MOV '' is important not just because of its technique but because of its theme ...",
        "like many , i have loved this thriller of conscience and betrayal most of my moviegoing life .",
        "what really makes the film sing , though , is n't the jaunty and iconic zither score by anton karas . it 's the film 's groundbreaking visual aesthetic , which combines noir tropes with expressionism to create a visual wonderland of living shadows .",
        "it 's an exciting experience , dazzling and entertaining and thought-provoking .",
        "reed and screenwriter graham greene let the story unfold slowly and deliberately , like the cigarette smoke that floats around the characters , and keep us guessing at every step .",
        "welles was a still-ridiculously young 34 when he played harry , but he was probably born sounding 56 ...",
        "the bombed buildings , piles of rubble and their evocative shadows form a haunting backdrop to the outdoor scenes , particularly at night . ... greene 's talent for dialogue and suspense shine . -lsb- it -rsb- has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster .",
        "krasker 's camera reveals a dank , matte , defeated city - so dully vivid as to be a character unto itself - except that this vienna becomes something altogether different seen at night or underground .",
        "by the very nature of its settings and story , there are occasional reminiscences of lang and hitchcock , but there is nothing borrowed or imitated . stylistically , MOV is reed 's most impressive film ."
    ],
    "summary": "this atmospheric thriller is one of the undisputed masterpieces of cinema , and boasts iconic performances from joseph cotten and orson welles .",
    "id": "18250"
  },
  {
    "movie": "johnny_english",
    "reviews": [
        "unless you are a big fan of bean , you will not like this film .",
        "malkovich plays the `` flouncy '' french villain as an extremely annoying combination of nancy kulp and will ferrell ...",
        "every possible laugh was wrung out of this idea several decades ago , then the austin powers movies drove them deep into the ground . now atkinson comes along to do it all again , as if no one ever had .",
        "it 's everything you might expect from a film based on a series of tv commercials .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- completely unnecessary and nearly chuckle-free spy movie spoof ...",
        "my eight year old thought the movie was oscar quality . i 'll let that statement speak for itself .",
        "wildly uneven and yet , at times , nothing less than wildly entertaining .",
        "to use the movie 's lingo , it 's a cockup , not a crack-up .",
        "if the theater 's air-conditioning is working and it 's hot outside , spending some time with english is n't a bad idea .",
        "a goofy , pratfall-laden guilty pleasure .",
        "there 's a lot of entertainment , especially for families , in MOV .",
        "just plain dumb -- and not in a ` good-dumb ' way .",
        "the film manages the rare trick of improving as it unrolls from the utterly putrid to the barely tolerable .",
        "it 's all safe , predictable stuff -- so predictable that the only people who wo n't have things figured out 10 minutes into the film are those who left after five .",
        "MOV , despite its contemporary-sounding anti-french cracks , could easily have been made 20 years ago . might have seemed better , and more fresh , if it had .",
        "a spy spoof that makes you pine for the days of leslie nielsen and spy hard .",
        "there are perhaps 12 minutes of genuine gut-clutching hilarity spread throughout MOV 's hour and 25 minutes .",
        "fans of atkinson should be warned that there 's far more comic inventiveness in a half hour of mr. bean than in this whole tepid mess .",
        "while you do n't have to be a super sleuth to see the over-obvious gags coming , atkinson 's elastic mugging usually pulls 'em through .",
        "the best feature based on a tv commercial i 've seen all year .",
        "a slight tee-hee of a comedy that , like a bargain wine , induces a wince on first sip but finishes well .",
        "a good bet for bean fans , though for others , it 's modest pleasures will play better on video .",
        "a hugely redundant spy spoof .",
        "witless parodies of james bond-style spy thrillers do n't come much more pointless than this dopey vehicle for rowan atkinson in mr. bean mode .",
        "innocuous , if dumb , fun .",
        "fans of the english comedian should obviously find much more to like , as will pre-teens who get the giggles from his broad physical schtick .",
        "has -lsb- malkovich 's -rsb- career really come to this ?",
        "the spy-spoof genre is old hat ... but atkinson is such an inventive , endearing clown that one does n't mind .",
        "MOV may well be too specifically british , and too slight , to connect strongly with audiences , but it 's a pleasant enough diversion .",
        "johnny is never as inspired as the best moments of the powers movies , but it 's cleaner and more consistent than they are .",
        "while it lives up to the very definition of ` hit and miss ' , the parts that hit are very funny .",
        "you wo n't die laughing in the theater , but the filmmakers are n't asking you to , as they do in the frantic , adolescent comedies that dominate the market . it 's a pleasure .",
        "the spy parts are n't exciting enough and the funny parts are n't funny enough .",
        "contrived , bland , and unfunny with an awful lead character ...",
        "belongs on an old-time double bill , where it would satisfy , if only because we 'd be into the second movie before we noticed that the first came up a bit short on laughs .",
        "excruciatingly predictable",
        "another feeble 007 parody .",
        "straight from tony blair , english 's next assignment is a suicide mission : to find weapons of mass destruction in iraq .",
        "in spite of some wince-inducing bathroom humor , and jokes you can see coming from a mile away , this turns out be a very funny romp indeed .",
        "MOV does n't work as a spoof of the spy genre , and moreover , as you watch atkinson at work , you begin to notice how easy this is for him -- too easy , in fact .",
        "fans of rowan atkinson and the low-key lunacy of his brand of british humor are going to love his turn as the world 's most unqualified secret agent .",
        "here is perhaps a good litmus test to determine whether or not MOV is for you : do you think rowan atkinson can be funny just by showing up ?",
        "a comic actor of genius who raises silliness to an art form , the wonderfully expressive atkinson makes excellent use of those devastating looks in the spy spoof MOV .",
        "the wildly successful austin powers films are a hard act to follow , and MOV feels like a johnny - come-lately to the same silly party .",
        "a surprisingly gentle , old-fashioned comedy .",
        "in a summer filled with overcooked turkeys , it 's a refreshingly irreverent snack .",
        "MOV is 100 percent atkinson , which means superficial silliness and wacky pratfalls . if you 're looking for comedic depth or edgy irony , look elsewhere .",
        "-lsb- atkinson -rsb- is like a sketch-comedy troupe rolled into one body .",
        "the latest from mr. bean star rowan atkinson , is n't a great movie , or even that good a comedy . but somehow the flick 's monumental silliness offsets its shortcomings .",
        "rowan atkinson is a gifted comedian . too bad MOV is n't more befitting his significant talents .",
        "atkinson carries out his spy-spoof mission with candor and grace , or as much grace as a man can maintain while satirizing the trainspotting climb up through a soiled potty .",
        "if MOV does n't rollick with laughs it at least generally frolics with good-natured fun .",
        "surprisingly tepid .",
        "MOV plays like a tired exercise , a spy spoof with no burning desire to be that , or anything else .",
        "MOV wo n't leave you shaken or stirred ; it 's simply quite likable , and there 's nothing wrong with that .",
        "MOV is silly enough , but why ca n't this clever man make a clever movie ?",
        "MOV ... reminds us that the nation that gave us peter sellers and monty python also gave us benny hill .",
        "even several of atkinson 's falling-flat gags fall flat .",
        "atkinson really is funny in this movie -- maybe not pee-your-pants funny , but certainly hoot-out-loud funny .",
        "it is unabashedly silly and playful . i do n't think atkinson could be mean or offensive if he tried .",
        "if not for the similar austin powers movies , maybe a lot of what 's in this film would have played better , and fresher . but as it stands , it looks old hat .",
        "an extremely silly but effective enough romp for family auds .",
        "a likeable parody that , while never quite as side-splitting as it thinks it is , still contains a good number of well-worked comic set-pieces .",
        "it 's a zero , wandering around itself , benignly hoping that it will make us laugh even though it has not offered funny material or delivery .",
        "it 's the same bawdy british humour as the ali g movie , and there 's more inspiration in the gags from jackass . .",
        "there are few real belly laughs in MOV , but there is enough humor to keep an audience smiling for almost 90 minutes .",
        "por mais que tente , MOV n\u0103o \u00e9 p\u00e1reo para o inspetor closeau , derek flint ou austin powers . ali\u00e1s , n\u0103o \u00e9 p\u00e1reo sequer para mr. bean .",
        "it still seems that nothing will ever beat the genius of the val kilmer-fronted spoof top secret , but after the fiasco of the last austin powers movie , this is fun .",
        "as funny as a slap in the face with a dead sea urchin .",
        "the gags are telegraphed to such a ridiculous degree that you can see some of them coming literally an hour away . yet when the punchlines arrive , atkinson sells them with aplomb .",
        "smug with timely zingers like ` the only thing the french should be allowed to host is an invasion , ' the movie 's recommended strictly for bush advisers .",
        "what makes it work is the cast , who are able to wring more than a few laughs out of this tired scenario .",
        "` aunque puede parecer bastante obvio y bobo para muchos , por lo menos representa un buen rato de entretenimiento puro y sin complicaciones '",
        "there is plenty of opportunity for funny lines and great physical gags but the script really lets down the cast .",
        "penned by the guys who wrote the last two bond films . that means they 're incapable of spoofing themselves , which is a concept far more funny than anything you 'll see here .",
        "i 'm a rowan atkinson fan . silly yes , but usually a subtle whit tied like a rubber chicken to the site gags . unfortunately , i can not say the same for `` english . ''",
        "well , i guess this proves that americans are n't the only ones apt to characterize the french as obnoxious , power-hungry fops .",
        "mike myers has worked this material to death .",
        "at best a spotty spy spoof with little to say about the genre beyond what mike myers already accomplished in ` austin powers : international man of mystery ' -lrb- and wrecked in its two dreadful sequels -rrb- .",
        "while atkinson thankfully gets to repeat the physical humor of bean , MOV wallows in the gross-out antics of the austin powers flicks but has none of their energy or inventiveness .",
        "there were n't enough good laughs for me to recommend it to anyone other than the most devoted beanheads .",
        "dies on screen .",
        "inept and painfully unfunny .",
        "a poorly executed representative of the over-used spy spoof comedy .",
        "super predictable - a damn shame . atkinson deserves the right vehicle but unless you already love him , he can not transcend this vehicle .",
        "will jacques chirac inspire the next round of international spy movie villains ?",
        "a funny summer frolic .",
        "the good jokes are so infrequent MOV could be retitled you only laugh twice .",
        "so abominably blah that you 'll fall asleep in your popcorn .",
        "the film 's irreverence toward venerable british institutions may seem uproarious in johnny 's home country , but americans will find this just another summertime farce , falling back on stale scatological jokes when it runs out of better ideas .",
        "while atkinson has physical comedy skills and a deadpan delivery equal to sellers , his screenwriters take the easy , poo-joke route far too often .",
        "delightfully daft .",
        "MOV is a tamer austin powers crossed with get smart , with very little in the way of effective humor .",
        "a tedium torture test produced with little money and less comic know-how .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- lazily ingratiating spy spoof .",
        "MOV will delight those who arrive already convinced that they 'll laugh uproariously at every slapstick gag and every misused word . but it wo n't convince the rest of us .",
        "MOV would most favorably be described as a one-joke action comedy whose one joke wears thin quite quickly -lrb- and is n't remotely original to begin with -rrb-",
        "the laughs come grudgingly and infrequently in MOV .",
        "while atkinson is at his offbeat best , the film he has been placed within is sorely routine and more often blase than not , its every joke telegraphed far in advance of its ultimate appearance .",
        "unless you have an incurable case of anglophilia , save your hard-earned moneypenny for the dvd rental .",
        "this is strictly dull chuckles from dull wits .",
        "the spy parts are n't exciting enough and the funny parts are n't funny enough , but the overall effect is mildly amusing .",
        "like something that comes to theatres courtesy of a time warp rather than a projector ... rather tedious despite atkinson 's oafish charm .",
        "every single joke in this movie is telegraphed so far in advance that you can figure out the punchlines long before they actually arrive .",
        "so much of MOV should be funnier than it is .",
        "oh , i say ... let 's not make any more british-spy spoofs , shall we ?",
        "a complete waste of time"
    ],
    "summary": "a tame spy spoof that elicits infrequent chuckles .",
    "id": "11064"
  },
  {
    "movie": "grudge",
    "reviews": [
        "the MOV , a slump-in-your-seat , would-be thriller , is a shockless shocker .",
        "the archetypal haunted house story might be more effective as a campfire story which takes ten minutes to tell ... as a 90-minute movie , it 's a crushing bore .",
        "a more successful reinterpretation than `` the ring . ''",
        "the MOV is a perfect halloween feature , a frightening ghost story that will have you flinching and screaming .",
        "way beyond a good , stiff halloween thrill .",
        "i eventually lost all patience . the movie may have some subterranean level on which the story strands connect and make sense , but it eluded me .",
        "the trouble with shimizu 's impressionistic approach is that it does n't entrench you deep enough inside anybody 's head or put you far enough behind anyone 's point of view for the scares to really work .",
        "... features some of the most unnerving imagery and soundscapes to be found on the screen ...",
        "finally , the key to making an americanized version of a japanese film is revealed : let the original director call the shots .",
        "it 's the ominous , mystical stuff of nightmares - a real spook-fest !",
        "karen is soon back on her feet -lrb- her particular athleticism is showcased during a buffy-like sprint across town near film 's end -rrb- .",
        "remaking a good movie is a losing game , so give the MOV credit for succeeding as much as it does .",
        "a genuinely chilling experience .",
        "rather than building to a climax , shimizu introduces his poltergeists too early . once the ghosts start rattling around , we can generally anticipate what 's coming next .",
        "a decent enough idea for a halloween horror trick .",
        "project might have been more successful if shimizu had style and/or atmosphere to substitute for his canned scares , cardboard compositions and flaccid cutting .",
        "a beautiful blend of tension , good performances , and a shocking ending .",
        "little more than a journey to the end credits .",
        "audiences seeking thought-provoking plots and unpredictable endings should take this movie with a grain of salt .",
        "director shimizu , as he did with ju-on , simply inserts something scary into every scene .",
        "to add to the tedium , the ever-bland bill pullman , who exits rather early , returns via flashbacks to mope around and be generally unimpressive -- which best describes this movie as a whole .",
        "... suspenseful even without much character development .",
        "la casa donde el mismo director entra por tercera vez , por vez primera ...",
        "most of my child-like fear can be traced to one scene where a serious scare happens in someone 's bed .",
        "shimizu deveria ao menos corrigir os furos mais grotescos da trama - principalmente se considerarmos que vem trabalhando com o mesmo material h\u00e1 quase cinco anos .",
        "generally speaking , i like a little more plot with my ` boo ! ' moments .",
        "there is a sleek , intoxicating artistry to shimizu 's film that makes you forget about things like cause and effect and character motivation",
        "it is n't frightening . sometimes , in fact , it 's laughable .",
        "while it has flashes of creepy imagery , it has absolutely nothing going on in between .",
        "it knows how to startle someone with a quick shock but it soon becomes apparent that it has no more tricks up its sleeve ...",
        "a grown woman actually hides under her blanket . in what version of the scary movie franchise does somebody use a blanket as protection from the crazy ghost spirit ?",
        "even shimizu ca n't stop hollywood from yet another miscalculated attempt to strip down and simplify overseas horror for the suburban mallrats .",
        "the precision of slow revelation is the focus , and shimizu makes good use of it to cloak a skinny plot and vague characters in enduring suspense .",
        "plenty of jumps and genuine creepiness ensue . and along with dead cruise kin , could you really ask for anything else ?",
        "if you consider sudden shrieks of music and pale asian children the pinnacle of all things terrfiying , then the MOV is your next favorite movie .",
        "no character development . no moments of real terror . no purpose for being . the MOV sucks .",
        "the new version is slightly less frightening than the original , but it 's still a scary psycho-horror that effectively replicates its bleak and crisp shocks .",
        "induces many more unintentional giggles than it does gasps of anxiety or fear .",
        "the sort of horror that exchanges character , narrative even atmosphere for a collection of dated scare - 'em tactics , not excluding loud sudden noises .",
        "a spine-tingling little creepshow .",
        "it 's sort of incredible , actually : shimizu , with raimi 's support , has created an english-language remix of his horror classic , and it mostly works . heresy !",
        "while there is some artfully ghastly imagery on display , the movie is just one surrealist chill after another , with no cohesive story line to connect the scares .",
        "mostly , it 's a tepid affair .",
        "adds nothing to the haunted-house genre aside from the horror of spilled ramen noodles on tatami mats .",
        "more than anything , the MOV suggests that it 's time for shimizu to move on .",
        "if you 're at all familiar with the earlier versions , you 'll see an intriguing refinement , on shimizu 's part , of scare tactics he 's worked with before -- and is doing better than ever .",
        "taken on its own terms ... it is a perfectly creepy excuse to cover your eyes and clutch your date 's arm for a couple of hours .",
        "less scary than creepy , the MOV may have lost some oomph in the translation from japanese to english .",
        "the MOV shows just enough blood to be scary but not self-indulgent .",
        "it 's a shivery fun time , filled with dark corners , deserted hallways and sudden apparitions . but it never manages to genuinely rattle you .",
        "it 's like a demo reel for shimizu , who may be a competent technical craftsman but does n't show even so much as a desire to tell a story .",
        "the new film 's hill of beans does n't loom very tall when its acting weight rests on the shoulders of sarah michelle gellar and the ever-likable but unassertive bill pullman .",
        "between our jumps of fright come lumps of time that take forever to pass .",
        "the MOV is a decent horror diversion : barely a classic , but still pretty atmospheric and suspenseful in its own right .",
        "the intent of shimizu 's us-produced feature debut is quite clear : do for japan what jaws did for swimming .",
        "a witches ' brew of elements done to better effect in ring , all of them wrapped in a disappointingly conventional haunted-house plot that barely approaches the latter film 's video-age invention .",
        "grisly ghost story lacks plot ; not for tweens .",
        "completely misses the point of the original .",
        "... just cannibalizes itself , exploiting japanese spirituality for a few saturday-night shocks ...",
        "-lsb- blu ray -rsb- only the hi-def obsessed should double-dip for this one , dvd owners can still sit pretty .",
        "as a pure , light , pg-13 thrill machine , the MOV is fairly successful . but it is not especially memorable .",
        "full review in greek",
        "creepy movie about ghosts with an unfair advantage .",
        "eschewing plot and a linear timeline for a stylish exercise in mood , shimizu sets the scenes with long silences and chilling images .",
        "there are some creepy images and gotcha scares but nothing can disguise the fact that this is just a `` who gets it next and how does he get it '' movie .",
        "the atmosphere is creepy and will make you jump , even if the story does n't make a whole lot of sense .",
        "fans accustomed to noisier , more graphic jolts may be impatient with the MOV 's measured insidiousness . others may find it refreshing , curiously so .",
        "there are so many events here but no real story . perhaps that is what 's making the drowned kabuki ghost so irate : she 's desperate to find a coherent script .",
        "the MOV is all about fright . it 's not about mystery , characterization or perverse amusement , all of which can turn horror into something more .",
        "fun , but it 's a weak cousin of such classic american ghost tales as the amityville horror , the exorcist , poltergeist and the shining .",
        "great at the creation of truly creepy atmosphere and the prompting of dread , but take it from a total coward -- adults wo n't be scared .",
        "the cold , impersonal climate of much of the decor proves more frightening than the secret at the movie 's core .",
        "while this remake of the 2000 japanese horror hit ju-on gets the atmosphere right , its plotting is often eye-rolling silly .",
        "anyone who has ever seen a horror flick will know where this one 's going every inch of the way .",
        "with a pumped-up budget for effects and no musical cues to tell you when to be scared , everything here is mad frightening .",
        "one of those horror movies that thoroughly spooks you while it 's up on the screen , but as soon as it 's over , the fear dries up and is replaced by questions about how the pieces and parts do -- or in this case , do n't -- fit together .",
        "we need to care about karen . that we never quite do is n't scary . it 's merely disappointing .",
        "-lsb- gellar -rsb- is matched in lethargy only by jason behr , who plays her american boyfriend with the same conviction one would find from a frat guy shopping for hoobastank cds .",
        "elegant and haunting , using simple elements like camera placement and blocking to maximize the eeriness .",
        "shimizu may have sold out and bastardized his own calling card , but at least he got the ghost hand thing in again .",
        "dismally lost in translation .",
        "... never goes beyond the `` schlocky . ''",
        "the MOV is that annoying blend of genuine scares and really , really dumb people",
        "although it ca n't seem to improve on the original , this effort should appeal to many due to the popularity of sarah michelle gellar .",
        "... foutrement inqui\u00e9tant et remplit admirablement sa mission : faire peur .",
        "the MOV is not the worst film of the year , but that 's about the biggest compliment i can give it .",
        "geller 's latest outclasses her `` scooby-doo '' adventures , but is not up to the level of the `` best of buffy . ''",
        "unfortunately , the MOV may leave you longing for the solid dramatic structure of freddy vs. jason .",
        "the ending is a major letdown . at the screening i attended , an audience of journalists and regular folks let out a raucous groan followed by a few peels of laughter .",
        "an abundance of above-average scares ultimately makes the MOV 's portrait of contagious anger , violence , and death creepily unsettling .",
        "stylish but shallow horror",
        "the images and sounds shimizu puts on the screen are often so disturbing and puzzling ... that they claw their way into your memory and stick around .",
        "wan na see something really scary ? then take in ben affleck 's performance in `` surviving christmas . ''",
        "a minimal , stylish look and sinister atmosphere support a ho-hum storyline and pedestrian script .",
        "the soundtrack 's dolby thumps and screaming violins head off any genuine scares .",
        "it 's disconcerting when fingers poke out of gellar 's head during a shower because nothing is likely to emerge from an actor 's head but dialogue and roots .",
        "a scattering of scary moments surrounded by scenes that only serve to test your patience and kill time .",
        "the MOV simply wants to make you wet your pants . even if it does n't , you 'll still find yourself in the market for a nightlight .",
        "the umpteenth variation of the haunted house tale , but with enough spooky style to call it a success .",
        "this material tries to camouflage its nagging repetitiveness with a lot of confusing flashbacks .",
        "it 's just not the kind of frightening that stays with you very long , unless of course someone decides to make the same movie ... yet again .",
        "the only MOV i have is against the people that asked this director to make the same movie again - only this time make it less entertaining .",
        "one of the flat-out creepiest films ever released by a major american studio .",
        "it 's enough to send you home with jiggly knees and a tummy ache .",
        "it 's refreshing to see a pg-13 horror film that aims for good old-fashioned spookiness .",
        "almost every single one of the american characters has maybe a third of the personality of the ghosts that haunt them , so you begin to think the MOV itself is less a curse than a perfectly reasonable eviction strategy .",
        "better photography , a spiffier budget , but it remains a ` what 's that ? ' and ` who 's there ? ' movie , triggering the responses ` whatever ' and ` who cares ? '",
        "as it turns out , there is such a thing as a horror film with too much mindless killing .",
        "bottom line , the MOV would have been ruined in the hands of a typical hollywood american director .",
        "some folks in the u.s. ... convinced shimizu to direct a hollywood-funded remake . the result is actually an improvement .",
        "is n't much more coherent in english than it was in japanese ... your neighborhood halloween haunted house is probably scarier than this one .",
        "`` the MOV '' is soulless , half-baked sludge that should have gone straight to video .",
        "the MOV lacks a premise . there are no rules , just scares and nothing else , and when the bottom drops out , there 's nowhere to fall",
        "you 'll resent seeing this movie .",
        "a haunted house that leaves you feeling less than spooked and more than a little ripped off ... . it 's ghost story 101 .",
        "the opening minutes hit us with a shocker on a par with the shower scene in `` psycho , '' and the tension rarely lets up thereafter .",
        "i 've seen pokemon movies that are scarier .",
        "japanese cult chiller remake is n't your usual hollywood horror flick , but it also is n't very good .",
        "oh no !!! not again !!!",
        "despite a few effective scares , this new MOV never really generates the right amount of tension .",
        "it 's disappointing to realize that the film truly is nothing more than a series of people dying . we usually like our thrillers to have something more to them .",
        "a visually interesting but fatally underwhelming horror film , cynically devised to avoid taxing the intellect of anyone on a third-grade reading level .",
        "nothing more than a cultural twist on the standard-issue haunted house movie , -lrb- but -rrb- i will give -lrb- it -rrb- credit ... for giving me goosebumps . lots and lots of goosebumps .",
        "a horror film that consists of virtually nothing but do n't - go-in-the-attic suspense scenes strung together with a reasonable degree of brooding mood and a minimum of logic .",
        "the MOV bears the imprimatur of sam raimi , but alas , neither his sense of fun nor his smarts .",
        "completely free of character development , tension , scenario , narrative , plot , intelligence , point , sociological relevance , technical aptitude , and scares .",
        "i want to scream in terror -lrb- like at a jennifer lopez movie , or when i stand naked in front of my mirror -rrb- . sadly , the MOV 's scares are n't accompanied by much else .",
        "it ai n't buffy , but it will have to do .",
        "genuinely surprises because one is never quite sure where it is headed next , all the while involving the viewer in freakish , unforgettably nightmarish imagery .",
        "even though the plot is a bit disjointed and the characters are underdrawn , the truly terrifying ghosts are more than worth the price of admission .",
        "-lsb- the MOV -rsb- is n't art , but as date-night fright flicks go , it 's effective .",
        "well this is not only the biggest disappointment of the year , but one crummy way to ruin my halloween .",
        "great ads/trailer , lame movie .",
        "those who 've seen shimizu 's creepy original are n't likely to be impressed ...",
        "many a movie has gone before the camera before the script was finished . the MOV went before the camera before the outline of the script was finished .",
        "without payoff , alluring buildup is n't worth much .",
        "the MOV is n't nearly as scary as the upcoming election .",
        "it 's no more impressive than hiding in the dark and shouting ` boo ! ' when someone walks into a room .",
        "the MOV is so amazing to look at that some might even be able to forgive the fact that the plot never kicks into gear . but i can not .",
        "a nonstop parade of nonsensical doings that makes you suspect most of the characters do n't have two brain cells to rub together .",
        "ju-on 's success rested in its powerful atmosphere ... yet that aura only presents itself sporadically in the yankee MOV .",
        "this american remake ... has a kind of watered down feel to it , as if it were just a necessary step to be taken in a long series of events ."
    ],
    "summary": "there 's some creepy imagery to be found , but not much in the way of logic or truly jarring scares .",
    "id": "17083"
  },
  {
    "movie": "adjustment_bureau",
    "reviews": [
        "matt damon and emily blunt fall in love and flee shadowy figures in the immensely stylish romantic thriller the MOV . if only the ending lived up to the build-up .",
        "less a rumination on free will than a potboiler with some intellectual pretensions , the MOV is a pleasant enough middlebrow mind trip .",
        "what conceivable conclusion could nolfi give , lest to suggest that ` the chairman ' or god , has a heart of stone , and cynically does n't believe in love or his own creation , man .",
        "taken as a whole , if you allow yourself to take a leap of faith the MOV is an intriguing , engrossing experience . at the very least , it just might be the perfect date movie .",
        "i ca n't imagine anyone 's ever speaking about this movie with fondness other than the people who made it , and maybe their close relatives .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- atrociously trite conclusion threatens to ruin the entire film , but perhaps if we can just get a hold of the right moleskine , we can make some adjustments , and it 'll be like that ending never happened ...",
        "a refreshing , romantic sci-fi adventure whatsit the likes of which hollywood rarely gambles on .",
        "the story has a real spiritual view , talking about the universe 's plan as if it 's a bureaucracy . it 's only an intro course though . the advanced courses would be total recall , dark city or gattaca .",
        "it 's a little like if men in black was recast with an army of john majors , and about as sexy as that sounds .",
        "it taps into your longing for the days when a sci-fi matrix could explain the world without making it a darker place .",
        "it 's hokum , but it 's entertaining hokum , mainly thanks to damon and blunt , who make an appealing couple .",
        "nolfi began his career as a writer , which perhaps explains why he tries to keep the action character-driven : the sweet chemistry between damon and blunt does at least make their romantic , potentially existence-threatening bond credible .",
        "damon and blunt are a perfect screen couple . she makes him appear so much more romantic than he has ever been before , and the complex plot is pushed aside by the glory of their love story .",
        "despite the profoundly unsexy title the film managed to land two fine-ass leads , whose chemistry essentially saves the film from its existentialist pretensions .",
        "the on-screen pairing of matt damon and emily blunt is so winning that you may be willing to overlook the oddly modulating tone of the story that brings them together and then tries to keep them apart .",
        "science fiction with half a brain , a lot of weird , quick wit , and a surprisingly full heart .",
        "your preconception of this existential romantic thriller 's entertainment value is about to be adjusted .",
        "once again , after the obnoxious the informant and insufferable hereafter , matt damon uses movies to explain the world to audiences who just want to be entertained .",
        "highlighted by the wonderful emily blunt and george nolfi 's fine direction this is a splendid romantic excursion into science fiction .",
        "this is not the philip k. dick story it was supposedly based on , but it does look at engaging philosophical questions that a film like iron man would never even think of .",
        "philip k. dick 's story the adjustment team was published in 1954 . but the movie the MOV only trades on dick 's name . all else is shoved aside by george nolfi , who directed and wrote the screenplay .",
        "farfetched ? yes , but matt damon and emily blunt convinced me their characters belong together in this romantic sci-fi thriller .",
        "damon and blunt have such obvious chemistry we do start believing the ripple effects from a single kiss could indeed change our collective future .",
        "deliriously romantic , with damon and blunt 's chemistry perfectly capturing love 's ability to supersede all . 2011 's first mainstream movie that makes you feel something .",
        "unlike , schwarzenegger , tom cruise , harrison ford , and other dick adaptation heroes , damon has the physique of an everyman ; when he runs , and there 's a lot of running , it appears he might have at least two extra butt cheeks following him in the hov lane .",
        "the blunt/damon combination just about wins you over ... unless you were under the illusion this was jason bourne getting incepted .",
        "i can honestly say the MOV is the best meet-cute sci-fi rom-com about magic hats that i 've seen in at least three months .",
        "a bulked-up damon and the lithe blunt generate a strong chemistry and the scenes that establish their deep romantic bond are lovely ; she is more naturally effervescent here than ever before .",
        "exciting and deftly constructed .",
        "it 's about love conquering all . it 's about people risking everything for a chance at romantic joy .",
        "eventually embraces a few too many romance-movie clich\u00e9s , but its approach to the genre is skewed enough to feel fresh .",
        "at least the filmmakers have blunt and damon to rely on ; you can believe they share a love stronger than any revision .",
        "mr. nolfi , who is also making his debut as a director , is another unfortunate christopher nolan wannabe , so the movie is a preposterous muddle that borrows heavily from inception , without a single original idea .",
        "they 're called the MOV , but what they really are is the c *** block bureau .",
        "a largely entertaining and compelling paranoid thriller only let down by its final scenes .",
        "it 's impossible to avoid comparing this film to both inception and the truman show , as it delves into the issue of free will from a fantastical perspective . but this is a lighter movie , focussing on romance rather than weighty themes .",
        "with the exception of a few cute lines from emily blunt , it 's a bureaucratically grey and decidedly empty tale about very little .",
        "paranoia never looked so good .",
        "uma narrativa intrigante , tensa e rom\u0432ntica que mant\u0439m o espectador interessado durante a maior parte da proje\u0437\u0433o .",
        "if you can buy into the sci-fi angle , this rom-action is smart and brisk enough to stand above similarly-themed films -- helped tremendously by the chemistry of its stars .",
        "... more hearts-aflutter romance than nuts-and-bolts sci-fi .",
        "philip k. dick does n't always work on screen",
        "a romantic thriller that manages a rather remarkable feat : sending us on a headlong pursuit of life 's meaning , even as the banal everydayness of real life closes in on one side and the anything-goes magic of science fiction closes in on the other .",
        "focus on love story distracts from film 's concept",
        "the film 's chief interest is n't plumbing philosophical questions of fate , providence and autonomy but , instead , wallowing in skimpy fairy-tale romanticism .",
        "the MOV is smartly scripted and slickly directed , and is anchored by yet another compelling performance from the ever reliable matt damon .",
        "for a film with existential implications as severe as they are here , the dialogue is at times hokey , but the chemistry between damon and blunt is enough to enchant you .",
        "the science is murky but the chemistry is strong .",
        "not every philip k. dick adaptation is golden .",
        "a brisk and affecting slice of sci-fi that allows room for optimism and even god .",
        "the film bristles with the sort of contrivances that could incite derisive snickers . yet it moves with such brisk self-assurance that the chuckles arrive only at a few comedic rest stops .",
        "an elegant fantasy , only slightly marred by rather too much science-fiction explanation .",
        "a metaphysical love story with some wonderfully droll ideas .",
        "nolfi 's movie works on an interesting scale and a disarmingly gentle spirit , even though it 's being sold as a hard-charging romantic thriller . i like it ; i hope it finds an audience .",
        "where the drama falters , the romance rises . damon and blunt make a smart and sassy pair . you want them to be together even if it does mean that their political and artistic futures will be thwarted and history will be denied .",
        "what results , against some odds , is an intriguing entertainment .",
        "the age old quandary of human purpose , told with a modern twist , in screenwriter turned director george nolfi 's superb adaptation of phillip k. dick",
        "stupid . regrettably , love conquers all . puts a stain on philip k. dick 's post-death career .",
        "blunt and damon have delightful chemistry , but this is still little more than a derivative , campy b-movie , which would be fine if it was at all what the filmmakers had intended .",
        "nolfi makes a memorable directing debut in this sometimes silly , but also suspenseful and entertaining story .",
        "as much of a wildman as philip k. dick was , it 's hard to imagine him being thrilled about his story being turned into a glorified episode of touched by an angel .",
        "a romantic action thriller with inception-like ambitions , this one , sadly , falls short .",
        "it 's matt damon and emily blunt who save the film , turning it from the overloaded political sci-fi romantic thriller it might have been into a breezy , charming love story .",
        "the so-called plan is derailed !",
        "it 's too bad that `` the MOV '' is so flimsy , because dick , as always , had a provocative idea , a pointed query about the role of chance in our lives .",
        "the struggle between free will and determinism gets dramatic play in this imaginative sci-fi romance .",
        "the film is a well-mounted time-killer with just enough dashes of humour to keep the nutty narrative digestible .",
        "dick 's speculations about cosmic bureaucracy typically had a playful , satirical edge . nolfi 's control of tone is less sure .",
        "a strange but not unpleasant broth of romantic drama , political thriller , and sci-fi-glazed metaphysics .",
        "there 's a smart and welcome sense of humour to the proceedings , and matt damon and , especially , emily blunt , give charismatic performances as the lovers cruelly separated by fate .",
        "both pretentious and silly , a picture that addresses serious issues of fate and free will in the form of a mawkish adolescent adventure yarn .",
        "too often , damon resembles a besotted , middle-school boy who 's chasing his crush not at recess , but in the matrix .",
        "... the over-explained softened edges of the story turn what could have been an exceptional brain-bender into a good , but fairly standard-issue heart-warmer .",
        "nolfi 's predilection for old-school cinematic technique over newfangled excess is refreshing and sometimes ingenious . and damon and blunt conjure a convincing chemistry .",
        "i think i would have liked it better had it been made in the '70s and starred charlton heston , but it 's a hard movie to hate .",
        "love story meets dark city , which does n't quite do justice to the moviegoing experience at hand , but comes close to describing the idiosyncratic , highly cinematic world nolfi generates here for his filmmaking debut .",
        "even as writer/director george nolfi fails to generate a more far-reaching narrative into the questions it raises , he has helped immeasurably by the kind of chemistry between his two leads that turns audiences into believers .",
        "damon and blunt are great -- it 's just a shame they do n't have a stronger adversary for their love .",
        "i 'm a sucker for movies about fate , destiny , and heavenly intervention-going all the way back to on borrowed time and here comes mr. jordan up through ghost town with ...",
        "a shrewdly entertaining mind-bender .",
        "you 've seen this sort of thing before , all the way back to it 's a wonderful life , even if its fake-serious energy and matte finish will temporarily and entertainingly trick you into thinking otherwise .",
        "as artistic endeavour this gives free will a bad name .",
        "this mind-meld of sci-fi thriller , morality play and passionate romance is worth seeing , mostly for the palpable chemistry between the lead actors .",
        "after decades of near misses , someone 's finally made a great movie out of a philip k. dick story -- by throwing out almost everything and spinning the concept in an entirely new direction .",
        "all of the shine is pointless with a weak story . by the time we reached the second act , ` the MOV ' became ` sex and the city ' meets the ` butterfly effect . '",
        "philip k. dick 's original science-fiction story gets an adjustment in ` the MOV , ' a fantasy , rather than a sci-fi piece , about freedom of choice and to what lengths we will go to pursue love .",
        "... artfully tells a story that unfolds elegantly and understands the importance and power of finding that special someone in your life .",
        "while it sets itself up marvelously , the MOV in the end simply fails on the follow-through and while the end result is a near-miss , it is nevertheless a miss .",
        "uses dick 's fantasy conceit ... to noodle concepts of fate , free will , chance , providence and theodicy in a tale of star-crossed lovers appealingly played by damon and blunt .",
        "the premise promises an engaging wronged-man thriller with metaphysical overtones , but director george nolfi fails to deliver .",
        "you wo n't think too deeply about the supernatural possibilities presented in the film , but you will respect them as clever and absorbing storytelling devices .",
        "now here 's something you do n't see every day -- a gripping , literate sci-fi film , full of thematic texture , emotional warmth , and existential complexity .",
        "it would be offensive if it were n't so clearly an object better pitied or ignored . it 's a conversation-starter for idiots , god bless 'em .",
        "sci-fi/romance hybrid mixes plot twists , serious themes .",
        "call it the kinder , gentler matrix",
        "a great springboard for faith-oriented conversations about free will fate , and the role of a higher power in our lives .",
        "the MOV has you pondering the angles throughout , and it 's a credit to newly minted director george nolfi that he never lets his foot off the gas pedal .",
        "as interpreted by first-time director george nolfi -lrb- screenwriter of the bourne ultimatum -rrb- , dick 's story transforms into an endearingly silly allegory of the mysterious interaction of free will and fate .",
        "a typically paranoid philip k. dick story about the fragile ` fabric of reality ' is repurposed as a reassuring fable about true love 's destiny and the rightness of the celestial master plan ...",
        "decent enough science-fiction silliness that could have done without the religious malarkey .",
        "fate , chance , and free will collide in the thematically rich sci-fi love story the MOV .",
        "though sporadically entertaining , the film raises more intriguing questions about fate and free will than it can handle effectively within its frame , but matt damon is well cast as everyman struggling to maintain control over his life .",
        "a curious mix of science fiction and romance , which i enjoyed much more when it was mysterious sci fi .",
        "the MOV is not entirely satisfying , and at times , quite silly .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- the simplicity works .",
        "it 's not a thriller ... adjust your expectations from what you may be expecting and you 'll find it hard not be carried along for the ride .",
        "by keeping the pace quick , the explanation light and the characters strong , nolfi achieves the near-impossible : a film puzzle you wo n't mind leaving unexplained .",
        "the doughy damon and aristocratic blunt do n't match up physically , and they never get any hepburn-tracy rhythms going that might create some current .",
        "when it comes to setting up the rules for its unearthly puppetmasters ' agenda and sticking to them , this fantasy adaptation does n't know dick .",
        "you 've got to admire the way it reins in the action sequences and concentrates on character development instead - something that 's about as common in hollywood as a bum bag made out of unicorn fur .",
        "at times intriguing and at other times rather silly , this adaptation of philip k. dick 's short story offers mystery and romance , yet is too tangible to be mysterious and is not sensual enough to be romantic",
        "an entertaining , if blasphemous mindbender suggesting that love conquers all , even the will of god .",
        "a surprisingly affecting sci-fi romance , aided immensely by the chemistry between stars matt damon and emily blunt .",
        "for the heaviness of the film 's metaphysics , there is something ineffably light and charming about it ... if frank capra made the matrix , it would be the MOV .",
        "it 's brave enough to be a bit loopy , and to hang its entire emotional throughline on a passionate romance .",
        "i was hoping for so much more -- i wanted so much more . but unfortunately `` the MOV '' needs some severe adjusting .",
        "without genuine villains to dislike , there is no suspenseful edge to the story .",
        "mostly intriguing , suspenseful and clever until it loses steam during the underwhelming , facile , anticlimactic third act .",
        "phillip k. dick was a lot of things , but few would call him a sentimentalist .",
        "a great date movie ; thoroughly romantic and a flight of pure fantasy . what girl would n't want to meet the man who would stand up to god and all his angels - sorry , the chairman and his corporate drones - for the woman he loves ?",
        "while the film 's source material dates back to 1954 , it is still one of the more original , though-provoking and down-right entertaining films to hit the big screen in years .",
        "the MOV 's corporate hierarchy of a surprisingly incompetent bureaucracy endowed with mystical powers that its agents use to keep the world on track -- right here under our noses -- is a suspension of disbelief that eventually collapses .",
        "the film 's notion that true love conquers all would fall flat with the wrong leads , but damon and blunt possess a lovely , laid-back chemistry that allows us to believe in their union .",
        "nolfi 's debut is a mild stunner , mixing hope and heart and love and the dire threat of losing it -- or , worse , never realizing you had it -- into a heady , original mix . more , please .",
        "even if the MOV does have a few permanent bruises from running the hollywood gauntlet , it 's still a valiant effort about reconciling destiny and desire that pays off in intelligent , playful and memorable ways .",
        "the MOV does sadly descend into science-fiction nonsense after a bold start , but it 's always enjoyable and you never lose sight of what 's at stake thanks to excellent character work from damon and blunt .",
        "romantic and intellectually stimulating , and like `` inception , '' it may have you arguing with your date on the ride home .",
        "there are plenty of great ideas throughout the film with determinism and the idea of free will all given some interesting twists , though it is sometimes muddled and preachy",
        "it 's rare when a film is able to blend together two different genres so well , especially when they are two genres that you do n't normally see together , in this case , science-fiction and romance .",
        "a fantastic piece of science fiction told in the flavor of a classic twilight zone episode",
        "these two crazy , impetuous kids clearly belong together . too bad the science-fiction plot says otherwise .",
        "although this drama offers up some interesting ideas about free will and faith , the story is n't smart enough to focus on these topics in an intelligent way .",
        "an original romance story with brilliant central performances from matt damon & emily blunt makes this one a winner in my books .",
        "the film meanders between its two styles and sets of concerns , but it adds up to a solid piece of cinema entertainment with a few brain-tweaking moments of paranoia .",
        "despite wobbling under the weight of some hefty ideas while straddling two genres , this sci-fi mystery surprises by emerging as a sweet , star-powered romance .",
        "i kept expecting rod serling to step into the frame , cigarette in hand , setting the stage for the bizarre turn of events about to befall the young pol and the lovestruck ballerina .",
        "accomplished filmmaking that features two highly attractive , talented leads , a healthy dose of sentiment , an intelligent script , and which takes you away for two hours from the quotidian worries and banalities of your regular life .",
        "big brother fantasy with style and real feeling , courtesy of an excellent matt damon-emily blunt pairing .",
        "the film degenerates into a repetitive game of cat and mouse in which roger sterling chases jason bourne through a bunch of magical doors .",
        "the fact that the MOV asks deeper questions is admirable , and it does so about an onscreen couple actually worth caring about .",
        "... if our current president got elected after admitting to having used cocaine in the past do you really think mooning someone in college would cause someone not to vote for him ?",
        "eventually the whole thing feels a little too silly to be able to take any of its inherent concerns meaningfully .",
        "a bit muddled through the middle third and a hollywood-like ending make for a good , though not a brilliant film .",
        "the bureau 's dictat is certainly a blow to the notion , held by a few lunatics , that there 's nothing more important in life than being happy . apparently it 's more important to be ambitious and attain some sort of status .",
        "what 's intriguing is that this is essentially a sweet love story coated in a layer of phillip k dick .",
        "the MOV offers an interesting sci-fi premise that will intrigue in its metaphysical nature , yet that intrigue is not repaid as the move becomes a glossy , effects-driven love story .",
        "too bad the film does n't have anything else to offer besides the chemistry between the photogenic leads , the handsome location shooting and the usual bromides ...",
        "... in the long list of films translating and transforming the stories of the ubiquitous philip k. dick , this falls in the ` watchable but disappointing ' category .",
        "nolfi and his colleagues make especially good use of new york , filming everywhere from the brooklyn waterfront to the lobby of the museum of modern art . it 's a fresh look at a familiar city . but nolfi drops the ball in the home stretch , and that 's ...",
        "an entertaining sci-fi romance that 's exciting in more than the usual will-they-or-won ` t-they ways .",
        "there 's a decided lack of information within the unraveling of the mystery behind the plot of the MOV that is equal parts admirable and frustrating .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- straight-ahead thriller that , when you stop to think about it , you 'll actually want to think about it .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "suspenseful , romantic and wryly funny , `` the MOV '' is the kind of film that reaffirms one 's faith in hollywood .",
        "in the goofball `` the MOV , '' matt damon repeatedly ignores instructions from god not to date emily blunt .",
        "with a few adjustments here and there , this could have been a great film , rather than a irritatingly flawed one with some great moments .",
        "`` the MOV '' is a smart and good movie that could have been a great one if it had a little more daring .",
        "so enveloping is the romance at its core , and the inventiveness of the story , that it can be forgiven for its minor transgressions",
        "damon has never been better , showing an emotional vulnerability . the movie 's other strengths include great special effects , superb cinematography , a wonderful musical score and an elegant wardrobe of high fashion designs .",
        "fans looking for something a little different will find it here - as well as the first real romance of the year .",
        "finding a movie that can so successfully pull off romance and otherworldly mystery is rare . when one comes along , it 's something that should n't be missed .",
        "nolfi suppresses high style , however , for a clean and spare look : a sparsely populated manhattan , crisp light , subtle visual jokes and rhymes . it 's a well-chosen tactic .",
        "it 's hard to imagine a more spectacularly silly film making it to theaters this year than the MOV .",
        "sometimes , a strong premise makes for a weak movie , which ends up drowning in its own clever conceit .",
        "enjoy it for what it is . just do n't ponder what might have been .",
        "two movies for the price of one , though only one of them -- a fragmented romance within a ponderous parable -- qualifies as a bargain .",
        "the premise is so mind-boggling and fraught with implications that it tends to obviate the action mechanics of the last couple reels .",
        "the MOV is n't a somber , elegant meditation on free will and destiny like blade runner -lrb- another adaptation of a philip k. dick work -rrb- . but at its most winning it does n't try to be .",
        "` the MOV ' misses by a mile . despite heroic efforts by damon and the lovely blunt to build a plausible love story , the movie dissolves into silliness .",
        "even though -lsb- damon and blunt -rsb- look awfully cute scurrying around the streets of new york city , there 's no escaping from the fact that this bureau winds up merely spinning its wheels .",
        "whether running or kissing or running and kissing -lrb- well , almost -rrb- , mr. damon and ms. blunt turn romance into a palpable race .",
        "a thoughtful and thought-provoking romance with a touch of the fantastic .",
        "despite nolfi 's nearly unacceptable plot contrivances and other flaws , this is likely to be a crowd pleaser for a number of reasons and blunt and damon are two of them .",
        "the MOV is not a film to be taken seriously in any way , but it has an interesting idea at its heart ...",
        "`` the MOV '' is what `` inception '' might have been like if it were written by nicholas sparks .",
        "it 's a breezy film masquerading as a sincere one , and while that 's obnoxious , it 's hard to hate a fun night at the movies .",
        "cradled in damon 's solidly reliable hands , even a movie as extravagantly silly as this one gains heft and credibility , an impressive accomplishment when you consider that the entire plot revolves around magic notebooks and spellbinding hats .",
        "far too neat and schmaltzy but otherwise a surprisingly witty film from the dark city/inception mould .",
        "it works surprisingly well as a weird , fun little movie .",
        "it packs a little of everything into an entertaining package : love story , mystery , action and discussion about free will and fate .",
        "when facebook friends , credit histories and text message logs expose our every - and dictate 99 percent of our decision-making - `` the MOV '' has a point . now you have a better excuse for losing your car keys than early-onset alzheimer 's .",
        "it believes itself to be a suggestive meditation on free will and destiny - not merely a crunchy bag of popcorn . it 's neither , being rubbish popcorn too , the sugar not disguising the staleness .",
        "problem is , the film 's premise only stands up for about a few minutes . that 's why it was written as a short story .",
        "a strong mystifying story that lays it all out and has you choosing fate over the plan .",
        "the misleading trailers for the supremely goofy `` the MOV '' promise action-packed sci-fi . what you actually get is a love-struck matt damon running for the us senate as he 's stalked by fedora-wearing angels .",
        "a smart , stylish thriller that melds science fiction , romance and hitchcock-ian intrigue with surprising ease .",
        "damon and blunt have such palpable chemistry from their very first scene that we utterly believe he would spend an entire movie vaulting obstacles to be with her . this is a pulse-pounding mix of science fiction , philosophy and theology .",
        "a satisfying spiritual love story about the preciousness of free will and the lengths some human beings will go to be with their soul mate .",
        "this is the trouble with `` the MOV . '' it reminds you of lots of other movies that are better than `` the MOV . ''",
        "an amped-up love-conquers-all fantasy , one replete with a dash to a church , a last minute declaration of love , and a cop-out conclusion that renders the preceding action pretty much irrelevant .",
        "the actors convincingly sell that passion , and their union smoothes any wrinkles an otherwise critical eye might spy as `` the MOV '' ... races along .",
        "an intriguing idea , which ironically gets thrown off its own track by an odd balance of tones and the fact that the conspirators are laughably ineffective .",
        "damon 's resolve is admirable -- a purity of heart that shows he 's trying to will a movie into being .",
        "a romantic drama that presents us with one of the most likeable couples in recent cinema .",
        "you can feel the influence of classic american movies like `` north by northwest '' and `` the graduate '' here , and while i wo n't argue that nolfi matches those examples , his ambition is admirable .",
        "it 's entertaining and fun and there are worse things you could do with an hour and a half .",
        "questions of predestination and free will are intriguingly posed and clunkily answered in the MOV .",
        "the first great movie of 2011 is thought-provoking , exciting , and swooningly romantic .",
        "a nearly-great movie , a rare piece that merges romance and science fiction into something that is at-times mesmerizing .",
        "an action thriller with a soul ; that is one trend we 'd like to see catch on .",
        "... a very light , charming movie , like some undiscovered '60s pop gem .",
        "the trailer for the MOV makes the movie seem like a gripping sci-fi thriller . if only .",
        "celestial bullies con people into imagining they 're in charge , while a higher authority is pushing them around and calling the shots . which stemmed from philip dick 's chronic bouts of madness , but gets a fresh coat of paint in its sentimental makeover .",
        "as a philosophical dialectic masquerading as a thriller , -lsb- it -rsb- works on many levels , and equally well on each of them .",
        "very exciting and entertaining while you 're watching it , but completely falls apart upon further reflection .",
        "extentialist questions about predestination and free will permeate this plodding sci-fi thriller about celestial messengers intervening on mortals ' search for soul mates .",
        "it gets the right combination of action , sci-fi , and most importantly romance . the fedoras do n't hurt either .",
        "hollywood can always count on philip k. dick , whose short story inspired the MOV , to bring something fresh to tired film formulas .",
        "in the end , no matter how tidy or preachy it gets , the relationship , and therefore the movie , works .",
        "reworks a matter of life and death with elements of it 's a wonderful life and shares techniques and themes with christopher nolan 's inception .",
        "the climax may side-step some awkward questions , and lack a killer twist , but romantics will be more than satisfied . damon and blunt should pair up again .",
        "whatever your preconceived ideas are of the film , it 's likely the end product will take you by surprise .",
        "` help , i 'm being followed by super-human salesmen in cardigans and hats ! '",
        "the film 's problems do not lie with its cast , further evidence that matt damon is one of our very best actors , a charismatic everyman . nolfi can not modulate the tone of his film , but he could get damon elected to public office .",
        "tricky , brash , and brisk",
        "damon and blunt have so much chemistry , the screen practically melts when they look at each other .",
        "a lively premise turned into an inert and uninsistent film by screenwriter and rookie director george nolfi .",
        "a slick , mid-budget movie that 's just brainy enough to excite moviegoers looking for something a little different .",
        "we know damon and blunt are a perfect fit mostly because they finish each other 's cutesy banter .",
        "it 's like the matrix , as remade by the hallmark channel .",
        "whether this movie works for you largely depends on whether you 're willing to work for it . to which i say : bring your gym clothes .",
        "compare the adaptation to the original and you see a complicated saga of personal sacrifice streamlined into a rosy tribute to love supreme . feels good , but also feels empty",
        "the narrative is all at once high stakes and low key , with most of the ` effects ' conveyed practically or through editing , and with the divine machinery grounded considerably by the chemistry between damon and blunt .",
        "nothing about it feels ordinary , even when its contrivances threaten to send it crashing to earth .",
        "because the chemistry between damon and blunt is so strong , what might have been a jumble of matrix-style oddments comes across instead as ardent .",
        "even if you like much of the story -lrb- and i did -rrb- , the muddled theology is baffling .",
        "impressively directed , nicely paced and superbly acted , this is a hugely enjoyable sci-fi thriller with shades of the truman show and sensational chemistry between the two leads ...",
        "the MOV presents itself as a paean to free will , to overcoming obstacles , to creating your own destiny-provided , that is , that you happen to be a dude .",
        "easily one of the best american love stories of the past year .",
        "the actors ' romantic scenes excel . just sitting side by side on a bus , their sexual connection crackles .",
        "the next time your cell phone drops a call , do n't get mad . at&t may be doing the lord 's work .",
        "you have to love a sci-fi film where the only real gadget is a hat .",
        "twisting fate and life as an unalterable plan is tail-chasing territory . it avoids potential plot convolutions with a fast moving , not-let-you-get-thinking script .",
        "a nicely paced exercise , one that benefits from both a sprinkling of humor and all-around strong performances .",
        "the compelling atmosphere is heightened by the inclusion of several absolutely electrifying sequences ...",
        "damon and blunt give such terrific performances you might almost forgive the movie 's dopey ending .",
        "dips into some heady issues -lrb- fate , free will , the relationship between humankind and its creator -rrb- while remaining in a fundamental mode of popcorn-munching entertainment .",
        "it takes awhile for the strangeness of this weird story to give way to a more secular rooting interest that eventually makes it very human and hopeful .",
        "although the MOV ultimately does n't explore its intriguing science-fiction/thriller scenario to the extent of similarly themed films ... it operates far more successfully as a romance .",
        "... the movie 's romance outweighs the fantasy and even the cgi , thanks to the playfully easy chemistry of matt damon and emily blunt .",
        "the movie is worth seeing just for the discussions you 'll have afterwards with friends about the illusion of free will and what might happen if you try to bilk your fate .",
        "a genuine , mutual empathy comes across between the leads that makes it all the more easy to root for them .",
        "it 's all hokum , but it travels well until it goes through a few more otherworldly tunnels and doors than it should have .",
        "they have the power to walk through doors in one part of new york and come out in another . that power involves hats . magic hats . natty fedoras , mostly . look , i told you it was loopy .",
        "with its different genres and better than most movies in the theater at present it probably will not disappoint .",
        "the zing here comes from echoes of the manchurian candidate , as well as the paranoid doominess of source author philip k. dick -lrb- whose 1954 short story gets completely revised -rrb- ."
    ],
    "summary": "first-time writer/director george nolfi struggles to maintain a consistent tone , but the MOV rises on the strong , believable chemistry of its stars .",
    "id": "770810295"
  },
  {
    "movie": "grindhouse",
    "reviews": [
        "an intriguing package of faux trailers and senseless violence . rarely is there a film that is so unquestionably enjoyable . might give the '70s grind house flicks a good name .",
        "the numbness of sitting through nearly two hours of dreck is n't all that kills the momentum going in to death proof .",
        "has tarantino ever made a singularly authentic , sincere , innovative frame of film in his entire life ?",
        "the trailers for MOV movies were always better than the films themselves . sadly , the same is true of MOV .",
        "each film would have fared better as a 15-minute short .",
        "MOV is both impressive and disappointing . from a technical and craft point of view it is first-rate ; from its standing in the canon of the two directors , it is minor .",
        "it is a movie about watching itself , and that is both solipsistic and pure genius .",
        "-lsb- in death proof , tarantino -rsb- gleefully subverts the genre to keep us thoroughly entertained .",
        "thank you tarantino , thank you rodriguez , it was a pleasure ...",
        "while i believe tarantino to be a far greater artist when it comes to lining his cinematic and pop culture channelings with elements of profundity , rodriguez is something of a master at to-the-point entertainment .",
        "only somebody with enough resources and clout within the movie industry can resurrect an unpleasant exploitation genre and turn it into a funky and entertaining three-hour-plus cult opus .",
        "as much fun as being in a car crash .",
        "it 's the way rodriguez , tarantino , and their guests recreate an experience for you that really makes this one of the most inventive , entertaining , and incessantly cool movies of recent years .",
        "is the return of these two undeniably talented filmmakers to the house of grind fun ? to put it in the simple kind of terms you 'd be likely to hear in a MOV movie - hell yeah .",
        "the films seldom rise above the cheesy level of the very `` b '' movies they 're emulating , but MOV is a fun throwback to what it felt like to see exploitation movies at the nabes , drive-ins and inner-city theaters during the '70s and early '80s .",
        "-lsb- o -rsb- ne of the most exciting movie experiences in ages , one that demands to be seen on a big screen .",
        "enthralling and exhilarating in its explosive camp-driven excess , MOV is a combustible concoction that shamelessly stimulates the senses .",
        "a movie lovers dream come true , an absolute triumph in every way imaginable .",
        "an important fact to be noted about `` MOV '' is this : it 's three hours and 11 minutes long . after sitting through the rousing rodriguez feature that opens the film , and the three hilarious faux trailers that follow -lrb- courtesy of guest directors eli rot",
        "the combination of films in MOV proves to be true to the grungy grind-house tradition : some cool stuff , some icky stuff , and lots of so-so filler .",
        "i enjoyed the invented trailers the directors fold into the mix , but despite the jokey ` missing reels , ' these two full-length features are each 20 minutes longer than they need to be , and neither one makes much sense as narrative .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- gives dumpster-divers a chance to slum in the antiseptic safety of a multiplex .",
        "supped up with testosterone and estrogen , charred bits ' o flesh and more panty shots than the red carpet at the adult video news awards , MOV is the kind of movie that makes you want to contact a parole officer even if you do n't have a record",
        "it summons the most crackerjack pop charge of any movie with tarantino 's name on it since pulp fiction .",
        "these films are the equivalent of a low-rent , all-you-can-eat smorgasbord . you get a lot of everything , but somewhere along the line you can make yourself sick .",
        "more than just a fun three hours at the movies , MOV is a total immersion into movie geekdom , in which the packaging , marketing , lore , and accumulative experience are as much a part of the deal as the images that are up on the screen .",
        "setting aside the dubious coherence and suspect nostalgia of the enterprise , MOV is a fascinating exercise in genre reinvention , a showcase for two radically different approaches to homage .",
        "even if it 's all an aesthetic exercise , it 's an indulgence you do n't regret .",
        "MOV is insider fun when rodriguez is in charge and regrettable trash when tarantino takes over .",
        "tarantino and rodriguez are telling us something about what turned them on at the movies back when the thrills were as cheap as the tickets -lrb- and before hollywood started making steroidal versions of MOV movies with a-list stars -rrb- .",
        "MOV runs three-plus hours and is simply too much of a good-bad thing .",
        "as the best trash movies always reminded us , the art is in what you do with the old ones .",
        "the rodriguez segment is terrific and shows a director in complete control of tone , image and story .",
        "you do n't need to be an exploitation fanboy to appreciate the energy , imagination , and spirit with which rodriguez and tarantino pay homage to the cheapo cinema they love .",
        "it makes going to the movies an event .",
        "MOV is n't great cinema , but it is a genuine event picture , a rare good reason to venture out on a friday night with a big crowd and the necessary wad of cash .",
        "the fact MOV is able to engage a 21st century audience is due to quentin tarantino and robert rodriguez ' uncanny ability to figure out just what it is moviegoers do n't know they 're dying to see .",
        "rodriguez , to a fault , delivers a zombie movie that lazily apes the exploitation handbook , while tarantino , also to a fault , gives us a gabby picture that is about as un-grindhouse as you can get and still feature a killer stuntman .",
        "a film whose pop cultural penetration will be very deep for a select few , and conversely very shallow for very many , and that 's including those who even see it .",
        "the ferocity of the car-fight is something else , but death proof understands perfectly the sheer and audacious pleasure of watching .",
        "the whole thing tops out at about three hours and ten minutes ; while this may mimic the sort of `` bang for your buck '' that grindhouses provided , it 's a long time to sit .",
        "damaged or missing reels anticipating sexual excess disappear conveniently on cue , to keep the rating set comfortably at `` r. ''",
        "the films are bloody , stupid and buoyant in a kind of infantile way , celebrating mayhem , flesh and gore . planet terror is by far the livelier .",
        "it 's a heavily stylized , volatile , atomic sensory shockwave that is so hip and ice cool , you 'll need to visit myspace just to bring your overall awesome back down to a manageable level .",
        "terror planet is too much for its own good , but death proof leaves you wanting more .",
        "further proof that every movie is better when it has zombies in it , planet terror also demonstrates that every movie is better when it features a retired stripper/aspiring stand-up comedian with a machine gun in place of her freshly amputated leg .",
        "so over-the-top , it makes 300 look like a study in minimalism .",
        "you go to MOV for the same reasons people went to the original grindhouses primal , visceral action and primal , visceral sex -lrb- wait 'll you see how that 's handled -rrb- . nobody ever went for the acting or ` the art . '",
        "too often the films fail to separate what made drive-in shockers good -lrb- unapologetic bad taste and an ability to generate excitement on a shoestring -rrb- from what made them bad -lrb- the kind of self-indulgence that homogenized studio products filtered out . -rrb-",
        "quite a deal for $ 11 -- a veritable smorgasbord of decapitations , impalings , attempted rapes , car chases , explosions , good and bad acting and well-endowed women in very short shorts .",
        "while not a washout , death proof is inferior to rodriguez 's masterfully over-the-top planet terror , which is more fun than is probably legal .",
        "it is not the movies themselves that are great , though the flesh-eating zombie thriller by rodriquez is the better of the two . rather , it is the way they are presented .",
        "one 's the bomb , while the other 's simply a bomb .",
        "a timed challenge for five directors to remove , impale , explode or gorily drip to the floor every body part possible . even if tarantino eviscerates too much momentum at the midway point , it 's still a giddy , ghastly blast .",
        "it 's sexy girl power mixed with frustrated male aggression , played out at 100 miles per hour on a sunny day . and it 's fantastic .",
        "MOV ... is a slam bam smash 'em up celebration of the freedom given film by the exploitation industry .",
        "MOV is not your dear aunt martha 's movie , but it 's a heck of a ride .",
        "packaging a three-hour-plus program may be daring , but pairing a long running time with junk-food cinema is enough to make you sick .",
        "your feature presentation : two movies made entirely of awesome .",
        "rodriguez understood the project the better of the two directors and made the more appropriate of the two films . tarantino appears to have gotten into making his film and then forgot what he was supposed to be doing .",
        "if you 've got a taste for blood and three hours to kill , MOV is for you .",
        "death proof is , in many ways , an amazing approximation of the old exploitation films , but with an unmistakable qt vibe . rodriguez , on the other hand , directs his half as the fever dream of someone who has only been told about exploitation movies .",
        "an ungainly creature that alternates moments of sheer brilliance with moments of stunning banality . fortunately , the former end up outnumbering the latter .",
        "rodriguez and tarantino have definitely raised the bar .",
        "it makes you believe in the power of guilty pleasures -- suggesting in its own fanboy way that even exploding zombies can be a form of art .",
        "exploitation cinema is combustible stuff that only highly trained professionals should be permitted to play with .",
        "in paying homage to an obsolete form of movie culture , MOV delivers a dropkick to ours .",
        "by stooping low without selling out , this babes-and-bullets tour de force gets you high on movies again .",
        "it 's too bad that planet terror is n't as great as death proof but hey , we 're getting two flicks for the price of one , so we ca n't complain too much , right ?",
        "hyper-sleazy and deliberately cliche-filled , it 's an affectionate homage to the deliberately tawdry exploitation movies of the 1960s and '70s .",
        "a long , blood-splattered stunt of a movie , MOV , may be something only critics and film nerds can love .",
        "designed for those who want to rock on schlock .",
        "what we 're mainly getting is two big directors with expensive movies pretending they 're niche directors with low funding . it 's an act , but an enthralling one .",
        "what amazed me however , was the unexpected feeling of feminine empowerment .",
        "MOV is more fun than an army of toxic zombies , or a shapely severed leg hitting the highway with a thump .",
        "a unapologetically entertaining double feature that , despite its drawn out runtime and clunky moments , has an inventive take on an old and often cringe-worthy genre",
        "two stars for planet terror , three stars for death proof and four stars for the fake trailers means an average grade of three stars overall .",
        "underneath the exploitation , tarantino and rodriguez offer film lovers the gift of nostalgia",
        "a museum installation of crap culture artifacts that is both entirely too much and not nearly enough . the tiresome , self-referential tarantino has become trapped in his own jack rabbit slim 's .",
        "here 's a movie that certain film fans will love.but that 's a small segment of the film-going community . so , even though i realize that aficionados of exploitation films will find this entertaining , other film goers will find `` MOV '' perverse and offe",
        "the only way it could be cooler is if rose mcgowan actually gave you a lap dance while you watched the movie .",
        "MOV is more homage than reinvention of schlock .",
        "planet terror is a great bad movie ; death proof is just plain bad .",
        "rodriguez and tarantino pay homage to the 70 's exploitation films : for me the tarantino breathtaking car-chase offering is superior to rodriguez 's zombie campiness .",
        "the 1970s exploitation movie gropes , bites , kicks , slugs , blasts , smashes and cusses its way back to life in MOV , a ` rodriguez/tarantino double feature ' that lovingly resurrects a disreputable but cultishly embraced form .",
        "the palpable cinematic elation and hip vibe that wafts from the screen is more than contagious ; it 's stupefying .",
        "like all double bills of the sick , shocking , perverse exploitation movies of old , one is better than the other .",
        "the sum is effectively greater than the parts , but tarantino knocks one out of the park with a brilliant action-thriller that stands up on its own merit .",
        "a gigantic ice cream sundae for old-school genre film enthusiasts .",
        "a decidedly mixed bag , this homage to exploitation films shows the idiosyncratic approach , strengths and weaknesses of its helmers . comparison of two segments is inevitable and so opinions will differ ; i much prefer rodriguez 's over the top zombie flick",
        "suffice to say , you 'll have plenty to talk about .",
        "a mixed-bag of a popcorn flick where more proves to be less .",
        "if it stops feeling like entertainment , then it must be art .",
        "tarantino must get a kick hearing his fantasies come out of these mouths . but for the first time here , it seems more than a little creepy .",
        "rr and qt do an excellent job of simulating the content of MOV offerings , but they do n't simulate the experience or the giddy kick .",
        "feel free to talk , howl , and throw your popcorn at the screen .",
        "a simulation of a night at the drive-in or downtown fleabag theater of your fondest imagination .",
        "go , i say , and enjoy .",
        "robert rodriguez and quentin tarantino return with a rousing tribute to the genre movies that inspired them .",
        "gloriously grotesque , hilariously horrific and exactly the shot in the arm movies have been needing for far too long .",
        "at three hours , the movie can become a bit of an ordeal . i 'd say pack a lunch , but if rodriguez and tarantino have done their job right , you 'll be too grossed out to eat it .",
        "one word , however , comes immediately to mind : fun .",
        "` death proof `` s defiance of expectation is as much a part of the MOV legacy as bare breasts and bloody knives . when the movie ends , we realize tarantino has lived up to the best tradition of his exploitation influences : he 's pulled a fast one .",
        "taken as a whole , MOV is a deliriously entertaining night out at the theater . this is one movie that absolutely wo n't have the same impact at home .",
        "almost literally dripping with film buffs ' excitement over how far movies have come , how far they have n't , and the onscreen bits and pieces that will never go out of style .",
        "if you appreciate the styles that rodriguez and tarantino are simultaneously spoofing and paying tribute to , ` MOV ' is the equivalent of a junk-food smorgasbord ...",
        "... there 's certainly no denying the effectiveness of MOV as an overall experience -lrb- one that virtually demands a viewing within the context of as large and enthusiastic a crowd as possible -rrb- .",
        "dense with allusive details and inside jokes , MOV is a postmodern exercise in nostalgia undertaken by two smart filmmakers , with a lot of help from their friends .",
        "tarantino 's feature death proof is the better homage to MOV , while rodriguez 's feature planet terror is more a contemporary update of the old drive-in movie genre .",
        "... a wholly unique experience that absolutely must be taken in on the big screen to get the full effect .",
        "raised exploitation to an art form",
        "the package as a whole is great , but the parts are uneven .",
        "robert rodriguez bakes a load of stale if bloody pastry called planet terror , while quentin tarantino fries up a tasty mess of fun with death proof .",
        "a weaponized adrenaline rush .",
        "shocking gore . excessive violence . gratuitous nudity . exploding pustules . hey , maybe your childhood was different than mine .",
        "does it feel like the real thing ? no . is it an incredible simulation ? yes , it 's pretty incredible .",
        "a rowdy jolt of quasi-nostalgic escapism .",
        "the whole thing runs a bit over three hours , goes by swiftly , contains countless film references and includes hilarious fake trailers .",
        "a navel-gazing exercise in nostalgia for a bygone era when trash cinema had its own lurid pedigree and roster of auteurs",
        "MOV is , at the end of the day , simply a fun time at the theater",
        "both films are wildly entertaining , as long as you 're ready for the high-intensity gore factor , the sex -lrb- mostly talk -rrb- and the violence .",
        "you can see the love in every frame .",
        "rodriguez offers up planet terror , a straight-faced send-up of a science-fiction/horror/thriller ... less satisfying is tarantino 's death proof .",
        "these are filmmakers who have followed their muse , for better or for worse , and what they 've come up with here rewards every bit of faith i 've ever put in them as a viewer .",
        "glorious and gratuitous trash cinema at its most entertaining and critic-proof .",
        "you wo n't have more fun watching anything in a movie theater this year .",
        "death proof pays a good deal less attention to looking like an old film and spends more time actually being shocking and unusual .",
        "... a film destined to be a cult classic .",
        "MOV is soaked in bloody nostalgia for the cheesy , disreputable pleasures of an older form of movie entertainment .",
        "an instant cult classic .",
        "both gentlemen have a palpable affection for the kitsch factor at work here , the energy of working on the edge with a low budget , and for the rush of seeing something so bad that it 's good , but only one of them can pull off the homage",
        "it 's the juxtaposition of MOV 's main parts that makes the whole work as well as it does .",
        "self = absorbed . excessive . tragically hip . you bet !",
        "a waste of time .",
        "regular audiences might have trouble getting through the film 's three-plus hours of b-movie excess .",
        "the dragging , plodding pace and creative misfire of tarantino 's movie is enough to put a big damper on the sum total of the rodriguez/tarantino double feature experiment .",
        "MOV contains thrills to keep viewers in their seats , plus moments to think about on the ride home , which will probably seem unusually fraught with peril .",
        "depending on your point-of-view , this is either a nostalgic stroll through a cheesy slice of american pop culture or an attempt to provide a tongue-in-cheek reinvigoration of it . most likely , it 's a little of both .",
        "tarantino has conceived a plot just as odd as the better , experimental '70s drive in films .",
        "the dynamic duo do their utmost to transport us back to the good old bad old days .",
        "love it or hate it , you sure get your money 's worth .",
        "if you can stomach rodriguez 's effort , fear not -- you 'll be rewarded with tarantino 's .",
        "if tarantino and rodriguez were hoping to make a film better than the poster , they exceeded their own expectations .",
        "... offers plenty of film-buff fun , yet rodriguez and tarantino are , in a sense , limiting themselves .",
        "too bad tarantino did n't do the zombie pic , too .",
        "for the one-of-a-kind experience all by itself , it is not to be missed . narrowing in one 's focus on the quality of what is offered , it is more of a mixed bag .",
        "as an exercise in aging-movie-geek nostalgia , MOV is a bloody good time .",
        "rodriguez goes for full-blooded faithfulness , tarantino goes for genre analysis and reconfiguration , and the results are , ultimately , about as coherent and fulfilling as a typical MOV double-feature .",
        "too bad , but this ambitious , scratched and weathered venture never manages a real death grip on the senses .",
        "their pastiches take the best of their nostalgic 1960s and '70s trash heap and reshape it into kitschy action comedies that stand as adoring monuments to the films that shaped their demented worldviews .",
        "any movie featuring the violent , painful death of fergie from the black eyed peas gets extra kudos from me .",
        "despite the occasional bump - ` n-grind over its three-hour-plus running time , there have n't been two films released in 2007 yet more worth your dollar .",
        "as amusing as the concept is , the actual result is a considerable disappointment - a high-tech forgery that lacks the disreputable charm of its models , which were made without the self-conscious affectation on display here .",
        "hopefully rodriguez and tarantino will make more of these .",
        "half smirk , half transcendence",
        "this is a movie theater experience . it needs to be seen at night , with a big screen and lots of friends .",
        "MOV is a great experience , packed with fun , thrills , chills and gore galore .",
        "delivers all the trashy , seat-squirming , eye-covering moments your fiercely racing heart craves . forget about `` guilty pleasures . '' call it a pleasure , and leave it at that .",
        "not just a movie but an event in its own right , MOV is simply unmissable in its complete form .",
        "a paean to the exploitation films of the 70s , built more for titillation than story-telling , MOV - especially the rodriguez sequence - is nearly impossibly silly , not necessarily a bad thing , and is certainly not for everyone .",
        "a mediocre attempt to play with exploitation fire without getting burned . a pair of anti-septic fakes that miss the entire point of exploitation .",
        "3-d naughtiness ! perverts in revolt ! sinful dwarfs ! and even a movie review , why not ?",
        "as a glimpse into the minds of two iconoclastic directors -- both of whom came of age watching the films they now pay homage to -- this retro-electric trip is sheer bliss .",
        "both features offered tons of action , kung fu fighting , comedy and over the top acting .",
        "a couple of hilarious , high attrition-rate horror parodies augmented by faux ads for four equally-outrageous releases , all adding up to a guaranteed treat for fans of those forgettable b-flicks of the fifties .",
        "the fun is in the one-thing-after-another delirium the movie induces , and in our breathless anticipation of what they 'll hurl at us next .",
        "a grueling thing to endure .",
        "yes , the hotly anticipated MOV opened to a smaller box office than are we done yet , which was hotly anticipated only by the people ice cube owes money .",
        "taken as a whole -- two movies and a handful of trailers -- MOV is pure popcorn fun .",
        "like the old drive-in speakers that you used to hang on your half-lowered car windows , it may not be the best way to experience the medium . but if your head 's in the right place , it can be a heckuva lot of fun .",
        "tarantino and rodriguez assume that we 'll relish the movie 's violence or shrug it off as play , as they do , but not everyone in the audience will want his enjoyment of it taken for granted that way .",
        "it 's nowhere near as much fun for fans to watch as it was for these fan boys to make .",
        "it is crazy , pulpy fun -- some parts of it more than others -- but it has some of the flaws that dog each director 's movies and , at 191 minutes , it gives audiences a bit too much of their money 's worth .",
        "their unabashed affection for the MOV genre keeps them from becoming arch , po-mo , or self-consciously ironic . this is a tribute , not a parody .",
        "MOV has plenty of fun moments , and with a running time of more than three hours you ca n't complain that you did n't get your money 's worth . but it only half works .",
        "truthfully , this movie was a slam dunk waiting to happen since rodriguez and tarantino hatched the concept .",
        "for those who want to witness a daring , albeit flawed , original freak show from two of hollywood 's elite directors that could turn the industry on its side , this is the only movie you 'll need to see all year .",
        "as was the case with most of the aip exploitation programmers it fondly recalls , MOV proves more entertaining to anticipate than actually to watch .",
        "a fun exercise in nostalgia .",
        "by the time fergie is dismembered by zombies , you know you 're in good hands . she tastes fergalicious , i 'm guessing .",
        "death proof was sensational . if only rose mcgowan could act .",
        "cool . stupid . juiced-up . feeble . stripped-down . self-indulgent . clever . sophomoric ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV delivers exhilarating exploitation fare with wit and panache , improving upon its source material with feral intelligence .",
    "id": "460859831"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1171939-perfect_stranger",
    "reviews": [
        "a homogenized and entirely pre-packaged `` thriller '' that does n't even bother doling out any `` thrills . ''",
        "relentlessly cheesy , exhaustive and about as stimulating as a cold medicine tablet ... in short , take this lofty advice and try not to talk to this particular stranger .",
        "they 're playing it too intense . this is n't that serious . it 's just a murder mystery with a little sex -lrb- very little -rrb- . that 's an exploitation movie . making it about internet chat does n't give it social relevance .",
        "a not-so-perfect ` sexual thriller ' that is short on thrills and any semblance of logic .",
        "an artifact from an alternate universe where halle berry and bruce willis star in ` basic instinct ' rip-offs for roger corman 's new horizons home video company .",
        "a film about secrets and lies , not to mention overacting and poor casting choices .",
        "with its sexual innuendos , red herrings tossed left and right , and illogic floating aimlessly , `` MOV '' is another of those disposable thrillers that offer nothing in suspense and plenty in annoyance .",
        "fine up to a point .",
        "MOV is n't great art by any stretch , or even art by any stretch , but it is perfectly functional low-to-middlebrow entertainment -- a b movie at ease inside its own gaudy skin .",
        "one of those formulaic thrillers loaded with a whole lot more plot than common sense .",
        "... a sleazy , irritating debacle .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- cautionary tale about the dangers of internet chat . you know , like everyone was worried about in 1996 . coming for summer 2008 : do n't go near the telegraph !",
        "the only problem is that there just is n't enough sex . oh , there 's plenty of halle berry ... but there is n't enough halle berry , if you get my drift .",
        "in the ashley judd role we have halle berry , whose post-oscar choices have included the notorious duds catwoman and gothika . whoever told you to make this movie should be ... sentenced to have to watch it .",
        "... one of those annoying mysteries where you stick it out to the end just to see the solution .",
        "even after it lurches from the far-fetched into the preposterous , MOV leaves a clammy residue of unease .",
        "slick , silly and sometimes amusing in a trashy sort of way ... although it constantly promises erotic interludes , ` stranger ' never gets around to delivering much of anything ...",
        "this is exactly the kind of movie that ashley judd would have starred in five years ago , only judd usually managed to retain some shred of dignity .",
        "early on i found that a prefect stranger was far from perfect .",
        "... an insipid potboiler that strains to be some sort of sexual thriller , but leaves you cold and bored instead .",
        "halle berry is off-the-scale bad ... -lsb- but -rsb- almost as bad as berry 's acting is the capricious and ridiculous script .",
        "as vacuous , white noise entertainments go , this is one of the finest .",
        "perfectly awful ... -lsb- a -rsb- luridly trashy whodunit that quickly degenerates into an appalling whydidtheydoit .",
        "convoluted moral ambiguity can be very unsatisfying in this techno-thriller .",
        "halle berry 's strong performance and a cool twist overcomes conventional plot",
        "a chat 'n cheat internet thriller about the potential fatal cyber-attraction of online flirting , the film is more sordid than suspenseful when it comes to messy human relations filtered through the world wide web .",
        "what begins as an elegant techno thriller quickly devolves into a trashy preposterously-plotted flick -- it 's much more fun to observe the stunningly beautiful halle berry change costumes than identities .",
        "by the time the big finish rolls around , you 'll be too jaded-too worn-down by the endless , pointless red herrings -- to muster an interest in whodunnit .",
        "MOV is an offensively slick and soulless piece of hollywwod crap . a movie filled with scuzzy people doing scuzzy things , there is not one person to care about .",
        "MOV is a perfectly mediocre thriller until the spectacularly stupid ending arrives .",
        "a laughably overheated thriller from the once promising james foley .",
        "the script overloads on so many reversals and red herrings that it implicates three more suspects while you 're on your way to the parking lot .",
        "a typical episode of law and order is less ridden with clich\u00e9 -lrb- which is saying something , given that the series is about as formulaic as it gets -rrb- and more satisfying .",
        "MOV soon begins to look like another setback for berry .",
        "everyone behaves like characters who are motivated not by emotion or logic , but the to and fro of a remote control or joystick .",
        "just when you thought the reaping was the most convoluted and overwrought flashback-riddled thriller starring an academy award-winning actress in theaters , along comes MOV .",
        "MOV , the new thriller starring halle berry and bruce willis , is far from perfect and , lame as it is , not quite lousy enough to pan with joy .",
        "even the biggest fans of halle berry and her beautiful body are going to be hard-pressed to find much to enjoy about MOV .",
        "you do n't see this ending coming because it is absurd , ridiculous , moronic , preposterous , ludicrous , foolish , stupid , and outrageous -lrb- i love my thesaurus -rrb- , none of which is thrilling or satisfying",
        "a better ending would have foley realizing that todd komarnicki is really the pen name of ravadem patel providing further proof that the director has n't had his hand on a glengarry lead since 1992 .",
        "if anyone , anywhere understands a single frame of this turkey , please feel free to e-mail me . i could use the enlightenment .",
        "a cheesy affair that casts so many baited lures that they tangle each other and do n't hook you .",
        "cliched , mostly routine and never especially satisfying . but it has a highly watchable performance by halle berry and a twist ending that , for once , likely will take you by surprise .",
        "life is full of choices , and halle berry has made another bad one with MOV , a perfectly off-putting thriller .",
        "there 's a vast , possibly bottomless pit reserved for thrillers that are neither good nor bad enough to be truly entertaining , and james foley 's MOV tumbles right into it .",
        "it 's so bad it needs new words for bad .",
        "the convoluted resolution to the murder mystery suggests the filmmakers were simply making it up as they filmed . and judging by her listless , almost blase performance , berry appears to be bored by the material .",
        "the twists flail along one after another until enough people have been incarcerated , incriminated , or killed to prevent any further deus ex machinas from imposing themselves on us",
        "this might be the first film in history in which product placement -lrb- in this case , victoria 's secret -rrb- might indirectly infer the guilt or innocence of a character , though it 's certainly not the first in which the tiresome ribisi plays a patented nutjob .",
        "it 's hard to choose the ickiest part of MOV ...",
        "watchable but ultimately frustrating thriller due to its unsympathetic characters , a dodgy script and an overdose of red herrings .",
        "much of the film takes place in computer chats , with an instant-message box taking up most of the screen , and berry and willis reading every line for those of us who are illiterate .",
        "starring victoria 's secret and reebok as well as halle berry in her first mainstream hit in years .",
        "a twist-burdened techno-thriller that would be by-the-numbers if it could count .",
        "what would happen if a late-night , d-grade direct-to-cable thriller excised all of the raunchily enjoyable elements and managed to attract an a-list cast ? the result might be shockingly like MOV .",
        "MOV is spam -- not only commercially generated , but irritating in the faith that buyers will be as dumb about internet-based thrillers as the sellers are . my advice is to delete without opening .",
        "boring suspense thriller made modestly bearable by halle berry 's measured performance . the `` surprise '' ending is a cookie-cutter that leaves you cold .",
        "the ridiculously convoluted plot is even fairly good fun to follow , right up to the genuinely surprising finale .",
        "as a thriller , it 's so by-the-numbers that it 's hardly worth keeping count .",
        "MOV is one of those movies in which nothing and no one turns out the way they originally seemed . and , maddeningly , that 's true of the movie itself , as well .",
        "fairly diverting until it starts becoming ridiculous .",
        "MOV is halle berry 's latest descent into career purgatory .",
        "stranger is n't as bold as basic instinct , which was all about goofing on what voyeurs moviegoers are . the performers are too solemn -lrb- only giovanni ribisi , as a creepy reporter , seems to be having fun -rrb- for starters .",
        "you wo n't react to any of the sleaze -- like going to a strip club right after taking a knee to the crotch .",
        "complex and convoluted , to say the least .",
        "straddles the line between intrigue and blandness until it decides it 's had enough and just sort of peters out .",
        "despite the presence of the luminous berry , MOV is really just another thriller , utterly disposable , in town for a few desultory weeks until it heads off to a mild afterlife on dvd and then richly deserved oblivion .",
        "amid all the dreck that has come out in the last few years , it 's hard to think of a title that approaches the audience with more cinematic bad faith . for shame !",
        "... limp and perfunctory .",
        "the movie would perhaps like to say something serious about the ease with which modern communications allows us to be multiple personalities , but that effort is lost in ineptitude .",
        "it 's a movie that exists to showcase an actor more than it exists to be a movie .",
        "even berry 's bodacious bod -lrb- the woman is blessed with some really good genes -rrb- is n't distraction enough to make MOV palatable .",
        "although the movie makes a case for its ending , taking you by the hand and walking you through the stink of all its red herrings , the effort is wasted . ro sounds like roe for a reason , and the logic behind this film was fishy from the start .",
        "... an ideal film for suspense audiences .",
        "a snake bit concept from the very beginning .",
        "a b movie with a bland title , histrionic acting and a ridiculous twist ending .",
        "loses its point about balancing different identities through the increasingly ludicrous twists and intense overacting",
        "while the story becomes dauntingly complex as it goes , the finale resolves its multiple mysteries seamlessly . MOV is the kind of polished diversion that the big studios should deliver twice a month , but do n't .",
        "the murder clues are trotted out in dishonestly protracted fashion by screenwriter todd komarnicki , who plants red herrings as malodorous as a fish market at 5 in the morning .",
        "it might be selling itself as a `` sexy thriller , '' but the cheesy , smirk-inducing reality is that MOV would have been on the direct-to-dvd fast track had it not been for the names halle berry and bruce willis above the title .",
        "what 's next ? ` growing pain ' ? ` family tie ' ? any of those would probably be better -lrb- though not funnier -rrb- than this .",
        "by the time everything falls into place , it does n't much matter . the best thrillers do n't just show up for the closing credits , they are involving all along the way . that 's where MOV goes imperfectly wrong .",
        "a great thriller should be the model of simplicity . MOV , like so many other thrillers nowadays , is often complicated just for the sake of being complicated . this more-is-better approach is n't more , and it is n't better .",
        "this stupidly contrived thriller is all the more disappointing if you admire previous work by berry and director james foley .",
        "considering the twirliness of the story , this is a fairly straightforward film that knows where it 's going and how to get there . and there 's much to be admired in that .",
        "pink is the new black , 50 is the new 30 and , at the movies , confusion is the new suspense .",
        "all the hip technology , including e-mail hacking , tiny portable usb devices and fake im accounts , is supposed to make us feel disoriented by the modern lack of face-to-face communication , but it feels played out and overexplained .",
        "bad script and acting make MOV far from perfect .",
        "a revela\u0437\u0433o final \u0439 at\u0439 boazinha , embora absurda , mas a performance exagerada de berry , a dire\u0437\u0433o fr\u0431gil de foley e o restante do p\u0439ssimo roteiro resultam num filme verdadeiramente pat\u0439tico .",
        "there is entertainment to be had here , but it 's mostly at the expense of the film 's rambling , increasingly ridiculous plot .",
        "the story introduces clever twists throughout that make no sense and the ludicrous ending leaves viewers with a collective shrug .",
        "let 's say you have this beautiful blue tiffany 's box . and you throw in a week-old banana peel , an apple core and some week-old romaine . then you buy a spiffy card to go with the gorgeous container . would you then have a gift ? or garbage ? i 'd say it 's garb",
        "MOV makes a fatal mistake that too many modern-day thrillers make : it so desperately wants to fool you with its plot twists that it ends up playing unfairly .",
        "-lrb- giovanni ribisi -rrb- throws himself into every part like each is the opening night of hamlet on broadway . here he goes again in MOV , a strange little movie that spends most of its time as a straightforward , if silly , cyber-thriller before",
        "with its far-fetched endeavors and piling on the twists so high it 's no longer an executable maze , MOV disappoints in the end .",
        "at this stage in his career bruce willis 's hair is evacuating his scalp as if his head struck an iceberg and is going down with all hands .",
        "it 's difficult to get involved in romantic situations where neither partner can lift their fingers from a keyboard .",
        "people with access to vital information just show up when the movie needs them , then vanish again .",
        "for those who are interested in berry as both an actress and screen presence , this is one of the most satisfying films she has ever made . it capitalizes on her strengths and she owns the picture , from start to finish .",
        "the only reason this movie might not win any razzies next year is because no one will remember it even came out .",
        "a halle berry-bruce willis vehicle fresh as a commodore 64 .",
        "hear ye , hear ye . films do n't always have to be revolutionary slice-of-life cinematic art . sometimes they can just be cheesy , nonsensical fun . like MOV .",
        "even when the plot spins its wheels while waiting to reveal itself , there 's still plenty of atmosphere and a fairly decent performance from berry .",
        "its shiny plastic glamour serves to endorse the very phoniness it ought to be warning us about .",
        "reportedly , several endings were filmed ; perhaps some of them make more sense than this one .",
        "willis and berry 's joint star power makes their exchanges at least moderately interesting . but their characters ' supposed banter never reaches wittiness , and the cat-and-mouse angle is too mild .",
        "that 's right , it 's a techno thriller that treats the already clich\u00e9d topic of web abuse with an idiotic sense of discovery .",
        "tedious on just about every level .",
        "a perfect stinker !",
        "i 'm surprised that the red herring is n't extinct yet . it 's almost as if the makers of this film fished them all out of the sea and put them in this film",
        "this kind of adult entertainment will have parents pining to take their kids to movies again .",
        "instead of eroticism , there is tacky sub-porn ; instead of twists , there are knotty plot problems which may or may not have been fixable with script rewrites .",
        "some films are marred by absurd endings ; this dire journo-thriller is like one big mar. .",
        "a tangled mess .",
        "deep , man .",
        "screenwriters todd komarnicki and jon bokenkamp provide a script with enough foreseeable twists and turns that , if it were an actual road , a blind person would n't have any difficulty handling it .",
        "as far as hollywood thrillers go , MOV starts well with an interesting melee of characters and seductive close ups of the shapely miss berry . as berry 's ro gets close and personal with bruce willis ' ad-man harrison hill , the script turns feral",
        "what 's really irritating about MOV is not how bad it is , but how close it came to being good .",
        "people peek through windows , hack into computers and sneak into apartments without the slightest hesitation . we 're guilty of voyeurism , too , since the primary pleasure to be found is in seeing three confident leads play off each other .",
        "evincing a style that might best be described as deliciously retarded , it 's sort of like discovering that an old friend has placed you on a spam mailing list .",
        "nothing can quite top the climax , which arbitrarily assigns a culprit in a way that makes you question almost every single thing that 's transpired up to that point . and no , that 's not a good thing in this case .",
        "layered with improbable plot twists and hypocritical commentary , the movie is lurid and outdated when it wants to be hip and provocative .",
        "the weak mystery story massages you into indifference , then tries to clock you with one fungo bat of a loopy twist that leaves you questioning not reality , but why you just spent 109 minutes trying to give a darn .",
        "there 's a good thriller to be made one day about the way the internet both reveals and disguises its users , but this is n't it .",
        "more silly than suspenseful , this sleekly produced , high gloss piece of trash is n't quite in the so-bad-it 's - good category of schlock films , but it comes mighty close , thanks to a gonzo twist of an ending .",
        "MOV is so intent on fooling us with a last-minute ` gotcha ' revelation that it ignores just about everything else that matters .",
        "a psychological thriller in which both the psychology and the thrills are in short supply .",
        "a rarely suspenseful thriller with a twist ending of the worst kind : it takes too much explanation .",
        "while it begins dully enough for an investigative thriller , MOV quickly skids off into abject foolishness .",
        "the movie shows that the only thing worse than a generically screwy thriller is one with a selective narrator -- and one that does n't give viewers a fair chance to play along .",
        "while MOV had its moments and wisely made its characters less than perfect , it was a pedestrian yarn better suited for the small screen than the silver one .",
        "this one 's doa .",
        "a big cheat because virtually nothing of what happens in the first 100 minutes would ever really have happened if the truth that 's exposed in the final few minutes was true .",
        "columbia seems to be on a one-studio mission to revive that very '90s of film genres , the erotic thriller -- or are they determined to kill it off for good , considering such poor efforts as this listless halle berry vehicle ?",
        "... resembles one of those made-for-lifetime thrillers that seem to crop up on a weekly basis ...",
        "click for review",
        "un thriller m\u00e1s bien mediocre , inveros\u00edmil y rebuscado que pretende sorprender al espectador con una vuelta de tuerca final ... igualmente mediocre , inveros\u00edmil y rebuscada ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite the presence of halle berry and bruce willis , MOV is too convoluted to work , and features a twist ending that 's irritating and superfluous . it 's a techno-thriller without thrills .",
    "id": "462963908"
  },
  {
    "movie": "other_boleyn_girl",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's a straightforward , unpretentious joy , and one of the most purely enjoyable films i 've seen in some time .",
        "as sorority party filler or a double bill with the likes of cruel intentions , this movie ca n't be beat .",
        "the women in the cast are exceptional . ... the men are miscast .",
        "all the lush sets and elaborate costumes can not disguise the fact that portman is terribly cast .",
        "clumsy and clunky , totally lacking in passion and cohesion , this dull mediocrity is an insult to philippa gregory 's historical concept of the two rival sisters .",
        "a cautionary tale of what unchecked ambition and lust can do to a person , a family , a nation .",
        "i think the performances are really good .",
        "a disappointing costume drama .",
        "there are a few flaws including historical inaccuracies , but the spirited jousting of natalie portman and scarlett johansson as the boleyn sisters tantalises and tempts us royally",
        "there is n't an enjoyable character in the bunch of this tragedy that constantly spirals downward .",
        "the filmmakers have taken a trashy , overheated story of court intrigue and sexual duplicity and sucked the life out of it .",
        "the film moves in frustrating herks and jerks . what works is the combustible teaming of natalie portman and scarlett johansson , who give the boleyn hotties a tough core of intelligence and wit .",
        "lush historical drama is engrossing but mature .",
        "feminist subtext aside , the movie is primarily an excuse for ogling some blue-chip actor-flesh .",
        "the corrupting effect of absolute power and the disruptive effect of fine cleavage .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- oversimplified , overheated mediocre melodrama .",
        "the MOV turns british history into a chick flick soaper with high production values and a-list actors .",
        "set your bosoms to heave and prepare to have your bodices ripped : `` the MOV '' is in the house with a pair of 16th century foxes .",
        "when filmmakers re-imagine history , as they did with becoming jane and now with the MOV , affairs of the heart can get dicey . at least jane austen kept her head in the process .",
        "i 've read reviews calling this a campy bodice-ripper . if only ! it desperately needs a dose of the `` b $ & * % es on heat '' sass of the novel . instead , we have a milk and honey picture .",
        "there will always be adults who want to catch up on the history lessons they slept or passed notes through during their younger years .",
        "only in a movie this poorly made could a decapitation be dull .",
        "... has the aura of a penny-dreadful bodice-ripper .",
        "rather than being a boring , humdrum historical drama , this movie turns into a jerry springer episode from the 16th century .",
        "a run-of-the-mill costume drama that made me think more about running home and wikipedia-ing the characters than investing in the story before me .",
        "dreary",
        "apart from the close ups of the lead actresses in 16th century garb , this movie is recommended only to soap opera aficionados and lovers of corsets .",
        "irresistibly salacious soap opera , teeming with lust , scheming , backstabbing , and some outrageously overheated plot twists .",
        "the falling blade is the only element not missing the mark in this film . i wanted to call for the beheading after act one , and spare the audience instead .",
        "portman confere peso dram\u00e1tico \u0155 ana bolena , mas johansson e bana parecem seguir no piloto autom\u00e1tico . al\u00e9m disso , as liberdades hist\u00f3ricas tomadas pelo roteiro s\u0103o absurdas demais para poderem ser ignoradas .",
        "the history may have been narratively scrunched , but it 's all the true lives of some powerful and unfortunate people . very lush .",
        "a very entertaining and involving story of family and sacrifice .",
        "an all in the dysfunctional family royal romp with incestuous tendencies , this richly textured , dramatically disciplined , erotically laced and emotionally taut creation makes for weirdly kinky historical analysis , but pretty steamy pre-tabloid melodrama .",
        "the film gets a full ` this is a work of fiction ' disclaimer , even noting that any resemblance to any person living or dead is unintentional . that tells you something about how much trust to put in these historical cliffsnotes .",
        "an entertainingly sudsy trip through early 16th century english history .",
        "most of us know where this story is headed -lrb- ba-da-bum -rrb- , and in order for the moment in question to have impact -lrb- ba-da-thump -rrb- , anne should engender at least a modicum of sympathy .",
        "after covering much of its ground at a stylish canter , the MOV finishes at a plod .",
        "what boleyn girl lacks in character development , it makes up in vigor , immediacy and intelligence .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- vulgarized portrayal of the tudor court .",
        "portman and johansson are phenomenal alone and together .",
        "a genteel soap opera in which the sex and intrigue are so muted , so tasteful , that they practically blow off the screen in a scattering of dust .",
        "however embarrassed you might feel in the morning , this in an enjoyable movie with an entertaining angle on a hard-to-resist period of history .",
        "chadwick and morgan have cooked up a potboiler , the sort of thing that might have been fun to watch with bette davis and joan crawford as the boleyn sisters , while charles laughton lasciviously eyed the backs of their necks as henry .",
        "the MOV is an agreeable piece of filmmaking , carefully and sometimes artfully balancing solemnity with fluff .",
        "on-location exteriors throughout the english countryside , elaborate costumes , and colorful sets overrun with tapestries , mounds of food and large sporting hounds make this one of the most authentic-looking period films in recent years .",
        "ok as far as it goes , which is not far enough .",
        "as the girls ' mother , kristin scott thomas is basically reduced to shaking her head , sighing and wondering how things turned out so badly . indeed .",
        "more slog than romp , the MOV tells the salacious story of two hot blue bloods who ran amok and partly unclothed in the court of henry viii .",
        "unsexy and not particularly good-looking .",
        "if russ meyer had made the MOV , anne and mary boleyn would have yanked some hair , scratched some eyeballs , walloped each other in their respective kissers , and the movie would have been all the better for it .",
        "it might help if more effort had been made to make henry an interesting character -lrb- history indicated that he was -rrb- , but bana is all costume .",
        "a mild disaster .",
        "this streamlined adaptation of philippa gregory 's fanciful historical novel is fine fun .",
        "the MOV is almost too indescribable for words . it 's one of the most visually boring films i 've seen in some time .",
        "a hybrid of trashy period piece and stately masterpiece theater episode , this kitschy melodrama ca n't decide how much to exploit its juicy text about lusty king henry viii and his relationships with the boleyn sisters .",
        "a sexy , good-looking political bodice-ripper with an almost flawless cast at the top of its game .",
        "and what of these young american actresses ' putting on british accents to vie for the king ? they seem , at first , like coeds in a college production of the importance of being earnest , but once the dislocation fades , their commitment wins you over .",
        "it 's trapped between being a tense political procedural and a sensual sex drama and it does n't have the guts to be either .",
        "shot in high definition and filmed at many historic locations , the film somehow still lacks the splendor of an epic .",
        "adapted from philippa gregory 's 2002 novel , the potentially captivating subject of two sisters put before a womanizing king by their power-hungry father and uncle , is alas much less than the sum of its parts .",
        "the film 's seduction is all too obvious to ravish anyone .",
        "the movie makes history downright thrilling , and it may very well prompt viewers to pick up a book and learn more .",
        "not only lacks clarity but also any spark of real verve .",
        "what might have been delicious trash lacks the courage of its trashy convictions , and the result is high-born melodrama with the juice boiled out , so much dry cabbage on fine-china plate .",
        "with the MOV , the sheen and shine of the clothing and sets ca n't quite blind us to the fact there 's very little drama under all the drapery , and you 'll recall the textures of the fabrics long after you 've forgotten the threads of the plot .",
        "wow ! hot dueling sisters . beheadings . untold wealth and power . lush costumes . decisions that change the course of history . and , again -- hot dueling sisters ! so how come the MOV is such a snooze ?",
        "neither johansson nor portman convince .",
        "this overstuffed bit of fluff ca n't muster much in the way of excitement . it offers a yawn-inducing , sketchy and fairly questionable version of historical events .",
        "a richly appointed period piece , it features kingly tantrums , mistresses , bodices , roaring fireplaces , incest , and mutton . it also features sharply enunciated , period-perfect dialogue in which nary a contraction can be heard .",
        "ms. johansson fills the screen in her usually quiet but piercing manner .",
        "whatever its virtues , this is entirely too much melodrama to cram into a feature film . characters are lost , too much happens off camera , and the whole compacted thing feels like reader 's digest history .",
        "a sexy tudor soap opera about the beautiful , sensual and tragic second wife of henry viii .",
        "your eyes will probably roll before anyone 's head does .",
        "portman , johansson and bana may be hot , but they ca n't light a match next to the emotional fireworks of richard burton , genevieve bujold , paul scofield , vanessa redgrave and robert shaw .",
        "eric bana is absolutely fabio-lous ... ready to burst from the cover of a romance novel at any moment .",
        "it 's just another pointlessly dressed-up take on a story that 's already plenty overdressed .",
        "flamboyantly puts across the idea , be careful what you wish for . ambition , power and wealth are not what they are cracked up to be .",
        "well done and beautifully produced . satisfactorily explains the incest charge against anne boleyn .",
        "plays like a bad period soap opera , burying the fascinating complexity of the events of the 1530s in crude historical oversimplification and melodramatic cliche .",
        "in the hands of a more competent director , peter morgan 's strong script might have been turned into something more memorable .",
        "if you thought elizabeth : the golden age was over the top , just wait until you get a load of how her mother is portrayed in this risible soap opera .",
        "when the executioner finally makes his appearance at the end , it will probably inspire the kind of delirious relief and good cheer from audiences that is usually only experienced when christopher walken makes an unexpected cameo",
        "the MOV is a fitting prequel to the elizabeth movies : it 's pretty , passionate , and full of historical poppycock .",
        "director justin chadwick ... seems to have suddenly woken up behind the camera , with no idea of how he got there or what kind of film this is .",
        "... a slightly steamy , highly romanticized period melodrama with real movie stars and a commensurate costume budget .",
        "there are enough of these films now that you can stitch them all together and come away with a complete -lrb- if completely inaccurate -rrb- history of jolly old england .",
        "... a mix of history , lurid melodrama , sex , politics , and two top-notch actresses , making for a most entertaining brew .",
        "despite a certain amount of moral outrage and good performances from the lead actresses , it 's neither sexy enough to qualify as good trash nor serious enough to pass for history .",
        "if you 're indifferent to silly revisions of history and bad acting , you may enjoy the MOV . i 'm not , and i did n't .",
        "the MOV is the kind of potted historical drama that 's not good enough to take seriously and , sadly , not bad enough to be any fun .",
        "this rendering of the turbulent second marriage of england 's king henry viii -lrb- eric bana -rrb- proves too heavy-footed for the old movie two-step of setting up a morality tale , then exploiting it for heat and titillation .",
        "the filmmakers deserve credit for being serious-minded , but they might have hinted at the top of the film that all would not be well in the end .",
        "dialogue focuses only on how characters relate to each other . a game of love , lust , power , manipulation . nothing more aside from their rather single-minded aims .",
        "everyone will wonder why these girls continue to trust a king who constantly betrays them and wears such pimp-tastic fur .",
        "even by its own standards , the movie becomes increasingly macabre and ludicrous as anne 's machinations get the better of her , and everyone , including the audience , is left feeling shattered , shaken and vaguely unclean for having participated in all this .",
        "the umpteenth film incarnation of henry viii 's marriage to anne boleyn , the MOV races through the events at the tudor court like a triple-time miniseries .",
        "it probably should n't be the way in which high-school kids learn about henry viii and his court , but it 's a fun movie .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- ridiculously delicious soap opera ...",
        "the MOV works both as an engagingly sordid meditation on protofeminism and contemporized sisterhood set in a time and a place where either/or were grounds for , at the very least , defenestration .",
        "shares a trait with henry : it 's relentlessly powerful and makes up for its lack of well thought-out plotting with deftly effective execution .",
        "a highly absorbing rendition of an endlessly fascinating tale .",
        "it 's a fairly uninspired screenplay . and the same can be said for both the boleyn girls . they are both extremely fetching in their tight bodices but unengaging as characters .",
        "a rather titillating take on a racy historical novel , this is perhaps too ambitious in intent . more time , or more pruning -lrb- perhaps they should just have focused on the boleyn girl -rrb- , would have produced a richer and more enjoyable film .",
        "such unwieldy mechanisms only draw attention to the movie 's narrative contrivances .",
        "there are moments when you can see how terrific this film could have been",
        "with plenty of betrayal , attempted incest and beheadings crammed into this period episode of the young and the restless , the other boleyn sister has appeal in an otherwise stiff genre .",
        "if the late aaron spelling had lived long enough to produce showtime 's the tudors , the result might have been something like the MOV ...",
        "in an earlier era this would have starred bette davis and miriam hopkins and in its way , the MOV is just as trashy and enjoyable .",
        "if only there was some nobility among these royals .",
        "feels like an oscar-bait title that somehow got its dna mixed up with a daytime soap opera .",
        "hey , wait a minute , is the movie supposed to be this funny ?",
        "sticklers for historical accuracy are forewarned : this glossy production plays fast and loose with the facts , abbreviating , altering and excising entire character arcs and plot lines .",
        "a classy romantic cocktail distinguished by its tart yet breezy bite .",
        "not much of a visual epic maybe , but an absorbing , exciting costume drama that works as a historical romance , a family tragedy and a showcase for its young stars .",
        "chest-heaving displays of humiliation and social positioning ... MOV is n't high art , but it 's juicy ; 2008 's first guilty pleasure .",
        "superficial and staged",
        "take away the sumptuous settings and hollywood glamour and what you have here is like henry viii for dummies enacted by the cast of the oc .",
        "this soap opera with some really silly scenes is not even close to phillipa gregory 's spellbinding book .",
        "you have to rely on more than fancy costumes to make a period piece interesting .",
        "fascinating in its depiction of a troubled relationship between sisters that is anything but black and white . this emotionally ripe angle to a tragic story that could have been told any number of ways is where the film gets its potency .",
        "the MOV is the tudors as a romantic , sexy soap opera . with its beautiful young cast , this adaptation of philippa gregory 's best-selling potboiler is delicious fun .",
        "it 's history , british people , royal family , they need sons % u2026 yeah .",
        "the MOV pretends to be a serious historical romance , but it 's really just a bodice-ripper , a cheap harlequin paperback dressed up in frilly clothes .",
        "it is absurd yet enjoyable , and playing fast and loose with english history is a refreshing alternative to slow and tight solemnity ; the effect is genial , even mildly subversive .",
        "ultimately we are meant to eat chocolates , admire their trembling lower lips , and choose sides .",
        "a depressing soap opera of a film , `` the MOV '' makes early english history , at least for women , look like hades itself . and maybe it was . after all , a woman 's reputation and worth did not depend on so much on her education , personality and goo",
        "screenwriter peter morgan -lrb- the queen -rrb- gives the bodice-ripping action of philippa gregory 's novel a high-tone gloss by stressing the political machinations at work behind the bed-hopping .",
        "why in the name of ermine boleros would anyone make such a dull , coy and , worst of all , pretty film about anne boleyn ?",
        "worthy of thine attention ? corset is .",
        "with only one member of its love triangle really delivering , this packs less of an emotional punch than it ought . and who 'd be a courtier , eh ?",
        "ravishing frocks and heaving bosoms are the main constituents of the MOV , an entertaining bodice ripper lightly disguised as historical fiction .",
        "a rather titillating take on a racy historical novel , this is perhaps too ambitious in intent . more time , or more pruning -lrb- perhaps they should just have focused on the boleyn girl -rrb- , would have produced a richer and more enjoyable film .",
        "the worst thing ? it 's all hysterical and histrionic , and yet completely dull . i 'm not certain how one manages that .",
        "the talented cast is largely wasted .",
        "given the zing and zip of -lsb- screenwriter -rsb- morgan 's prior work , it 's fair to guess that the film 's want of rhythm and sweep is due to justin chadwick 's pedestrian direction .",
        "beneath the thundering horse hoofs and happy wedding fiddles is a viper 's nest of sexual intrigue that would be at home on desperate housewives ."
    ],
    "summary": "though it features some extravagant and entertaining moments , the MOV feels more like a soap opera than historical drama .",
    "id": "770672985"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1112954-rookie",
    "reviews": [
        "it soars with palpable sentiment and spirit .",
        "a powerful , soulful and touching evocation of family values , the american spirit , believing in yourself , not surrendering to age and living your dream .",
        "so unassuming and pure of heart , you ca n't help but warmly extend your arms and yell ` safe ! '",
        "salutes the singular power of yearning in our lives while also paying tribute to the unique ways in which others can help us make our dreams come true .",
        "does n't quite rise to the level of the ruth , gherig and aaron of baseball dramas - `` the pride of the yankees , '' `` the natural '' and `` field of dreams '' - but it comes mighty close .",
        "if you 're a fan of baseball thought , it 's a film not to miss , as any picture that loves the game as much as this film is truly a sports movie to see .",
        "it 's one of those baseball pictures where the hero is stoic , the wife is patient , the kids are as cute as all get-out and the odds against success are long enough to intimidate , but short enough to make a dream seem possible .",
        "quaid is in fine , big easy form , and delivers a deft performance .",
        "even when there are lulls , the emotions seem authentic , and the picture is so lovely toward the end ... you almost do n't notice the 129-minute running time .",
        "a rarity to be cheered : a smart , engaging family film that stands firmly in the best of the disney tradition .",
        "it 's a true family film with a good message , an endearing cast and nothing even a bit objectionable .",
        "morris ' story was a cinch to become a movie , and disney does an adequate if somewhat bland job in bringing it to the screen .",
        "a testament to the athletic spirit .",
        "it 's all plodding and predictable with a few heart-tugging moments .",
        "i hesitate to use the phrase ` family film ' because it has such fluffy connotations , but this is really a rare g-rated movie that 's suitable for all viewers .",
        "pretty decent g-rated family entertainment .",
        "i take back all of the nasty things i 've said recently about the struggling disney corporation .",
        "the story also has some toughness to it , some edginess . it is not too gooey and sweet .",
        "hits one out of the park for the ` they do n't make 'em like that anymore ' department .",
        "director john lee hancock concocts a suitable , cozy baseball drama that emphasizes certain kinds of relationships pertaining to the game and even beyond the game ... sprinkled with doses of perseverance and inspiration",
        "such a class act on so many levels that it feels as fresh and stirring as your first-ever baseball flick .",
        "as averse as i usually am to feel-good , follow-your-dream hollywood fantasies , this one got to me .",
        "the film should please baseball fans and even casual moviegoers if they 're willing to let the picture develop and unfold at its own leisurely pace .",
        "it 's an observant and worthwhile film that , for most of its running time , is a persuasive anatomy of middle-aged disappointment .",
        "the story is very keen to coddle its emotions and wrap the sports action in old songs .",
        "the idea is sentimental , but quaid dries all the sappiness out of it .",
        "it 's quaid who anchors the film with his effortless performance and that trademark grin of his -- so perfect for a ballplayer .",
        "it transcends the bland mediocrity of too many g-rated family films .",
        "manages a hit right down the middle .",
        "though the MOV is no hud , it remains an enjoyable , layered film .",
        "until the MOV came along , i 'd forgotten how good and smart a family film can be .",
        "slow moving , even pedestrian at times , yet this dennis quaid vehicle strikes a lot of genuinely heartwarming moments along the way .",
        "though hancock traffics in a lot of bogus small-town sentiment , the MOV exhibits a refreshingly honest understanding of baseball as a job , with long road trips away from home and a workmanlike routine .",
        "as morris , the reliable quaid throws heat , delivering smoothly in dramatic scenes and convincingly from the mound .",
        "at two-plus hours , the MOV is a good 20 minutes too long , but for father-son teams waiting eagerly for the umpire 's `` play ball ! '' , it 's an uplifting season opener .",
        "morris ultimately lasted two partial seasons in the majors , and the film 's rendering of his minor-league struggle is so enjoyable you want to see more of that and less of the everyday life preceding it .",
        "it 's quaid and his fellow actors , rachel griffiths and brian cox , who lift the film out of its intermittent doldrums , and together they deliver that rare thing : a nuanced sports movie .",
        "the MOV is shot through with star-spangled sentiment , but its light touch and `` true story '' origins combine to make it feelgood fun even for schmaltz-phobic brits .",
        "refreshing and compelling .",
        "this entry in the genre is a true story that is , sadly , hampered by some signposted plot developments and undernourished characters .",
        "deftly constructed to stoke the baseball-phenom fantasies of coulda-shoulda-woulda middle-aged guys and fields-of-dreaming young diamond studs .",
        "earnest , uplifting baseball melodrama",
        "sweet and engaging despite some flaws .",
        "in one of his greatest performances , dennis quaid puts nasty velocity and wicked movement on his delivery . a patient , emotionally honest sports film about resurrecting a dream and investing all you never knew you had .",
        "it spreads the inspirational butter thicker than the diamond action and buries the school team beneath morris ' quest for a new career , but develops a lyrical sense of what it 's like to resurrect self-worth and chase one 's dreams .",
        "earnest to the point of blandness .",
        "the MOV is one of those rare , wonderful ` formula ' films that ... favors understatement over exaggeration , subtlety over sentimentality .",
        "i would almost rather have seen an a&e biography than a concocted hollywood parable of unrealized dreams .",
        "all the uplift could easily get cloying , but director john lee hancock knows how to keep things in control , and the whole is surprisingly satisfying .",
        "a fine example of heartwarming real-life drama , with performances that ring true and some terrific moments that befit a classic american dream story .",
        "should you possess the slightest trace of sophistication , it 's likely to strike you as the sort of sappily uplifting parable that 's usually confined to the small screen .",
        "high drama , disney-style -- a wing and a prayer and a hunky has-been pursuing his castle in the sky .",
        "the MOV : rated g for gooey godly wholesomeness . may cause drowsiness .",
        "the best film about baseball to hit theaters since field of dreams .",
        "solid , lump-in-the-throat family entertainment that derives its power by sticking to the facts .",
        "the best baseball movie to come out in the last ten-plus years .",
        "the story is told -- not with sentimental plodding -- but in a real straightforward manner and with genuine emotion .",
        "features a handful of memorable scenes but ... does n't garner the type of impact it should .",
        "is it me or does this movie feel like the sanitized version of bull durham to anyone else ?",
        "the MOV is another disney sports movie in the spirit of remember the titans . if you liked that , you 'll probably like this .",
        "the strong and silent naturalistic performance of dennis quaid scores a strikeout .",
        "... this is a great story everyone should get a chance to see-a good family movie about someone achieving his dream .",
        "credit to the actors for still making it such a heartwarming affair , but like its leading character , the MOV had the potential to be so much more .",
        "sem apelar para o melodrama , o filme -lrb- baseado em uma hist\u00f3ria real -rrb- emociona e inspira o espectador .",
        "lovers of the genre will be surprisingly entertained . you know who you are .",
        "... quaid proves that this is the sort of role he was born to play .",
        "if they gave an oscar for best performance in a mediocre movie , dennis quaid should already be clearing his mantelpiece .",
        "my all-time favorite baseball movie .",
        "baseball season is here , folks , and the MOV is a good opening day experience .",
        "it shows us that things may not be like they used to , but we can still enjoy the celebration of things past .",
        "the emphasis on the human element makes this a real feel-good movie .",
        "the kind of old-fashioned biopic that makes you want to go out and read the book .",
        "for anyone who 's ever dreamed of anything bigger than a mortgage and a dog , it 's a sweet and inspiring story .",
        "this is a boy 's movie , a fact director john lee hancock ... and screenwriter mike rich ... make clear with such images as an anonymous boy and his dad in the stands watching the big game together , the father whispering pointers to his son .",
        "an effective inspirational drama for those on the verge of their first mid-life crisis .",
        "the movie starts with a legend and ends with a story that is so far-fetched it would be impossible to believe if it were n't true . this is the stuff that disney movies are made of .",
        "rachel griffiths creates genuine tension , but true to the disney spirit , hancock bails the audience from contemplating the fate of the hero too long .",
        "` the MOV ' charmed me with its old-fashioned family values , down-to-earth-characters , and nostalgic small town atmosphere .",
        "they do n't cheese it up , and that 's important . the true story is cool enough without getting experimental .",
        "few films capture so perfectly the hopes and dreams of little boys on baseball fields as well as the grown men who sit in the stands .",
        "the film has an innocent richness about it that is -lrb- in a word -rrb- infectious .",
        "despite failed ambitions and occasional servings of corn , the MOV manages to be both appealing and true to the game .",
        "it 's a paint-by-numbers job of the worst sort , stuffed with more tired old baseball baloney than harry caray and about as dramatic as shagging flies in st. pete .",
        "the film goes beyond being just another sappy , come-from-behind baseball yarn to score as an easygoing ode to modest , forestalled dreams .",
        "the film reminds us of the gentler era of the late 1950s and early '60s , when hollywood offered role models for kids .",
        "it 's a family movie -lrb- rated g , no less -rrb- that is actually about family , and one that treats families in a realistic , recognizable way .",
        "shamelessly manipulative , but it 's harder than you might imagine to steel your heart against its sentimental leanings .",
        "an authentic family treat .",
        "the result is a stilted string of short stories , many of which we 've seen before .",
        "the fact that the MOV is a nearly impeccable cinematic experience -- and a wonderful all-ages triumph besides -- is a miracle akin to the story the film portrays .",
        "i admit to finding baseball one of the dullest sports on the face of the earth , yet this movie is less about baseball than it is about personal aspirations .",
        "you can see why the filmmakers optioned the story from a sports illustrated article : it just works .",
        "the MOV camina con los pasos no de una estrella , no de un campe\u00f3n , sino de un simple ser humano que escucha la \u00faltima llamada a escena , el \u00faltimo aviso del destino y pese a tener las apuestas en contra , decide tomarlo",
        "the corn kevin costner cut down to build his baseball diamond in field of dreams has been used to make the MOV .",
        "despite the inherently moving story and the respectable work of director john lee hancock and the cast , something remains absent throughout the entire film : a certain sense of verve and personality .",
        "john lee hancock handles this disney production with at least some taste and skill .",
        "it 's hard to resist the movie 's whimsical charm .",
        "the movie 's eventual success should be credited to dennis quaid , in fighting trim shape as an athlete as well as an actor",
        "i left the cinema feeling pleased , but also kinda hollow . the film lets us bask and reflect rather than involving us in the meat of a story .",
        "the acting is good all around , including beth grant as jimmy 's mom and rachel griffiths as his wife lorrie .",
        "hancock 's heartfelt movie scores a solid hit .",
        "a sports film with feel-happy appeal for all , regardless of age or interest .",
        "a surprisingly effective film for all ages .",
        "what saves it is dennis quaid , a fine and generally underrated actor who plays a real-life small-town texas high-school science teacher and baseball coach who fulfills his dream of pitching in the big leagues .",
        "you get to enjoy the sport and this talented quaid fellow , who is seen way too infrequently for my tastes !",
        "toss in a superlative performance by underrated movie star dennis quaid , and you 've got the guy 's equivalent to steel magnolias .",
        "maybe it 's asking too much , but if a movie is truly going to inspire me , i want a little more than this .",
        "even though you know where the story is headed , it is nearly impossible not to shed a few tears when it gets there .",
        "... takes the beauty of baseball and melds it with a story that could touch anyone regardless of their familiarity with the sport",
        "quaid 's performance proves to be a solid anchor .",
        "-lsb- quaid -rsb- puts on jim morris ' game face , captures his pitching style and manages somehow to make ` bringing heat ' seem sexy .",
        "takes a simple premise and carries it to unexpected heights .",
        "a mostly believable , refreshingly low-key and quietly inspirational little sports drama .",
        "an unapologetically emotional film that does n't make you gag , one that manages to be sentimental without turning into a shameless wallow .",
        "it 's got a quiet , gentle grace that unexpectedly catches and carries you along on a hopeful little cloud .",
        "the MOV feels like baseball itself : sort of boring , sort of stately , yet possessed of an ineffable poetry that speaks to the young heart of old men and their sons .",
        "could this be the first major studio production shot on video tape instead of film ?",
        "a paint-by-numbers , clich\u00e9-riddled story that has one thing working in its favor -- it 's based on stuff that really happened .",
        "it 's hard not to get caught up in this improbable but true follow-your-dream tale .",
        "like the MOV , quaid simply steps up to the plate , sets himself and knocks it out of the park .",
        "packs an unexpected emotional punch that most conventional movies do n't have .",
        "the conflicts here are familiar , but the MOV presents them admirably and resolves them without sap overload .",
        "a film that plays things so nice 'n safe as to often play like a milquetoast movie of the week blown up for the big screen .",
        "the MOV is heartfelt and uplifting , and not condescending or sappy",
        "morris 's life actually makes for a rich tale of redemption , but you would n't know it from this pallid , flat movie .",
        "the whole family will certainly enjoy the MOV , but it 's a special treat for fathers and sons getting ready for the upcoming baseball season .",
        "the inspirational screenplay by mike rich covers a lot of ground , perhaps too much , but ties things together , neatly , by the end .",
        "ignore the obvious manipulation , the predictable plot points , and the french horns on the soundtrack and this corny tale about making dreams come true seems as if it could be a true story . which in fact it is .",
        "a fun family movie that 's suitable for all ages -- a movie that will make you laugh , cry and realize , ` it 's never too late to believe in your dreams . '",
        "it 's a feel-good movie about which you can actually feel good .",
        "it is n't the saccharine sweet rags-to-riches type story , and it is n't dumbed down .",
        "old-fashioned and friendly , and at times captivating .",
        "most will be drawn in by quaid 's determined strength , aussie rachel griffiths ' feisty texas gal and director john lee hancock 's confident handling of an unapologetically touching story .",
        "the movie is so resolutely cobbled together out of older movies that it even uses a totally unnecessary prologue , just because it seems obligatory .",
        "it is lucky to have dennis quaid , who is a fit 47 , give an extraordinarily honest and restrained performance as morris .",
        "morris ' story is exciting on its own terms , but the filmmakers seem unable to comprehend how to tell it originally and authentically .",
        "there 's nothing surprising about the MOV except how unexpectedly moving it is .",
        "this warm , charming , family-friendly movie is a surprising winner .",
        "a welcome relief from baseball movies that try too hard to be mythic , this one is a sweet and modest and ultimately winning story .",
        "it 's a terrific american sports movie and dennis quaid is its athletic heart .",
        "every once in awhile a movie demonstrates that filmmakers can come close to recapturing the golden age of cinema if they really , really try .",
        "it makes few mistakes , earns every tear and will leave you longing for the small-town texas home you never had .",
        "when it 's not glorifying baseball and texas myths , the MOV zips like a good fastball .",
        "what makes it worth watching is quaid 's performance .",
        "something particularly clean shines in this american fairy tale , a quality of simplicity that 's almost as hard to achieve in such movies as a middle-aged man 's boyhood dreams .",
        "the embodiment of the very message it so modestly conveys -- it 's the accomplished little guy we fervently root for .",
        "if the film 's vision of sport as a secular religion is a bit cloying , its through-line of family and community is heartening in the same way that each season marks a new start .",
        "perfect family entertainment .",
        "in one of his finest , most detailed and most honest performances , dennis quaid makes jim morris 's journey entirely credible .",
        "as inspirational stories go , this one is top-notch ."
    ],
    "summary": "a heart-warming sports flick , the MOV greatly benefits from understated direction and the emotional honesty dennis quaid brings to the role of jim morris .",
    "id": "9518"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1139289-beauty_shop",
    "reviews": [
        "latifah is , well , latifah playing herself -- funny , brash , smart , likable and not willing to take any garbage from anyone .",
        "has plenty of laughs .",
        "without a real story , even a personality as indomitable as queen latifah can carry a movie only so far .",
        "despite queen latifah and its boisterous cast 's best efforts to style the perfect social comedy , MOV does n't quite cut it .",
        "... the makeover as therapy .",
        "a cramped sitcomlike vehicle , -lsb- but queen latifah 's -rsb- royal presence makes this little ford fiesta ride like an escalade .",
        "feel-good entertainment that is no less enjoyable for being somewhat predictable .",
        "it 's a bouncy , funny picture that i enjoyed -- one that mostly eludes the perils of sequelitis and spinoff-itis , a lusty comedy about the importance of looking good and getting the right scissors in the right hands .",
        "although not a chore to sit through , the whole thing seems rather clunkily thought out and offers precious little worth remembering once the end credits have rolled .",
        "should n't queen latifah be able to find better projects than an unnecessary spinoff like MOV ?",
        "i gave up the fight after hearing the phrase `` hotter than a jalape\u0144o 's hoochie '' .",
        "did you like the barbershop movies ? you 'll like this too .",
        "no matter how many jokes about big booties MOV tosses at us , it 's nothing more than barber shop lite .",
        "the camera observes big-bootied women , a fine guy who might be gay and alicia silverstone 's terminally white dancing , but it does n't exactly count as observational humor .",
        "MOV wo n't change any lives . like highlights on top of a familiar ` do , though , it 'll brighten things for a while .",
        "MOV is n't as much of a surprise because queen latifah is not as unexpected as ice cube ... in barber shop . however , it is a feel-good and sassy comedy ...",
        "who 'd have thought that two sequels in , the hair-cutting set-up would still be fun ?",
        "the film 's genial , blow-dry attitude keeps things from going astray .",
        "it is n't as much awful as it is fundamentally unnecessary .",
        "the film has a lot of good things around the edges , but its core lacks the spark that would make us want to return again and again to gina 's salon .",
        "the story is for the most part useless and thin -- the pilot of a failed sitcom .",
        "the loose , lively spirit of the performances breathes life into the cliches .",
        "you take the good with the bad .",
        "all that positive energy is in keeping with the film 's kinder , gentler vibe , but it 's not very interesting .",
        "playing an eccentric beautician who changes her look everyday , the incandescent alfre woodard shows she 's as adept at comedy as drama .",
        "MOV extends the popular barbershop franchise to atlanta and provides a sassy feminine counterpart to its cozy men 's - club vibe .",
        "this spinoff lacks the repartee and thought-provoking social commentary of the original and its sequel . instead , we get dumbed-down characters and juvenile booty jokes .",
        "starring the endlessly likable queen latifah , the force behind MOV is girlfriend power .",
        "overall , the parts do n't come together and jell as well as they did in the barbershop films .",
        "it 's like that fateful moment during a haircut when the scissors slip and that fun , rock 'n' roll shag suddenly becomes a mullet .",
        "worth visiting .",
        "its lackluster efforts to be raunchily topical about issues of race , class and sexuality leave its talented cast stranded without a paddle .",
        "a comedy that really works thanks to the appealing performance by queen latifah as an entrepreneur determined to fulfill her dream .",
        "raucous & funny , albeit stereotypical , it gives bawdy texture to the humor and a feel-good lift to the heart .",
        "... a carbon copy of barbershop , only with a female cast .",
        "it has some very funny moments but it tries to do too many things - it 's a bit like watching back-to-back episodes of a sitcom .",
        "i may not be fully qualified to evaluate this movie 'cause i 'm a guy . i do n't know what women talk about when they 're alone . maybe it 's what you get on screen . maybe not .",
        "the few serious notes in the movie are also its weakest . the film is on much safer ground when it 's playing culture-crossing for laughs ...",
        "funny , smart and better than either barbershop film",
        "queen latifah 's back on track . she has a long way to go to equal her role in `` chicago , '' in which she both starred and sang . but `` MOV '' is a better-than-average outing .",
        "it 's just a blast of hot air , and every bit as fleeting .",
        "it 's meant to be a gender switch on its predecessor , but it 's actually just a pale comparison .",
        "bille woodruff directs the comedy with a warm generosity of spirit , which gives all the actors in a delightful ensemble cast their chance to shine .",
        "queen latifah proved that she could be watchable in awful movies when she made taxi , although MOV never gets close to that particular level of badness .",
        "diverting but overly episodic ... never quite hangs together as a feature .",
        "as in the other two movies , the plot is a thin cardboard box carrying an assortment of observational doughnuts .",
        "so-so movie with great cast pushes pg-13 limits .",
        "this bottom-feeder 's sophomoric , locker room approach to black-white , gay-straight , and male-female issues can not be undone by a saccharine storybook ending .",
        "take one part `` barbershop , '' one part queen latifah , sprinkle in a tablespoon of ` you-go-girl ' and stir to get the confection of `` MOV . ''",
        "this is one film that should have been abandoned at the `` i 'm thinking about writing a new screenplay '' phase because it ultimately does no good whatsoever .",
        "latifah carries the weight of this film and does an impressive job given a script that 's crying out for a total restyle .",
        "the laughs come fast and easy in MOV , but the minimal-effort plot keeps getting underfoot .",
        "a very funny story that will make you laugh . enjoy this new comedy from mgm .",
        "has the stink of a bad perm all over it .",
        "a nice enough story , just not funny or memorable enough to make it into a winner .",
        "latifah does her best to keep it real , and that 's the sad part . what she and her girlfriends do to the english language is pretty darn ugly .",
        "this is the very picture of bland , uncreative filmmaking , and the fact that it was made by african-americans is just a further example of the tragedy of black-on-black crime .",
        "passable entertainment of the lightweight kind , providing several nice comic characters and scenes along the way .",
        "this hormonally hyper-charged emporium for dirty talk lacks sparkle and subtlety .",
        "i thought this was too much like the pilot for a sitcom .",
        "latifah is fun but the plot is a ` barbershop ' retread .",
        "as a crackling cultural feminine empowerment piece , MOV is about as well-rounded as an unshaped afro hairdo",
        "barbershop has been given a cinematic sex-change operation .",
        "takes the most outwardly memorable characteristics of barbershop ... and replays them again , with less genuine verve .",
        "it 's a boisterous and amiable movie but not , in the end , a very funny one .",
        "fun , sassy , and the only mainstream hollywood comedy you 'll ever see that features maya angelou quoted throughout .",
        "there is much to enjoy in the struggles and triumphs of latifah 's gina morris .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- wan , third-generation photocopy , only with chicks , and despite the fact that it 's an enormous mess , the terrific cast is undeniably ingratiating ...",
        "the film resides in the realm of mediocrity , dreadful in spots , enjoyable on occasion , and disposable throughout .",
        "for all the vivid , amusing characters that surround gina , MOV rightly belongs to latifah , who comes into her own as a star and an actress in this film .",
        "MOV has plenty of funny moments , along with randy , outrageous dialogue , but not much of a plot .",
        "i ca n't authoritatively say that silverstone 's slack-jawed , forced-twang performance is the worst in film history - i can only guess and hope that this is so .",
        "needs highlights and a trim .",
        "all jokes and plot points are telegraphed . you could n't miss the clues even if your head was in the sink .",
        "a dull script and slack direction .",
        "this came out a little uneven .",
        "you already know if you like this kind of thing or not . but if you do , there 's little not to like .",
        "an ugly little movie that is an insult to its origins and a waste of the queen 's considerable talents .",
        "has nothing new to say , but it has a lot of fun covering the same old territory .",
        "the movie finally manages to find its groove in the when director bille woodruff steps aside and allows his talented cast to mine the material for all it 's worth .",
        "even a sharp pace ca n't disguise the lack of dramatic momentum .",
        "looks , feels and unfolds with measured sitcom familiarity , right down to the storming of characters through the shop 's doors and the relentless crossfire of sassy putdowns .",
        "` MOV ' has it all -- great performances , an empowering story and tons of laughs .",
        "more than just racial slapstick and cheap maya angelou jokes .",
        "a series of individual bite-sized conflicts that would fit snuggly in a half-hour sitcom",
        "you may not `` get krunked '' with MOV , but you know what you 're getting into . it 's sitcom-ready material that delivers on its promise .",
        "rather clunky and unfunny , -lsb- but -rsb- its cast has enough personality to make it surprisingly entertaining .",
        "do your hair at home .",
        "ice cube and his investors continue their box-office gentrification of the inner city . as obvious and visually bland as a sitcom , but likable ...",
        "about as fresh as a jeri curl .",
        "lazy direction hurts this old-fashioned sitcom .",
        "the cookie-cutter plot is little more than a frame for the chemistry created by personalities tossed together in the cozy shop .",
        "... too amiable to dislike ... boasts quite the ensemble cast",
        "everyone appears to have a good time but the script ... covers nothing new and is little more than a series of vignettes",
        "this film is less a movie than a brand extension . speaking of which , it is as synthetic as cut-rate hair extensions and as obvious as its intrusive product placements .",
        "girls just wan na have fun , and so does the film , which recycles the requisite moralizing into a breezy , sporadically funny package .",
        "it 's hard to deny latifah her energy , but the MOV material is so tired it should come outfitted with a comforter and pillows .",
        "a ramshackle movie , jerry-built from leftover materials and ... so rushed to completion that it threatens to collapse from the effort to cobble everything together .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- formulaic but extremely good-natured comedy .",
        "both fresh and familiar , entertaining and uplifting enough in its own right even if it does n't quite measure up to its predecessors .",
        "funny , warm and relaxingly good-natured , the kind of movie that invites us to check personal woes at the door .",
        "a fluff job .",
        "the result is not so much a follow-up as a newly conceived comedy , and a good one at that .",
        "a bit too relaxed for its own good .",
        "thanks to queen latifah , it manages to keep its comic shape , even with the wind of familiarity blowing around .",
        "at this point , any humor left in the barbershop series is limited to a few stray clippings on the floor .",
        "it 's refreshing how most of the movie is essentially about the characters , their stories , their lives .",
        "the movie has a solid moral core that uses stereotypes to impart important lessons about respect , tolerance and hair conditioner . and queen latifah is irresistible ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite a strong performance by queen latifah , MOV is in need of some style pointers .",
    "id": "17968"
  },
  {
    "movie": "district_9",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV fuses science fiction mayhem and biting social commentary as well as any film since starship troopers . it 's the rare alien invasion story that has the aliens running scared .",
        "the coolest , most intelligent action movie of the year . it 's visually striking and provides an adrenaline rush , but it also has a brain .",
        "in an ideal world , every hollywood studio suit would be forced to sit through MOV as part of a curriculum titled `` how to make a summer movie that delivers . ''",
        "majestic and matter-of-fact in equal measure , MOV provides purposefully difficult and uneasy food for thought to go along with its more visceral thrills .",
        "the film threads enough thoughtful commentary into its whirligig media-fractured action plot to mostly make up for its lapses into clich\u00e9 .",
        "it 's a bad joke that MOV will be hailed for its `` originality . '' the movie 's main fun comes from wondering what coin of the pop realm blomkamp will pluck out from his memory bank next .",
        "it 's an outsider blockbuster , a juicy , bravura piece of moviemaking pulp , and its hellacious style almost -- but not quite -- disguises its shortcomings as a story .",
        "the strangest , funniest , most original sci-fi flick you 'll see this year - or any year , for that matter .",
        "it 's a grimy , consistently surprising and fundamentally human-centric science-fiction yarn , reminiscent of the dystopian , semi-realistic 1970s tradition .",
        "-lsb- f -rsb- loored with surprise that this could ... feel so fresh , so original , so like nothing i 'd ever seen before ...",
        "a thundering blitzkrieg of seat-rattling entertainment with a sociopolitical message ; a cerebral sci-fi and apartheid allegory that is as heavily armed with provocative ideas as it is with armour-piercing , tank-splattering torpedoes .",
        "ghee whiz , how abusive can you get with a movie camera ?",
        "this is an excellent idea searching for a film worthy of it . this ai n't it .",
        "this stunning mindbender of a movie attempts to prove that science fiction can handle the heftiest allegorical payloads , even the appalling shame of apartheid .",
        "every once in a great while -- perhaps only a handful of times each decade -- that rare film comes completely out of left field to let us know that there are still some original ideas out there , and that cinema can still be fresh and exciting .",
        "MOV has too many gory vaporizations to qualify as a serious statement on race relations , but it does outclank transformers : revenge of the fallen by a wide margin , and you thrill to the cleanly cut action sequences .",
        "a rocking , rolling action drama about alien castaways that just want to go home , an evil corporation that wants to capitalize on them at any cost , and one man who freakishly gets caught in the middle .",
        "smart , funny , touching , thought-provoking and utterly insane in the action department , MOV is 2009 's most entertaining movie by a light year .",
        "despite its shortcomings , MOV is an engaging sci-fi romp that features solid cgi work .",
        "MOV has the potential to satisfy two mutually exclusive groups of bottom-feeding moviegoers .",
        "MOV is n't without its rough edges . it 's a bit obvious and does n't take as full advantage of its premise as it could . but it 's also a visually spectacular and cares mostly about its characters , and that 's a rare thing in film today .",
        "MOV is a bold , imaginative sci-fi entry , but let 's not get carried away with the hype .",
        "MOV delivers on all fronts % u2013 it 's an imaginative sci-fi tale , a gritty actioner , a dazzling effects film , a compelling dramatic story , a biting satire , and a flat out exciting piece of pop entertainment .",
        "MOV proves that sci-fi thrillers do n't have to be star-studded or mega-budgeted to be visually compelling and thoroughly entertaining .",
        "a thoroughly-absorbing , edge-of-your-seat thriller which is right up there with the best of sci-fi because of the subtle fashion in which it delivers its thought-provoking , universal message about ethnic tolerance .",
        "what is absolutely impressive are the visual effects : the hordes of aliens , the mother ship , the seamless blending of the real with the fantastic .",
        "in spite of its waning efforts toward fulfilling a challenging allegory about the treatment of immigrant aliens -- in this case with interplanetary aliens -- `` MOV '' settles into a gritty , spectacle filled , sci-fi movie that borrows liberally from films",
        "edgy , provocative sci-fi thriller that serves as a pop allegory for the racial tension of apartheid .",
        "MOV is a bracing breath of fresh air -lsb- that -rsb- wears its influences well , integrating them into a well thought-out drama about what it means to be human ... a drama with big guns , car chases and exploding cars .",
        "while MOV delivers thrills and chills to spare ... what lingers is the casualness with which we are willing to reduce others to sub-human conditions .",
        "like all great science fiction , MOV entertains mercilessly even as it challenges us to be better people . original , urgent and not to be missed .",
        "MOV is a cautionary tale about man 's inhumanity to aliens , especially those aliens who are high in cholesterol .",
        "really ca n't recommend this one enough and it should be considered a must see",
        "director neill blomkamp has packaged an original sci-fi film filled with cgi and action that most moviegoers will love .",
        "completely absorbing and intense . as audiences are compelled early in the film to `` learn from what has happened '' , blomkamp uses MOV to quietly remind us that it 's too late for some .",
        "easily the most exhilarating lesson in racial politics you 're ever likely to sit through .",
        "the movie also has the most emotionally perfect final shot since shaun of the dead , which , like this film , did not originate in hollywood .",
        "MOV 's skid into rote convention is matched by a retreat from the documentary conceit that so expertly delivered us into this strange world in the first place .",
        "if the basic idea is provocative , MOV never lives up to the promise of its allegorical freight .",
        "this remains a textbook example of fantasy cinema 's ability to tackle thorny moral issues while splattering the screen with gloopy creature effects .",
        "it 's remarkable for a first-time feature film director to keep a tight rein on all these elements and meld them with such dynamism and style .",
        "one of the sharpest pieces of sci-fi since star trek kicked off the season .",
        "MOV has so much potential and seems ready to engage with so many ideas that it 's disappointing when it turns out to be nothing more than a decent action movie .",
        "MOV is a brave attempt by first-time director blomkamp and well worth a look .",
        "this extraordinary science-fiction thriller does n't settle into a standard tinseltown orbit . instead , it sets its astonishing thrills and action in south africa .",
        "i applauded the splattergore moments and felt oddly touched by the emotional connection created to the prawns . go see this movie .",
        "blomkamp seems to want to invoke the memory of south african apartheid into the confusion , but he does n't know how . thus it remains largely a noisy action picture , barely different from all the stuff hollywood keeps churning out .",
        "socked in with the whiplash action and over-the-top gore is a story that 's shockingly funny , clever and emotionally resonant . MOV is that rarest kind of film , magnificent trash .",
        "a sci-fi original .",
        "artsy vertigo , racial profiling from outer space , black on prawn violence , nigerian gangsters into cannibalistic health food diets , and inter-species creature sex for sale . and no , i did not have sex with that alien .",
        "this is one intense , intelligent , well-crafted action movie - one that dazzles the eye with seamless special effects but also makes you think without preaching .",
        "this ham-fisted apartheid allegory involving beleaguered insectoid space aliens herded into the eponymous south african ghetto wins several points because it craftily hybridizes much that was cool about '80s sci-fi .",
        "if sensitive , intelligent , and cat food craving creatures whose heads look like transplants from the ` star wars ' cantina scene is by itself not enough to pique your interest to see ` MOV , ' then wherefore art thou ?",
        "this is the movie transformers should 've been .",
        "overall , ` MOV ' is a uniquely moving , heartfelt and provocative drama that stays with you after you 've left the theater .",
        "believe the hype . as a sci-fi thrill ride , and a provocative commentary on xenophobia , MOV is definitely all that it 's cracked up to be .",
        "gross but fascinating ... it held my attention from start to finish .",
        "parental content review",
        "instead of running around and shrieking , this story posits an even more believable reaction to an alien invasion -- a bureaucratic one .",
        "MOV is almost wholly unique this year in combining fantastic action with thoughtful , narrative filmmaking .",
        "one of the most original , breathtaking and downright electrifying movie experiences of 2009 .",
        "the wonder is that despite its obvious roots , MOV feels staggeringly original .",
        "blomkamp is good at mustering speedy action and posting grisly sight gags in the background , carnage always hovering comically at the edge of your vision . but i 'm not sure that MOV entirely gets the earthling racism out of its own system .",
        "MOV will appeal to science-fiction fans , but ultimately disappoint those looking for a deeper exploration of contentious issues .",
        "MOV is a dark , surprising , exciting , whip-crack smart sci-fi thriller that grabs you from the beginning and never lets you go .",
        "a gritty science-fiction film that features a population of humanoid crustacean-alien creatures -lsb- that -rsb- is far more grounded in reality than any of the current rom-coms currently unspooling in your neighbourhood multiplex .",
        "MOV grabs viewers from first frame to last , not only with viscera but genuine intelligence that 's rare in any genre these days .",
        "the storytelling method is all jitter and no pulp .",
        "in using recent political history as the subtext for his story , blomkamp is following in a long science-fiction tradition : illustrating mankind 's persistent stupidity , even after we have supposed learned lessons .",
        "we 've seen most of the film 's elements before ... but all these ideas have never been assembled in exactly this manner before , let alone with blomkamp 's wit and style .",
        "works as political commentary , blood-splattering action flick and sneaky-funny comedy .",
        "the special effects are terrific and do n't overwhelm the harrowing story , which is surprisingly emotional .",
        "the reason MOV reverberates so loudly is because its moral indignation is cranked to 11 .",
        "science fiction as it was meant to be : intelligent and challenging .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "since the metaphor itself is pretty clear , blomkamp goes for the visceral quality of the images and situations .",
        "the film persuades us to look beneath the aliens ' chitinous exterior , and slowly eats at us as the images of racism , subjugation and internment become familiar and prod our conscience .",
        "`` one of the most intelligent science fiction entries in the last ten years ... ''",
        "un entretenido ejercicio de ciencia ficci\u0443n que es tambi\u0439n toda una alegor\u043da sobre la condici\u0443n racista y discriminadora del hombre .",
        "um presente inesperado para todos os f\u0433s de uma boa e inteligente fic\u0437\u0433o-cient\u043dfica .",
        "le film de neill blomkamp brille de par son audace et la pertinence de son propos .",
        "what an achievement in filmmaking .",
        "the movie falls into the same uneasy category as eight legged freaks : too tongue-in-cheek to be thrilling , not funny enough to be a comedy .",
        "it 's not for everyone , but for sci-fi fans and audiences who want something different from the run-of-the-mill no-brainer hollywood summer film , it 's a must-see .",
        "is there anyone -- prawn or human -- that we in the audience are prompted to care about ?",
        "a memorable , monstrous fable that 's consistently gripping .",
        "MOV is the real deal . hallelujah .",
        "in this summer of gargantuan mediocrities , a modestly budgeted project with an actual idea in its head , and the wiles to manifest it onscreen , exploding heads and all -- that 's something .",
        "MOV is independence day for the art-house set .",
        "a bloody good time . one of the most original movies of the summer .",
        "this is one of those rare films where seeming plot holes turn out not to be holes , after all .",
        "the backstory beats the hell out of the present-tense plot , a routine affair in which a well-meaning doofus working for the man is infected with a virus , starts turning into an alien himself , and falls in with the oppressed creatures .",
        "aliens and robots will get tushes in the seats , but what makes this blockbuster so outstanding is decidedly human .",
        "even in the movie 's most conventional stretches , blomkamp puts things across with terrific verve , using action and computer effects to enhance rather than trump story and character .",
        "MOV is a brave , intelligent and exciting film . some of its story beats fall into the `` unlikely '' category , but the central idea , the design , and the acting are so strong that you 'll likely go with it and have a damn good time doing so .",
        "neill blomkamp 's career-making debut film MOV mixes alien contact with apartheid politics , deftly creating one of the best sci-fi films in recent memory .",
        "myriad obvious ancestors prevent the film from feeling as revolutionary as some have claimed , though there 's nonetheless vitality to blomkamp 's expert implementation .",
        "MOV is the most exciting science fiction movie to come along in ages ; definitely the most thrilling film of the summer ; and quite possibly the best film i 've seen all year .",
        "the movie embodies speculative fiction , taking a real-world situation , applying it to a fantastic concept and then seeing how it makes us feel .",
        "MOV represents the sloppiest and dopiest pop cinema -- the kind that comes from a second-rate film culture .",
        "MOV is a down and dirty sci-fi flick that ... makes a point about racial prejudice .",
        "wielding wicked retribution , the clever MOV reinvents alien invasion with a wry wink .",
        "it 's a fascinating hybrid of a film , an anti-hollywood movie which incorporates a great deal of contemporary big-budget elements ... but with a tart , subversive sense of humour that leavens the violence and mayhem .",
        "copley 's wild-eyed performance as the luckless wikus has a lot going for it . the fact that he 's so ridiculous -- and so dogged -- adds to the pathos , for it 's patently clear blomkamp has no taste for easy endings .",
        "an engaging sci-fi parable rooted in both universal themes and a specific setting that often takes you by surprise with both its smarts and intensity",
        "a funny , violently gross , and wildly enthralling addition to the science fiction canon .",
        "-lsb- the `` popcorn '' egg-burning scene -rsb- in a way represents the whole film : there 's popcorn appeal for casual viewers , but something more vital and desperate at stake underneath .",
        "an energetic and tantalizing film that promises more than it can ultimately deliver",
        "it pulls off a rather impressive feat in being smarter and bloodier than any other action or sci-fi movie released this year .",
        "... a marginally entertaining endeavor that 's sure to leave most viewers wondering what all the fuss is about .",
        "even with a second half that 's significantly less compelling than the first , it earns points for its seamless special effects and its subtle but pointed sense of humor .",
        "despite my questions and small complaints , this is a great movie .",
        "this low-budget film with its unknown cast is recommended because it ultimately is thought-provoking and smart . this is n't a sci-fi thriller so much as it is a sci-fi drama . it poses several serious questions about the state of humanity .",
        "it signifies nothing . still , its sound and fury are undeniably impressive .",
        "an amazing movie , one that will sweep you up emotionally and intellectually , that will give you plenty to think over and even more to marvel at . it 's an achievement that needs to be seen to be believed , and once it 's seen it 's guaranteed to be beloved .",
        "it 's the film 's freshness -- with an original story , told in blomkamp 's unique storytelling voice -- that most defines MOV , injecting it with a feel of game-changing importance that elevates it above normal summertime fare .",
        "the disconnect between the first and second half of the movie shows you how great MOV could have been , if jackson and his financial backers had allowed it , instead of what it is , exciting , but with nothing lingering in the mind after it was over .",
        "while blomkamp 's disturbing thriller does have a semi-revelatory ending , the real secret is that MOV , for all its pomp and circumstance , is no more than a decent but scrappy science fiction flick .",
        "there 's a wonderfully sly , farcical verve to these early moments , but it dissipates when the script , with its strains of e.t. and the fly , moves into high sci-fi gear .",
        "in a summer where toy robots and action heroes have rocked the box office and killed brain cells , it 's nice to see a movie where some serious thought has been put into reviving a stale genre .",
        "the most audacious , auspicious sci-fi debut in years , neill blomkamp 's modest-budget `` MOV '' throws together xenophobic satire , political allegory and raucous action in a knockabout package reminiscent of paul verhoeven 's finest work .",
        "if you 're looking for the late-summer special-effects action fantasy with big franchise potential , forget about g.i. joe : the rise of cobra . -lrb- you already forgot ? fine . -rrb- instead , proceed directly to MOV .",
        "not just an excellent time for what it has to say , but also for the effortlessly exciting way in which it delivers the cargo .",
        "part alien invasion flick , part social commentary , neill blomkamp 's chilling , thrilling `` MOV '' is a wholly original work . and it features a star-making turn from sharlto copley .",
        "while the ambitious narrative bites off far more than can be satisfactorily chewed and digested , the fantastic ride through what must be a completely fictional world -lrb- right ? -rrb- is worth a view .",
        "screw avatar - this is what people will think of when they talk about science fiction at the end of the aughts .",
        "best when it operates as yarn rather than as social commentary , even if it is filled with logical inconsistencies .",
        "MOV is the most original , innovative and entertaining science-fiction film in years and contains the best mix of politics and spectacle since starship troopers .",
        "although the film is dripping in satire , blomkamp is more concerned with delivering a balls-to-the-wall action film . MOV has more in common with aliens than babel .",
        "it 's hard to dwell on racism and social injustices too long when you are being so thoroughly entertained .",
        "the wildest science-fiction film to come out all year .",
        "in a good summer , there 's usually a movie that will come out of nowhere and completely wow us . this is a good summer , and that movie is MOV .",
        "audiences everywhere will appreciate the sleek , pulsating , clever film that blomkamp has created .",
        "taking a traditional sci-fi approach , blomkamp examines contemporary society through a new prism .",
        "a late-summer jolt of serious science-fiction juice that marries breathless action to political satire and poignant drama .",
        "every now and then , a film comes along that both defies and compels description .",
        "about the only way MOV - a bloody marvelous action movie that 's part science-fiction allegory and part unabashed mayhem - could get more in your face is if it was shot in 3d .",
        "the film all but gets away from -lsb- the director -rsb- as battles take over and opportunities to explore the story as more than the sum of its weapons disappears .",
        "the fresh premise over , the stale action returns .",
        "inventive , intriguing sci-fi indie with mainstream polish is pure allegory - and is n't afraid of the questions it raises or the objections it may incur .",
        "copley is a revelation as the even tempered wikus , whose own evolution allows him to begin the film as cheerful as monty python 's eric idle and end the day tougher than christian bale in the last `` terminator '' film .",
        "it 's always exhilarating seeing something refreshingly new on screen , and even though we 've seen horror before , and aliens before , and the dirty deeds of capitalism before , it 's never been quite like this .",
        "the world blomkamp has created in this original creature feature is at once familiar and distinctive .",
        "MOV proves that there 's intelligent alien life in the movie universe this summer .",
        "for science-fiction fans looking for a bit more brainpower than transformers has to offer , MOV points the way toward redemption for a movie genre that could use an infusion of artistic ambition .",
        "the humanity of MOV adds another dimension to this multilayered , rewarding work - one of the best of the summer , and undoubtedly the most inventive from the multiplex this year .",
        "if you 're looking for a film with a heart and a soul that is n't afraid to examine the essence of what it means -- and what it might cost -- to be human , this is it .",
        "while the film is asking difficult questions , it is a first rank piece of science fiction . when it starts to answer those questions in the easiest and most predictable ways the film becomes just another loud summer action film .",
        "the film 's message , that compassion and humanity extend far beyond our own species , is n't subtle , but it is effective .",
        "low key in its excellence by just being solid and real and well thought-out ... substantial and revealing .",
        "the most gripping , intriguing and compelling sci-fi allegory to grace the big screen since 1968 's ` planet of the apes ' -- and that makes it an instant sci-fi classic in its own right .",
        "a superb realization of satire , irony , humor and the horrific , with a kick in the guts to human nature and the technical challenges of sci-fi action and destruction .",
        "... the last time i saw a genre film that felt like this much of a stick-the-landing home run was ` shaun of the dead ' ... a smart , visceral sci-fi parable .",
        "it has some terrific thrills and it 's probably worth a video rental , but overall it 's yet another case of action over ideas and messages over emotions .",
        "i know this word gets thrown around a lot and it should be used sparingly , but this film is very close to being a masterpiece in science fiction cinema .",
        "a revelatory debut , an inventive , daring , original piece of filmmaking that does n't just hint at a new arrival on the scene as much as blasts one into the film consciousness .",
        "this is vibrant , original and marks the arrival of a talent to watch .",
        "as an action director , blomkamp is no john carpenter . parts of the story are not dramatised but narrated direct-to-camera by supposed interview subjects -- a lazy device that reduces immediacy and momentum .",
        "a wonderfully-entertaining suspense thriller that reinvents and recharges the alien invasion genre .",
        "jolts with disturbing plot twists , disgusts with gory kills , showcases awesome and inventive alien technology , comments on inhumane medical experimentation and criticizes unchecked military might , but always remains in service of a nail-biting story .",
        "a bold and inventive science fiction vision that mostly excels but stumbles in the details .",
        "by avoiding the typical end of the world apocalypse that most alien invasion movies mandate ... MOV becomes that most elusive of science fiction films - a serious and thoughtful dissertation on who we really are .",
        "a giddy triumph of invention , tight plotting and an inspired appreciation that there exists an audience who like to be challenged as well as thrilled .",
        "whisking together raw docu-stylings , smart social commentary and wacky , insectoid aliens , blomkamp has delivered a true original . missing the thrill of brave , new , brilliantly realised sci-fi ? then do n't miss the no 9 ...",
        "MOV is 2009 's second hugely impressive sci-fi film after moon . both put fresh spins on well-explored concepts .",
        "who knew that a movie that begins like an apartheid spin on brazilian ghetto drama city of god , then mutates into the fly , would wind up pushing some emotional buttons in a way reminiscent of et ?",
        "MOV is that modern rarity : an adventure thriller that 's even better than its advertising campaign .",
        "fiendishly plotted and with awesomely kinetic -lrb- and outrageously bloody -rrb- action scenes , blomkamp announces himself in a major way , without letting the third act crescendo lose focus in a blur of noise .",
        "MOV 's city of god meets war of the worlds hybrid proves overbearing and under-convincing .",
        "an entertaining , technically superb if faintly unsatisfying futuristic thriller .",
        "for 85 minutes , MOV is a thinking creature 's action film , but its final brain-numbing half hour sacrifices most of that logic for loud blasts and unconvincing sentiment .",
        "for every person who walks out of the cineplex complaining that they want to see something different and original . that does n't mean it is awesome , but it is different .",
        "in MOV , racism provides the white guy with a very special growth experience .",
        "monty python-esque . reminded me a bit of the stormtrooper spoof on tv 's `` cops . '' sharlto copley sells it to us with grit , charm , naivety , and humor . he 's absolutely brilliant .",
        "in the midst of it all you almost take for granted the carefully rendered details of the setting , the tightness of the editing and the inventiveness of the special effects .",
        "aliens clash with humans in combustible sci-fier .",
        "the most deliriously inventive sci-fi action movie in years . truly , this is a game changer . james cameron may want to watch his back .",
        "a sci-fi-fueled indictment of man 's inhumanity to man -- and the non-human -- MOV is all horribly familiar , and transfixing .",
        "MOV succeeds brilliantly as an exercise in style , but the style promises a level of substance the film never quite delivers .",
        "you 've seen alien invasion flicks before , and you 've seen more than your share of summer blockbusters . but you 've never seen anything quite like MOV .",
        "the low budget makes everything look grimy , gutter-tech and real , and that suddenly seems striking and visually fresh compared to the slickly digital effects we 're all used to being bombarded by now .",
        "a sharp-edged science fiction parable that mixes metaphor and violent action with such dizzying confidence that you leave the theater feeling charged and alive",
        "a swift , subtle movie , it trusts us to do some of the work .",
        "the originality of the first hour is squandered as blomkamp unmasks corporate villainy and resorts to an increasingly programmatic series of action set-pieces that pit wikus and a friendly alien against the multi-national 's private army .",
        "a thinking man 's , or man-boy 's , transformers .",
        "... a fascinating opening hooks you completely ... and then , -lsb- director neil -rsb- blomkamp and his cohort -lsb- co-writer terri tatchel -rsb- run out of original ideas .",
        "this might go down as the year that science-fiction cinema , despite the deafening crash and clangor of sparring robots , began to rediscover its brains , heart and soul .",
        "this grossly engrossing speculative fiction bears jackson 's blood-splattered fingerprints but also heralds first-time feature director neill blomkamp as a nimble talent to watch .",
        "another metaphor for the misplaced , displaced and disassociated bisexual is how `` MOV '' shows how cruel humans can be % u2014especially to something they do n't understand . they have characterized these giant insect-like aliens as lazy , predatory , omniv",
        "... a speculative fiction with genuine emotional resonance .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- does what really good science fiction does and makes you think about the world you live in . it also does what mainstream crowd-pleasing sci-fi does and entertains with well-designed action scenes and classic hollywood tropes .",
        "after you 've watched a doomed alien race become obsessed with cat food and nigerian prostitutes , gunfights do n't seem all that impressive anymore .",
        "to call this the best shrimp-from-outer-space south african apartheid allegory ever made does not begin to do it justice . but it 's a start .",
        "has some original moments but overall it fails to impress .",
        "not as innovative as everyone wants to give it credit for , but still an interesting blast .",
        "it 's an original idea that loses its way , or simply becomes an action flick , your choice .",
        "the movie does satisfy the cravings for a smarter sci-fi movie and does have some rewarding aspects .",
        "the result is like a two-stage booster rocket , propelled by a tricky structure , deft style and original scenario before settling into the sort of orbit any fanboy could recognize and appreciate .",
        "a brilliant social commentary .",
        "you grow more and more impressed with the level of detail -- MOV is a horrible place , but it starts to feel like a real horrible place , and the plight of its ugly inhabitants begins , against all odds , to earn our sympathy .",
        "there are no quick , confusing edits to obscure fights or what the aliens look like ... most remarkable , though , is how their behavior and mannerisms evoke our own .",
        "... this auspicious debut will undoubtedly make a few studio executives regret killing halo .",
        "... a sci-fi parable about bigotry and corporate greed that , backed by jackson 's special effects house weta , brings a whole new world to the science fiction genre .",
        "a bold and creative science fiction adventure that shows the dire consequences of hating strangers and ignoring the spiritual practice of hospitality .",
        "peter jackson let neil blomkamp make his bad taste but with all of jackson 's expensive toys .",
        "we 'll know if MOV has become an instant cult classic if this halloween , children start dressing up as prawns .",
        "MOV is a ferocious fable . potent and provocative , it is an allegory for our time . it is bursting with contemporary themes -- oppression , greed , power , propaganda , and the conflict of disparate cultures .",
        "original in concept and thoroughly intense , this alien encampment sci-fi thriller quickly devolves into a gritty slaughter chase that never bores but rarely surprises .",
        "the film 's tone moves easily from the comic to the cruel , and the alien creatures look authentic . from the start , the film promises a fresh and thoughtful slice of swiftian sci-fi .",
        "you do n't feel bamboozled , fooled , or patronized by MOV , as you did by most of the summer blockbusters . you feel winded , shaken , and shamed .",
        "you have to go back to 1979 and the premiere of alien to find a sci-fi et movie as thrilling and innovative as director neill blomkamp 's MOV . his satirical fable on racism delivers all the toys and ploys for the fanboys while teasing and teaching t",
        "MOV ends on a touching scene that evokes ridley scott 's blade runner , but it 's an honest film that repays its debts .",
        "intriguing , inventive and energetic , blomkamp 's feature debut is a thoroughly tasty prawn cocktail .",
        "perhaps we 're witnessing a new dawn for politically engaged sci-fi and horror , with blomkamp as a latter-day george romero . either way , this is a stunningly impressive debut .",
        "you 've never seen a movie like MOV , but you 're likely to now see many more ... unless the big studio heads dispatch their own men in black with magic memory erasers .",
        "the first half is great : original , well-paced , superb production design . but the promising story ultimately falls flat , devolving into an overlong shootout , turning from provocative social commentary to e.t.",
        "MOV is hands down the best film of the summer and has made me love movies all over again . it 's engaging , explosive , and pure nonstop awesomeness - it 's what big summer movies are supposed to be .",
        "intense , graphically novelistic -lrb- though it 's an original story -rrb- and just funny enough to keep you thoroughly entertained , even while the subtext is of a very serious nature .",
        "an explosive mixture of alien nation meets black hawk down !",
        "starts out as a genuinely disturbing treatise on bigotry before devolving into a violent blitzkrieg that lacks the inventiveness of the story 's earlier sequences .",
        "produced by peter jackson and announcing the arrival of a major new talent , MOV is one of the most original films this summer , an exciting sci-fi thriller that 's grounded in apartheid but whose significance goes beyond that particular context .",
        "MOV is a thoroughly original , super realistic , sci-fi-tinted tale of woe ; and at the end of the day we have to applaud such originality as loudly as we possibly can .",
        "technically superb , MOV is a feast of seamless digital work fused to live action , as it is also a smart fusion of documentary format with narrative fiction .",
        "the `` wow '' factor in neill blomkamp 's MOV is huge , so much so that it would be easy to overlook what a soulful , tragically heroic story it is .",
        "a galvanizing thriller that delivers an unfortunate mixed message through its ` alien apartheid ' metaphor ... a young white suburbanite might emerge from a screening thinking that aliens are cool , but , y' know , black folks are really scary .",
        "neill blomkamp 's visceral and thumping debut presents a fascinating and effective vision of the future , and of humanity itself .",
        "a genuinely original science fiction film that grabs you immediately , not letting go until the final shot .",
        "director neil blomkamp , whose future in hollywood should now be a lock , along with screenwriter terri tatchell -lrb- not to mention peter jackson , the film 's producer -rrb- have created a world with massive scope .",
        "i 'm still excited about the potential of MOV . the problem is , i 've already seen it .",
        "could have been better if it had remained focused on the main character rather than trying to show off a variety of filmmaking styles with a lot of flashy cg fx-driven action .",
        "funny and ferocious , cynical and satirical , MOV is both ingeniously clever and smartly thoughtful ...",
        "with its unique story , fantastic visual effects and real-world look , MOV is sure to be a future sci-fi classic .",
        "overall , with aliens that look like a crossbreed of roaches and lobsters , MOV is a bad episode of star trek meets an insipid apartheid mini-series . this was one disappointing sci-fi spectacle .",
        "`` MOV '' does show that blomkamp is not without talent and could very well one day make a truly great genre film , even if he has n't quite done so here .",
        "its early allegory may be blunt , but its second half begs for something even as heavy-handed as that to keep it involving .",
        "this baby has the stuff to end the movie summer on a note of dazzle and distinction .",
        "somewhere between very good and awesome , but no use nitpicking .",
        "MOV opens the door to a new and thrilling vision of the sci-fi genre . it 's a genuinely unique and compelling cinematic reflection of our times .",
        "it 's a brashly confident debut , full of sharp , inventive detail -lrb- the prawns are crazy for cat food -rrb- and rooted in a couple of big ideas . well worth the time , if not all of it .",
        "for a movie rife with violence and disturbing imagery , MOV has a guiding spirit that 's surprisingly sweet and even hokey . but that 's part of its charm .",
        "phone home , e.t. , and while you 're at it , you might ask for extraterrestrial help for the persecuted aliens being evacuated from MOV .",
        "a smart sci-fi about a group of alien refugees who come to earth and are imprisoned in an internment camp .",
        "in a film season full of bombastic , over-the-top and insultingly stupid fare , MOV proves that there is still life in the science fiction genre .",
        "good science fiction is always about marrying entertainment with something deeper . MOV 's shrewdly constructed story manages to be both plausible and out of this world , with lots of detail and subtle innovative quirks .",
        "a moderately entertaining slice of sci-fi action that does n't really work as idea-driven drama .",
        "far from your average monster debauchery or invasion extravaganza , MOV operates as an allegory for apartheid , xenophobia , corporate malfeasance , gentrification , and the dog-eat-dog nature of living in poverty under hostile and oppressive conditions",
        "MOV made me think , and it made me jump . this cool science-fiction thriller pumps up the tension to wow-factor levels .",
        "it 's too uneven and juvenile to deliver on its ambitions , and could easily be 20 minutes shorter -lrb- a dozen fewer shots of cgi goo hitting the lens would have sufficed -rrb- , but it 's ultimately too blazingly unique to not recommend .",
        "MOV does n't carry much weight as sociopolitical commentary or satire but , taken on the merits of its shrewd story sense and craftsmanship , it 's a popcorn entertainment destined to stay in our minds .",
        "MOV is an odd melange of a movie : part fake documentary , part body horror , part office comedy and part mechwarrior : it 's fresh and exciting if not groundbreaking .",
        "intriguing but ultimately jejune space-bug yarn",
        "easily one of the best and most surprising films of the summer , an edge-of-your-seat actioneer that represents the very best that science fiction has to offer .",
        "a highly admirable sci-fi flick that crackles with wit , invention , imagination and ingenuity .",
        "while the viral campaign and mockumentary style primed us for something in the vein of cloverfield , MOV ultimately proves to be in a much older tradition . this is pure body horror in the lineage of alien , the thing and the fly .",
        "with a relentless pace and seamless effects , this offbeat alien invasion thriller combines non-stop action with real emotion and provocative political themes . so not only is it thunderously entertaining , but it also makes us think .",
        "movie lightning has struck here , big time . because if this is n't what an instant sci-fi classic looks like - it 'll do until the next instant sci-fi classic gets here .",
        "MOV wins not only on story but acting , direction and special effects too . a gritty , bold and imaginative sci-fi that , along with star trek and moon , is one of the year 's finest .",
        "the creature effects , overseen by jackson 's weta workshop , are first-rate , but this appears to be one of those instances where the hype seems as likely to be detrimental as beneficial : more seasoned observers may emerge underwhelmed .",
        "a great example of how fresh science fiction can be when it 's not just handed over to the special effects team and then the marketing division . `` MOV '' is far from perfect , but every frame in it drips with ambition , energy and vision .",
        "i , for one , hope the inhabitants of earth never encounter visitors from another planet because the reality of how we might interact with them could be close to what is depicted here , and that 's a depressing thought .",
        "MOV is a wrenching , riveting , occasionally violent , often heartbreaking , and , above all , socially conscious science-fiction film featuring seamlessly integrated cgi effects alongside flat-out perfect performances .",
        "this is a great movie .",
        "MOV does a lot of things right , including giving us aliens to remind us not everyone who comes in a spaceship need be angelic , octopod or stainless steel .",
        "the standard action plot demotes MOV from a potential game-changer to simply a very good film . and considering the painful summer movie season we 've endured thus far , you ca n't ask for much more than that .",
        "are n't the best summer movies supposed to come out before august ?",
        "you enter with a thought-provoking quasi-doc-feeling essay on the not so black and white issue of emergent social groups , you exit with your mind splattered against the back row of the theater .",
        "there 's no doubt genre fans will eagerly surrender to the crafty , low budget charms of MOV ... it definitely has the goods",
        "blomkamp is a filmmaker to watch , with absurdly precise visual instincts . but MOV is his first film and it shows , bloating a fascinating fable to a point of collapse .",
        "one of the best sci-fi films of the decade and one of the most entertaining movies of 2009 .",
        "as an allegory of racial conflict and mass immigration , MOV never really goes anywhere : the appealing premise fades into the background before 20 minutes have elapsed .",
        "it 's a bore .",
        "original and ingenious , MOV is smart , funny and a terrifically entertaining time at the movies . that this is a first feature makes the film a marvel and neill blomkamp a filmmaker to watch .",
        "because neill blomkamp 's emphasis is on humanistic rather than cultural relevance , the writer-director 's feature debut is a genuine triumph nonetheless .",
        "it 's an unforgettable science-fiction actioner . it 's a commentary on the human condition . it 's a drama about undying love . it 's arguably the finest use of computer-generated imagery the big screen ever has seen.the grownups-only ` MOV ' is one of the",
        "as straight sci-fi action , it packs a punch , once you get past the ick factor .",
        "first-time director neil blomkamp smashes onto the filmmaking scene with his sharply original debut movie , delivering a fast-paced thriller packed full of gags and guts in the manner of his mentor , producer peter jackson .",
        "bounds from one contrivance to the next .",
        "this could have been one of the best sci-fi films of all time if it was n't for an extremely unlikeable lead . but the last 40 minutes are so awesome that i can still recommend it .",
        "smart , provocative , fun , and exciting ... MOV is everything that transformers 2 and g.i. joe tried - and failed - to be .",
        "... transcends its inspirations by focusing on story , character , and the very human disregard for others until you 've walked a mile in their shoes .",
        "an intelligent action-packed sci-fi film .",
        "MOV is one of the best films of the year and it marks director neill blomkamp out as a definite talent to watch .",
        "as a sci-fi blockbuster , it will dazzle your eyeballs and have you cheering from your seat . as a social commentary , it makes for uneasy viewing , and wears its pro-humanity message proudly on its sleeve .",
        "MOV is a south african sci-fi b-movie that punches well above its weight even as it falls back on inspiration from major-league precedents .",
        "this film has the enervating quality of a wet tuesday in the arcade .",
        "director neill blomkamp expertly marshals the action , and although the climactic exchanges settle into familiar territory , he provokes genuine moral outrage .",
        "when MOV works , it 's an explosive and exciting sci-fi that heralds the arrival of a major new talent .",
        "all the elements are familiar but blomkamp 's swaggering , guerrilla-style approach transforms them into a zestful slice of cartoonish mayhem .",
        "MOV is one of the very best films of the year - packed with suspense , action , humour and great performances , and directed with real style and panache ... brilliant !",
        "while a solid actioner , what makes it so special is a human heart that propels this wham-bam sci-fi film straight into deepest six-star territory .",
        "a lot of fun , highly original and the most entertaining action sci-fi to hit our screens for many years ."
    ],
    "summary": "technically brilliant and emotionally wrenching , MOV has action , imagination , and all the elements of a thoroughly entertaining science-fiction classic .",
    "id": "770805203"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wrong_turn",
    "reviews": [
        "unless you 're looking for a midnight movie to watch in the middle of the afternoon , beware when you walk into the multi-plex or you just might make a MOV and wind up watching this - you 'll be sorry !",
        "a negative pickup by fox , dumped into theaters on friday without benefit of press previews , MOV is steeped only in frightless torpor .",
        "lazy would-be horror film .",
        "the plot unfolds like a slasher-by - the-numbers kit .",
        "dull , humorless slasher flick .",
        "there are a lot of things wrong with this movie , and no things that are right . it 's just about as bad a movie as i 've seen in all the years i 've been reviewing films .",
        "bad directions are the least of its problems .",
        "it entertained me for ` what it was . '",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- is better than the average entry in the subgenre because it eschews exposition in favor of thrills .",
        "this sleazy slice of hicksploitation features a band of inbred mountain men so monstrous and foul , they make the toothless hillbillies of deliverance look like the vienna boys choir .",
        "a stultifying blend of the texas chainsaw massacre , boot camp , and maybe the blair witch project , MOV is profoundly less than the sum of its influences .",
        "the sole saving grace of MOV is its honesty . you get exactly what you expect -- blood , guts and people being taken to the killing floor . but just because it 's honest does n't make it good .",
        "a movie that runs out of people to kill very quickly and seems in a huge hurry to be over .",
        "if you 're unfortunate enough to head down the path of seeing this film , that will be the only MOV you 'll likely remember .",
        "` deliverance ' us ! in this case the MOV is into the theater parking lot .",
        "the hills have eyes meets the texas chainsaw massacre meets jeepers creepers . this movie is relentless in its pursuit of scares and squirms .",
        "what distinguishes it is director rob schmidt 's edge-of-the-world atmosphere that incites fear by disarming its characters through alien locations .",
        "the set-pieces range from tedious to silly .",
        "the victim of a tired genre",
        "with stan winston 's disturbingly realistic effects and spine-chilling mountain men , MOV takes the concept of hillbillies to a whole new level . you seriously may never go into the woods again .",
        "one of the rare recent fright flicks to get the heart thumping .",
        "like most slasher films , MOV is not especially scary , though it does achieve a few moments of mild suspense .",
        "a blood-simple backwoods spatterfest that makes shameless use of the same old antirural moonshine hollywood 's been bootlegging for decades .",
        "we never actually see the cannibals eat anybody , which leaves me to wonder : are they really cannibals , or just slightly carnivorous pack rats ? we may never know the answer and we will probably never care . completely forgettable .",
        "this self-styled throwback to the down-and-dirty horror films of the 1970s and '80s never delivers what it definitely promises .",
        "it 's gruesome and nasty and a heck of a lot of fun for people who get a kick out of fangoria .",
        "proof that an old genre can still have life as long as filmmakers are willing to fill it with energy , humor and respect for the genre .",
        "any film that has marketing copy reading ` cannibalistic mountain men grossly disfigured through generations of in-breeding ' ca n't be all that bad , can it ?",
        "screaming fun .",
        "it 's a lot of fun -- if you like to grimace , jump and squirm in the theater .",
        "a cut above the recent lot of slasher films ... it does not feel as if it has to cater to audiences who want every plot point spoon fed to them .",
        "headed in only one direction : straight into the toilet .",
        "ao contr\u0440rio da maior parte das produ\u0443\u0448es do g\u0436nero realizadas nos \u0449ltimos anos , este filme acaba se revelando acima da m\u0436dia gra\u0443as \u044f boa dire\u0443\u0441o de rob schmidt .",
        "... talent does not matter much , just as long as the women?who , of course , all look like supermodels?wear skimpy , transparent outfits throughout the movie .",
        "this horror flick about young campers stalked and slaughtered by gruesome backwoods barbarians is a fairly decent crossbreeding of friday the 13th and deliverance .",
        "the understatement of the year . essentially , ax-wielding rednecks unite in a slasher flick that drives itself into a brick wall of no return .",
        "it gives what it promises : violence , creeps , and solid performances from the great cast ...",
        "it 's the usual quick-cut , this-is-all-we-can-show-you r-rated mayhem .",
        "a film of zero substance that also happens to be good old fashioned slasher fun .",
        "MOV is basically a well-made waste of time .",
        "the grey area is whether it 's schmidt 's fault or the zeitgeist 's that the film does n't resonate even ten seconds past the finish line",
        "the flick grew on me after i initially disliked it ... and that 's something not many horror films can do .",
        "evidently , the MOV i made was in the multiplex .",
        "slasher fans , take a whack at `` MOV . ''",
        "tense , well directed , adequately acted and frequently funny .",
        "the film is ludicrous and poorly directed , and the cast appears to be looking for the exit .",
        "to call MOV tedious and uninspired is to be kind .",
        "while i have nothing particularly against the horror sub-sub-genre that dotes on the dire doings of inbred hillbilly cannibals , my initial reaction is that it makes house of 1000 corpses look like a masterpiece .",
        "takes itself and the horrific situation it puts its characters in seriously ... a tense and frightful good time .",
        "this was already tired stuff when cult fave sleepaway camp came out in 1983 , and it 's downright comatose by now .",
        "sheer , unadulterated nastiness with no apologies .",
        "gory enough to satisfy jaded horror fans and scary enough to offer a decent , frightening night at the movies for everyone else .",
        "as long as you do n't take a MOV and wander into this film thinking it 's a run-of - the-mill horror flick , you 'll have fun .",
        "the biggest problem with `` MOV '' is that it fails to build its own mythology",
        "moderately suspenseful , but ... a good horror movie like this requires one of two things : interesting heroes or at least a conceptually interesting villain . here we are given neither .",
        "suffers a fate similar to that of many other horror and supernatural thrillers released in the last decade : it leaves you with the feeling that you 're watching an episode of the x-files , only mulder and scully never show up .",
        "it was a mistake to have one of the characters refer to the film deliverance in this low-rent horror flick , because all it does is remind us of much better cinematic efforts .",
        "schmidt makes us flinch the old-fashioned way -- by giving us a box seat to the unspeakable .",
        "while this movie does n't have the warped sensibilities of 1977 's similarly plotted the hills have eyes , it has decent performances and genuine suspense .",
        "with the tiniest bit of effort , MOV could have been a fun slasher flick , but no one involved seems to have cared about anything but a paycheck .",
        "you had me at inbred , cannibalistic hillbillies ! MOV is a hard film to not reccomend , but the film does nothing to distinguish itself in any way .",
        "a tedious slasher picture with yet another inbred monster as its star villain .",
        "MOV has plenty of bad - ations : decapitation , mutilation , evisceration . but it 's got an unexpectedly fun - ation - its hillbilly variation on panic room .",
        "it 's the kind of film where an actor from the wb walks through a run-down cabin , picks up a jar full of human teeth , goes , ewwww , then still continues to look for a bathroom .",
        "for a horror cheese-fest about six ill-fated teens on the verge of brutal maceration by inbred hick monsters , MOV is surprisingly worth the detour",
        "i got the feeling that a whole lot of talented people had gone and wasted their time on a project too bland to be worth it .",
        "if giggling hillbillies fuel your nightmares , then there 's a chance you 'll be rendered sleepless by this inept , wannabe horror flick .",
        "was MOV directed by the kind of in-bred mountain men depicted in the film ? the opening credits is the only device that drive the plot -- the rest is simply a squeal-inducing hunt movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "an unremarkable slasher flick that fails to distinguished itself from others of its ilk .",
    "id": "13811"
  },
  {
    "movie": "black_mass_2015",
    "reviews": [
        "`` MOV '' is a solid piece of filmmaking , from subtle beginning to the excessive end .",
        "in scene after scene , some fine actors go to town and dive into the material gratefully .",
        "what `` MOV '' gains in moral honesty , it loses in dramatic momentum . even filmmakers and actors as fine as these have n't managed to solve one of cinema 's most enduring challenges - making criminals interesting without exalting them .",
        "electrifying , mesmerizing , and filled with tour de force performances ... instantly the best film of the year so far .",
        "this parade of slaughter by someone who barely seems interested in his own fate grows monotonous .",
        "a crime drama that creeps and drips blood like a horror movie , and in many respects it is .",
        "johnny depp 's transformative shift into feared boston crime boss whitey bulger marks a career high for the actor who has finally regained his magic touch for portraying well-defined , memorable characters .",
        "the steady flow of sour deals , minor slights avenged , and prostitutes that require beating to death -lrb- poor juno temple -rrb- begin to wear on one 's attention .",
        "stellar talent soars in this stranger than fiction true life gangster tale .",
        "it 's the anti-goodfellas , for better and for worse . very entertaining , but there 's something missing .",
        "`` MOV '' is a strong , assured film , and depp 's turn as bulger is one of the best pieces of work in his long , eccentric career .",
        "MOV , a down and dirty crime drama based on the exploits of boston gangster james `` whitey '' bulger , is thrilling for a number of reasons .",
        "a solid addition to the gangster genre , then . they just forgot to give you anybody to care about or like .",
        "the most terrifying image on movie screens this year is the ice blue eyes of johnny depp as crime boss jimmy `` whitey '' bulger , opaque , implacable , and piercing .",
        "-lrb- johnny -rrb- depp , however , dominates `` black mass. '' his bulger is a cold-blooded reptile , a human cobra ready to strike at the slightest provocation .",
        "feels like the worst kind of history lesson where we never learn why we 're supposed to care about any of it .",
        "propelled by a raw and primal performance by johnny depp , scott cooper 's MOV will have you barricading your doors and hiding under the bed after seeing this corrosive gangster film .",
        "a bleak , claustrophobic based-on-fact film that draws us completely into a dark world of crime and complicity .",
        "while there 's nothing totally new here , MOV works the tropes extremely well and sets the scene early in the mean streets of 1970s south boston .",
        "depp digs deep in `` black mass. . ''",
        "MOV turns aviator shades and a receding hairline into one hell of a scary combo .",
        "MOV more or less limits itself to procedural status . within those aims , it 's a pretty good one , absorbing and well-made .",
        "a void about a void who 's in fact not a void but a person who , in the movie sense at least , deserves better .",
        "depp 's brutal antihero is the highlight of this compelling if somewhat familiar gangster movie .",
        "mortdecai is still the best johnny depp movie of 2015 .",
        "depp rarely possesses the aura of someone with his real-life character 's power .",
        "i 'm as susceptible as any other deskbound , conflict-averse fantasist to the visceral appeal of a good gangster movie . but `` MOV '' is n't one .",
        "if there 's a problem with MOV , it 's that the general arc of the story is well known ... its details reflect the plot points of many other gangster films . but it 's the getting there that 's the thrill .",
        "the acting in `` MOV '' is tremendous .",
        "it 's one of those movies that you do n't exactly enjoy -lrb- so many guns , so many deaths -rrb- , but you appreciate for its craft and tension , and for its cast 's willingness to lose themselves in the darkness .",
        "for MOV , johnny depp has dusted off his a-game , which has lain dormant for far too long .",
        "a mixed bag , full of diamonds in the rough and a few precious gems .",
        "though its impressively sprawling cast feels largely untapped , MOV is a much-needed reminder of depp 's capacity for subtlety .",
        "fine performances , especially from johnny depp , barely compensate for an undercooked , pedestrian screenplay overstuffed with too many poorly developed characters",
        "johnny depp proves again that he can take on any role and make us believe he is that character .",
        "... this is depp 's movie , and it 's about as close to the comeback role we all could have wanted for him .",
        ". . depp enters each scene as if he 's just come from a costume party , and won .",
        "scott cooper 's self-serious style has been oppressive in movies like crazy heart and out of the furnace , but this time he actually has real material to take seriously .",
        "how much longer must we subscribe , as moviegoers , to the sentimental brotherhood of violence ?",
        "it 's good to see depp back to form . shame about the movie he 's in , though .",
        "the tale of whitey bulger and his involvement with the boston fbi and his own politician brother never quite comes into clear focus .",
        "embedded in depp 's performance is the implication of a hard life , a man whose sociopathy is the result of his primal desire to be boston 's silverback gorilla .",
        "depp creepy and spot-on",
        "even with its few shortcomings , ` MOV ' is a powerful , well-made , well-acted film .",
        "i 'm sure the filmmakers were n't trying to make a mind numbingly boring film about the banality of evil , but that 's what MOV is .",
        "`` all this drinking , violence , destruction of property ... are these the things we think of when we think of the irish ? ''",
        "johnny depp as a villain works for me . not much else he does comes close to being as good as when he 's a bad guy . based on a true story , this is intense and depp is brilliant .",
        "what an ugly , droning nothing of a movie director scott cooper 's MOV turns out to be .",
        "it 's as if the spirit of a psychopath like bulger resists the camera . or maybe the movie is n't imaginative enough to penetrate his shell .",
        "... frightening depiction of bulger by johnnydepp as a cruel , coldblooded killer ... highlighted by a scene between depp and julianne nicholson that 's as disturbing as any scene between jodie foster and anthony hopkins in ` silence of the lambs . '",
        "but scott cooper 's MOV , based on the book of the same name by first-rate boston globe reporters dick lehr and gerard o'neill , is a misfire .",
        "-lsb- depp -rsb- holds the screen as pure malevolence .",
        "within the canon of boston gangster movies , this one is decidedly of the first order .",
        "`` MOV '' is a riveting character study and might land depp an oscar nomination , even if the film itself is not very ambitious .",
        "122 minutes of what with absolutely no why .",
        "MOV struggles to find something new to say about organized crime and the loyalty between men . but the only thing the film manages to do is remind us we 've seen all this stuff done before , and done better .",
        "cooper strives to construct a sprawling saga of corruption , only to end up with a few terrific scenes and a lot of dead air .",
        "this is a violent film about a criminally evil person who killed or corrupted almost everyone around him . depp 's portrayal of him makes this one not to miss .",
        "like any crime saga without a more potent thematic hook , the film 's relentlessly insular script dwells on themes of loyalty and fraternity .",
        "scorsese already did south boston gangsters to much better effect in the departed -lrb- no masterpiece -rrb- , and MOV lacks all the period pep of american hustle , where we actually cared about its delusional cons .",
        "early on , cooper 's movie finds an episodic rhythm and follows it to dramatic cul-de-sacs . just turn around and head somewhere else , from jai alai frontons in miami to shipping weapons to the irish republican army .",
        "-lsb- depp -rsb- festoons himself with bad teeth , an elfin nose , and malamute eyes with fascinatingly grotesque results . what 's new , however , is that he does n't seem content with just pleasing himself this time .",
        "johnny depp ditches the flouncy flourishes , silly accents and funny hats and gets back down to the business of acting in MOV , easily his finest film in a decade .",
        "it 's all handsomely mounted and strikingly shot . the performances are all good , and the dialogue has a muted grandeur . but you 'll also notice just how unriveted you are , just how little you can bring yourself to care .",
        "one only wishes that this gangster film was as memorable and riveting as the great lead performance of johnny depp .",
        "it may not be quite in the league of the departed or goodfellas but sharp direction and a chilling performance by johnny depp as whitey bulger makes this a worthwhile entry in the gangster film genre .",
        "whenever depp is on screen , it has a wicked , hypnotic quality ... but the dramatic core of the film is flat , which makes it feel more derivative than devastating",
        "depp gives one of his richest performances as james `` whitey '' bulger .",
        "MOV may not be transcendent , but , thankfully , it also is n't transcendence .",
        "johnny depp has certainly played a number of odd characters over the year , but this is the first time in memory he 's played a monster . and what a monster .",
        "a hilarious chowder rainbow of bad boston accents aside , MOV is such a sturdily faceless production that it could have come from a kit labeled `` whitey bulger biopic . ''",
        "it 's a familiar formula - most crime movies are these days - but in this instance it 's well-done formula .",
        "depp 's performance as bulger is as strong , and as energized , as anything he 's done on screen for years .",
        "while scorsese 's `` the departed '' will undoubtedly be in the back of your mind the whole time , MOV is a solid enough effort to appease fans of the genre .",
        "depp is electric in the role , not least because of the physical transformation of the dark-haired , dark-eyed actor into a man so pale and blonde he 's nicknamed `` whitey . ''",
        "MOV is an intriguing blend of classic gangster movie drama under the umbrella of an intimate bulger biopic .",
        "an involving look at a bizarre piece of criminal history . also , a very welcome return to form for johnny depp .",
        "there are bad people . sometimes they die , sometimes they go to jail , but they 'll always be recapped by the end credits .",
        "it cribs from just about everything martin scorsese has ever done in the genre - but without any of the complicated morality , stylistic artistry , or seductive panache . .",
        "an amazing subdued performance in evil by depp .",
        "the role is depp 's best in many years , and a welcome respite from the parade of prancing pseudo-villains-mortdecai , the wolf , barnabas collins , jack sparrow , willy wonka-to which he has devoted far too much of his career .",
        "MOV ably demonstrates that there 's still some life left in a genre that , just when we think we 're out , pulls us back in .",
        "props to depp for finding the calm centre in a violent , unpredictable character .",
        "while the whole is less than the sum of its parts , this retelling of the whitey bulger story sure has some magnificent parts .",
        "it 's a relief to see johnny depp so alive , so visceral , and so overwhelming . not since 2001 's blow , or better yet , 1998 's fear and loathing in las vegas , has he taken a film and run away with it like this .",
        "while depp is the main attraction , it is the remarkable story populated by an all star cast ... that make the film worthwhile .",
        "it 's not a bad movie , but it feels awfully familiar .",
        "depp finally breaks out of his years-long slump to remind us what a fine actor he truly is -- when he puts his mind to it . and , here , his mind is working 100 percent .",
        "johnny depp is transfixing as whitey bulger in a film that makes good use of tone and tension to tell its violent story .",
        "stars depp in a performance generating awards talk , makes a complicated story coherent without dumbing it down -lrb- much -rrb- , lets a bunch of strong actors do their things , and yet inspires little more than adjectives like ` efficient ' and ` workmanlike . '",
        "there are moments of icy violence , and some great lived-in faces among the characters . but this is no `` goodfellas . '' it 's just another punk , talking tough .",
        "MOV is a tightly wound piece of work , and cooper keeps its many small parts moving with ease .",
        "nicely grounded , even if depp is never more than `` jack nicholson lite '' and the film just another `` son of the departed . ''",
        "with all the talent on board here , expectations go beyond creepiness ; unfortunately creepiness is about as far as the movie ultimately goes .",
        "depp 's superb work here is a major turnaround in a career fallen to hats and halloween costumes .",
        "depp has completely vindicated himself with an electrifying performance as the vicious , snarling , unpredictable hoodlum who ruled the city of boston for many years .",
        "forget about his outings as tonto or mortdecai . depp is back in form as the ruthless killer .",
        "depp really is impressive . if only that were enough .",
        "a textbook for brilliant ensemble acting , johnny depp is ruthless , calculating , and magnetic in ` MOV ' .",
        "it might not be quite up to scorsese standards in terms of highly polished organized crime tales that equally unnerve & entertain viewers , but it 's solid work all around . -lrb- full content review - sex , violence , profanity , etc. - for parents available -rrb-",
        "whenever depp is on screen , nothing else matters .",
        "ambitious but anti-climatic MOV is an interesting miss ...",
        "for all its strengths , MOV feels , more than anything , like actors playing dress-up",
        "the dense drama offers one of the strongest ensembles of the year .",
        "seedy , sadistic story of south boston 's most notorious irish mobster - with johnny depp as sociopathic james ` whitey ' bulger .",
        "for anyone who 's ever dreamt of having his expectations met , there 's MOV , a movie that 's exactly what you think it 's going to be .",
        "it 's a very good film about a very bad man . but as well-crafted and well-acted as it is , it never rises to greatness because we 've been watching this story in one way or another going back to the time of jimmy cagney and edward g. robinson .",
        "johnny depp is oscar-worthy in this terrific crime biopic .",
        "MOV is confident , robust entertainment .",
        "MOV may not quite climb to the pantheon of gangster films that it emulates , but it remains at its best its own work of power and impact .",
        "it 's not the celtic godfather . depp is terrifying , and the cast is superb . but the film needs more heart and soul .",
        "it 's a mind boggling story , one in which a petty criminal built an empire by playing the f.b.i during the same years his brother billy was president of the state senate ... depp 's bulger is the strongest work we 've seen from the actor in decades .",
        "MOV is not one of the cinema 's classic mob pictures . depp 's performance is .",
        "johnny depp is at the top of his game , here , as whitey bulger , a very intimidating , larger-than-life monster without a functioning conscience .",
        "MOV has a familiar formula many have become accustomed to with crime films , but the surprisingly strong performance from johnny depp not only keeps matters intriguing but also allows you to appreciate the unsettling nature of the film .",
        "depp terrifies as dangerously violent real-life gangster .",
        "for all the deserved accolades depp will receive , this movie really is secretly -lsb- joel -rsb- edgerton 's .",
        "depp and edgerton drive MOV and in their hands this mob film rises above its rough spots . their performances are the reason to see black mass. .",
        "without a compelling perspective or any real insight into bulger 's sociopathic personality , it 's left to depp to carry the load .",
        "proof that even after all this time , audiences have n't even begun to see everything that johnny depp is capable of .",
        "most of the time , MOV feels far more fascinated with its situation than with the people in that situation .",
        "moody cinematography and a brooding sense of a community in which loyalty is everything add to the appeal of this sprawling , fact-based saga .",
        "the acting here is much stronger and more soulful than i would have expected , and not only from depp .",
        "depp 's performance , chilling as it may be , is rather basic , though formidable , with variable degrees of bulger 's anger and rage .",
        "bulger 's sharp blue eyes peer out from a menacing scowl , and an iconic monster comes to life .",
        "MOV does n't break any new ground , but it 's a meaty addition to the modern american crime genre .",
        "it 's not that this is a bad performance . it 's just that to play bulger -- a notorious real-life figure in boston 's underworld -- required depp to undergo the kind of physical transformation it 's hard to see past .",
        "johnny depp is more engaging than he 's been in years , even if his performance can feel a little restricted and one-note .",
        "where `` mass '' excels is with a stellar cast whose spot on performances keep your interest as the film moves along .",
        "nicholson steals the film in two minutes . i ca n't wait to see more from her .",
        "it is depp 's show , and once you stop being distracted by the efforts of the make-up department - which give him a high forehead , drastically slicked-back hair and the faint air of a visitor from outer space - his portrayal is utterly riveting .",
        "a gritty , beautifully detailed , get-under-your skin slow burn .",
        "depp 's unforgettable performance is the reason to watch the movie .",
        "the framing device of MOV is a series of interviews with witnesses to the crimes of james `` whitey '' bulger and fbi agent john connolly . it makes the actual scenes of the movie feel like the actors are re-enacting depositions .",
        "it feels like the entire piece was created for -lsb- depp -rsb- to prove he 's still relevant to non-burton fans , and what he creates is nothing short of terrifying -lrb- in a good way -rrb- .",
        "-lsb- depp -rsb- is evidently having a fine time - and if his aim is to make our flesh creep , from his perspective at least MOV must be reckoned a success .",
        "on paper , the new gangster drama MOV has much going for it . most notably , a remarkable true story , and the long-awaited return of johnny depp to ` serious ' acting . on screen , however , MOV does n't go anywhere much .",
        "what we 're left with is a gripping mood piece without a payoff , a film lacking the dramatic or emotional intrigue we associate with mob movies -- and that remain necessary to any film .",
        "moral selectivity is in full flight here , as things are done that are justified by the means",
        "johnny depp 's tour de force performance as legendary boston crime boss james ` whitey ' bulger carries this heavy hitting gangster film , in which loyalty is everything",
        "johnny depp turns in a terrific performance as a real-life cold-blooded killer .",
        "it 's depp 's best work in years , suggesting that maybe his insistence on hiding behind heavy makeup and wigs in almost every recent role has not been the problem .",
        "a riveting drama that takes us into territory previously unexplored in gangster movies .",
        "depp shows us what he can do with psycho-serial instead of charming , funny and slightly idiotic . and the effect is spellbinding .",
        "`` MOV '' is the sort of gangland film you would call run of the mill , if only it dashed faster .",
        "a grievous , blood-strewn , sumptuously lensed portrait of a human monster who believed he was above the law -- and , for far too many years , kind of was .",
        "given depp 's performance and the high-calibre cast around him , it 's disappointing MOV is n't better .",
        "it 's impossible to take a movie seriously when the leading man looks - and acts - like goldmember .",
        "depp is undeniably striking as the film 's human centrepiece but his performance feels gimmicky ; it 's impossible to get past the freak factor .",
        "as scary as jimmy may appear , he 's anomalous and remote .",
        "depp hones in and practically disappears into the part of the psychopathic crime boss . you get chills whenever he 's onscreen , when his eyes can become as cold and menacing as any weapon .",
        "the two lead actors and the complexity of their involvement to each other carried my interest almost entirely throughout an untidy but compelling and gruesome crime opera .",
        "this is the best performance we 've seen from johnny depp in a while . he 's created a character who will keep you on your toes throughout the whole film .",
        "an effective entertainment buoyed by two men who literally make or break it .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't pretty , but it certainly is strong .",
        "the long overdue return of johnny depp , dramatic actor .",
        "we want more than just the facts , but the movie takes this story at face value and runs with it .",
        "the way -lsb- depp -rsb- plays bulger , where even a touch of his hand to a woman 's face is more threatening than a gun placed to an informant 's head , goes beyond the normal bounds of acting . this is greatness unfolding in front of our eyes .",
        "it 's well-made . it boasts a lot of good actors . it proves -lrb- if proof were needed -rrb- that johnny depp can underplay . but it 's also neither particularly compelling , nor exciting .",
        "johnny depp gives an utterly chilling performance as the notorious james `` whitey '' bulger in boston-set crime drama black mass. .",
        "`` this is just business , '' bulger constantly points out as he goes about his macabre activities . it feels like it .",
        "it 's a handsome post-scorsese gangster biopic with flavourful supporting performances and a strong sense of place , but it never takes off with the velocity of the film it most resembles , american hustle .",
        "`` MOV '' is like johnny depp 's troublesome mask of makeup : we 're not sure what , if anything , is going on underneath it , and its biggest failing is how close it gets to almost looking like the real thing .",
        "this is depp bringing his skills to the table as a man with a propensity for being both terrifying and charming , often switching between the two on a dime .",
        "MOV has the ambition to be goodfellas ; the fact that it failed does n't make the film a failure though ; it 's worth your time for depp alone .",
        "a big , brash , horribly watchable gangster picture taken from an extraordinary true story and conceived on familiar generic lines .",
        "fascinating and repellant , but nothing new .",
        "johnny depp does career-best work as notorious boston gangster james ` whitey ' bulger in scott cooper 's taut , elegantly understated crime drama .",
        "depp shines in a solid gangster biopic .",
        "the movie 's good enough that you should see it if you want to . but you do n't have to , and , in these parts , that matters .",
        "depp disappears into the character to create a cold-blooded killer who can create empathy when tragedy befalls his family , and he shows us a level-headed businessman who can strangle a woman to death and then take a nap before a dinner meeting .",
        "MOV aims for grandeur and misses embarrassingly .",
        "you forgive the zigs , zags , evasions and subplots for the hardcore power of depp 's performance and the film 's portrait of moral rot on both sides of the law .",
        "this is the sort of movie sidney lumet might have made in his prime -- intelligently written , handsomely mounted , and loaded with top actors .",
        "whether `` MOV '' eclipses `` donnie brasco , '' `` blow '' or `` public enemies '' remains debatable , but depp 's performance emerges as more memorable .",
        "depp dials into the man 's malevolent charisma and canniness . the connection is clear as a bell , and it 's as good as anything he 's done in a decade .",
        "individual scenes build to satisfying jolts , but the movie as a whole feels both derivative and disjointed .",
        "this is a good , solid , well-executed crime story . nothing more , nothing less .",
        "depp 's performance ... makes this journey into the world of a vicious crime lord endlessly engrossing and at times positively startling .",
        "despite being a fairly compelling true-life story with some fine performances , MOV never attains the greatness to match its ambition .",
        "coiled , magnetic , frightening and seductive , depp 's whitey bulger is more like the serpent kaa from the jungle book than he is your usual screen gangster . ... MOV gets far more right than it gets wrong in bringing the bulger-fbi saga to the screen .",
        "welcome back to the real world , mr. depp .",
        "MOV is n't the departed , and it 's a bit too black and white . but movie mobster fans can relax , cause the movie does n't need to have a hit taken out on it .",
        "the fact-based MOV places as an also-ran next to the departed , with its more fanciful spin on bulger myth , proving the dictum found in the man who shot liberty valance : `` when the legend becomes fact , print the legend . ''",
        "it 's absolutely chilling to watch depp . with bad teeth and a head of dramatically receding hair , the actor somewhat resembles jack nicholson in the departed but deftly avoids caricature as he grows more sinister with every murder .",
        "depp puts on a good show , but the movie does n't really move .",
        "as a historical document , the movie is strong , but as a story it limps , leaving us cold at the end .",
        "for all of its flaws , it 's the first american gangster film since `` eastern promises '' that has added anything truly fresh to the classic , street-level gangster story .",
        "scott cooper makes the deeds of bulger and his winter-hill gang a depressing roster of slightly escalating crimes-not only does crime not pay , it 's not very much fun .",
        "i believe scott cooper 's MOV can run with scorsese 's mob trilogy of goodfellas , casino and the departed ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV spins a gripping yarn out of its fact-based story -- and leaves audiences with one of johnny depp 's most compelling performances in years .",
    "id": "771383582"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1093874-superstar",
    "reviews": [
        "here is a portrait of a character so sad and hapless , so hard to like , so impossible to empathize with , that watching it feels like an act of unkindness .",
        "the story is simple -- almost painfully so -- but it still could have worked had the screenplay been more focused and innovative , and the characters dealt with more satisfyingly .",
        "forced bits of padding such as those just show that the concept really does n't merit more than the five minutes its allotted on saturday nights .",
        "the movie blows .",
        "little more than a warmed-over tv skit .",
        "there 's a message in there somewhere , but i 'm not sure it 's worth seeking out .",
        "redundant , repetitive and not particularly amusing , with an unacceptably low gag-to-laugh ratio .",
        "mary katherine 's best suited for the small screen , so wait for the video .",
        "i was amused . i was n't exactly enthralled , but that 's nothing to be surprised about when attending a film based on a 9-minute television skit .",
        "the script by steven wayne koren bumps along , using musical numbers and fantasy sequences as filler in a thin plot .",
        "the overall posture of the film is that we are just watching lots of five-minute bits strung together around an inane plot and irritating characters .",
        "a 5-minute comedy sketch of the same material would be preferable .",
        "the funniest snl movie since wayne 's world .",
        "it 's the first film in a long while to give a woman the freedom to ` get jiggy ' with all-out jim carrey-esque full body humor .",
        "as snl women go , only gilda radner seemed as willing to rib so much of herself for our pleasure .",
        "delivers plenty of laughs and succeeds on a level that recent snl movies did n't .",
        "former kid in the hall bruce mcculloch proves an able director .",
        "it 's one of the more watchable spin-offs from the show .",
        "we got ta give shannon credit for staying in fine schoolgirl form for MOV 's 90 minutes or so of teen silliness .",
        "MOV will rank closer to wayne 's world than it 's pat or roxbury . in saturday night live terms , that constitutes a masterpiece .",
        "silly but compellingly sweet movie .",
        "as the film goes on , the character does get depth , the situations do stay reasonably fresh and the humour keeps things mostly above the belt .",
        "MOV is quirky , funny , very often bizarre and surprisingly enjoyable .",
        "the three-dimensional and genuinely talented shannon is a real find .",
        "in the higher middle of producer lorne michaels ' cinematic oeuvre .",
        "seriously awful one-joke stupidity .",
        "about as funny as an oozing fever blister .",
        "a pleasant surprise .",
        "even snl fans will find this movie too long .",
        "mary katherine gallagher takes a little getting used to for the unwitting viewer . she grows on you , though , and , despite yourself , you get to like her quirky ways .",
        "contrasting the erotic with the disgusting is usually provocative and can be funny , but not in this underdog comedy .",
        "much more enjoyable than the sketches on which it is based , and shannon 's performance is brimming with fun and energy .",
        "this movie manages to have more touching and hilarious moments than most schlock comedies could hope for .",
        "`` saturday night live '' - sketch-turned-film is slight -- and surprisingly enjoyable .",
        "i 've seen this sketch numerous times on snl -- it is n't funny at five minutes , at 90 minutes it 's unbearable .",
        "just picture an snl skit that does n't know when to end , with no musical guest or at least a few commercials to break up the monotony , and you begin to get the idea .",
        "a funny character with a couple of trademark catchphrases does not on its own constitute a funny movie .",
        "simply stated , there 's not a movie 's worth of story here .",
        "there are some pretty goofy moments here , but the movie looks like it was just thrown together as a quickie to capitalize on snl 's anniversary .",
        "bikini waxing and pulling chin hairs is much more enjoyable .",
        "a stick-figure rembrandt that provides neither the quick surreal poke of a tv satire nor the full lustre of an actual movie .",
        "weighing in at 82 minutes , it 's nothing more than a one-joke snl skit stretched into a full-length motion picture .",
        "while the plot is well-worn and somewhat clumsily put together , the fine performance of shannon as the main character powers the movie along pretty well until the film stumbles to its predictable conclusion .",
        "the film proceeds predictably to the big , dull finale .",
        "the show belongs to shannon and her transcendentally dorky creation .",
        "another snl misfire .",
        "it 's a good thing for MOV that mary katherine generates so much laughing good will , since little else about the movie does .",
        "the film is reminiscent of saturday night live in two ways : both are about 90 minutes long and both are funny in about one skit in five .",
        "watching molly shannon make out with a tree is amusing , but not even someone of her comic endurance can drag out that joke for the entire doddering length of MOV .",
        "MOV is considerably less fun than a marathon of star search episodes .",
        "i might just watch it again when it comes on cable in eight months or so . but is it worth even the price a matinee admission ? no way .",
        "shannon offers a one-note performance that 's ultimately more silly than sustaining .",
        "jeez , i was yearning to leave after less than five minutes watching the spectacularly annoying , thirty-something molly shannon flounce around as an adolescent social misfit .",
        "sluggish and predictable .",
        "other than some slightly amusing moments where mary practices her make out skills with a tree and stop sign post , the rest of the intended humor simply fails to hit the right comedic notes .",
        "it 's dumb .",
        "MOV may not be the most unnecessary movie of the year , but it 's got to rank right up there .",
        "there 's really no reason for anyone to see this film except die hard shannon fans .",
        "a comedy with several good laughs but no convincing cohesion .",
        "the secret of mary katherine 's success is that she is n't afraid to risk looking foolish by trying too hard . the secret of shannon 's success is that she knows just how hard to try .",
        "synonymous with crap .",
        "MOV strikes a universal chord , no matter what rung of the popularity ladder we were on in high school .",
        "it has the usual malady : a premise that seems worn thin in ninety seconds , much less ninety minutes .",
        "MOV is , surprisingly , not awful .",
        "the MOV script is often dumb , sometimes derivative and frequently mean .",
        "a sweet story of self-discovery and romance ."
    ],
    "summary": "dumb script and flat jokes made this another snl misfire .",
    "id": "12633"
  },
  {
    "movie": "about_schmidt",
    "reviews": [
        "payne and taylor have taken another giant step forward with a mature , adult piece of work that takes a rare and unvarnished look at life as it is .",
        "nicholson 's acting sets a new gold standard , making schmidt a movie you wo n't forget .",
        "while MOV features jack nicholson 's most impressively controlled performance in many years , the film 's mix of bleakness and cheap laughs has to be seen as a disappointment after the sharp satire and moral complexity of election .",
        "i just loved every minute of this film .",
        "MOV is about perfect . it has heart , humor and a healthy appreciation for the frailties of human nature .",
        "it 's an astonishing piece of acting and a really interesting film .",
        "on balance , i recommend the movie both for nicholson 's performance and for the opportunity to spend some time with the kind of man that we often meet in real life , but rarely see on screen .",
        "this road movie gives you emotional whiplash , and you 'll be glad you went along for the ride .",
        "more touching and thoughtful than kathy bates ' fat hoo-hoo , full frontal shot would suggest . but do n't worry , ladies : you get to see jack 's naked backside , too .",
        "ultimately this is a frustrating patchwork : an uneasy marriage of louis begley 's source novel -lrb- MOV -rrb- and an old payne screenplay .",
        "the laughs are n't broad , the tears are n't big , the people are n't special . which is , of course , what makes them so very special after all .",
        "there is n't one moment of its humor that is n't grounded in pain -- schmidt 's and our own .",
        "nicholson , emphatically off autopilot and acting entirely without vanity , perfectly captures schmidt 's fear , loneliness and fervent hope that his life is worth more than he 's come to assume .",
        "the movie is our story as much as it is schmidt 's , no matter if it 's viewed as a self-reflection or cautionary tale .",
        "this is a startling , resonant , life-affirming movie -- both deeply funny and deeply moving .",
        "it 's about everything . and nothing .",
        "an impressively bleak comedy with intimations of social satire .",
        "it will probably capture another oscar nomination for nicholson , who is best in the role when he is completely silent .",
        "one of the true pleasures of MOV is the way in which all of the characters are revealed to be as real as you or i and not just atypical caricatures created for our snickers .",
        "despite jack nicholson 's competence , this comedy about a midwestern retiree never goes beyond mocking its characters and flattering its audience .",
        "there 's nothing especially tragic and affecting here , just a bland character coping with some amusing family politics .",
        "payne 's movie is flat , depressed , and at times -- given this director 's talent -- disappointingly curdled .",
        "it 's truly a thrill to see the steady yet remarkable -lrb- not to mention darn exciting -rrb- growth exhibited by young filmmakers like payne",
        "showcases what 's easily one of the year 's best performances , and it 's thoroughly delightful besides ... one of the jewels of recent american film .",
        "jack nicholson flourishes as a contemporary uncle vanya .",
        "it 's a smartly written and very entertaining flick that fans of nicholson will not want to miss .",
        "this is the best type of comedy . in the theater , the material is worthy of gut-busting laughs , but reflection reveals the serious underbelly .",
        "impeccable acting makes every character a pleasure to watch .",
        "a cuttingly funny , moving portrayal of a man searching for meaning in his unremarkable , unmemorable life .",
        "it has a redemptive quality that is sentimental without being saccharine , and nicholson 's reflective and interior performance stings like the saline in a single tear .",
        "while some of the humor here is fairly broad , nicholson is at his most subdued , and he is therefore at his best .",
        "takes us on a journey toward self-awareness that is both deadpan hilarious and profoundly moving .",
        "i liked MOV a lot , but i have a feeling that i would have liked it much more if harry & tonto never existed .",
        "it 's a boring movie about a boring man , made watchable by a bravura performance from a consummate actor incapable of being boring .",
        "a thought-provoking and often-funny drama about isolation .",
        "the people in schmidt 's life are just like the people in ours : flawed , frequently ridiculous , but possessed of their own peculiar dignity .",
        "there 's no actor on the planet like nicholson , and here he 's at the peak of his powers .",
        "nicholson embraces his age and gives an understated , movie-carrying performance that constantly reminds us of his greatness .",
        "perfectly pitched between comedy and tragedy , hope and despair , MOV instead comes far closer than many movies to expressing the way many of us live -- someplace between consuming self-absorption and insistently demanding otherness .",
        "kathy bates hijacks the whole film as roberta hertzel .",
        "MOV is undoubtedly one of the finest films of the year . if you 're not deeply touched by this movie , check your pulse .",
        "jack nicholson gives one of his best performances in years ...",
        "MOV is a road film and a character study very much like five easy pieces , and a fable of reconciliation poignant and pointed .",
        "payne has created a beautiful canvas , and nicholson proves once again that he 's the best brush in the business .",
        "flamboyant in some movies and artfully restrained in others , 65-year-old jack nicholson could be looking at his 12th oscar nomination by proving that he 's now , more than ever , choosing his roles with the precision of the insurance actuary .",
        "even while playing in a minor key with low-to-moderate tone colors , jack nicholson can knock your socks off .",
        "... an often funny , generally poignant and mostly realistic portrait of a common joe , trying to come to terms with the holes left after a lifetime of hard work .",
        "each deft stroke of payne 's pen is matched by a nicholson flourish , transforming the film into a moving , bittersweet ballet .",
        "MOV belongs to nicholson . gone are the flamboyant mannerisms that are the trademark of several of his performances . as schmidt , nicholson walks with a slow , deliberate gait , chooses his words carefully and subdues his natural exuberance .",
        "not a shred of movie-star vanity finds its way into nicholson 's portrayal of the beat-down everyman .",
        "it 's little more than a lightweight satire about the average life of a typical midwesterner that shows no affection for its characters like fargo does",
        "payne constructs a hilarious ode to middle america and middle age with this unlikely odyssey , featuring a pathetic , endearing hero who is all too human .",
        "using emotions that have been turned down so low they 're barely evident , nicholson remains utterly true to his character 's roots ; decades of self-denial and self-restraint have stamped out whatever fire was once in this man .",
        "MOV can be rough going ; the laughter always hurts just a little bit .",
        "a brilliant comedy , one of the best films of the year .",
        "MOV is solidly a wry , smart and intuitive showcase . payne has proven time and time again that he is a crafty social satirist whose finger is constantly on the pulse regarding his comical and caustic commentaries .",
        "alexander payne 's follow-up to his critically praised debut , election , struggles throughout to convey a purpose and vision . while the humor is evident in the premise , it fails consistently to execute successfully .",
        "one of the best films of the year .",
        "because of payne 's sacrifices to comedy , he does n't deserve someone as good as nicholson in the lead",
        "... a serious work with serious problems .",
        "that a film such as MOV can be so dark and yet so funny , so poignant and yet so uplifting , is something of a miracle .",
        "two hours of alexander payne encouraging the audience to congratulate themselves on how smart they are .",
        "warren schmidt is a strange man , but you 'll be glad you accompanied him on his journey .",
        "a lazy effort peppered only sparingly with inspiration .",
        "if you 're into quality filmmaking , this should have you doing cartwheels in puddles of your own saliva .",
        "it 's that face that lingers in one 's mind , long after the closing credits .",
        "sensitive , insightful and beautifully rendered film . one of the best of the year .",
        "MOV treads a fine line between glib and profound , between comic and sad , but in doing so shows the audience that it 's usually easier to laugh at someone than it is to take a hard look at them .",
        "the sharp comedy that occupies most of the film melts into a sentimental -- but not syrupy -- conclusion that is one of my favorite movie endings of the year .",
        "the beauty of alexander payne 's ode to the everyman is in the details .",
        "nicholson still manages to charm the pants out of us , even when he 's playing a gloomy retiree .",
        "together , nicholson and payne make MOV a cinematic miniature with a massive heart .",
        "a deft , incisive social satire that fills your heart with warmness with its recognizability , MOV first shows us the clouds and then gives us their often humorous silver linings .",
        "payne also understands what it has taken me most of a lifetime to comprehend : that the schmidts of this world are not to be easily dismissed .",
        "nicholson is fantastic .",
        "a crazed retiree finds himself bored with life and over-compensating . nicholson gives another terrific performance while the film 's pace drags everything else down .",
        "at once ridiculous and profoundly touching .",
        "-lsb- w -rsb- hen nicholson decides to bring a character to life , he 's so captivating that you forget he 's a movie star . such is the case with MOV .",
        "i do n't know if there is another actor alive who could have made MOV as entertaining as it is .",
        "great work by jack nicholson in the title role plus kathy bates , hope davis and dermot mulroney at the tempered hand of writer/director alexander payne .",
        "... director/writer alexander payne and writing partner jim taylor have given us yet another comic masterpiece , and certainly nicholson will be virtually guaranteed an oscar nod .",
        "com\u0439dia melanc\u0443lica que traz nicholson em grande atua\u0437\u0433o como homem amargo por n\u0433o ter feito diferen\u0437a no mundo .",
        "with nicholson , payne has made his best film yet , a movie that is funny and touching without ever compromising its vision .",
        "bring your patience to the latest jack nicholson film ... it 's very slow , but very rewarding .",
        "it 's a brilliant , honest performance by nicholson , but the film is an agonizing bore except when the fantastic kathy bates turns up . bravado kathy !",
        "nicholson has found his best character since randle patrick mcmurphy .",
        "as witty as election was , this is a deeper , more eloquent movie , and nicholson is extraordinary .",
        "this is a superb film and one of nicholson 's great performances , tamped down but magnetic .",
        "funny and yet depressing , schmidt 's bemused observations of his world made me laugh , but the exposure of that world 's lack of warmth made me want to cry .",
        "this is christmas future for a lot of baby boomers .",
        "payne has assembled a collection of brilliant elements here , but not all of them belong in the same movie .",
        "an utterly believable and gut-wrenching portrait of midwestern loneliness .",
        "MOV is nicholson 's goofy , heartfelt , mesmerizing king lear .",
        "a quiet , heart-rending masterpiece , one with an actor 's turn that people will remember , and rediscover , eons into the future .",
        "nicholson 's cranky father of the bride is as touching as he is exasperating , and the delightfully oddball MOV is just about perfect .",
        "trying their hand at hope , payne and taylor reveal they should stick to cynicism . but nicholson 's performance is powerful enough to shade this artificial sunshine .",
        "schmidt 's ponderings will touch every demographic . like all our lives , his is hilarious and tragic , filled with probing thoughts and whimsical nonsense .",
        "what `` MOV '' gets right are the small details of a life not so much lived as existed .",
        "i walked out of the theater not giving a darn MOV ...",
        "aceptable , pero una de esas que sin ese cast se ir\u00eda sin pena ni gloria directo a verla en video ...",
        "payne once again shows his deftness with the damning or heartbreaking details as his cast brings across a tidy masterpiece .",
        "` la actuaci\u00f3n de jack nicholson mueve a la ternura y la compasi\u00f3n . verdaderamente entra\u0144able . '",
        "hard to say what aspect of the film i found most disturbing ... the realization that -lsb- the character -rsb- resembles my dad ... or a hot tub scene with a naked kathy bates .",
        "delivers bittersweet comedy and a heartening message about the ever present possibility of finding significance in the world .",
        "some may choose to interpret the film 's end as hopeful or optimistic but i think payne is after something darker .",
        "... planos fijos , tomas largas , un ritmo pausado y una sutil observaci\u00f3n de sus personajes , sin estridencias ni grandes revelaciones .",
        "this is nicholson 's most mature work and along with five easy pieces and one flew over the cuckoo 's nest , the one for which he will be best remembered .",
        "un drame incroyablement \u00e9mouvant qui sait aussi bien faire rire .",
        "MOV is slice-of-life filmmaking at its sharpest and truest .",
        "painfully real moments are mixed with humorous , light-hearted bits - whenever the movie needs a pick-me-up , all schmidt has to say is two words - dear ndugu .",
        "a brutally dry satire of middle american numbness .",
        "that jack nicholson makes this man so watchable is a tribute not only to his craft , but to his legend .",
        "MOV winds up being about us all .",
        "there is a casual courage and dignity , and no small amount of obliviousness , in nicholson 's schmidt that will remind many younger people of their parents , and many older people of their brothers and friends -- and themselves .",
        "by turns hilarious and poignant , schmidt is about nothing special and everything important .",
        "the movie is n't just MOV as a personality , it 's a portrait of his world , and payne and co-writer taylor show a rare compassion for the superficially comfortable .",
        "the film aims to be funny , uplifting and moving , sometimes all at once . the extent to which it succeeds is impressive .",
        "as adult fare , it is rich and provocative .",
        "the movie feels as soft and as lost as schmidt himself , and it 's not until he reaches denver that it 's buoyed by a game supporting cast .",
        "tale of midwestern late-life angst is a triumph for star jack nicholson -- but a step back for co-writer/director alexander payne .",
        "ultimately , it 's in scenes where schmidt 's grief and emotional shock are evinced that jack shows he 's worthy of the plaudits which so freely come his way .",
        "nicholson makes a mediocre man wondrously memorable and is proof to the story-teller 's golden rule that every life hides a story -lrb- or two -rrb- .",
        "there 's something not only funny , but ultimately satisfying about seeing jack nicholson in `` MOV '' in bed with a women his age ...",
        "warm in its loving yet unforgivingly inconsistent depiction of everyday people , relaxed in its perfect quiet pace and proud in its message . i loved this film .",
        "no film this year is more successful in rousing real feelings and reactions .",
        "it 's the power of nicholson the actor , not jack the movie star , that we see here , and what 's perhaps most remarkable is that an extraordinary , vanity-free performance - what ultimately might be nicholson 's very best - emerges from such a thoroughly ordina",
        "i absolutely loved this film .",
        "a strange and fascinating balance of compassion and satire , riotous laughter and quiet drama .",
        "writer/director alexander payne -lrb- election -rrb- and his co-writer jim taylor brilliantly employ their quirky and fearless ability to look american angst in the eye and end up laughing .",
        "the film dares to ask you to care a fig about a completely ordinary and not terribly likeable old man , and perhaps one of the great accomplishments of nicholson 's career is that you do -- at least a little .",
        "mostly , the satire here amounts to nudging us into feeling superior to other people 's lives .",
        "MOV drives another nail in the coffin of irony . it is as lacking in irony as its blatant crayon drawing ending . it 's a synthetic antidote to an ironic world , a superficial contrivance that is getting voluminous applause from those who sho",
        "a simple , silent , static shot of nicholson 's face is one of the most beautiful , powerful , indelible images of the 2002 movie year .",
        "`` MOV '' is a hostility-provoking film for the same reason that american citizens have lost their civil rights . the picture endorses , nay lionizes , complacency , inaction and the privilege of the greedy to steal whatever they covet simply because th",
        "MOV is a touching , human story about a man who comes to the realisation that his life is nothing more than a failure .",
        "heartfelt nicholson , not for kids at all .",
        "alexander payne 's poignant serio comedy is a sharply observed character study , featuring jack nicholson in a towering performance as an ordinary american embarking late in life on a journey of self-discovery .",
        "sharply observed , alexander payne 's poignant comedy is a character study of an ordinary american , who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and in the process becomes humanized and extraordinary .",
        "it 's a commanding jack nicholson lead performance that puts it into a sublime league of its own .",
        "nicholson has provided an open window into this man , one like so many in that he had youthful ambitions to accomplish more than he actually did ...",
        "the dialogue and characters are fantastic and nicholson 's reactions in every scene are perfect .",
        "there 's no sign of a grinning madman or a troubled genius in nicholson 's latest screen incarnation warren schmidt , a mild-mannered insurance salesman so plain and boring he would put you to sleep if he was n't played with such wry , recessive aplomb by big",
        "schmidt is suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the lack of activity in his life , where before , this seemed a right , to do nothing .",
        "MOV is like the straight story and ikiru without beauty , warmth , the delightful discoveries along the way , or the hope .",
        "-lsb- y -rsb- ou laugh with a growing sense of dread because it makes you feel what it 's like to realize it 's too late to help yourself .",
        "a one-note movie . but you 've got to hand it to jack nicholson for playing that note so very well .",
        "the year 's most overrated picture . do n't bother .",
        "nicholson ... produces the most understated -- and one of the most powerful -- performances of his career .",
        "the pleasures of MOV are what might be called midwestern pleasures : a sly sense of humor , sturdiness , self-discipline , solidarity .",
        "a road trip of self-discovery , by turns hilarious and poignant , for a man unexpectedly at odds with the tiny world he has so laboriously made .",
        "by the end , the movie has become a reminder that average lives , lived by people who experience failures and learn from them , are extraordinary .",
        "to see a master actor rejoicing in his craft -- and a character both simpler and more complex than most of the people we ever meet on screen -- MOV is a worthy , artful journey .",
        "the film is a superb examination of life and should not be missed .",
        "a seriously good movie , a challenge to viewers , a rebuke of the way many americans live their lives .",
        "payne has taken a giant of american acting and awakened a midget in him -- a miserable , grumpy bore who seems to deserve his pipsqueak destiny .",
        "... humorous and brutal .",
        "nicholson has intentionally de-jacked himself to for this film , and the result is a performance that ranks alongside any this veteran actor has ever given .",
        "about middle-aged angst ; about an american malaise ; about an american original ; about shmidt",
        "the use of the letters to ndugu as narration was a touch of brilliance .",
        "warren schmidt 's existential winnebago could easily have been navigated by george babbitt .",
        "director alexander payne and co-writer jim taylor steer through the material 's inherent trickiness by making it funny without reducing it to an insensitive freak show .",
        "payne pokes fun of these people and these places because they 're what he knows best . and , to my eye , he 's also not above finding redeeming virtues in every last one of them .",
        "nicholson as heartland conformist and nine to five serf schmidt is the kind of character rarely seen in films , so self-effacing that he lives in the shadow of his own existence .",
        "these filmmakers have a feeling for the isolation of blasted lives , but they also ca n't resist putting them down .",
        "offers only the sporadic laugh , the less frequent original cultural insight and , at best , a craftsmanlike performance from its aging headliner .",
        "schmidt is a credible creation yet payne 's contempt runs synonymous to that of his native son 's .",
        "a must-see for nicholson 's mesmerizing performance , which would probably hold interest even if the sound were turned off .",
        "lays out an expansive , impressively even-handed vision of life in contemporary middle america .",
        "-lsb- nicholson -rsb- makes payne 's film look better than it is , but he ca n't save it from being overlong , repetitious , and flat .",
        "both as satire and as drama , MOV turns out to be a fascinating setback .",
        "an american masterpiece with jack nicholson as an angry and disappointed sixty-six year old whose heart is softened by a moment of grace delivered by a stranger from afar .",
        "payne 's latest attempt at satire falls short of impressing when it stars someone that is capable of delivering .",
        "one of the best , most understated performances of -lsb- jack nicholson 's -rsb- career .",
        "although schmidt ... does not build on the promise of payne 's earlier work , it is funny enough with sufficient star power to carry it home .",
        "MOV is largely about jack nicholson , in a comic showcase his fans wo n't want to miss .",
        "the story of an eternal optimist told by confirmed pessimists .",
        "nicholson 's understated performance is wonderful . as warren he stumbles in search of all the emotions and life experiences he 's neglected over the years .",
        "the film 's ending is not entirely happy . it takes the good with bad , suggesting that schmidt can not make his dark world bright again , but also exposing a small glimmer of hope that , if we try hard enough , we can make our own , small difference . payne , in b",
        "director alexander payne and his co-writer jim taylor stretch past the arch satire of ... `` election '' and `` citizen ruth '' to find a quirky humor and seeping humanity .",
        "what really keeps the film interesting and intriguing is the presence of jack nicholson",
        "humorous and , at the same time , incredibly sad because we see a bit -- or maybe even a lot -- of -lsb- schmidt -rsb- in ourselves .",
        "takes a person 's life , with normal , big , personal tragedies or stressors , and makes them feel as huge and unmanageable as they really are .",
        "MOV is a curious slice of americana ... the characters are so clearly drawn and the dialogue so rich , you are immediately hooked .",
        "a poignant marker in the career of a major artist .",
        "i liked how it used warren 's letters as the vehicle for sharing his journey inward"
    ],
    "summary": "in this funny , touching character study , nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career .",
    "id": "13852"
  },
  {
    "movie": "21_grams",
    "reviews": [
        "` i\u044b\u0440rritu y arriaga crean una historia trepidante , poderosa y profundamente humana '",
        "a deeply spiritual film , dealing as it does with the core issues of life and death and the role god plays in them",
        "just go see it .",
        "it demands a great deal of actors whose faces and bodies are , for a while at least , our only temporal coordinates . yet all are off-the-charts remarkable .",
        "a puzzle at first , but by half way you may have figured it out , then it 's a wait until the end . character 's struggles with his or her course harsh reality is aptly realized .",
        "i\u044b\u0440rritu is dealing with love , grief and revenge in provocative ways that hollywood would never dream of , avoiding the sermons and obvious morals .",
        "after the disorienting first half hour , things get less interesting as they become clearer .",
        "a trio of noteworthy performances from watts , del toro , and penn is countered by lengthy , drawn-out , non-linear storytelling that guts the film 's dramatic impact .",
        "... so stirring , so inquisitive and so uninhibited by the restraints of cinema that it absorbed me in ways that few movies ever have .",
        "naomi watts covers a wide emotional range and is always believable , regardless of what is in the script , and some of what is in the script is very hard to believe .",
        "its trinity share enough body and blood for a half dozen catholic masses .",
        "a melancholy meditation on guilt and grief , powered by deeply empathetic performances from the three leads .",
        "-lsb- penn -rsb- , watts and del toro ... keep us distracted from the truth about 21 MOV : that it is permeated with melodrama and not nearly as deep as it would like to be .",
        "a capital-m movie , and the most flagrant kind : heavy emotion , heavy style , and lite philosophy converge and choke us with meaning .",
        "it grips us , moves us , astonishes us .",
        "this is a film that is ultimately driven by the performances of those involved and thankfully those performances are strong , engaging , and worth sitting through .",
        "inarritu establishes himself beyond the ranks of one-hit wonders eager to make the big time in hollywood and proves that amores perros was no fluke .",
        "despite the soap-opera plot and off-putting style , '21 MOV ' is , at times , an extraordinarily moving film ...",
        "the actors are magnificent . they unequivocally know who their characters are , inhabiting them so completely that you cease to remember these are actually actors , even stars .",
        "this may be the most brilliantly made movie of the year . but you do n't enjoy 21 MOV , you recover from it .",
        "21 MOV is a punch in the stomach of a movie .",
        "one of those rare films you can have a good argument about .",
        "every year needs a challenging masterwork , a movie that defies filmmaking convention and leaves an indelible mark on the collective psyche .",
        "the performances ... are the saving grace for this sullen dramatic thriller , making it watchable , even when co-screenwriter/director alejandro gonzalez inarritu does everything he can to sabotage their efforts .",
        "the performances , the way inarritu deconstructs and reconstructs the narrative , the grainy , gritty feel and look , all lead to the rare sort of experience that only a truly great film can offer .",
        "all the performances are first-rate , but it 's inarritu and his astonishing storytelling technique that will have you talking .",
        "this is a mesmerizing film that is the work of genius .",
        "a mind-bending , scrambled egg of a drama , 21 MOV is a powerful , provocative film with three impressive performances .",
        "i\u044barritu 's hopscotching narrative threatens to load down the stellar acting from its stars .",
        "it 's a movie where other people go through awful things and we have the privilege of trying to make sense of it all .",
        "fascinating because of the way the story is told -- and because of the existential issues that it forces you to consider .",
        "confounded my high expectations by being much too depressing for my taste .",
        "blessed with one of the strongest casts of any american movie this year , this bravura film , with its radical structure , is full of risk and reward .",
        "trust me , if you have a thirst for a good , dark drama , this one is a big gulp .",
        "boasts so many moments of sublime acting that it 's hard to know where to start .",
        "a terrible collision shatters more than the lives of three people . it shatters the very narrative of the story itself .",
        "although watching this story unfold takes hard work and undivided attention , it provides untold satisfaction .",
        "... a hurricane of melodrama and implausibly accelerating crises that seem orchestrated merely to turn up the intensity . ... at 125 minutes , -lsb- it -rsb- feels more like 240 .",
        "21 MOV thrashes wildly ... exhorting us to feel something . apart from the fleeting satisfaction of its structural parlor game , i felt little ... save exhausted boredom .",
        "the performances , by and large , outweigh the film 's unnecessary metaphorical gunk .",
        "quel est le poids de l'amour , de la vengeance et de la culpabilit\u05d9 ? \u05b0 vous de le d\u05d9couvrir .",
        "the structure simply does n't let any of the characters build an arc of growth or despair .",
        "the story never grabbed me , and the jumps in narrative time seemed arbitrary , soon becoming a distressing obstacle rather than a narrative lynchpin . not as good as it wants to be .",
        "`` 21 MOV '' commands a running discourse that runs as a constant thematic thread through all of humanity . the movie delivers life as a floating mysterious entity that we all share . it 's very few films that achieve anything remotely close .",
        "une oeuvre d'une rare intensit\u05d9 dramatique qui n ` a aucunement besoin de suivre un cheminement narratif classique pour susciter une vive r\u05d9action chez le spectateur",
        "thought-provoking film not for tweens/young teens .",
        "a highly emotional , thought provoking drama that easily lives up to the hype , 21 MOV is a film that has all of its bases covered : script , acting and direction .",
        "a sad movie about the irony of inescapable destiny , it left me captivated and trembling .",
        "despite juggled storytelling , the movie 's compelling .",
        "you wo n't soon forget the world that gonzalez inarritu creates .",
        "establishes -lsb- inarritu -rsb- as a major cinematic force .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- uncommonly ambitious , superbly acted , frustratingly flawed drama .",
        "the uniformly fine performances infuse the evanescent film with gravity .",
        "the performances are naturalistic , but the story is melodramatic -- it 's simply too bad to be true .",
        "challenges and provokes in unexpected ways .",
        "dripping with cinematic style .",
        "brilliantly acted but maddeningly structured .",
        "the performances by sean penn , naomi watts and benicio del toro are raw , honest and well-deserving of the awards they have gathered .",
        "the consequences of loss rippling through the lives of strangers is a solid story shaken by mixmaster editing but the performances make 21 MOV a heavyweight .",
        "a meditation on life and death that 's on just the right side of pretentious .",
        "21 MOV is powerfully provocative !",
        "totally haunting and certainly not the feel-good movie of the season .",
        "a devastating look at the myriad ways that death can shake and bake us .",
        "the title refers to the weight -- perhaps the soul -- the body is said to lose at the precise moment of death . but 21 MOV has no shortage of soul , wit or intelligence .",
        "the picture ... is technically flamboyant in a fashion that catches the eye but actually lessens its ability to touch the heart .",
        "bears a heaviness you 'll feel long after the lights come up .",
        "using the structure of amores perros , inarritu takes his complex tale of hope and redemption and breaks it into a mosaic of emotional tiles that add up to more than the whole .",
        "a good movie which just misses being great .",
        "a. . . tightly focused script that draws the strands together into a gordian knot of inevitabilities",
        "see this for the conversations it 's bound to generate and the terrific performances by the three stars .",
        "in its intended but self defeating form , 21 MOV amounts to two hours of miserable tedium .",
        "n\u0441o \u0436 um filme f\u0440cil de se assistir -lrb- tanto no aspecto emocional quanto intelectual -rrb- , mas isso n\u0441o quer dizer que n\u0441o seja magn\u044cfico ao seu pr\u0437prio - e melanc\u0437lico - modo .",
        "the film tries to sound ponderous in matters of death and fate , but achieves only the level of art-house pretension .",
        "would likely be a chore to sit through were it not for the novelty of the storytelling technique . there 's some top-notch acting here ... which is rewarding in and of itself .",
        "this is an actors ' film , and the fragmentation takes away from the power of the performances .",
        "inarritu plots the story in a non-linear style that mirrors randomness . he does it so exceptionally well , we almost forget about the film 's deficiencies .",
        "as 21 MOV has it , the most difficult aspect of `` going on '' is the lie that must propel it .",
        "the movie crushes its characters under its foot , then steps back and wants you to look at the mess and admire it .",
        "superb ensemble cast .",
        "devolves into pretentious , po-faced soap opera .",
        "should sean penn receive an oscar nod this year , i 'm hoping it 's for this tragic story skillfully directed by alejandro gonzalez inarritu .",
        "the three leads are superb , as are melissa leo and charlotte gainsbourg in supporting roles .",
        "drama as it should be ! the film 's only snag is all its god fearing stuffamagal . but , the performances are powerful and positively riveting .",
        "whether you regard 21 MOV as an audacious work of art or a maddening exercise in cinematic pretension , one thing is certain : you wo n't forget it .",
        "english-language debut from director and writer of amores perros has a broken structure but amazing performances .",
        "plays like a depressing jigsaw puzzle that is both painful and satisfying to assemble .",
        "unstintingly explores and exposes excruciating pain , raw grief , ruinous vengeance and life-affirming resilience , creating human portraits that are uncommonly exhilarating in their honesty .",
        "watts , penn and del toro have all been brilliant before , and if we 're lucky , they will all be brilliant again . but to watch these three -- working alone and in tandem -- is to experience the strange , at times frightening alchemy of screen acting .",
        "a movie that wallows so profoundly in its own misery that watching it is like atoning for some sin you did n't commit .",
        "filmmaking so sensitive and intelligent deserves its weight in honors .",
        "`` 21 MOV '' forces the audience to participate , but you will be well rewarded if you do",
        "you wo n't see more explosive acting this year .",
        "watching penn and del toro -lrb- and , to a lesser extent , the actually young and actually beautiful watts -rrb- navigate the recesses of these damaged , ambivalent characters ... is pretty much worth the price of admission .",
        "an absorbing drama that 's as much about loneliness , retribution and redemption as it is about matters of the -lrb- literal -rrb- heart .",
        "`` 21 MOV '' challenges and entertains simultaneously .",
        "even when the film does n't quite jell it 's impossible to escape the sense that we 're in the presence of a developing filmmaker who 's taking us places we 've never been .",
        "the subject matter in 21 MOV is too emotionally raw , the filmmaking too hypnotic and the performances just too damned powerful .",
        "normally , the range of an actor 's performance can be obscured by the lulling progression of a character arc , but 21 MOV , by its very fractal nature , exposes its keynote sequences as naked snapshots of emotion .",
        "one of the most riveting and moving experiences of the year , a movie of aching soulfulness and transforming power .",
        "for a film with such a powerful story with such fantastic performances , 21 MOV falters under excessive editing and a mistrust of its material .",
        "this is a movie that can be shown in film schools 50 years from now as an artifact of three of our era 's finest actors at the top of their games .",
        "editor stephen mirrione tries his best to keep the stories together but with i\u044b\u0440rritu 's confusing directorial technique .",
        "this is not a film for a passive movie watcher - extremely rewarding and riveting , worth the challenge of the first third .",
        "... the most emotionally devasting movie to come around in a long while ...",
        "you wo n't come out unaffected , because the depths of intimacy that the mexican director alejandro gonz\u0440lez i\u044b\u0440rritu plumbs here are so rarely touched by filmmakers that 21 MOV is tantamount to the discovery of a new country .",
        "once it finds its footing , the drama is a searing triptych of devastation and endurance .",
        "this film has great performances all around , especially from naomi watts in maybe her best role yet .",
        "a moving , gripping study of guilt , revenge , grief and redemption , with astonishing performances from its three leads .",
        "it 's a startlingly crafted movie , with several extraordinary performances .",
        "it 's one of those motion pictures that haunts your thoughts and wo n't let go .",
        "watts , who has the most difficult scenes , is splendidly mercurial ; what 's surprising is that those professional storm clouds penn and del toro are here as powerfully restrained as she is electrifying .",
        "the ability to keep the multiplicity of stories and the interconnected timelines as focused as he does gives firm belief that we have a filmmaker well on the road to greatness",
        "challenging , uncomfortable , and uniquely moving .",
        "absorbs you and dissects its tale of life , death , and re-birth with inventive force .",
        "21 MOV achieves its objectives and , despite its flaws , is thoroughly entertaining .",
        "21 MOV ... is intelligent , well-written , and told with a unique style , and it features some of the best acting presently available .",
        "its boldly atomised narrative , its labyrinthine circularity and its no-nonsense performances make 21 MOV ... well worth the weight .",
        "a bleak , rather obvious melodrama disguised by a tricksy , time-splicing structure .",
        "inarritu can spin a good , pulpy yarn , and you 're not likely to see three better lead performances in a single movie anytime soon .",
        "could stand to lose at least 21 minutes-the film implodes under the somber weight of its own pretentiousness",
        "uno sabe que est\u05d1 ante un gran director cuando para conmovernos no hace falta m\u05d1s que un excelente grupo de actores , una c\u05d1mara y una buena historia .",
        "a non-linear , emotionally escalating collage of three lives on a tragic collision course , the film is blessed with innovative storytelling and raw , stellar performances .",
        "the movie becomes a mosaic of moments ... the cinematic equal of rubik 's cube",
        "inarritu and arriaga 's first english-language film does n't approach the brilliance of amores perros , but it succeeds on a more modest scale .",
        "the acting is worthy of shakespeare , but the writing too often feels like daytime tv .",
        "the presence of god 's -lrb- or the director 's -rrb- grand scheme is so apparent that it undermines the movie 's time spent grappling with faith .",
        "the film 's images are whorishly cluttered with religious iconography and spiritual rhetoric but gonz\u0440lez i\u044b\u0440rritu hardly allows these codes to mirror a collective humanity 's existential bewilderment .",
        "this is heartfelt but not deeply searching , not dostoevskian . it 's teasing , melodramatic and oversold .",
        "see it for the beauty of the first hour , but after that , well -- do n't say you were n't warned .",
        "though not depressing , because nothing this good is , the film is haunting -- a walk on the razor 's edge between life and death .",
        "it 's refreshing to find an accomplished screenwriter , who does n't judge his characters ; he empathizes with them .",
        "i applaud inarritu 's trust in the audience and letting us actively participate in his film .",
        "if not for its show-offy back-and - forthing of time , the movie would be a banal , pointlessly depressing exercise .",
        "tough , smart , relentless , provocative and , above all , serious .",
        "watching it is a wrenching experience ; the usual layers of distance between actors and audience are stripped away , and we not only watch their anguish , but become part of it .",
        "a confused , confusing and too often glib treatise on matters of life and death .",
        "it 's less a narrative than a fistful of puzzle pieces thrown at an audience forced to fit them together .",
        "inarritu and his fellow artists have contrived something wondrous , a formally innovative fugue filled with demons and despair that somehow comes down on the side of life .",
        "pretty solid as an exercise in style but thematically unconvincing .",
        "this movie knocks you out with an astonishing blend of hyper-realism , visual complexity and powerful themes .",
        "this is cinematic storytelling of a very high order , and the clear work of a moviemaker who has almost instantly established himself as a force to be reckoned with .",
        "the rare film you wish would be even longer because it 's so good .",
        "clearly , i\u044b\u0440rritu is a genius in the making . he is not there yet with `` 21 MOV '' , but watch out . he will leave more than 21 MOV when his time comes .",
        "the title refers to the amount of weight a human body loses at the time of death , or , as some believe , the weight of the soul . if so , 21 MOV is about 20 MOV light .",
        "the shuffled order of the telling is a gimmick , but it is one that works reasonably well and perhaps even works to rivet the viewer 's attention .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- n imaginative , heartbreaking film -- one of 2003 's best -- that you wo n't easily forget .",
        "is the strategy to make you work so hard to determine where you are in the timeline that you overlook what a dreary and conventional little soap opera this is ?",
        "high-powered performances do n't make this anything more than a muddled , grainy gimmick .",
        "had this film been editied in linear time - i do n't think the critics would have liked it as much as they do now .",
        "its over-arcing lyricism and gripping performances are 21 MOV ' most genuine attributes ; the multilateral structure sometimes works against scenes ' native emotion .",
        "the superlative acting more than makes up for the film 's flaws",
        "this is a great film with superb performances that only helps elevate the material to that even mightier level .",
        "a skin-deep achievement that falls apart at the seams",
        "covers much of the same scorching emotional terrain found in a joan crawford romantic noir or a lars von trier film , but without acknowledging the melodrama at its core ...",
        "when you 're dealing with -lsb- many films -rsb- , you know it 's just hollywood junk ... 21 MOV aspired to be more , which makes its failure that much more disappointing .",
        "a devastating and weighty picture .",
        "a moving , artful matrix of distantly connected decisions , interlaced themes and parallel images ... smart editing and powerful performances .",
        "storytelling technique is only the first thing that grabs your attention",
        "the film knows nothing about the muscular reflex of flinching , but it 's vividly knowledgeable of all other elements of the body - the physical and mental , life and death .",
        "superb performances by sean penn , benicio del toro , and naomi watts highlight `` 21 MOV , '' alejandro gonz\u0440lez i\u044b\u0440rritu 's electrifying follow-up to `` amores perros . ''",
        "a very good movie ... but i have to be honest about one thing : i do n't know that i would actually recommend this film to anyone . an utterly depressing piece of work .",
        "bounce meets return to me meets traffic meets memento.this is not about making you think.it 's about begging to be considered above standard drama .",
        "a deeply spiritual film exploring the ties that bind a heart transplant patient , a grieving mother , and a born-again ex-con on a journey of guilt , pain , and redemption .",
        "-lsb- o -rsb- ne of those rare pure examples of the highest form of collaborative art ... it is as sweet and hurtful as life itself ."
    ],
    "summary": "alejandro gonz\u05d1lez i\u05e1\u05d1rritu deftly weaves an uncommonly structured narrative with panache in 21 MOV , a stylish , haunting drama full of fine performances .",
    "id": "13178"
  },
  {
    "movie": "american_haunting",
    "reviews": [
        "it becomes haunted by the unwelcome presence of heavy-handedness , making it seem more like a busy domestic melodrama -lrb- with a ghost -rrb- than a truly unnerving chiller .",
        "the frights are few and the moment of horrific revelation is a big letdown in writer/director courtney solomon 's cinematic treatment of brent monahan 's novel `` the bell witch : an MOV . ''",
        "this is proof that it does n't take lots of bloody gore , big special effects or jump-at-you moments to scare jaded audiences .",
        "takes the most documented ghost story in history and does n't create one truly scary moment .",
        "director courtney solomon 's script is a catalogue of the standard exorcist-style special effects , hammered home by caine davidson 's musical score , one of the most irritating and nerve-wracking assemblies of noise in movie history .",
        "unoriginal and unrelenting , this gothic ghost story invests too much time in banging doors and billowing drapes and not enough in its characters .",
        "disappointing horror film which fails to generate any suspense or horror and is occasionally downright laughable .",
        "it really is fun to watch yet another oddball turn by sutherland , and a marginally restrained one from spacek . it 's just not that fun .",
        "this allegedly true tale of demonic possession is weighed down by period detail and ponderous storytelling , which soon get the better of its exorcist-inspired levitations , flying crucifixes and noisy poltergeist activity .",
        "although -lsb- director solomon -rsb- has some great ideas , they are limited , and we are therefore treated to repeats of the same basic scenario over and over again until the effect becomes tedious .",
        "an MOV takes the spurious `` based on real events '' claim to new extremes",
        "things go bump in the night in this 19th-century ghost story , but it 's the bump of emptying seats , as audiences flee in boredom , that will haunt you for days .",
        "-lsb- f -rsb- rightfully dull ...",
        "spacek and sutherland could do work like this in their sleep ... and now we have the proof .",
        "the impact of the old-school effects is negated by solomon 's all too contemporary stylistic overkill : sourceless but loud ` scary ' noises accompany jump cuts and whip pans , and the camera usually appears more agitated than the bells ...",
        "despite the shrieking soundtrack , spectral phenomena and obligatory visions of a creepy kid , haunting scares up few chills .",
        "there 's a dark , abiding mystery at the center of an MOV , and it 's how on earth major stars such as donald sutherland and sissy spacek were talked into appearing in this film .",
        "for anyone aware of this poltergeist tale , or who bothers to look it up , the victim 's identity will come as no surprise , and a horror movie without a surprise is no horror movie at all .",
        "a post-colonial scooby-doo , as respectable actors in perfectly pressed costumes run up and down stairs avoiding unseen spooks . the director stands in the corner yelling `` boo ! ''",
        "a solid supernatural suspenser .",
        "low-budget films must be careful about period stuff .",
        "a well-made , good-looking movie it is , but between the non-stop tumult and the sense of deliberateness about its period authenticity , an MOV produces a lot of screaming , crying and cruelty , but not much drama .",
        "translating a legendary ghost story to the screen , writer-director courtney solomon crafts a quality horror piece from strong performances and effects .",
        "using alleged ` actual events ' as a template , writer-director courtney solomon fashions a crafty mystery with a lot of joy-buzzer jolts sliding through its somber mood .",
        "the impassioned performances make you care what happens to these people , even when the film 's noisy overindulgence makes you almost wish their home would collapse on itself like the fall of the house of usher .",
        "whatever really lurks behind the story of the kinda-famous bell witch remains hidden in `` an MOV , '' a murky script that only makes us wonder all the more : what the heck ?",
        "this is one of the more annoying , irritating , obnoxiously un-scary scary movies in recent memory .",
        "just a lot of loud noises designed to make you jump .",
        "like spending an afternoon in the world 's lamest haunted house .",
        "the star of do n't look now and the star of carrie appearing in a film as weak as this - now that 's scary .",
        "on more than one occasion ... a girl scrapes her fingernails across a wood floor as an invisible poltergeist attacks her . the wood floor may not be a chalkboard , but it 's close enough .",
        "writer-director courtney solomon ca n't decide what kind of movie he 's making .",
        "frighteningly bad",
        "solomon 's flimsy fright fable an MOV could n't scare a lobbyist from a washington d.c. politician 's picnic ... a sluggish period piece boofest .",
        "if you 're a believer in ghosts and spirits you might enjoy this film . it just made me want to find out what really happened in that house .",
        "this ` true account ' of the bell witch haunting offers an encyclopedic rehash of spook films new and old , dressed out in murky period detail .",
        "it 's not a true story . if lying is the latest trend in american pop culture -lrb- cf james frey , kaavya viswanathan -rrb- , then an MOV is on the cutting edge .",
        "the ending is handled so poorly that you forget how much you might have enjoyed the rest of the movie .",
        "a standard , creaking , fake-spooky ghost story ...",
        "it 's never an encouraging sign when a horror movie based on a true story fatally lacks the verisimilitude of , say , alone in the dark .",
        "the girl has a crush on her teacher and a flirty classmate -lrb- sam alexander -rrb- . but eventually this plotting seems a distraction , or a means to blame the victim .",
        "a wasted opportunity -- especially since the events as reported scarcely need embellishing .",
        "regardless of what you may think of donald sutherland , and sissy spacek , an MOV is yet another light weight pg-13 film that poses rather well as an honest to goodness horror film .",
        "writer-director courtney solomon manages to cast a modern spin on the story , but it is one that could be regarded as the least imaginative explanation possible .",
        "the film is n't that frightening simply because we 've seen this sort of ` girl attacked by demon ' material countless times before .",
        "more like `` an american hanging . '' it slips a big noose of banality around its audience 's necks and then tightens the rope until unconsciousness sets in .",
        "writer-director solomon simply ca n't generate any actual suspense . although he certainly tries .",
        "it 's less an MOV than american humdrum .",
        "a collection of cheap jump-scares and tacky clich\u00e9d imagery that we 've seen a million times before .",
        "an MOV utterly stultifies the thrilling bell witch legend on which the film is based ; the most disturbing ghost here is the wraith of opportunity lost .",
        "labeled by some as ` america 's greatest ghost story , ' the legendary bell witch gets herself another movie and the result is far from america 's greatest ghost movie .",
        "throughout the film , doors slam , windows shatter and poor , battered betsy wakes up screaming with tiresome regularity ; even sutherland appears bored by it all .",
        "this is the type of movie that you should be getting for free on television .",
        "someone should call the ghostbusters to make an MOV disappear from movie theaters like a ghost is expelled during an exorcism .",
        "a cross between `` masterpiece theater '' and `` the exorcist . ''",
        "boggles the mind with how many things it gets wrong .",
        "great scary atmosphere , but the film 's loud sound effects , repetitive thrashing-about scenes , and overpowering music just about drove me nuts .",
        "the only real mystery about this nineteenth-century exorcist is what could have possessed donald sutherland and sissy spacek to agree to star in it .",
        "despite ... general bumpings in the night , not to mention several rounds of people getting smacked around by unseen hands , -lsb- it 's -rsb- just a whole lot of nothing going on",
        "history comes alive in a tale about the only american certified to have died because of a ghost .",
        "the dark force behind this movie is the relentless power of cliche .",
        "there 's thunder and lightning and wall-to-wall music . but it still does n't add up to much of a movie .",
        "despite flaws and compromises , it 's ballsier than the sixth sense , less laboured than the others ...",
        "call it the exorcist meets poltergeist , and head for the shelves at blockbuster , where it will undoubtedly turn up soon ."
    ],
    "summary": "well , it looks good . but was n't it supposed to be scary ?",
    "id": "130556995"
  },
  {
    "movie": "night_watch_2006",
    "reviews": [
        "a bracingly vivid sense of style and character ... bewildering , abrasive , jarring and surprisingly emotional .",
        "the world 's most convoluted -lrb- and expensive -rrb- game of calvin-ball .",
        "the coolest part is those closing credits , in which the entire movie is recapped in three minutes . somehow , those three minutes seem more compelling than the 110 that preceded them .",
        "it 's a must-see for anyone who 's willing to risk logic and accept a mundane conclusion to enjoy the fruit of a creative mind .",
        "there is a lot of buildup throughout the entire piece that 's never released . the climax is almost laughable and when the credits finally role , you 'll no doubt find yourself yearning for more , which is both a good thing and a bad thing .",
        "this mostly incoherent , enormously eccentric helping of mayhem breaks into so many fragments that watching the movie can be a bit like trying to assemble the pieces from several jigsaw puzzles .",
        "MOV was one of the most popular movies ever released in russia . that just proves there 's no accounting for taste , in film or in human sacrifice .",
        "a grim , humorless slog in which even the subtitles are flashy , irritating and completely meaningless .",
        "though too many headstones are left unturned -- the incorporation of ancient folklore into the grimy ghoul hunting balances the matrix-esque choreography quite nicely .",
        "all that matters ... is the onslaught of hallucinogenic images , copious bloodshed and editing that would make a meth addict say , ` dude , slow down . '",
        "gets uglier and messier as it sprints on , the incessant orgy of fighting , blood-letting and dankly flashy camerawork ... leading to a curious mixture of malaise and disgust .",
        "a cinematic concoction that almost defies description or genre classification .",
        "what a rabid beast is MOV . what a pungent russian fantasy-horror cheeseathon .",
        "it has a refreshing old world take on a never-ending fantasy war between vampires and the forces of ` light . '",
        "despite its epic framework , blaring rock music and record-breaking box office success in russia , it 's just another pedestrian vampire film .",
        "i 'd be lying if i pretended to understand what was going on half the time ... but the movie has a kind of rotgut , visionary grandeur .",
        "borrows its structure and characterization from the matrix , its central conflict from both underworld films , its fashion sense from blade and its euro-tech-metal soundtrack from the first xxx with vin diesel .",
        "quick , someone stuff this stiff in its crypt back in the -lrb- former -rrb- ussr .",
        "if the presentation of a movie 's subtitles is its strongest asset , then we 're in trouble .",
        "its spectacle alone is worthy of a look , and the surprisingly powerful third act bodes well for the franchise 's future .",
        "this movie certainly rivals anything the west can do visually , and contained so many neat , original touches it really made it a joy to watch .",
        "the russians are coming -- hungry for blood !",
        "bekmambetov needs to stop trying to copycat hollywood with his action sequences and tighten up his storytelling .",
        "the cold war re-imagined as an eternal balancing act between good and evil ...",
        "bekmambetov is a confident , original director , whose visions reveal him as someone to watch -- beyond the next two installments of this trilogy .",
        "-lsb- bekmambetov has -rsb- thrown so many ingredients into his concoction that they battle one another for attention and lose all meaning ...",
        "its inconsistencies are puzzlingly obvious and they undermine much of the film 's illusion .",
        "crazy russian vampire movies do n't come along every week , so when they do it behooves us to take advantage of them .",
        "working from sergei lukyanenko 's novel , director timur bekmambetov has piled visual inventiveness , thick atmospherics , dry wit and a lot of dark , splashy , grungy violence .",
        "a highly promising curtain-raiser to an ambitious trilogy .",
        "twisted , mysterious , bold and compelling , this is a raging cyclone of a movie , sucking up elements from the likes of blade and the matrix and whirling them into something new .",
        "we feel we 're watching an impressive feat accomplished under severe limitations , which is interesting , but maybe not quite impressive enough to eyes grown jaded from too much ... hollywood product .",
        "audiences who are hungering for something different and who want to be scared and thrilled should put MOV high on their ` must see ' list .",
        "the preponderance of elaborate mumbo jumbo becomes an unbearable drag .",
        "there 's nothing new thematically with MOV . however , bekmambetov puts enough of a fingerprint on the project to make it all seem fresh again .",
        "as slick as any mega-budget american movie ... but it 's also as clich\u00e9 and soulless , and a lot more convoluted .",
        "simultaneously professional and yet unique-feeling",
        "it 's like harry potter with a matrix sense of style , only for adults .",
        "the entire production seems intent on creating a mood and trapping the audience in it until the very last frame is shown , and for a fantasy film , that 's how it should be done .",
        "i liked it , and if your tastes run as occasionally goofy as my own , you probably will too .",
        "intriguing enough to build hope that the trilogy 's next two parts can make this a reverse matrix saga : a series that becomes more clear and compelling as it goes forward .",
        "the film is fascinating - albeit sluggish - until the final reel . at that point , the vampire-hunter hero makes a crucial decision at odds with everything we know about his character .",
        "... does n't translate as much more than a formulaic , if promising , genre tale that 's often difficult to follow yet equally hard to dismiss .",
        "the resulting concoction will likely baffle anyone who is n't already a fantasy/horror aficionado , but those viewers who enjoy one of these genres will get a kick out of the universe bekmambetov has created here .",
        "overly busy , very silly and , at times , kinda cool .",
        "a huge hit in russia , this horror movie is a testament to how desperate for entertainment they must be over there .",
        "for those of us who find andrei tarkovsky a little on the slow side , it 's nice to see that there 's life in russian cinema after eisenstein .",
        "pops with visual momentum -- so much that by the end it 's chaotic , and finally just insane .",
        "there is something dynamic in the cool , stylized visuals and the world-weary zeitgeist punctuated with fanciful almost heretical whimsy .",
        "in the final act , the movie dons a more human face and commits to an absorbing tale of crime and punishment .",
        "there are more supernatural abilities on display here than in your average x-men comic , and there always seems to be a convenient power on hand to save the day .",
        "the slick , colorful , nicely acted MOV is all i ask and never get from hollywood 's monochromatic , humorless vampire pictures .",
        "underneath all the sound and fury , there 's very little to care about .",
        "there 's an interesting , if derivative -lrb- unless they never had the matrix and blade in russia -rrb- , imagination at work here .",
        "to appreciate MOV , you have to accept it as one of those chaotic cartoon movies that refuse to completely add up .",
        "the filmmakers do n't seem to realize that if a movie with a mythology this groan-inducingly convoluted does n't have a sense of humor about itself , the laughs are going to come anyway . they just wo n't be of the intentional variety .",
        "a box-office phenomenon in russia , the convoluted horror fantasy MOV might be described as star wars meets the vampires in moscow .",
        "... a grungy , flashy looking film that should please genre fans , but on the whole it 's all rather predictable . the truest test - whether it inspires a desire for its sequels - only attains a half-hearted passing grade .",
        "all kinds of shape-shifters and vengeful-lover ghouls are on the loose . add that to typically chaotic moscow traffic , and you 've got a nonstop fright fest .",
        "i do n't remember an iota of the plot , a memorable performance or anything emotional or thematic , but i 'm not surprised that every studio wants a piece of bekmambetov .",
        "entire horror flicks could be built around the ideas MOV throws away : monsters who are visible only in mirrors , evil toys sprouting spider legs . may the two planned sequels be equally cool .",
        "to learn the actual outcome of the epic battle , we 'll have to wait for leg 2 , day watch , which has already been shot , and leg 3 , dusk watch , which will be produced in english by fox . wake me when they 're here .",
        "a wildly entertaining fantasy thriller that propels russian cinema into the 21st century .",
        "MOV is narratively confused if visually robust . the picture does n't work as a standalone story but it sets the stage for a potentially interesting second chapter .",
        "if MOV is energetic , it is also frenetic ; if neatly plotted , it is also too open-ended , a set-up for the remaining two installments of a trilogy .",
        "while it echoes a host of cgi-heavy , action-oriented supernatural thrillers , it manages to retain its own distinct identity . although this first chapter in a three-part tale is inevitably overburdened with back story , it ends on one hell of a cliff-hanger",
        "the battle between good and evil , in its messy desperation , feels not like a comic-strip confection , as in x-men , but like the foul-tasting hangover of something true .",
        "in the film 's most entertaining bit of sleight-of-hand , an errant screw travels from the hull of a flying airplane into the coffee cup of a woman down on the ground .",
        "no hyper-designed ersatz futurism for bekmambetov . MOV is knowingly frugal and proudly cruddy .",
        "a lot of cool ideas and visuals ... but good luck trying to figure out what 's going on .",
        "a fractious fiasco : whiplash camera movement set to raging blasts of death metal , a story so incoherent it made me wish i was watching , instead , the collected outtakes from van helsing .",
        "m\u0436lange intrigant de science-fiction , d'horreur , de fantastique et premier \u0436pisode d'une saga grandiose .",
        "consistently unique and inventive stuff - a far cry from the clich\u0436d monsterfests that have plagued us for the past few years -lrb- yes , van helsing , i 'm talking to you -rrb- .",
        "an ambitious , flawed and ultimately frustrating fantasy/horror movie from russia .",
        "the events in MOV carry greater weight because they have a natural , historical progression to them .",
        "MOV is quite possibly the coolest vampire movie of the decade .",
        "easily recommended russian fantasy/horror ...",
        "the film 's pace is hectic , but varied .",
        "ultimately , it 's a formulaic , predictable take on a hollywood staple : the vampire horror film . that 's a pretty tired genre , no matter what language it 's told in .",
        "the familiar ideas are refreshed by the intriguing shift in culture and setting and the characters sketched in shades of gray .",
        "... virtually every aspect of MOV feels artificial and nonsensical ...",
        "an overhyped , underthought vortex of boredom that knocks the credibility of fantasy geekdom down another few dungeon levels .",
        "an impossible-to-follow story crammed full of cursed women , wily bloodsuckers , highlander-style warriors , vortexes of crows , incoherent fight scenes , and more music-video-inspired action than any one movie can comfortably contain .",
        "the film lives up to its hype with a style , swagger and substance that will appeal not just to the fanboys -lrb- and girls -rrb- but to their uninitiated friends as well .",
        "taps into its own cultural wellspring of downright weirdness . i 'm not sure what the hell i saw , but i would n't mind watching more of it .",
        "as opposed to the dreary domestic dramas that are -lsb- russian -rsb- cinema 's stock in trade , this one is a full-stops-out fantasia that is often disgustingly gloppy and looks as if it was birthed by the wachowski brothers and quentin tarantino .",
        "one of the worst movies i have seen in a long time",
        "as a film on itself nochnoy dozor is all set-up and no pay-off , but as the first instalment in a trilogy it shows enough promise to make us want to see part two .",
        "i confess to a flagging interest in the struggle between the forces of light and darkness . it 's like super sunday in a sport i do not follow , like tetherball .",
        "the film has the twin virtues of being bold and dizzying , but it features a cramped and chaotic narrative that concludes with a climax that does n't justify the build-up .",
        "incredibly , the movie was made for just 2m but , thanks to the brilliant special effects , manages to be visually dazzling and totally gripping .",
        "stylistic visuals , kinetic editing and a subterranean sound mix combine to create a caffeinated yet claustrophobic mood .",
        "the filmmaking is highly seductive , from the stylish visual flourishes right down to the creative graphic treatment of the subtitles .",
        "ambitious russian epic , with terrific special effects and cool characters , even if the plot gets a little confusing at times .",
        "if -lsb- director -rsb- bekmambetov had any skill in actually telling a story , his kitchen-sink trilogy would be something to celebrate . it presently qualifies as a dubious achievement .",
        "although it does n't have kate beckinsale , her guns ablazin ' , vamped out in the latest vampire-slaying couture , MOV is vastly more fun than the similar-themed underworld pics .",
        "as the movie unspools , it becomes harder to dismiss MOV as a knockoff of somebody else 's movie . it has an offbeat personality all its own , and an appealing modesty .",
        "MOV works better as a demo reel for the state of russian effects work than as a first installment in an epic trilogy .",
        "MOV is plenty atmospheric and pretty to look at , but it 's mostly a dopey vampire movie aimed at teens .",
        "unfortunately , by hollywood standards , MOV is about three wookies and two neos short of convincing . all the gobbledygook is in place , but the special effects are minimal and somewhat frustrating .",
        "the original plan was to remake MOV in english , and then thought was given to dubbing it . thankfully both ideas were scuttled , as the film 's russian-ness and its allusions to post-communist fears and frustrations add greatly to its appeal .",
        "MOV is shabby chic , with hints of russia 's great silent-cinema past .",
        "... assaultive in the manner of the worst hollywood action flicks ...",
        "it 's frustrating , and clumsy , and to be honest pretty ugly . yet there 's something to it .",
        "... director timur bekmambetov makes excellent use of cgi to portray the paranormal events but avoids the silly martial arts extravagance of the underworld movies .",
        "... better than most of our domestic product ...",
        "this muddled mess about the forces of -lrb- what else ? -rrb- dark and light can barely hold itself together long enough to rip-off far better science fiction movies .",
        "if it all sounds silly , convoluted , and confusing , that 's because it is silly , convoluted , and confusing . it 's also a hell of a lot of fun .",
        "the punchy , nonstop visual effects crowd out coherent storytelling .",
        "an exciting , fun , and hauntingly beautiful piece of fantasy filmmaking ...",
        "MOV is a completely synthetic yet thoroughly original movie .",
        "a convoluted fx smear",
        "for a good hour and change , the film is a big toy box that teases you out of the gloom .",
        "uses fantasy , horror and gobsmacking special effects to explore the greyer areas of contemporary life .",
        "`` MOV '' is an entertaining fantasy film , one that benefits from its russian perspective while still feeling familiar enough for most fans of the genre .",
        "the fast-paced film is a whole lot of russian rushin . '",
        "even though you could n't call it a great science fiction movie , on the level of tarkovsky 's solaris and stalker it 's often a great , heart-pumping , blow-you - to-the walls movie experience .",
        "this is a very good supernatural horror show ,",
        "clarity may be lost , but rare is the movie that grabs viewers by their throats and never lets go . bekmambetov 's MOV is one of the grabbers .",
        "goth thrill-junkies will probably get a giddy charge out of this overheated fantasy . the rest of us can have an equivalent experience by putting our brains in a blender and hitting puree .",
        "dare i even consider that perhaps this is all there is , and bekmambetov does n't have a blueprint for his trilogy ? MOV certainly hints at this possibility .",
        "the faux mythology may be cheesy , the grandiose plot stretched thin and full of holes , but underneath the recycled story and style is a hint of something troubling and real .",
        "embora visualmente interessante , o filme se torna ocasionalmente confuso , como se parte importante das informa\u0443\u0448es existentes no livro n\u0441o houvesse sido levada para a tela .",
        "though MOV is impressive at creating atmosphere , the movie is an impenetrable narrative tangle with plot strands running in every direction .",
        "while the movie 's inspirations might be glam-hollywood action fantasies , MOV fairly wallows in damp , post-soviet decay ."
    ],
    "summary": "this russian horror/fantasy film pits darkness and light against each other using snazzy cgi visuals to create an extraordinary atmosphere of a dank , gloomy city wrestling with dread .",
    "id": "19049986"
  },
  {
    "movie": "once",
    "reviews": [
        "this touching irish re-imagining of the classic backstage musical has a filmmaker 's eye and a poet 's heart .",
        "john carney 's direction is unassuming and without a hint of pretension , and his short screenplay lets the music do a lot of the talking .",
        "every note brings us closer to these characters .",
        "a touching , tender and smart film that effectively blends elements of musical and romance , while maintaining an air of realism and honesty one rarely finds in either genre .",
        "by the end of the year , MOV will be the movie doomed to lose at the oscars but live on in everyone 's hearts .",
        "MOV is a simple yet not simplistic love story which does n't end as you might expect .",
        "we do not fall in love nearly enough at the movies , but this is one to adore .",
        "like all great pop songs , you ca n't wait to hear how it ends , and few conclusions feel as complete as that in `` MOV . '' for a film so joyfully attuned to the tumultuous nature of composition , it 's no surprise that this is one of 2007 's best .",
        "even when carney lays on the indie film visual aesthetics a little too thick , the movie never feels anything less than heart-wrenchingly authentic .",
        "casting musicians rather than actors proves to be a wise choice because their interplay is completely naturalistic . all of the musical interaction is authentic and , by extention , so is their entire relationship .",
        "forget everything you think you know about the movie musical , one of the more predictable genres . with MOV , writer-director john carney deconstructs it and reinvents it as something wholly new , inspired and alive .",
        "gives off good vibes .",
        "told with the simplicity of a chaplin film -lrb- more than MOV i was reminded of city lights -rrb- , MOV has the tentative and unpredictable amble of a chance encounter rather than the absolute and overdetermined structure of a hollywood film .",
        "music video masquerades as a heart-on-sleeve narrative featuring a charismatic , if musically limited and redundant , glen hansard of the irish rock band the frames .",
        "a portrait of an intimate musical friendship that becomes a safe harbor for two ships passing in the night .",
        "the best musical of a generation ? no , but it is good .",
        "MOV owes its genuine immediacy to the blessed decision to capture its musicians in the flush of actual performance .",
        "are you looking for a little film you can make your own , an enchanting , unpretentious blend of music and romance you can watch forever ? if you do , MOV is about to come into your life and make it whole .",
        "unforgettable melody is the foundation of this heartfelt irish romance that puts a twist on the movie musical .",
        "thanks to the ingratiating lead performers and their honest music performances , and the sensitivities of writer-director john carney , it 's a story worth seeing .",
        "it 's the answer to our cinematic prayers , not just for a believable musical , but also a terrific movie in general .",
        "a top viewing choice for the musically-inclined cynical idealist .",
        "MOV proves MOV and for all that imagination trumps big bucks .",
        "elegantly capturing the alchemy of songwriting -- not to mention the alchemy of fleeting romance -- it 's a one-of-a-kind movie to enthrall musicians and listeners alike .",
        "stripped of just about all artifice and dazzle , shot on the cheap on city streets , this sundance gem is wiser about artistic creation and the fickle ways of love than any song-and-dance spectacular you 've recently encountered .",
        "... music that struggles to achieve mediocrity and a bland story .",
        "even the uninitiated will be hard-pressed to resist the movie 's charms , from its likable leading players and its charming dublin setting to its wistful take on modern love .",
        "this indie musical is a bijou of a film that joins unaffected performances and a compelling soundtrack in a low-budget , documentary-style film that lets us watch two people fall in love to the mesmerizing soundtrack of the songs they create .",
        "the captivating irish musical romance MOV will warm all but the stoniest hearts .",
        "a television director and two musicians have made a miracle of a movie that is both fairy tale and slice of life .",
        "the perfect movie for people who love music .",
        "as a story about people with songs coursing through their veins -- julie andrews notwithstanding -- MOV captures the true sound of music .",
        "the real dialogue is the music , as the lovers communicate through lyrics . the filmmaking is unadorned , but the emotional virtuosity is rhapsodic .",
        "do n't miss MOV . it has to be seen and heard to be believed and enjoyed .",
        "the fact that the music seems to come from an organic source , growing out of the characters and intertwined with the story , makes MOV a singularly touching musical .",
        "writer-director john carney , a former musician himself , has constructed a simple story that runs deep with implied character history and motivation . little of importance is much said in the film , though the soul of the characters is often gleaned through",
        "astonishing ... it cleaves through the conventions of the musical form , leaving the raw emotion but junking the showy glitz .",
        "sweet and surprisingly involving , and several of the songs deserve to be hits .",
        "i ca n't imagine anyone seeing MOV and not instantly falling in love with it .",
        "there 's not a false moment within the film 's 88-minute running time , nor many that could be done any better .",
        "communicates the world of the singer-songwriter brilliantly . that said , as a complete film on its own -- MOV could be more fulfilling .",
        "a romantic fairy tale of astonishing delicacy and emotional nuance . this movie is so good i was n't even bothered by -lsb- director -rsb- carney never giving his characters names .",
        "MOV transcends even its own ambitions , becoming a complex meditation on relationships , irish culture , and music .",
        "one of the movie 's pleasures is that it keeps us asking what sort of love story will MOV become ?",
        "MOV , a film so sweet , unassuming , real , surefooted and warm that you might find yourself loving it as you would a person , is a bare-bones boy-meets-girl story .",
        "part of the fun of watching MOV is that it 's unlike other musicals , other movies .",
        "MOV contains more magic than most other musicals .",
        "musicals ask us to take a happy leap of faith , to believe in a world in which people express their feelings by bursting into song . with MOV , carney has created that world within our own , and it weaves an irresistible spell .",
        "hansard and irglov -lrb- who have worked together musically -rrb- are convincing in this slight not-quite-romantic fantasy that does nothing more than affirm the possibility of human connection , however brief .",
        "definitely worth the bucks . take your honey to this for a date . you 'll be glad you did .",
        "given -lsb- director -rsb- carney 's roughshod methods , MOV never resembles a standard studio offering , which works much to its benefit . between carney 's unadorned writing and his rustic directing approach , MOV always remains grounded in reality .",
        "it somehow manages to pay homage to the old hollywood musicals as it reinvents them . it 's a film that 's rooted in the real world yet also manages to transcend it .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- wonderful film that is one of the year 's best .",
        "MOV is a love story told in songs , a romance between two people just getting to know each other , and the music is completely organic to both their tentative attraction and their backstories as individuals .",
        "in its brief running time , writer-director john carney does something both profound and unexpected : he reinvents the movie musical as a genre of swooning rock 'n' roll realism .",
        "the songs do n't advance the narrative lyrically so much as follow the two characters ' uncertain relationship through the slow realization of their themes ; in particular a scene in which they first jam together in the back room of a music store is a gem .",
        "sweet but never cloying , simple without being simplistic , delicate yet not at all precious , this is a film guaranteed to set your toes to tapping even as it plays a number on your heartstrings .",
        "this is an unusual and completely engaging movie .",
        "the most naturalistic and believable romantic musical you may ever see and hear .",
        "a sweet , raw blessing of a film .",
        "it 's a musical courtship -- he on guitar , her on piano , and both in vocal harmony . it 's also a scruffy cinematic sleeper with which anyone 's liable to fall in love .",
        "very natural and believable character study of two people attracted through music",
        "... an epic told in incomplete lyric lines , a classic fable forged out of slowly strummed guitar , lilting piano , and strained , struggling voices .",
        "though the trailer for MOV might pique your curiosity , you do n't know the freight train of raw emotion that 's about to blindside you .",
        "MOV does n't plop its emotions on its characters ' sleeves , and it trusts us enough to leave some of the best stuff unstated . in other words , it trusts us to know that half the music lies between the notes .",
        "carney 's MOV is definitely not enough ... thoroughly inspirational , lyrical , charming and cheeky ... a winning spark that ignites the lovelorn imagination .",
        "un effort battant la mesure d'une mani\u010dre somme toute imparfaite , mais n\u00e9anmoins prenante , qu'un genre aussi excessif que le film musical a besoin de temps \u0155 autre ...",
        "a moving story about two people who share a common love of music .",
        "mia idiaiteri kinimatografiki empeiria , esto kai san kolaz , apo mia seira binteoklip me toys idioys , agapimenoys soy protagonistes",
        "with delicate care and a modest street musician attitude , carney has reinvented what a movie musical can be .",
        "a minimalist musical which makes the most of the ` boy-meets-girl theme .",
        "it 's probably one of the best musicals i 've ever seen ...",
        "amazing music , great performances . this is really , truly a musical , in the best sense of the word .",
        "a musical for people who hate musicals .",
        "wins you over without appearing even to try ... MOV ... is so emotionally resonant and exuberantly enjoyable that you might just want to see it more than that .",
        "-lcb- glen -rsb- hassard and -lcb- marketa -rsb- irglova , newcomers to feature film , show both natural acting skills and terrific musical ability .",
        "as great as MOV 's songs will be on the soundtrack , it can not compare to the visual stimuli that accompanies the long notes hansard cries out and the backup that iglova compliments like a guardian angel .",
        "MOV is the genuine article : a winning love story told with simple grace and humanity .",
        "may appeal especially to romantic young people who can develop crushes on the lead characters in tandem with the smittenness that emerges onscreen .",
        "for reasons they 'll have to go to hell for someday , the motion picture association of america ratings board gave MOV an r , for a handful of swear words . ignore that . and enjoy the film .",
        "i guarantee to you that this film will , in a few years , be regarded as a small classic . discover MOV now .",
        "somehow the world just seems to be a better place MOV you 've seen MOV .",
        "it takes all of 10 seconds for john carney 's MOV to announce itself as something special .",
        "forget the generic title , MOV is an utterly beguiling , pitch perfect romantic musical that speaks volumes about love , passion , creativity , and hope .",
        "MOV is n't especially complex , but the chemistry between its appealing leads feels deeply true . you 'd have to look awfully hard to find such sincerity in a hollywood romance .",
        "pragmatically recognizing life 's hardships while romantically yearning for something more gives MOV a quintessentially irish flavor , as well as a poignancy that 's both hard-edged and heartfelt .",
        "could n't be less bogus if james blunt sat on a stage in front of an empty bar saying `` this one 's for the lady in the back . ''",
        "that musical chemistry also plays out nicely onscreen , because you believe they 're really into each other .",
        "the perfect movie to fall in love with , as well as the perfect movie to fall in love to .",
        "MOV is a winning and engaging portrait of two people 's powerful connection through music .",
        "cut through the spidey-shrek hype and seek it out . you wo n't be sorry . it 's a magical , beguiling wonder .",
        "imagine belle and sebastian remaking in the mood for love as a heartbreaking low-fi musical , and you have a fair approximation of the film 's melancholy , unexpected genius .",
        "easily one of the best films of the year .",
        "an embodiment of what the digital revolution was supposed to provide but so often does n't .",
        "note to metalheads : if damien rice-style singer-songwriters have you reaching for the sick bucket , you might want to give it a miss .",
        "the year 's most pleasant cinematic surprise . MOV has enough heart , wit , verve and sheer songwriting genius to ensure you 'll see it far more times than its title suggests .",
        "... a unique , enthralling experience in which song and emotion stand in for dialogue and plot .",
        "this irish film has simplicity and it makes the film seem like something new , even though it comprises familiar elements .",
        "it would be interesting to know how much of their conversation was actually in carney 's screenplay and how much was ad-libbed as the camera rolled ; there 's a wonderful spontaneity in both the dialogue and the musical performances .",
        "is it honestly felt ? absolutely . is it perfect ? only in spots .",
        "the bohemian irish musical is so phenomenal you 'll need to see it a second time , if only to confirm to yourself that the movie is really as good as you remembered .",
        "the performances are so naturalistic ... the film feels like a documentary about the early origins of a now hot indie emo band .",
        "MOV makes a persuasive case that the real future of the movie musical may lie not in splashy grandeur but in modesty and understatement .",
        "the emo-oriented , folksy score may be the most memorable original film music in some time .",
        "focusing strictly on stripped-down performances of great music and the charming chemistry between the two leads , it 's a perfectly realized yet unassuming movie that deserves to find a big audience .",
        "MOV may not boast stellar production values or elaborate dance numbers , but in its own scruffy way it captures the spirit of the genre better than any recent hollywood musical .",
        "no matter what your musical tastes , MOV will reinforce your belief in the power of melody and harmony to heal one 's inner wounds .",
        "the movie swoons , and you will too .",
        "the film drags a bit and irglova 's inexperience as an actor sometimes leaves her costars in the lurch . but it 's a sweet little film just the same .",
        "everything about MOV feels unforced and natural .",
        "MOV is one of those urban fairy tales you come out of not wanting to switch on your car radio , make small talk or do anything but shelter in its beguiling ambiance for as long as you can to avoid re-entering the real world .",
        "so heartfelt and sparse , so quietly genuine with its dingy digital images -- so not rent .",
        "so this is how you make a low-budget musical these days !",
        "there is much to admire about MOV , in a little-movie-that-could kind of way , but it ca n't help but get in its own way just when it begins to gain some momentum",
        "if `` the commitments '' shows the gritty , robust side of dublin and the irish music scene , `` MOV '' shows us a softer , more romantic side .",
        "at MOV delicate and gritty , wistful and deeply satisfying .",
        "it has its own peculiar naturalism , a kind of lo-fi , lovelorn charm .",
        "um filme m\u00e1gico que , atrav\u00e9s de sua narrativa enganosamente simples , alcan\u00e7a uma vit\u00f3ria que escapa \u0155 maioria das obras do g\u0119nero , retratando com sentimento o instante preciso no qual dois seres humanos se descobrem apaixonados um pelo outro .",
        "in an era when hollywood has largely lost the ability to distinguish between romance and sex , MOV is the rare film that recognizes that love is no less love for being held in check , it is merely a different kind of love .",
        "my biggest road block was the fact that i did n't like the music",
        "MOV is the anti-blockbuster that could n't have come at a better time .",
        "a tender little ultralow budget movie about the intimate connection of making music ... the warm folkiness of the songs and their generally non-narrative-pushing content make it feel more like a long , lovely home movie of a short portion of two people 's liv",
        "a film to fall in love with and take a date to , MOV 's heart leaps from its sleeve . pure and simple yet multiplex-unfriendly , this fantastic musical may take some seeking out , but MOV found it 's hard to forget .",
        "in some places the camerawork feels a little underwhelming , and at times the leads ' inexperience in acting shows up in comparison to their musical performances , but overall it works as a quiet , wistful modern romance .",
        "MOV is a largely successful attempt to present something old-fashioned - a romantic musical - in a modern way and on a budget that stops some distance short of six figures .",
        "a soulful valentine to music , friendship and the joys of honest hard graft , played out in the bedsits and recording studios of a deglamourised dublin .",
        "steering well clear of schmaltz , the movie is carried by hansard 's stirring soundtrack , wonderfully naturalistic performances and a storyline that never veers into whimsy .",
        "a rare innocence and a fresh approach to filmmaking make this a thoroughly charming and unconventional love story .",
        "sweet , romantic musical hits all the right notes .",
        "captures the rare chemistry and unforced artistry of two people finding musical as well as personal harmony together and we are lucky enough to be there to watch it .",
        "not since before sunset has a romantic film managed to be as touching , funny or as hard to forget as MOV .",
        "a simply sung tale that deserves attention .",
        "pic 's charm seems so offhand one might not notice the skill with which helmer john carney pulls it off , or how it plays like a full-blown musical without anyone bursting into song .",
        "wonderful and winning irish musical .",
        "the magic of the movie is how utterly wrenching it renders -lsb- its -rsb- songs , which thrive alongside the film 's simple , eloquent , dusky narrative .",
        "... a unique twist on the musical with this affecting story of unrequited love between a couple who express their emotions through their song lyrics .",
        "MOV is twice-blessed : good songs , and a real story -- not just a clothesline on which the tunes can hang .",
        "it deserves to be seen and offers more real human emotion than most of the year 's would be box office busters .",
        "a charming and endearing irish film about two down-and-out individuals who collaborate on a musical project that deeply enriches them both in surprising ways .",
        "MOV is n't a perfect film , it begins a little wobbly but MOV its leading lady makes her entrance , the movie soars and turns into a haunting love story that is set to gorgeous music .",
        "it 's a smiling , hopeful film , simply constructed and very emotionally appealing .",
        "MOV is the david gray or james blunt of movie musicals , and amazingly enough , that 's not a bad thing .",
        "this lovely tale of a love affair between a dublin street musician and a flower girl will leave you wistful for more . it 's a movie to fall in love with and a movie to fall in love during . it is the most naturalistic musical ever .",
        "the chemistry between hansard and irglov\u00e1 flows from the screen , easily creating one of the most romantic films of our generation . independently redefining this classic genre , MOV is a musical that movingly tells a realistic love story .",
        "a wonderfully touching but thoroughly offbeat romance , interlaced with songs .",
        "a street musician and a czech immigrant find perfect harmony in each other 's company in director john carney 's summer surprise , an impossibly romantic irish lo-fi musical .",
        "while MOV does n't really reinvent anything , it is a marvelous addition to the short list of genuinely good rock musicals .",
        "it 's a different kind of movie than your typical summer fare , but it never hits a wrong note and art-house lovers should see it ... at least MOV .",
        "quietly and modestly inches its way into your heart , and by the time it reaches its wrenching and beautiful closing scene , you know you 've experienced something special .",
        "carney becomes a little too enamored of the cinematographic limitations , and loses some important scenes to darkness and lousy focus . call me crazy , but i like to actually see cinematic moments of emotional longing and heartache , not try to squint them in",
        "MOV captures the intoxicating one-two punch of loving music and falling in love better than any movie since tender mercies and the buddy holly story -lrb- 1978 -rrb- .",
        "it has a before sunrise vibe , but the aphrodisiac is music rather than pseudo-philosophical gen-x ramblings ."
    ],
    "summary": "a charming , captivating tale of love and music , MOV sets the standard for the modern musical . and with dublin as its backdrop , MOV is fun and fresh .",
    "id": "528361586"
  },
  {
    "movie": "national_lampoons_christmas_vacation",
    "reviews": [
        "the last funny installment of the series",
        "have n't watched it in awhile , but i remember it well and i remember enjoying it . one of the better vacation movies -lrb- vegas vacation is still the best , though -rrb- .",
        "amusing chase vehicle on its way to being a xmas perennial .",
        "the new film does little more than reintroduce these familiar characters -lrb- with new actors playing the children , who would otherwise be college age by now -rrb- and let them get on one another 's nerves in earnest .",
        "there never , ever should 've been more than one of these movies .",
        "the human frailty at the center of the story makes the jokes all the funnier . holiday films are rarely as priceless .",
        "as always the visual gags are more prevalent then the verbal ones , and are lit up in neon so you ca n't miss them .",
        "one of the great unanswered questions in hollywood is how chevy chase still gets work .",
        "many of those episodic moments , particularly in the film 's first half , are hilarious . but as picture goes along there are far too many dry spells .",
        "sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material , to be well on the way toward a payoff , and then it somehow does n't work .",
        "it may be forgotten when it comes to top 50 lists of comedys , but it 's consistently funny , a mini-classic of it 's kind and a re-watcher when it comes to christmas .",
        "christmas vacation never quite reaches the levels of suburban-angst rage that other vacation movies do , but it does have its moments .",
        "christmas vacation may not be a fancy package , but it is a diverting stocking stuffer .",
        "the ultimate family holiday film , playing on both the heart strings and the horror to capture a genuine christmas spirit .",
        "... a roller-coaster ride of hilarity , poignancy , vulgarity , and just plain dumbness .",
        "hilarious , a classic",
        "the best of the four `` vacation '' movies .",
        "solid family fare with plenty of yocks .",
        "easily the funniest of the four vacation movies . just try keeping a straight face when the uncouth cousin eddie -lrb- randy quaid -rrb- is on screen .",
        "john hughes wrote the screenplay for this silly , warm little guilty pleasure that nails most of the trials and tribulations of spending the holidays with family .",
        "with enough sight gags to please slapstick fans and enough good-natured christmas cheer to qualify as a good holiday film , national lampoon 's christmas vacation should keep most viewers occupied and provide 97 minutes of goofy entertainment .",
        "in national lampoon 's christmas vacation , chevy chase 's family christmas tree is a little full with a lot of sap , much like this movie . but it 's a big-hearted fullness and it 's a smoothly stirred sap .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- fairly perfect blend ... of cartoon violence and mayhem and the pleasant lightness of a christmas movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "while christmas vacation may not be the most disciplined comedy , it 's got enough laughs and good cheer to make for a solid seasonal treat .",
    "id": "10856"
  },
  {
    "movie": "existenz",
    "reviews": [
        "the only visual jolts come from cronenberg 's trademark images of grotesque amphibians and oozing intestines , and these creepy-crawly moments are merely repulsive , not provocative .",
        "in the hands of anyone else , the notion of computer game terrorists would be ludicrous , and even cronenberg fails to explain their motives , using the film instead to indulge in surreal exercises of dream logic .",
        "... too clever for its own good . once you catch on to the gimmick ... it is n't half as entertaining .",
        "jennifer jason leigh is an ideal cronenberg heroine , projecting a personality that is smart , wary and capable of obsessiveness .",
        "cronenberg 's commentary here , though grotesque , belies a certain intelligence .",
        "the premise is solid , the script is clever and well-thought-out , and the movie is consistently engaging ...",
        "bringing a light touch to the grave issues of mortality , illusion , identity , and technology that have obsessed him throughout his career , cronenberg turns them into a diverting , disorienting , ultimately inconsequential hand of solitaire .",
        "a s-fi thriller that challenges us to ponder the propensity we all have for surrendering ourselves to cheap thrills as a substitute for the boredom of reality .",
        "it 's a pleasure to find the brooding cronenberg turning out a trifle , even if it 's a dark trifle .",
        "MOV feels fresh , even if the impulses behind it were n't wholly original .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- meant to have a whiff of the philosophical , even if its intellectual ambition seems mostly limited to spelling affectations .",
        "-lsb- cronenberg is -rsb- a laughing existentialist here , a philosopher who sees the comedy in disorientation .",
        "i just do n't happen to like puzzle films of any kind , but i must credit mr. cronenberg with more intellectual depth than most of his fellow pessimistic movie pranksters .",
        "it 's a disturbing , disorienting sensation -- puzzles within puzzles , games within games -- that continues right up to the last shot .",
        "experienced gamers should find much to savor through the films unique assessments on the nature of reality .",
        "brave moviegoers and fans of writer-director david cronenberg will find funny dialogue and grotesquely engrossing scenes in his latest sci-fi horror tale .",
        "fans may find certain similarities between MOV and videodrome bothersome , but both films are the real thing .",
        "dark , delirious fun .",
        "it 's good art direction in search of an idea .",
        "an evolution for the filmmaker that will reach maturity in the quiet , devastatingly economical eloquence of spider .",
        "a genuinely jolting yarn ... cronenberg eventually succeeds in making the audience feel as disoriented as allegra ...",
        "leigh has not turned in a performance as mischievous and alluring in quite some time .",
        "this is cronenberg country and cyberspace is not a spotless , computer-generated playing platform but a decayed , visceral fug",
        "cronenberg needs more than ideas for his next film , he needs a good script and actors who are more suited for their roles .",
        "MOV keeps you guessing throughout , but this eventually becomes tiresome .",
        "at one point , jude law says , `` i find this disgusting but i ca n't help myself . '' me , too .",
        "because of the potential of the idea and cronenberg 's reputation as a film maker , it 's a real disappointment to watch MOV fall apart the way it does .",
        "the biggest flaw is the film 's patent lack of a life pulse",
        "cronenberg has created an emotionally weightless intellectual exercise that 's fun to parse but little fun to watch .",
        "cronenberg throws so much blood and guts into this film that at times i felt like i was watching the surgery channel on a tv placed in a tank full of bait .",
        "MOV is well thought out ... to a point .",
        "the typically cronenbergian preoccupation with organs and bodily fluids is much in evidence , but this is the first time you can imagine the director standing just beyond the frame , smiling as he goes for the gross-out .",
        "cronenberg makes leaps of logic , character , and setting so baffling that they do n't become clear until the end . even then , the final outcome is so devious you 'll sit poking yourself to make sure you wo n't disappear with the click of the projector .",
        "cronenberg slides between reality and virtual reality with such seamless morphing that it is sometimes intentionally unclear what world the characters are in .",
        "what matters to cronenberg is the imaginative trip on which his film takes its audience and the eerie feeling of unease it leaves with them at the end .",
        "it is a movie that exists in almost a dreamlike state , eminently watchable but too bizarre to really involve its audience personally . that is not a criticism , but only a statement .",
        "for the right audience the film is a kick .",
        "this darkly sexual sci-fi horror variant by cronenberg makes the matrix look like child 's play .",
        "at last , with his ecstatic , spellbinding , madly original MOV , cronenberg suppresses his yen for being a mere provocateur and makes an inspired , ingenious film that wants to be more than the stuff bad dreams are made of .",
        "MOV , the newest film under cronenberg 's name , is one of the more calm and least-daring of his movies . it 's also one of the best .",
        "managed to keep me interested in its development , despite several moments of `` are they still in the game ? '' frustrations , and stamped a vote onto my approval with a fun and appropriate conclusion .",
        "if you thought the matrix was an incoherent but mind-blowing experience , along comes MOV to blow it out of the cinematic waters .",
        "MOV is a good ride . but eat before you come . the meals on display here are for presentation only .",
        "above all , it is a galactic leap from any other film you 're likely to see this week . or this month . perhaps this whole year .",
        "i was hooked from the very beginning all the way to its abrupt and slightly disturbing ending .",
        "purely as a virtual reality thriller it works well and hard sci-fi fans will be glad at having seen it .",
        "a fine exercise of a film , but hardly a riveting piece of cinematic art .",
        "the first north american release of 1999 that can make you tingle while you 're watching it , then think three days later while you replay it at home .",
        "the matrix is mainstream sci-fi , but MOV , written by cronenberg , is much stranger ; it creates a world where organic and inorganic are not separate states , but kind of chummy .",
        "the story is such a mind trip that most of the audience will be equally and pleasantly confused .",
        "jennifer jason leigh , who in the past loved to play the absolute cynic with curled lip and gutteral voice , has never looked and sounded sexier ."
    ],
    "summary": "gooey , slimy , grotesque fun .",
    "id": "13224"
  },
  {
    "movie": "beatles_a_hard_days_night",
    "reviews": [
        "finally , i know what a feel-good movie is .",
        "we loved them -- yeah , yeah , yeah . now we can love them all over again .",
        "richard lester 's tangential , effortlessly clever ode to the fab four , given the re-mastered print and soundtrack treatment , still feels fresh and alive .",
        "to watch the movie , and to enjoy such pop music classics as ` all my loving ' and ` she loves you ' is not merely to saunter down memory or penny lane , but to drink at pop 's headwaters .",
        "more than anything else , the movie is a snapshot of how much fun beatlemania really was .",
        "the film was easy to dance to and had a sound comic rhythm . it still does .",
        "the film is still entertaining and certainly easy to watch , especially if you have anything more than a passing interest in the band during their early days of worldwide fame .",
        "remains a must-see for any beatles fan , anyone who enjoys intelligent comedy , or anyone interested in seeing a moment of history caught poignantly on celluloid .",
        "an hour and a half of pure , chaotic bliss .",
        "no movie of the 1960s catches that era 's irreverent joy and exuberance as much as director richard lester 's beatlemania saga .",
        "it 's pure joy as i should have known better , and i love her and tell me why pour out over footage of thousands of screaming , weeping schoolgirls with bouffant hair and miniskirts pursuing john , paul , george and ringo .",
        "as invigorating and funny now as it was on its original release half a century ago , a hard day 's night offers both a perfect showcase for the beatles and an intriguing snapshot of fast-changing , early-1960s british society .",
        "the movie never feels like a nostalgia trip . it moves , breathes and sings with life .",
        "critic andrew sarris was n't just playing the fanboy when he described this movie as ` the citizen kane of jukebox musicals . ' he just might have been selling it short .",
        "an art film and an exploitation film , a comedy and a musical , a celebration of the beatles and a satire of their fame and fortune",
        "the beatles might break into song at any moment or they might run around a park goofing around while their songs are playing , but these moments truly work and they clearly helped to lay the groundwork for mtv videos and musicals to come .",
        "this re-release offers a refreshed glimpse of a long-lost english atlantis-and a farewell to it .",
        "a hard day 's night is a chance to experience to the joyous , early days of pop - while at the same time noting how the pressures of re-energising national life were beginning to close in on the enchanting innocence of youth .",
        "pure , delirious , irresistible joy .",
        "the results remain pop perfection .",
        "to watch the final concert segment is to look back decades and realize , as you do seeing vintage footage of duke ellington or frank sinatra or john coltrane , that it 's never really gotten any better .",
        "the music video by which all other music videos must be judged . and none top it .",
        "it 's the exuberance of ` ca n't buy me love ' and the chiming harmonies of ` if i fell ' that will leave a moony smile on your face when the show is over .",
        "filled with unforgettable moments , most having to do with the music .",
        "younger fans can see what beatlemania was really all about .",
        "do n't even try to keep a smile off of your face and a song out of your heart while watching the film . it 's just not possible .",
        "in its own fab way , a hard day 's night was a pivotal point in british filmmaking .",
        "still feels brand spanking new , and way cool .",
        "has survived the years like a disney cartoon classic .",
        "it captures almost everything good about its time .",
        "the film is mad , mad and crazy , shrewdly designed for the teenage and calculated also to attract the curious and the oldsters who enjoy this sort of thing .",
        "without question , this is a night to remember .",
        "a comedy classic that cross - pollinated jean-luc godard with the four marx brothers .",
        "you thought , like i once did when i was too young and punk rock to care , that the beatles were irrelevant old people who should just go away . this will convince you they were cool .",
        "the new , cleaned-up version -lrb- with a splendid dolby mono soundtrack -rrb- playing at film forum confirms its reputation as the greatest and most entertaining rock movie , ever .",
        "from the opening chords of the title song played over the group bemusedly fleeing from their fans , a hard day 's night creates pure , infectious joy .",
        "no previous rocksploitation film had ever done so splendid a job of selling its performers .",
        "director richard lester 's pop masterpiece is back and better than ever .",
        "there will always be beatles revivals , but we 're way overdue for a major richard lester revival .",
        "in a hard day 's night , the beatles , in song after song , pay homage to the faith of love , and that faith connects them to something ancient , lending this topspin musical its near oracular beauty .",
        "richard lester was the man born to direct this kinetic , kaleidoscopic comedy-with-songs , starring a quartet still fresh from the first gusts of chart-topping fame .",
        "the simple joys of mucking about are captured in this madcap concert tour farce with the beatles .",
        "a hard day 's night looks chaotic and slapdash enough -lrb- and just occasionally , for me , depressing enough -rrb- to count as an experimentalist or underground movie .",
        "an anarchic , ground-breaking breath of fresh air that weaves a fictional romp around a chaotic day in the life of the fab four as they try to make it to their big show .",
        "at a time when elvis and cliff were still making old-style musicals , this forerunner of the modern music video smashed the mould .",
        "it 's more than a movie ; it 's a key artifact -lrb- minus must or muss -rrb- of a cultural phenomenon .",
        "part musical bonanza , part laugh-out-loud farce , part satirical social document .",
        "the whole movie is an ecstatic mix of serendipity and invention . the beatles were ready for their cinematic breakthrough .",
        "rejected the status quo with an irreverent , quick-cutting documentary style that could fairly be described as mod , rocking and mocking .",
        "comes bouncing at you from every angle , rubbery and untameable with the joys of teenagehood .",
        "the rock and roll movie against which all others are measured .",
        "a kinetic musical extravaganza that proved to detractors there was more to the beatles than mop-tops and melodic pop hooks .",
        "charged with vitality , and inventiveness .",
        "it now strikes one as very much a product of its time , but it still has many pleasures .",
        "captured forever here in a filmic bottle is pop-culture lightning , not only beatles magic and energy but the spirit of the early 60s that sustained it .",
        "these three-minute singles still feel vibrant and alive .",
        "one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies .",
        "a hard day 's night conveys not just a joy in music and the beatles , but a joy in cinema .",
        "a sure-fire boxoffice smash .",
        "the documentary style of this movie masks its tight construction , clever script , and sublime anarchy second only to the marx brothers .",
        "the film moves with such joy , humor and fluidity that you ca n't help getting swept up in the frenzied action .",
        "director richard lester and writer alun owen -lrb- who has never gotten the credit he deserves -rrb- treat us to a fanciful day in the life of the beatles , filmed in 1964 at -lrb- they thought -rrb- the peak of the fab four 's popularity .",
        "the mop-tops are likeably relaxed , with lennon offering a few welcome moments of his dry , acerbic wit .",
        "american-born director richard lester serves up a helping of what , on this side of the pond , we came to think of as kicky , mod british filmmaking .",
        "see it for no other reason than the fact that it 's all too rare you can spend 87 minutes smiling and feeling positive about life .",
        "it 's by no stretch of the imagination a good film , but it gets over as a curio and a landmark in modern western culture .",
        "the cinema has had many landmarks , but few have been as entertaining .",
        "that lester and the beatles got away with the irreverent and superb hard day 's night is , by today 's standards , a miracle .",
        "the kind of timeless artifact that , decades after its making , still hits the senses like a burst of fresh air .",
        "it 's a fine conglomeration of madcap clowning in the old marx brothers ' style , and it is done with such a dazzling use of camera that it tickles the intellect and electrifies the nerves .",
        "the best british film of the 1960s .",
        "for fans this is a chance to enjoy the beatles ' legendary music and charisma with unprecedented clarity .",
        "richard lester 's inventive , humorous mockumentary of the beatles had a huge impact , forever changing the definition and limits of the musical movie genre .",
        "beatles classic as fabulous as the fab four .",
        "worth re-watching over and over again to relive the beatles music , personalities , and lasting legacy .",
        "at best , it is fun . but `` fun '' is not an aesthetic experience : fun remains on the surface . i have nothing against the surface . but it belongs where it is and should n't be taken for anything else .",
        "make a date to catch this on the big screen and be rewarded with pure magic .",
        "even when the band plays away from private eyes or songs simply play over disconnected footage of them having fun , the strength of their songcraft is stirring .",
        "let 's talk about joy , and about wistfulness , because one so often trails the other , and both are woven into the dna of a hard day 's night .",
        "of its time , sure , but eternally entertaining .",
        "it was a movie very much of its time , and in encapsulating that time so well , it has become a film for all times .",
        "a hard day 's night remains a highly lovable movie .",
        "shot in a mock-documentary style , with little or no plot to drive it , a hard day 's night was a refreshing , fast-cut glimpse into the lives of the fab four as they rode the runaway train of sudden global success .",
        "one of the most influential films of the past 40 years gets the spit and polish for a reissue -- and it still has n't aged at all .",
        "not only has this film not dated , it may even look fresher than it did in 1964 ; the zigzag cutting and camera moves , the jaunty ironies and pop-celebrity playfulness , are all standard issue now on mtv and its offspring .",
        "beatles fans will get a kick out of this , but those who do n't worship at the beatle shrine may be a bit flustered by its complete lack of a plot and incomprehensible accents .",
        "this delightful cinematic masterpiece answers the question `` do we still love them ? '' with a resounding `` yeah ! yeah ! yeah ! ''",
        "filled with funny lines and modest gags , a hard day 's night also presents the beatles in performance within the candid framework of the movie .",
        "great band , great music , great film . not only that , it remains a fascinating portrait of britain on the cusp of change .",
        "richard lester 's innovative film , the beatles ' debut feature , is a timewarp memento of that brief 1963-4 phase in their history known as beatlemania .",
        "a time capsule preserving the fab four 's charisma , joy , and youthful exuberance .",
        "a priceless piece of history , a commemoration of a time when pop stars were n't jaded and calculating , fans were n't psychotic and music was more important than marketing .",
        "everything about this movie is a smile .",
        "the result still seems fresh and different decades later .",
        "... if you do n't like the beatles , you do n't like rock 'n' roll . and if you do n't like a hard day 's night , you do n't like movies .",
        "captures the beatles when they still looked like they were having fun , back before drugs and psychedelia and yoko ono took effect .",
        "a breezy slice of silliness that pretty much has the beatles playing themselves .",
        "a love letter to innocence and euphoria and the sheer lifting joy of great pop music .",
        "it 's hard to estimate the effect the film had on the future of movies , television , and society in general .",
        "the deadpan humor and non-sequiturs are delivered with such dry perfection you often find yourself rewinding to see if you really heard what you think you did . -lrb- and you did . -rrb-"
    ],
    "summary": "a hard day 's night , despite its age , is still a delight to watch and has proven itself to be a rock-and-roll movie classic .",
    "id": "9421"
  },
  {
    "movie": "last_resort_2001",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV ... marks the emergence of a filmmaker who , in cunningly addressing matters of restriction and escape , manages to really capture people with a camera .",
        "thank goodness for the shooting gallery -- while hollywood continues to churn out very little of interest , they rescue great little films like MOV from obscurity .",
        "admirably terse .",
        "an unabashed , if subdued ode to star-crossed lovers everywhere .",
        "a tragic but quite educational tour of the western countries ' refugee process .",
        "pawlikowski and his cast have been honoured for this film at festivals across the continent , the greatest award for them would be for you to watch and think .",
        "the intimate , unadorned performances add a realistic immediacy to entire piece .",
        "`` MOV '' does not have the feel of a fictional piece , but instead appears to be unfolding as the events occur .",
        "this quiet film gains its power from small moments and unforced , convincing performances .",
        "what was missing for me was a story that was engaging or interesting .",
        "one of the few films to get at the ways in which single mothers and their sons alternate being authority figures .",
        "effortlessly burrows beneath the surface of quietly desperate lives and finds the humanity within .",
        "writer/director pawel pawlikowski strikes a wonderful balance between pathos and tenderness .",
        "extremely apt in its storytelling ability .",
        "a small but surprisingly moving film ... reminiscent of the italian neorealist classics of the 1950s .",
        "a glimpse into passing lives that achieves warmth and significance through artful and unpretentious understatement .",
        "you walk out of the theater curiously touched .",
        "has a broodingly beautiful aesthetic sensibility .",
        "bittersweet and ultimately uplifting .",
        "as in loach 's films , the only real villains are the low-level bureaucrats of the welfare system -- a simplistic notion , to say the least .",
        "the film should help position the award-winning documentarian as a feature writer-director of considerable promise .",
        "MOV shares with movies like lynne ramsay 's ratcatcher and emmanuel finkiel 's voyages a simultaneous commitment to truth-telling and formal exploration .",
        "fasten your seat belt , and do n't blink for a second .",
        "this is the best class of poetic realism , the kind you can believe in without a trace of hesitation .",
        "MOV is a little treat of a quality film at a time when hollywood is releasing mostly dreck .",
        "in addition to imbuing MOV with a convincingly gritty atmosphere , director pawlikowski also loads the film with several fascinatingly seedy characters .",
        "`` MOV '' fits well into any big city theater , but wo n't entertain , nor interest most escapist audiences .",
        "from polish writer-director pawel pawlikowski comes a poignant sad sack tale of a young russian mother and her son cast adrift on foreign shores .",
        "dramatically low-key , MOV is beautifully acted , with striking realism .",
        "sometimes it takes a long day 's journey into night to see ourselves clearly and realize it is time to change our lives .",
        "pavlikovsky ... does a great job wielding his handheld camera to make this film feel like a documentary .",
        "sets itself apart with confident , stylized directing that perfectly suits the gritty performances .",
        "a remarkably thoughtful and disturbing work .",
        "a sobering and superbly realised portrait of a self-satisfied nation .",
        "throughout , the film captures that certain gloomy england of urban decay and rain , which makes tanya 's plight all the more emotional .",
        "there 's no denying that MOV is motivated by heart and solidly humane , altruistic intentions . the romantic glaze on the heartfelt core of the film , however , suggests commercial longings -- and naivete .",
        "a visceral , intimate drama .",
        "sensuous , charming , and uniquely moving .",
        "when will american filmmakers , mainstream and independent alike , tire of being shown up by international movies that capture authenticity as a matter of course ?",
        "reads like a perfectly nuanced short story .",
        "korzun is especially good .",
        "a heartfelt , thoroughly honest and sometimes heartbreaking account of a woman who despite being twice divorced is a naive and incurable romantic .",
        "a humane and surprisingly comic feature .",
        "all three leads underplay effectively , and the verite style reinforces the arbitrariness with which events impinge upon their lives and force some choices .",
        "a thoroughly and refreshingly internal tale of how the things that keep us from being truly free are within ourselves .",
        "pawlikowski deftly balances the bitter with the sweet here , which is graced by top-notch performances .",
        "pawlikowski 's style makes for compelling , if sometimes grittily depressing , viewing .",
        "a lovely first feature .",
        "balances gritty naturalism and compelling drama .",
        "pawlikowski and his actors surprise us with fully drawn characters who defy the hopelessness and doom of their surroundings .",
        "pawlikowski can not seem to decide whether he 's making a love story or a drama about refugees ; in any case , he does n't succeed on either score .",
        "gives grim and gritty a good name .",
        "a deft and moving study of displacement and self-discovery .",
        "captures a small breath of life in a place where we might not otherwise look for it .",
        "no plot description can really do this sweet , melancholy comedy justice ; it 's ineffable charm lies entirely in the delivery .",
        "obliquely affecting .",
        "moving and eerily beautiful .",
        "pawlikowski ... renders the events of MOV so unsentimentally that they unfold with the authenticity of an affecting documentary .",
        "small but surprisingly satisfying .",
        "polish director pawel pawlikowski is an exhilarating visual storyteller .",
        "though the film has its heart in the right place , it is ultimately a slight -- even dull -- effort which does n't match the promise of its moniker .",
        "gritty , offbeat , appealing love story .",
        "pavlikovsky puts a human face on a problem that often goes by as a blur on the evening news ."
    ],
    "summary": "critics are raving about MOV , saying it 's a convincing , touching tale . particularly impressive is the lack of script during the film 's shoot .",
    "id": "331967143"
  },
  {
    "movie": "undercover_brother",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- austin -rsb- powers -lrb- coming again july 26 -rrb- now has competition in pure silliness .",
        "a joyful mix of high and low humor , pulled off with style and an eye for glamour .",
        "one ca n't help but feel that either the filmmakers missed some golden opportunities or that the source material simply ran dry before the picture could run its course .",
        "`` it 's all just an advertisement for the funkadelic soundtrack . ''",
        "it combines relentless energy with an aura of good nature for a formula that works .",
        "like any one of a number of saturday night live movies , MOV is fifteen funny minutes of material stretched thin over two hours .",
        "the smartest bonehead comedy of the summer .",
        "it 's about keeping it funny , and on that score MOV is right on .",
        "the enjoyable MOV , a zany mix of saturday night live-style parody , '70s blaxploitation films and goofball action comedy gone wild , dishes out a ton of laughs that everyone can enjoy .",
        "a colorful , cool and completely hilarious ride that 'll have you rolling through the outtakes .",
        "every broad stereotype and discomfiting joke carries the sting of truth .",
        "one of the smarter genre spoofs in years .",
        "there are some hilarious bits in MOV , but there are far more which are flat , dull and crass .",
        "little is done to support the premise other than fling gags at it to see which ones shtick .",
        "a surprisingly ` solid ' achievement by director malcolm d. lee and writer john ridley .",
        "a sparkling comedy in the vein of the first austin powers movie , continually pulling gags out of a richly varied stream of sources to create a delicious frappe of nearly nonstop laughs .",
        "the broad physical comedy is as reliable as a brick house .",
        "his name is MOV , and he 's one bad-mother-shut-your-mouth crime fighter - dolemite and shaft rolled into one .",
        "basically a five-minute sketch stretched out to feature length and dressed up in retro chic .",
        "as parodies go , lee 's film is refreshingly unpretentious and more silly -lrb- and inspired -rrb- than his cousin spike lee 's racial parody , bamboozled .",
        "quite like the first austin powers in that it 's pretty funny , but it could have been funnier if they 'd invented more loopy spins on the basic premise .",
        "first-time feature director malcolm d. lee does n't have a feel for the material , blows one sure-thing bit after another and fails to let , or make his cast be funny .",
        "the movie is n't just hilarious : it 's witty and inventive , too , and in hindsight , it is n't even all that dumb .",
        "a zany , simplistic , chaotic and outrageous comedy .",
        "sadly , contains too little of the fashion or the funk that made its predecessors so much fun .",
        "... a spoof comedy that carries its share of laughs - sometimes a chuckle , sometimes a guffaw and , to my great pleasure , the occasional belly laugh .",
        "the beauty of this smart , sharp comedy lies in its dexterity , as it raises one fist in a friendly black power salute and firmly gooses the whole audience with the other .",
        "MOV does n't go far enough . it 's just a silly black genre spoof .",
        "everyone in the theater -lrb- half black-half white -rrb- was laughing so hard at times that occasionally i could n't ever hear the dialogue - and it was turned up loud .",
        "an affectionately goofy satire that 's unafraid to throw elbows when necessary ...",
        "the movie is filled with such high spirits and good humor that the jokes are pointed but not barbed .",
        "eddie griffin , who was so much better than the films that encased him with john q and the new guy , is certainly likable enough here , but he rarely lets loose with the kind of manic talent he evidenced in those supporting roles .",
        "even during periods when the belly laughs subside , griffin continues to keep it really amusing with his exuberant flair for physical comedy and mock-serious swagger .",
        "inspired silliness .",
        "we want the funk - and this movie 's got it .",
        "think of it as a sort of black austin powers movie , only funnier .",
        "a devilishly funny and well-balanced film .",
        "imagine austin powers running into zoolander at a black panthers meeting ...",
        "achieves the perfect cartoonish look but makes some fine points about racism through its silliness .",
        "as hard as `` MOV '' tries to be a black `` austin powers '' , it lacks the demented brilliance of a guy like mike myers .",
        "obvious , obnoxious and didactic burlesque .",
        "you may not think too deeply about MOV once it 's over , but you wo n't be able to deny how much you laughed out loud .",
        "very funny , but did colin powell really deserve this ?",
        "for some reason , it works better at a drive-in than at a white bread suburban multi-plex . it 's spotty , but it could have been great .",
        "racially aware yet consistently good-natured , it 's surprisingly fun from start to finish .",
        "quick pace , no lulls , many silly bits and a soundtrack that knows how to back this kind of satirical comedy",
        "there 's not enough to sustain the comedy .",
        "airplane meets chuck jones meets kubrick meets the farrellys ... smarter and funnier than it has a right to be .",
        "the sketch comedy feel works wonders .",
        "eddie griffin is one of the funniest comedians in hollywood making films right now ... see why he 's still a bargain for top billing .",
        "an enjoyably retro ride that relies more on cultural awareness for its humor than sheer gross-out",
        "MOV '' is much , much funnier than even the first austin powers movie . its trailer is funnier than the second austin powers movie .",
        "funny ? fo ' shizzle .",
        "much of MOV plays as a funnier , if similarly addled , bamboozled .",
        "not only is MOV as funny , if not more so , than both austin powers films , but it 's also one of the smarter , savvier spoofs to come along in some time .",
        "the film works no matter which side of the racial divide you 're on , because nothing unites an audience quite like making fun of everyone .",
        "a smart send-up of spy movies , race relations and pop culture that packs more funny into its 86 minutes than austin powers will manage in a lifetime .",
        "it 's far from perfect -- as many jokes fall flat as succeed -- but like MOV himself , it 's smarter than most , and twice as solid .",
        "unfortunately eddie griffin is no eddie murphy .",
        "instead of packing an r-rated , politically incorrect punch , the film goes for the easy laughs without getting too raunchy or violent , and the result is mildly amusing but mostly mediocre .",
        "beating the austin powers films at their own game , this blaxploitation spoof downplays the raunch in favor of gags that rely on the strength of their own cleverness as opposed to the extent of their outrageousness .",
        "` MOV ' comes packed with possibilities , but ca n't keep its groove thing shaking with enough consistency to be any more than a ` saturday night live ' sketch that goes on too long .",
        "even the soundtrack selections are second - or third-hand .",
        "the satire is at both cultures ' expenses , which is a beautiful thing .",
        "while MOV is definitely one for the masses , it 's also full of sharp , smart satire .",
        "the movie just has too much on its plate to really stay afloat for its just under ninety minute running time .",
        "an impressive balance of well-executed slapstick and insightful -lrb- albeit silly -rrb- social commentary .",
        "there are a lot of laughs to be found in this film .",
        "silly and fun .",
        "it 's so refreshing to see a comedy that 's actually funny . i laughed so hard i was hurting afterwards . in fact , i demand a sequel .",
        "the film ends up tackling every racial stereotype imaginable and manages to generate a lot of laughs from it .",
        "nothing is sacred in this gut-buster .",
        "from the opening strains of the average white band 's `` pick up the pieces '' , you can feel the love .",
        "there are n't any slow moments and the jokes come fast and furious .",
        "a witty piece of genre deconstruction that 's curiously drunk on pomo knowingness for both the mofo mystique of 70s blaxploitation and the mojo bull **** of james bond .",
        "the spirit of genre-busting , racial-stereotype deconstruction is so strong and heady in MOV that it 's hard not to completely fall for its comic charms .",
        "not particularly good , but good enough for a comedy",
        "a spy movie-blaxploitation picture spoof that repeats itself so often , and hits its targets so erratically , you 'd swear it was adapted from a saturday night live skit .",
        "the most excruciating 86 minutes one might sit through this summer that do not involve a dentist drill .",
        "feels like one of those movies lifted from a saturday night live skit and then stretched way thin .",
        "a spirited and often funny lark of a movie .",
        "a flick that 's so stupid it 's smart .",
        "there 's an anarchic energy to this movie and a commitment to reality-based foolishness that wins you over .",
        "led by griffin 's smartly nuanced performance and enthusiasm , the cast has a lot of fun with the material .",
        "a live-action version that 's as funny and savvy as the original , even if one leaves the theatre exhausted by its barrage of pop-culture references , and perhaps disappointed by its softness as satire .",
        "there are laughs aplenty , and , as a bonus , viewers do n't have to worry about being subjected to farts , urine , feces , semen , or any of the other foul substances that have overrun modern-day comedies .",
        "traffics in the kind of prechewed racial clich\u00e9s that have already been through the corporate stand-up-comedy mill .",
        "one of the best comedies of its kind .",
        "if you like the austin powers franchise , chances are you 'll like this , regardless of your race . if you do n't , we 'll , i 'd have to say you 're just a jive turkey .",
        "the problem is , that half the time i laughed myself silly , while the other half , i was egregiously offended .",
        "every little piece of this project fell magically , hilariously in place , even if some of its gags do n't quite hit the target .",
        "not for one moment does it get serious or stop for a straight action sequence , and yet it develops into something genuinely exciting , just through the enthusiastic velocity of its streams of jokes and images .",
        "... zips along at a frenetic pace , but the lack of plot does eventually catch up with the rest of the movie .",
        "`` MOV '' fares better as a blaxploitation spoof than as silly-spy shtick . scathing but not scatological , `` brother 's '' withering insights are equal opportunity : here , white guilt is as satirically punishable an offense as propping up prejudice .",
        "stereotype-based satire ; not for young kids .",
        "much funnier and craftier than it had any right to be .",
        "funny at parts",
        "there is nothing undercover about this comedy . it 's solid . can you diggit ?",
        "i know we 're not supposed to take it seriously , but i ca n't shake the thought that MOV missed an opportunity to strongly present some profound social commentary .",
        "more often than not , the movie 's irreverent , ramshackle charms hit the mark .",
        "malcom d. lee is a consummate professional and has made a wise choice in how to approach this material , for a strong case could be made to use this as the initial tool in our school systems to begin serious discussions about race and class .",
        "-lrb- the film -rrb- uses the well-traveled conventions of racial stereotyping to make a grand little spy/action comedy .",
        "the movie 's contradictions of intent -lrb- opposing black stereotypes at the same that it 's reveling in them -rrb- hinder it from making any real comic statement .",
        "has the right mindset , but not always the right material .",
        "ub equally spoofs and celebrates the more outre aspects of ` black culture ' and the dorkier aspects of ` white culture , ' even as it points out how inseparable the two are .",
        "everytime you think MOV has run out of steam , it finds a new way to surprise and amuse .",
        "it 's breezily entertaining and culturally specific without resorting to gross-out jokes or cruelty .",
        "the summer 's first raucous comedy",
        "manages in two minutes what malcolm lee 's cousin spike 's bamboozled could n't in over two hours .",
        "an amiable if inconsistent send-up of and tribute to blaxploitation flicks of the early 1970s .",
        "austin powers is going to have to muster up every ounce of mojo he 's got to out-funny this soul brother spy spoof .",
        "the one-liners are clever enough and the physical comedy and pop-culture goofing sufficiently dumb and broad to make MOV ... a reasonably pleasant experience .",
        "griffin & co. manage to be spectacularly outrageous .",
        "displays the disarming nutball sensibility of a naked gun farce and the dead-on social satire of an on-its-game saturday night live sketch .",
        "it 's short , painless and likely to make even tough comedy customers laugh out loud a few times .",
        "a smart , shrewd , even charming spoof ... easily beats ` austin powers ' at his own game .",
        "good-natured , funny , fast-moving and short ."
    ],
    "summary": "fast-paced and filled with racial gags , MOV serves up plenty of laughs and sharp satire .",
    "id": "11287"
  },
  {
    "movie": "win_win_2011",
    "reviews": [
        "some accomplished turns , and the mood of downbeat quirkiness has its appeal . plot contrivances scupper it though , and given mccarthy 's track record it 's a letdown .",
        "if there 's a more agreeable comedy now making the rounds , please , someone , tell me about it ... easily the best film i 've seen so far this year ...",
        "funny , agreeable and thoroughly enjoyable , if a little bit too neat and fortuitous in sorting out its entangled strands .",
        "trundles along for the most part in sitcom fashion , even down to the plinky-plonky background music .",
        "funny , touching , and beautifully acted , MOV is definitely a victory in humanistic storytelling .",
        "an under-the-radar breath of fresh air built on a strong cast and a smart script .",
        "writer/director tom mccarthy 's skill comes from an ability to hook you and make you care about his characters as if they are family .",
        "no disrespect : this is a nice little movie",
        "with this cast and these characters , even the predictable goes down very nicely indeed .",
        "another great ` family unit ' film from director thomas mccarthy and one of the best teen performances you 'll see with newcomer alex shaffer .",
        "a hugely enjoyable , warm-hearted drama that 's both funny and moving , thanks to a sharply written script , engaging direction and terrific performances from a superb ensemble cast .",
        "what 's just delightful about this wittily observed and touchingly truthful affair is the fact it offers consistently sherbety entertainment in the moment but ultimately holds to its purpose of saying something useful and genuine about real lives .",
        "while another actor might lose your sympathy , giamatti effectively portrays the quiet desperation of a decent man on the edge , and it 's his soul-searching turn that keeps you pinned to your seat .",
        "as with the station agent and the visitor , mccarthy creates a series of encounters for some astonishingly vivid characters .",
        "although there are times when MOV feels a bit self-consciously whimsical , it rings much truer than most .",
        "it 's a true win , win .",
        "riffs engagingly on the quiet desperation of ordinary , decent folk who find themselves in a fix , who take the wrong road for the right reasons .",
        "for all its witty observations on the trials of modern manhood , it never strays out of its blinkered suburban comfort zone .",
        "giamatti strikes gold yet again , in another unassuming , self-depreciating powerhouse performance full of brilliantly acted nuances , in a story brimming with bittersweet moments .",
        "honest , insightful , warm and witty . a proper delight .",
        "a sports movie in which winning is neither everything nor the only thing .",
        "although shafted by politicians and the economy , the middle class is now a winner on the screen .",
        "mccarthy builds his narrative with care and without sentiment and it 's impossible to not feel for these characters . who has n't taken an easier way out rather than the high road at some time in their lives ?",
        "i do n't think they 're believable at all .",
        "there 's no great narrative momentum to MOV , and that 's fine , because it 's such an enjoyable little slice of life .",
        "enjoyably pitched on life 's fork in the road between comedy and drama , the easy way and the hard way .",
        "rarely has the title of a film better described its contents . MOV is yet another funny , poignant and endearing creation by writer/actor/director tom mccarthy . turns out , sometimes there is truth in advertising .",
        "... the inhabitants of the film 's off-kilter world are as vividly realized and authentically portrayed as one might have expected .",
        "through three films , writer-director -lrb- and occasional actor -rrb- tom mccarthy has navigated a tricky line between winsome and melancholy .",
        "in its charming and self-effacing way , `` MOV '' is the most radical movie yet from writer-director tom mccarthy , and it may be one of the more daring movies to be recently released in america .",
        "as kyle , newcomer alex shaffer finds fresh colors in the old delinquent spectrum , and giamatti , who 's at his best , gives nervous scrambling an undertone of tenderness .",
        "the picture aims for little miss sunshine-like laughs and tears but is n't quite funny or dramatic enough although the characters are sympathetic and it 's very nicely performed .",
        "disappointing because it 's a film from tom mccarthy , the man who gave us the station agent and the visitor . MOV is equally humane , but just too cosy and pat .",
        "no actor does ennobled schnook better than paul giamatti .",
        "there are flips , bumps and falls before the resolution , and even if mccarthy ties up his various plot strands a little too neatly , the story will resonate with viewers suffering from recession blues .",
        "a deft , warm , serious and often very funny film .",
        "cute and smart indie about ordinary folks in new jersey and how they handle their small problems .",
        "it wo n't blow you away , but it remains a well-played and solidly entertaining family film .",
        "a slow-burn study of desperation eating away at the law abiding as they grow older .",
        "moving , funny and thought-provoking - MOV wins .",
        "trying to please a crowd need n't be a shameful business . tom mccarthy makes light comedies that notice the goodness and hospitality in unlikely people , yet stop short of sentimentalising them .",
        "MOV is slighter , and sappier , than it might have been . still and all , it 's a joy .",
        "paul giamatti turns sitcomish fare into a highly watchable dramedy .",
        "blessed is the go-for-it movie that can make room for dissonances and weirdness .",
        "an authentic , truthfull family film , and a nice change of pace for paul giamatti .",
        "w/d mccarthy addresses the everyday issues with such humanity and natural humor , intermingling the comedy and drama into a perfectly-hued shade of heightened reality ... that MOV is about as good as it gets .",
        "a film with a big heart ; it 's an eccentric dramedy and a crowd pleaser .",
        "an effortless dramedy about family and responsibility that transcends its situational humor with sublime comic performances .",
        "a disappointing domestic comedy in which all but the audience get what they want .",
        "there 's a lovely somber undercurrent at play here about recognizable people doing their best to carve out a decent life in a punishing economy .",
        "this movie wins you over , head and heart , without cheating . it 's just about perfect .",
        "this bittersweet dramedy may be the closest thing to an honest depiction of the state of contemporary american communities .",
        "funny , compassionate and authentic .",
        "MOV manages that rare feat of being good comfort viewing without feeling too comfortable itself .",
        "it 's a familiar chain of events that resolves these issues , but where mccarthy veers from the mainstream is in his focus on the small lightbulb moments over the slow-motion slam-dunks that usually mark the reversal in fortunes .",
        "the rare , humanist beauty of MOV is that none of its characters is a caricature , none of its plot twists a blatant play for tears or laughs , none of its appeal based on some mythical lowest common denominator .",
        "a decent feel-good film , but i expected more from mccarthy .",
        "this beautifully realised independent film about winning and second chances is one of those gems that easily finds its mark",
        "for all its clich\u00e9s , it would be impossible to really dislike a film that 's so innately inoffensive .",
        "thomas mccarthy 's focus may be far more everyday than his previous films , but MOV is a resonant , well-crafted drama with standout turns from the ever-brilliant giamatti and newcomer alex shaffer , who is certainly one to watch .",
        "you know , there is truth in advertising . or titles , i should say .",
        "how often is my ` generosity ' inspired by self-serving possibilities ? MOV is going to aggravate me for the rest of this year .",
        "the movie is amiable and funny but a little timid .",
        "is there anyone who can play an `` ordinary guy '' better than paul giamatti ?",
        "MOV is a warm , wonderful comedy , smartly written , full of great performances -lrb- particularly from supporting superstars amy ryan , bobby cannavale and jeffrey tambor -rrb- and bad haircuts -lrb- yeah , a lot of the characters have bad haircuts -rrb- .",
        "deftly illustrates how life is complicated and it is that rare family film that portrays life 's real challenges without glossing over the complexities of relationships .",
        "MOV is n't a morality play ; it 's just a really good story . but it does deal with an issue that could n't be more relevant : where do we draw the line when it comes to survival if it means clouding our sense of right and wrong ?",
        "in tom mccarthy 's MOV sports may seem to be the means for drama . but when considering the importance of wrestling to the characters , the sport shapes character and narrative .",
        "this combination comedy and drama works well , in part because of good performances by everyone .",
        "going down for a short count",
        "excellent performances of good characters in a story that 's not as rich as it apparently believes itself to be .",
        "beautifully observed , this serio-comic film is the stuff of life and , despite the plot contrivances , very engaging in its quiet way .",
        "it 's a wonderful screenplay ; observant , wise and nonjudgmental , drawing out its universal relevance from an intimate and subtle story of human weakness and strength",
        "is n't -lsb- tom -rsb- mccarthy at his best but it 's still better than most .",
        "MOV is n't the most visually stimulating 90 minutes you could spend at arthouses this spring , but it might just be the most emotionally stimulating .",
        "extremely well-crafted , what makes ` MOV ' a champ of sorts is how it maintains the right tempo throughout the film . gliding from one scene to the next , there is not a superfluous moment in the entire film .",
        "who will assemble a finer ensemble this year ? mccarthy 's MOV cast sheet reads like a film nerd 's fantasy football squad .",
        "its unfussy realism makes every funny moment and painful setback seem well-earned and believable .",
        "written and directed by tom mccarthy with an impeccable feel for off-center human comedy at its funniest and most heartfelt , its low-key qualities are so relaxed and unforced every moment feels like a gift .",
        "mccarthy has the incredible gift of developing seemingly simple characters into the most wonderful , complex beings that we rarely see on screen .",
        "giamatti always plays his characters with such apparent ease that he sometimes gets overshadowed by others , but his performance here -- yes , it is a march movie , we know -- is oscar-caliber .",
        "writer-director thomas mccarthy again captures the pain of the outsider .",
        "MOV is a wonderful movie and unless 2011 turns out to be a transcendent year for the art of cinema , i predict that it will appear on many a 10 best list .",
        "giamatti skillfully embodies the movie 's central riddle , how decency and opportunism can coexist in the same man .",
        "a comedy that is resoundingly profound",
        "giamatti , rooting down to the soul of this stressed-out , struggling man , delivers a marvel of a performance - all the more so because we forget that he is performing .",
        "it does n't surprise quite so much as mccarthy 's previous work , but its polish , strength and energy are impressive for a film of any size or pedigree .",
        "if charm were enough , this slight but very sweet domestic comedy would knock it out of the park .",
        "MOV is n't aiming for anything grand or life-altering , but sometimes it 's almost better to see a simple and resonant story told so well .",
        "giamatti knows how to play characters in conflict not only with the world but with themselves .",
        "though MOV seems overplotted , what finally emerges is an emotionally honest , economically real portrait of a guy who thinks he 's got things figured out , until more problems arise .",
        "low-key but disarming comedy-drama stars paul giamatti as a beleaguered small-town lawyer and wrestling coach .",
        "all these characters make a beautiful mess together , even if mccarthy spends too much time tidying it up .",
        "tom mccarthy made an impressive filmmaking debut eight years ago as the writer and director of the indie hit the station agent , which introduced us to peter dinklage and peter",
        "wry , whimsical and compassionate , it 's worth a trip to the multiplex .",
        "MOV earns its title as a genuinely warm film that surprises and delights with humour , intelligence and perfect performances from all its cast . the real winner is the audience lucky enough to catch this gem .",
        "a really well made dramedy that benefits from a funny and touching script by mccarthy and one of the best ensemble casts of the year .",
        "warmly observed and solicitous of its audience to the point of caress , MOV is as comfortable an experience at the movies as you might have this year .",
        "MOV is n't exactly easy to sum up or pitch in one sentence , which reveals how deceptively complex it is . it could be a modern jean renoir movie .",
        "this one really is winning all the way .",
        "funny , humane , and uplifting , the sort of smart entertainment that makes you happier than you were when you started .",
        "mccarthy has finally delivered a realistic take on the male teen , along with a tender , funny look at family and what it means to be a man .",
        "MOV is indie with the edges sanded down completely .",
        "mccarthy 's screenwriting is so supple , his characterizations so well-observed and sharply detailed , that none of the little story dovetails ... seem at all contrived or forced .",
        "a delight , a movie that 's smart and emotionally honest about juggling the problems life sends you . it 's already at the top of my list as one of the year 's best .",
        "a comedy that 's ultimately more touching than funny and a joy from beginning to end .",
        "despite embroiling its characters in thorny ethical and legal quandaries , MOV is after only uncomplicated tidiness .",
        "everything about mccarthy 's film feels easygoing and economical . his scripting is sharp and laugh-out-loud funny , with relationships and family dynamics establilshed quickly in an unfussy fashion .",
        "anyone who likes sports , drama and comedy will be happy they went to see it .",
        "so it 's a MOV for audiences , and it 's a reminder that there are fresh ideas and compelling stories out there . thank you , mr. mccarthy !",
        "MOV is a winner all the way .",
        "the film is a win-win as a quirky indie comedy and an upbeat sports yarn .",
        "sure , the plot sounds melodramatic , but `` MOV '' is more about its characters than its plot , and on that level it 's a total success .",
        "tom mccarthy 's third feature proves something incontestable : the writer-director has a way with american characters .",
        "it 's aptly titled . if you like character-based movies , there 's no way you can lose with this one .",
        "mccarthy 's story and direction do n't demand that the audience take sides one way or the other with mike . he and giamatti trust us to come to our own conclusions .",
        "mccarthy 's put together one terrific ensemble , including former state wrestling champ shaffer who 's a charismatic natural in his acting debut .",
        "there are no real surprises , but this is not to say that `` MOV '' is rote or formulaic . quite the opposite .",
        "an emotionally satisfying drama about sports , family , and money problems in which everyone gets a second chance . one of the best movies of 2011 !",
        "the fine acting , interesting characters , terrific script and , of course , direction are the reasons to do yourself a favor and see this film .",
        "shaffer , an actual top-ranked high-school wrestler , may not be a professional actor , but that 's almost certainly about to change .",
        "mccarthy has a rare ability to make familiar situations seem fresh in an era when many so-called indie films have become as predictable and formulaic as their big-budget brethren .",
        "mature dramedy triumphs with grace and wisdom .",
        "`` MOV '' is more comic than mccarthy 's other films , intentionally and successfully .",
        "the principal joy of `` MOV '' is how often it fails to meet one 's programmed expectations . the effect is oddly exhilarating .",
        "there 's a strain of the inspirational sports movie here , but it does n't overwhelm the sharply observed story of credible people trying to connect .",
        "if it does n't score a pin , it comes out a winner on points .",
        "a charming film , but loses focus when it strains to retain insight , artificially bottoming out the characters so their final reel reunion will mean something .",
        "a wonderfully acted little drama about a tight-knit group of ordinary people whom we get to know and like despite their quirks and flaws .",
        "a highly entertaining film that exudes all the warmth of tom mccarthy 's previous films but also has a sense of comic pace and timing that should allow it far greater appeal to a wider array of audiences .",
        "paul giamatti has the gift of taking movies that are falling into a million horrible pieces and making them watchable .",
        "giamatti brings his trademark plucky underdog quality to an imperfect man who should know better but whose heart is in the right place , and he plays both sides of that equation perfectly .",
        "in the end the film stacks up just this side of twee , as the sort of quirky fare that 's passably entertaining without ever offering anything real or remarkable .",
        "as mccarthy the director wrestles with mccarthy the writer , it 's this capable cast that keeps MOV worth watching .",
        "mccarthy works with more conventional material here than usual , solidly written and acted as one expects but lacking the emotional surprises of his earlier films .",
        "MOV is an all-around solid , well-written , brilliantly acted film that challenges and entertains . it 's a no-lose proposition .",
        "-lsb- mccarthy 's -rsb- writing reflects a wariness of human nature but he 's not cynical ; indeed , the story wraps up with a tenderness that feels true but completely without mush .",
        "giamatti makes a terrific american everyman , a more comical species of arthur miller 's tragic willy loman .",
        "a thoughtful and admirably nuanced moral drama .",
        "if you already know the work of filmmaker tom mccarthy -- who made the station agent and the visitor -- then you know you have a treat in store with this latest project .",
        "another unique story that is both moving and also believable at the same time , an increasingly-rare combination . `` MOV '' is the first great film of 2011 .",
        "you have a funny situation , and there 's some truth in it and unexpected characters , well-acted , and you may not have a great film but you enjoy watching it .",
        "it 's refreshing to see a lawyer unshackled from the usual cinematic stereotypes .",
        "MOV is one of those movies that grows in stature as you watch it .",
        "giamatti has become predictable as an avatar of middle-aged anxiety , but he 's less self-conscious than he was in barney 's version , and plays amusingly off mccarthy regular bobby cannavale .",
        "a small but pleasurable film that nonetheless leaves room for improvement , `` MOV '' is more like `` win tie '' on final calculation .",
        "mccarthy 's decision to focus so keenly on these characters and not the potentially destructive forces surrounding them is the most important one for MOV .",
        "though MOV is certainly mccarthy 's most commercial effort to date , it still benefits from the actor-turned-filmmaker 's affection for the unconventional .",
        "a thoughtful study of relationships and family dynamics , MOV wrestles the competition to the ground .",
        "mccarthy has found his emotional sweet spot , a gentle and complex story to set it in and the perfect title for it . ''",
        "`` MOV '' continues mccarthy 's streak of bringing realistic characters and realistic situations to life on the screen . he has clearly shown his talent for writing and directing , making him one of those directors to watch out for .",
        "there 's a real earnestness to the proceedings : if someone had relayed the setup to me via email or over cocktails , i would have bet heavily that we 'd be looking at a sappy mess of clich\u00e9s .",
        "in a still young movie year , MOV is already on the mat as one of the best .",
        "tom mccarthy does n't make great movies , but he makes movies about people i enjoy spending time with .",
        "MOV makes tom mccarthy three-for-three . grabbing the affection from the audience is what he wants , and dear reader , he ca n't lose .",
        "mccarthy understands the thrill of incontrovertible victory and our primal lust for it .",
        "one of the ten best films of 2011 .",
        "MOV is worth a look look . as indie dramedies go , it 's a good one .",
        "mccarthy has established himself as a craftsman of conventionally quirky pictures that are entirely about ingratiating themselves with the audience . within those limited parameters , MOV works .",
        "this disappointing hard-luck story is elevated above an average television sitcom only because of the exceptional cast . this eccentric moral fable should appeal strictly to the art house crowd .",
        "if life is indeed about enjoying the little things , then it 's entirely appropriate that the best scenes in MOV are the little slice-of-life ones .",
        "`` MOV '' is just that , a charming movie that wo n't make you regret praising it years later . there 's really not much more you could ask for .",
        "`` MOV '' is a very likable small movie . the characters and the situation feel authentic .",
        "as the movie 's frequently comical but believable characters coped with economic responsibilities and emotional challenges , i was reminded of ` the andy griffith show ' -- and i mean that as praise .",
        "it 's easy to undervalue a movie like `` MOV , '' because it does seem so offhand and entertaining . but this is near-perfect filmmaking ; not only does every piece fit together just right , but you forget there are even any pieces .",
        "stays true to the realities of the difficult situation it presents and still sends you out feeling hopeful and fulfilled",
        "it 's a solid effort that delicately balances hilarity , suspense and affection for its characters ' foibles .",
        "giamatti excels as the weak-kneed mike , nicely working his gift for inner conflict and outer bumbling . as his wife , amy ryan is a ballast of unflinching moral certitude ."
    ],
    "summary": "rich , wonderful characters and strong performances populate MOV , with writer/director thomas mccarthy continuing to emerge as a great american humanist .",
    "id": "771224337"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1164582-trade",
    "reviews": [
        ". . an uneven job ... that is intermittently shocking and dull .",
        "it 's a sad but common story .",
        "treats sex slavery with roughly the same amount of tact and complexity with which the jean-claude van damme vehicle hard target treated homelessness .",
        "i was moved .",
        "other than showing how a trafficking pipeline might work , MOV is a total misfire , a strange attempt at making a buddy movie featuring a morose kevin kline and a 17-year-old mexican boy looking for his kidnapped sister .",
        "alternately gripping and frustrating , MOV is a regrettable disappointment .",
        "a transcendent rather than merely tragic film ...",
        "MOV has telegraphed the most sordid examples of the international child sex MOV into a small , somewhat exploitative thriller .",
        "there 's really no nice way to put this : MOV wants to be the traffic of sex slavery , and it fails at that task in ways that are alternately dreary , pretentious and vaguely sleazy .",
        "it labors under the delusion that it 's this year 's revelatory , eye-opening maria full of grace , when it 's little more than a b-movie with an overwrought conscience .",
        "rarely has a message movie been as noxious ... manages to be not only contrived and culturally offensive , but also exploitative of the illicit practice it theoretically opposes .",
        "this mostly effective dramatization paints a suitably ugly picture of the dehumanizing depths people are willing to go for money .",
        "a jarring mess of a movie , one that ends up seeming like no more than a particularly heavy episode of the cbs kidnapping drama without a trace .",
        "seems more exploitation than exploration ... ends up not illuminating its subject but cheapening it .",
        "in addition to one-dimensional characters , the plot is unconvincing , with contrivance heaped upon contrivance .",
        "human trafficking is an awful societal issue , and MOV happens to be an awful movie about human trafficking .",
        "a nasty , vile business , made more slimy because director marco kreuzpaintner does n't trust the intrinsic interest of his story , and pumps it up with chase details , close calls , manufactured crises , and gratuitous scenes .",
        "equally involving yet hard to take .",
        "without making a message movie , the filmmakers have shed light on a serious yet underappreciated sociopolitical issue .",
        "the movie often seems to be exploiting as much as illuminating the problem .",
        "the story of the victims on the road is harrowing , but the tale of the kind cop and the teenager with an attitude is a string of big brother clich\u00e9s .",
        "a routine crime melodrama with art-house message-movie pretensions .",
        "MOV takes on a serious , under-addressed international crime against humanity in a style that is somewhere between tv melodrama and drive-in exploitation , undoing its obvious good intentions and some truly provocative moments .",
        "overly symbolic shots of a lone bike in the street and a doll with its head torn off do n't do an already garbled cautionary tale any favors .",
        "the filmmaker tries to keep the energy up and the audience engaged by incorporating stylistic touches from the michael bay 101 crib sheet , whirling the camera around characters in crisis and lacing scenes with hack guitar rock .",
        "tremendously sincere but at times brutal drama .",
        "what ultimately tips the scales is its determination to avoid sentimentality .",
        "MOV has cojones for trying to lay the kind of political guilt trip it does on us with its sham aesthetics and lurid telenovela-writ-large storyline .",
        "yes , a conventional documentary about sex slavery would probably be more illuminating . it would also be more unbearable .",
        "a documentary about sex trafficking might have been more powerful . dramatizing the subject in this fashion , with a race-against-time road trip , breathless online bidding and a couple of different happy endings , simply cheapens it .",
        "just misses making its urgent point , which was surely the purpose of this emotionally stirring , troubling film , by turning up the excessively convoluted melodrama , and turning its eyes away from the sociopolitical issues that sex slavery thrives on .",
        "MOV is a dreadfully hollow film , empty of everything except pretension and self-importance posing as art .",
        "grim , hard to take , and nightmare-producing , MOV is not for the faint of heart .",
        "incredible -- in the literal , non-complimentary sense ...",
        "a scary , poignant , and unforgettable film that elicits our outrage and compassion as it puts faces and feelings on the victims of the international MOV in sex slaves .",
        "by introducing silly elements into a serious endeavor , the filmmakers undercut their own movie . in the end , we 're watching a somewhat exploitative movie about exploitation .",
        "MOV 's fictional drama is -lsb- hard -rsb- to believe , and impossible to justify .",
        "such difficult subject matter requires a harder-edged delivery , but hopefully this accessible drama will therefore get its message across to a wider audience .",
        "as cinema , ` MOV ' is flawed : the script is functional and the dry characters are hemmed in by the machinations of an unremarkable plot .",
        "if only the whole matched the power and potency of the details . masquerades as a searing expos\u00e9 , but turns out to be a lurid and overwrought account .",
        "a brutal , shattering story of child trafficking that is intended to deliver a sobering punch about the global human trafficking MOV , marco kreutzpaintner 's powerful drama is in fact based on investigative reports in the new york times .",
        "jose rivera 's script plays uneasily , as do some of the directorial flourishes : the shots of rose stems and caged birds are galumphingly emphatic at moments that need no underlining .",
        "kline and the talented gaitan do their best to engage on a human level , but ending with various sobering stats about the global sex MOV only underlines the film 's woefully misplaced dramatic emphasis .",
        "is it possible to agree with what a film is saying while disliking the way it says it ? MOV leaves no arm untwisted and no message unrammed .",
        "this cockeyed odd-couple road movie is well-intentioned , but it comes perilously close to feeding off the crimes it condemns .",
        "takes forever to get anywhere and the ridiculous ending does n't make it worth the journey .",
        "this involving film is weakened by a script that tries to create a formulaic thriller out of an important subject matter .",
        "with terrific performances and strong direction throughout , this hard-hitting thriller delivers a powerful wake-up call .",
        "it gets high marks for its lofty intentions , but it is only mediocre as a thriller and is clunky in its presentation .",
        "as a movie , MOV is so-so , but as an expos\u00e9 of how the new globalized industry of sex trafficking really works , it 's a disquieting , eye-opening bulletin .",
        "a movie that 's guaranteed to make you lose sleep .",
        "there 's plenty of intelligence peeking through the cracks in MOV . it 's just too bad it 's squandered on preaching to the converted in the worst sort of way .",
        "little more than a slipshod , trashy , sometimes exploitative thriller .",
        "however lofty the film 's intent , it 's hard to ignore the flaws in its making nor the protagonist 's own criminality relative to a captor 's religious hypocrisy .",
        "the film 's horrific and important subject matter is distilled into a lackluster lump of generic buddy-movie/road-picture components .",
        "MOV is as gripping as it is important .",
        "ill-conceived and executed by german helmer kreuzpaintner , MOV fails on every level , as expose of sex traffickers , as commentary on us ongoing illegal immigration debate , as portrait of innocent children violated by crime , and even as seedy thriller .",
        "MOV needed to be the united 93 of the human trafficking crisis . it 's closer to being the world MOV center .",
        "... occasionally uses exploitation to get you worked up about , well , exploitation .",
        "comes off like tv-movie sensationalism , sidetracked by distracting backstories and hard-to-swallow plot twists .",
        "a straightforward and uninspired look at the sex MOV .",
        "jose rivera\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s highly improbable and sensationalized screenplay leaves its actors no room for authenticity . marco kreuzpaintner directs with commendable energy , but squanders daniel gottschalk\u00e2 -lrb- tm -rrb- s gold-dust-strewn images on hyperventilating voyeurism .",
        "MOV plays like a slightly more culturally aware episode of walker , texas ranger .",
        "a bone-chilling , disturbing thriller about a forbidden subject the government would probably like to sweep under the rug .",
        "tells the story with gritty realism , but waters it down with laughable melodrama ."
    ],
    "summary": "with an exploitative style that seems more suited for tv shows like csi , MOV 's message about the reality of child exploitation is easily lost .",
    "id": "528392628"
  },
  {
    "movie": "101_reykjavik",
    "reviews": [
        "consistently entertaining , even as its plot becomes increasingly outlandish .",
        "a funny look at modern love through the eyes and culture of a slothfully detached and uniquely 21st century male archetype .",
        "there 's something deep and true beneath the humor .",
        "gudnason makes a delightful anti-hero , abril is a kick in the pants and the snowy locations are nicely integrated .",
        "does n't feel like ` foreign film ' homework .",
        "in spirit , 101 reykjav\u00edk is so almod\u00f3var that it could melt the polar icecap .",
        "for non-icelandic viewers , 101 MOV is ... of interest for the beautifully photographed glimpse , eccentric though it may be , into life in that little-known country .",
        "a fresh alternative to overrated blockbusters .",
        "a fascinating and sexy performance from spanish actress victoria abril as lola .",
        "as sullen and unlikable as hlynur would be in real life , it 's a credit to gudnason that we can give half a damn what becomes of him .",
        "but life , unlike mtv programming , does change now and then .",
        "kormakur 's need to make the picture fuller drowns it with inconsistency .",
        "a moderately amusing chronicle of one man 's fight for his right to lethargy .",
        "a times as flatly deadpan as hylner , at others as passionately eccentric as abril 's lola , 101 MOV is at least dedicatedly unexpected .",
        "uses a combination of humor , pathos , and general weirdness to good effect .",
        "the film is almost too successful in its depiction of reykjav\u00edk as the most boring spot on the planet .",
        "far too minor for me to bother with any loud complaints , and it definitely has enough material for sugar-puff entertainment .",
        "fulfills the basic requirements of good slacker comedy .",
        "finely acted and shot with a beautiful , understated cinematic sweep ... 101 reykjav\u00edk is a poignant , endearingly offbeat work .",
        "life in iceland never looked so bland and swingin ' at the same time .",
        "hilmer snaer gudnason makes hylner ... weirdly sweet and appealing , and as for the rest of the cast , well , we 've yet to see a movie that was not vastly improved by the presence of victoria abril .",
        "as an offbeat character study , it 's a curiosity well worth checking out .",
        "imagine , if you dare , ingmar bergman as a consummate slacker with a wicked sense of pop humour .",
        "the director wisely resists the temptation to treat slackerdom as just a blase counterpoint to the craziness of the world .",
        "hilynur serves as a likable antihero .",
        "there 's something juicily amusing about the nonjudgmental way kormakur views his characters .",
        "the movie is inconsequential , floppy-eared , frisky , yet no dog .",
        "101 MOV sometimes seems to be drifting pointlessly , but it keeps on righting itself , with moments of humor and imagination .",
        "culture clashes , gender roles and political correctnesses all get their moment in this droll winner .",
        "... there is more intelligence and humor in this 93-minute diamond-in-the-rough than in 10 american coming-of-age flicks .",
        "fails because it 's nearly impossible to care about the main character .",
        "kormakur ... balances tones with a smooth , mature confidence .",
        "it 's a strange and distant tale that would only appear on jerry springer in america but comes off as quirky and cute when presented from the cold nordic perspective .",
        "a film that 's as outlandish as it is entertaining .",
        "a tightly packed little snowball of a comedy that picks up steam as it rolls along .",
        "everything about this icelandic sitcom comedy seemed off kilter .",
        "has a generosity of spirit , sharp character observation and solid performances .",
        "funny , sexy , and utterly moored in its distinctive landscape",
        "as a tour through the messy lifestyles of the young and the wasted in europe 's most remote yet hippest capital , it 's entertaining and often hilarious .",
        "though the film ... has been described by some critics as ` almodovar-esque , ' actor-turned-director baltasar kormakur 's sensibility is far less outrageous .",
        "its dark , somber tone allows for a humor that feels far more human in temperament than that of any comedy released by hollywood this year ."
    ],
    "summary": "a funny , offbeat romantic comedy about an unlikely tryst with the beautiful icelandic landscape as a backdrop .",
    "id": "20019"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cold_mountain",
    "reviews": [
        "minghella crafts enough resonant , lyrical images to make the engrossing MOV a finely polished , emotionally harrowing epic .",
        "minghella overdirects the movie like frazier overwrites the novel .",
        "... a good epic that tries too hard to be great .",
        "MOV is ... like a painting hanging in a museum ... . it ignites your admiration , but fails to sufficiently seize your emotions .",
        "this could have been a powerful war story , but under the surface it is contrived and unconvincing and the performances are uninvolving .",
        "... it does achieve , if only intermittently , the aching feelings of love and loss , for both country and countrymen , that frazier depicted so unforgettably in his novel .",
        "in spite of an entire film 's worth of good intentions , you 'll either love it or hate it based on the ending alone .",
        "not many movies have characters you can warm up to the way MOV does . that makes it a real treasure .",
        "despite fine work by jude law and nicole kidman , the story feels hollow at its core , the central romance barely resonating as the life-sustaining force it 's meant to be .",
        "MOV is set in frontier america , but it 's staged in the wilderness of romania ! i knew something was wrong when the confederacy declared war against vlad the impaler .",
        "montagne un peu trop froide mais quelle beaut\u00e9 !",
        "MOV is haunted by the earmarks of a tv mini-series ... -lsb- but -rsb- left me in a dreamy state of mind ...",
        "-lsb- zellweger -rsb- keeps this mountain from deteriorating into a molehill of unrelenting melancholy .",
        "`` MOV '' is a well-wrought drama about love , loyalty and the ravages of war .",
        "handsome and fast-moving , if a little hollow .",
        "a gorgeous , epic film whose characters , story and production are just about perfect in every way .",
        "law 's performance and seale 's camerawork redeem the excesses of MOV , even though minghella makes the journey steeper than he ought .",
        "a grand and intoxicating love story more often felt than seen .",
        "nicole kidman and jude law get top billing , but it 's ren\u00e9e zellweger who steals the show .",
        "stirring and sad and lovely all at the same time , this movie reaches for cinematic heights -- and often finds them .",
        "has the big , glossy feel of a hollywood epic that 's been worked up by experts .",
        "kidman 's locks gets mysteriously re-highlighted during the civil war 's most depressed period - maybe zellweger 's ruby was as handy with foils as pitchforks .",
        "the brevity of each of these incidents is a function of the film 's structure , but it also creates a sense of perpetual dislocation .",
        "holds itself up with a sometimes labored studiousness that threatens , but never quite undermines , the inherent power of the story",
        "this romantic costume drama set during the civil war has both an epic scale and focused , personal stories .",
        "this one was good but i expected much more .",
        "a one note affair about the ravages of war in which beautiful people are dirtied up and walk around idyllic landscapes while bad things happen all around them ...",
        "beauty and skill bereft of passion or personality .",
        "even for a movie that works in pieces , all three leads are miscast .",
        "a good-looking but dull and eccentrically cast romantic drama set during american civil war .",
        "although there were some good moments in the film , mostly due to philip seymour hoffman , `` MOV '' never rises above the average .",
        "scaling a mountain might be easier than swallowing this pompous bag of feed",
        "a willed exercise in mythmaking .",
        "a successful adaptation .",
        "that the film MOV is so much better than the best-selling charles frazier novel makes it quite the rare thing -- only the godfather comes immediately to mind as an example of a major movie that so surpasses its source material .",
        "an unabashed romantic , minghella takes to ada and inman 's love story with appreciable feeling , but the irony of MOV is that it 's the director 's grasp of violent action that proves his greatest cinematic gift .",
        "one stunner of a movie .",
        "despite its surface allure and hi-lit cred , the hero remains opaque , the structure is episodic , and the film never quite attains the epic sweep it aspires to .",
        "takes a complex , episodic story and builds it into an emotionally satisfying whole . it might just make me take another crack at reading the novel .",
        "in terms of pedigree and sheer , lush filmmaking , the movie has class written all over it . and that 's part of the problem .",
        "-lsb- law 's -rsb- actorly determination matches kidman 's -- there 's more chemistry in their tintypes than their interactions -- although the script decrees that these cool operators make a sweet pair of sweeties .",
        "MOV is a movie of episodes , and minghella pulls off dazzling set pieces : he knows how to infuse violence with emotion , so it never seems gratuitous .",
        "a film of grand gestures and also intricate subtlety , which is unfortunately bogged down by the wooden performances of the leads and some pacing problems .",
        "a rapturous , unusual romantic adventure , detailing mostly unexplored sides to the civil war and female companionship .",
        "... a film that works , more or less , simply for being about real characters and how they cope with situations .",
        "lovely to look at , engagingly acted , but empty and ... well , `` cold '' pretty much sums it up .",
        "a film of many excellences undermined by a flawed narrative .",
        "a rapturous , moving experience that 's filled with drama , comedy , music , and action .",
        "MOV is an engaging story ... it is unfortunate that it occasionally takes itself too seriously for its own good .",
        "that ancillary characters are played by big-name supporting actors , each of whom seems to be working in a different register , just underscores the choppy nature of the story .",
        "law and kidman are the stars , but it 's the secondary characters that the audience will connect with and remember , especially ruby .",
        "the movie is captivating from beginning to end , and there is nary a boring scene to be found .",
        "minghella has meticulously crafted an intimate epic that , while it does have a somewhat cerebral tone , is clearly determined to translate frazier 's vision of human hope amid great brutality to the screen .",
        "is nicole kidman contractually obligated to interact with birds in all her films ?",
        "powerful but somehow distant , like a story being told in low tones across a room .",
        "one of the most intelligent and caring book-to-screen transitions ever made .",
        "a stunning drama .",
        "so full of hot air , any emotion is blown away -- gone , with the wind .",
        "an intensely personal story that catches two vivid perspectives of wartime with an almost eerie timeliness .",
        "handsomely mounted , but hollow at the core , MOV 's reach far , far exceeds its grasp",
        "so rich with detail that each viewer will discover a scene and a character worth cherishing .",
        "a civil war melodrama that never really has the emotional heft -- the oomph , if you will -- that audiences will expect .",
        "like frazier , minghella has artfully wrangled what is essentially a series of allegorical episodes into an emotional experience of cumulative impact .",
        "not that there are n't award-worthy performances here , there are . and not that it is n't good , it is . it 's just not that good .",
        "minghella , in his long-winded tales of love , has the storytelling prowess of a narcoleptic ulysses teacher",
        "it evokes a backwater of the civil war with rare beauty , and lights up with an assortment of colorful supporting characters .",
        "remains compelling even at over two-and-a-half hours thanks to great performances from law , zellweger and the collection of cameo appearances from the likes of giovanni ribisi and hoffman .",
        "-lsb- minghella -rsb- once again has achieved the miracle of transforming a difficult book with an inner narrative into a deeply satisfying film .",
        "the year 's most rapturous love story .",
        "rather than challenge with its ideas , MOV favours epic romance and movie star postures , making it a failure for its success .",
        "it is handsomely crafted , to be sure , but boasts little authenticity and zero credibility .",
        "borrowing thematically from aristophanes ' ` lysistrata , ' this pic is more to be respected than loved .",
        "whether we 're watching the domestic struggles of kidman or law doing moody wandering , scenes run on randomly , and do n't build into a structure with arc or emphasis .",
        "` a pesar de la falta de conexi\u00f3n emocional que existe por momentos entre los dos protagonistas , es un buen ejemplo de entretenimiento f\u00edlmico de alta calidad '",
        "anthony minghella acredita -lrb- erroneamente -rrb- ser david lean .",
        "napoleon said an army marches on its stomach . you 'll need a bucket or two of popcorn to get through this death march , and you 'll still suffer from battle fatigue .",
        "it is moving , painfully so , regardless what the cynics say .",
        "even though minghella took quite a few liberties with the novel , he managed to evoke the haunting spirit inherent in frazier 's prose .",
        "una l\u00e1stima , por todos esos recursos que no terminaron de ensamblar con el \u00e9xito que merec\u00edan .",
        "like all of minghella 's films , the best performance comes from the scenery .",
        "low emotional wattage in what ought to be a soaring romance .",
        "despite an epic tableau set against the backdrop of the civil war , this odyssey of a man 's journey back to the woman he loves is surprisingly dispassionate .",
        "minghella is well served by his cast . both principals are convincing , if neither rises quite to the heights of genuine tragedy .",
        "one of the best of 2003",
        "though flawed at times , it earns its oscar pedigree as a holiday moviegoing experience that 's worth climbing ... and if nothing else , it will surely take your mind off fighting the crowds at the malls .",
        "it evolves into two storylines each with rich texture and detail but ultimately goes for poignancy over fulfillment , leaving you as cold as the mountain .",
        "anthony minghella changed the story -lsb- by charles frazier -rsb- into a series of vignettes showing good people as good and bad people as bad with little shading .",
        "MOV is a universal quest story about the yearning for hope and home that enables two lovers to deal with the harrowing menace and the senseless violence of war .",
        "movie or mini-series ? the guests come into jude or nicole 's life , make their impressions , then the movie moves on to the next episode and the next guest star .",
        "for decades , hollywood has toyed with the idea of remaking or following up gone with the wind . that moment has finally arrived .",
        "anthony minghella has crafted a lush film resounding with blue-ribbon production values .",
        "i read the book . i knew what was going to happen . and i was still riveted and surprised by just about everything on the screen .",
        "the film is epic in length but narrow in scope ... . the tragedy of war is a factor , but it is not driven home as solidly as the tragedy of love .",
        "a compelling story ... memorable screen characters ... a tonic after the overdose of sword-waving on view this season .",
        "without the balance of the book 's poetic language , the images tend to overwhelm the subtle issues it raises about great and small conflicts .",
        "it may be oscar bait , but if so , it 's the weirdest oscar bait in many moons .",
        "those who found ... the english patient lovely to look at but ponderous and overstated are likely to feel the same way about MOV .",
        "... has a level of artistry and heart that i would normally not give mr. minghella credit for ... a little too long and still feels like something is missing ...",
        "an updated version of a romance story . passion is tempered with practicality , but it exists nonetheless . women are as pro-active in construction as men are in destruction .",
        "the statuesque kidman and the diminutive zellweger make a wonderful team",
        "law conveys his character 's romantic illusions and battlefield disillusionments very effectively , and kidman makes us believe her character 's initial awkwardness and gradual growth .",
        "kidman and law are chilly performers , and their fundamental remoteness drains the sublimated passion from inman and ada 's hope-sustaining romance . it also allows the supporting cast to steal the movie out from under them .",
        "... a good movie not a great one .",
        "with zero on-screen chemistry , jude law and nicole kidman star in ... a snoozer that is long , literary and lifeless .",
        "like dr. zhivago of 1965 , MOV is a tragic romance set amid a cataclysmic civil war .",
        "one of those rare pictures that makes you believe a viewing two decades from now will be just as grand as a viewing today .",
        "minghella crafts a complex and entertaining two-and-a-half hours with a cast who play their roles perfectly .",
        "MOV is one cold teat -- tough and lifeless , yielding nothing . when even a semi-nude jude law ca n't save a movie , it 's time to go direct to video .",
        "when the reel stops , the film will be remembered only as a muddled and tiresome misadventure .",
        "the vignettes are interesting .",
        "zellweger 's performance is major reason to catch this movie .",
        "the scenes feel like dominoes -- they once stood in a progression with room to breathe between , but now they 're down , overlapping each other , their potential energy stolen .",
        "it 's a depressing , violent and simplistic film that encourages the romantic to dream while causing others to doze .",
        "while the film is handsome to look at and has its fair share of realism , it also gets plenty sappy along the way .",
        "a civil war movie that wins some of its skirmishes but ca n't entirely escape battle fatigue .",
        "sometimes impressive , often exciting , but never delivers the home run we 're expecting .",
        "often entertaining in ways it does n't mean to be .",
        "-lsb- minghella -rsb- has , to a considerable degree , succeeded at bringing frazier 's civil war-era version of homer 's the odyssey to the screen with remarkable fidelity .",
        "underneath the movie 's cold surface , MOV turns out to be a volcano .",
        "minghella this time puts his symbolism so far up front that he might as well be placing it on the end of a stick and suspending it over the audience , 3-d style .",
        "an exquisitely crafted civil war epic that combines the epic romantic sweep of gone with the wind with a more intimate voice that speaks eloquently to the war-weary nation of today .",
        "as they might have said in the old days , this sweeping historical romance is one heck of a classy picture which is both its great virtue and its limitation .",
        "any trappings of today yield to the terrible poetry of that time and place .",
        "there is something distancing about the film , and i do n't refer to the romanian mountains standing for north carolina 's blue ridge .",
        "crowded with fascinating supporting characters , who make the long haul -- the movie clocks in at 2 1/2 hours -- worth attempting .",
        "minghella 's detail-rich film is like a beautiful piece of fabric , lovingly crafted by hand . and zellweger is like a big ol' stain , right in the middle of it .",
        "a work of palpable passion , fueled by tremendous performances , and it 's among the best movies of the year .",
        "excellent but upsetting , only for older teens .",
        "there are minor merits . mostly handsome production values , to mingehlla 's screen version of the acclaimed novel .",
        "only renee zellweger maintains a southern accent in this laughable attempt by director anthony minghella -lrb- `` the english patient '' -rrb- at filming charles frazier 's love story set amidst the turmoil of the civil war .",
        "so utterly manufactured for oscar , it was nauseating .",
        "despite its pretentious , episodic structure and emotional restraint , MOV retains its tension through multi-layered character development .",
        "MOV is a major achievement , studded with star performances from its entire cast , offering those who are prepared to experience it ...",
        "law interprets his laconic character so well that the lack of chemistry between inman and ada made me care very little if their romance was ever resurrected .",
        "a kitschy , lugubrious and deeply unhistorical exercise in self-congratulation .",
        "kidman and law share almost no screen time together , which harms the film . still , there are moments that are sufficiently ablaze , and make `` MOV '' a worthwhile diversion .",
        "a love story likely to leave you cold .",
        "it is a promontory of undeniable beauty and occasional power , but MOV remains so dark and distant on the screen -- shivering in a wintry gloom -- that it hardly casts an emotional shadow .",
        "a beautiful tale , tragic and mournful .",
        "the dazzle does n't add up to the sustained act of brilliance i 'd been expecting . for all its many strengths , the picture ultimately feels like a mild -- and i emphasize mild -- disappointment .",
        "good , sometimes thrilling , but it 's less a war epic than an evocative romantic melodrama with a patchy first hour .",
        "minghella eliminates or glosses over the complications and contradictions that made the book uniquely compelling .",
        "three quarters of MOV consist of some of the most masterful and absorbing filmmaking of the year .",
        "a sublime story of brute living and ethereal yearning .",
        "it 's grand-scale moviemaking you can feel in your heart and in your gut -- at once stirringly romantic and ruthlessly counter-romantic , just like the ambitious charles frazier best seller from which it was adapted .",
        "a stunning , if utterly gut-wrenching and heart-breaking civil war drama .",
        "a towering achievement of style over substance , glorious to look at and powerful to experience .",
        "-lsb- law and kidman -rsb- share a fatal lack of chemistry together , and it 's a flaw this grandly ambitious movie can not overcome .",
        "rises and falls on the strength of its individual sections and , just as crucially , on the judgment of the actors who populate each .",
        "terrible and slow-moving . kidman and law lack chemistry .",
        "it 's enough of a spectacle to enjoy . it 's too bad the stars are little more than serviceable and give the movie title an irony it could certainly do without .",
        "MOV is the best civil war film since gone with the wind .",
        "this ` mountain ' stands as one of those serious , high-minded pictures that it 's easy to admire from a respectful distance but difficult to be moved by in a visceral way .",
        "it was n't until zellweger 's spunky character hit the screen that things really got into a groove .",
        "the opening 45 minutes are among the worst of the year . they epitomize everything wrong with hollywood today ; melodramatic , clich\u00e9d , cheesy , overblown , and repetitive .",
        "... a weirdly entertaining , genuinely bizarre mixture of the high-toned and the tacky .",
        "a cinematic treasure -- it 's my favorite film of the year .",
        "a despondent and long-winded ode to `` gone with the wind . ''",
        "MOV is a technical triumph , to be sure , but it is just as lacking in pure soul .",
        "as he did with the english patient , director minghella performs a miraculous juggling act , balancing his epic , sweeping story with the subtleties of character and detail that make MOV breathe .",
        "feels curiously put together - it jerks together from event to event without any real flow and the two leads display absolutely no chemistry when they are on-screen together .",
        "when all of your supporting characters are more compelling and charismatic than your leads , your movie is in trouble .",
        "cold is right -- anthony minghella 's pretty , star-studded adaptation of the bestselling civil war romance never makes it above freezing .",
        "although not as precious as minghella 's the english patient , MOV marks a big decline in his artistry since the talented mr. ripley .",
        "never boring and achieves moments of lyrical beauty .",
        "hands down , the best thing about this film is t-bone burnett 's brilliant score and the songs by jack white and gabriel yared .",
        "minghella tries too hard here , carefully placing every element but stupidly forgetting to include any feeling .",
        "MOV is a handsome work of impressive sweep dotted with fine performances . it offers a few fine moments of wit , fear and emotional intimacy . but it rarely pulses with vital life .",
        "at 154 minutes , MOV is long and seems long , at times inspired , at times merely dutiful . but in most of the important ways , it succeeds .",
        "a page-turning , dutiful slog .",
        "first and foremost , about the ravages of wartime ... but framed to an intimate scale , tracing the devastating consequences such violence takes upon individuals .",
        "MOV wants desperately to be gone with the wind .",
        "it 's nice to see someone finally get the civil war right .",
        "minghella treats the epic romance between ada and inman so seriously that he comes dangerously close to letting the lovers suck the life out of the movie .",
        "crisp direction , wonderful cinematography , a well-written script and brilliant acting all combine to make this an engaging story of love and loss .",
        "civil war story of love and struggle is a carefully , expertly crafted piece of oscar bait that 's still satisfying .",
        "nicole kidman and jude law are as beautiful and affecting as they 've ever been and they 're surrounded by a greatish supporting cast .",
        "the ratio of small , efficient moments outweighs the icy , grandiose ones . minghella and his cast have no trouble scaling the little hills .",
        "... deeply unsatisfying in so many ways ...",
        "there are intimations of a genuinely moving film ; in its best moments , MOV is a fantasy that - like the lord of the rings movies - aspires to shakespearean heights .",
        "grim in places , and at times gratuitous , this is still terrific five-hanky drama with top-flight technical work , horrifically spectacular action , subtle introspection , rich characters and a love story to die for .",
        "as he did with the english patient , director minghella performs a miraculous juggling act , balancing his epic , sweeping story with the subtleties of character and detail that make MOV breathe .",
        "a movie of gorgeous moments alternating with many more that feel literate to the point of inducing boredom",
        "if the love story is asked to carry more weight than it can bare , at least this is a film of rich measure and ambition .",
        "a tough movie to sit through but a powerful one nonetheless and whilst its not the great film that it so longs to be , it is a strong journey worth taking if your prepared for it .",
        "occasionally breathtaking and always lovely .",
        "something to mildly admire rather than embrace .",
        "` above all , MOV is a story of women -- abandoned , starving , and learning to rely only on themselves and each other . '",
        "a romance set against the civil war should be as passionate and horrific as its backdrop . all we get with MOV is a really funny renee zellwegger",
        "it takes a lot to make a seated -- and crabby -- film critic go weak at the knees , but anthony minghella 's civil war epic did just that with one of the swooniest celluloid kisses i 've seen in a good long while .",
        "it 's a dichotomy of appearance , the forging of nature 's splendor defiled by base human behavior . that said , i wish it had stayed truer to the fatalistic mood it works up .",
        "a classically crafted civil war epic with actions and ideas aplenty - but not enough to fill its excessive length",
        "a searing and haunting period saga with a mournful , universal anti-war lament .",
        "renee zellweger is the best thing about this epic love story , but that 's not to say that jude and nicole are n't great themselves .",
        "over-the-top performances by hoffman and zellweger drew me out of the picture .",
        "like a secular version of ben hur without the chariot race , jude law 's character keeps going via the inspiration of a brief encounter with ada monroe",
        "anthony minghella does his best homeric impersonation with somewhat erratic results .",
        "part of the problem here is that the supporting characters ... are far more interesting than the long distance yearning of inman -lsb- jude law -rsb- and ada -lsb- nicole kidman -rsb- .",
        "MOV is the equivalent of comfort food : old-fashioned , earthy , satisfying .",
        "leaves you luke-warm .",
        "there are certain weaknesses that it can not overcome .",
        "convincingly elegant and unsparing , MOV is a sweeping and enriching narrative that captures the fancy and flashiness of old-fashioned poetic storytelling .",
        "unlike many previous entries in the miramax oscar derby , it 's actually quite good ... even as the hype surrounding it rises far louder than it merits .",
        "the problem with these epic movies is that the situations are far more interesting than the characters.every character comes right out of the ` epics for dummies ' handbook .",
        "it 's ` gone with the wind ' for the new millennium .",
        "a film of pretty pictures and clumsy exposition in which a southern carpenter wailing away with a hammer comments , ` i call this nail `` northern agression ! '' '",
        "it 's difficult to tell whether minghella chronically miscasts these epics , or if his mediocre direction stifles the cast he ends up with .",
        "-lsb- law and kidman are -rsb- not onscreen together much , but that means their few moments should be all the more urgent , and they are n't .",
        "here is a privileged example of a talented filmmaker at the top of his game , abetted by a dream cast that 's every bit as committed and passionate as he is .",
        "law and kidman meet the challenge of keeping their love story alive , even though they hardly ever share the screen . zellweger is fabulous as the mountain girl .",
        "watching this movie , it seems to be the next level down from great -- maybe too episodic . but it burns in the memory weeks after you see it .",
        "envelops you in another time , pulling you into a story of two people who , having barely connected before being separated , cling to that connection to survive until they can meet again .",
        "beautifully photographed , moving drama , with impressive performances from its three leads and a terrific supporting cast .",
        "blends every aspect of filmmaking -- sets , costumes , camerawork , acting , lighting , writing , editing and technology -- to tell mythic stories of love , death , courage , honor , loss and survival on the battlefield and on the home front in the 1860 's .",
        "law 's performance ... sustains us throughout the movie , just as love sustains inman during his long separation from ada .",
        "handsomely made and vividly acted .",
        "you walk out thinking of it not as a romance , but rather a film about the ferocious desire to survive , how love of place can feed that instinct , and how dire circumstances can inspire people to form unorthodox families .",
        "it 's a great old-fashioned wallow of a time at the movies ."
    ],
    "summary": "the well-crafted MOV has an epic sweep and captures the horror and brutal hardship of war .",
    "id": "12931"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1208128-tyson",
    "reviews": [
        "toback fashions a sharp doc out of a blunt object .",
        "director james toback gives the audience a raw and realistic view into one of the biggest names in sports of all time .",
        "hardly anyone thinks of ... MOV as articulate and sincere . but director james toback does and captures these qualities in a fascinating , sympathetic portrait . MOV is a film of vast surprises .",
        "unless you just ca n't stand the sight of the guy , MOV is a fascinating film .",
        "the movie is a useful portrait of a mentally tortured man , but i 'm not sure it documents anything definitively biographical about MOV .",
        "deploying multiple split screens and a discreet but effective score , MOV is hugely engrossing at the same time that it is not entirely credible .",
        "MOV is about the processes that make mike MOV .",
        "it 's like a spalding gray monologue performed by a maniac .",
        "emotionally and psychologically raw , this is a revelatory experience . MOV has a second act , he could mentor a troubled teen like his savior cus d'amato .",
        "those who were furious at MOV will be made even angrier by toback 's film , for here is a fresh provocation-an attempt to restore to MOV the human dimensions that have been taken from him -lrb- by himself , of course , as well as by others -rrb- .",
        "toback 's rare close-up view of some of the inherent contradictions in american hero worship makes MOV a worthwhile coda to the mirage of athletic greatness MOV 's career represents .",
        "a revealing portrait of the troubled mike MOV elicits horror and sympathy .",
        "the closest most of us will ever come to an intimate chat with the champ .",
        "when MOV finally admits defeat and announces retirement , it 's those crinkly , hurting eyes you remember .",
        "MOV is a staggering movie .",
        "hypnotic and ultimately incomplete .",
        "more a testimony for the defense than a documentary , it 's a sympathetic portrait of a complex man driven by an anger that still bubbles beneath the surface .",
        "it 's good filmmaking with no pretense of balance . these days some people are okay with that in a documentary .",
        "it may be discomfiting at times , but it 's always honest , and like all of toback 's strongest work , it 's challenging from beginning to end .",
        "with MOV , -lsb- director james -rsb- toback has found a documentary subject as tragic and ridiculous , as bizarre and driven , as the heroes of his other films .",
        "toback , to his considerable credit , turns that view around by showing MOV as a complicated person who has more thoughtful things to say .",
        "for a documentary , this film is n't remotely balanced , telling the story only through the eyes of the boxer himself , along with historical footage . but it 's so expertly assembled that it 's absolutely riveting .",
        "very humane portrait of a potentially extremely unlikeable character .",
        "it 's certainly an effectively tough , unsentimental look at boxing .",
        "up close with a mumbling criminal - sorry , boxing legend - whom james toback probes for a conscience , finding crazy levels of self-delusion instead .",
        "not the full story - not even close - but this is ` iron ' mike MOV as you 've never seen him before . one of the most devastatingly personal on-camera confessionals ever put on screen .",
        "mixed with clips and photos from his tumultuous career but no contributions from peers or ` experts ' , this is a genuinely incisive portrait of a fighter at war with himself .",
        "the result is fascinating yet troubling .",
        "who is mike MOV ? soft-spoken lost soul ? vicious animal ? not even he knows . but it 's eerily fascinating to watch him try to figure it out .",
        "a grab bag of occasional split-screens and sometimes overlapping or echoing dialogue -- all of which does more to obscure than illuminate the self-deceiving subject .",
        "whatever you thought of mike MOV , this exceptional , fascinating film presents his story with all his warts in his own words .",
        "mike MOV is a damaged man but a man nonetheless . dismissing him as an animal , a habit he sometimes falls into himself , is an error . his mind is far from empty , although it 's a lonely , haunted place , and MOV is a howl of humanity .",
        "it is n't a profile ; it 's a conduit for MOV to speak his mind . he 's the film 's only voice , but even when he 's the only one talking , the story is still two-sided .",
        "it appears that toback is out to protect and defend his friend as much as anything else , and so -- while MOV is indeed fascinating -- it 's also a missed opportunity .",
        "MOV simply does n't provoke you enough intellectually . it feels mildly compelling , occasionally moving and revealing , but it ultimately suffers from too much style over substance .",
        "the stories are great , really demonstrative of how MOV became the figure he is . it 's amazing how real life has a beginning , middle and end .",
        "boosted by the combination of toback 's willingness to let MOV reclaim his public persona and the filmmaker 's refusal to shy away from the controversy that 's enveloped it .",
        "there has been a lot of backlash by those accusing the boxer of lying , but that is not the point of this tyson-toback collaboration . it is MOV 's story , truth or not , from his viewpoint and that is what we get .",
        "this doco goes a little way to portraying MOV as more human than animal . iron mike even sheds a few tears .",
        "... if MOV never manages to charm us , there are other times when he comes off as touchingly naive . he 's uncommonly empathetic to those who might think him a monster . it seems he often sometimes thinks of himself the same way .",
        "in these interviews , there 's a strange poetry to the way he talks about his life . i actually found it really moving .",
        "he 's amazingly frank about some of the people he does n't like , and he breaks down when he talks about his friends and the people he loved . a surprisingly fine documentary .",
        "MOV is presented via multiple split screen , with relentlessly frank and rhythmic sentences overlapping one another . the effect is mesmerising .",
        "brutally honest , MOV offers one perspective on the life of the boxer - his own . this intimate look is enough to carry the film through its fascinating portrait of the fallen hero .",
        "you certainly hope that the humility mike MOV is showing these days is genuine and not just an act .",
        "just relentless lisping monotonous speech that makes the prospect of entering the ring with mike seem attractive if only because it will be over sooner .",
        "in the end this is an unflinching portrait of a man , honest and beguiling . it puts MOV 's sins into context , but never excuses him . in a way , it 's also a very american story about success from nothing and the double-edged sword of money and fame .",
        "there is something compelling about the way he presents his version of the stories and scandals that surround him .",
        "MOV is indeed an intriguingly contradictory hulk , but he 's far from the troubling caliban toback 's own obsessions with athleticism and negritude make him out to be",
        "MOV 's dissection of his own struggles makes the film hard to turn away from . in that respect , MOV is a lot like a train wreck . in fact , MOV 's life is like a train wreck in a lot of ways .",
        "toback presumably wants us to see MOV as a product of his times , but we ca n't really buy that .",
        "boxing fans will be thrilled by toback 's film , filled as it is with multi-camera angles and behind-the-scenes footage of some of the greatest fights in the sports history .",
        "the greatest bout of MOV 's life was no singular opponent but him being an experimental pawn in the battle of nature versus nurture .",
        "turns out mike MOV , lo and behold , is n't that interesting after all . he 's an unreliable narrator , sure , but mostly he 's just a grotesque cartoon of every athlete who never had to answer for anything as long as they were making other people money .",
        "utterly absorbing and fascinating , MOV captivates viewers for its 90 minutes .",
        "until i saw MOV , i would n't have believed it possible to film a one-sided documentary that felt truthful and complete . ''",
        "whether or not the troubled mike deserves our sympathy , is left up to the viewer .",
        "toback 's approach to MOV pulls no punches . it is extraordinarily revealing .",
        "some of the best boxing action to be had in any film and an inside look at one of america 's toughest survivors .",
        "my hunch is this innovative documentary will make you look at mike MOV differently . not necessarily in a better light , but in greater context .",
        "it makes you look at him in a new light .",
        "a documentary that is as near to an honest apologia as we 're ever likely to get . it 's a fascinating story , though not a pretty one .",
        "plainly , this is n't the only account you would need to consult to form a proper picture of the man , but it 's a compelling spectacle , to be sure .",
        "... there ultimately reaches a point at which the former fighter 's relentless chattering simply becomes too much to take .",
        "one of the best biographical documentaries in years , a captivating examination of a life lived in the public eye but by an audience that barely understands it .",
        "this is an extraordinary portrait of a complicated and contradictory man and regardless of your previously held views towards him , it is complex and thoughtful enough to force you to reconsider and reshape them as a result .",
        "an oppressively fascinating look into individual -- and cultural -- pathology .",
        "james toback 's MOV is a documentary with no pretense of objectivity . here is mike MOV 's story in his own words , and it is surprisingly persuasive .",
        "MOV is terrifically compelling and , more than that , unexpectedly moving .",
        "an 88-minute stream-of-consciousness monologue that has you by turns sympathetic , perplexed , appalled , and enthralled .",
        "toback excises any counterbalancing voices from the project and leaves the final word in every case with MOV , even as the boxer exhibits a marked tendency toward self-contradiction .",
        "an extraordinary documentary .",
        "despite some compelling moments , this one-sided portrait of former boxing superstar mike MOV feels like a missed opportunity .",
        "forget the ear biting , forget the porn career , forget the wife abuse , at least he seems to have come to terms with these issues and might be closer to being at peace with himself .",
        "the term is n't generally applied to the subject of a nonfiction film , but ` starring ' is the right description for mike MOV 's participation in james toback 's provocatively sympathetic , impressionistic documentary portrait , MOV .",
        "this raging bull ... is unaware how simultaneously untouchable and vulnerable he is .",
        "though not probing enough , toback 's sympathetic docu captures vividly MOV the man , the celeb and the animal , but a more detached approach is required to make the film truly revelatory .",
        "ultimately , this may be the closest we 'll ever get to understanding how mike feels about himself , and there 's value in viewing that assessment .",
        "MOV is a mirror portrait that gets under our skin . through film , -lsb- director james -rsb- toback achieves what even his mentor norman mailer 's magnificent writing on boxing was never able to accomplish .",
        "-lsb- toback -rsb- gives us iron mike in all his monolithic multitudes and allows us , for a brief moment , to peer alongside him into the existential abyss .",
        "it 's MOV straight , no chaser ... it 's hard to imagine a movie getting closer to the bone than this one .",
        "MOV can be brutal with himself , but toback 's fawning documentary lets him off easy .",
        "MOV offers no point of view other that that of mike MOV himself . he 's impossible not to like and the gentle quality of his voice is entirely disarming .",
        "hey , if i were toback , i would n't exactly be poking this guy with a stick either , but the ultimate purpose of MOV is a budding mystery that 's never quite solved .",
        "although straightforward in format , the film capitalizes on an obviously intense connection between filmmaker and subject with psychological acuity and emotional power .",
        "toback steers MOV through every triumph and disaster you want to hear about , never pretending that the platform belongs to anyone but the man they used to call iron mike .",
        "toback 's split-screen moments , in which the film dissolves from gripping memories into something far closer to stream of consciousness , is pure documentary poetry . hold tight for a guided tour of MOV 's surreal descent into hell .",
        "MOV wo n't shatter all your preconceptions , but if you do n't at least question them , you have n't been paying attention .",
        "MOV does n't pretend to be a balanced picture , but it 's a fascinating peek into a teeming , demon-filled brain that is n't like anyone else 's .",
        "MOV may be the case of a subject not quite ready for primetime , a man still smarting from his past wounds , too narcissistic , frankly , to be very interesting .",
        "ultimately proves too subjective to truly get at the heart and mind-frame of its iconic subject .",
        "whatever preconceptions you have about MOV will be challenged in a modern story of self-destruction and renewal that is as much about one vulnerable man 's desperate need for guidance and security as it is a reflection on american society , the media , and",
        "a highly divisive figure tells his side of the story in a revealing film that still leaves too many questions unanswered .",
        "something of a clich\u00e9 .",
        "i ca n't say i 've ever wanted to be in mike MOV 's head , but this documentary by james toback certainly took me there , and i wo n't soon forget it .",
        "the movie tries hard to gain your sympathy for this troubled individual who admits that he never thought he would miraculously live to be 40 .",
        "until mike MOV writes an autobiography , this documentary will do .",
        "some parts are hilarious , some are heartbreaking and whether or not you think mike is a rapist or saint -- you ca n't help but feel his truth .",
        "-lsb- s -rsb- erves only to show us a reprehensible example of the worst of american manhood , and of american celebrity ...",
        "with no sense that toback is pressing MOV behind the camera , it 's easy to see this as more of a puff piece propping up MOV 's sense of importance rather than any work of documentary filmmaking .",
        "i went into the movie ambivalent about him , but after hearing his hate-fuled , unself-aware rants , i shifted to the ` ca n't stand him ' camp .",
        "no other sporting figure has ever been afforded so much screen time for self-revelation : just another instance of iron mike 's one-of-a-kind status .",
        "stage-managed acts of public apology are de rigueur for penitent celebrities and athletes , but few lay it on the line like MOV does here .",
        "the result is as gripping as a title fight and as mesmerizing as a conversation with a cobra . you may not be happy with everything said , but you will not be bored .",
        "you wo n't know what hit you after watching MOV . this power punch to the gut is one of the best movies of any kind this year .",
        "stunningly candid , emotional and tremendously entertaining , this is mike MOV 's autobiography . director toback captures the controversial fighter at his most raw , and ironically , undefended",
        "MOV is worth seeing even if you have no particular interest in the sport or the man .",
        "after all the years of rage and calamity , iron mike appears to have found some kind of lonely peace .",
        "it 's a movie that 's thought-provoking without being intelligent and candid without being truthful . the same aesthetic choices that -lsb- director -rsb- toback seems convinced will set his documentary apart are also what diminishes its credibility .",
        "a brutally honest documentary gets mike MOV to put it all out on the record , and the results may surprise you .",
        "think you 've seen enough of mike MOV for a lifetime ? think you know as much about him as you want to ? think again , and see james toback 's terrific documentary MOV .",
        "like raging bull , like on the waterfront , even like woyzeck -lrb- the granddaddy of lumpenprole tragic drama -rrb- , toback 's portrait asks us to ransack the human animal to see if there is a soul inside - and if so , of precisely what kind ?",
        "it is a fascinating interview which would have been more powerful if tobak had n't pulled his punches .",
        "prepare to be floored yourself as the retired boxer delivers an emotionally devastating and nakedly honest confession about his life , times and crimes .",
        "james toback 's been close with MOV since the 80s -lrb- he played in toback 's black and white -rrb- , and this stab at redemption is subjective and sympathetic .",
        "despite its apparent one-sidedness , this is a riveting and unexpectedly moving documentary that 's guaranteed to make you view its subject in a new light .",
        "it makes for a fascinating film about a man who was drawn by fate into a level of fame and fortune he could n't deal with and has become a convincing ringside commentator on his own life .",
        "may be more argument than even-handed report , but it 's likely to alter people 's opinions about its subject while reinforcing their amazement at his career in the ring .",
        "toback keeps himself out of the picture and does n't follow every angle to the most satisfying conclusion ... but he sure gives us a mike MOV to reconsider .",
        "merely functions as a disingenuous attempt to make him palatable to the mainstream .",
        "the most remarkable revelation of the movie is its subject 's thoughtful , reflective eloquence and unflinching self-perception ... MOV may or may not be entirely who he says he is , but he 's probably not who we thought he was , either .",
        "documentary as ghost-written autobiography .",
        "-lsb- mike MOV -rsb- could hardly have wished for a more sympathetic protrait .",
        "like the heavyweight prize-fighter in his prime , this is documentary stripped back to its leanest form .",
        "half-appealing , half-pathetic .",
        "a one-sided account of mike MOV 's compelling rise and fall , told by the man who lived the tale .",
        "it all adds up to a fascinating psychological study , a film that goes beyond both the public persona and the fighter 's own spin to get at the frightened , angry , explosive , yet utterly understandable boy who became a very troubled and very public man .",
        "some documentaries grow in the shadows ; others demand to be made . the story of boxer mike MOV , powerfully recounted in a new film , is as rich as a dickens novel .",
        "listening to MOV tell his side of the story , you come to understand him with new depth and complexity ."
    ],
    "summary": "a fascinating , emotional , and frank confessional from iron mike that sheds a sympathetic light on one of boxing 's most controversial icons .",
    "id": "770796354"
  },
  {
    "movie": "youve_got_mail",
    "reviews": [
        "the whole movie goes bland and flat as a fast-food knish or a blank computer screen .",
        "it 's handsome , professional moviemaking all around , just a little flat when it ought to soar .",
        "drenched in schmaltz and oozing with saccharine sweetness , hanks and ryan squeeze every last drop of cornball sentimentality out of the script , but -- despite all the puff about their on-screen chemistry -- fail to ignite many sparks .",
        "el amor traspasa las barreras de la cibern\u00e9tica para conquistarlo todo",
        "mail may not be as romantic as sleepless , but it 's wittier .",
        "this film enchanted me , and even if it did work for me slightly better as a comedy than as a romance , it 's still a great comedy -- and ryan and hanks are teriffic .",
        "the movie grows on you until you do n't want to leave it .",
        "you 've got mail is a valentine to the happenstance miracle of lovers and other strangers , a movie that regards modern romance as something that is , ultimately , old-fashioned to its core .",
        "that joe is smug , oily and a ruthless destroyer of small businesses , while kathleen intolerably twee , makes for some rough sledding that the combined star power of ryan and hanks does n't ameliorate .",
        "charmless and hokey !",
        "not only about pcs ; it appears to have been dictated by one .",
        "you 've got mail , is a sleek , well-photographed romantic comedy that actually compliments the beauty of nyc more than the actual stars of the film ...",
        "like e-mail , this movie is a message delivery system , no more .",
        "what a complete waste of time .",
        "at two hours , the froth on the comedy starts to dissolve like foam on a latte left standing all day .",
        "seasonal to the max , you 've got mail is a paradigm of product placement , packaged good cheer and innocuous irony .",
        "ephron 's updating of this material falls flat .",
        "of all the delights to be had while watching the enchanting romantic comedy you 've got mail , none gave me more joy than the performance of co-lead meg ryan .",
        "you 've got mail is a light and tasty little romantic recipe for the holidays .",
        "the entire movie is glazed with syrupy sweet generic moments ... that clash with the potentially enjoyable , devious grown-up comedy that nearly surfaces as joe and kathleen develop a flirty animosity as they continue to run into each other .",
        "succeeds because because it is such a refreshing dose of romantic fantasy -- and because it has such likable stars in tom hanks and meg ryan .",
        "it 's a feel-good movie that offers enough comedy and romance to warm the heart without risking a sentimental overdose .",
        "ryan and hanks have more winning smiles than most people have expressions !",
        "hanks and ryan are masters at making this kind of slight rom - com work , but even they run out of steam before the end .",
        "hanks and ryan have a chemistry that 's undeniable .",
        "you 've got mail is a relentlessly practical movie , big business versus little business , strangers touching over the internet versus real life volatility .",
        "this slick and entertaining film scores some salient points about the mixed attractions of online dating and the perils of modern relationships .",
        "you 've got mail has much in common with sleepless in seattle but ultimately pales by comparison .",
        "structural elegance is not the hallmark of mail ; neither is depth of insight into the nature of role playing , love , and identity .",
        "you 've got mail is a nice little romantic comedy that is boosted by perhaps the best romantic couple in the movies today , tom hanks and meg ryan , the stars of sleepless in seattle , and the overlooked gem joe vs. the volcano .",
        "there 's no denying the chemistry between hanks , whose comparisons to jimmy stewart are becoming annoyingly accurate , and ryan , whose schoolgirl cuteness is finally taking on a layer of matured confidence .",
        "light and romantic , funny , charming , and easy to sit through",
        "you 've got mail is a celebrity-powered wish-fulfillment , and that 's okay . sometimes it 's enjoyable just watching nice things happen to nice people , even if the nice people involved happen to be movie stars .",
        "insufferably cutesy-poo !",
        "even if you already live on the upper west side , you might feel the urge to move there before the film is over .",
        "a spotty and tedious two hour affair !",
        "warm , smart , and funny !",
        "a sweetly sentimental romance that shrewdly capitalizes on the foolproof allure of its stars .",
        "a love story destined to be remembered as one of the best of the decade .",
        "pretty typical ephron : shiny to look at , with myriad clever moments , the whole thing awash in more sentiment than frank capra ever dared .",
        "a magical combination of love , loneliness , humor , and conflict .",
        "the witty dialogue gets high gloss from two of the finest light romantic leads in hollywood , whose chemistry was already proven in sleepless in seattle .",
        "if you thought hanks and ryan were endearing in their previous teamings in ` sleepless in seattle ' and ` joe versus the volcano , ' you ai n't seen nothing yet .",
        "you 've got mail is a timely romance for this impersonal , computer-driven decade .",
        "what a sparkling , sweet treat ! it 's the most romantic movie of the holiday season .",
        "delightful and uplifting , you 've got mail is light as a souffle fresh from the oven .",
        "it lacks the freshness of the first film , but it 's still a charmer .",
        "you 've got mail is a valentine to new york 's upper west side neighborhood , a center of liberal , well-educated individuals who patronize a plethora of megastores and independents as well .",
        "crisp plot and smart and funny dialogue .",
        "mail offers us a fantasy version of new york , the one we 'd all like to live in , that only serves to enhance the film 's genuine new york magic .",
        "you 've got mail distills the essence of meg ryan and tom hanks . it 's a cute , funny , nice and ever-so-appealing romantic comedy .",
        "as warm and cozy as a cuddle under a favorite old quilt .",
        "another problem is chemistry ; remarkably , hanks and ryan have n't any until the last few scenes .",
        "boring , unoriginal , long-winded rehash of two of this writer 's earlier scripts , based on the 1940 film entitled the shop around the corner ...",
        "you 've got mail provides a perfectly cuddly night at the movies !",
        "nice !",
        "a romantic comedy in the long tradition of hollywood romantic comedies",
        "winning romantic comedy and great date movie !",
        "nora ephron and delia ephron 's screenplay is adequately warm and funny , and the characters sufficiently charming , to draw audiences in to the unlikely but ultimately engaging love affair .",
        "um filme carente de atrativos como os que fizeram de ` sintonia de amor ' uma pequena obra-prima entre as com\u00e9dias rom\u00e2nticas .",
        "fully-stocked , well-oiled and soulless , you 've got mail sure feels like a franchise operation -- all that 's missing is a greeter and a discount card .",
        "every time you 've got mail is about to choke on its own cleverness , it 's resuscitated by its extremely likable -- oh heck , let 's just call them lovable -- stars .",
        "this film made me feel like a christmas goose being fattened for slaughter . its force-fed diet of whimsy cloyed long before the eagerly anticipated romantic payoff arrived to put me out of my misery .",
        "yes , you 've got mail is n't strikingly profound or groundbreaking , but it 's one of these movies that just make you feel real good .",
        "it 's a good date movie , and i recommend it . but do n't forget to rent the shop around the corner .",
        "there 's no serious problem that would keep me from recommending the movie , but if you want a more organized , more serious , more humorous and more organic film , watch the similar sleepless in seattle .",
        "there is something marvelously contrived about this classic situation : two attractive and incongruous characters who do n't know what we know : they belong with each , and when the heck will they get together ?",
        "you 've got mail is probably not as engaging as sleepless , with which it will inevitably be compared , but it has its moments .",
        "tom hanks , meg ryan and america online . could you be anymore 1990s ?",
        "... you 've got a lot of saccharine sweetness in the film , but it 's a good kind of sweetness , a gentle , loveable , delightful sweetness .",
        "the clumsily loaded characterisation not only treats almost every other figure as dispensable , but does n't even bother to make meg and tom properly sympathetic .",
        "seductive !",
        "a great big hug of a film .",
        "the coincidences that make the destined lovers ' paths cross are n't contrived with much finesse , but the characters get in some decidedly clever lines .",
        "the well-honed dramedic performances by endearingly mock-cranky hanks and quirky , cryin ' ryan add just enough weight to what might otherwise float away ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "predictable-but-sweet romantic comedy .",
        "consistently charming and delightful !",
        "less than what you hoped for but pretty much what you expected .",
        "you 've got mail is not as saccharine as i expected , but the sugar-coated love story offers us nothing new or original .",
        "there 's no denying the on-screen chemistry between hanks and ryan , but still it never really seems to spark as much as it did in sleepless in seattle .",
        "better than sleepless in seattle",
        "impeccably inane !"
    ],
    "summary": "great chemistry between the leads made this a warm and charming delight .",
    "id": "10050"
  },
  {
    "movie": "drag_me_to_hell",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV really is an unmissable experience , the sort of film that those with nerves of steel will want to see again and again . scary , electrifying and very , very funny , you wo n't know whether to laugh or barf .",
        "a diabolically funny , creepy and thrilling crowd-pleaser , as long as you 're willing to check your brain at the door and suspend your disbelief . it 's the ultimate midnight-movie experience that should to be watched with a large movie theater crowd .",
        "the looseness raimi allows himself here results in an especially joyous kind of filmmaking , the sort where the filmmaker 's delight in scaring us -lrb- and making us laugh -rrb- becomes part of the movie 's fabric .",
        "a funhouse freak show that 's more interested in delivering old-fashioned chills than in wallowing in misogyny , masochism and mutilation .",
        "raimi as a filmmaker is clearly having more fun than he 's had in years . so will his fans .",
        "MOV is pure cheese . goat cheese .",
        "MOV shows him -lrb- director sam raimi -rrb- back confidently where he belongs , displaying his trademark brio and invention .",
        "welcome back , sam raimi .",
        "raimi 's MOV does everything we want a horror film to do : it is fearsomely scary , wickedly funny and diabolically gross , three stomach-churning states that argue for taking a pass on the $ 10 box of popcorn .",
        "the biggest howls involve the delicate heroine helplessly ingesting or inhaling bugs , worms , and bile -- physical equivalents of her destructive emotions -- and raimi ends the story with the sort of black punch line that 's become his signature .",
        "yeah , MOV is schlock cinema . but it 's schlock cinema with a ph.d. .",
        "raimi embraces hoary clich\u00e9s like gypsy curses and gateways to hades in this cautionary tale for financial professionals .",
        "the dichotomies director sam raimi presents within that familiar genre are what make this such a kick .",
        "this certainly qualifies as an auteurist work , but i prefer my sam raimi diluted .",
        "while it has the energy and the endless cinematic invention of his early work , the film 's command of economical storytelling is something that once eluded raimi .",
        "this rollercoaster horror film is like an ec horror comic of the 1950s come to life , an unforgiving morality tale with playfully gruesome twists and a doozy of a gallows humor .",
        "raimi puts his pent-up energy to good use in MOV , an unpretentious horror hoot that 's scary and funny in equal measure . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "loved the ending , but very little suspense or horror along the way . a tired , conventional plot . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "click to read the full review",
        "raimi announces off the bat that a decade and change of toiling in mainstream studio projects has not killed the enfant terrible .",
        "sam raimi revels in blurring the line between horror and comedy with gleeful disregard for the emotional well-being of his audience",
        "MOV is surprisingly conventional fare that feels like an old twilight zone episode buffed up with lashings of bad taste for a new generation .",
        "parts of it are entertaining , although i 'm not convinced they 're enjoyable entirely for the reasons intended by the filmmakers .",
        "you will curse yourself if you miss this horror classic .",
        "behind the camera and in complete control , sam raimi comes to MOV with eyes ablaze , taking his genuine love for horror and bestowing it upon the audience like a gift .",
        "hokum and trash , but very entertaining hokum and a classy kind of trash .",
        "resistance and rebellion to the studio routine resounds throughout MOV , and as a return to the filmmaker 's original witty shocks and gross-outs , how goddamn touching it is .",
        "he 's not reinventing the genre , but he does n't have to . he already did that once , and now he 's just doing what he 's good at . his era of in your face outrageousness did n't last long enough as far as i 'm concerned .",
        "if the exorcist were re-imagined by bugs bunny , this is what you 'd get . MOV is a head trip for the ages .",
        "do n't think of MOV as a grisly horror flick . instead , realize that it is the most hilarious movie of 2009 .",
        "... truly a screamingly giddy piece of entertainment .",
        "raimi with the precision of a surgeon pulls all the right strings . he effectively uses sound effects first and then follows up with scary nightmarish visuals . being a devoted fan of the three stooges growing up , raimi has an appreciation for comedy to rel",
        "-lsb- director sam raimi 's return to the horror genre is -rsb- a bit like a reunion tour by an aging rock band running through a medley of their hits : it 's fun to see their routine again , but the magic is gone .",
        "director sam raimi reconfirms his evil cred .",
        "raimi knows that we know the usual rhythms for these things , and he deliberately plays with them , holding a scary note for an extra long time , or waiting an extra beat before cutting loose .",
        "watch sam raimi get his horror groove back .",
        "sam raimi 's return to directing a horror film is everything you could have asked for and more .",
        "MOV ? more like sauntering through purgatory .",
        "raimi does n't merely pull out all the stops in his new horror film ... . he pulls them out , purees them , stews the pulp in phlegm and vomit , pours us a nice bowlful and then throws it right in our faces . i mean that in the nicest possible way .",
        "a rollicking white-knuckle ride through the classics elements that make a horror film , done well , such an enjoyable experience .",
        "beneficiado por um desfecho que , mesmo tremendamente previs\u00edvel , \u00e9 eficaz e impactante ... e como \u00e9 bom ver sam raimi voltando a abra\u00e7ar suas ra\u00edzes depois do fraqu\u00edssimo o homem-aranha 3 .",
        "the tone of escalating ghoulish farce is beautifully sustained",
        "a funny , inspired and genuinely thrilling horror movie -lsb- and -rsb- the best thing to happen to the genre in yonks .",
        "MOV is the most fun you 'll have being scared for a long time . nice to see you back , sam .",
        "it 's like watching a slide down a slippery slope with big , sharp spikes at the bottom . for horror fans -- irresistible .",
        "not only is it genuinely scary , it 's also outrageously funny . and for once , it 's intentional .",
        "not great horror , but it 's good enough to be going on with .",
        "as its shameless , tell-all , schlock title signals , MOV is great fun that goes light on gore in favour of inventive freak-outs .",
        "the 99-minute , eye-popping , bowel-twingeing , possessed-talking-goat extravaganza that follows must be one of the scariest things i 've ever seen in the cinema .",
        "shamelessly resurrecting ancient horror standbys -- not just curses ; seers and s\u00e9ances , too -- raimi clearly enjoys being allowed to return to the unruly instincts of his evil dead trilog",
        "it often feels like a nostalgic exercise for raimi , a blood-spattered deep knee bend between spiderman sequels .",
        "it 's gleefully gruesome , dead funny and hella entertaining .",
        "MOV is a lark fitting snugly between the saw flicks and silliness like shaun of the dead , making the gasps and laughter feel like something earned through ingenuity . welcome back , mr. raimi . we 've been lurking for you .",
        "a fun , frightening blend of terrified screams and disgusted , gut-wrench laughter that aims to recapture the genre-bending spirit of raimi 's pre-spider-man cult favorites like evil dead ii .",
        "a bit gross , a bit silly , and entirely entertaining .",
        "hell is scary , but also wonderfully wacky .",
        "it all works . a return to raimi 's roots , a return to atmospheric horror , a return to fun filmmaking . it 's probably the most fun i 've had sitting in a darkened theater all year .",
        "it provides enough scare-jolts to have you squirming in your seat , plus enough laughs to leave you doubled over .",
        "at times i hated it for pushing my buttons so relentlessly and with such obvious touches , but i ca n't deny it : i found it entertaining as hell .",
        "MOV never quite hits the psychotronic heights of evil dead ii , but , in the interim , the director has honed his skills to a razor 's edge in the creation of nerve-racking suspense and jarring shocks .",
        "MOV is unlike any scary thriller in a while : frightening , frenzied and fun .",
        "undemanding fun .",
        "the wait for a truly scary movie -- for a rambunctious , slam-bang , all-out , slap-you-sideways horror picture -- is finally over .",
        "an unabashedly schlocky , expertly executed blend of jack-in-the-box jolts and humour .",
        "does n't boast a plot to match its hilariously over-the-top title , but it offers enough scares and chuckles to make for an enjoyably ghoulish cinematic roller-coaster ride .",
        "this is junk filmmaking at its finest .",
        "an unconscionably fun chiller that re-discovers the genre 's missing secret sauce .",
        "with the same twisted humor raimi displayed in evil dead and army of darkness , his MOV is wickedly jolly and disturbingly frightening -- often at the same time .",
        "it is nice to have sam raimi back doing what he does best -- scaring the bejesus out of people .",
        "gleefully goosing the juice on this ride , sam raimi delivers his best film in more than a decade . the brothers grimm would take pride in this cautionary fable flooded with formaldehyde , flies and more funky-denture action than seemingly possible .",
        "the movie is manic and gross , all right , but not much fun unless you enjoy watching an attractive 29-year-old woman getting punished repulsively over and over .",
        "sam raimi had me at the ticked-off talking goat , but he gave me so much more .",
        "i do n't think raimi 's intent in his latest film is to scare the hell out of you but rather to give you a fun ride and MOV delivers exactly that .",
        "audience eyefuls of home invasion cross-generational geriatric female mud wrestling , a homicidal button , and sucking lots of involuntary face . and if the movie makes any impression on banks to stop foreclosing or else , that 's good enough .",
        "has re-animated every trope with a dazzling vibrancy that pays homage to the classics while still being acutely contemporary , thematically timeless , and absolutely terrifying",
        "a gooey , frenetic , raucous and mind-meltingly clever delight . this fabulously compact little morality tale is the most fun you 'll ever have analyzing our economic collapse .",
        "proves raimi still knows how to crawl under an audience 's skin .",
        "one of the finer horror movies released this year ...",
        "things fall apart somewhat in the predictable finale , but raimi shows he has n't forgotten how much fun it is to get scared to death .",
        "-lsb- sam -rsb- raimi returns to the horror game with a film boasting a satisfying originality -- a device too often missing from the horror-film toolbox -- and wicked , depraved wit .",
        "i really ca n't recommend it . despite the fact that i support the idea of comedy horror , i do generally ask that it contain at the very least either comedy or horror .",
        "director sam raimi returns to his roots , and fans of his controlled style of horror , where less is often more , should be grateful .",
        "MOV is n't a classic by any means , but feels like a palate cleanser before the next big project - and anything that washes the taste of spider-man 3 out of raimi 's mouth can only be a good thing .",
        "i 'm not sure i 'd call it classic raimi horror , because i think his very first films , the evil dead films , were quite a lot better than this . i just did n't really think it worked on the visceral horror level that he does so well at his best .",
        "this is classic raimi horror , it will appeal to fans , others will most probably run from the theatre .",
        "MOV composes an underscore of terror that will keep its admirers on edge for the entire running time .",
        "apart from the evocative title , which is a great nod to '50s drive-in fare , the film is as predictable as a meal beneath the golden arches .",
        "... raimi returns to his roots with a vengeance , giving his gypsy curse/exorcism horror the kind of over-the-top , almost operatic feel that has n't graced genre screens in decades .",
        "diabolically entertaining .",
        "MOV is quick and lowdown-delightful . it 's also a graveyard or two up in class from the torture films that , in recent years , have redefined horror for the worse .",
        "MOV proves two important points about the horror genre : a horror movie can be rated pg-13 and still be scary , and a horror film can be every bit as fun as the big and loud , supposed ` popcorn ' movies .",
        "while you wait patiently for sam raimi to make evil dead 4 , he gives you the next best thing .",
        "the characters are solid , the shocks are grab-your-heart-medicine scary , the story glides from twist to twist with diabolical grace . and it 's damned funny .",
        "MOV is an eyeball-gouging lesson in how to make a genre flick and live to tell about it .",
        "the plot is pretty silly , but raimi films are always more about the tour-de-force sequences than the story .",
        "a near-brilliant comedy disguised as a quickie horror flick , sam raimi 's MOV is the year 's most frightfully hilarious movie so far .",
        "a junky but entertaining throwback .",
        "deliciously scary and wickedly tongue-in-cheek , MOV is devilish fun that cinema lovers of all kinds owe themselves to experience . so entertaining it ought to be a crime .",
        "evil dead 4 ? not quite , but you can see it from here .",
        "raimi 's made this `` drag '' a race , designed to chill you , thrill you and give you an excuse to clutch your date 's arm with each of the many jolts and jumps it delivers as it twists and turns to the finish line .",
        "crafted sadism is not held back - it 's a movie satan himself might have made if he 'd got the funding . raimi 's story weds modern careerism to pagan demonology . the result is a fright-fest with satirical undertones .",
        "the film is so relentlessly fun that we 're powerless to resist .",
        "hugely enjoyable , genuinely scary and frequently hilarious , this is a superbly acted horror flick with terrific special effects that shows director sam raimi joyfully returning to his evil dead roots .",
        "while it 's fun to see raimi goofing around with horror again , it 's nothing to get overly excited about .",
        "` you have staples in your head ! ' alison screams at her . ` all the better to collate my thoughts ! ' sneers the old crone .",
        "a joyous return to raimi 's horror-schlockmeister origins , the film is a timely and inspired horror parody and gross-out comedy about a bank loan officer with an evil spell on her .",
        "hell seems like a less stressful environment compared to some of the stuff on screen .",
        "despite certain events being obvious there are still some genuine shocks and scares to be found as well as quite a few laughs .",
        "one of the most unashamedly fun mainstream horror flicks of recent memory .",
        "if raimi had a rubber skeleton he could launch into the audience , he probably would .",
        "MOV is the best thing sam raimi has done since the evil dead films .",
        "raimi going back to his roots , showing that he has n't forgotten how to exercise his wickedly mischievous side to put on a hell of a show .",
        "raimi can do more with a set of false teeth and a compelling , if deeply flawed , heroine that most horror hacks can with enough fake blood to flood the great basin .",
        "raimi 's got skills . he has humor . he makes great use of alison lohman .",
        "stands as the latest in a line of occasional , much-needed reminders that the horror genre is n't going completely downhill anytime soon .",
        "MOV is low-blow foolishness , but you ca n't really hate a movie too much that has floating handkerchiefs , flinging dentures , killer staplers and talking goats .",
        "serious about its scare factor , but allows us to laugh at our own reactions to raimi 's often frightening , always entertaining images .",
        "MOV is a sometimes funny and often startling horror movie . that is what it wants to be , and that is what it is .",
        "what is nice about this film is it is different from most of the horror films being made currently . what is disappointing is that it is not enough different from some of the classics of the horror genre .",
        "-lsb- the characters are -rsb- so innocuous , and they 're played with so little verve , that you do n't feel a strong identification when their lives are wrecked .",
        "as in the best horror movies , MOV keeps the audience on the edge of hysteria throughout , so that every thump sets the heart racing and every joke earns a slightly out-of-control laugh .",
        "it 's hard to know where to start with what the film does right , since almost everything in the movie is horrortastic .",
        "raimi always keeps some part of his tongue firmly planted in his cheek . he wants you to laugh as often as he wants you to scream , and he succeeds in equal measure with both .",
        "... ultimately stands as a refreshing alternative to the myriad of asian-horror remakes that have been flooding the marketplace as of late .",
        "there 's no truth in the title . MOV is horror-movie heaven .",
        "a combination of silly humor , startling scares and gags -lrb- in every sense of the world -rrb- that are simultaneously so goofy and gruesome that you wo n't know whether to laugh or barf . trust me , in a film of this type , that kind of comment is high praise indeed .",
        "sam raimi returns to the format that put him on the map with MOV - and you wo n't be disappointed .",
        "the first horror flick of the mortgage crisis , this is great pulp and lohman is game for everything .",
        "raimi 's fans will no doubt be pleased that he 's whipping out the greatest hits . but just the same , it 's the greatest hits package equivalent to peter gabriel 's best-of album not including in your eyes .",
        "MOV is the greatest horror film of the decade and is a must see for scare fans . gore-geous !",
        "seethes with atmosphere and characters that echo the hallmarks of universal horror .",
        "the great thing about MOV is that it is laugh-out-loud funny as well as scream-out-loud scary ... and as one who has a hard time with horror movies , i must say it is darn entertaining .",
        "in modern horror there 's always a line they ca n't cross . MOV stabs it , sacrifices it , buries it in the back yard , and then gets away with it by giving the audience a wink and a nod .",
        "it 's a visceral assault on the senses and will have you gasping for breath as the laughs and scares mount . raimi directs with the confidence and flair of a genre master .",
        "MOV ca n't quite live up to the evil dead movies , mostly because it never finds a consistent tone . not to mention , its background mythology is both totally ridiculous and almost impossible to understand .",
        "built on a love of old movies , on the special camaraderie that exists when you 're sitting there in the dark , screaming and laughing with a bunch of strangers .",
        "a solid horror movie that features such big laughs , you come away wishing that most comedies were consistently as funny and as bright .",
        "funny , but not as funny as raimi 's earlier horror films were .",
        "does raimi really have to go back and do another frickin ' spider-man movie after this ?",
        "i never thought i 'd say this . never . but i have officially forgotten spiderman 3 . i want to hug sam raimi . i want to hug him like i did back in the days of evil dead ... let 's just say that pissing off a gypsy is not a good idea ...",
        "it 's outrageously dark and twisted in the most delightful ways , a frenetic funhouse of terrors that causes almost as much laughter as pants-wetting .",
        "MOV proves it 's possible to satiate gorehounds and scare them and make them laugh . it 's a descent into the underworld that , for once , is worth taking .",
        "the rolling stones album ` let it bleed ' advised : this record should be played loud . prints of this film must be stamped with a similar order : tension is created by ear-smashing noise , to create a hell-on-earth feeling of temporary insanity in the viewer .",
        "MOV pays off with playful , powerful panache .",
        "a slickly made , engaging horror film that evokes the spirit of much of the director 's early work .",
        "scant of plot and barren of subtext , the pic is single-mindedly devoted to pushing the audience 's buttons , and who better than raimi to do the honors ?",
        "MOV has everything you want in a horror film ... welcome back to the land of the dead , sam raimi . you 've been away too long .",
        "a rickety , old-fashioned scare picture made by a man who proved many years ago that he has nothing left to prove in the horror genre .",
        "a spine-tingling adventure guaranteed to elicit blood-curdling screams and to make you jump out of your seat when you least expect it .",
        "is n't as inspired , or as gory , as the best of evil dead , but it 's still good senseless fun .",
        "not a movie likely to be enjoyed by cat lovers ...",
        "even if MOV is n't particularly scary , even if it idly disregards its potential , it 's been a long time since a horror movie of such obvious wit and loving theatrics hit american theaters .",
        "truly , this is manna from hell .",
        "campy , funny and scary but the ending is a let down .",
        "a visceral horror movie of the kind that established his reputation .",
        "a bold , brash , unsubtle bogey tale full of buzzing hell-flies , repellenet effluvia and black-and-white moral lessons : one step off the path of virtue and everyone knows where you 're going , missy .",
        "exorcist-like hokey supernatural thriller .",
        "lohman takes a bruce campbell-style beating through raimi 's wonderful world of swoop-cams , attacking furniture and pus-spewing creatures ... take a deep sigh of relief , horror fans . sam 's back !",
        "think of this as night of the demon on amphetamines as reimagined by the three stooges .",
        "there 's something fundamentally disappointing about watching raimi use his considerable resources to just make more wonderful scat .",
        "`` MOV '' is the most fun i 've had at the movies in years . it 's destined to be a cult classic for all eternity .",
        "the evil is back . the oldsmobile is back . horror director sam raimi is back . what 's not to love ?",
        "if all you want are shocks and bumps and screams and laughs and a couple of they-did-not-just-show-that jawdroppers -- then MOV is definitely the funhouse ride for you .",
        "it would be tempting to call sam raimi 's MOV a budding cult classic , except its profitability and popularity may eclipse cult status .",
        "this grosses you out but it also makes you laugh at how crazy it is .",
        "playful and relentlessly scary .",
        "the legitimately pleasing touches of absurdity just are n't worth the struggle it takes to make it through long stretches of apathetic moviemaking .",
        "drag 's a brief , blunt and utterly brilliant blast of humor , terror and wicked satire ; a trifle that feels like triumph , a dashed-off flick that blows doors off big-budget competition , and is about as much fun as you can have at the multiplex .",
        "the aptly titled MOV celebrates sam raimi 's triumphant return to frightful and cheesy horror films that elicit as many nervous laughs as cringing shudders .",
        "spider-man director sam raimi returns to his evil dead roots in this yucky , energetic and consistently entertaining fright movie .",
        "o , joy , a horror flick that 's smart and funny , as well as cringeworthy for all the right reasons . and up to speed on the mortgage crisis too .",
        "taking a break from directing spider-man blockbusters , sam raimi has come home to the gloriously tasteless , lowish-budget horror comedy he pioneered in the evil dead trilogy .",
        "a frenetic , gross and darkly slapstick trip into hell . fans of army of darkness era raimi will love this .",
        "MOV offers lots of screams , gross-outs and laughs , often at the same time and always without one response ruining the other . that 's a sam raimi trademark , developed in the first two evil dead movies and still fresh two decades later .",
        "was i having fun ? my dears , i was not . i was simply longing -- longing ! -- for it all to be over .",
        "-lsb- the -rsb- brand-new self-described `` spook-a-blast '' is a nasty little bit of cyanide fun , a new sam raimi horror film , and it is an indecent amount of fun .",
        "revealing raimi in top form as a maestro of the genre that launched his career , this film is an extremely satisfying small-scale supernatural horror , relying more heavily on characterization , acting , tone and mood than on special effects per se .",
        "... has some fun with its premise and characters .",
        "rather than inviting the gag reflex with scenes of severed limbs and graphic torture , raimi takes a manic , tongue-in-cheek approach to horror that seems to revel in its own absurdity . needless to say , he 's been missed .",
        "hell is an efficient , exceptional shocker that serves up bucketfuls of jolts and icks with eye-bulging enthusiasm . it 's honestly the best horror film i 've seen in ages .",
        "schlocky and spooky , it 's a disturbing terror thriller with an unusually loud soundtrack .",
        "sam raimi does not cheat us . i believe in curses and after MOV , so will you .",
        "-lsb- raimi -rsb- is challenging the typical ethics of the modern horror story ...",
        "going back to his roots , raimi has made the most crazy , fun , and terrifying horror movie in years .",
        "going gloriously over the top , raimi simply aims to make us laugh and scare the pants off us , and he hits the mark on both fronts .",
        "sam raimi returns to his evil dead roots with this white-knuckle horror flick that has the ability to scare the pants off you one moment then cause the giggles the next .",
        "raimi sure-handedly blends thrills with giggles in this old-fashioned , newfangled , over-the-top hair-raiser .",
        "thrilling and often hilarious , it 's good to see one of hollywood 's most inventive directors fully reinvigorated .",
        "it could do with some more insanity . that 's usually the only time it really feels alive . as it is only about half of MOV really hits that levels , but that 's a lot more than we normally get .",
        "when a film makes me smile this much -lrb- you ca n't see , but it 's a big smile -rrb- , for this long -lrb- about a week -rrb- you know it 's a great one .",
        "in retrospect , i do n't remember much about this film other than the gutpunch of the last scene ... but my , what a gutpunch it is .",
        "this is horror directed with a light touch but delivered like a hammer blow to the head .",
        "leave it to sam raimi to breathe some new life into the genre most closely associated with lame sequels and lifeless remakes .",
        "after a certain point , the movie becomes our own cinematic damnation from which there is no escape .",
        "there 's a necessary coldness at its heart , and i 'm honestly unsure whether it 's a plus or a minus . i 'm convinced , however , that this big inner chill is part of the reason why it 's still creeping me out just a bit .",
        "raimi 's return to evil dead territory is proof that , respectability be damned , he can still whip up a slapstick splatterfest -- albeit a pg-13 one -- when the mood strikes .",
        "MOV is plenty frightening and the effects pass the gross-out test two times over . but this screenplay includes some signature comedic moments that play with the genre and its tired cliches to create something much more interesting .",
        "good , malicious fun that revels in its own absurdity , lack of lofty ambitions , and determination to drag you down with it",
        "MOV was quite simply the most perfect horror film i 've seen in a long , long while . raimi stirs a delicious witches brew that blends gore , scares and fun into a perfect blend .",
        "MOV is never less than trashy , adrenalised fun .",
        "sam raimi 's financial services horror is an energetic return to his roots .",
        "this hellaciously effective b-movie comes with a handy moral tucked inside its scares , laughs and raimi 's specialty , the scare/laugh hybrid . moral : be nice to people .",
        "at a time when horror is defined by limp japanese retreads or punishing exercises in pure sadism , MOV has a tonic playfulness that 's unabashedly retro , an indulgent return to mr. raimi 's goofy , gooey roots .",
        "gaudy , ghoulish , this particular creepshow plugs into the ec comics of the '50s , laughing uproariously in the face of death . forgettable , but groovy while it lasts .",
        "raimi keeps the gore flowing - evil dead fans will cheer a moment of eyeball zaniness and a s\u00e9ance that features a levitating demon - but what separates him from grunge meisters rob zombie and eli roth are the subtler flourishes .",
        "the superb MOV deserves to be seen on a large screen with a sizeable crowd . much like a theme park rollercoaster ride , the synchronised gasping , screaming and relieved bursts of laughter can only enhance the experience .",
        "raimi 's return to the splatter genre is absolutely , unrelentingly mental . terrifying in places , screamingly stupid in others , it 's a riot from ott start to adhd finish .",
        "raimi is a master at maintaining a particular type of cinematic tone : scary without being unwatchable , and revolting without losing wit .",
        "a movie that is slickly accomplished in its own dark arts , and one that never once resorts to the recent nihilistic faddishness for torture-porn . it will be a huge hit . the re-invention of horror begins here .",
        "an uproariously entertaining piece of lunacy , studded with belly laughs .",
        "raimi , ever the engineer , takes pleasure in screwing with audience identification , shifting between collaboration and contempt for our heroine .",
        "the true test of any successful horror flick is how wretched it makes you feel . at the very least , it should inspire a banquet of dread or offer a canap\u00e9 of anxiety . after MOV you wo n't mind walking home alone .",
        "entertaining enough in its squishy-squirmy way , and the payoff delivers a little jolt of that old time raimi magic .",
        "christine 's monstrosity is hardly so daunting as that of the evil spirit stalking her , but it 's of a piece with MOV 's mostly vague cultural critique .",
        "there 's goo , gore and guffaws galore in this outrageous celebration of everything you used to love about both sam raimi and the horror genre itself .",
        "MOV more than lives up to the hype surrounding the horror master 's return to the genre .",
        "the freewheeling spirit that infused the evil dead is absent here .",
        "inspired by the tone of b-movie scare epics of the '50s , they 've made a slick , mostly predictable homage-pastiche that itself rates about a b - .",
        "it 's the work of a filmmaker once again drunk on the daffy possibilities of horror filmmaking -- and determined to share that joy with his fans .",
        "this is a movie that will have you scream , laugh and squirm ...",
        "it 's good , clean , bile-soaked fun .",
        "MOV is n't a perfect movie , but it may be a perfect moviegoing experience .",
        "sam raimi is back in close to prime form with this week 's thoroughly enjoyable MOV , a horror thrill ride almost certain to satisfy any audience member willing to choose a movie with `` hell '' in the title over the latest pixar offering .",
        "immerses you into a heroine 's nightmare , tinged with humor and a threatening blast furnace that could be the gateway to a warm afterlife . ''",
        "one of the best horror films to be seen in many years .",
        "sam raimi returns to his horror roots in the unrelenting and cheerfully macabre spook tale .",
        "while few are going to accuse it of breaking new narrative ground , it proves one of the most satisfying horror films of recent years .",
        "MOV is the thrill ride sam raimi should be making year-on-year , not another cash cow hapless spider-man film .",
        "raimi mastered the art of the screeching , zombie hag in the evil dead , and 28 years and three spider-mans later , he 's still got it .",
        "MOV is a genre-buster ; one of the funniest and most satisfying films of 2009 , and quite simply a perfect horror film . it also has possibly the greatest final-reel shock since carrie .",
        "director sam raimi returns to his evil dead roots for this tongue-in-cheek gorefest -- one part spooky chiller , one part campy chuckler .",
        "raimi should go slumming more often .",
        "raimi took the horror/comedy by the scruff of the neck in 1981 with his no-budget , roller-coaster of a possession film evil dead ... and he brings his big bag of tricks to his much-anticipated return to horror , MOV .",
        "bad taste ? undoubtedly . and the slim storyline only just sustains itself to feature length . but if you 're in the mood for this kind of impishness , it 's extremely jolly entertainment .",
        "thrilling , in ways both expected and less so , as prone to provoking giggles as it is gasps .",
        "contemporary economic crisis provides interesting backdrop to otherwise simple and rather predictable horror movie plot .",
        "` MOV ' scared the daylights out of me . that is , when i was n't laughing at the dark humor that only sam raimi can concoct .",
        "a delirious haunted house carnival ride .",
        "MOV 's pg-13 rating holds -lsb- raimi -rsb- back from the all-out , blood-spraying gonzo insanity he reached with evil dead , but he still gets away with a surprising amount of gross-out gags .",
        "... walks a narrow path between campiness , sincerity , and sudden bursts of shock and ` aaaah ' !",
        "MOV is a startler , and yet one does n't get irritated by the jump-ups . they pay off and are as well planned as anything else in the film . so much in MOV depends on atmospherics , makeup and orchestral music .",
        "how do you craft a horror film to perfection ? just add sam raimi to the mix to get the perfect brew of blood , sacrifices and a gypsy curse while leaving viewers dying for more .",
        "when i walked out of the theater , the publicist asked me if i was the little girl screaming in the front row and i answered honestly with ; ` yes . '",
        "is it as hilarious as the evil deads ? almost .",
        "cheap , nasty and rather magnificent .",
        "a movie that is campy , frightening and one of the most memorable of the summer because it is so different from everything else",
        "it 's creepy and gory , not to mention theologically suspect , and will give all but the most stalwart horror fans an unshakable case of the screaming meemees .",
        "MOV is simultaneously gritty and goofy , brightly coloured and down-to-earth .",
        "parental content review",
        "for sheer visceral jump-out-of-your-seat thrills , you ca n't get any better than this .",
        "a gross-out fright movie .",
        "a giddy procession of intermittently successful jump scares and make-you-vomit sight gags strung together by a story so elemental it could be rendered in mural form on a funhouse wall .",
        "raimi succeeds at giving literal moviemaking a good name , while providing diabolic catharsis for many a disgruntled homeowner ."
    ],
    "summary": "sam raimi returns to top form with MOV , a frightening , hilarious , delightfully campy thrill ride .",
    "id": "770785298"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gospel",
    "reviews": [
        "i loved the music and i admired its good intentions . but there are just too many sub-professional touches for me to recommend the film .",
        "while the script and editing are flawed , the MOV is still an evening 's entertainment with heart and soul .",
        "`` wesley say and it shall be , '' pronounces wesley -lrb- omar gooding -rrb- in the MOV .",
        "... the movie never reaches the promised land .",
        "the lord may work in mysterious ways , but they should n't include bad acting and hack direction .",
        "here 's a dramatic version of a familiar story with a contemporary spin and fantastic music .",
        "the whole thing smacks of an overpopulated ` daytime drama . '",
        "it 's a rich portrait of a church in transition .",
        "a banal , artless , clich\u00e9-ridden fiction .",
        "if the choppy screenplay could have been tightly scripted , there would have been something more convincing to forcefully sing about regarding this divine but disjointed ditty",
        "the MOV already has a built-in audience , and i imagine that they 'll be pretty satisfied with this musical/drama .",
        "if the plot wanders through several predictable situations , and it does , the movie never lingers too long on those developments before cutting back to the best MOV music i 've seen on film since say amen , somebody .",
        "voices soar in the MOV , but the story drags .",
        "nothing more or less than a secular retelling of the biblical parable of the prodigal son .",
        "a sermon writ as large as a multiplex movie screen .",
        "so doggedly positive that it amounts to a glossy version of a sunday-school instructional film .",
        "a heartfelt but muddled melodrama .",
        "this is a soap opera through and through , with church politics in place of sexual dalliances .",
        "the MOV is rousing , affirmative entertainment .",
        "endeavors to be a powerful tale of faith and forgiveness , but in the end fails to capture even the slightest essence of spirituality and religious belief , or to provide any real insight into its characters ' conflicts , desires and motivations .",
        "it 's no triumph , but at least the makers and musicians want to touch your soul . for some , that may be enough .",
        "there 's a lot of talk here about religion , as well as plenty of MOV singing , but no sense of what these characters truly believe .",
        "really , a musical would have been a much better idea .",
        "when the music is n't pounding in sanctified syncopation , the look and the dialogue of the MOV are a lot like what you might see and hear on daytime tv .",
        "the MOV performances recommend the movie most highly ; otherwise it 's not due for much praise .",
        "an appealing and entertaining package that makes up for whatever it lacks in perfectly polished sheen in exuberance and passion for its subject and message .",
        "a more-than-fine movie -- the kind that christians who like to complain about hollywood should support , and the kind that may appeal to people who are n't interested in church .",
        "hallelujah for the hymns ! they save `` the MOV . ''",
        "`` the MOV '' is a clich\u00e9-filled movie with low production values that says nothing significant about MOV music or its core values .",
        "while the MOV 's faith-laced dialogue might annoy non-christians , the plot mostly explores themes of a universal nature . recommended to members of any faith for the stirring , onscreen performance of grammy-winner yolanda adams .",
        "the soapy , cliche-ridden script aside , the picture is a technical mess of awkward framing and choppy editing that puts a dispiriting damper on all that uplifting music .",
        "the MOV loses focus , getting every bit as lost as its characters .",
        "the acting 's pretty decent"
    ],
    "summary": "while it features outstanding musical numbers , the MOV reduces a series of worthy themes -- faith , family , forgiveness -- to soapy , banal clich\u00e9s .",
    "id": "8566"
  },
  {
    "movie": "balzac_and_the_little_chinese_seamstress",
    "reviews": [
        "an awakening to literature and hormonal hunger .",
        "dai sijie has created a dreamy memory of hardship -- part familiar chinese parable , part familiar french romance .",
        "MOV is by turns merry , tough-minded and sweetly nostalgic .",
        "the transformation of the little seamstress is ambiguous and bittersweet and leaves you with the feeling that , like a character out of balzac , her story will be one of loss of innocence .",
        "who says you ca n't make it with anyone by carrying pictures of chairman mao ?",
        "if the movie is straightforward and predictable in its attitude , it also exudes a sort of documentary lyricism .",
        "visually , balzac is a jewel of a movie , with panoramic vistas of the lake on the mountain , framed in mist , where the villagers , in a haunting nighttime ceremony , float candlelit paper boats bearing the names of their dearly departed .",
        "a touching , often lyrical tale that shows the long-enduring power of great literature on impressionable teenagers during political crises such as china 's cultural revolution",
        "it 's a fanciful tale , but the message is sweet -- that the higher arts speak a universal language that transcends politics and ignorance .",
        "choppy and episodic , sijie 's film is further dragged down by a disconcerting , third-act flashfoward that saps the film of whatever momentum it managed to build .",
        "dai 's episodic treatment has the force of memory , equally embracing the beautiful , the bittersweet and the absurd .",
        "beautifully shot , delicately scored and powered by a set of heartfelt performances , it 's a lyrical endeavour .",
        "though the film lacks some of the paper incarnation 's subtlety , dai 's infidelity to his own text keeps things interesting .",
        "a delightful fable about the enduring value of literature .",
        "a beautiful paean to a time long past .",
        "it 's a bittersweet and lyrical mix of elements .",
        "a transporting story about storytelling .",
        "the story is winning but the telling , with dai adapting and directing from his own novel , is too sentimental in the long run .",
        "its well-earned humanistic frissons should serve as a wake-up call for the great majority of american movies , with their inexhaustible supply of smugness and complacency .",
        "balzac acts as a fond love letter to literature , but it detracts from those intentions by also being a narcissistic love letter to itself .",
        "... an unusual angle on the era , and a passionate paean to the power of books , ideas and art .",
        "a light-hearted , playful love story set in china with a tribute to the soul-stirring powers of french literature .",
        "manages big magic with a few simple elements .",
        "a fine , gentle film love story and a cinematic tribute to the power and manifold benefits of communications between different cultures and nations .",
        "the elements in the story push all the right buttons , but the buttons do n't seem to be wired to anything .",
        "it 's a lovely little movie about very big things , and the smallness both illuminates it and keeps it from greatness .",
        "sweet , funny , sad and profound -- the sort of film that becomes more remarkable when you realize it 's based on someone 's real life .",
        "dai is good with actors and ca n't go wrong visually in such a natural , beautiful setting .",
        "pleasing to the eye but not to the heart or the soul",
        "a meditation on literature , love and remembrance that is able to find humor and hope in the dark days of the cultural revolution . quite an achievement , we 'd say .",
        "dai sijie 's tender , touching adaptation of his own novel of the same title .",
        "adapting his own autobiographical novel , director dai sijie 's intimacy with his subject allows for a remarkably assured mise-en-scene .",
        "there 's something mildly seductive about its linking of passion with the wild , untamable jungle that envelops its characters .",
        "gracefully captures the purity of innocence in the midst of no-matter-what .",
        "storytelling at its most poetically cinematic .",
        "beautifully photographed , balzac is a sometimes edgy journey that lands gently , but effectively on the mind .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- tribute to the transforming power of books .",
        "seamstress does n't inspire the same kind of fervent devotion its principals feel when confronted with art , but it does make a pleasant enough diversion .",
        "the film is episodic , and most of the scenes are evocative and charming .",
        "skillfully done ... but the broader historical context may make one just a tad queasy reveling in its visual and emotional excesses .",
        "a number of memorable set pieces illuminate the world around this subdued romantic triangle .",
        "a dullish though quite watchable lyrical coming-of-age love triangle drama set in the 1970s during the chinese cultural revolution .",
        "the ethereal private moments and inspired passages are beautifully shot by jean-marie dreujou , but dai never quite organizes the material dramatically , and the tone is too often jagged and disruptive .",
        "will appeal primarily to literary and artistic mentalities",
        "anyone expecting something either insightful or unusual will be disappointed .",
        "a poignant lyricism runs through MOV that transforms this story about love and culture into a cinematic poem .",
        "MOV skirts around insightful human drama and political criticism , weaving a pretty but threadbare tapestry .",
        "MOV wo n't blow you away with its originality , but i doubt if this sort of movie has ever been as pretty and delicate .",
        "sometimes the movie is a bit too gentle , moving at an energy-sapping pace , but one must respect dai 's ability to put criticism of maoist doctrine onscreen at all .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- big , beautifully photographed and somewhat mushy film .",
        "a nifty little film about the powers of culture and the humanities .",
        "the three main characters make a fabulous threesome - they settle into a very comfortable arrangement even though you can feel the sexual tension just under the surface .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- charmer .",
        "offers its share of little pleasures , but falls short of the greatness to which it aspires .",
        "the movie may lose some of its bite when translated from page to screen , but it still delivers a valid message . when one of the boys starts reading good literature , life takes on new meaning .",
        "the real star here is the chinese landscape , which is lush and inviting . cinematographer jean-marie dreujou and his crews have done a good job of capturing its beauty .",
        "a funny , sad and absolutely lovely film ."
    ],
    "summary": "this delicately told fable about the power of literature is a lyrical delight .",
    "id": "157943563"
  },
  {
    "movie": "doomsday",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV plays more like a series of mini-remakes than a single , cohesive film .",
        "writer/director neil marshall 's entertaining , sorta-cheesy , if at times derivative homage to post-apocalyptic cinema delivers exactly what action fans of the genre crave .",
        "dreadful stuff , aggressively silly and repulsively nasty .",
        "the survivors have made it a priority -- as they have in so many post-apocalyptic action flicks -- to store up provisions of mascara and hair dye .",
        "it feels at times that the only thing that has n't been appropriated is the filthiest toilet in scotland from `` trainspotting , '' though it is filled with the decidedly unpleasant substance found on , near and in said receptacle",
        "i still believe with all my heart that no movie with real car stunts , a tough-chick hero , and a severed head that thunks directly into the camera can be all bad . but this is pushing it .",
        "delivers the exploitation goods and then some , but it 's so utterly derivative it represents a depressing step backward for marshall ...",
        "a series of loosely linked action scenes , MOV plays out more like a video game than a movie .",
        "about twenty minutes into it i decided to pretend it was a long-lost mid - '80s film marshall had dusted off and put his name on .",
        "will go perfectly with `` mad max '' and `` escape from new york '' as a trio of apocalyptic balls to the wall action fests ...",
        "totally earnest but in complete awe of its predecessors .",
        "nothing about marshall 's grab bag has much to do with anything else ... it may be aimless and arbitrary , but at least it 's mostly fun .",
        "as the crowd screams and pounds their chests , the camera shows eden 's back . it 's a grim resolution , even in the post-apocalypse .",
        "if marshall 's goal was to deliver a no-nonsense , tongue-in-cheek , mega-violent `` throwback '' action flick , i 'd say he 's done a damn fine job of it .",
        "has neil marshall been studying under paul w.s. anderson ?",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- marshall cribs whole sections from other movies -lrb- aliens and the road warrior , most blatantly -rrb- so baldly that you have to wonder how he 'd like it if someone ripped off the descent this egregiously .",
        "MOV is a mess of lousy filmmaking and unrelenting artistic bankruptcy , smashed together to form an ear-splitting , overcooked , awfully irritating shell of an experience .",
        "neil marshall should be ashamed for foisting such a disappointing follow-up to the descent on his fans .",
        "as scattered as it is senseless .",
        "marshall delivers what he promises and mitri makes for a cool , kick-arse heroine in the ellen ripley mold .",
        "i ca n't support or defend MOV in the slightest . but it 's also the most fun i 've had at the movies in weeks . if you 're in the mood for sheer sensation without the slightest bit of intelligence , this is the flick for you .",
        "the sort of rough-and-tumble b-movie hollywood just does n't know how to deal with .",
        "let 's just say that i 've built more climactic medieval battles with a set of legos during my childhood .",
        "marshall reveals himself to be a terrific showman of chaos and comic savagery . this is baz luhrmann 's mad max .",
        "MOV is frenetic , loud , wildly imprecise and so derivative that it does n't so much seem to reference its antecedents as try on their famous images like a child playing dress-up . homage without innovation is n't homage , it 's karaoke .",
        "MOV is n't quite memorable or enthralling enough .",
        "even the two fanboys behind me - who almost reached orgasm during the speed racer preview - laughed and yelled `` what ?! '' when shown both a gimp and a medieval pit fight .",
        "the protag of this pastiche is modeled on jovovich in resident evil , and one way to pass the time is to count the numerous actioners from which marshall borrowed -lrb- lifted -rrb- ideas : road warrior , escape from new york , 28 days/weeks later .",
        "... just the umpteenth killer-virus movie of the last few years ...",
        "likely to be the year 's most entertaining film withheld from critics , neil marshall 's latest finds him pigging out at a b-movie buffet of bangers and mash . his alchemy of anarchy in the u.k. is exhilarating and playfully perverse .",
        "after they blow a bunny to smithereens -lrb- aiming straight through a plot hole -rrb- , i knew all bets were off .",
        "the only thing that saves MOV from complete disgrace is that it knows it 's trash .",
        "spintati pseytokaltia , poy o , ti yposhetai sto dinei aplohera",
        "when the film 's unspooling and we 're watching rhona mitra drive a sports car through an exploding bus , we find ourselves in movie geek heaven .",
        "it 's a mishmash of homages to writer/director neil marshall 's favorite b movies . that does n't make it bad at all , though ; it ends up being quite entertaining .",
        "brimming with exploitation antics , grindhouse sensibilities and , heh heh , exploding bunnies , MOV conjures a future thrown back to the dead-end styles and amoral excesses of the eighties - and no future could be bleaker than that .",
        "get your mad max mutant-maniacs-in-monster-machines on .",
        "the movie does n't disguise the fact that this is a loving homage to early 80 's science fiction cult classics .",
        "when people complain that MOV moves from one ` what the hell ? ' moment to another , they 're overlooking the fact that that 's pretty much the idea .",
        "with my apologies to tina turner , `` mad max '' gets a big dose of girl power , and the results are n't pretty .",
        "you know all those referential spoofs we 've been getting lately -lrb- epic movie , scary movie , meet the spartans , etc. -rrb- ? well , MOV is like one of those , except played completely straight .",
        "most fantasy-action films blow their budgets in the first half-hour , and limp home with their makeup smeared . MOV is unusually patient , smartly saving most of its fireworks for the later innings .",
        "-lrb- neil -rrb- marshall , once regarded as a filmmaker to watch , is inching precariously close to being one to forget .",
        "if you 're in the right mood , though , it 's also hugely entertaining .",
        "the acting is better than adequate , and rhona mitra is very good as the jaded heroine . as loud , relentless , chaotic , brutally violent and gory b-movies go , this one is a keeper .",
        "if you can accept this farrago of nonsense , and enjoy simulated beheadings and lopped-off hands and massive spurts and splashes of blood , this may be the movie for you .",
        "much as one might admire the british health care system as presented in the documentary sicko , even michael moore would have to admit they have a hard time over there coping with apocalyptic viruses .",
        "attention , apocalypse-hungry filmgoers : MOV may be the blue-light special you 're looking for .",
        "neil marshall shamelessly rips off elements from so many other action-packed , post-apocalyptic fantasies that you feel you 've seen all this mayhem before - and you have !",
        "if MOV was designed to be trash cinema , the filmmakers achieved their goal and then some .",
        "MOV is an anarchic trip down memory lane .",
        "can be a blast if you like the action , like the violence , endure the language and like watching rhona mitra strut around in tight , black spandex",
        "MOV typifies the kind of movie that gets dumped into theaters during the late winter -- a regurgitated storyline , no big stars , and no real prospects at the box office .",
        "those with a taste for revved-up , splattery fantasy thrills wo n't be complaining .",
        "soulless , impersonal and shamelessly derivative , this dime-a-dozen sci-fi garbage is such a depressing step down for neil marshall that one can hardly believe it was made by the same guy responsible for the rightfully acclaimed the descent .",
        "imagine the first serious competition to the deutsche dummkopf uwe boll as `` worst director '' working today , thanks to this mad and maddening mash-up genre picture .",
        "MOV poss\u010dde d\u00e9finitivement toutes les caract\u00e9ristiques d'un film culte en devenir , m\u0119me si celles-ci nous laissent toujours en t\u0119te une curieuse impression de d\u00e9j\u0155 vu .",
        "a tribute to the early 1980s anarchy actioners the road warrior and escape from new york , neil marshall 's MOV also blends elements from 28 days later for a fun and ultra-violent action-sci-fi-kinda-horror film .",
        "here 's a gorefest that also includes a little story line .",
        "as it slogs through one hectic yet mundane set pieces after another , the film slowly drowns in its own pool of clich\u00e9s .",
        "one 's enjoyment of MOV might stem from how much one admires a blatant homage to the 1980s .",
        "MOV might seem novel - if you 've never seen `` the road warrior , '' `` aliens , '' `` escape from new york '' or any other post-apocalyptic flick before .",
        "a bit like a medley of greatest hits performed by a hot , young talent who brings a new vocal inflection to the tired , old standards .",
        "... a whitman 's sampler of bizarre story ideas and visual gimmicks , congealing around a premise that is so straightforward that it affords them no groundwork for stability or realization .",
        "i somehow ended up admiring `` MOV '' for being the most unapologetically ridiculously , preposterous action movie i 've ever seen .",
        "marshall 's adrenalin-fuelled skill and enthusiasm propel the action forward with reckless abandon .",
        "in terms of sheer excitement , it 's the best movie of 2008 ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a pale imitation of previous futuristic thrillers , minus the cohesive narrative and charismatic leads .",
    "id": "770673000"
  },
  {
    "movie": "roger_dodger",
    "reviews": [
        "casanova virgil and virginal dante into the concentric circles of casual sex hell .",
        "as one could guess , a gabfest social comedy is completely dependent on its actors , and MOV has one of this year 's best-assembled casts",
        "kidd and scott have created one of the year 's most memorable characters",
        "sitting in the dark while people droan on and on about pretty much anything gets boring after a while .",
        "scott delivers a terrific performance in this fascinating portrait of a modern lothario .",
        "its keenly observed set-pieces never add up to a larger picture .",
        "... campbell is entirely convincing as he slips into the shoes of this long-time player .",
        "a fresh , original look at sex , replete with scathing humor , pathos and memorable characters .",
        "scott completely owns the film , and leaves you wondering why on earth we do n't see an awful lot more of him .",
        "great scott , ` rodger dodger ' is not the man",
        "an unusually smartly written and performed american independent film .",
        "the film 's murky , jerky visuals may put some viewers off , but kidd is clearly a writer and director to watch , and scott is an actor to admire .",
        "the film is not just a lot of one-liners but has a buried agenda , as the funny early dialogue slides down into confusion and sadness .",
        "a labute movie turned inside out .",
        "a skillfully made but ultimately annoying drama .",
        "kidd 's script is rich in smart lines that have stingers in their tails .",
        "often hilarious .",
        "the performances are everything and they are uniformly excellent , but campbell scott , who is the centre of the film , is truly superb .",
        "kidd 's script is too optimistic to do its interestingly sleazy protagonist justice .",
        "despite poor production values , ` MOV ' holds the interest with the intelligence and insight of the story and characterizations .",
        "-lsb- director dylan -rsb- kidd might not be shakespeare -lrb- though he 's got a remarkably tuned ear for dialogue -rrb- , but his sense of structure and willingness to push the flawed , comic-tragic protagonist to the fore merits the grand comparison .",
        "if you 're as happy listening to movies as you are watching them , and the slow parade of human frailty fascinates you , then you 're at the right film .",
        "dylan kidd creates , with the capable help of his cast and crew , a terrific debut with the smart , funny and upbeat `` MOV . ''",
        "revives the art of smart , scathing movie conversation as it skewers manhattan 's singles scene while providing a goodly number of laughs .",
        "it is scott 's convincing portrayal of roger the sad cad that really gives the film its oomph .",
        "sly , sophisticated and surprising .",
        "sharply written and confidentially directed , the feature debut of dylan kidd is the kind of character study in romantic cynicism that actors live for . -lrb- campbell -rrb- scott savors every word ...",
        "aa delight for anyone who loves to absorb dialogue .",
        "takes delight in skewering -lsb- roger 's -rsb- carefully-formed suppositions while never entirely disproving his theories .",
        "good cutting dialogue that one-ups neil la bute 's for downright cynicism .",
        "the terrific and bewilderingly underrated campbell scott gives a star performance that is nothing short of mesmerizing .",
        "the perfect cross between swingers and in the company of men that we did n't know we needed until we had it .",
        "as a portrait in cluelessness , -lsb- it 's -rsb- a hoot .",
        "even at its grimmest , the movie hums along , thanks to the edgy , hand-held , on-the-fly cinematography and the snappy performances .",
        "the date movie that franz kafka would have made .",
        "razor sharp and remarkable , one of the year 's best films !",
        "pungently edgy comedy-drama about self-delusion and sexual gamesmanship .",
        "you wo n't like roger , but you will quickly recognize him . and that 's a big part of why we go to the movies .",
        "an exciting debut from promising , and fairly disturbed , young director/screenwriter dylan kidd .",
        "watching roger at work is n't always pleasant , but it 's one of the year 's most mesmerizing sights .",
        "a clever , exceptionally well-written film .",
        "a corrosive , verbally dextrous comedy , roger spotlights sharp , witty dialogue and a standout performance by campbell scott , whose too-cool - for-the-room persona is a perfect match with dodgy roger .",
        "there is n't a lot of profundity here , but MOV has a bright , breezy script and characters that will amuse .",
        "campbell scott 's amusing and contemptuous performance is the stuff of awards .",
        "a refreshingly unsentimental education .",
        "a sophisticated but intriguingly toxic comedy of manners .",
        "nice piece of work .",
        "a heady , biting , be-bop ride through nighttime manhattan , a loquacious videologue of the modern male and the lengths to which he 'll go to weave a protective cocoon around his own ego .",
        "MOV features a protagonist who 's so abrasive , it 's a wonder that he does n't send viewers charging for the exits . fortunately , campbell scott -lrb- the spanish prisoner -rrb- , and novice writer-director dylan kidd imbue the arrogant , predator",
        "i was aglow for some time with the levels and layers and brilliant character moments that stuff this film . this is why i review movies . go see it .",
        "kidd says he wants the extras to act as a ` film school in a box , ' but the overall effect is more ` it takes a village , ' indie-style ...",
        "blatantly arrogant , unapologetically misogynistic , morally repugnant , and absolutely hypnotic . all these descriptions and more can be applied to the character of roger swanson -lrb- campbell scott -rrb-",
        "other than the slightly flawed -lrb- and fairly unbelievable -rrb- finale , everything else is top shelf .",
        "... rogers 's mouth never stops shut about the war between the sexes and how to win the battle .",
        "some have condemned this film for ` filthy content . ' that 's like condemning a hospital for being a place of disease . kidd deals with ` filth ' the way a surgeon treats a tumor .",
        "scott 's hilariously hateful hauteur is able to counteract some falsely fuzzy notes in the ending .",
        "kidd 's story is a bitter pill to swallow - many will find the portrayal of roger as some kind of hero bizarre .",
        "the dialogue addresses our expectations , gets us laughing and stops the movie from becoming too obvious a character study .",
        "sharply written by dylan kidd .",
        "the best american debut since reservoir dogs .",
        "while sounding like nick hornby and looking a little like whit stillman , MOV paints its own sublime and wonderful impression of singles .",
        "first-time writer-director dylan kidd also has a good ear for dialogue , and the characters sound like real people .",
        "dark and disturbing , but also surprisingly funny .",
        "an entertaining look into the male psyche -- well , at least the psyche of males preoccupied with adolescent concerns .",
        "campbell scott 's performance gives the character an added dimension , one of inner sadness and loneliness that taints even his most deplorable speeches with potential sympathy",
        "scott 's low-key portrayal makes roger interesting .",
        "it only rarely becomes less than apparent that lurking behind these clever characters there 's a cleverer screenwriter , delighting himself as he takes turns setting each of them up for a verbal fall .",
        "the film 's highlight is definitely its screenplay , both for the rhapsodic dialogue that jumps off the page , and for the memorable character creations .",
        "it 's a minor comedy that tries to balance sweetness with coarseness , while it paints a sad picture of the singles scene .",
        "genuine movie magic ... it transports you to a place somewhere between eavesdropping voyeur and silent referee .",
        "it is less about treating others badly than about what happens to us when we do , a bleary-eyed look in the mirror behind the bar when they announce last call .",
        "roger 's totally sleazy , yet still manages to come off smart , funny and likeable , so does the movie .",
        "roger is not a character we are really meant to like , but how much one likes this movie may ultimately depend on the extent to which you are able to remain in the same room with him .",
        "kidd 's wickedly irreverent and succulent narrative cunningly cuts to the quick in the way it examines the boorish behavior of male mischievousness that ultimately serves as the needed comeuppance to redefine their consciousness .",
        "ourside the theatre roger might be intolerable company , but inside it he 's well worth spending some time with .",
        "starts as a tart little lemon drop of a movie and ends up as a bitter pill .",
        "MOV is an impressive first-time effort by dylan kidd , the director and writer . but like the teen in the movie who is trying to lose his virginity , the film never quite scores .",
        "it is a testament to mr. kidd 's skill that in his debut feature he makes such entertainment out of a character that could easily have seemed nothing more than an egotistical blowhard .",
        "does n't really add up to much .",
        "campbell scott , in the role of a lifetime , brushes past all the built-in limitations , seizes the role -- and us -- and turns it into a genuine tour de force .",
        "MOV is a little too programmed in its despair , but it coasts along on the jagged music of the modern lothario 's song .",
        "life 's just full of surprises . who 'd expect a movie about a rogue and his horny teenage nephew to be so good ?",
        "thanks to scott 's charismatic roger and eisenberg 's sweet nephew , MOV is one of the most compelling variations on in the company of men .",
        "shot perhaps ` artistically ' with handheld cameras and apparently no movie lights by joaquin baca-asay , the low-budget production swings annoyingly between vertigo and opacity .",
        "there 's a lot of tooth in MOV . but what 's nice is that there 's a casual intelligence that permeates the script .",
        "a wild ride of a movie that keeps throwing fastballs .",
        "wicked and funny , full of the kind of surprises too few movies can pull off but which first-timer dylan kidd handles with a sureness that is bracing .",
        "one of the smartest takes on singles culture i 've seen in a long time .",
        "though roger is hateful , he is consistently mesmeric . scott 's layered performance eventually allows glimpses through roger 's smoke and mirrors without being obvious .",
        "offers some fresh twists on the well-worn theme of sexual politics and shows how far some men still have to go to achieve emotional intelligence .",
        "it 's a movie dominated by conversation yet devoid of theatricality or staginess : a pictorial gabfest .",
        "think of MOV as a less mean-spirited version of your friends and neighbors .",
        "for kidd , MOV marks an arresting and auspicious debut .",
        "campbell scott 's fiendishly mercurial performance as razor-tongued womanizer roger is a revelation but it 's only one of this nimble film 's pleasures .",
        "kidd has made the rare film that 's more interesting and complex than it sounds , a feature that shares with its characters a willingness to take risks and ends up , like them , in places they never expected to be .",
        "an extremely promising first feature .",
        "in a career performance that deserves oscar consideration , campbell scott finds that middle ground in-between aaron eckhart 's chad & vince vaughn 's trent so that you loathe things that he says and does , but ca n't help but feel compelled to watch him do hi",
        "scott 's riveting performance makes good use of the well-crafted dialogue , drawing you irresistibly into roger 's cynical , misogynistic world .",
        "MOV avoids asking the thorny questions . as in , why is this insidious creep worth an entire movie ?",
        "-lsb- kidd -rsb- can write dialogue , work skillfully with actors , and he has a pretty good handle on urban loneliness of the knowing , virulent new york city variety .",
        "MOV is an enjoyably bruising tale of the inflated male ego that takes a hammering thanks to a little ironic justice .",
        "dylan kidd writes quotable dialogue and monologues that have the muscle of early mamet without the attendant sameness of every character .",
        "quite the most shocking thing about this out-to-shock indie is the discovery that it was shot on film , not on video . i was n't even aware that it was possible to make film look this amateurishly bad .",
        "an older cad instructs a younger lad in zen and the art of getting laid in this prickly indie comedy of manners and misanthropy .",
        "there is greatness here .",
        "a fascinating , uneven first feature from the young writer-director dylan kidd .",
        "we journey from appreciating roger as the ideal over-drinks conversationalist to someone we would cross the street to avoid .",
        "campbell scott finds the ideal outlet for his flick-knife diction in the role of roger swanson .",
        "what sounds on the surface like another generic sex comedy is actually a bitingly funny character study .",
        "... there is an unflinching quality to the film that makes it impossible to dismiss as just another character study of an unhappy man"
    ],
    "summary": "the movie could have benefited from a more experienced director , but a great cast and script overcome any first time jitters the director may have had .",
    "id": "16578"
  },
  {
    "movie": "last_days_in_vietnam",
    "reviews": [
        "anyone who thinks history is dry stuff should see `` MOV '' - and heed its lessons .",
        "`` MOV '' will be broadcast in april on the long-running pbs series `` american experience . '' but it holds up on a bigger screen and deserves a large audience earlier than that .",
        "a film of great sadness , but also a galvanizing depiction of heroism .",
        "this is a solidly involving documentary that reminds us of one of the worst parts of our history , and of some of the best people who were a part of it .",
        "it 's a work that informs , inspires and angers , as it recounts the final hours of a war that kennedy 's uncle john began with the best of intentions , and president gerald ford ended with the worst of betrayals .",
        "there is enough triumph and tragedy and heroism and heartbreak here to fill three or four features , but director rory kennedy smartly packs everything into just 98 minutes , and so captures the rushed , chaotic , just-keep-going feel of those dark days .",
        "sometimes the stories we think we know , the stories where we do n't want to hear another word , turn out to be the most involving of all , the ones we in fact know the least about . so it is with `` MOV . ''",
        "deja vu , all over again , and riveting .",
        "a painstaking look at the heart-breaking situation that unfolded as the vietnam war came to an abrupt end .",
        "as a portrait of america in a moment both of idealism and betrayal , the movie is heartbreaking as well as inspiring .",
        "this fact-driven doc is eye-opening and at times thrilling . a sequence following a chopper pilot trying to get his family to an american aircraft carrier is like a short film unto itself .",
        "`` last days of vietnam '' is eerily foreboding for its implicit warnings to the fallout of political abandonment . but it 's also , on a more micro level , inspiring . even in failed wars , lives can be saved .",
        "masterful and oscar-worthy ...",
        "emotion packed thriller of america 's southeast asia dunkirk .",
        "perhaps the most striking thing about `` MOV , '' rory kennedy 's eye-opening documentary about the 1975 evacuation of the american embassy in saigon , is how calmly it surveys what was once among the angriest topics in american political life .",
        "one of the things that makes kennedy 's film so powerful is that it 's not just a story of stupidity and tragedy and incompetence , although there 's more than enough of those qualities to be found in the history of america 's vietnamese misadventure .",
        "as great documentaries do , `` MOV '' humanizes events that can seem merely factual in news reports and textbooks .",
        "a riveting tale told in the most pedestrian and unimaginative fashion possible .",
        "the grit of men and women scrambling desperately for freedom ahead of death and/or torture at the hands of the communists makes for a testament to human determination .",
        "it 's not a documentary that reinvents the form or will alter anyone 's perception of the war , but sometimes a rich , exhaustive chronicle is more than enough .",
        "a vital piece in the ongoing puzzle of the conflict , MOV is an eye-opening documentary that captures the charged emotions and troubled leadership that fed into an overall sense of panic .",
        "in sum , last days is the best kind of doc - it ties you up in knots .",
        "although kennedy follows the standard documentary format of archival footage and stills edited with current day interviews , she has constructed her telling of the story so expertly that her work is both moving and riveting .",
        "well-edited , provocative and thrilling . it would make a great double feature with hearts and minds .",
        "piecing together the myriad and moving vignettes of perseverance and humanity ... holds her focus and never succumbs to heavy-handed methods , allowing the participants and events to build the historical experience from the ground up .",
        "`` the MOV , '' at its core , is about moral courage - the bravery to confront the question of `` who goes and who gets left behind , '' as retired army colonel stuart herrington puts it .",
        "saying -lsb- MOV -rsb- is great is almost an understatement .",
        "inspiring and thrilling .",
        "archived film of the final , chaotic push to clear the embassy compound by helicopter is as dramatic as any thriller , heightened by stories of bravery and risk .",
        "splendid period footage and relatively little politics .",
        "nonfiction filmmaking at its finest , using incredible archival footage and fresh interviews to bring new light on an important , overlooked part of recent history .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't just about the horrific mistakes that were made by the u.s. government . it ultimately unveils the untold acts of heroism performed by a select few to save many . it 's a true testament to the human spirit .",
        "the film showcases the will and the commitment of brave individuals to do the right thing , defying executive orders even in the face of potentially treasonous consequences .",
        "a testament to people , as one source puts it , `` doing their best under terrible circumstances . ''",
        "that henry kissinger is there , uncontested as he pawns off the same dodgy claims he has for four decades , is a problem .",
        "powerful and terrifying .",
        "a `` you are there '' documentary with all the excitement and heartbreaks of a fast-moving narrative movie .",
        "any one of the episodes related in this doc could be adapted as its own feature-length hollywood production .",
        "the film tells in great detail a gripping moment in history that will enrich an audience 's understanding and shine a light on less and moments that might otherwise go unrecognised .",
        "`` MOV '' combines astonishing footage from april 1975 with the contemporary recollections of some who were there .",
        "riveting ...",
        "this is both a gripping suspense story and a profound moral drama .",
        "for american viewers who do n't know , the doc will be a worthy footnote to a long bout of deliberate cultural amnesia , but it 's too telling that the vietnamese remain in the background .",
        "first-person accounts put audience into gripping you-are-there saigon , april 1975 ... when it sticks with those with no political investment , testimonies are quite moving .",
        "it is hard to believe the events director rory kennedy depicts in MOV , even with incredible archival footage and enlightening interviews .",
        "rory kennedy 's essential film is history as it ought to be revisited , reinvestigated , renewed as documentary .",
        "there 's nothing innovative in the filmmaking , it 's simply a gracefully told story - tense here ; poignant there - with strong detailing .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- disarming documentary about the fall of saigon , a movie that is as much about human decency as diplomatic incompetence .",
        "good , but too narrow in focus and somewhat biased in those whose voices the filmmakers chose to share",
        "if voters are already tired of the red-state/blue-state reductionism in the dialogue surrounding american sniper and selma , last day 's conventionality may turn out to be an asset .",
        "totally unbalanced film . the north vietnamese army becomes the symbol of invading barbarians when as walt kelly put it , `` we have met the enemy , and he is us . ''",
        "paints a true-life picture of ordinary people with human consciences defying their orders and the law to do the right thing when bureaucracy fails them .",
        "authoritative and exhaustive . a must-watch .",
        "the film is rich in archival-memory and first-person recollections of many key figures , of higher and lower or no rank at all .",
        "by turning her attention to an underreported chapter in recent history , kennedy has found a trove rich with unreal imagery and stories of heroism in the face of defeat .",
        "`` last days of vietnam '' comes along to remind us that it 's never simple , and that pointing the finger becomes a futile exercise that can only accomplish paralysis .",
        "in the film , the morass of strategic confusion , political convenience , and stubborn personalities pushing an agenda is the prelude to a story of startling moral clarity .",
        "this film is stellar , a dead-on stare at the moments this country tries not to remember ."
    ],
    "summary": "as gripping as it is inspiring , MOV offers a surprisingly fresh -- and heart-wrenching -- perspective on the end of the vietnam war .",
    "id": "771371918"
  },
  {
    "movie": "art_and_craft",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's an impressive film about quiet desperation and obsession.it 's an impressive film about quiet desperation and obsession .",
        "there is nothing illegal in his puffery , though clearly gift horses really should be looked in the mouth for better authentication and not waste staff time or museum space .",
        "a documentary about mark landis , a meek , eccentric southerner who donated hundreds of his forged artworks to museums but never tried to make money off them .",
        "an object lesson in how to make a good documentary",
        "a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating documentary about landis ' amazing feats as a forger and con man .",
        "it 's hard to dislike a guy who , at his worst , is a man -lrb- as landis puts it -rrb- on a `` philanthropic binge . ''",
        "this documentary about one of the most prolific forgers in history is a fascinating character study of two men , the forger , a man compelled to copy works of art and pass them off as originals , and the man compelled to stop him from from doing that .",
        "the moviemakers have created a unique portrait of a highly unusual , gifted oddball who is -- unlike his paintings -- a true original .",
        "operating out of a crummy lifelong bachelor 's apartment , this prolific art forger is an unassuming and even sympathetic mastermind . with his tall , thin frame and baldish head , he resembles an el greco eisenhower , accessorized with alfred e. neuman ears .",
        "an insightful glimpse into mental illness and an obsession with fame . just the story of a mild-mannered con man with issues . a film worth viewing .",
        "landis has made a lot of people very angry , and the movie deals with a serious issue - namely the way obsessions take control of us .",
        "craft has it easy in terms of documentary subjects , as landis is ready for his close-up , eager to share a distorted idea of himself with viewers .",
        "it 's the kind of story a filmmaker dreams of - and yet , `` MOV '' leaves the viewer uneasy .",
        "both a very entertaining , offbeat look at the art world and a riveting character study of one man who 's exploited it for his own amusement .",
        "`` nothing 's original under the sun , '' muses mark landis in the consistently compelling documentary `` MOV . '' but he seems to be discounting himself .",
        "MOV rightly supposes that critique of art-establishment phoniness never gets old , and it reveals how individual mental illness can manifest collective anxiety about cultural ideals .",
        "`` MOV '' contains some focus problems , but overcomes them by generally keeping its spotlight on mark landis .",
        "a fascinating look inside the troubled mind of a master of deception .",
        "wonderful and not a little sad .",
        "an entertaining and compelling film , MOV includes a cat-and-mouse component ... but the film blossoms when it instead focuses on its engaging lead character , examining the line that often connects art and madness .",
        "the constant scrutiny of a camera seems exploitative and cruel , even if you are at all suspicious when he rationalizes his behavior as childlike mischief .",
        "... MOV is a intriguing depiction of counterfeit impulses -lrb- both wrongly perceived and irrepressible -rrb- , immense talent gone awry and what lies behind the desire to create .",
        "the filmmakers profile the prolific mark landis with a non-judgmental straightforwardness that allows the sheer brazenness of his scams to generate both shock and amusement .",
        "this crazy-gazing docu never presumes to be much more than an extended version of the kind of story one might expect to see briefly spotlighted on 60 minutes . even so , all sorts of interesting questions.swirl beneath the surface .",
        "what 's fascinating about MOV is watching the filmmakers try to figure out which of their subjects is the story 's hero .",
        "a droll documentary that may remind you of errol morris ' work .",
        "by drawing a wide net , interviewing bewildered curators and following landis 's rise to notoriety in the art world , grausman and cullman find rare depth in eccentricity .",
        "there 's a hint of exploitation , but it does n't overpower the film 's hilarious insights into the smug pretentiousness of the art world , nor its riveting examination of how copying others as made landis an endearing original .",
        "landis is a lanky , quiet-spoken wisp of a man , his skull firm against the taut skin of his face , and sly amusement suffuses almost every pronouncement in a whispery , truman capote-like voice that is as still and clear as a bell .",
        "much like the experts drawn to landis ' paintings , MOV effectively invites viewers to question the honesty of what 's been placed inside the frame .",
        "cut 30 minutes and re-edit and there may be an interesting pbs program here .",
        "the filmmakers may not have made a great movie , but they have a remarkable subject .",
        "an entertaining if rather rambling documentary -lsb- about -rsb- a crafty artist indeed .",
        "what was intended to be a lurid stranger-than-fiction tale of high insanity in the world of high art instead turns into a gentle , loving character study that takes an empathetic , if still deeply puzzled , look at an unknowable man .",
        "perhaps the year 's most delightfully charming documentary .",
        "thoroughly compelling and fascinating with a brilliantly mad , enigmatic subject .",
        "mr. landis , who lives in laurel , miss. , and has operated under several pseudonyms , is the enigmatic core of a movie that becomes pedestrian only when the focus switches to a one-man crusade to expose him .",
        "this smartly produced and constructed art-themed art-house entry delivers a canvas of caper , comedy and delightful curiosities that engage and provoke some serious thought . like the hero 's forgeries , it deserves a close look .",
        "fascinatingly complex and endlessly entertaining documentary ... a film which , by measures , both intrigues and tickles you .",
        "compelling but dubious ...",
        "sympathetic yet gently unnerving ...",
        "sam cullman , jennifer grausman , and mark becker , the directors of `` MOV , '' have themselves an enticing subject in landis 's activities . they do not have an enticing subject in landis himself .",
        "deeply eccentric subject makes for an engaging art-doc .",
        "... jaunty and engaging .",
        "directors sam cullman and jennifer grausman maintain a bright tone and a melancholy undercurrent , which combine in an eminently watchable character study .",
        "an engaging character study with an awkward yet satisfying climax that could n't be scripted more perfectly ."
    ],
    "summary": "the spotlight it shines on an apparently troubled mind may strike some viewers as exploitative , but MOV remains a thoroughly gripping glimpse into the life of a legendary art forger .",
    "id": "771379251"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cure_1997",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's more psychological than a genre movie , and that is the source of both its greatest interest and its biggest problem .",
        "kurosawa 's extraordinary direction drizzles a bit of psychological acid on everything , making it seem breath-stoppingly fresh .",
        "once again -lsb- kurosawa -rsb- takes on a familiar genre , the murder mystery , but he imbues it with so much angst and psychological juice that it takes on a life of its own .",
        "a grave , magnificently creepy thriller .",
        "a typically compelling film by kiyoshi kurosawa .",
        "a creepy , enigmatic bit of psychological terror that by its final ambiguous scene leaves you truly chilled .",
        "this is a movie that leaves one wondering just who it is who has been mesmerized .",
        "MOV has a cumulative power of horror which even seasoned filmgoers will not be able to resist .",
        "it 's one bleak film , and its ending would make kevin spacey proud .",
        "too shallow to enthrall , and it lacks the visceral energy to sustain itself as a genre piece .",
        "complex film with many things going on at once .",
        "MOV sticks with you -- it 's a movie about the power of suggestion that casts a troubling spell on the viewer as well .",
        "kurosawa takes a reasonably engaging thriller plot and turns it into a mesmerizing masterwork .",
        "cool and caustic .",
        "with long , uncut takes in which tension builds simply and quietly , MOV will have you under its spell .",
        "displays a sensibility so weird as to be its own recommendation .",
        "MOV provides a fascinating introduction to the artist . there is a new kurosawa on the block .",
        "rather than resort to clever plot twists and reversals , kurosawa constructs an elaborate psychological maze and then strands us in the middle of it .",
        "with its gift for infusing uneasiness into every frame , kurosawa 's moody , unnerving film continues to spook us even after the lights have gone on .",
        "for as calm and relaxed as the pacing can be , the film has a paralyzing uneasiness about it .",
        "a fascinating artifact as well as a most engrossing thriller .",
        "do n't expect the meticulously honed story of seven or an evening of pretzel-raveling a la memento . but if you 've had a particularly stressful workweek , it 'll make you question whether the stress was worth it .",
        "somewhat confounding , but utterly spellbinding .",
        "not since insomnia have we had a police thriller so subtle and mind-soaking , or anxieties so poisoned in a heart of darkness .",
        "a fascinating cinematic exercise which woozily suggests the fragile underpinnings of modern rational life by craftily employing genre conventions in unexpected ways .",
        "tough to shake even when it feels more like an exercise than a movie .",
        "an existentialist serial killer film that plays like what cohen 's god told me to might look like were it written and directed by `` beat '' takeshi .",
        "another strong vehicle for japan 's top male star , koji yakusho .",
        "an effective piece of shock cinema .",
        "a movie to get lost in .",
        "the scenes of utter nonsense -lrb- and there are many -rrb- are outweighed by those of genius , making MOV a relative standout in this budding genre .",
        "a dark and diverting urban psychologial thriller that is well-acted and staged but goes down an unconvincing metaphysical road in its conclusion .",
        "its astute inquiries into how human minds operate make it one of the few psychological mysteries truly worthy of the name .",
        "though there 's a memorable final confrontation in the protagonist 's mind , and a heck of a closing , most of the film 's second half is n't nearly moody enough .",
        "kurosawa definitely has a strong visual style and a knack for spinning engrossing , if not bizarre , stories that cross the genre divide .",
        "tone and atmosphere mirror subject to perfection in kiyoshi kurosawa 's hypnotic trip into the lower depths of the human mind .",
        "it 's well enough acted and directed to advance kurosawa 's claim to be taken as an important new voice in japanese cinema .",
        "it 's unsatisfying as a story precisely because it aspires to create a mounting sense of dread by enlarging questions rather than answering them .",
        "fragmented identity becomes the ultimate horror",
        "... what is this , an episode of the flintstones ?",
        "the approach is not an especially deep one , and in MOV it 's given more deliberation than it can bear .",
        "there is no clear-cut conclusion . the film is not wrapped up in a nice neat little package . kurosawa shows us a glimpse into this strange world and then pulls away , leaving us to figure out the answers , answers that may never come .",
        "the single best horror film i 've seen this century ."
    ],
    "summary": "mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing .",
    "id": "19806"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1185801-the_express",
    "reviews": [
        "just because something has been done before does n't mean it ca n't be done again , and well . ` MOV ' is formula-driven entertainment of an uncommonly high order .",
        "as a sports non-fan , my definition of a good sports film is one that my dad and i both enjoy . MOV has the goods .",
        "maybe the real ernie davis really was this perfect , but the movie plays as if the filmmakers did n't want to offend his family .",
        "a far more intelligent movie than the ads might make it seem .",
        "the player , coach and even the wise grandfather figure played by charles s. dutton have at least one more dimension than the typical sports-movie stereotypes .",
        "performances help hold the movie together -- brown is solid , quaid 's natural charm takes the edge off schwartzwalder 's recalcitrance , and omar benson miller chips in another charming supporting turn as davis ' best friend .",
        "there 's a reason hollywood keeps making versions of this movie : they work .",
        "no matter what the very capable actors do to shake up the characters , they stubbornly remain types .",
        "... patently dishonest about a few things .",
        "consider that a virtue in a movie content to teach familiar messages without overstating them .",
        "gary fleder 's sporting drama has its heart in the right place but , sheesh , that title grows more ironic with each crawling minute .",
        "full of stirring speeches and manly chins quivering with emotion , every frame is a clich\u00e9 .",
        "the movie also has its heart in the right place and it is as earnest as it can be . it simply falls short of being a great movie .",
        "it makes the most of its on-the-field drama , but it tends toward gross generalizations and oversentimentality . ... as a result , the film is burdened with hokiness .",
        "MOV is running on two rails at the same time . there 's sentiment , which is true . and there 's sentimentality , which is not . at its best , MOV is a moving tribute ; at its worst , it 's conventional manipulation .",
        "at times MOV could n't decide whether it was telling a story of racial tensions , a general inspirational sports film or the tragic biography of ernie davis",
        "while never as trailblazing as its subject , MOV is a worthy addition to the lengthy canon of sports biopics .",
        "while there 's nothing remarkable about the way director gary fleder has brought MOV to the screen , this is a solid film that does justice to davis ' legacy .",
        "a fine example of the form . cliched and sentimental it might be , but in the case of MOV , these criticisms almost count as plus points .",
        "the sports-movie template is capable of absorbing any story and delivering the same uplift .",
        "everything is literally and figuratively black and white in MOV .",
        "in the past few years , we have seen lots of football films , and this is by far the best . i might even be so bold to say that this is the greatest football movie of all time .",
        "based on a davis biography , gary fleder 's account is a noble attempt at humanizing the myth , but it succumbs to the worst sorts of sports-movie clich\u00e9s .",
        "combines and surpasses both genres by virtue of its honest-to-gosh goodness .",
        "while ernie 's on-field accomplishments were extraordinary , it was the environment in which he struggled to achieve them that makes him the worthy subject of a motion picture .",
        "we 're not asking for another brian 's song , but does davis 's tale have to seem like a rehash of remember the titans ?",
        "inspirational true-life sports films seem to be a dime a dozen , but when they 're good , they 're worth their weight in gold .",
        "has dennis quaid really never played a college football coach before ? with his handsome , craggy face and likable intensity , he was born for the job .",
        "rob brown 's performance in the title role is solid and static , but dennis quaid 's portrayal of coach ben schwartzwalder provides a convincing metaphor for a nation going through a crisis of conscience .",
        "dennis quaid scores an emotional touchdown in this sturdy , factual football drama .",
        "MOV is a somewhat ordinary movie about an extraordinary life .",
        "it 's tough , admittedly , to sum up someone 's life in just two hours , and even tougher when that person is as genuinely impressive as ernie davis . unfortunately , this movie tries to cram it all in .",
        "packages a real-life story of athletic triumph and social progress into an accessible , rousing melodrama that is no less potent for being almost entirely predictable .",
        "sadly , however , this is all too familiar , which is something nobody could say about the real ernie davis .",
        "when it should be scrambling for inches , MOV keeps lobbing emotional hail mary passes .",
        "the movie might be a bit more interesting if davis had more to him than simply graceful gumption and victimhood , and if the spaces around him could be filled with something .",
        "it will make you care even if you do n't like sports .",
        "at times stirring , inspiring and thoughtful .",
        "MOV plays for our sympathy -- and wins .",
        "while MOV has too many bits and pieces of other sports movies in its mix to stand out , it does break the template in the last act .",
        "MOV may prove valuable to movie historians since it 's a compendium of virtually every sports movie clich\u00e9 ever contrived .",
        "despite its flaws , at least MOV does its best to honor this groundbreaking player 's memory .",
        "i already get espn classic at home , and i do n't need it recreated for me at the theater , thanks .",
        "even if you already knew the facts , you wo n't be able to help but reflect in awe at how much progress in the fight against discrimination has been made on a societal level .",
        "tries to be another ` brian 's song ' but does n't quite make it",
        "MOV sprints through cliches with its powerful story of a player and his coach .",
        "i suspect ernie davis really was an interesting person . he certainly led an interesting life . that 's all the more reason for being disappointed in MOV , as it reduces him and his accomplishments to mere plot points .",
        "the film does the job , in its conventional way . but it 's geared to throw the prime screen time in the direction of the guy playing the guy coaching the guy who 's supposed to be running the movie .",
        "despite appealing performances and kinetic football scenes , the storytelling is mostly conventional , except for two outstanding set pieces .",
        "quaid delivers one of the most stirring half-time speeches in movie history .",
        "quaid and brown are completely credible . we may know where things are going , but they do n't , and they 're feeling their way into a modern world ...",
        "the dilemma of movies ... about sports heroes that also make statements on social injustice is that they have to do a fair number of scenes involving sports .",
        "MOV knows what made the man great . it just has difficulty embodying that greatness itself .",
        "is -lsb- the significance -rsb- for davis to set a precedent as the first african-american heissman trophy winner ? i mean , honestly , are they going to make a biopic about halle berry and denzel washington 's oscar wins ?",
        "` MOV ' adopts a conservative game plan , running right up the middle on every play , stubbornly refusing to take chances and try the unexpected .",
        "with the stock market going through fits of manic depression , this movie serves as an inspirational distraction .",
        "exciting football games to watch , a lead character we can root for ... i wish it were about 20 minutes shorter , though .",
        "a fine addition to the recent genre of socially-conscious sports flicks highlighting individual feats for the collective meaning of those historic triumphs to the masses of black folks in search of civil rights .",
        "MOV plays it big and safe and conventional , but really , that just means everybody 's going to like it .",
        "if the best thing said about a football movie , oddly enough , is that it can be entertaining for anyone who could care less about sports , then this is a solid touchdown . skeptical couch potatoes take heart , a knowledge of the game is rarely required .",
        "a smartly updated old-fashioned espionage thriller .",
        "MOV eventually reaches its triumph-of-the-human-spirit climax , but it yanks too hard on the heart strings during the long journey there .",
        "too much synthetic spotlessness to score a real and grimy touchdown of credibility and inspiration .",
        "the pacing is off , which makes express feel longer than it actually is .",
        "a cliffs ' notes version of ernie davis ' life that turns everything he worked for into a hallmark card .",
        "-lsb- fleder 's -rsb- directorial bungling puts a terrible burden on the appealing cast .",
        "MOV finesses a cinematic hat trick : it 's entertaining , deeply moving and genuinely important .",
        "just about good enough to be the 40th best episode of friday night lights . which has aired 39 episodes .",
        "MOV raises the following rhetorical question : was davis ' life really that by-the-numbers bland or have the filmmakers airbrushed out all the prickly , complicated details ?",
        "wo n't make you feel much , because you 've already felt it the same way , in the same manner from other stories that got there first with more charisma .",
        "occasionally engrossing but overlong biopic of late-1950s college football star ernie davis , the first african-american to win the heisman trophy .",
        "davis deserves to be remembered , but as professionally crafted as MOV is , the movie is an almost instantly forgettable version of his life .",
        "accomplishes what it sets out to do . it chronicles davis ' trials and triumphs well enough . but still , it leaves you wondering what was going on inside the helmet .",
        "an uplifting -- and poignant -- tale ... but it 's told ... in very broad strokes that make their point as obviously as any tv movie would .",
        "a crowd-pleasing civil rights drama made all the more potent because it wraps its uplifting story in the trappings of a sports movie .",
        "-lsb- ernie davis ' -rsb- story is one all young athletes -lrb- and some hotdogging , grandstanding professional players -rrb- can learn from .",
        "express nails the pulse of davis 's life just right , incorporating his confidence , leadership , and exasperation into an engrossing , if not exactly groundbreaking , feature film .",
        "a sturdy sports flick about the legendary ernie davis who was the first african-american to win the heisman trophy .",
        "MOV tells the true story of college-football star ernie davis . it 's such a naturally compelling tale that one wonders why it has n't been filmed before .",
        "MOV is involving and inspiring in the way a good movie about sports almost always is .",
        "no film that 's 129 minutes long should be called MOV - how about the sleeper to oblivion ?",
        "entertaining drama biopic that marshals its collection of sports biopic cliches to winning effect , aided by superb performances from dennis quaid and rob brown .",
        "rob brown did a nice job .",
        "there 's nothing daring in the least about MOV , which , like most real-life sports stories co-opted by hollywood , strips the achievements of any individuality or historical worth and renders them all part of the same gumbo of sticky cliches .",
        "fact-based or fictional , no genre sticks to the playbook more rigidly than the sports drama . creditable addition to the canon though it is , MOV does not buck the trend .",
        "a tidal wave of corn syrup hardly mars this old-style , populist entertainment .",
        "the screenplay is stewed in such pieties , served up as warm and homely as apple pie - only there 's no taste to it .",
        "steams ahead with express-train determination , scooping on to its cow-catcher any cinemagoer hoping he can outrun yet another true-life drama about black sportsmen overcoming bygone bigotry .",
        "it 's hamstrung by both underdeveloped plot strands and overdeveloped visual style , but it still works in its own way , plowing through potential criticisms much like its titular gridiron hero plowed through tacklers .",
        "football fan or not , definitely be sure to see it .",
        "MOV delivers visceral gridiron energy . fleder and his crew capture the moments so many athletes refer to as ` being in the zone . '",
        "davis is played winningly , without a single false note , by rob brown . his coach , the irascible but decent ben schwartzwalder , is brought home beautifully by dennis quaid , who has quietly become one of america 's finest actors .",
        "... predictable but inspiring ...",
        "director gary fleder does an end run around the genre 's cliches , and cinematographer kramer morgenthau plays with desaturated color and highlights for a rich period feel .",
        "aside from managing to get made at all , the movie does n't do davis 's legacy any favors by giving us the store-brand version of his life .",
        "rob brown brings off the most difficult task . as davis , he crafts a persuasive performance of that unusual figure in movies : a genuinely good man .",
        "that rare sports film that is n't afraid to dabble in personal and social ambiguity .",
        "in MOV the football field is a place where people of very diverse backgrounds are forced to work together for a common goal and what happens on the field proves to have broader implications .",
        "like a biography plucked from the shelf of a grade-school library ... includes ample inspiration and sufficient history to get to its destination in `` express '' fashion .",
        "audiences of all ages already are cheering `` express , '' the newest sports movie that provides not only a biography of ernie davis but also a look at how the color barrier was broken on the football field .",
        "looking for a safe investment in this wildly sliding economy ? well , do n't bother flipping to the rob because here 's a tip you can take to the bank : buy shares in the clich\u00e9 factory .",
        "a cinematic touchdown .",
        "i always ask myself why they keep making these inspirational movies , but for some reason , MOV worked perfectly .",
        "extremely old fashioned and one dimensional",
        "MOV in nothing more than a less successful brian 's song set in the days of jim crow and unconscionable white supremacy .",
        "it 's your basic uplifting sports story about the underdog who fights against the odds and triumphs .",
        "what could have been a blindly reverent biopic , and/or a tediously respectable prestige picture , instead at least tries to deal with the issues it raises , and tries to do so with with some subtlety and grace .",
        "we may never see an original sports movie ever again . the last truly original sports movie was rudy , because it was never a story about winning % u2014 it was a story about heart . MOV shares a lot of rudy 's dna .",
        "inventing a hollywood racist agenda where it did n't exist , because this concentrates on ernie davis the football player , it does n't know the man , and that 's the better story .",
        "if he is a little too glowingly perfect , a little too heroic , it adds to the mythic feeling of the story ."
    ],
    "summary": "this inspirational sports biopic set in the the civil rights era is interesting even for non-football fans , and features a great performance by dennis quaid as tough-but-fair football coach .",
    "id": "770675021"
  },
  {
    "movie": "willow",
    "reviews": [
        "... high production values , elaborate sets , and gorgeous cinematography make it worth seeing at least once . yet , i found in it no compelling reasons for a revisit .",
        "grand escapism",
        "MOV is medieval mishmash from george lucas , a sort of 10th-century star wars tossed together with a plethora of elements taken from numerous classic fables .",
        "a forgotten classic that holds a lot of nostalgia",
        "there 's a sunny feeling here that 's impossible to deny : a warm , inviting tone unseen in more recent fare .",
        "nice fantasy adventure , looking pretty dated now , but ably helmed by ron howard .",
        "magic-filled fantasy adventure for tweens and up .",
        "as a movie , it 's a hell of a video game",
        "it is n't without significant flaws , but overall an effective and memorable fantasy spectacle .",
        "this is how i always figured the project got started : ilm called ron , and said ` ronnnnnnn , we 're bored . '",
        "gad .",
        "a sloppy and intermittently goofy flick , but it still holds enough charm , excitement and good humor to please quest fans .",
        "it works better as a portfolio for ilm techies than an example of such hoary entertainment standards as acting , screenwriting , plotting , and direction .",
        "although the dragon is a fantastic early computer generated creation and must have cost a bundle to design , the film itself is too long , too slowly paced , and not very intelligent .",
        "though children will mostly be enthralled by the spectacles , even they might notice the weak story protruding through the industrial magic .",
        "the big budget ca n't conceal the fact that this fiction is fallow , more rootbound than spellbound .",
        "at the story level , MOV is turgid and relentlessly predictable ."
    ],
    "summary": "good production value and decent special effects , but the story is too insipid and slowly paced .",
    "id": "10072"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1221547-alice_in_wonderland",
    "reviews": [
        "could have been called alice in blunderland , burton 's latest is inferior to the childish disney feature in nearly every way .",
        "a fun film with awesome visual design . i think that over time detractors will mellow and burton 's alice will become a classic . bandersnatches and futterwackens not withstanding .",
        "even though burton is unable to channel much suspense or awe , the film is a sumptuous visual delight . it all adds up to a mildly enjoyable adventure , sadly lacking in ambition .",
        "a bland adventure fantasy , MOV may be pretty to look at , yet offers nothing more than tim burton 's now generic and uninspired brand of filmmaking .",
        "the imposition of a fairytale quest structure turns the surrealist wanderings -lrb- and wonderings -rrb- of a free-associating dreamer into a brusque crash-zoom , as alice hurtles towards her appointment on the good-versus-evil battlefield .",
        "the alice books gained fame for being totally unconventional , and you decide to make a totally conventional movie out of them ?",
        "... an endeavor that 's big on spectacle yet small on plot ...",
        "more disney than tim burton .",
        "despite stunning visuals and fine performances MOV never really goes anywhere . or rather it goes somewhere we 've all been before .",
        "an endless series of tedious set pieces , flat characterization , lethargic visual effects , a waste of raw talent ...",
        "lewis carroll is bent over a table , tears filling beneath his eyes . something in your heart breaks . your childhood , perhaps ?",
        "burton 's imagination never lets up ... and while those 3-d effects do seem to fade into the background , you can feed your head on his wonderland for the entire trip .",
        "time to take some of lewis carroll 's advice , tim : eat me .",
        "it 's the kind of movie that should inspire you to get a blu-ray player and hi-def television if you do n't have them already .",
        "the movie is seeped in distinctive visuals , lavish photography and set design that recalls the wondrous texture of `` harry potter . '' what , then , held them back on taking further creative opportunities with the story ?",
        "this latest rendition of `` MOV '' is a journey worth taking mainly to see tim burton 's imagination at play . the story is so well-known , but you have n't seen it done quite in this way before .",
        "wobbles along as average entertainment garnered from a great book .",
        "for all of the wild , 3d effects , eccentric characters and sly nods to its source material , the highlights ... are the performances of his two favorite actors -- johnny depp and helena bonham carter .",
        "storytelling has never been burton 's strong suit and his weakness is here compounded by a desire to somehow squeeze carroll 's topsy-turvy , logical-illogical tales into a teen-friendly , disney-approved , big-screen adventure .",
        "that johnny depp 's take on the mad hatter is comparatively one of the more subdued performances tells you just how out there tim burton 's film is .",
        "a disappointment that 's still worth seeing , MOV lands near the higher end of burton 's lesser work .",
        "even considering the liberties burton has taken with the original text , it 's tempting to think that carroll himself would consider him an altogether frabjous match .",
        "so how 's the movie ? mostly frabjous . the visual palette is more artfully riotous than that of other alice films , the performances more zestful .",
        "it 's just hard to know why mr. burton , who does n't seem much interested in alice , bothered .",
        "visually fascinating yet perturbing and scary , it 's not a very young children 's movie , despite the pg rating .",
        "in many respects , this is the most crowd-pleasing burton film in many years .",
        "in its big-budget extraordinariness , alice is awfully ... ordinary .",
        "repetitive , lacking narrative momentum",
        "burton treats his material with abandon , but not contempt , and he has brought his mad hatter 's imagination to a new generation who have not yet read the books .",
        "burton 's turned MOV into a silver screen suicide note , once again mistaking an extended stay in hostility as a directorial statement of integrity .",
        "MOV is a lovely display of tim burton 's amazing offbeat aesthetics which win me over every time , but sadly does n't make for very much of a film .",
        "the movie feels wrong . i liked the individual pieces but it never works as a whole . it 's too much like burton 's other work and the 3d was awful .",
        "on paper , tim burton and johnny depp loose among the wonderland weirdoes , in 3-d no less , sounded sensational . but it 's a rather bland , forgettable flick .",
        "no knockouts here . no tkos , either .",
        "you leave the theater with a pleasant grin on your face , but by no means is it as wide as the cheshire cat 's , and that 's a shame .",
        "this creation is nice to look at but lacks energy , curiosity , or any kind of emotional draw .",
        "if there was one adjective i could pick to describe this new adaptation , it would be `` dispirited ''",
        "with its busy world teeming with sights but somehow as hollow at its core as say , a rabbit hole , the movie is a little like a splendid feast for the eyes , and not intended for devouring . or rather , a tantalizing travelogue a little heavy on tunnel vision .",
        "this is n't so much a movie but the coffeetable book about the movie 's production design ...",
        "the visual splendor is more than enough to feast your eyes on , so it 's too bad that the dialogue in the film could n't live up to its look .",
        "21st century alice matures and enters the matrix !",
        "i appreciate burton 's love for the characters as he expresses it through such creative wizardry . but , then , i also have a wistful feeling over the lightness of its total affect . a delicious snack but not quite a full meal .",
        "MOV reminds me most of sleepy hollow : empty , faux-atmospheric , and without soul .",
        "amid the visual pleasures , the plot additions feel limiting .",
        "much of underland is almost as gorgeous as pandora , but what makes MOV work -lsb- are -rsb- the terrific comic performances .",
        "it looks like a cgi head trip gone postapocalyptic . in the film 's rather humdrum 3-d , the place does n't dazzle -- it droops .",
        "tweedlee and tweedledum could have come up with a more compelling pseudo-sequel concept and crafted a more cohesive narrative .",
        "unfulfilling",
        "its best and strangest interludes assert burton 's skills as a fantasist , as well as depp 's as a squirrely , inventive character actor .",
        "one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small , and the pills tim burton gives you do n't do very much at all .",
        "-lsb- depp 's -rsb- wide eyes and high whimsy feel a bit derivative of his willy wonka -lrb- another collaboration with burton -rrb- , but he invests so much of his ample energy and instinct in these roles that it 's hard to complain .",
        "gone : the liquid reality of dreams and a sense that anything can happen . in its place : another story of quests , destinies , and chosen ones .",
        "what a letdown .",
        "alice plays better as an adult hallucination , which is how burton rather brilliantly interprets it until a pointless third act flies off the rails .",
        "the film is always fun , but as carroll might have observed , it 's not much of a muchness .",
        "this wonderland is just listless , bland and derivative -- a mere technical undertaking from a disinterested filmmaker .",
        "sadly lewis lite and not without flaws but this is as burtonesque as one could wish for , a real treat for fans of his twisted imagination and great british character actors .",
        "MOV is something of a mixed bag -- it 's worth seeing for the effects and performances but it 's badly let down by a very disappointing script .",
        "purists will squeal , but it 's a workable and watchable liberty to take with an oft-filmed yet impossible to film novel .",
        "like alice , tim burton uses his trip down the rabbit hole to reassert his `` muchness '' . there is much to look at , as a result , but not much about which to wonder .",
        "the most wondrous thing about director tim burton 's take on the lewis carroll classic is how lacking in wonder it all is .",
        "`` frabjous '' may be a word carroll invented , but burton knows just what it means , at least in his own mind . he 's clearly excited to invite us inside , and as long as you 're open to so much muchness , you 'll be very glad he did .",
        "every bit of havoc and nonesuch is put in service of the story of alice 's feminist awakening , and it 's about as exciting as it sounds .",
        "it 's become a common argument against burton , this lack of dramatic drive , but it 's true in this instance .",
        "the beguiling wasikowska tethers the arcane anarchy with weight and emotional clarity , anchoring us as moviegoers to alice 's plight in both universes , up and under .",
        "its single biggest failing -- an affront to lewis carroll and the charms of nonsense literature -- is the fact that it makes sense .",
        "it highlights burton 's usual strengths , along with no small number of his weaknesses .",
        "whatever your personal feelings are about tim burton and his body of work , the man is a genius .",
        "much of carroll 's magical nonsense remains , even if burton 's film wobbles at the gates of anarchy and ends up being a more average affair than many might expect .",
        "he -lsb- director tim burton -rsb- beat the odds and made this alice a real wonder .",
        "a decent movie , but not the amazing , mindblowing , set the world on fire , change your life and curl your toes film people expect and want .",
        "this alice is a dud . if you want to experience a strange , unworldly story % u2014something like tim burton films used to provide % u2014stay home and read the book .",
        "there are certain cine-marriages that generate an indelible spark all their own . tracy & hepburn , bogie & bacall -- and now we get tim burton & 3d , creating the world we hoped for , and so much more .",
        "the trippy tale may divide audiences -- burton 's version remains a children 's story , though some may find it too over-the-top and idiosyncratic -- but to us , it 's a visual feast",
        "it 's very cool to look at , depp is entertaining , helena bonham carter is memorably crazy , and the too-conventional you-go-girl plotline is just an add-on to the visual cake .",
        "despite its flaws , wonderland is stuffed with more minute to minute amusement than you 're likely to get in anything else drifting through theaters , in or out of the third dimension .",
        "purists will be perplexed and the average moviegoer ultimately disinterested by director tim burton 's pedestrian spin of lewis carroll 's 1865 classic .",
        "it jumbles together a half-dozen or so other overproduced fantasies and wraps them up with typical , tiresome disney bromides and just enough snippets from the originals to remind you of what you 're missing .",
        "MOV may look fantastic , but there 's little else going for it . it 's emotionally cold , utterly predictable and there 's never any sense of peril .",
        "this may be the most fantastic , wondrous , and sinister realization of alice 's wonderland to date .",
        "the tim burton-johnny depp combo comes in colors and whimsy , but lacks tension",
        "MOV lands in a comfortable zone that should accommodate both kids and adults .",
        "MOV is normally not my cup of tea , but i was happy i joined the tea party this time .",
        "it 's a weak structure , thinly tied to the picture 's tired and antiquated theme about alice reclaiming her `` muchness '' and defying societal expectations .",
        "tim burton is the kind of director who probably does come up with six impossible things before breakfast . so it was a surprise to see him produce a film so lacking in joy , innovation and curiosity .",
        "re-emphasizes the nagging impression that the director is stuck in a creative rut , making pictures that are a tad too well-suited for his idiosyncratic style .",
        "la imaginaci\u0443n visual de tim burton encuentra terreno f\u0439rtil en los personajes de lewis carroll , pero el resultado luce poco original y sorpresivo . quien se destaca es helena bonham carter como la irritable reina roja .",
        "what should have been an eye-popping and jaw-dropping dream combination of two celebrated fabulists is instead a dour and unpleasant disaster that reduces one of the great modern mythical tales into a ugly mess",
        "this is easily burton 's finest work , and while he takes some liberties with lewis carroll 's classic , there are plenty of traditional `` alice '' traits to satisfy everyone .",
        "tim burton 's creative juices run dry in a decidedly boring and bland interpretation of MOV .",
        "a sharply detailed , wondrously three-dimensional fantasy in which its maker intuitively grasps so much of what 's good about the tale while simultaneously blind to what makes it great .",
        "did no one bother to mention to burton that lewis carroll 's 1865 story was not a lord of the rings primer but , in fact , a comedy ?",
        "it 's extraordinarily beautiful , extraordinarily bizarre , and - although purists will pooh-pooh the new storyline - absolutely entertaining .",
        "a stiff movie ... finds a way to make a lot of really weird stuff surprisingly boring .",
        "here 's a riddle : what 's MOV without wonder ? it 's a beloved character landing in the rubble of wrong-headed revisionism .",
        "considering what a to-do this massively budgeted entertainment is , that does n't add up to much . `` curiouser and curiouser , '' indeed .",
        "it might be time for johnny depp and tim burton to start thinking about seeing other people .",
        "wonderful visuals , bravura performances and crazy conceits mostly pave over some potted characterisation .",
        "MOV is n't quite the natural fit of director and material that it seemed to be on paper , but most of burton 's recent movies have been far more disappointing .",
        "a visually stimulating rendition that nevertheless comes off as lamentably timid .",
        "rather than a wonderland full of terrifying adventures and deliciously absurd whimsy , burton has created the underland , a place of terrifyingly , yet lugubrious , bad filmmaking . he dispensed with the whimsy altogether .",
        "gorgeously mounted but fundamentally humdrum , tim burton 's movie achieves sumptuous beauty with ease but fails to connect on a full-bodied emotional level , making for a pleasant but somewhat empty ride .",
        "... the visuals are overwhelming , the direction to most of the cast seems to be to chew the scenery , and we 're back to a movie being released in 3d for no discernible reason .",
        "a new story out of carroll 's mythmaking that fails to inspire interest , perhaps except as a rote exercise in mainstream weirdness .",
        "alice is a really good time , as well as a great example of how 3-d can be effectively used as a tool to immerse us in imaginary worlds .",
        "`` curiouser and curiouser , '' says alice in tim burton 's latest , and for the first time i do n't believe her .",
        "no background whatsoever is given , from initial intentions to their invariably sympathetic turns , to understand the motivation driving most of the character arcs ...",
        "impressive eye-candy , elaborate and gorgeously detailed in wall-to-wall cgi -lrb- the 3-d seems rather half-hearted though ; this is one that wo n't suffer much in regular old 2-d -rrb- .",
        "rated pg , according to the mpaa , for fantasy violence and ` a smoking caterpillar . ' the jefferson airplane would be proud ; lewis carroll devotees , however , may be less than enthusiastic ...",
        "i ca n't rid myself of the feeling that for all the funkily crepuscular mood that burton creates , this is a pretty conventional work .",
        "disney family fun with the odd carefully calculated dark patch . fine on its own terms , but a let-down given the talent involved . disappointinger and disappointinger .",
        "the film is like eating an amazing peanut butter and jelly sandwich except that tim burton forgot to cut off the crust . the beginning and the end could have been cut out .",
        "a sumptuous , bar-raising cinematic portmanteau that both honors and complements the source material .",
        "there is very little to praise in what amounts to burton 's most mercenary movie .",
        "visually splendiferous but wrongheaded , the movie is far more burton than carroll -- and not very good burton at that -- and far less than enchanting .",
        "a head trip into blunderland .",
        "... -lsb- burton -rsb- made an MOV film that was n't MOV . kinda .",
        "vizualno atraktivan film prepun grotesknih likova i cgi-efekata o kojima se donedavno nije moglo sanjati",
        "burton 's personal stamp is missing . on alice he is a director for hire , helping the disney empire repurpose one of its animated properties and reinforce its 3-d bulkhead .",
        "johnny depp , basicamente dependendo apenas da maquiagem e de pr\u0443teses , investe numa composi\u0437\u0433o caricata como o personagem exige ao mesmo tempo em que se apresenta em cena como uma esp\u0439cie de filhote assustado de madonna , gene wilder e elijah wood .",
        "for all its noise and distractions and cg decal , this wonderland is a zone void of imagination ; it proves how relatively mind-blowing avatar 's pandora actually was .",
        "kids will enjoy the characters and the 3d . but grownups ? well , not this grownup , who is a tim burton/johnny depp fan , and who expected more .",
        "anne hathaway is ridiculously miscast as a deliberately weird white queen , although the character is supposed to represent good against the red queen 's evil .",
        "such a delightfully giddy , silly , delirious movie . tim burton is n't being `` tim burton '' but is just having fun again , scrambling up the expected pieces",
        "logic and proportion have seldom fallen so shruggingly dead",
        "for better or for worse , it 's burton 's imagination that keeps the proceedings lively , even if its ' not as blatantly humorous as we 'd like .",
        "it 's a shame burton gets his lewis carroll mixed up with his tolkien and cs lewis . still , the film 's 3d visuals are fun to look at .",
        "wasikowska is a standout in the title role . and , as to be expected , depp thrives as the mad hatter .",
        "MOV is most certainly a lot of fun , with flashes of comic spark and occasionally interesting visuals , but considering the array of talent on hand , this tea party has been seasoned with a little too much sugar , and not enough spice .",
        "the challenge of reinventing MOV sees tim burton reinvigorated and refreshed . visually stunning and filled with a delightfully deranged group of inhabitants , burton 's immensely enjoyable wonderland is well worth a visit .",
        "though burton 's film boasts some excellent performances , as the caterpillar says to our heroine , it 's merely `` almost alice . ''",
        "... it is the red queen , played by bonham carter that shines the brightest . her childlike villain is brilliantly played in all its giant head glory",
        "MOV is a well-paced , beautifully crafted visual spectacle that makes good use of 3d for a cracking cinematic experience .",
        "an explosion in the crazy factory , the giddy MOV more than justifies its hype .",
        "tim burton 's muddled take on the classic lewis carroll tale has moments of lucidity but mostly seems as confused as its titular heroine .",
        "there 's a lot to look at in burton 's MOV , but nothing that 's worth remembering .",
        "the new alice is casually absurd , off-handed in its violence , and doggedly on message . the movie is not just three-dimensional but blatantly programmatic .",
        "burton brings his distinctive touch and johnny depp , mia wasikowska and helena bonham carter do their stuff but a hodgepodge of hollywood conventionality lessens the wonder .",
        "burton does n't just hit the bottom of the barrel but drills through the wood and starts tunnelling . its only saving grace are the arresting , if familiar , visuals .",
        "it 's nowhere near his best work but a superb voice cast , helena bonham carter and a few moments of brilliance see it through .",
        "a film adaptation should , of course , treat its source material as inspiration rather than dogma . but did burton have to get the books so entirely wrong ?",
        "it is time for tim burton to get his nose out of his own sketchbook .",
        "the wavering tone is as uncertain as alice 's decision-making , while the added-on 3-d is a distraction and as unconvincing as the entire misconceived venture .",
        "tim burton seems to have completely misinterpreted his source material , but that 's hardly a surprise at this point . it 's more like his trademark .",
        "what 's shocking about MOV is just how woefully conventional it all is .",
        "is MOV worth seeing ? yes , because it 's a feast for the eyes . but the story needed to be more imaginative and involving for this to become a massive hit , and it 's far from obvious whether it 's aimed at children or adults .",
        "a succession of chases and fanciful combats , more akin to dungeons & dragons than to carroll , leads to a peculiarly truncated climax . the 3-d effects are enjoyable , but the added depth ca n't make up for deficits in the concept or the plot .",
        "you can not believe the dreadfulness of tim burton 's MOV - gifted director takes on gaga script - until you see it . enchantment has gone thataway .",
        "if it could be bottled up , the label would read `` watch me . ''",
        "the fact remains -- alice does n't live here anymore .",
        "it 's something like a post-modern tale of self-discovery , although it works better as a nutty fantasy than as anything with a point .",
        "pese al flojo argumento , visualmente el filme es una fiesta , rescatando el oscuro estilo burtoniano pero asaltado ahora por la rebeld\u00eda del color en una direcci\u00f3n de arte realmente preciosista . en este contexto , la realizaci\u00f3n brillantemente hace justicia",
        "-lrb- burton -rrb- is the perfect person to put in charge of translating the magical world that carroll created to the big screen .",
        "alice , a wonder to behold , but cold .",
        "the tim burton-johnny depp combo comes in colors and whimsy , but lacks tension",
        "tim burton 's latest assault on the senses is partially redeemed by johnny depp 's brilliant acting .",
        "... enormously entertaining ... depp gives a performance that must be seen to be appreciated . he shows here that he is something special .",
        "i did n't find it to be the masterpiece i 'd hoped for . it 's good . it 's very good -- and there are flashes of greatness within it .",
        "great visuals , but lacking in story .",
        "combines the heavy-handed clamminess of unneeded brand remarketing with the hateful hollowness of overdone and empty computer-generated imagery . ... with burton 's uninspired , underdone and underwritten version , you only feel like you 're watching money .",
        "a bore and an affront to anyone who is even familiar with the concept of lewis carroll and his books .",
        "curiouser and curiouser -- but then , mixing fantasy and free enterprise has always been the disney way .",
        "a wildly inventive film straitjacketed in conventional narrative form .",
        "although the simplistic plot has been done before and smacks of narnia and lord of the rings , burton 's MOV is family fantasy/adventure at its gothic best .",
        "the visual inventiveness in this film is so impressive that it almost makes up for the ill-conceived script , which tries to turn lewis carroll 's classic tales into a lord of the rings-sized post-apocalyptic adventure epic .",
        "the most curious thing about this magical realist fable is how charmless and ultimately forgettable it turns out to be in the hands of tim burton .",
        "burton 's film feels no different than the formulaic the golden compass or the chronicles of narnia : the lion , the witch and the wardrobe .",
        "carroll purists and freshman english majors may be aghast at the change in story , but for those who watched avatar and marveled at the images but were left wanting by the wooden acting and tired story , alice is a treat .",
        "it 's as though the script meeting was held at the mad hatter 's tea party , with all the ideas put in teacups and thrown against the wall - all of them seem to have stuck but in no particular order .",
        "kids will drool at burton 's spectacle - grown-ups too - but they might also find this is n't the nostalgia trip they hoped for . where 's the bottle marked ` feel me ' ?",
        "you leave the theater with a pleasant grin on your face , but by no means is it as wide as the cheshire cat 's , and that 's a shame .",
        "iburton and woolverton pursue a message of self-fulfilment , not as vigorously as they might chase a rabbit but to the same delightful end .",
        "i found myself trying so hard to like MOV that the process of watching it exhausted me .",
        "depp and burton 's take on the wonderland franchise is frivolous and feckless , a charming little pleasure to welcome the warmer weather .",
        "cgi has not been good to tim burton . the ability to see every unrestrained nuance of his vision fulfilled has robbed his films of the creative zest and inventive verve which marked his earlier classics .",
        "burton , once a master of cgi , has gradually become its servant , or at least has allowed the studio to . the madcap ringmaster of gothic phantasmagoria does not exert his individual stamp on a book one might have thought he was born to film .",
        "the film , overall , seems familiar , and one did n't used to feel that about burton , which probably means he needs to dig deeper next time in search of true oddity .",
        "burton 's MOV joins the ranks of return to oz and hook in confirming that it 's rarely a good idea to return to the scene of a classic novel unless you have something new and exciting to bring .",
        "this magical world looks fantastic , especially in 3d .",
        "after the first 45 minutes , the film becomes as tedious as johnny depp 's accent .",
        "an entirely suitable marriage of material and filmmaker .",
        "burton manages to put his unique visual spin on the familiar elements of the story , although he never quite reaches the heights of jefferson airplane 's immortal anthem `` white rabbit ''",
        "the look of the film is electric with amazing creatures and incredibly varied landscapes from lush to bleak .",
        "burton treats the eyes and tickles the funny bone , no doubt , but the heart and mind are left wanting .",
        "not to say that tim burton 's made a bad film , more that this is a missed opportunity .",
        "carroll 's whimsical fantasy is transformed ... into a bombastic action movie with traces of j.r.r. tolkien .",
        "i found tim burton 's MOV to be a treasure trove full of delight and near-amazement . the imagery is bold and ravishing . MOV is surreal and smashing .",
        "quite tiresome in the end .",
        "dulled down by a leaden epic formula , the plot becomes jerkily predictable on its lord of the rings route . comedy and charming daffiness are sorely lacking -- it 's mostly ashen doom and gloom . ` tediouser and tediouser ! ' cried alice .",
        "first-rate fantasy ... made even better with digital 3d technology . tim burton can be hit or miss . this one 's a hit . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "there is mold all over this `` alice , '' and while some of it features the brightest of greens , a lot of it is predictably grim , but not in the way that burton fans have come to savor .",
        "a fantastical romp that proves every bit as transporting as that movie about the blue people of pandora , his alice is more than just a gorgeous 3d sight to behold .",
        "a visually imaginative fairy tale that suffers slightly from its predictable course but still manages to wow at all the crucial moments .",
        "despite its sluggish start , `` alice '' is an enchanting , witty and funny adventure filled with marvelous sights and set pieces .",
        "the mastery of burton is the way he marries all the elements",
        "the colours are dynamic , danny elfman 's score is larger than life and johnny depp is magical",
        "director tim burton returns to his ` a ' game with this magnificent , visually stunning movie that is not only one of his best , it is indeed a wonder .",
        "... wrong-headed in pretty much every way it can be , poorly designed , loud , and worst of all , boring . it is a catastrophe as a movie , and as a place marker in the career of tim burton , it is a big fat dead end .",
        "MOV is simply , um , wonderful ...",
        "the closest you 'll get to absolute madness without being locked in a room with padded walls ... a wondrous piece of escapism .",
        "MOV is a lovingly filmed and meticulously crafted interpretation of lewis carroll 's treasured tale , rife with fantasy , coated in gothic iconography and presented by a superb cast who nail their characters ' portraits .",
        "tim burton 's sensibility as imagist-fabulist fits the text , and though there 's much to admire visually , the film unfolds as a series of set-pieces , lacking heart , dramatic continuity , involvement , and gravity .",
        "burton and disney have found a glorious way to interpret fairy tales and fantasies .",
        "the true three-dimensionality here is the old-fashioned kind -- wasikowska 's fully rounded performance . throughout the technical razzle-dazzle , we keep returning to the pallor of that face , the gravity in those eyes .",
        "a stream of consciousness collection of magical encounters and whimsical characters .",
        "a generic , joyless adventure story .",
        "it 's a workmanlike effort that will enchant all but the youngest children while holding the interest of parents . that , by definition , makes for a worthwhile family outing .",
        "the visuals are stunning , as you would expect , but characterisation is weak , and depp 's turn is one bout of lunacy too far .",
        "alice ... even when made needlessly dark for this adaptation , is fuelled by one of the most outlandish imagination in victorian fiction and it 's terrific to see this rendered by the latest technology on the highest resolution .",
        "faithful to lewis carroll 's vision or not , i liked the ride tim burton took me on here .",
        "parental content review",
        "MOV is , strangely , about the movie you 'd expect based on the talent involved .",
        "the episodic nature of lewis carroll 's MOV does n't really lend itself to traditional three-act plotting , but screenwriter linda woolverton puts alice through her joseph campbell reluctant-hero paces , and none of it ever sparks .",
        "a regretful dud , a fantasy without magic and very little heart and soul .",
        "did burton get bored in wonderland ? the end result is a movie that is decently enjoyable escapism , but entirely forgettable in the long run .",
        "all new 3-d alice story is trippy and intense .",
        "the picture is oddly flat -- a disjointed pageant of virtuoso effects . it 's a triumph of design that falls short of wonderment .",
        "burton , bless him , knows you ca n't cg a soul .",
        "tim burton tosses $ 150 million down the rabbit hole with this gorgeously rendered -- but utterly disposable -- cgi epic .",
        "it 's difficult to imagine another modern filmmaker doing this degree of justice to this well-worn but deserving children 's tale . tim burton has created a classic for generations to come .",
        "a bona fide , bums-in-the-air fiasco that needs to be burned and the ashes hurtled off in the direction of the nearest black hole as soon as you can , nasa .",
        "tim burton 's version of MOV is a succession of fantastically gothic pranks -- noisy , exhausting , and under-realized , but also frequently dazzling and frightening .",
        "people who enjoy high fantasy like carroll 's classic work are more than happy to experience the insanity , but do n't necessarily want to be driven insane themselves .",
        "a really interesting movie .",
        "you 're not going to lose yourself in the story or the characters but visually MOV is a series of moving artworks that are a joy to gaze upon despite lacking any depth , even in 3d .",
        "suffering from a severe deficiency of wonder , this alice is by turns loud , lifeless and lacklustre , and so what should have been the perfect marriage of moviemaker and material instead does justice to neither .",
        "lord of the rings and every woman-warrior myth you 've ever heard of , with a lewis carroll overlay ... his worst since planet of the apes or batman returns .",
        "an exotic adventure tale about a young woman 's trip to an alternate reality and the testing of her will power , resourcefulness , and courage in the face of weirdness and danger .",
        "it 's more of a blunder than a wonder .",
        "frabjuous !",
        "curiouser and curiouser -- how does a film based on such fantastical source material end up , well , not so wonder-ful ?",
        "this parable of how alice must find the balls to chart her own path through the patriarchy of her victorian wood to become a real , bona fide , 1960s-era bra-burner .",
        "clearly burton 's visual aplomb and ease with special effects mesh with carroll 's imagination .",
        "when it comes to 3-d visual splendors , give me wonderland over pandora any day .",
        "burton and his team have put style over substance here , resulting in an uneven and frustrating experience .",
        "less a sequel to the original book than a sequel to the disney animated version of the book , this movie is a wonder to look at , but a chore to sit through .",
        "aggrieved feminist didacticism ... what i do n't think my daughters need is yet another case of squelched girl syndrome , \u0155 la monsters vs. aliens .",
        "you would think that a director like burton would be at home in the lewis carroll universe , and maybe that is part of the problem .",
        "visually stunning and sporadically amusing , but lacks thrills , heart and cleverness . it 's ultimately too scary for little kids and too unimaginative , pedestrian and bland for grown-ups .",
        "his 3-d `` MOV '' is delightfully burton-esque to be sure , brimming with the surreal and whimsical-macabre visual style we associate with the creator of `` beetlejuice '' `` edward scissorhands '' and `` corpse bride '' ...",
        "the sweetly surreal feeling of those original books has been lost . what always felt like an english garden party gone slightly off has been replaced by the grotesque and the gothic and the overdone .",
        "MOV has its moments of delight , humor and bedazzlement . but it also becomes more ordinary as it goes along , building to a generic battle climax similar to any number of others in cgi-heavy movies of the past few years .",
        "burton , one of the great visual artists in hollywood history , is incapable of making an uninteresting movie . still , i 'm not looking forward to the sequel promised in the last scene .",
        "even disney and a pg rating ca n't bury burton 's subversive wit . like carroll , he 's a master at dressing up psychic wounds in fantasy .",
        "while burton 's production is often sumptuous to look at , it is surprising how boring stretches of the film can be .",
        "indecision haunts every frame . the result is a clattering , hectic spectacle that by the end has run out of inspiration . it 's a home for abandoned ideas .",
        "a , my name is alice , and my movie is amazing .",
        "though it has a few moments where you can see burton 's imagination giving way to disney convention , along with a bit of trademark burton darkness , the pleasures of alice are virtually always unexpected .",
        "carroll purists are likely to dismiss this alice as spuriouser and spuriouser . but who expects a faithful adaptation of a literary classic from timothy beetlejuice ?",
        "it 's best to keep your expectations reasonable , so you can enjoy the highlights .",
        "the movie 's strengths are the costumes , the makeup , the production design , the special effects , the vocal work and a terrific musical score by danny elfman that has a quality of magic and wonderment missing from the screenplay .",
        "the images rival anything burton has created for ` big fish ' and ` edward scissorhands , ' but the storytelling is n't quite as engagingly odd .",
        "this alice is more ripley , or lara croft , than timeless story heroine .",
        "if you 're taking pulls from the blue caterpillar 's hookah atop his magic mushroom , you care more about hot pockets than narrative integrity .",
        "lower your expectations , because tim burton has created a great canvas , just not a great film .",
        "... a feast for the mind , if not necessarily the intellect",
        "visually , which is where this ` alice ' really radiates , there are many riches . ken ralston 's visual effects are stunning and surreal ; colleen atwood 's costumes are dazzling ; and dariusz wolski 's photography is spot on .",
        "hooray ! tim burton 's amazingly bizarre ` MOV ' helped snap me out of my 2010 movie doldrums .",
        "the off-kiltered tim burton version of MOV might frightened younger children , confuse older ones and bore the adults .",
        "these are n't actors working in front of blue screens with obvious effects dubbed in later . you really are in wonderland . real life and cgi are seamless ."
    ],
    "summary": "tim burton 's alice sacrifices the book 's minimal narrative coherence -- and much of its heart -- but it 's an undeniable visual treat .",
    "id": "770683926"
  },
  {
    "movie": "mash",
    "reviews": [
        "i can only be grateful to whomever was the brilliant producer who saw the potential for one of the best-loved series within this mess of dullness and mean-spirited randomness .",
        "if you 're among the tv show 's multitude of fans but do n't know much about its progenitor , you may be surprised at how much edgier and daring the dark movie comedy is .",
        "remains as sharp and fresh and relevant as it was on the day of its initial release .",
        "before ... the next war , both sides need to hire altman as the director . he knows the territory , works with ensemble casts better than anyone , and provides plenty of laughs .",
        "i always enjoy the movie when i watch it , but it will never hold anywhere near the same place in my heart or my memories as the long-running series .",
        "weird feelings watching this flick . it 's like funny , but after ten years of watching alan alda 's tv series ... it 's kind of negated the impact .",
        "altman 's black comedy perfectly expressed the anarchic , rebellious spirit of the 1970s with its blistering anti-war message and contempt for authority .",
        "rollicking , biting , satirical classic is so 1970 .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- `` m * a * s * h '' ruthlessly satirizes the hypocritical u.s. military , and de facto the u.s. government , for its systemic hypocrisies and arbitrary means of doling out draconian punishments to friends and foe alike .",
        "the quality of this acerbic study of life in a korean war field hospital has been too often overlooked because of the popularity of the tv series it spawned .",
        "i looked in vain for pertinence or surprise . nor was i shocked : without some maturity -lrb- if not by the participants , at least by the managers -rrb- , irreverence is merely brash .",
        "for me , m * a * s * h contains as much depression as humor .",
        "that it 's is so much of its moment does n't mean that it 's aged poorly ... it 's brash enough and inventive enough to still feel like a work of radicalism , more than 40 years on ,",
        "as a savage comedy about man 's rebellion in the face of death it has rarely been bettered .",
        "what lingers is the army 's sexism . at first it 's exposed but the story soon indulges in the humiliation of women . m * a * s * h * remains enjoyably irreverent but falls well short of the counterculture , anti-establishment war-satire it could 've been .",
        "it 's altman at his irreverent , hilarious best .",
        "m.a.s.h. , one of america 's funniest bloody films , is also one of its bloodiest funny films .",
        "one of altman 's bona-fide masterpieces . even better than the subsequent tv show . -lrb- easily . -rrb-",
        "altman 's best film and most influential .",
        "robert altman 's biggest success to date is also one of his least interesting films .",
        "one of the reasons m * a * s * h is so funny is that it 's so desperate .",
        "ahead of its time and still one of the most effectively subversive comedies ever to emerge from a major studio .",
        "clever camera setups , altman 's patented overlapping dialogue , wonderful sight gags and situations , and universally fine ensemble performances combine to make this one the most enjoyable war-themed films ever .",
        "although it is impudent , bold , and often very funny , it lacks the sense of order -lrb- even in the midst of disorder -rrb- that seems the special province of successful comedy .",
        "altman 's irreverent portrait of a korean war medical unit .",
        "not only essential to an understanding of its director , it 's equally essential to any understanding of film at the time it was made .",
        "robert altman 's korea-as-vietnam ` comedy ' demonstrates the best -- and worst -- of '70s cinema .",
        "if its bite and sass have diminished for today 's new audiences ... consider that a testimony to the attitude , style , and technique it pioneered and infused into american popular movies .",
        "a battle against the idea that ` a war movie ' had to be a serious affair .",
        "a good dint lower than its reputation , more so if you look at it not as one of the seminal 1970s films but instead as the first chapter from the finest filmmaking career spent examining the american mystique .",
        "altman chronicles the sardonic wasteland with a camera that 's always in the wrong place at the right time",
        "this is still watchable for the verve of the ensemble acting and dovetailing direction , but some of the crassness leaves a sour aftertaste .",
        "impudent and bold , m.a.s.h. , altman 's most commercial film , satirizes the glorification of war , military bureaucracy , social hypocrisy , repressed sexuality and other norms than have lost their validity .",
        "a black comedy that rings hollow today .",
        "in the end m.a.s.h. succeeds , in spite of its glaring faults .",
        "it shows altman 's stylistic signature in embryonic form .",
        "altman boiled away the muddled meat of literary pretension intended to smokescreen the essence of war : blood on the one side and semen on the other ."
    ],
    "summary": "bold , timely , subversive , and above all funny , m * a * s * h remains a high point in robert altman 's distinguished filmography .",
    "id": "13313"
  },
  {
    "movie": "berberian_sound_studio_2012",
    "reviews": [
        "watching gilderoy behind the soundboard is like watching a maestro with his baton .",
        "this is the proverbial curate 's egg of a film : good in parts .",
        "mesmerizing , but the images stand alone and incomplete .",
        "the second feature from katalin varga director peter strickland is an idiosyncratic , impeccably crafted mindbender that shifts between the beguiling and the bemusing .",
        "MOV may scan as a psychological thriller , but it 's really a lavish gift to film geeks in a lovely matryoshka box .",
        "the creepiness builds with symphonic precision until reality truly is indistinguishable from fantasy .",
        "the first two acts are funny and fun in their moody evocation of both the period and the genre , but right around when gilderoy starts to lose his mind , berberian begins to lose its way .",
        "fantastic in the technical aspects of cinematography and especially sound-mixing . toby jones is as reliable as he always is and the movie never really bores you .",
        "on the surface an amusing black comedy that parodies the horror movie 's continual status as the cultural black sheep of the cinematic landscape , but it 's most prominently concerned with painting a sonic portrait of alienation .",
        "terror of sorts takes place inside a studio creating a schlock horror movie in a film that shows technical expertise with only a moderately involving narrative .",
        "i appreciated the caressing style of the cinematography , fetishizing and sexualizing even the most inanimate and mundane recording equipment and sound-related props , but it 's overall hollow and unsatisfying .",
        "MOV is a masterfully made film that will please audio experts , cinephiles and horror fans .",
        "unfortunately , this film enters lynchian territory -lrb- read : it makes zero sense -rrb- in the last act and in an act of cinematic proctology , it disappears up its own arse .",
        "by the last half hour the film has descended into a procession of totally un-scary and mostly boring random images .",
        "that keen awareness of aural matters also allows director peter strickland to convey the engineer 's deteriorating hold on reality with genuine subtlety .",
        "the narrative rule of thumb is show , do n't tell , but this film does the opposite , to sinister effect .",
        "low-key and suggestive , berberian probably is n't for gorehounds , but it 's a persuasive study of breakdown .",
        "a treat for fans of vintage horror cinema -lrb- in particular , the experimental giallo genre -rrb- and vintage sound gear , this stylish , darkly humorous thriller locks us in a claustrophobic studio in 1970s italy for a paranoia ride .",
        "the movie gilderoy 's editing begins to feel more real than the one we 're actually watching .",
        "... almost seems like the result of a perverse lars von trier exercise : make a movie that 's a tribute to a particular genre without showing any elements that are the actual hallmarks of it .",
        "it was n't until the movie was over that i realized it had pulled off the neat trick of creeping me out without showing even a single drop of blood .",
        "do n't rush your judgement . once you let MOV actually sink in , you 'll realize just how beautiful strickland 's mind-melting experience actually is .",
        "`` MOV '' may be the finest tribute to the old-school cinematic craftsmanship of the sound mixer and foley artist i 've ever encountered .",
        "definitely a curiosity piece , but one gets the sneaking suspicion it was n't also meant to be an inert one .",
        "as ifc clearly realizes , MOV is a niche item , but a niche item whose target audience should embrace it with a hearty ciao , bella !",
        "horror fiends looking for cheap thrills may be disappointed . but those with a flair for the offbeat might find themselves unnerved and riveted .",
        "genre aficionados can enjoy the subversive and atmospheric quirks , while strickland expertly juggles tone and dark humor in a compelling and suspenseful oddity .",
        "it accomplishes the tricky task of paying homage to one type of scary movie while indulging in an entirely different style itself .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- as if someone took all the raw footage from argento 's `` suspiria , '' and gave it to antonioni to recut . but , in a way , the disjointed dreaminess of it is the point .",
        "a clever , elliptical , slightly bizarre and altogether transfixing psychological thriller .",
        "director peter strickland reaches for something more significant that he never quite finds , but by then you may be too entertained to care .",
        "mr. strickland 's movie becomes a bit of a vortex at the beginning , though its milieu is too engagingly recreated to dismiss .",
        "you might shuffle in your seat a little during the film , but like last year 's other unnerving british surprise , kill list ... you come out of the theater on edge and off kilter , amazed at the craft displayed .",
        "`` MOV '' is spooky right up to the minute it turns stupid .",
        "much like this film 's main character , you ca n't quite explain what 's got you so afraid -- you just know that you are .",
        "manages to evoke the crimson-splashed shockers of the 1970s without so much as a single frame of actual carnage .",
        "fans of dario argento and mario bava will appreciate the references . even for newcomers , there are minor chords to enjoy . if only there were less screaming .",
        "there 's a lot to like here , although i will admit that it 's a film i admire for its originality more than i actually enjoy .",
        "a twisted tribute to analog moviemaking and 1970s italian giallo horror flicks .",
        "a lush , disturbing voyage into a gradual mental breakdown , artfully crafted by director peter strickland , who provides magnificent attention to detail and a fixation on an unsettling sense of decay .",
        "a delicately detailed immersion into the world of z-grade italian horror cinema that ultimately may or may not be a horror film itself ... a tense , teasing triumph .",
        "an unshakeable tune , delivered by a director operating at rare pitch and purpose .",
        "what MOV accomplishes is a return to a more basic style of film-making than we 've become accustomed to in recent years .",
        "crammed with detailed craft , its appeal is further widened by dealing in universal fears : homesickness , identity , mental health .",
        "a stupendous is-it-isn ` t-it horror film marked by a disarming audaciousness both technical and creative .",
        "in this era of cookie-cutter cinema , strickland 's deeply personal moral and stylistic vision deserves the highest praise .",
        "brilliantly directed , cleverly written and beautifully designed drama that plays like a disturbing lynchian loveletter to the art of horror filmmaking and features a terrific performance from toby jones .",
        "bold , brave and visionary filmmaking ...",
        "both times i have seen it , its vision , ingenuity and sheer gobsmacking audacity have blown me ten feet out of my seat .",
        "in just two films strickland has established a striking , unusual voice ; long may he continue to find opportunities to make this boundary-stretching , genre-fuddling work .",
        "radishes , cabbages and melons meet horrific ends in MOV , a down-the-earhole psychodrama where what you hear is more terrifying than what you see .",
        "for much of british director peter strickland 's MOV , not much actually happens . but for the devoted cinephile , it 's utterly entrancing .",
        "while it 's a loving homage to movies like dario argento 's suspiria and is crafted with tons of style , it leaves out one key ingredient : being even remotely scary .",
        "this twisty psychological horror yarn from writer/director peter strickland is the best kind , one that is open to many interpretations but can be enjoyed on its own creepy and insinuating surface .",
        "... stylishly creepy psycho-thriller that pays homage to the italian horror scene of the '70s .",
        "a movie that may whisper dark secrets into your ears at night , when you 're trying to forget it .",
        "MOV follows hitchcock 's doctrine fully : what information audiences fill in with their imagination is always more horrifying than anything that can be filmed",
        "poses some compelling questions about the emotional and mental impact of making dark , violent , disturbing films .",
        "MOV refuses such a climax : it at once celebrates giallo and takes it apart , disassembling it like derren brown explaining an illusion .",
        "if you 're open to films that fearlessly twist the conventions , and that mine the language of sound and image for their own strange potential , you 'll get a kick from this rivetingly inventive , abrasively un-british piece of nightmare cinema .",
        "a one-trick pony , but it 's a reasonably cool trick .",
        "`` berberian '' fascinatingly lays bare the meticulous complexity of audio dubbing in the analog era .",
        "MOV is a film for critics . general public -- come at your own risk .",
        "ultimately , MOV is just an exercise in meta -- a movie more about generating sensations than making sense -- but it 's provocative and effective in the way it shows how a movie does n't have to be `` real '' to be disturbing .",
        "it messes with your head in ways that is impressive , but it also seems too abstract for its own good at times . its unsettling atmosphere and strong performances make MOV one of the more distinct psychological thrillers out there .",
        "writer/director peter strickland intriguingly weaves into the story a movie-within-a-movie that we barely see , but we hear .",
        "regardless of what you call it , it 's a highly accomplished , intelligent , and effective piece of work , perhaps the best genre film i 've seen since the innkeepers .",
        "a sometimes interesting , sometimes head-scratching movie that pays homage to the old ways of the sound mixing world and to the `` giallo '' genre of horror that was prominent in italy during the 1970s .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- not only exploits one of cinema 's most important modes , it also attempts something more difficult : turning a genre movie into a work of art .",
        "fans of dario argento and mario bava films take notice .",
        "a filmmaking puzzle that reveals the magic of movies to be something of a black art .",
        "one of the movies of the year .",
        "peter strickland 's crafted the perfect metaphor for film spectatorship : essentially , how sound functions to augment the moving image , induce psychological effects and suture you into its immaterial world .",
        "with such a range of vivid sights and sounds , the film is a stunning , often mesmerising experience",
        "puts a dent in the mind that is sure to keep people pondering until the end of days",
        "the final third is nonsense and in danger of resembling a monty python sketch at one point .",
        "... even the most astute viewer will be hard pressed to explain what the heck is going on here ...",
        "while beautifully crafted , it 's impossible to recommend this to anyone who hopes to have an entertaining movie-going experience .",
        "it 's rare for a movie to be so cool yet also be so disappointing .",
        "a dazzling curio in which every sound effect reverberates with multiple meanings .",
        "utterly distinctive and all but unclassifiable , a musique concr\u010dte nightmare , a psycho-metaphysical implosion of anxiety , with strange-tasting traces of black comedy and movie-buff riffs . it is seriously weird and seriously good .",
        "psychedelic aesthetics , psychogenic fugues - it is the disorientating giallo lynch might have made .",
        "anchored by a typically flawless performance by jones , strickland 's second film begins as an audio geek 's dream , before spiralling inexorably into the stuff of david lynch 's nightmares .",
        "the estimable jones does a very good job of conveying gilderoy 's mental disintegration , but as psychological thrillers go MOV is more art house than giallo and probably wo n't unhinge too many viewers .",
        "you never get to the point where you think this is it , or that the film has even truly begun . not that you ever want things to end .",
        "some are hailing it as a masterpiece . i 'd say it 's a missed opportunity .",
        "the fun of the film lies in the tricks of the trade used before the age of computers and digital effects and older viewers will feel a shiver of nostalgia at the sight of celluloid , magnetic tape and reel-to-reel recorders .",
        "for all the ghosts summoned up , MOV still comes across like nothing else you 've ever seen - or , more to the point , heard .",
        "strickland disorients viewers with a sly meta-horror that reflects upon both the artifice that goes into genre films , and the uncomfortable reality that can underlie their vicious depiction of women ... it 's the giallo lynch might have made .",
        "nothing much happens and when it does -lrb- possibly in gilderoy 's head -rrb- it 's completely bemusing ."
    ],
    "summary": "its reach may exceed its grasp , but with MOV , director peter strickland assembles a suitably twisted , creepy tribute to the italian giallo horror movies of the '70s that benefits from a strong central performance by toby jones .",
    "id": "771310314"
  },
  {
    "movie": "disaster_movie",
    "reviews": [
        "rushed into production with no better drape for its threadbare gags than cloverfield , this carpet-fouling mongrel of a movie no more deserves release than do anthrax spores .",
        "consider the word ` putrid . ' if i had an online personal dictionary , the films of jason friedberg and aaron seltzer would link to my definition of that word .",
        "cobbled together with plotlines , characters , catchphrases and other assorted gimmicks still lodged in the short-term memory cavities of our pop cultural consciousness .",
        "i want to say thanks again and thanks for proving that dumb movies pretending to be comedy will not stand any longer ...",
        "it 's hard to put into words just how excruciatingly painful it is to watch MOV , but let 's just say it will make you appreciate those dreadful experiences in your life like , say , going to the dentist or waiting in line at the dmv .",
        "MOV is not , as you might have guessed , a parody of disaster movies . but it is a disaster .",
        "since many of the targets -lrb- cloverfield , hancock , kung fu panda -rrb- already have a cheeky self-consciousness , the comedy rarely seems more than a hasty patchwork of cheap-shot allusions .",
        "MOV is lazily written , insulting rubbish and it 's unquestionably one of the worst films of the year . avoid like your life depended on it .",
        "i 'm not sure if disaster is the worst movie the boys have churned out , but , at this point , that 's like asking if a bullet hurts more than a knife .",
        "of MOV it is difficult to speak , or even think , articulately , a handicap that seems to have afflicted the film 's makers .",
        "personally , the sneak would like to place friedberg and seltzer on a blazing upside-down boat which is about to be hit by a meteorite .",
        "not a comedy , more a medical affliction , MOV 's symptoms include apathy , regret and eventual despair .",
        "it 's not even value for money if you 're a moron .",
        "it 's not the worst of the franchise , but it 's dangerously close .",
        "insert `` of a '' between the two title words and you have my opinion of this film",
        "perhaps they 'll eventually make one called spoof movie , which would brilliantly parody the genre by being consistently funny .",
        "none of it is amusing , so there 's probably enough suicide-inducing material here to make a send-up of the happening redundant .",
        "MOV , the latest disposable parody of disposable hollywood movies , has a shelf life of about five minutes , tops .",
        "why would you watch a bad movie about better movies , when you could just rent the originals instead ?",
        "here 's what they got right : the name of the movie . disaster , indeed .",
        "i half expected to see the spoof-making team in direct address , explaining the supremacy of the tentpole uber-alice , perhaps while backed by emperor palpatine .",
        "i wish to god they would find something else to do .",
        "no one spoofed in the film -- yes , including jessica simpson -- is more worthy of derision than the people responsible for making it .",
        "movie metaphor junkies be on high alert , for a horny dr. phil , michael jackson hiding out in a car trunk with a little boy and a pet chimp for good measure , and a bad imitation juno blasting lactating breast milk as a deadly weapon .",
        "it 's sad when a movie is so bad , it becomes the subject of late-night debates on whether it 's better or worse than uwe boll 's postal .",
        "as depressing and empty a cinematic experience as any other picture this year or last -lrb- or maybe the whole decade -rrb- . to label it as simply unfunny or vacuous or ugly or boring would be a compliment .",
        "so ugly , unpleasant and devoid of laughs that the notion of releasing a film with such a title on the third anniversary of hurricane katrina is actually one of the least offensive things about it .",
        "leaves one with a feeling of failure -- and the knowledge that , come this spring , these idiots will more than likely be back",
        "pointlessly rancid and redundant ... hopefully , MOV will indeed vanish as quickly as a three-second burp at a chili-eating contest .",
        "the `` jokes '' are limp and pathetic or stillborn , timing is ignored , performances are a not-so-giddy mug-fest . audiences are left wondering when the freshman cast is going to learn the rudiments of performing .",
        "indeed a disaster first , and a movie barely .",
        "honestly , if the makers of this ever got serious about making web-based comedy , i reckon that they would absolutely rock it .",
        "a dumb , dumb film , to be sure , but also undeniably funny in more spots than a right-thinking , mature adult person feels comfortable admitting .",
        "a woman a few rows in front of me at the preview chose to write 20 minutes worth of text messages , rather than watch the movie . even though she was not paying , the price was clearly too high .",
        "since they have so little material to work with in the first place , friedberg and seltzer flog each joke well beyond its limits .",
        "ca n't somebody make friedberg and seltzer stop ?",
        "if judd apatow is the jesus of modern comedy , seltzer and friedberg are the anti-christ - and sadly just as prolific",
        "the zucker/abrahams movies were genuinely funny , at least some of the time . but this ?",
        "surely even bovine american teenagers have to realise their intelligence is being insulted sooner or later .",
        "yet another entry in the jason friedberg-aaron seltzer series of movie spoofs , this scattershot collection lame gags is the definition of disposable entertainment .",
        "why , oh why , is the spoof franchise that began with scary movie still churning 'em out ?",
        "puerile beyond belief and a possible hazard to brain cells , the only thing this offensive dross gets right is the title .",
        "the result is a series of extraneous , deplorably unfunny scenes and sketches stitched together in completely haphazard fashion .",
        "anti-comedy . anti-cinema . anti-life .",
        "it could be the first great mainstream art experiment . or , perhaps , since the opening word of dialogue is `` shit ! '' , the jokes are mostly about it , and the characters are regularly covered in it , it is more likely that the movie itself is just , well ...",
        "it 's a merry , reckless mess , like a blender that gets revved up too high and spews everything out all over the countertops .",
        "by the time the disco-dancing , man-eating chipmunks turned up , my mind had turned to the weekend .",
        "i checked , the opposite of funny movie and awful film were available for titles , but MOV works absolutely perfect .",
        "seldom has a pic been more appropriately titled than MOV , yet another frantically unfunny free-form farce from the unfortunately prolific writing-directing team of jason friedberg and aaron seltzer .",
        "no one expects sophisticated wit from this type of movie , but would it be too much to ask for more than a chuckle every 10 minutes ?",
        "it 's quite frankly stultifying that friedberg are seltzer are ever let anywhere near a studio boardroom after having defecated out their previous movies , much less this one .",
        "embarrassment . it 's a feeling you should get used to , freidberg and seltzer . may you never befoul another cinema with your grotesque comic abortions .",
        "every time one of these friedberg-seltzer movies is released the sum total of human knowledge is reduced .",
        "like hepatitis b , this is one of those movies you just hope will go away .",
        "a poorly staged , entirely laugh-free big screen exercise that , despite its name , is not really a genre spoof at all , but rather merely an excuse to -lrb- attempt to -rrb- poke fun at hollywood movies from this calendar year .",
        "having to watch and review ` MOV ' must be payback for the juvenile pranks i took part in as a teenager .",
        "it 's juvenile and crude , and it ranks right up there as one of the worst films of the year .",
        "this might have been edited down to 20 minutes of entertaining film . maybe one day the team involved will start employing editors and produce something we can all look forward to .",
        "rarely has a movie had a more appropriate title .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- budget-less pastiche of sub-mad-magazine parodies culled from the trailers of almost every summer movie .",
        "the pomposity of big-budget b-movies can certainly be taken down a notch , but friedberg and seltzer rely too much on trailer moments for their broad comedy .",
        "depressingly , these magpie parodies are so cheap to produce they ca n't fail to make money -- which probably means this interminable franchise is far from over .",
        "there 's no nice way to say this , so i 'll just say it : writer/directors friedberg and seltzer are a scourge . they 're a plague on our cinematic landscape , a national shame , a danger to our culture .",
        "MOV is the latest and most slap-dash of the movie parodies to atrophy out of the scary movie franchise .",
        "irrelevant , never-funny references to everything from juno to american gladiators",
        "like the bastard child of best week ever and the mud that runs off of football players ' cleats after a rainy game , this is n't a movie you see . it 's one you survive .",
        "come on , pedophilia is funny and a michael jackson joke is never not timely , right ? wrong . it 's not timely or funny .",
        "it 's too easy to say MOV deserves its title , but why put more effort into trashing it than the filmmakers did into writing it ?",
        "crude , dumb spoof is n't worth your time or money .",
        "no ! no ! no ! no ! no ! no ! no ! no ! no ! wrong !!!"
    ],
    "summary": "returning to their seemingly bottomless well of flatulence humor , racial stereotypes , and stale pop culture gags , jason friedberg and aaron seltzer have produced what is arguably their worst movie yet .",
    "id": "770768860"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1001781-batman",
    "reviews": [
        "-lsb- it -rsb- provides two hours of more than solid entertainment .",
        "langourously paced , but compelling rethinking",
        "tim burton is a genius when it comes to set design and atmosphere , but he ca n't film an action sequence to save his life .",
        "there are a lot of things wrong with MOV , but it still makes for decent entertainment in the fine tradition of the typical low-intelligence summer movie .",
        "dark , eerie , mean spirited , i love it",
        "even though its standing has diminished in the wake of the countless superhero flicks that emerged in the new millennium , the pros still outweigh the cons .",
        "only minor burton , with hindsight on our side , and its chief merits and flaws are as one of the formative texts of superhero cinema .",
        "michael keaton makes a credible hero , and jack nicholson is downright manic as his nemesis .",
        "is it interesting ? fitfully . is it fun ? not much , gotham city fans , not much .",
        "a dark and refreshing interpretation of one of comic kingdom 's most beloved characters , MOV successfully wiped away the memory of the camp 1960s television show and proved that comic book movies can be highly entertaining viewing .",
        "the element of surprise appears in every frame of this motion picture , creating a rich sense of joy and mystery that seems to befuddle burton and his primitive instincts .",
        "while keaton and nicholson are dazzling in their roles , burton never quite finds much to explore with bruce wayne , and that 's wasted potential .",
        "stylish , violent , and often dull MOV adventure .",
        "as a movie spectacle , it delivered . as MOV , well ... it got a lot of things wrong .",
        "uneven in tone , but keaton 's great and the movie just looks like a million bucks .",
        "... MOV has n't gone totally stale .",
        "visually arresting but dramatically undernourished , the film suffers from bland characterization -lrb- particularly by basinger 's vicki and the other `` good '' crime fighters -rrb- and is ultimately saved by jack nicholson 's bravura turn as the diabolical joker .",
        "... the yardstick by which all subsequent MOV movies are measured .",
        "a cynical cinematic masterpiece .",
        "despite a handful of good minor performances -- michael gough is the definitive alfred -- and despite some striking bits of music from prince , it really has nothing of its own to offer .",
        "that nicholson could make this homicidal maniac so sympathetic is a testament to his performance .",
        "a celebration of form over story",
        "i guess i did not expect better , but i had hoped for it nonetheless .",
        "was it worth the wait ? actually , yes .",
        "a triumph of design over story , style over substance - a great-looking movie with a plot you ca n't care much about .",
        "nicholson does indeed blow everybody else off the screen . sometimes it seems this movie should be called joker instead of MOV .",
        "... a success for several reasons , but most of the credit goes to director tim burton 's brilliant visual interpretation of a dark , ominous comic book .",
        "tim burton 's MOV manages to avoid all the potholes that the MOV story might have strewn in the way of an unwary filmmaker and he manages to avoid them all with aplomb .",
        "it 's just plain fun .",
        "wow . i ca n't believe how little i enjoyed about this movie after all of these years of not having seen it .",
        "a dark reinvention of the MOV legend ; the only offkey piece is jack nicholson 's way over the top performance .",
        "good film ... it kind of reeks of the '80s now , but it 's still dark fun .",
        "as robin might have said of this semi-boondoggle : `` holy overkill ! ''",
        "the idea of doing a dark , neurotic , highly stylized and highly claustrophobic superproduction is an audacious and appealing one , but director tim burton has only made it halfway there .",
        "MOV is a stunning achievement , especially through the incredible and unique visualization of director tim burton .",
        "nicholson is n't only offering a brilliant bit of self-parody here , he 's doing it in service to the character",
        "it is , unfortunately , awfully difficult to revisit tim burton 's MOV with an impartial eye in the wake of christopher nolan 's genre-defining dark knight trilogy ...",
        "nicholson 's joker is a villain worthy of a real superhero and keaton 's MOV gets to perform some cinematic superheroics of the first order .",
        "highly recommended even for fans who think MOV begins and ends with nolan 's trilogy .",
        "it 's an unforgivably flat ending for a movie of such astonishing contours . but its first two-thirds -- which should be called the joker 's big misadventure -- is probably the best film of the year .",
        "-lsb- nicholson -rsb- has never been more commanding . not only because he does an outstanding job , but also because so much of the movie 's creative energy is devoted to making the joker one of the most startling movie characters in recent memory .",
        "the storytelling has weaknesses , but the characters are fascinating .",
        "an exhilarating mix of cartoon lore -lrb- though not nearly enough for rabid batpurists -rrb- , screen presence -lrb- this is pretty much the jack and mike show -rrb- , psychological murkiness -lrb- though it could have used even more -rrb- and demented gothic goofiness .",
        "dark , haunting and poetic",
        "gloomy and not particularly entertaining",
        "the story is a mess ... scenes and lines of dialogue make no sense ... keaton makes hardly any impression in the role , in or out of the mask .",
        "the movie that gave birth to the summer blockbuster remains impressive .",
        "in the end , one 's reaction to burton 's blockbuster is little more than that of the joker to MOV : ` where did he get those wonderful toys ? '",
        "burton brings back film noir elements to the new MOV , elevating it to a dark , demented opera .",
        "overly dark , broody , and campy . a disservice to the classic tv show and the more serious comic series .",
        "the conceptual side of the movie -- two rather sick two-sided antagonists having it out in a black and sordid context -- lingers .",
        "director tim burton effectively echoes the visual style of the original bob kane comics while conjuring up a nightmarish world of his own .",
        "it was , however , easily the biggest box-office hit of 1989 , and one of the highest grossing films in history , a testament more to its massive marketing campaign than to its quality .",
        "supposedly a superhero movie for grown-ups , this is actually a pretentious farrago .",
        "a void of underdeveloped style and halfhearted execution .",
        "the wit is all pictorial . the film meanders mindlessly from one image to the next , as does a comic book . it does n't help that the title character remains such a wimp even when played by michael keaton .",
        "bring back adam west .",
        "despite its failings ... a hugely influential movie with literally towering design , mordant wit , and a hall-of-fame performance by jack nicholson ."
    ],
    "summary": "an eerie , haunting spectacle , MOV succeeds as dark entertainment , even if jack nicholson 's joker too often overshadows the title character .",
    "id": "10483"
  },
  {
    "movie": "down_and_out_in_beverly_hills",
    "reviews": [
        "richard dreyfuss in top form .",
        "paul mazursky has n't only remade jean renoir 's sublime 1931 boudu saved from drowning : he 's yuppified it , inverting virtually every meaning until the film becomes a celebration of the crassest kind of materialism .",
        "let me just say that MOV made me laugh longer and louder than any film i 've seen in a long time .",
        "as a comedy of manners it has a dependably keen aim , with its most wicked barbs leavened by mr. mazursky 's obvious fondness for his characters .",
        "one of mazursky 's few completely successful films .",
        "an uneven satire with some wit , but sometimes too strident .",
        "a sparkling social commentary that does n't skimp on the laughs .",
        "filled with hilarious incidents and clever one-liners .",
        "silly but fun , and a big box-office earner .",
        "although it is more of a comedy of manners than a well-developed story , there are enough yocks and bright moments to make it a thoroughly enjoyable outing .",
        "the cast is entirely up to the comic hysteria mazursky requires of them , though mike the dog steals whatever scene he is in .",
        "on the basically farcical level where it chooses to stay , it is a funny and likable movie .",
        "a single moment of magical realism shows the babe-that-might-have-been , very charitably speaking , had the makers of this doggie adventure-comedy chosen a more daring and creative route ...",
        "funny with bite",
        "three great turns in one side-splitting movie",
        "a funny and poignant if also broad reworking of renoir 's classic , boudu saved from drowning , paul mazursky 's satire also works as a critique of l.a. nouveau riche and their crass lifestyle , reflected , among other things , in the garrish color palette .",
        "this update of renoir 's boudu saved from drowning starts life as a satire on the tribal rites of the new and filthy rich , but goes badly wrong somewhere down the line ."
    ],
    "summary": "an enjoyable farce that relocates jean renoir 's boudu saved from drowning to '80s california , offering fine comedic performances from nick nolte , richard dreyfuss and bette midler .",
    "id": "14078"
  },
  {
    "movie": "pulse",
    "reviews": [
        "aparentemente , n\u0103o h\u00e1 aparelho moderno que seja imune \u0155 invas\u0103o de fantasmas dispostos a utiliz\u00e1-lo a fim de se espalharem pelo mundo .",
        "decent horror remake with a strong cast , atmospheric direction and some genuinely scary scenes - you 'll never log on to your computer again . probably .",
        "as the ghosts suck the life out of their victims , the audience suffers the same fate .",
        "to add to the insult there is n't even some nudity . .",
        "the potential it has to be an adult thriller is ruined because it 's just more teen marketed crap .",
        "the unanswered questions in the original added to the mood , but by trying to answer even just a few of them , this MOV just gets more confusing and less scary .",
        "boring youth movies are the result of boring youth characters .",
        "... the requisite happy ending smacks of studio interference ...",
        "a remake that ai n't an upgrade .",
        "do n't get me wrong . this is n't a bad film , just not particularly good .",
        "it would have been a lot scarier if the film 's college kids , haunted by comrades who stare back at them from cyber-hell , looked like they had lives worth saving .",
        "the remake begins with the same premise and appropriates the most striking visuals , grafting them onto a more explicable but equally dull george romero-style doomsday scenario .",
        "the film frames its horror as if the ghosts are so many pinocchios , yearning for what seems inherently valuable to humans .",
        "dead on arrival .",
        "as is frequently the case with remakes , it probably would have been better to have let the original rest in peace .",
        "... in the ranks of j-horror remakes , -lsb- MOV -rsb- ca n't compete with the ring and the grudge .",
        "a handful of creepy visuals ca n't make up for a mountain of shortcomings .",
        "a curiously dull americanization of one of the finest examples of subtle , moody j-horror out there .",
        "most contemporary japanese horror movies concentrate on mood and do n't much bother with plot . but this brain-dead remake is full of yammering about suicide clusters , flu epidemics and hard drives .",
        "hideously ugly to look at and not even worth following .",
        "hollywood 's slick-looking but dumbed-down remake , directed by first-time feature filmmaker and commercial veteran jim sonzero , hits a new low .",
        "the subtle mystery of the original is lost through over-the-top scenes .",
        "the american version of kiyoshi kurosawa 's MOV mimics the plot fundamentals , but lacks any traces of mr. kurosawas creepy minimalism and conceptual rigor .",
        "MOV is most cunning in its overarching theme : what americans have to fear most are hidden dangers in their midst .",
        "the film cleverly attempts to make technology as scary as the ghosts , but those most likely to fear technology are least likely to see it .",
        "what was dreadful and trance-like in the original feels here like nothing-much-at-all sandwiched between some stock horror jolts .",
        "an hour into the movie , i shut out the story and dialogue entirely and just focused on the visuals . that made the boring bell and the cast of third-string teen movie supporting players somehow easier to bear .",
        "MOV is the remake of a 2001 j-horror film that was derivative and pokey , even before hollywood got its hands on it .",
        "sonzero flubs the icy scares by turning the dead into garden-variety life-force vampires instead of haunting , pathetically melancholy ghosts whose lonely afterlife would have given sartre himself a cold chill .",
        "it 's intended as an indictment of our overdependence on communications devices , but the premise is out-of-this-world unbelievable .",
        "this domestic redo of kurosawa 's ghost story is a reasonably sinister scary movie that faithfully taps into its predecessor 's existential dread and distrust of technology .",
        "captures almost none of the original 's ambience , piling on the rote , head-banging shocks in lieu of clammy ambiguity .",
        "what 's the point in warning of the perils of the information age by creating a scareless , formulaic film that fits so snugly into the thoughtless consumerism of the culture you 're trying to criticize ?",
        "riddled with obtuse plotting and a noticeable lack of continuity , MOV steams forward with such unabashed inanity , you really have to give your brain a rest to even make it to the end .",
        "completely unconvincing and almost prodigiously unscary .",
        "the movie is far from great , but it certainly holds your attention .",
        "MOV is a lesson in horror filmmaking 101 - a generic , uninspired slog through just about every single genre clich\u00e9 ever committed to celluloid .",
        "a creepy , clever thriller is re-envisioned into the type of clich\u00e9-filled teen horror movie that wes craven spoofed in the scream movies .",
        "sitting through this movie is a joyless chore . MOV does n't have one .",
        "the idea is better than the execution , unfortunately , although director jim sonzero does create a few extremely eerie moments .",
        "what 's the lesson here ? should we all be talking to each other with two cans and a string ?",
        "like naomi watts and sarah michelle gellar before her , bell spends this hollywood remake of a japanese cult hit at an emotional dead end .",
        "a dumbed-down remake of kiyoshi kurosawa 's disturbingly abstract japanese horror film .",
        "the technophobic horror flick MOV is a cautionary tale that could have been dreamed up by a frustrated parent : if you do n't get off of that computer , kids , you 'll turn into a zombie .",
        "as usual , this cheaply made pg-13 horror flick is all atmosphere and no horror .",
        "this techno-themed horror film is n't nearly as scary as watching your computer crash .",
        "fails to find the relevancy it desires and the momentum it needs , all the while unleashing a series of hoary teen thriller clich\u00e9s and cheap throwaway jump scares .",
        "MOV is dead on arrival .",
        "even at its worst , it 's entertaining , but the missed opportunity of the truly great horror film it might have been gnaws at you .",
        "for all those defects , MOV is entertaining enough , providing one wants nothing more than an undemanding diversion .",
        "ideally a horror movie will make your heart race , but as it turns out , MOV barely has one .",
        "like so many stateside remakes of celebrated japanese horror pictures , the american version of MOV foregoes the original 's thematic underpinnings in favor of cheap scares .",
        "you are likely to feel excluded from the experience the characters are having because none of their fear is vicariously transposed onto you .",
        "neat idea ; horrible execution . no wonder the studio could n't -lrb- decide -rrb- where to unload this turkey .",
        "this story should have been condensed down to fifteen minutes as a setup for a new kind of zombie film .",
        "the new american remake is a soulless imitation .",
        "what really separates it from the pack is its thematically rich exploration of how communications technology can unwittingly bring about a sort of cultural death .",
        "MOV , co-written by horror maven wes craven , is no scream - but that does n't mean it 's not a scream all the same .",
        "the internet is trying to kill you . your cellphone also seems to be nursing a serious grudge . they may both be conspiring with your blackberry ... and your tivo ... and possibly your washing machine .",
        "the j-horror remake wheel spins again , spitting out this pathetic americanization of kiyoshi kurosawa 's apocalyptic fable .",
        "it was hard to find the MOV in this tame remake .",
        "a cheap , hollow shell of the terrifying and intellectually engaging japanese film on which it 's based .",
        "MOV is n't awful . it 's just an uninspired fright-fest with ghouls we 've seen before and not enough creative style to make us forget that fact ."
    ],
    "summary": "another stale american remake of a successful japanese horror film , MOV bypasses the emotional substance of the original and overcompensates with pumped-up visuals and every known horror cliche .",
    "id": "190815565"
  },
  {
    "movie": "perfect_storm",
    "reviews": [
        "overcomes a slow start and overly predictable sub-plots to create a thrilling and affecting experience .",
        "a perfectly told tale of humans courageously facing nature 's fury .",
        "more like `` the perfect bore ''",
        "the MOV is incredibly absorbing and tremendously exciting and its one of my favorite , if not one of the best , of the year 2000 .",
        "quite slow from the gate to half , where it rushes like a waterfall to the near end , it 's a stirring ride , but not a must see film .",
        "commendably ambitious and genuinely exciting .",
        "the sights and sounds of the halloween storm are staggering . it is fearsome . it is awesome . it 's as scary as hell .",
        "a rare treat in a summer movie .",
        "for once , we have a film in which the fx guys dominate and yet , human truth and drama shine through .",
        "nearly a perfect film",
        "a few decent action scenes fail to make up for this badly scripted , badly acted tale .",
        "it is n't a very good movie .",
        "the stick-figure people in the script have n't the slightest chance of making an impression .",
        "it 's not perfect -- nor even predominately successful -- with storytelling and character development .",
        "if you want character based drama , forget it .",
        "the MOV makers forgot the best part of a true story is always the true story .",
        "the MOV is as detached and mechanical as a production of moby dick staged by the weather channel .",
        "i found many of the scenes way over done .",
        "the special effects may be state of the art , but ultimately , digital water looks like digital water .",
        "the book is a far more rewarding experience than the movie .",
        "a solid , rather than breathtaking , picture .",
        "have you ever wondered , while contemplating your aundry spinning , what it would be like to be trapped in the rinse cycle ? well , now we know .",
        "a well-crafted example of a film of pure sensation",
        "exciting , engaging , and , at times , majestic .",
        "drags the viewer , willingly or not , into the heart of the action .",
        "a great tragedy suffocated by tyrannical sentimentality",
        "the storm itself has more personality than anything else on screen .",
        "an awfully good film",
        "the most realistic and horrifying storm ever put to celluloid .",
        "despite the film 's forgone conclusion , director petersen maintains the suspense .",
        "feels more like a made-for-tv movie",
        "scary and sad are the main concerns here .",
        "the thrills come in an emotional vacuum -- even more problematic considering petersen spends so much time trying to develop a human center .",
        "an expertly crafted hollywod entertainment ... -lsb- constructed -rsb- as a series of grippingly fateful ` moments of truth . ' -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "the storm looks perfect , but the real danger here is the tidal wave of mediocrity and cliches .",
        "the story could 've told itself in a compelling way without invented drama .",
        "once the digital effects commence the MOV has all the impact of watching a friend play nintendo .",
        "a stinker fit for the chum bucket .",
        "in the end , all the audience is left with is the feeling that you 're really glad not to be a fisherman .",
        "the perfect example , of how the newest visual effects movies have the capacity to overwhelm everything -- from actors to plotlines -- except in the end , maybe , their audiences .",
        "this is a very special hallmark production with big production values .",
        "if i had seen the movie on television , where it belongs , i would have turned it off .",
        "perfectly wretched .",
        "it 's formulaic and there are cliches , but the walls of water , created by fluid dynamics simulating real-life phenomena , are awesome .",
        "a sense of reality is essential , and it 's sorely lacking .",
        "a gripping drama that virtually bursts from the screen with lashing , kinetic power so realistic it could literally make someone seasick .",
        "... a thrilling amusement park ride , albeit one freighted with the knowledge that nature does treat some unfortunate souls this roughly",
        "the movie itself is like a raging storm : impossible to ignore while it 's happening but easy to forget when the weather has died down .",
        "those simulated waves are huge , and you can practically feel the wind and the rain pelting down .",
        "think of something with the heart and soul of a conrad yarn , yet buttressed by very special effects and shrewdly packaged for devotees of the outdoor living network",
        "the special effects , especially that awe-inspiring final wave featured on the promotional material , are truly awesome .",
        "senti pena daqueles pescadores - n\u0103o dos que estavam na tela , mas sim daqueles que inspiraram o filme . eles , sim , merecem nossas homenagens . o resto \u00e9 fantasia barata .",
        "not terrible , but distinctly disappointing , not nearly as engaging or thrilling as its premise seems to promise .",
        "gives us little in the way of character development this time .",
        "a picture that leaves one thinking less about the fates of the characters than about how the actors had to spend most of their working days soaking wet .",
        "the MOV is far from perfect .",
        "humans are irrelevant to an effects extravaganza .",
        "it may have been the MOV , but this is the imperfect movie .",
        "the movie is a technical marvel , with scenes of rampaging nature that approximate ominous visual poetry . but dramatically , the ambitious film is hollow .",
        "an excruciatingly deafening , agonizing rusty nail of a movie .",
        "the film feels as if it had been edited down from a much longer version .",
        "ca n't match its visual poetry with compelling drama .",
        "we know the film has macho commitment , because it wastes so many good actresses .",
        "the perfect bore .",
        "not sufficient to create in the viewer a sense of sympathy for each character .",
        "the MOV , which is ultimately a not - very - good movie , is basically a combination of twister and armageddon -- two other not - very - good movies .",
        "the MOV ' looks and feels like too many other movies in which ships struggle to stay afloat as the mad seas thrash around them .",
        "the movie starts to sink long before the boat does .",
        "while it is obviously invested in heroicizing the swordfishermen , in the end , the film trivializes the vastness of their experience , by containing it in so many cliches .",
        "for audience members familiar with the story , the protagonists ' journey is liable to feel like a simple , and dull , waiting game .",
        "opens with a squall of anticipatory clich\u00e9s .",
        "there 's just not quite enough before the showpiece to make it memorable as a whole .",
        "this sure-thing mega-hit is strictly scrod .",
        "the audience , with good reason , is much more conflicted in the end about this voyage than the crew , and so we are put in the unfortunate position of feeling superior to these men .",
        "even filmmaker wolfgang petersen ca n't salvage the adrift-at-sea wreck that is the MOV .",
        "the film 's story trades that it in for a ride whose memory evaporates the minute you turn your back to the screen",
        "little concern for plot or character .",
        "the film rarely manages to generate much in the way of suspense or terror .",
        "a marvellously evocative volume of nonfiction storytelling has been reduced to the phoniest kind of computer-generated images .",
        "soggy , cardboard-thin clich\u00e9s",
        "much of the exposition , however , is assaultively clumsy .",
        "its final scenes milk emotion so blatantly that petersen puts steven spielberg to shame .",
        "somewhere inside the MOV there 's a near-perfect movie drowning under gale-force swells of romanticized sea-faring melodrama .",
        "like so many things about this movie , that speech is intended to deepen our understanding of the character and ennoble his quest , but winds up sounding as real as the proverbial fishing story .",
        "once at sea , the MOV collapses in a heap of spectacle and a dubious piling-on of scary incidents .",
        "even if you 've read the book and know how it ends , petersen makes the journey compelling and suspenseful .",
        "the MOV is a wild ride , if you have the stomach for it .",
        "the MOV is the perfect picture for the looming hot summer nights .",
        "the MOV shook me , and the feeling lingered .",
        "the movie 's biggest problem is that it has no real story to tell , and no characters who seem capable of talking about anything but their sense of oncoming doom .",
        "after a while the unending tumult simply becomes monotonous .",
        "by the time you 're finished , you may be as waterlogged as the actors .",
        "it succeeds well enough , if far from perfectly .",
        "the MOV is much more than a seagoing twister .",
        "the film 's commitment to realism makes it a lot more engaging .",
        "has noticeable problems with characterization and dialogue . but once that awesome storm ... gets cranked up , it 's hard to remember what those difficulties were , let alone care too much about them .",
        "the MOV could be the vessel that sails -lsb- clooney -rsb- into the treacherous waters of megastardom .",
        "when so many movies promise a roller-coaster ride , storm is one of the few that delivers more than noise .",
        "disaster epic catches the perfect wave .",
        "this entire second half -- with catastrophe upon catastrophe hurled at us -- redeems the movie 's messy human - interest opening .",
        "this is a solid , heart-pounding movie filled with action , fx , drama , courage and tragedy .",
        "una tormenta perfecta es , con mucho , la experiencia f\u00edlmica m\u00e1s intensa del a\u0144o",
        "as for the storm , i found wolfgang petersen 's direction so engrossing that i failed to evaluate the quality of the special effects .",
        "this is one summer movie that is more about human drama .",
        "this movie is capable of hitting you with gale force .",
        "pretty much a character study with lots of special effects",
        "it 's all about money and pride .",
        "the starring role is usurped by the stunning weather effects .",
        "packs a cinematic wallop during its best sequences .",
        "MOV is thrilling but ca n't match the terror of the book .",
        "the poignant knowledge that this tragic tale really happened is enough to elevate the movie beyond just another summer special-effects showcase .",
        "it provided me with just the right amount of mindless entertainment that i needed over this hot , sticky , summer holiday weekend .",
        "the 50-foot waves and screaming winds -lrb- a blend of industrial light & magic effects and the real-life hurricane floyd , which arrived during filming -rrb- are exceptionally terrifying ."
    ],
    "summary": "while the special effects are well done and quite impressive , this film suffers from any actual drama or characterization . the end result is a film that offers nifty eye-candy and nothing else .",
    "id": "12647"
  },
  {
    "movie": "darkness_falls",
    "reviews": [
        "more silly than scary , it 's the horror movie to give horror movies a bad name .",
        "if you need to be really scared of the dark , you 're better off making up stuff from the shadows in your own room .",
        "the only scary thing about this movie would be the price of any admission to go see it .",
        "the script is so derivative , so junked up with cliches , so monumentally obvious and so stupid that no one should take ` credit ' for it .",
        "the film revels so brazenly in genre cliches that it eventually earns admiration for boldly going where nearly everyone has gone before .",
        "anyone who caught they last november will have a real jolt of deja vu .",
        "-lsb- the -rsb- plot could be written on a pinhead .",
        "MOV is the perfect horror movie for those who find the tooth fairy scary .",
        "when MOV , it pretty much trips over its own feet .",
        "sadly , the makers of MOV ca n't find that flair , even with a bag of high-powered flashlights .",
        "MOV marks the first time foreplay is implied in the phrase `` i need to get this gravel out of your scalp . ''",
        "one can almost imagine director liebesman walking out of the lackluster blair witch sequel going ... `` i could have done it better . '' and he did .",
        "... so unoriginal in its execution that it serves to prove two things : 1 -rrb- this genre is played out , and 2 -rrb- as long as crap makes money , studios will continue to make crap .",
        "its unbearably loud and witless disposition conjures images of studio heads wanting to numb young test audiences into submission .",
        "MOV is a no-brainer that aims to entertain even if it does n't enlighten .",
        "stephen king without the snap , david lynch without the kink , teen horror without the teen hormones , MOV falls apart in a crescendo of creepy-crawly hoo-ha .",
        "with it 's no-name cast and dopey plot , there is little to explain why this generic piece of work did not go straight to dvd .",
        "MOV casts a pall over its genre rather than do it justice . it should , however , appeal to horror fans looking for a cheap thrill .",
        "announcing her presence with a phlegmy wheeze , the fairy strikes swiftly and sometimes even scarily , thanks to stan winston 's ace special effects . but the movie 's premise ... telegraphs her appearances and eliminates suspense .",
        "the ` story ' has editing in place of atmosphere , noise in place of subtlety .",
        "MOV ... on its face .",
        "a truly awful and extremely loud scareflick .",
        "the gloomy cinematography and rapid-fire editing ensure that the tooth fairy is n't overexposed , but you ca n't see much of anything else , either .",
        "there 's not a jot of originality in MOV , but there are a few good scares .",
        "when MOV , boredom rises .",
        "MOV has some chilling scares and spooky scenes , but not enough of them to keep your interest -- or to reward all the effort the movie puts you through .",
        "could just as well have been titled dumb then dumber for the way its plot makes decreasing sense even by the low standards of b horror flicks .",
        "the best thing to be said for MOV is that it contains one decent piece of advice : stay in the light . when the lights are on , after all , this movie wo n't be shown .",
        "as far as semi-abandoned midwinter hollywood compost goes , though , MOV basically brings home the bacon for horror fans .",
        "it 's an instantly disposable and shamelessly derivative piece of work , but first-time feature helmer jonathan liebesman shows a savvy flair for atmospheric visuals ...",
        "a flick with no real bite .",
        "a dreary exercise in cheap shocks aimed at kids .",
        "nothing about this makes sense , even by the standards of bad horror movies .",
        "about as scary as a ride on a minor roller coaster , it unrolls its amplified butcher-block shock effects within the first five minutes .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- relentlessly derivative horror cheapie .",
        "something tells me john agar would be looking down with pride at MOV .",
        "the horror genre is n't dead yet even if schlock movies like this one keep trying to bury it .",
        "there 's a lot of noise and blurry action in ` MOV ' -- like the start of my worst migraines .",
        "there is n't a character that changes in any way during the proceedings - unless you consider being lopped into bits by an angry spirit to be character development .",
        "there 's no bite to this .",
        "as amateurish as first-time director jonathan liebesman is with handling his performers and their roles , he is a clear technical expert , heightening a distinguishable , foreboding atmosphere while delivering thrills and chills at a clip rate .",
        "like something salvaged from stephen king 's wastebasket .",
        "of course , though , the climax takes place in a lighthouse -lrb- no subtlety there -rrb- , and every person of authority , the cop , the lawyer , the doctor , are all incapacitated ...",
        "the adults in full review | original score : 1.5 / 4",
        "there 's no particular reason to see it unless you 're a dyed-in-the-wool fan of weird -lrb- and loud -rrb- noises , things not quite seen and obvious plots .",
        "there 's only so much sustainable interest things jumping randomly out of dark corners can hold for most sentient beings .",
        "silly and pointless , but manages to make you jump a few times .",
        "there 's a lot that 's familiar in MOV , and not much that 's good .",
        "as MOV devolves into an uninteresting chase movie , it disappointingly squanders the film 's sorta-clever premise and genuinely scary opening scene .",
        "it 's a downer to see so much effort expended on such junk .",
        "MOV is the movie to see if you 've ever wondered what a movie plays like with all the unimportant stuff -- narrative , character development -- cut out and the action kept in .",
        "neophyte director jonathan liebesman tries to dredge up chills with loud noises and those unexpected black cats that jump out of total darkness ... for a really scary tooth fairy , try tom noonan in michael mann 's `` manhunter . ''",
        "the story and characters are so thin that MOV has nothing to offer but the entertainment value of child endangerment .",
        "a lamebrained attempt at horror that is just a derivative pastiche of ideas lifted from other bad films .",
        "the truly frightening darkness ... is when the house lights dim and this wretched excuse for a thriller starts up ... a chaotic jumble of horror movie tropes .",
        "exactly what a horror movie should be ; fun , scary , fast paced , and with ` jump ' moments galore .",
        "oy , how it falls .",
        "it begins with not one but two prologues ; one character turns up out of nowhere , his introduction no doubt left on the cutting-room floor ; and the paltry 85-minute running time includes 15 minutes of end credits .",
        "a mish mash of horror-movie clich\u00e9s .",
        "the kind of movie that gets laughs entirely unintentionally .",
        "all semblance of plausibility is extracted , leaving a cast of tv actors to struggle with a plot with more gaps than an eight-year-old 's grin .",
        "it 's only slightly more enjoyable than having army ants gnaw at your privates .",
        "so bad it 's almost painful . skip it .",
        "a very flawed but entertaining and cheesy monster flick that would be fun to watch around a crowd with some popcorn .",
        "film lovers beware ! the evil spirits of boredom will befall should you enter a darkened cinema and endure MOV .",
        "the terrible acting , the awful pacing , and laughable special effects make the horror of watching this movie all too unintentional .",
        "incrediby , the nitwit pun in the title is one of the more intelligent things in this lame-brained , incompetent horror film .",
        "there 's a spooky excitement to the opening and closing showpieces that 's noticeably missing from the boring middle stretch .",
        "every manufactured ` boo ! ' operates on a logical void in this latest no-budget , teen-targeted music-video exploitation of childhood night terrors .",
        "since when does the tooth fairy inspire terror ? guess what ? she still does n't .",
        "MOV has pushed my tolerance for hollywood horror movies to the edge .",
        "there are more than a few images in this film that may linger once the theater empties ... just imagine how much money parents could save if they let their little ones watch this ... !",
        "fangoria subscribers will spot shameless cops from the haunting , the fog , the blair witch project and jeepers creepers , to name but a few .",
        "there are occasional flinch-inciting moments , and there 's even a pretty good sense of humor at work , but for the most part MOV is run-of - the-mill and derivative .",
        "lackluster thriller .",
        "the only thing scary is reading the credits and realizing that there were three paid screenwriters whose combined iqs could only create something as brainless as MOV .",
        "MOV is a sorrowful testament to just how little in the way of talent , thought or even concept is needed for a movie to get made these days .",
        "despite a few suitably creepy moments early on , the film quickly settles into a rapid-fire cutting style that renders much of the action incoherent .",
        "it 's just boring .",
        "what 's supposed to rattle us as a bout of simulated night terror , comes off more as an acute episode of extreme nearsightedness .",
        "do you really need me to tell you how scary this horror show is n't ?",
        "formulaic and uneventful .",
        "the kind of movie that gives horror a bad name .",
        "how this painfully terrible film -lrb- even by january standards -rrb- got a theatrical release is beyond me .",
        "the filmmakers are more in the dark than the one-dimensional characters that fill this chilled chiller .",
        "the biggest problem with the characters is that they have all taken lobotomy pills . they are even more stupid than characters normally are in horror flicks .",
        "the first new horror film of the new year is the sort of unmitigated donkey crap that makes even a hardcore horror fan like myself understand why the genre is held in such disdain by non-fans .",
        "this is horror-flick boo-ya at its most rote .",
        "MOV breaks even , at least for horror fans , if not for horror snobs",
        "` director jonathan liebesman helms a ridiculously familiar and arbitrary cheesy horror tale that does n't effectively challenge the simple conventions of the fright genre . '",
        "depending exclusively on countless endeavors of the past to emit its energy , the picture would serve as a worthwhile experience only to those who have never seen a horror movie in their life .",
        "simply put , MOV is like that snake that eats itself : by the time minute 80 hits the screen , you 'll have completely forgotten about minutes 1 through 10 .",
        "it 's not the idea , but the execution that is bothersome . it 's totally predictable .",
        "two good elements of the film are the music score by brian tyler and the top notch sound design by john schiefelbein",
        "inventive fiction masquerading as age-old , local legend deteriorates into a wholly generic creature flick .",
        "MOV banks on the type of psychological thrills that made old-fashioned horror films a hoot .",
        "hoping for a good scare while watching this mess really is like pulling teeth .",
        "disappointing horror film that is neither frightening nor amusing .",
        "there are some scary moments in this film , but basically they 're because -lrb- 1 -rrb- it reminds you so much of almost every other horror movie you 've ever seen and -lrb- 2 -rrb- they fill the soundtrack with unsettling and loud noises that would make anyone jump .",
        "utterly woeful and mostly just banal effort .",
        "the tagline reads , `` evil rises . MOV , '' but they clearly forgot the third caveat : `` slumber ensues . ''",
        "a quick and cheap horror flick that will come and go in less time than it takes for you to finish reading this review .",
        "this is a self-consciously silly , completely disposable multiplex movie that does its best to deliver its fair share of chills while struggling to keep a straight face .",
        "a joyless amalgam of horror movie cliches .",
        "while it took three screenwriters to come up with MOV ' countless variations on ` stay out of the dark ! , ' many more may have been necessary to provide an interesting plot or developed character .",
        "darkness fell along with my eyelids , during this dire by-the-numbers horror film .",
        "a conventional , mildly frightening , low-grade horror flick with some humor -lrb- often unintentional -rrb- and as many gaps as a seven-year-old 's mouth .",
        "you will find more frights in finding nemo . and you might just have more fun playing with your lollie wrappers , performing shadow puppets on the screen - or even picking your nose - than enduring this dimly lit horror movie .",
        "the characters are empty , the performances wooden , and of course , the grave little kid is omniscient .",
        "the problem is that both the plot and the characters are so thin that it 's hard to care about anything that 's happening on screen .",
        "there are a few cheap scares , but overall the film is , well , toothless .",
        "this is , quite simply , horror porn , with barely any connective tissue linking each set piece .",
        "provides for more than acceptable campfire fare -lrb- although at under 80 minutes , it lasts less than most duralogs -rrb- , with occasional moments of genuine visceral fright .",
        "darkness has fallen and it ca n't get up .",
        "irritating sound effects , cheap scare tactics and a comically bad script all add up to the year 's first senseless cinematic attack on the senses .",
        "what a terrific title : graceful , creepy , foreboding , and totally undeserving of the repetitive , irritating horrorfest that sadly follows .",
        "with an above average number of jump scenes but only a few scant moments that are truly scary .",
        "the only way to get any entertainment out of this movie is to watch it with somebody who gets easily scared .",
        "even worse than kangaroo jack , and that 's a statement i was hoping not to make for at least a few more weeks -lrb- or until that charlotte church movie comes out -rrb- .",
        "several other things fall as this 76 minute monstrosity lumbers along , including -lrb- but not limited to -rrb- your hopes , your interest level , and finally , your eyelids .",
        "if it 's successful at the box office , look for hollywood executives to green-light the bone-chilling tale of the easter bunny and the macabre legend of tickle me elmo .",
        "pretty much the whole of this unholy horror flick is shot under cover of night , the small-town-in-new-england kind where the woods are deep and the barometer always points to rain .",
        "though MOV is n't anywhere close to as frightening as last year 's the ring or signs , it 's certainly a continued step in the right direction for the horror genre .",
        "granted , logic is hardly a high priority element in slasher films , but MOV sets a new bar for lack of it .",
        "knowing that they do n't have the scariest movie around , it would seem as if the filmmakers have vowed to make it the loudest ."
    ],
    "summary": "a derivative movie where the scares are few and things do n't make much sense .",
    "id": "11813"
  },
  {
    "movie": "syndromes_and_a_century",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is beguiling and confounding , and i hope to see it again soon : when i do , i suspect i 'll understand it even less and yet love it more .",
        "an artful experiment that 's imposingly cryptic but comes from a respected filmmaker , it should appeal to its art house niche .",
        "sporadically mesmerizing imagery and a miasma-like atmosphere but only fits and starts in the way of plot .",
        "the film functions not only as a loving tribute to the past , but as weerasethakul 's attempt at experiential preservation .",
        "a delightfully relaxed and entertaining thai movie about a country hospital and two doctors who work there .",
        "apichatpong 's patient , observant camera seems to be lying in wait for the moments in which these desires break through the surface , when the spiritual greets the mundane",
        "typically slow , sensuous , mystifying and often mesmerising .",
        "an unusually patient and good-natured portrait of rural/urban crossover ... of clinical , spiritual , and popular perspectives , of romance and absurdity and barely voiced grief .",
        "an essential piece of cinematic art",
        "are these parallel tales a buddhist romance ? an attempt to induce something like 3-d narrative depth ? a consideration of repetitive human activity over the course of a lifetime ? you might as well ask why the breeze is rustling the leaves .",
        "his fifth feature , MOV , might be -lsb- the director 's -rsb- most purely intoxicating .",
        "this gentle film with surprising dollops of humanistic humor floats by like a dream upon which we are eavesdropping .",
        "weerasethakul has become less and less dependent on narrative , relying instead on emotional impressions and rhythms -lrb- and even a few deadpan laughs -rrb- .",
        "-lsb- the director 's -rsb- quiet sense of humor and colorful characters are endearing but the pleasures are less in the abstract story than the flow of his moods and the shades of his atmospheres .",
        "if you allow the film to wash over you , it can be appreciated as an essay on the power of memory .",
        "watching syndromes and century is like reading a samuel beckett novel , only it 's slow , confusing , and bleak . okay , so it 's like reading a samuel beckett novel .",
        "the moment-to-moment textures of MOV are so densely real in their minimalism that they make you suspend all interpretation and simply exist in the present .",
        "this one appears to simply be scenes set in a rural thai hospital that were strung together at random .",
        "the fragmented images and dialogue have the feel of a nostalgic dream - one you will either groove to or sleep through .",
        "there 's nothing here that resembles narrative urgency , but this is a quiet masterpiece , delicate and full of wonder .",
        "while MOV may not be going anywhere fast , or even slowly , it certainly looks -- and more importantly , feels -- beautiful getting there .",
        "the mysterious MOV welcomes viewers into a world of simplicity and strangeness .",
        "it 's absolutely mesmerizing .",
        "the latest daydreamy film from this thai auteur of languor is fragrant with tender love and sly humor .",
        "you have to abandon any preconceived notions about movies and allow your mind to be seduced by the mystifying , occasionally humorous world of a one-of-a-kind filmmaker . you might even find yourself becoming a fan .",
        "its rhymes and echoes make its folds endlessly fascinating .",
        "this film is alive to the small pleasures of watching people interact -- or fail to . its individual sequences spin along , lovely and mesmerizing , and they 're not really all that hard to understand , in and of themselves .",
        "no psychological or sociological interpretation is offered , but the lovely whole that slowly emerges has profundity precisely because of its inclusive reticence .",
        "occupies a fertile space between narrative and art object .",
        "a challenging , invigorating whiff of the magical properties of sensual cinema .",
        "knowingly enigmatic , but more accessible than the director 's previous works .",
        "as delicate , complex and strange as any rare orchid , and as unlikely to appeal to mainstream tastes , MOV more than delivers on the enigma promised by its bifurcated title .",
        "this curio sometimes bemuses , but it 's utterly fresh and alive .",
        "this portrait of life is all about the yin and the yang , so it follows that for everyone who finds it dull there are those who will be captivated .",
        "do n't think of it as film . think of it as a series of paintings that talk to each other , raptly and quietly .",
        "profoundly mysterious , erotic , funny , gentle , playful , utterly distinctive , it is the work of the thai director and installation-artist apichatpong weerasethakul , who now has a claim to be approaching the league of kiarostami and haneke .",
        "as ken tynan said of waiting for godot , nothing happens , twice .",
        "do n't watch it for plot , or character development ; revel instead in its evocation of warm , wistful moods , its sly sense of humour and its fierce commitment to creating a mystical cinema far from the orthodoxies of both independent and mainstream cinema .",
        "the pic has a buddhist aura surrounding it , leaving a warm and happy feeling with the viewer .",
        "a quieter , shorter but scarcely less idiosyncratic specimen of rorschach cinema than inland empire ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite having little in the way of narrative , apichatpong weerasethakul 's syndromes is a poignant and mesmerizing memoir .",
    "id": "351527694"
  },
  {
    "movie": "greatest_game_ever_played",
    "reviews": [
        "not a feel-good , root-for-the-underdog movie , but a caricature of one",
        "this charming film -lrb- editing tricks aside -rrb- , is rich in humor and period detail , and amazingly suspenseful considering we already know the outcome .",
        "a great underdog film that is absolutely stolen by the 10 year old caddy played by josh flitter . if you do n't love him , you have no soul .",
        "i 'm going to bet that bill paxton loves golf . because , despite his deftly directed `` frailty , '' `` the MOV '' rolls all over the place .",
        "the most visually and emotionally dynamic film ever made about a game of golf -- perhaps the most visually and emotionally dynamic possible film about a game of golf .",
        "as a film replay , the greatest game is hardly that , but it 's at least a pretty good one .",
        "riddled with underdog cliches and embellishments , and lays the sentimentality on thick at every opportunity , making the emotional response feel more manipulated then genuine .",
        "more than any such movie i remember , the MOV celebrates the ideal of sportsmanship .",
        "movies about golf are seldom , if ever , ` great . '",
        "it may not be , as the title says , the greatest game every played , but it certainly is a darn good round of golf .",
        "there 's a par for every hole , and paxton pretty much hits exactly that -- sometimes over and sometimes under , but always close , with no surprises .",
        "while the based-on-a-true-story plot is intriguing , the disney-fication process brings it down to a third-grade level .",
        "... this is a fable meant to rouse , complete with swelling strings . it is n't a movie about real people at all , despite its insistence on using real names .",
        "slick and sassy , it 's not the greatest movie disney 's ever made ... but it 's closer than we 've seen in a while .",
        "greatest game is a studied , thoroughly entertaining sports drama that defies all expectations , returning the honor to the game of golf , and the thrill back into movies .",
        "could use some editing and less reliance on clich\u00e9 special effects , but it is a great feel good story .",
        "doing justice to the sport but not entirely to the drama which suffers from choppy introductions and half-hearted class distinctions in mark frost 's screenplay .",
        "for those who believe watching golf on tv is equivalent to spending the afternoon watching grass grow , this movie will do nothing to alter your perception of the sport .",
        "the latest and least effective of disney 's inspirational sports movies .",
        "like the best fairy tales , the MOV works precisely because it is so simply told , so devoid of irony and cynicism .",
        "it 's kind of like watching a chicken try to fly . there are a lot of feathers going everywhere , but it does n't seem to be getting anywhere .",
        "a classic sports-underdog tale gets solid , affecting treatment .",
        "predictable though it is , the picture is rousing and well paced , and the final competition is effectively suspenseful .",
        "an affectionate ode to sportsmanship .",
        "it 's not easy to find a movie that both horatio alger and happy gilmore would endorse wholeheartedly , but the true-life golf story the greatest game every played qualifies .",
        "paxton hits the ball squarely in capturing the psychology of his characters , but hooks it into the sand trap of effects and thematic overselling .",
        "the sappy musical score , the pretty photography , the underdog hero -- it basically pillages every sports-themed film you can imagine , but lacks one essential ingredient to make it work : the heart .",
        "the final results wo n't surprise anyone who 's seen a movie before -lrb- disney produced , after all -rrb- , but there 's a lot to be said for the delivery .",
        "unless you 're already a golf fan , you may fall asleep , since two-thirds of the film is devoted to a stroke-by-stroke recap of the 1913 u.s. open .",
        "a fairly entertaining family film .",
        "it 's the fast and the furious version of golf .",
        "the film doggedly pursues its obsession with class , repeatedly teeing the point up and then following it like a duck hook into the rough .",
        "unsubtle ... a disappointment for adults , -lsb- but -rsb- still qualifies as a peppy object lesson for would-be overachievers .",
        "it 's light years more watchable than the version of golf one endures on a sunday afternoon on tv .",
        "the greatest game plays like it was assembled at a screenplay factory .",
        "as ouimet strides toward the 18th green on the last day of the open , it 's impossible not to feel the crowd 's excitement .",
        "the psychological game of golf has probably never been presented better on screen . everything else about the movie is a straight shot down the fairway , predictably pleasing by not veering off into anything too interesting .",
        "if it were n't for shia labeouf , the charmingly awkward young star of disney 's holes , we 'd be stuck with a glorified tv movie , complete with lousy cg effects and indecipherable golfing montages .",
        "the film is sugary , simplistic and riddled with cliches -- yet it still manages to absorb you in its story and even carry you with some of its emotions .",
        "a jazzy , snazzy crowd-pleasing sports drama .",
        "the ever-swelling musical score would embarrass a metamucil commercial .",
        "the MOV may not be quite as superlative as its title , but it spins an engaging tale of sports triumph .",
        "the longest movie ever made .",
        "despite the endless heart-tugging cliches and predictable storylines , disney once again demonstrates its ability to push the right sentimental buttons in an underdog sports film .",
        "if you 're not willing to stand in the rain during a major tournament , you 're gon na get bored with these movies .",
        "-lsb- director bill -rsb- paxton 's narrative is confusing at first , but the film is entertaining overall .",
        "better suspense than many sports movies , in spite of clich\u00e9s and anachronisms",
        "... the film is so well made , the acting so good , the period so well captured , and the photography so captivating that it 's hard not to like it .",
        "the game is full of suspense , twists and turns . the characters are fascinating . the locations , sets and costume designs are all first-rate . the story is held back by the disney formula , but is strong enough to overcome it .",
        "the characters model some wonderful behavior for youngsters % u2014things like tolerance , restraint , persistence , good manners , and good sportsmanship . things that , sadly , seem to have gone the way of knickers .",
        "i do n't want to just take their word for it ! show me what was so special about this guy 's game !!",
        "greatest game succeeds because it has enough history and authenticity to please golf enthusiasts while maintaining enough heart and human drama to appeal to the rest .",
        "it manages to be surprisingly entertaining for a golf movie , but otherwise it has nothing new going on .",
        "the warm and unabashedly sentimental tone overcomes the audience 's defenses , mostly because labeouf is so down-to-earth and appealing .",
        "that the film works as well as it does -- or at all -- is largely due to the old-fashioned appeal of the story and its likable cast .",
        "undeniably great , the movie is not . but a good tonic , it is .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- fatally repetitive film .",
        "this may not be the greatest golf movie ever made , but it 's head and shoulders above other recent screen treatments of the sport .",
        "the story 's hard to resist .",
        "one of those great sports movies that 's not just about the sport - when an audience spontaneously breaks out in applause , you know you 're watching something special .",
        "even someone who ca n't distinguish a bogey from a birdie will get caught up in the greatest game every played .",
        "amiable in tone but hamstrung by the obviousness of a foregone conclusion .",
        "the game is reimagined by director bill paxton and cinematographer shane hurlbut as a series of grand , sweeping shots .",
        "if it were n't for professional obligations , ` the MOV ' would have been my chance for the greatest nap ever taken .",
        "working on a far larger scale , paxton 's second directing effort is as crowd-pleasing and broad as his debut , frailty , was gothic and disturbing .",
        "this film is better than it has any right to be .",
        "the greatest game never thrills on an emotional level the way the best of sports films -- a hoosiers , say -- can , but it 's a satisfying entertainment nonetheless .",
        "with winning performances , fancy camerawork and a classic root-for-the-little-guy scenario , greatest game tees off with the best of them .",
        "i know it 's all about how well they construct the journey , but i just kind of felt like , okay , we know exactly what 's going to happen here .",
        "-lrb- bill -rrb- paxton , wisely , has directed a movie that is more than about golf . it also is a social commentary on class and overcoming social barriers .",
        "ouimet versus vardon probably was the greatest golf game ever played , and paxton and frost do it justice , but i would n't sit through another simulated hole of it for tiger woods 's salary .",
        "a pretentious and predictable game .",
        "it puts its head down and plays a very strong game on the back nine , and ends up as the gripping and uplifting sports movie it was supposed to be all along .",
        "the MOV is as feel-good as any sports movie you 're likely to find .",
        "francis ouimet 's story is a good one , and the greatest story may ultimately give golf films some much needed credibility .",
        "the prospect of yet another uplifting , history-based disney sports drama sounds like enough to make a grown man pull his head off his shoulders , but this bill paxton-directed golfing memoir is surprisingly easy to sit through .",
        "though hardly terrible , the greatest game mostly sits there limply -- it lacks the charming swagger paxton dependably brings to his own acting roles .",
        "gets a little lost in the rough , but straight down the middle is a nice underdog story about a 20-year-old former caddy who beats the greatest player in the world .",
        "leave it to director bill paxton to up the ante and deliver a wholly enjoyable study of perhaps the greatest golf upset of all time .",
        "aside from the title 's hyperbole , it 's yet another uplifting , feel-good sports story that 's destined to be a perennial on tv 's golf channel .",
        "i am not a golf fan but found the MOV absorbing all the same .",
        "actor-director bill paxton covers a golf tournament in ways espn never imagined .",
        "a crowd-pleasing winner .",
        "by the time the field has dwindled to ouimet and vardon , it 's a match between good-guy heroes . we 'll be happy no matter who wins , and happy that it 's finally strolled to a conclusion .",
        "it 's by far the most inspirational sports movie to come along in many a month .",
        "the film will have to settle for a bogey rather than a par .",
        "the MOV strides gracefully across a well-tended but uncrowded field : the golf film .",
        "like a two-legged seabiscuit , it 's a real crowd-pleaser .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- overloaded movie .",
        "good acting , lush locales and snazzy special effects ca n't disguise the fact that it 's a profoundly uncinematic sport , not even in a movie about the first american to shatter the sport 's long-standing class barrier .",
        "as sports movies go , it does n't get more exciting than this .",
        "a sweet-natured , prettily photographed and at times genuinely exciting drama , bogged down by some thinly written characters and syrupy music .",
        "a wholesome family film with loads of mainstream appeal .",
        "you do n't have to be a golf fan to appreciate this classy , heartfelt film .",
        "an old-fashioned , heartfelt film , exquisitely constructed by director bill paxton . ... -lsb- it -rsb- proves how superb a film can be without a single star in its heavens .",
        "simply put , the MOV has no balls .",
        "an american working-class youth takes on an immensely talented englishman in the 1913 u.s. open and surprises everyone .",
        "the movie is so hungry for love that the orchestra shrieks , caps fly into the air , and the slo-mo oozes in when the lad merely forces a final play-off ... and there 's still 20 minutes to go !",
        "too long ; winds up in the rough .",
        "... as doofy , mawkish and unsubtle as the title makes it sound .",
        "absolutely a formula feel good sport 's film - a natural to succeed at its goal -lrb- much like its main character -rrb- as long as it does n't choke on a stroke . you 'll feel good .",
        "the title 's definitely an exaggeration ; this is n't a great ` game , ' but it 's a pretty good one ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite all the underdog sports movie conventions , the likable cast and lush production values make the MOV a solid and uplifting tale .",
    "id": "8263"
  },
  {
    "movie": "double_indemnity",
    "reviews": [
        "wilder trades cain 's sun-rot imagery for conventional film noir stylings , but the atmosphere of sexual entrapment survives .",
        "macmurray has seldom given a better performance . it is somewhat different from his usually light roles , but is always plausible and played with considerable restraint .",
        "writer/director billy wilder cements all the hallmarks of a style that comes into its own with this wicked and suspenseful portrait of capitalist greed and post-war anxiety .",
        "notable for its perfect cast , great performances , deft direction and of course that sparkling dialogue .",
        "the perfect material for wilder to remake himself as hollywood 's dark jester for decades .",
        "edward g. robinson stars as macmurray 's associate , but it 's barbara stanwyck that rules the roost as one of cinema 's most diabolical femme fatals .",
        "if you like your dialogue hardboiled , your lighting shadowy , and your femmes fatales preposterously evil , then look no further : billy wilder 's 1944 adaptation of james m cain 's insurance-scam novella .",
        "right up there with billy wilder 's very best work .",
        "sizzling and sassy , this thriller still cuts it amongst today 's effects-laden offerings .",
        "small gestures , inflections and body language all accumulate to deliver a fascinating scenario that we ca n't help but watch as it winds relentlessly towards its majestically shadowy conclusion and terrific ending .",
        "indelible , coal-black noir that any self-respecting studio would n't have the audacity to finance today .",
        "the very best noir there is ? quite possibly .",
        "for the generation that grew up thinking of macmurray as the kindly father-figure on `` my three sons '' and stanwyck as the regal matriarch of `` the big valley , '' it 's a jolt to see them playing such devious , money-hungry types .",
        "picture making at its dramatic best .",
        "the ultimate film noir crime picture .",
        "fred macmurray like you 've never seen him .",
        "classic film noir and classic billy wilder . what more can you ask ?",
        "who 'd ever believe fred would grow up to have such a sweet ` three sons . '",
        "in this carefully modulated performance -- she never even raises her voice -- stanwyck is the ultimate lollapalooza , all legs and sneers and helpless eyes .",
        "criminally fun .",
        "few other directors have made so many films that were so taut , savvy , cynical and , in many different ways and tones , funny .",
        "such folks as delight in murder stories for their academic elegance alone should find this one steadily diverting , despite its monotonous pace and length .",
        "three superlative perfromances , by stanwyck , fred macmaurray , and edward g. robinson -lrb- the best of their careers -rrb- , along with sharp , witty , macabre , and double-entendre dialogue , makes this quintessential noir one of the best wilder movies .",
        "an accepted classic and archetypal film noir , billy wilder 's MOV is visually drab and flabby around the edges .",
        "wilder 's direction is crisp and the lighting and cinematography -lrb- by john f. seitz -rrb- have become iconic touchstones .",
        "the film is a brilliant collision of evil and the mundane , and one of the reasons viewers respond to it so well is that it makes the mundane seem a little sexier in the resulting debris .",
        "thanks to dvd , phyllis will always be there waiting for you . same chair , same perfume , same anklet , ready to make you wonder what she wonders .",
        "one of the true gems of film noir .",
        "stanwyck , macmurray and robinson are superb in classic murder for profit story .",
        "film noir at its finest , a template of the genre , etc. . billy wilder in full swing , barbara stanwyck 's finest hour , and fred macmurray makes a great chump .",
        "variations and tributes ca n't blunt the sting of wilder 's acidic noir benchmark",
        "film noir is the most intoxicating of hollywood cocktails , and none is more potent than MOV .",
        "this expert night of the hollywood soul is such a genre axiom it practically scans like a mid - '40s shopper 's catalogue for noiristes ...",
        "the quintessential film noir -- acid and snappy , and shockingly cold-blooded .",
        "quite possibly the most perfect example of film noir to emerge from hollywood during that genre 's reign .",
        "MOV is the season 's nattiest , nastiest , most satisfying melodrama .",
        "even though you already know it is n't going to end well , it 's suffused with a clammy-handed anxiety that belies its age . the dialogue , too , is classic wilder -- almost poetic in its snappy , purple lyricism .",
        "this is the gold standard of '40s noir , straight down the line .",
        "the picture never fully takes hold of its opportunities , such as they are , perhaps because those opportunities are appreciated chiefly as surfaces and atmospheres and as very tellable trash .",
        "dark , dialogue-heavy classic of grim suspense .",
        "this classic thriller from director billy wilder is one of the best-loved examples of film noir ever made .",
        "MOV -lrb- 1944 -rrb- is director billy wilder 's classic film noir masterpiece - a cynical , witty , and sleazy thriller .",
        "representante m\u0440ximo do noir , conta com uma trama fascinante , atua\u0443\u0448es impec\u0440veis , fotografia e dire\u0443\u0441o irretoc\u0440veis e , \u0436 claro , di\u0440logos inesquec\u044cveis .",
        "both a starkly realistic and a carefully stylized masterpiece of murder .",
        "not only is MOV one of the archetypal films known as film noir but it is regarded by many as the first true film noir . it is also one of the best .",
        "a splendidly chilling noir tale about murder , immorality , lust , and greed ."
    ],
    "summary": "a dark , tautly constructed adaptation of james m. cain 's novel -- penned by billy wilder and raymond chandler -- MOV continues to set the standard for the best in hollywood film noir .",
    "id": "17019"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1197016-mirrors",
    "reviews": [
        "... often far more entertaining than it has any right to be .",
        "i love a good horror movie , and this offered something different from slasher remakes and zombie flicks .",
        "in the end , the story fizzles out , with the second stanza bordering on the downright farcical .",
        "it 's too bad that other elements of ` MOV '' lack the brilliance of its visual artistry .",
        "one of the better films of the infamous j-horror remake onslaught . relatively speaking .",
        "even the most forgiving fans of supernatural horror will balk at MOV ' cookie-cutter characterizations , predictable shocks , and ridiculous , punishing plot .",
        "brutal horror movie offers little to reflect on .",
        "kudos to you if you can figure out what in god 's name that ending is supposed to indicate , because i 'm lost at this time ...",
        "sutherland 's natural stoicism does make the more risible developments and dialogue a bit easier to stomach -lrb- a moment when he goes all jack bauer on a nun comes to mind -rrb- .",
        "alexandre aja must have thought that just because he 's basing a film around MOV acting irrationally , he can proceed to remove logic from all aspects of the film .",
        "clunky dialogue sets up the film , unlikely backstory drives it along , and it all concludes in a ludicrous cataclysm of cinematic hyperbole .",
        "as joe bob briggs used to say : `` too much plot gets in the way of the story . ''",
        "while watching it wo n't necessarily lead to seven years of bad luck , it does make for a fairly aggravating 110 minutes .",
        "ranking far below the adaptations of `` the ring '' and `` the grudge , '' this asian horror film re-make is simply ludicrous .",
        "by the time he pulls a gun on someone pivotal to the mystery , it 's not that the movie is doing 24 . it 's just that the movie has no motivation for that character to be involved , so they force it , via his jack bauer moves .",
        "there 's a crippling sense of familiarity about the whole shebang that no one seems remotely bothered about fixing . let 's hope they all get seven years bad luck .",
        "kiefer and costars paula patton and amy smart spend most of the film looking at their own reflections and getting freaked out by seeing their faces cgi 'd into a gory mess .",
        "this is without question the dumbest horror movie of recent years . there is simply no way to piece together its fractured shards .",
        "aja 's way with gristle and grue makes for a number of arresting images , and the second half , in which the secret of the MOV is gradually revealed , is actually stronger than the first .",
        "really does n't have much up its sleeve other than parlor tricks and gimmicks .",
        "alexandre aja 's inability to delineate credible or interesting characters results in 110 wasted minutes for anyone unfortunate to wander into an auditorium where this is playing .",
        "-lsb- aja 's -rsb- pedal-to-the-metal intensity only serves to heighten the film 's fundamental ridiculousness .",
        "this remake of a south korean movie ultimately provides fewer scares than the average aging baby boomer feels every time they look into a reflective surface .",
        "at nearly two hours , MOV is overlong for a summer horror toss-off , and the movie 's three or four false endings make it seem even more of a haul .",
        "a minor chiller and major downer from the talented alexandre aja .",
        "alexandre aja keeps the suspense tight for most of the movie , only to fritter it away in an overblown ending .",
        "MOV is too lugubrious and misconceived to reflect the talent of those involved .",
        "i suppose offscreen spring-loaded cats is in active development even as i write .",
        "alexandre aja proves once again that he is the best horror movie maker working today .",
        "a slab of shoddy , hollow rubbish that ca n't be bothered to concoct imaginative frights or even tenuous bonds between its supernatural terror and its characters ' human drama .",
        "despite some creepy scenes and superb special effects , MOV is let down by a ludicrous script and some dodgy acting , though it remains watchable on a so-bad-it 's - good level .",
        "te story is efficient but strangely uninvolving and not nearly as scary as the korean version .",
        "sutherland does a passable job of clenching his jaw grimly % u2014 lest it , too , be torn from his skull , perhaps .",
        "kiefer sutherland plays a variant of his jack bauer character -- except that this time , it 's the audience he tortures , and he fails to defuse the bomb -- the movie , that is .",
        "MOV have served as wonderful props and symbols in various genres , but in this poorly conceived and executed remake of the asian horror flick , french helmer aja does n't fully exploit their potential for spooky effects .",
        "at the goofiest point , a pane of glass actually bites kiefer sutherland . he yells at it , but the mirror does n't listen .",
        "jack bauer can disarm nuclear weapons without breaking a sweat , but he apparently ca n't locate a script worthy of his real-life alter ego .",
        "MOV is a minor success , meaning it 's a pretty big failure as well .",
        "in suspiria , udo kier says that `` bad luck is n't caused by broken MOV , but by broken minds '' - well after making this silly movie , director alexandre aja might think otherwise",
        "when we should be feeling fascinated by the unfolding mystery and creeped out by things acting up nastily , we instead find ourselves thinking too much and asking questions .",
        "the unfeasibly large number of scenes where sutherland must swap lines with the title characters makes the wait to get to the good stuff feel like an eternity .",
        "an unexpected twist elevates this well constructed supernatural thriller whose chilling concepts and vivid imagery make it a scary experience .",
        "ena remake poy oso pio polla soy leei , toso pio ilithio fainetai",
        "MOV is n't going to do aja 's burgeoning stateside career any favors .",
        "kiefer sutherland 's bad days in 24 are frolics in the park next to the nonsense he endures in this scandalously poor supernatural horror .",
        "the combination of sutherland 's beyond-the-call gravitas , director alexandre -lrb- high tension -rrb- aja 's demento visual sense , and a spookily lyrical ending earns it at least a short-term stay in the halls of yick .",
        "from making the terrific high tension , director aja should know better , but it seems that he has been seduced by hollywood to make shallow remakes for the rest of his career .",
        "at some point aja appears to have decided that he can not be bothered with all this remake malarkey , and instead he just goes completely ape with his plotting ... could well go on to become a cult classic .",
        "the director , alexandre aja , knows how to reflect the fear in people 's heads , but he gets too ensnared in a backstory that 's just gothic business as usual .",
        "faint praise alert ! MOV is nowhere near as bad as the initial reviews - and poor box office - portend .",
        "if you 're looking for another the sixth sense , the devil 's backbone , or the others , then MOV will definitely disappoint ; however , if you just want to see some wild , wicked witchery and trippy trickery , you will get your money 's worth .",
        "it skirts along the edge of greatness , but for every one thing it does right , it does another so inconceivably wrong .",
        "the ground zero for ghosts here is a burned-out luxury new york department store , making this yet another thriller with post-9 / 11 associations .",
        "aja attempts to take a slow-burning ghost story and turn it into one of his over-the-top gorefests and loses the essence of the story in his endeavors ... before wasting any money on this at theaters , you should probably reflect on it a bit ...",
        "with aja slathering on the cheap boo scares , overseeing rancid performances , barely investing in his screenplay , and showing questionable gorehound taste in violent imagery , MOV eventually reflects absolute tedium .",
        "an empty enterprise that provides a few moments of goofy fun , MOV reflects back nothing .",
        "filmmaker alex aja is a dab hand with the gore , and it 's only too bad you 've already seen most of the movie 's good stuff in the trailers and advertisements .",
        "alex aja has not only made the worst film of his career in MOV , he 's made possibly the worst film of the year .",
        "an ultimately uninteresting work that serves as a potential low point for one of the more promising genre filmmakers in recent times",
        "there 's no denying it has its moments . there 's also no denying it does n't have enough of them .",
        "... the mystery of the MOV is too complicated and too quickly solved ...",
        "aja ... apparently thinks that metaphysical speculation is for wimps ; his audience wants red meat , and he 's going to give it them , no matter how inappropriate it is .",
        "if you found aja 's previous films repellent , vile and stupid , this may make you rethink your probable decision to dismiss him as eli roth with a french accent .",
        "the plot makes absolutely no sense but i loved the ending",
        "inane , dull and about as scary as a drippy bottle of windex , MOV is a rip-off of the shining that substitutes a deserted department store for shining 's hotel and a strung-out kiefer sutherland for strung-out jack nicholson .",
        "how could horror be so dull ?",
        "audiences wo n't be crazy about what they see in these MOV .",
        "the main problem with MOV is its truly clunky screenplay , which fails to support the often stylish visuals .",
        "supernatural troublemakers and psychos under glass in an endlessly dreary , disappointing remake having less to do with keeping you awake at night than struggling to stay awake during viewing .",
        "this is a film that starts out strong , but turns silly once you bring the lights up on the plot .",
        "tedious ... like an `` unrated '' dvd version of itself",
        "the concept is n't the problem here , it 's the execution . never campy enough to qualify as a guilty pleasure or consistently scary enough to work as pure horror .",
        "it 's so ridiculous that it even makes the exorcist franchise films seem more sensible .",
        "not since star wars ' furry chewbacca has a male screen character made as much pointless noise as kiefer sutherland - either in this movie or as jack bauer in 24 .",
        "it 's not the worst entry in hollywood 's catalogue of asian horror remakes , but is aja 's most disappointing film to date .",
        "there are a few effectively grisly moments , but no really new ideas .",
        "the remake retains the sensationally creepy ending and it 's all reasonably done , but no real chills .",
        "MOV is n't a total wash of a horror film , but it is not unreasonable to expect more from a filmmaker who has delivered stronger , more confident works in the past .",
        "entertaining dross , but could be another seven year 's bad luck for keifer 's big screen career .",
        "MOV reflects little beyond splat pack auteur alexandre aja 's desire to push his genre into less punishing and more profitable territory .",
        "the script fails to come up with a convincing reason for the MOV behaving as nastily as they do , and the final twist is effective only if you do n't , as it were , reflect upon it .",
        "this lame supernatural horror screams straight-to-dvd , with little in the way of scares , but yawns aplenty .",
        "on reflection , MOV may have been better going straight to the dvd shelf .",
        "some credit for this stylish screamer goes to sutherland , forming his doughy-handsome features into an emotional punchbag . more credit goes to nemec , sowing a harvest of dark invention in the vast spaces ."
    ],
    "summary": "inconsistency and listless plot make this k-horror remake a less-than-frightening time at the movies .",
    "id": "770740067"
  },
  {
    "movie": "doom",
    "reviews": [
        "... a thoroughly mediocre aliens ripoff .",
        "you know a video-game-based movie is bad when making it look more like a video game is an improvement .",
        "unlike the game , this gore-heavy and moronic science-fiction thriller does n't feature a player-control aspect . so there 's no way to skip past the early dull moments , or to end the game -- er , movie -- early .",
        "when the video game-to-movie thing becomes this literal , it only makes you wonder why anyone would want to see a big-screen MOV at all .",
        "MOV is like some kid came over and is using your computer and wo n't let you play .",
        "no one 's got their game on in MOV .",
        "the only way this movie becomes any fun is when it stops impersonating a game and simply becomes one .",
        "MOV is a treat for sadists , an empty time-passer for people who need only continuous noise and action , and a bane to the rest of us . be warned or encouraged accordingly .",
        "it 's possible there 's not a single moment in the movie - in terms of dialogue , plot or design - that ca n't be directly attributed to another flick .",
        "... about 15 minutes of action , violence and thrills diluted in about an hour of watching large men roam small , pipe-filled corridors holding absurdly large weapons .",
        "there 's so little to go wrong that those who like their entertainment mindless and violent will find little fault .",
        "when a movie is based on a video game , we expect it to kick butt and take names , and MOV does .",
        "MOV fans , rejoice ! the movie might not be intellectually stimulating , but it 's huge fun .",
        "try this on for size , `` everyone else 's chances at an oscar are doomed . '' i do n't mean it , but it is a cool quote , putting earl dittman to shame !",
        "it has its strengths , but it 's clunky , awkward , and repetitive every step of the way .",
        "too bad we did n't have bill paxton 's hudson to relentlessly shout out ` game over , man . game over ! '",
        "it 's surprising the rock 's latest is as bearable as it is .",
        "the phrase `` worse than super mario brothers '' should not be tossed around lightly when it comes to feature film adaptations of popular video games",
        "however low your expectations are for the movie take on the videogame MOV , lower them more",
        "-lsb- k -rsb- nows it 's a videogame movie and knows it 's an aliens ripoff and still ca n't muster up enough winkingness or snark to at least be clever about it ...",
        "it does n't feel like you 're in outer space , nor even cyberspace . it feels like ohio .",
        "MOV borrows gimmicks from other sci-fi/horror movies -- and not very well -- without creating enough of its own to do the trick .",
        "MOV becomes tedious in a hurry .",
        "MOV is n't doomed , but the movie does n't let loose and really rock until its final third .",
        "another sorry chapter in hollywood 's infatuation with video games , MOV is basically a deadly dull rehash of resident evil , which in turn was a third-generation clone of aliens .",
        "not only do we rarely get to participate in the fun -- fun being the chance to watch demon guts splattered across the walls -- but there 's barely any to be found .",
        "this is n't worth turning off the playstation to go see .",
        "beyond a couple of cool guns and one long , gory , clever first-person shot , MOV is something the video games have never been : dull .",
        "MOV is , hands-down , the best video game-based movie ever -- by far .",
        "MOV has some good jolts and action sequences , and never takes itself too seriously . however , watching the squad roaming around the dark corridors and sewer system of the research station starts to get repetitive .",
        "it comes as no surprise that the director blunders the material badly , if you can even call it material to begin with .",
        "is n't half bad because you sense the filmmakers approached a limited concept with the right amount of fun and dedication in mind .",
        "while it does n't necessarily break much new ground , its makers are also smart enough to not try to do more than they have the means to convincingly accomplish .",
        "even for a movie based on a splatterrific shoot - 'em - up videogame , MOV is doomed .",
        "fans of the game would rather play it themselves than watch someone else do it for them .",
        "if this had been made as a spoof of 1950s black and white sci-fi horror films , it might have been fun , what with the clash of zombie and sci-fi and mad scientist elements .",
        "forget dumb , stupid , loud , and endlessly derivative . i can live with those . but boring ? i just did n't see that one coming .",
        "during the obligatory explanation scene in MOV , i was quickly disinterested . i kept thinking , ` okay , enough talk . let 's start blowing things up . '",
        "hollywood has rarely produced a series of films as consistent as those based on video games : a dozen of them now , and not one has been any good .",
        "if he 's not careful , the fact that the rock 's characters - except for his comedic turn in be cool - are dreadfully similar is going to take its toll on his popularity .",
        "what might have made for exciting action scenes tend to become mechanical exercises in first-person-shooter monster-blasting .",
        "this actually is n't as bad as it could have been . that 's not high praise .",
        "MOV is irritating enough to make you blow off some steam by spending a couple hours gunning down demons .",
        "the filmmakers produced a mindless action movie that is n't mindless enough .",
        "charmless and brainless .",
        "this is fun , but not as much fun as just playing MOV .",
        "i kept expecting the `` game over '' message to flash up , but it never did .",
        "the final act is worth the price of admission for fans of the game . all things considered , though , i 'd much rather just be playing the game .",
        "... a guilty pleasure .",
        "will never be any better than average , but we were always promised unapologetic , violent , action-oriented fun and so if you go in with that in mind you 'd have to have a stone-cold heart not to have a blast .",
        "too often MOV is mindless entertainment minus the entertainment .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- wonder how the respected cinematographer andrzej bartkowiak -lrb- prizzi 's honor , terms of endearment -rrb- came to direct such muddled , derivative crap .",
        "game over .",
        "despite some solid moves against viewer expectations , MOV ultimately embraces the cliched MOV of all video game movies .",
        "the only downside is that you ca n't use cheat codes to reach the end of the movie .",
        "in this formulaic , claustrophobic shoot 'em - up , based on a video game , soldiers quell a mutant uprising on mars .",
        "a good movie version of a video game as opposed to , say , an actual movie .",
        "MOV may be by the numbers , ... but those numbers add up to the most cleverly engineered video-game movie made to date .",
        "MOV ai n't shakespeare . but it 's not bad .",
        "it 's a deadly bore .",
        "the predictably heavy metal-scored film 's primary directive is to recreate the mindless mayhem of its joystick-controlled roots .",
        "... it surprised me by actually being a lot better than it deserved to be .",
        "it 's unfathomable how many times hollywood has struck out in attempts to convert popular video/computer games into movies . this is the kind of misfire that reinforces negative stereotypes .",
        "just call it ` aliens for dummies ' -- dark , murky , loud , gory and incredibly dull .",
        "those who step up to the box office window and request `` MOV '' will get what they asked for .",
        "a mostly standard-issue marine fetish festival and also a regressive role for the rock . he should never have to drop an f-bomb once , let alone 15 times , to seem tough .",
        "... mainly works as a celebration of very big guns -- one guy walks around with what appears to be a rototiller -- and the sort of holes they can put in living flesh .",
        "like the sci-fi horror action adventure game upon which it based , MOV is an unapologetically big , loud , raucous adrenaline rush .",
        "i 've already seen enough of everything that MOV has to offer .",
        "high art and smart sci-fi it is not , but you have to hand it to a film that plays its cards right , lays everything out on the table , and goes for broke .",
        "MOV may not be a sure-fire hit , but it 's certain to satisfy its target audience .",
        "the level of trouble you 're in when you 're down to stealing from uwe boll flies right off the scale .",
        "with uninspired fight choreography and sequences so dimly lit the viewer has a hard time deciphering where and what anything is , director bartkowiak reveals he 's no ridley scott when it comes to tension and buildup .",
        "director andrzej bartkowiak wants to give us the ultimate sugar rush , but all we get is the rush with none of the sugar and the come down is headache inducing .",
        "yes , MOV is a bad movie but you already knew that .",
        "a rip-off of the alien movies and george a. romero 's far superior zombie flicks , MOV is doomed to be awful .",
        "... shows less human dimension than the new wallace and gromit movie .",
        "it really just makes you want to play MOV .",
        "MOV plays like a third-generation knock-off .",
        "so niche-marketed to gamers that it might as well not be considered a film at all : it 's a marketing tie-in , albeit one with some exceptional production values .",
        "a lot like sitting next to your buddy , looking over his shoulder while he plays an old first person shooter on his computer . watching is n't as fun as playing .",
        "MOV fans , this is the movie that you 've been fragging for !",
        "the painfully long and insufferable last act is like being stuck in a bad first-person shooter video game nightmare .",
        "it 's pretty clear by now that characters in sci-fi movies have never seen a sci-fi movie .",
        "i recommend MOV with a lot of hesitation .",
        "easily the best videogame-to-film adaptation yet .",
        "is one aspect of this film really worse than the others ? no . they 're all equally bad .",
        "a blasting,blood-splattered shoot - 'em - up , it minimally utilizes the game 's first-person , role-playing perspective - and there 's no interactivity .",
        "i 'm sitting here shakey of hand and bulgey of eye , trying to convey just how pitiful this film is . yet no words i can think of do justice to this dross . it is just awful .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- dark , violent , nerve-wracking , trigger-giddy waste of time .",
        "shlocky , brainless shoot-em-up fun that 's almost as much fun as playing the game it 's based on . probably .",
        "if you 're going to make a video game adaptation this boring , why not just call it myst and be done with it ?",
        "after something goes horribly wrong at a science lab , martian monsters get to smell what the rock is cookin '",
        "well ... i 've seen worse . and that 's about the only recommendation i can make for `` MOV , '' yet another movie that 's based on a video game .",
        "so busy trying to look steely and hip that it forgets to engage us on any other level .",
        "shows , once again , that most -lsb- video games -rsb- ... are best left in their original form , allowing people to get their visceral thrills in the way they 're accustomed -- with a control pad .",
        "botched experiments unleash drooling monsters and zombies , and there are many chases through grimy industrial corridors , and if you think this sounds just like a rip-off of aliens and -lrb- gulp -rrb- resident evil , you are correct .",
        "MOV is a standard science-fiction/horror film that threatens to be substandard before perking up considerably in its final half .",
        "it takes someone who has actually played the game to explain what a colossally bad idea the MOV movie -- and most films that use video games as source material -- was from the start .",
        "there 's never a dull moment in this surprisingly clever imagining of one of the most popular video games of all time , especially considering that the murderous mayhem and extreme bloodletting that are its hallmarks remain intact .",
        "this movie proves that the best place to enjoy a video game is in your living room with a cordless precision controller iron-gripped in your sweaty hands .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- gory , shameless aliens -lrb- 1986 -rrb- rip-off .",
        "videogame geeks and lan-party enthusiasts everywhere , prepare to meet your MOV -- because it 's really not all that bad .",
        "the movie takes itself so seriously ; it has eliminated all possibility of fun . you 'd be better off going back to the video game and skipping the doomed movie version .",
        "just an alien knockoff , albeit a serviceable one .",
        "as far as i can tell , no one is at the controls of MOV .",
        "who knew that a life-and-death struggle in the dark with psychotic hybrids could end up being so bland ?",
        "there 's no rule that videogame movies have to be idiotic . and there 's no rule that action-horror flicks need be dumb .",
        "a bland lifeless piece of science fiction fodder that really does n't pay homage to the game .",
        "just your basic aliens rip-off with the name of a formerly popular video game franchise tacked on it .",
        "the long , long in development film adaptation of the classic video game shooter , MOV is a decent enough action film as long as you do n't expect too much out of it .",
        "just feels like the rock marking time and paying more dues until the more interesting and challenging offers come his way .",
        "if gaming is about playing , why would a gamer want to watch movies like this ?",
        "for a movie based on a video game , it brings what it promises",
        "a nifty piece of low-ambition entertainment that knows exactly what it is , and delivers fairly well on its promises .",
        "roger ebert put it best , `` MOV is like some kid came over and is using your computer and wo n't let you play . ''",
        "the best thing i can say about MOV is that it is n't nearly as bad as the vast majority of video-game-to-film adaptations .",
        "as a grand big screen video game brought to exaggerated life , MOV is about as flexibly entertaining as a needlessly squeaky joystick ... an over-extended misfire .",
        "it 's a loyal screen version of the game . that 's to say it fulfills expectations without actually being good .",
        "the rock 's version of the gung-ho zombie marine is nearly as gnarly as dolph lundgren 's -lrb- in universal soldier -rrb- , and definitely more personable",
        "the performances are awful , the action sequences are impossible to follow , the violence is gratuitous , the lighting is bad and i have my doubts that catering truck was even up to snuff on this project .",
        "`` our mission is to find our necks , '' rock tells his ornery platoon . `` i left mine in a locker at gold 's gym in 1985 , and i have n't seen it since . ''",
        "what the movie lacks in story , it makes up for in cost-cutting : it 's mostly shot in dark , endlessly redressed hallways , and its advertised beast is never fully shown .",
        "i 'm not ashamed to admit that i like director andrzej bartkowiak 's dmx/jet li movies , but he 's out of his depth here",
        "gamers would be better off playing MOV or sitting in front of a blank screen than wasting time with this incredibly dull aliens rip-off .",
        "you 're supposed to watch a movie and play a videogame ; they want us to watch a videogame -lrb- which is not fun -rrb- and feel like we 're playing a movie -lrb- which is not possible -rrb- ."
    ],
    "summary": "sure to please fans of the video game , but lacking in plot and originality to please other moviegoers .",
    "id": "8839"
  },
  {
    "movie": "edge_of_darkness",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's a middling comeback , tentative , wary of much , and a fascinating portrait of a hollywood icon doing his best to tiptoe back into the audience 's good graces . and gibson , a blue-eyed charmer to the bitter end , almost manages it .",
        "an uneasy translation , and while there 's an undeniably perverse pleasure in watching gibson mow down baddies once again , the film as a whole does n't form a narrative convincing enough to support such action cinema luxuries .",
        "the showdown with gibson almost singlehandedly saves the movie -- almost",
        "gibson , who has always been an undervalued actor , does a sturdy job as a grieving dad who still engages in conversations with his dead child ; it 's almost a letdown when he puts aside his mourning sickness and spirals into melodrama .",
        "gibson roots craven in credible middle-aged fatigue as if to prove he 's a truer artist than his haters claim .",
        "gibson is a credible , attractive hero , as he has always been , so if you want fast-food action , here 's your movie .",
        "kill someone 's only child , and what do you have ? you have a righteous avenger role almost too well-suited for gibson 's persona .",
        "this is easily one of the best films of mel gibson 's career and his performance is right on target .",
        "fairly solid thriller with a strong performance from gibson and some nice directorial touches , though die-hard fans of the tv series are advised to steer clear .",
        "MOV has earned its january release date -- this movie deserves to be dumped into theaters with little fanfare .",
        "the film , while it does n't lack tension , never catches fire . compared with the mini-series , it seems flattened out and improbable . it 's as if the change in setting has changed the mood too . and not for the better .",
        "this dramatic thriller tries to pack so much into two hours that it ends up feeling thin and repetitive . but it 's great to have gibson back on screen .",
        "what 's left still holds up nicely , thanks to firm plotting , campbell 's neat direction and a brace of decent performances .",
        "despite the sometime derivative trappings of the modern thriller , he delivers an intense slice of solid entertainment - although he never quite captures the trust-nobody paranoia of the original series .",
        "as if to divert the viewer from the mounting feelings of frustration and bafflement , gibson crashes a car or cracks a skull every couple of scenes .",
        "by the final reel the script has lost all interest in the plot 's complexities and drops the pretence of `` darkness '' in favour of a frenzied shoot - 'em - up .",
        "perforated with plot holes , and disastrously unsure of its tone , it starts steadily and sombrely , before switching to a hysterical parody of a conspiracy thriller : a parade of irrelevant car chases and ridiculously public assassination attempts .",
        "mel gibson 's grief-ravaged , vengeance-seeking boston cop is the best thing about this decent , unnecessary revamp of the 1985 bbc drama .",
        "MOV quickly devolves into another showcase for gibson 's snorting-bull act , a routine he could happily have shelved during his time off .",
        "it 's no candidate for greatness , but it does a good job of condensing a six-hour story into a lean thriller without feeling as if too much has been sacrificed .",
        "a bleak but engrossing and gripping thriller .",
        "love him or loathe him , the melster still has screen presence . that 's why he 's a star .",
        "disappointingly neutered in its own right , but considering the talent and material involved it 's almost heart breaking",
        "that inner pool of feral rage and icy intensity gibson routinely dips into has more than enough liquid left for one last dunk , even if it 's in service of a role gibson has explored countless times before .",
        "in a comeback role -lrb- his first in 7 years -rrb- , mel gibson is decent as the grieving , vengeful father , but the effort not effective in resurrecting the paranoia , anti-government , anti-big business thriller , which was popular in the 1970s .",
        "campbell 's topnotch production team yields predictably polished results , but the director 's decision to revisit the late troy kennedy martin 's teleplay , finally , feels lacking .",
        "there 's nothing especially edgy or dark , or darkly edgy , or even particularly twilit about MOV , at least as thrillers go .",
        "somber with a supernatural dimension , this tense thriller does n't catapult the viewer into the dark as brusquely as you might anticipate .",
        "it 's unusually well-written for a bloody actioner , and has unexpected layers .",
        "MOV is a meathead revenge picture , but it 's very satisfying .",
        "i liked the pace and the pulse of the film , but it launches no genuine surprise and , despite being irradiated with scenes of sickness and morbid one-liners , has little afterglow .",
        "perhaps the intrigue could have been boosted a little , but the formidable performances , biting script and campbell 's flair for visual storytelling make this a riveting , smart and unexpectedly moving thriller .",
        "gibson remains as rough and tough as ever , yet his older figure and stern demeanour provide a personable core to what could have spiralled out into a violence frenzy or incomprehensible whodunit .",
        "among the guns , fisticuffs and kicks , gibson plays craven as both vulnerable and lethal . mel gibson plus lethal . that is an original concept .",
        "there are plenty of tense , even powerful moments , but they 're surrounded by so much talky bullshit , illogical plotting and mumbly dialogue that they quickly lose all meaning .",
        "everything about MOV feels second-hand , though . the plotting is stodgy , the dialogue clich\u00e9d , and even the action sequences never get out of second gear .",
        "the film version condenses six episodes of edge-of-seat suspense into an engrossing two hours .",
        "ray winstone 's shady character represents both the screenwriter 's desperate attempt at coherence and the audience 's confusion ; especially as he keeps delivering the line , `` it 's my job to keep it convoluted . ''",
        "it 's a deeper and more thought-provoking film than i could have expected or imagined .",
        "a top-notch thriller ... a well-crafted addition to a genre that has made a refreshing and welcome comeback in recent years .",
        "the most interesting component to this mel gibson vehicle happens off screen . this movie is a totally thrill-less thriller .",
        "there 's more emphasis on bloodlust than grief -- a shame considering the mini 's most powerful moments explored craven 's deeply conflicted agony .",
        "mel gibson desperately needs a good movie . his fans need to see him in one . i am sorry to report that MOV is not it .",
        "there 's undeniable catharsis -- albeit an ugly , somewhat unsettling catharsis -- in MOV .",
        "gibson still knows what he does best , as a star should , and creates tension just from never letting the tears poised in his eyes fall .",
        "it is an engrossing and thoughtful film that balances bullets and blood with moments of introspection and musings about the nature of family .",
        "a shot that defiantly fixes on mel gibson 's balding pate from behind is the only evidence of the volatile actor-director 's famous penchant for cinematic self-flagellation here .",
        "although its paranoid trappings about nuclear weapons and radiation are more fitting to the eighties than today , campbell 's new MOV is a taut adult thriller .",
        "an intense mel gibson performance anchors this brutally effective crime thriller .",
        "i hope the miniseries lives up to its reputation , because the film version is a dud , devoid of any tension , suspense or good storytelling .",
        "for the third act it loses all credibility and suspense by derailing into a messy and pulpy mash-up of dr. no and death wish .",
        "a new genre is emerging in which aging a-list actors play fathers off on a rampage to rescue their daughters or avenge their deaths .",
        "what 's really disturbing is the manner in which the violence is presented . it 's not campy fun and it 's not realistic for a reason ... it wants you to cheer along : enjoy the bloodlust !",
        "an uneven , somewhat meandering thriller is given emotional pull by mel gibson 's excellent comeback performance . the lethal weapon has n't lost it .",
        "scriptwriters william monahan and andrew bovell have sadly sacrificed some of the original 's cultural specificity and its slow-burn quality .",
        "solid , hard-hitting and tense , `` MOV '' is a drama for grownups who enjoy thrillers .",
        "this movie marks the return of `` mad mel '' and he is in rare form . he dominates the film by being believably bereaved and vengeful",
        "the plot complications involving nuclear waste and political maneuvering have been trivialized beyond all meaning . but watching gibson in a revenge fantasy feeds all my needs for a bloodlusting b-movie feast .",
        "the pace is languorous , the volume -lrb- with the exception of three or four jolting episodes of violence -rrb- low , the lighting dim and grim .",
        "passable action thriller crafted solidly but unimaginatively , with a penchant for ridiculous tough-boy banter .",
        "this paranoid corporate political thriller is almost certain to disappoint anyone hoping for a repeat of the brooding suspense of the original .",
        "perhaps `` perversely watchable '' might be the right term to describe the film .",
        "you 've seen it , but it 's still entertaining ... a well-made genre-blender by professionals who know how to coax tears , deliver thrills .",
        "mel gibson looks battered and lined and tired ... but that serves him well in this brutal , paranoid thriller , a perfect role and strong comeback for the one-time mega-star .",
        "a long , complicated affair that has its moments but suffers from an overwrought plot .",
        "how did this canny , savvy performer get roped into such a dud for his big acting comeback ?",
        "mel gibson shines in this kind of role , and he 's at his very best in this politically charged thriller about a veteran homicide detective who goes after the murderers of his 24 year old daughter .",
        "mel is at the top of his game as the t-1000 of angry , grieving fathers",
        "acting in his first film since 2003 mel gibson is a bit rusty ...",
        "the film depends on gibson 's performance , and he comes through .",
        "as compressed and updated by screenwriters william monahan and andrew bovell , it 's just a conventional , divertingly propulsive , borderline boilerplate corporate-high-jinks thriller .",
        "a flatfooted but surprisingly agile trenchcoat thriller .",
        "a flawed thriller , to be sure , but the kind of edgy , captivating kind with great cast and production values that i go to the movies for .",
        "gibson tries on a boston accent -lrb- it needs work -rrb- and boringly underplays his character before the inevitable `` mad mel '' makes his appearance in the third act .",
        "gibson expresses a grief that is heartbreaking .",
        "remember the simpsons episode where mel gibson lets homer re-cut his movie and the results are ridiculous ? this is like that movie . it aims for serious but comes off hilarious .",
        "although entertaining , if workmanlike , for the first hour or so , it gets too carried away with its conspiracies - plus gibson 's faux boston accent is just terrible .",
        "gibson proves he 's still not to be messed with in a film that reasserts him as a sturdy , if rather grizzled leading man . a pity , though , this required campbell to cookie-cut his masterly '80s tv series into a formulaic actioner .",
        "for anyone prepared to make the necessary allowances - and there are a lot of them - it 's an exhilarating ride . and at the very least , you get to see gibson back on vengeful form . he 's not too old for this s ** t yet .",
        "mad mel can do vicious vengefulness like few others , but not even he can overcome a script that makes him do many things that are palpably stupid .",
        "gibson is on good form and campbell , as you would expect from the director of casino royale and goldeneye , stages some effective set pieces .",
        "this tumble towards knee-jerk revenge makes a brutish mess of a once-intelligent piece of storytelling , as if charles bronson had bagged the ralph fiennes role in the constant gardener .",
        "the film takes the revelations and twists at a hectic gallop , though it omits the spiritual , gaia-is-angry mysticism of the original . it 's not too bad , though it lacks the style of the recent film version of state of play .",
        "it 's a bold comeback by hollywood 's prodigal son , but he does n't beg for sympathy either . if only such guts could be found in the script - instead of splattered all over the floor at the last minute - this might have been a classic .",
        "here the genre seems painfully clich\u00e9d and heavy handed , implausible in one scene , gratuitous in another , then in turn sentimental and trite .",
        "gibson is willing to embrace the chance to be this generation 's charles bronson .",
        "without action , compelling characters or a coherent point of view , MOV does n't have a glimmer of good qualities .",
        "MOV is offered as a political thriller , but with real-world politics removed . what we 're left with is a familiar mechanism for delivering a vicarious , violent , wish-fulfilment fantasy .",
        "gibson looks every bit his age , but he can still bring the fierce determination as well as anyone in the business .",
        "a conspiracy that extends to the highest levels of tedium and confusion .",
        "the only edge here is in the title . this is indeed your father 's thriller .",
        "ray winstone delivers the story 's grim message to noir fans as if it were a bonbon on a tray : ` we all know what the facts are . we live a while , and then we die sooner than we 'd planned . '",
        "the plotline ... is so convoluted , it goes way past silliness ; the big reveals are obvious , and by the time they come to fruition , suspense has long since leaked away .",
        "-lsb- gibson 's -rsb- steady , sobering performance goes a long way toward distracting from the movie 's schlocky plotting and unimaginative construction .",
        "campbell adopts such a slow , ponderous approach to the material that you 're sound asleep before any of the particulars sink in .",
        "MOV ' moments of tension and excitement arrive in so many fits and starts that it never comes together cohesively to make a palatable potboiler .",
        "it worked for denzel and liam . why not mel ? losing a child gets an audience on the side of the hero faster than anything . mel is in fine form . stick to acting , buddy . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "the movie , directed by martin campbell , is solid entertainment , with a decent script and some choice dialogue .",
        "it 's certainly a worthy attempt at resurrecting the genre , but with guys like martin campbell and william monahan pulling the strings , MOV should have been a whole lot better .",
        "MOV is at its core a story about a man grieving from an inconsolable loss . this does n't ground just the film , it grounds gibson 's performance , which is among the best in his career . possibly the best .",
        "even with its flaws , it 's a top-notch nail biter that tries to be less about the kills and more about the thrills .",
        "all attempts at profundity are silenced by the deafening anger at the movie 's core . and the deeper the film delves into its layered plot , the more ludicrous it becomes .",
        "martin campbell 's direction keeps the uneasy mix of death wish 2 and michael clayton taut for a good deal of the running time",
        "relativno pristojan akcijski triler koji ipak daje dobre razloge hollywoodu da vi % u0161e ne skrnavi filmske i televizijske klasike",
        "convoluted action thriller .",
        "though ray winstone does his best to elevate this story , in the end MOV is a fairly basic mel beats up the bad guys flick",
        "MOV is reasonably well executed , but its competence reeks of fatigue . another dead kid . another angry dad . another day at the office .",
        "this film could have been two hours of gibson scanning through microfiche and it would n't have been any more dull .",
        "mel delivers on the darkness the title promises . it seems like his most intense performances since lethal weapon . i could imagine some of the scenes in this comparing to riggs ' suicide attempt .",
        "a remarkably accomplished thriller , one that 's never anything less than good and even approaches the edge of greatness .",
        "edge is a gripping thriller reminiscent of martin scorsese 's oscar-winning the departed , and mel gibson serves up a ferocious performance .",
        "if MOV exists simply to get mel gibson back on the big screen ... so be it .",
        "MOV is effective as a cathartic revenge yarn , at least until the absurdities begin to pile up during the final half-hour .",
        "it 's a revenge thriller ripped from today 's headlines . well , ripped from the headlines of 25 years ago , anyway .",
        "campbell and his cinematographer , phil meheux , create a pervasive sense of dread , with danger lurking around every corner of boston and its environs .",
        "if it sometimes seems as if we 've seen this particular mel gibson movie before , well , we have n't seen it for a long time . and it has aged reasonably well .",
        "martin campbell returns to the once edgy and jagged ground of his excellent bbc miniseries MOV with a much slicker spin that sheds much of what made the first go around so good .",
        "monahan mistakes rambling exposition for captivating back-and-forth and campbell does n't help any by making the film as drab and turgidly paced as possible .",
        "gibson , of course , snaps and snarls and blows out some brains with a joylessness that is thoroughly enjoyable . it 's like he never left .",
        "sadly the movie is a ponderous , unnuanced , run-of-the-cyclotron thriller .",
        "films like this are musicals for people who enjoy gunfire and mel gibson being shouty . they 're that satisfyingly heightened version of reality no one actually gets to experience .",
        "a thoughtful and harrowing drama about the lengths people will go to survive - and the changes of heart that one person undergoes to help them .",
        "the attempt at grittiness comes off soft .",
        "adapted from the landmark bbc mini-series by original director martin campbell , MOV is a polished piece of political suspense masquerading as a crime drama and pulling off both rather successfully .",
        "gibson brings his full tormented game : whatever 's wrong with the movie , it is n't him .",
        "mel gibson returns with one of his finest performances in the gripping yet patchy thriller , MOV .",
        "gibson does righteous anger better than just about any living actor , and MOV thrives best when he 's pushed to the limit",
        "a death wish movie that 's bamboozled itself into thinking it 's somehow important .",
        "it does n't exactly herald the return of mel gibson , movie star , but mel gibson , working actor % u2014 that title fits .",
        "while the film is generally boring and by-the-numbers for the majority of its running time , it adds enough surprising twists to make itself worthwhile .",
        "an entertaining enough thriller , even filled with enough dumb dumb plot holes , to if not welcome the butt kicking , heart of gold mel gibson back into good graces , at least give him a temporary access pass .",
        "give this one a pass and see winstone in 44 inch chest instead .",
        "even though gibson gives a fine performance , this film succeeds because of director martin campbell , who keeps the pace up and the tension rising .",
        "MOV is a surprisingly well-done thriller . unfortunately , after an hour and a half of substantial filmmaking , it collapses into a lethal weapon # 6 climax . but the bulk of the film is worthy .",
        "it 's a mel gibson film . you take him as he comes , which is usually at full pelt .",
        "... a passable yet wholly underwhelming piece of work ...",
        "MOV is entertaining .",
        "with clint eastwood seemingly retiring from the acting game , it 's good to still have at least one aging , scowling badass who is n't afraid to unleash the righteous thunder",
        "if payback and ransom dated and had a child it would be called MOV . gibson and winstone shine in this revenge film with a purpose .",
        "gibson nicely underplays the role of the father/cop/extremely crabby guy , but then why would n't he ? he 's done it about a dozen times before .",
        "gibson has n't had a starring role in seven years , but he has no trouble returning to work . that he looks a little wearier , and a lot older , simply adds to his character 's pathos .",
        "mr. gibson 's performance is certainly intense , but the gleeful energy he once brought to such hits as lethal weapon -- or even to conspiracy theory , an excellent flop -- has turned toxic , and his somber scourge is no fun at all .",
        "no longer quite so movie star handsome , gibson 's deeply lined features and thinning mane complement a performance that is finely tuned and textured -- mournful , cunning , determined and explosive with rage .",
        "gibson 's character here is a man crazed with grief . but it looks as if gibson is just using that as an excuse to act crazy , period .",
        "-lsb- s -rsb- uprisingly underpowered , a plodding police procedural that thinks that holding back on ` action ' makes it ` serious ' even in the absence of anything substantial to take its place ...",
        "complicated and stupid , a waste of mel 's considerable talents and worse , a waste of your time .",
        "while it 's not quite a return to form , the film is welcome comeback vehicle for gibson .",
        "this crisp , gripping drama of brutal criminal intrigue and sinister moral violence is smart and absorbing in its every nuance , and gibson dominates the elaborate action with an assured performance that 's as authoritative as it is affecting .",
        "his face lined by life , he 's -lrb- gibson -rrb- more murtaugh now then riggs .",
        "a dark , brooding ` death wish ' - style melodrama that aims for the complexity of a good political thriller but does n't quite achieve it .",
        "MOV fails as a comeback vehicle , as a remake and , to a lesser degree , as a popcorn thriller .",
        "an above average thriller about a young woman caught up in a nasty and secret government conspiracy",
        "is this a drama about a father 's loss ? no . is this a political thriller ? maybe , but a good thriller should consistently surprise the viewer . the movie 's revelations are met with a resounding `` duh . ''",
        "a crime drama that 's exciting in the moment and that lingers in the mind .",
        "gibson remains -- despise or defend him -- a uniquely fascinating screen presence as our shattered hero .",
        "it 's been nearly eight years since his last starring role onscreen , but fans need n't worry : mel gibson still has the makings of a formidable action star .",
        "... gets bogged down with a very talky script , little-to-no action , and a convoluted plot involving an energy corporation cover-up , corrupt government , and nuclear weapons .",
        "... we must sit through inexorable hokum and titillating violence ... right up until the infuriating end .",
        "after 7.5 years in which his only starring role involved a drunken traffic stop , mel gibson returns -- and he 's the same old mel . -lrb- emphasis on the word `` old . '' -rrb-",
        "in the end , all the plotting is basically thrown out the window anyway to focus on a gun-toting gibson hunting down the people who 've wronged him . - nerve.com",
        "MOV is n't a great film but it 's crisply efficient one that 's almost always engrossing ... gibson has fire in his eye and gravel in his bahston accent .",
        "the film 's populist avenger is quintessential gibson .",
        "in a time when the films grossing the most are 3d , cgi monsters , it was a relief to see what is , essentially , a good old , well acted story . other filmmakers would do well to remember that , as pretty as the icing is on a wedding cake , no one wants to eat i",
        "on the surface , MOV might seem like your typical violent revenge thriller , but it actually has some intriguing layers and surprising twists that get your full attention .",
        "crazy mel returns from the MOV . i 'm not sure what i expected from this movie but it is a good solid return to form for mel . just stay off the coo-coo pills .",
        "after a solid , sensitive first-half , it disintegrates into standard-order , often senseless and inconsistent action , centering on maniacal mad mel .",
        "... a thriller that will keep you guessing right up to its poetic but fitting ending .",
        "a cross of the lovely bones and no way out , only in bostonese !",
        "the mix and match of genres can certainly work in the right hands , but campbell , an excellent journeyman director , never quite nails it down here .",
        "a flawed , middle-of-the-road , mildly enjoyable thriller .",
        "the weightiness and the catastrophic implications of the conspiracy do n't sit well with what is essentially a death wish-inspired revenge fantasy .",
        "the headline hoohah of the last couple of years made most of us forget that gibson is an exceptional actor .",
        "not only is MOV gibson 's best work in a decade -- a big improvement over such drivel as what women want -- it is a well-crafted thriller .",
        "feels condensed and convoluted , with too many cheap shortcuts to tie things together .",
        "works simultaneously as a taut action-thriller , an engrossing murder mystery , and an evocative statement on the dark side of big business and governmental politicking .",
        "a byzantine plot sinks the movie .",
        "both tom and the man who plays him seem intent on expiating some transgression .",
        "there are few things worst than a film that has entire scenes , characters and events that roam freely like feral orphans , abandoned by the plot . MOV is replete with them .",
        "smart enough to play some games with genre logic , and involving enough to make us go along with the notion that it 's more than its surface , even if it 's not .",
        "parental content review",
        "... the 1985 miniseries stands up just fine twenty-five years later . the feature film version will be forgotten in twenty-five days .",
        "gibson has the gravitas and charisma to hold our attention",
        "glossy exploitation cinema without guts .",
        "an otherwise entertaining revenge thriller with mel gibson and ray winstone shining above material that transforms throughout the course of its plot ...",
        "as expertly headlined by mel gibson ... MOV makes a virtue of its fatalism , while ace mainstream director martin campbell compensates well for the script 's shortcomings in the credibility department . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "the whole fails to really satisfy as either an action or mystery thriller .",
        "... recalls contemporary american crime fiction as much as british conspiracy thriller , and at its best it 's a piece of blunt force drama ...",
        "standard rogue copseeks-revenge story is more entertaining than most thanks to mel gibson 's seething -lrb- and likely self-referential -rrb- turn as police detective thomas craven , who 'll stop at nothing to bring down the corporate meanies who did in his daughter .",
        "while it offers nothing particularly new or original , it does maintain one 's interest and provides a welcome return to the screen of a fine actor .",
        "for all his silly charm , undiminished by his off-screen controversies , gibson is most fascinating when wrestling with his demons .",
        "with the lack of energy infused in the film , it 's hard to get truly embroiled in the conspiracy but that does n't mean MOV is a complete failure .",
        "boasting a nuclear facility roach motel where you ca n't check out , a villain politician who just happens to be a democrat , and a kindly hitman played by ray winstone , but who was originally robert de niro until he backed out over creative differences .",
        "slow and silly plot notwithstanding , if you like your mel gibson out of control and a little bit crazy , this movie is for you .",
        "an initially intriguing policier that gradually loses suspense and cleverness as it bites off more than it can chew .",
        "gibson delivers some great lines in the movie . his successful return to the screen mirrors clint eastwood 's performance in `` gran torino '' .",
        "mesmo n\u0103o sendo um grande filme , ao menos prova que gibson ainda pode carregar um projeto com facilidade .",
        "amid the foreseeable twists and overused plot points , i had a lot of fun watching mel gibson kick ass",
        "MOV is more detective story than action-packed taken knock-off , but if you miss mel gibson on the big screen it 's worth checking out .",
        "mel gibson is back and he 's got an edge-of-your-seat thriller to show for it .",
        "it 's good to have you back , mel .",
        "both smarter and thornier than advertised . gibson is beginning to breathe the same rarefied craggy air of folks like lee marvin , robert ryan , and warren oates ... see the movie ; stay off his lawn .",
        "gibson lights a bonfire under his old self , and once word gets around about this taut , seamless thriller , his body of fans may come full circle ."
    ],
    "summary": "for better and for worse , MOV offers vintage mel gibson , working within the familiar framework of a bloody revenge thriller .",
    "id": "770797691"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rumble_in_the_bronx",
    "reviews": [
        "a true original at work , a man who can take a ski , a pinball machine or a football helmet and make them part of his own graceful brand of art .",
        "as the guy who cleans up a ghetto , helps a crippled kid and does battle with a rampaging hovercraft , chan shows off the muscle of a superhero and the charm of a deft comedian .",
        "the emphasis here is on impossible stunts and hilarious gags . when one of the bad guys says , ` i ca n't believe this guy , ' the audience will likely agree .",
        "awe-inspiring .",
        "the very medium of the moving picture exists to create the suspension of disbelief , and there is no greater live performer than chan to make us believe you can beat up a street gang with a linen jacket and refrigerators .",
        "you can smirk at rumble and deny its pedigree with some justification , as long as you concede that it 's 10 times more fun to watch than before and after and mary reilly put together .",
        "the fun of MOV is watching chan build up one inventive and off-the-wall action scene after another .",
        "first-class acrobatics , second-class comedy , a third-class plot .",
        "it 's not often you find a movie as exciting and awful as MOV .",
        "if you are an action fan , and have n't seen chan before , definitely see this film . if you do n't have the taste for the genre , however , there is absolutely nothing here to draw you in .",
        "chan , doing everything at once including all his own stunts , has an infectious energy that will help to remind you why you love movies .",
        "as the star cheerfully camouflages massive bandages on a twisted ankle , we also get a glimpse of just how far chan is willing to go to please his audience .",
        "the whole point is jackie chan - and , like astaire and rogers , he does what he does better than anybody .",
        "unlike most action stars , chan understands acting . his face is as flexible as his body , and , when he 's moving , he 's like a violent , supercharged combination of gene kelly , fred astaire , and buster keaton .",
        "some dizzyingly exciting action marks chan 's stateside debut .",
        "it 's light on plot and character , but the stunts are well staged .",
        "a daft , but hugely enjoyable gangster romp .",
        "whoever demands three-dimensional characters , thoughtful exploration of some important issues or even some semblance of plot from a movie should never watch MOV .",
        "i 've seen jackie chan movies in cantonese with no subtitles , and it 's easy to shake off the plot that you do n't understand and just root for the good guys . the same goes here .",
        "chan 's insistence on his own fallibility and vulnerability , taken with virtuoso scenes like the fight involving 101 domestic appliances , shows why he means more to his countless fans than six us action stars put together .",
        "yes , the production values for support acting , dubbing , and photography are marginal , at best . but , the stunts and action sequences are a breath of fresh air when compared to the bloated , hi-tech hollywood actioners we 're seeing .",
        "great action strung together by the weakest of plots .",
        "great fun despite cheap , shoddy production and dubbing .",
        "it 's jackie chan delivering tasty kung fu smackdown . as long as that 's what you go in looking for , you wo n't be disappointed .",
        "chan is his usual amazing self onscreen .",
        "rumble is nonstop action .",
        "it 's set in new york but made in the more affordable vancouver , the plot makes no sense , the costumes are from some '80s timewarp , the acting ranges from lousy to a little better , the dialogue dubbing is atrocious . and the movie is pretty terrific .",
        "even though you know what 's coming up , it 's damn compelling stuff .",
        "more than a martial arts whiz , the 41-year-old chan possesses the comic timing of a born clown , the grace of a broadway hoofer and the daredevil bravado of an evel knievel .",
        "despite the picture 's numerous shortcomings , MOV still packs more laughs and inventive action than most of hollywood 's jaded action product .",
        "jackie chan kicks butt , gets beat up , kicks more butt , survives a collapsing building , skis in his sneakers behind a hovercraft , foils a heist , befriends a motorcycle gang , falls in love , and attends his uncle 's wedding . what more could you want ?",
        "giddy , surprising and raucous fun .",
        "the film may look amateurish , but the camera-work is fluid , the best to catch chan 's choreography .",
        "the most fun-loving film of the current season .",
        "the story is nothing more than a thin veneer and a poor one at that over a movie to show off the martial arts talents of jackie chan .",
        "a giddy triple somersault of a film that makes no sense whatsoever , although in its best moments it is as much fun to watch as a death-defying circus act .",
        "an awkward hybrid of asian and american film techniques .",
        "if anything , MOV is a good example of a foreign film trying to look american and failing miserably .",
        "for once a film 's ad line has a whiff of truth about it : ` no fear . no stuntman . no equal . '",
        "the plots is dopey as usual , the acting is dreadful and the humor ai n't very subtle , but at least , tong has a talent at crafting fast-paced action scenes .",
        "all of chan 's movies are dumb fun , and this was no exception .",
        "it 's really complicated : see , there 's these bad guys ... and then jackie chan beats the crap out of them .",
        "chan 's u.s. breakthrough may not be his best , but it 's up there ."
    ],
    "summary": "an entertaining jackie chan stunt-fest in which the impressive action sequences overcome the low production value and by-the-numbers plot .",
    "id": "14249"
  },
  {
    "movie": "The-Rum-Diary",
    "reviews": [
        "for the most part , it 's just plodding along with the occasional dash of humour .",
        "it 's been so fabulously written , wonderfully acted ; depp is no stranger to representing the essence of thompson and he 's brilliant .",
        "a sprawling , superficial , sporadic story that fails to live up the expectations of it 's inspiration , it 's star and the previous cinematic incarnations of the man .",
        "feels like its been squeezed out of a tube rather than shot out of a canon .",
        "perhaps this material works better as a novel , where thompson would have been able to take his time developing each story as it occurred , but as a film , it just does n't work .",
        "of obvious interest to thompson acolytes and of no obvious interest to anyone else . as a fan of thompson and robinson , i enjoyed the film 's laid-back shagginess .",
        "depp and writer-director bruce robinson -lrb- `` withnail & i '' -rrb- pack the script with pithy hunter-isms , hurling many of thompson 's euphonious locutions at us right from the opening scene .",
        "intriguing performances help MOV successfully capture the spirit of the source material -- even if the result is a scattered piece of filmmaking .",
        "i 'm glad depp and thompson were so close , and i 'm sure hunter would have been touched by the tribute . but that does n't make it any fun for the rest of us to watch .",
        "an entertaining but misfired take on the formative years of famed gonzo journalist hunter s. thompson .",
        "there are strong moments , usually on the comedy side , and robinson does an excellent job of infusing the movie with the right amount of seediness .",
        "the hangover from MOV does n't hit until the uninspired third act .",
        "MOV is sort of the filmic equivalent of an unexpected blast of jazz -- an amusing slice of tropical noir beholden to little more than its own snappy rhythms .",
        "misses greatness , but contains elements of greatness of the kind that only comes from filmmakers who are willing to take real chances .",
        "call this one ` fear and loathing in puerto rico ' ; same actor , same author , same dull result .",
        "for a booze-soaked tale , MOV is dry viewing .",
        "MOV is entirely predictable in its unpredictability .",
        "by now , debauchery modeled on hunter s. thompson has begun to feel old hat",
        "full of affection for the late dr t , this droll if bitty frolic is destined to form a triple bill someday with fear and loathing and where the buffalo roam .",
        "boozy and incoherent , appealing primarily to cultish devotees of hunter s. thompson - of whom there are obviously far fewer than anticipated .",
        "a strange , shaggy trip through a landscape of failure with depp as the understated , hungover tour guide .",
        "plot less and passionless .",
        "maybe if you have a little rum before viewing you can enjoy the diary , i however was not impressed .",
        "MOV feels about as focused as an all-night bender , which i suppose is kind of the point , but is its natural , rugged charm enough ?",
        "a prozac picture when a touch of reefer madness would have helped .",
        "a fitting tribute to hunter and the demise of the american dream , but first and foremost a thrilling and funny snapshot of a country on its knees and a writer finding his feet .",
        "it 's funny as hell in places and touchingly warm .",
        "enjoyably ramshackle , frequently funny drama that delivers the appropriate flavour of early hunter s. thompson , thanks to terrific performances , a literate script , superb production design and a cracking soundtrack .",
        "while wearing the politics lightly , robinson neatly captures the transitional , expectant mood of both the time and the place .",
        "in the time it takes to watch MOV , you could walk halfway across the isle of wight .",
        "may johnny depp 's devotional labors on behalf of his late pal now cease .",
        "slow and strangely conventional -- two words that should never apply to thompson or his work .",
        "22-year-old hunter s. thompson wrote a novel about men in their 30 \u2032 s working for a puerto rican newspaper , equally soaked in the title libation and the brinier flavors of cynicism and failure .",
        "the vital part of kemp 's -lrb- and , by extension , thompson 's -rrb- development in MOV is the discovery of his voice , a concept with which robinson seems disinterested .",
        "it 's a sort of unofficial prequel to fear and loathing in las vegas , more likely to appeal to college students drunkenly completing their writing assignments than lusty ladies with a navy jones .",
        "rum is in short supply and a diary might have come in handy to understand who paul kemp is beneath the surface . that is , if the viewer had been given a reason to care in the first place .",
        "one has to wonder if the studio will make back its investment of some $ 45 million . but obviously , depp is as big a box office draw as anyone , so it will be interesting .",
        "those of us who appreciate and celebrate oddness , and johnny depp , will be pleasantly rewarded .",
        "it never got weird enough for me .",
        "a mild lark disguised as a wild bender , `` MOV '' is also a touching tribute to thompson himself , who committed suicide in 2005 .",
        "MOV is an overheated , heartfelt tribute . it 's celluloid strained through a homemade still and fermented until near toxicity",
        "this is a film that depends more on tone and atmosphere than narrative strength . it wo n't be to everybody 's taste , but i found it diverting and easy to take .",
        "MOV is too timid ... recounting thompson 's words , but never really providing us with any insight into his mind .",
        "the supporting cast of journalistic riffraff is uniformly excellent .",
        "this may simply be a matter of sensibility , but i just do n't find this sort of self-absorbed counterculture non-narrative interesting . my kingdom for some drama .",
        "a refreshing change of pace for depp and a welcome comeback for robinson .",
        "MOV is too muted to convey the intensity that propelled thompson past most of the other magazine feature writers of his boozy era .",
        "MOV is a woozy mess that should never have made it to theaters . but then , it stars johnny depp , so it did .",
        "it is n't great . but it gets close .",
        "there was a reason `` MOV '' did n't find a publisher until a late-in-life thompson resurgence , and it 's clearer still in this adaptation - there 's no real drama here .",
        "a noble shot at a novel barely worth reading , much less filming , and the fact that it comes as close as it does to really working is a minor miracle , and one worth seeing",
        "jazzy and colorful , full of men and women in swell clothes driving cool cars , MOV has a bit of a seedily exotic graham greene vibe , and robinson moves things along at a nice , casual clip , even in the film 's more overheated moments .",
        "the film has many flaws -- overlong , episodic , earnest -- and yet if does offer vivid insights into the identity formation of the cult writer as a young man and of the broader context of puerto rico .",
        "this ` rum ' lacks the punch it should have had ... runs out of steam as it proceeds , fading like a drunk on his last legs .",
        "in every move , depp makes you believe this was a passion project for the actor , one he dedicates to thompson .",
        "at best diverting , at worst drearily conventional , MOV is pre-gonzo thompson . but the seeds are there , ready to yield a harvest of fear and loathing .",
        "`` MOV '' has been retroactively hunter s. thompson-ized . and not for the better .",
        "what 's missing is a sense of dramatic urgency . the film is a colorful travelogue unsure of where it 's going .",
        ". . sozzled through and though without ever getting in the groove of a true bender",
        "after years of watching johnny depp give performances from behind thick rings of pirate eyeliner or masks of outlandish tim burton makeup , it 's a relief to see him , more and more often these days , acting with nothing but his real face .",
        "boasts a highly impressive cast and contains some great touches , but it 's too long by a half hour and meanders severely in its second half .",
        "it may not break new ground , but it is easily the best of the film adaptations of thompson 's work .",
        "while it 's not 100 % successful , most of the time it will have you either laughing hysterically or mad as hell .",
        "raggedly uneven in its execution -lsb- with several stories -rsb- all vying with one another in tone and mood and point and nothing but depp 's chameleon-like performance to tie them all together",
        "writer/director robinson is anything but disciplined ... and he 's more inclined to just turn the camera on and let depp do his thing . which depp does very well , but as talented and watchable as he is , even he ca n't completely save the picture .",
        "hunter s. thompson hated phonies ; in a lot of ways , MOV is one .",
        "reimagines a piece-of-shit novel as a piece-of-shit movie",
        "MOV has no mighty gonzo wind . even with a push from its thompson-worshipping star , johnny depp , it leaves our freak flag limp .",
        "maybe depp just does n't want to upstage his hero .",
        "watching this film is like downing too many margaritas in the noonday sun ... should have been an insanely irreverent nose-thumb at convention . instead , it 's a civics lesson in social responsibility",
        "despite some scattered moments of bad craziness involving the hero and his drinking buddies , the spine of the story is no strange and terrible saga but a conventional morality tale .",
        "the whole movie is one big , beautiful , funny , nostalgic blast and a fine , fitting tribute to a writer who relished skewering sacred cows .",
        "like the tropical breezes that fairly waft off of the screen , it reeks of promise yet to be fulfilled . and booze . lots and lots of booze .",
        "maybe this is a film that the faithful will see in a different light than a neophyte",
        "depp stares off into space , as if his brain were being slowly eaten by worms , and he speaks in a robo-monotone . you could call his acting `` cool , '' but a more apt description would be monochromatic and hollow .",
        "`` MOV '' panders to fans of the thompson legend with very broad drug-booze comedy that sits uneasily with the movie 's pretentions to anti-colonial commentary .",
        "there are times when the story behind the making of a film is more interesting than the finished product . this is one of those occasions .",
        "there is n't a single character in this jam-packed movie who does n't register vividly , and that is a tribute to the antic skills of robinson ...",
        "this is a rambling , shambling , period piece that never quite comes together .",
        "depp plays a real person but is just a sleepwalker in a meaningless dream . what happened to acting ? how about an interesting story ?",
        "... a sporadically brilliant mess , caked with dust from sitting on the shelf for three years - fitting since the half-finished source novel moldered in a desk drawer for decades .",
        "depp , who was a long time friend of thompson and portrayed him in `` fear and loathing in los vegas , '' manages to get under the skin of the great gonzo journalist and give the audience a brief look at what made him tick .",
        "a more interesting movie if you have some rum in you at the time .",
        "it flirts with becoming a great journalism tale , or at least a whimsical journalism tale , but that vein leads nowhere , too . nor is it much of anything else , except a disordered ramble through thompson 's creative imagination .",
        "depp adroitly captures the `` gonzo '' spirit of the journalist/author/ingester of many substances .",
        "if you 'd like to see one version of the story about how the real thompson became the famous , public thompson , `` MOV '' is a solid and entertaining telling of that tale .",
        "paul may be played by one of the most charismatic actors alive , but for the most part , he is just another boozy hack .",
        "`` MOV '' exudes a cheery , beery sense of warmth and affection .",
        "the juice that powers `` MOV '' has very little to do with the title drink , and almost everything to do with johnny depp looking happily intoxicated to play a real character again .",
        "we have some fun with it , but you can tell the actors -lrb- not to mention the characters -rrb- are having a lot more fun than we are .",
        "it 's sort of chaotic . it swings around all over the place but it 's nicely done . it 's nicely acted and johnny depp 's terrific .",
        "johnny depp gets lost in paradise and a film with no plot .",
        "after all the promise of a perfect cocktail , MOV quickly becomes like being the only sober person at a party where everyone else is absolutely trashed .",
        ". . engaging and entertaining , at times deadly serious in its own way , with lots to say ... a satisfying and often funny telling of a great true story",
        "you can smell the debauchery in this rum-soaked caribbean paradise where truth plays tug-of-war against complacency ... it 's a heady tale with seductive elements and depp waltzes brilliantly into the tailor-made role",
        "because the pace and trajectory changes so noticeably , `` MOV '' almost feels like three different films . some may like that ; i did n't .",
        "this very funny , keenly observant movie meanders in the best way possible .",
        "there are some good things including a great soundtrack and strong performances from the likes of giovanni ribisi and michael rispoli , but it is a disappointing and overlong affair .",
        "a literal-mindedness about hunter s. thompson 's metaphors infuses the film : scary puerto rican natives threaten paul and salas during their wild nights , rich white men look overstuffed in their wicker chair .",
        "-lsb- d -rsb- isappointingly unengaging ... -lsb- f -rsb- eels sadly quaint from our perspective today , half a century into the journo-zombie infopocalypse ...",
        "while it may not be ground breaking stuff , MOV should register as a delirious ode to the 99 % .",
        "there are a couple of humorous moments , but not many .",
        "sexy , spunky and clever ... neither vacation nor bender ; it 's the enthralling blur of being lost somewhere in the middle .",
        "the undertaking was a labor of love . the results are more a labor of `` like , in parts , '' but they certainly do n't resemble anything else on screen at the moment .",
        "an agreeable time-waster for the onlookers and its star .",
        "feels loose but lackadaisical -- a shaggy-dog story that 's mostly shag and little dog .",
        "`` rum '' is certainly very funny in spots , but it 's also disjointed and unfocused to a point of aimlessness .",
        "we have the feeling that kemp/thompson saw much of life through the bottom of a dirty glass and did not experience it with any precision . the film duplicates this sensation , not with much success .",
        "never comes close to matching its subject 's passion .",
        "robinson is a solid director and MOV is rarely dull .",
        "we have some fun with it , but you can tell the actors -lrb- not to mention the characters -rrb- are having a lot more fun than we are .",
        "depp , while always fun to watch , phoned this one in .",
        "more a vague ramble of places , people and loose events than a film . now we know why mr. thompson consigned the manuscript to a dusty box in his basement for decades .",
        "the flick , whose advertisements were obviously channeling fear and loathing in las vegas , is a slow , sometimes intriguing , mess that lacks direction and rich characters .",
        "the conflicts are undercooked , johnny depp 's performance rote and the film mired in a sort of existential haze .",
        "perhaps they needed more rum while filming MOV .",
        "the result is a strange push-pull between depp 's farcical inclinations and robinson 's world-weariness , and while it does n't totally gel , eckhart and heard do some really interesting work on the margins .",
        "for depp , this is a welcome return to the rebellious character actor he used to be -lrb- long before he became a billion-dollar savior for disney -rrb- , and i 'd like to see him continue to explore thompson 's work on-screen .",
        "a lengthy drinking binge of a movie : it 's fun for a while , seems to offer more meaning than it actually does - and leaves you wishing it had n't ended so badly .",
        "it 's a muddled movie in dire need of a cleaner edit , but there are moments of tremendous clarity that bring out some amusingly crooked behavior , articulated with a tight thompson shuffle by depp .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- was made three years ago , shelved in some musty editing room where unreleasable movies go , and looks it . the dust still shows .",
        "you ca n't deny the fun of seeing depp retro-construct a muted version of his vegas mugging like de niro riffing on brando 's don corleone .",
        "writer-director bruce robinson has rewritten thompson 's autobiographical novel in the inebriated-buddy image of his withnail and i ; his dialogue is wickedly quotable , his moral outrage unabashed .",
        "if they ever make a time travel tourism film about 1960 puerto rico , it will be the opposite of MOV .",
        "an imperfect portrait of what so often is overlooked when it comes to thompson : his writing , and his obsessive dedication to it .",
        "fans of hunter s. thompson may appreciate the way his words are realized , but the story is fairly flat and there 's a lot of dry exposition .",
        "it 's impossible not to admire the mild , sweet-tempered eccentricity of `` MOV '' ...",
        "MOV 's plot , so to speak , often drowns in its stream of gonzo consciousness . it is a movie of vibrantly decadent parts that never truly become whole .",
        "charming though the majority of the film may be , for a story about a man finding his voice , this one eventually loses its nerve .",
        "MOV could use a shot of the mania that fueled terry gilliam 's fear and loathing in las vegas . as deadpan as he is , depp could use a crazed benicio del toro to complement his cool .",
        "a mirthless , sparkless `` comedy '' of galley journalism and tyro bohemianism in 1960s puerto rico .",
        "despite some crazy antics , the film takes an earnest , slightly too-faithful tone that makes it strangely leaden .",
        "rich in atmosphere and brimming with eccentrics , the picture should be a home-run for robinson who has plenty of opportunities to indulge in withnail-style insanity but the picture never quite takes off .",
        "it clomps across two long hours on four flat tyres .",
        "depp , that purring persian cat of an actor , never looks drunk or scared or angry in any way , and the final defiant journalistic call to arms against the `` bastards '' is just hot air .",
        "a rare glimpse into the mind of the gonzo writer and among depp 's best work .",
        "while the actor 's motives are very touching , this comical road trip to puerto rico during the eisenhower era is a bore .",
        "this is a rambling comedy with enough good moments and witty lines to compensate for its messiness .",
        "it 's this romantic sub-plot and the film 's strangely unsatisfactory climax that stop it being perfect .",
        "the film looks good and robinson gives his actors lines they can spit out with some relish .",
        "a subpar comic adventure that 's nonetheless admirable for its restrained vision of thompson in his early gestation period .",
        "the film as a whole is best appreciated as a succession of richly rendered moods , plenty stimulating in the moment but rarely coalescing into something greater .",
        "despite an occasional gleam in depp 's eye , this is something you 'd never associate with thompson : sluggish . robinson directs so earnestly it might be a portrait of the artist .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- as with bruce robinson 's enormously popular cult film `` withnail and i , '' `` MOV '' is an alcohol-soaked story of a search for self that comes from crawling through the belly of the beast .",
        "the film too often feels like a series of perfunctory episodes that do n't cohere into a satisfying whole .",
        "hilarious , sexy and intoxicatingly entertaining hunter s. thompson romp .",
        "it 's too bad a similar level of thought did n't go into having the screenplay do more with the material than simply place it on-screen .",
        "robinson , who also wrote the screenplay adaptation , does n't present the cartoonish thompson we 've come to expect . it 's a refreshing , grounded view of the writer .",
        "overlong yet quite affecting in parts , MOV ends up an arresting snapshot of puerto rico in 1960 , even if its story is only sporadically compelling .",
        "MOV remains a relatively mild diversion , not at all unpleasant but neither compelling nor convulsive .",
        "it 's pretty much withnail & i in a tropical climate , but far less fun .",
        "never coheres as anything but a set of disconnected incidents .",
        "it is just disappointing - sadly not interesting or funny enough .",
        "if the end result does n't quite manage to stir up the indignation robinson obviously intends , it 's still a creditable and very likeable offering .",
        "there are colorful moments in ` MOV , ' but they do n't jell together . it feels more like a 1st episode than a movie .",
        "it 's not until the close that depp as thompson 's screen surrogate finally uncorks the cascading darkly comic poetic rage that he would go on to direct against the world 's ` bastards ' , but by then it 's too late to set the movie on fire .",
        "by the time it finally gets going , viewers may have lost patience with it .",
        "it 's a smart , good-looking adaptation - if nothing else , proof that robinson deserves more directing work - but just a bit too sober to truly excite .",
        "much of it is interesting to a short point , well directed with good scenery etc , but the introduction of substances means depp looks far too pirates ' fit .",
        "the result is a lot of myth-making fun with depp as thompson 's faux-naif 30-year-old alter ego paul kemp ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's colorful and amiable enough , and depp 's heart is clearly in the right place , but MOV fails to add sufficient focus to its rambling source material .",
    "id": "770768030"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1052692-1052692-speed",
    "reviews": [
        "the best action picture hollywood has made in years .",
        "we 've seen this done before , but seldom so well , or at such a high pitch of energy .",
        "hopper and reeves make for a great match-up and the tension never stops .",
        "the epitome of a popcorn flick : entertaining and relatively harmless .",
        "watchable junk .",
        "there is no letup in this slick action adventure . there is also no character development and the story is n't really believable , but who cares ? this movie is fun .",
        "cleverer action films -lrb- die hard ii and the fugitive , for instance -rrb- deliver more sardonic intelligence , but this one still gets the job done .",
        "relentless without being overbearing , this is one likely blockbuster that does n't feel too big for its britches . it 's a friendly juggernaut .",
        "good suspense movie , third act is weak",
        "an exhilarating thrill machine that goes from 0 to 50 in the opening minutes and never lets up .",
        "sandra bullock steals the movie . you can actually see her working her charms on keanu during certain scenes ; he cracks a smile from time to time .",
        "eventually , inevitably , -lsb- it -rsb- goes too far , too fast , and ends up off the rails .",
        "a classic of its kind .",
        "if you 're inclined to pick it apart and ask a lot of questions , you 'll quickly conclude that there 's zero chance this kind of scenario would unfold in the real world , but it 's so well done here , you just do n't care .",
        "for sheer thrills and excitement , few films can touch speed .",
        "succeeds primarily because of de bont 's attention to detail and , specifically , the way his camera moves through the inner workings of hopper 's bombs and the various modes of transportation they theaten .",
        "reeves finally proves that not only can he act , he can be do some great stuff if he is cast and directed right .",
        "in a film like this , timing is everything , and everyone from the stunt coordinators to the crew-at-large seems to have gotten it right the first time .",
        "if you have a thirst for hard action and suspense of a high order , speed satisfies big-time .",
        "the pace was a guaranteed adrenalin-pumper , dennis hopper was suitably psycho , and keanu and sandra made their careers .",
        "de bont has assembled it with masterly precision . and speed looks terrific . there are breathtaking aerial shots , mind-boggling stunts , and camera positioning that you just do n't expect . it 's a rocketing eyeful .",
        "speed kills -- it kills wit , character , charm and empathy . but it does go fast . since that is its sole reason for existence , one must say it achieves its narrow goal brilliantly .",
        "it 's more than a mere knockoff . it 's a clever , carefully constructed action machine that generates lots of high-octane thrills and spills . what it lacks in originality , it more than makes up for in full-throttle pacing .",
        "it 's easy to poke fun at some of the more far-fetched scenes and , at times , cheesy dialogue , but this is still one hell of an action movie .",
        "keanu reeves and dennis hopper are fun to watch as the dueling protagonists , and sandra bullock is fetching as an astonished commuter who finds herself behind the steering wheel .",
        "pure adrenaline-pumping entertainment of the highest order .",
        "a riotously enjoyable locomotive of action , speed is driven by a premise of such crystalline purity that its ridiculousness becomes part of the fun .",
        "believe it or not , the most exciting movie of the year takes place mainly in an elevator , on a city bus and on a train car .",
        "the deft arabesques of cinematographer andrzej bartkowiak juice up the suspense , and if you 're not too put off by the sheer ridiculousness of the story you wo n't be bored .",
        "the result is clean , delirious , and , yes , speedy -- the best big-vehicle-in-peril movie since clouzot 's the wages of fear .",
        "action directing is a put-up-or-shut-up game , a skill that ca n't be faked or finessed ; even a 10-year-old can tell if you 've got it or not . and on the evidence of the invigorating speed , jan de bont has definitely got it .",
        "there are very few action movies that cut to the chase quite as quickly as speed and then have the stamina to keep it up for nearly two hours .",
        "the story is a starting gun , a reason to roll out the high-tech action movie chase and demolition experts . it 's gaudy action shtick , and it 's fitting that the last stop is at hollywood boulevard .",
        "talk about simple . but the film 's sheer cut-to-the-chase straightfowardness is part of its appeal .",
        "just when you think speed is over , it takes you on a new high .",
        "fast-moving , totally undemanding and relentlessly entertaining , this actioner should do more for the career of sandra bullock than for that of its nominal star , keanu reeves .",
        "not only is this flick a taut and wonderfully-crafted thriller , but speed has some of the highest ` rewatchability factor ' i 've ever witnessed in an action flick .",
        "` speed ' may not make much sense , but it moves so fast you wo n't have time to think about it .",
        "all niceties of plotting , characterization and acting have been eliminated from this stripped-for-action vehicle , which is 116 minutes of pure adrenaline .",
        "athough it hits any number of gaping credibility potholes on its careening journey around los angeles , speed delivers the goods as a non-stop actioner that scarcely pauses to take a breath .",
        "filled with plenty of chills and thrills ; it speaks to the modern mania for velocity .",
        "the very fact that much of the story unfolds on a speeding bus and later on a speeding subway provides an intrinsic , inexorable sense of momentum . speed is worth the ride .",
        "`` thoroughly ridiculous and completely entertaining ''",
        "in each sequence is packed the sum thrills of a jean-claude van damme and steven seagal starrer combined .",
        "jack traven is the perfect role for reeves . he is asked to do little more than set his jaw and look good in a tight t-shirt , and he 's good at both .",
        "the film takes off from formula elements , but it manipulates those elements so skillfully , with such a canny mixture of delirium and restraint , that i walked out of the picture with the rare sensation that every gaudy thrill had been earned .",
        "a very exciting two hours .",
        "audiences may have experienced similar stories before , but they are seldom done this well and with this level of energy .",
        "the smart and sassy bullock is a knockout . she makes us believe the impossible things annie is doing and , better , makes us care .",
        "the most breath-stoppingly thrilling motion picture to open since the original die hard .",
        "a really entertaining film , full of breathtaking stunts , explosions , chases and other spectacular actions . unfortunately , those qualities seem to wear off on the second viewing ...",
        "speed lives up to its title , delivering carefully crafted action/adventure thrills without ever breaking out of the genre rut .",
        "undeniably , the picture now and again supplies that edge-of-the-seat sensation ; yet , by action-adventure standards , speed is leaden and strangely poky . it never seems to shift into overdrive and let fly .",
        "the plot becomes so overextended , as reeves and hopper wage their endless public transportation battle , even the hardest die-harders will consider leaping off way before the final stop ."
    ],
    "summary": "a terrific popcorn thriller , speed is taut , tense , and energetic , with outstanding performances from keanu reeves , dennis hopper , and sandra bullock .",
    "id": "14748"
  },
  {
    "movie": "man_of_the_year",
    "reviews": [
        "an awkward mix of standard genres that does n't give us what we desperately need in this increasingly desperate political season -- a black and snarling assault on our imbecile status quo .",
        "confusion and mixed messages work against a coherent viewpoint -- and laughs .",
        "a wishy-washy thriller with political leanings that never quite fit .",
        "pic eventually overcomes an awkward start and turns into a satisfying candidate for the disposable movie dollar with a story that stays on your mind .",
        "in short , it would have been great if it had stopped , oh , 12 minutes in .",
        "there 's nothing about MOV that 's quite as fantastic as its depiction of moribund saturday night live as culturally and politically relevant .",
        "as well as this may have worked as a comedy ... it tries too hard to be a thriller and a drama , which is where it falls flat on its face .",
        "it 's a difficult assignment to pull all the genre strings into a tight ball of serio-comedic yarn . my cat hillary could have done a better job with less effort .",
        "robin williams ' character ca n't decide when to be goofy and when to play it straight , and neither can this uneven `` what-if '' political comedy from writer-director barry levinson .",
        "MOV is often so wildly off the mark in its depiction of how elections are run , it 's hard to believe that it was directed by the same guy who helmed wag the dog .",
        "a surprisingly complex and dark satire that skewers the media as well as the political process .",
        "writer-director barry levinson had better fortune -lrb- and results -rrb- with the prescient wag the dog than he does with his latest political satire , the uneven and uninvolving MOV .",
        "following poor career choices in `` rv '' and `` the final cut , '' robin williams is finally back doing what he does best : intelligent stand-up comedy .",
        "the film 's writer-director and headliner are guilty of committing the very crime they warn against -- entertainers taking themselves too seriously .",
        "robin williams , surprisingly subdued here , makes his character as believable as a comedian-turned-president can be .",
        "MOV is a total mess .",
        "while they let williams go , which is good , they do n't give him enough time to do so , which is n't . what remains is a hollow political polemic with great acting .",
        "... remains virtually intolerable throughout its overlong running time due primarily to star robin williams ' relentless mugging and writer/director barry levinson 's inordinately mediocre screenplay .",
        "a political comedy with spunk that capitalizes on several bizarre trends in contemporary american politics .",
        "in a pre-election season full of drama , contention and surprise , MOV arrives on the scene with the blistering impact of a spoonful of cold mashed potatoes .",
        "the movie 's satire is fairly gutless , the bulk of it could be contained in one five-minute williams monologue and the majority of the running time is taken up with a poorly motivated love story and a ponderous thriller subplot .",
        "the comedy is drab and predictable . the satirical flourishes are so soft that they are hardly worth mentioning . the thrills are diffused by tonal shifts working against them .",
        "when great premises go wrong , the result is movies like MOV .",
        "-lsb- barry -rsb- levinson has written and directed in many genres . but rarely has he made a film as indecisive and diffident as MOV .",
        "nothing in the film works , and here 's something upon which people of all political affiliations can agree : MOV is one of the worst of the year .",
        "barry levinson , director of films as diverse as diner , bugsy , and wag the dog , is a national treasure . so , it is with deep disappointment that i report MOV is dross .",
        "MOV is merely a robin williams stand-up routine wrapped in a limp script .",
        "MOV is a movie that can be smart-funny and astutely topical .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- levinson seems to be torn between making a political jest and a suspense thriller . neither works .",
        "this being robin williams , it 's hard to find his routines as vote-winningly hilarious as they 're meant to be .",
        "there are good moments , although it does n't work properly either as a satirical thriller or a rom-com .",
        "cynicism or stupidity ? it 's hard to say which has the run of this idiotic satire in which robin williams plays a talk-show host who runs for president on a ticket of cleaning up politics .",
        "one of the least convincing political satires of the millennium so far - no bite , no vision and no laughs .",
        "lame political comedy misses the mark .",
        "uneven , but never less than entertaining .",
        "MOV has some nice ideas and a handful of excellent scenes , but it struggles to find the right tone and is hamstrung by a ridiculous plot point .",
        "too compromised to be more than a reasonably pleasurable entertainment , as if it is scared about what it is saying about the american political process .",
        "political comedy morphs into attempted thriller in this confused , fitfully entertaining film .",
        "trust me , a sloppily-edited , unmanageable insult to the intelligence with far too many shortcomings to deserve any further analysis .",
        "ellie 's the locus for the film 's instability and lack of direction , while the guys get to tromp around in its more explicitly comic terrain .",
        "a failure as satire -- a failure as a political thriller and a failure as an ill-conceived romance . that 's three failures in the space of one movie .",
        "the biggest problem with MOV is that , much like american dreamz , which came out earlier this year , it simply does n't seem to know what genre it aspires to be .",
        "levinson has written and directed in many genres . but rarely has he made a film as indecisive and diffident as MOV .",
        "barry levinson is a case study in narrative schizophrenia , with no idea what he wants his film to be .",
        "when the thriller plot collides with the comedy , what 's left is mangled , twisted wreckage ...",
        "sloppy political satire ... williams has all the edge of tom delay at a greenpeace convention .",
        "it 's the same lazy performance we always get , with williams groveling for laughs via his patented physical shtick and repertoire of stale jokes that were already pass\u00e9 around the time roman emperors began chucking christian standup comics to the lions .",
        "it 's a comedy ! no , it 's a romance ! no , it 's a thriller !",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- piece of pithy political pap . sadly , -lsb- this -rsb- man has all the biting promise of a crooked two-bit hack accepting a corporate kickback at a chucky cheese restaurant .",
        "the opening narration by christopher walken starts sucking the life out of the film before it gets a chance to gain any momentum .",
        "it did n't know if it wanted to be a satirical comedy or a political thriller .",
        "MOV , the weaker brother of the wag the dog and good morning vietnam polital satire family , relies heavily on conceptual humour and robin williams ' shenanigans to carry the boneless plot through .",
        "the robin williams you love . a very entertaining movie and a showcase for the brilliant robin williams .",
        "if you look the other way and go with it regardless , MOV can be an idealistic pleasure .",
        "it 's not a simple genre film , and some will find it complicated to digest for that reason , but if you 're up for a bit of intelligent stimulation , this will reward",
        "levinson pose les bonnes questions par le biais d'une d\u00e9marche artistique un peu laborieuse , mais qui n'en demeure pas moins directe et efficace .",
        "eschewing personality , it mistakes pandering for insight .",
        "robin williams turns in his smartest , funniest performance in at least a decade .",
        "rarely has williams ever seemed so rote , so glaringly sleepwalking through a role .",
        "ignore the propaganda this picture is peddling .",
        "lacks humor and bite .",
        "... is n't as biting as `` wag the dog '' was , nor as prescient , but it throwsan issue into the ring as it entertains its audience .",
        "in reality MOV is one half the robin williams show and one half dour thriller involving a rigged election and the evils of electronic voting machines . the second half nearly obliterates the film .",
        "rather than being integrated into something complex , the different tones are at war with each other , leaving the whole unsatisfying . luckily there are dozens of good lines , which at least keep the movie from being dull .",
        "i think i recall a few of the jokes from the ford administration . which makes sense because as irreverent and subversive as it wants to be , it is just bland .",
        "MOV is only comedy of the year for about 45 minutes . then , it becomes failed opportunity of the year .",
        "so haphazardly fails to recognize the ironies of its own failings that it unwittingly makes george w. bush funnier ... when he 's trying to be funny .",
        "man has the kind of dizzying tonal changes that makes one wonder if a p.a. should 've administered a breathalyzer test on levinson during production .",
        "american politics gets off easy ; even chris rock 's head of state -lrb- 2003 -rrb- had more guts .",
        "it will draw audiences who want to see topical humor , and it will bog them down in a typical thriller , before capping things off with an earnest yet cautious political statement .",
        "it 's more jay leno than jon stewart , and there 's no way that 's a compliment .",
        "not funny , not timely , not thrilling , and no courage of its own convictions . an embarrassment for all concerned .",
        "this is really two movies in one -- an exemplary political satire and an average thriller , tied together with romantically shopworn president-as-an-average-joe tropes from dave and the american president .",
        "MOV sets its audience up to ponder the unthinkable , loses its resolve and congeals into reassuring kitsch .",
        "would make a terrific half-baked double bill with american dreamz .",
        "MOV has to be one of the most frustrating dropped balls in recent multiplex memory .",
        "robin williams and barry levinson evoke memories of their 1987 collaboration good morning , vietnam with this insightful political dramedy . but those expecting a light-hearted farce will be sorely disappointed .",
        "warning ! do n't pay any attention to the dismal promotion for this film . despite what you see , it 's an entertaining comedy-thriller .",
        "in MOV , a thriller without thrills collides with a mirthless comedy .",
        "robin williams proves to topical comedy what lawrence welk is to smoking jazz , and a marketing bait-and-switch leads to a ludicrously dumb paranoid thriller . it lazily hopes its conceit and comedian work . neither does .",
        "its screenplay needs not another run through the typewriter , but a first run through the shredder .",
        "-lsb- it 's -rsb- a mess , but if you 're willing to pick through it , there 's some gold amongst the dross .",
        "MOV starts out funny -- at least that 's the intention -- and then morphs into a kind of paranoid thriller . neither one of the movie 's split personalities is particularly good .",
        "there 's a preston sturges lesson in MOV : entertaining folks is its own civic duty . at times , making citizens laugh -lrb- and think -rrb- might be the most honorable profession of all .",
        "at a time when politicians are most in question , -lsb- director -rsb- levinson feels no qualms about depicting the process as a hilarious and yet dangerous farce .",
        "williams ' scene as dobbs debating his presidential opponents alone is worth the price of admission to this film . it is laugh-out-loud hysterical .",
        "instead of a highly relevant political satire , writer-director barry levinson takes the easy way out and churns a paint-by-numbers tale of corporate malfeasance . guess he had no special interests in creating a smart , savvy comedy .",
        "MOV is a well-intentioned mess , a dated , yuk-it-up sloppy civics lesson with such a lack of conviction that it backs away from the very questions it poses .",
        "no one will mistake MOV for movie of the year , but it says some things worth being said without the usual straight face .",
        "it 's all right when it 's trying to be a comedy or a savvy electoral satire . but it takes a disastrous wrong turn into paranoid political thriller territory and never recovers .",
        "mainly it 's a shambles , though for once williams gets to do what he 's best at -lrb- his stand-up shtick -rrb- , and the absurd story , no matter how carelessly assembled , keeps moving .",
        "-lsb- laura linney -rsb- shines out of this unappealing murk like a sunflower planted in a coal mine .",
        "compared to wag the dog , another levinson political satire that did its dirty work before 9/11 , MOV is sloppy , disjointed and weak .",
        "it 's certainly no political classic , but it 's worth at least a couple of electoral votes .",
        "for a film that wants to decry business as usual , MOV seems awfully content to play by the rules .",
        "the second half of MOV bears practically no relation to the irreverent comedy the movie 's trailer sells you -- much like a politician who does n't keep any of the promises that lured you to vote for him .",
        "a few moments do not make a new mr. smith goes to washington . frank capra can continue to rest in peace .",
        "MOV is longer than the fdr administration , less funny than calvin coolidge and deader than abe lincoln .",
        "only in filmmaking does one very good idea plus another very good idea sometimes add up to one less-than-great picture .",
        "the writing is lazy , the movie focuses on all the wrong things and the tone lurches unpleasantly between gum-soft comedy and lukewarm thriller .",
        "MOV is a moderately funny little movie that is n't pointed enough to successfully skewer its political targets .",
        "MOV is n't movie of the year . it might have been an ironic condemnation of electoral fraud and the malignant sway of corporate profits . but for a while , anyway , it had my vote .",
        "a genre-less , imaginative riff by an intelligent filmmaker on the state of the country .",
        "robin williams does n't need to prove he can act , not after the fisher king , the night listener , good will hunting and mrs. doubtfire . what he does in MOV seems a long way from actual acting .",
        "packaged as a rollicking political comedy , writer-director barry levinson 's much-ballyhooed reunion with robin williams wobbles unsteadily between broad humor and paranoid thrills . the result is a bland muddle .",
        "barry levinson 's MOV squanders a promising premise ; it 's ultimately overlong , underwritten and strangely unfunny .",
        "prepare for whiplash as MOV veers in an instant from astute comedy to complete disaster .",
        "the movie is strangely determined to move political commentary to the back row while bringing to the fore a dull , conventional thriller about electronic voting .",
        "MOV pretends to reach for a steak knife and draws a plastic spoon instead .",
        "MOV jerks unexpectedly from laughs to suspense to drama to satire . more to the point , the film does n't really seem to have a point ; it offers a parade of mixed messages .",
        "it 's a nearly tone-deaf satire of american politics and the culture of celebrity , a comedy without enough laughs , a satire without enough bite .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- ends up feeling as phony the process it so desperately wants to skewer .",
        "robin williams would never stand a chance , either as a presidential candidate or as a tv talk-show comic , a major drawback in a what-if scenario so self-congratulatory and smug .",
        "the deadly serious corporate malfeasance story does n't mesh well with williams ' politically humorous antics .",
        "is there any other comedian who recycles material as often and for as long as robin williams ? he 's the last man in america who thinks monica lewinsky jokes are still funny .",
        "a hybrid of so many parts that it would be unwieldy even if it were executed very well . but as it happens , it is n't .",
        "even though it 's only two-thirds of a solid comedy , it does n't take a high-priced pollster to figure out that this is a far better ratio than a lot of other recent yukfests .",
        "the new robin williams comedy MOV is the sort of thing you almost feel sorry for .",
        "what is it about robin williams that he often appears in these wild misfires , pictures that are so full of promise yet so disastrous in execution ?",
        "the eleanor stuff makes the comedy move more methodically than tucson 's downtown renewal efforts .",
        "all the audience can do with this doa comedy is wait for their next chance to see robin williams do another stand-up routine , providing a precious break in an otherwise tedious film .",
        "what keeps MOV alive is the homey interplay of its principals .",
        "despite levinson 's split purpose , making it into a ` dramedy , ' it 's timely and thought-provoking .",
        "levinson has gone from wag the dog to `` screw the pooch '' .",
        "many actors were paid to pretend williams is still funny in MOV .",
        "in fact , there may well have been one or two funny lines in MOV , but by that point they were lost in the staggering repulsiveness .",
        "it wants laughs but is n't willing to do what it takes -- take off the gloves and land some blows to the body politic -- to earn them .",
        "a few observations about the hollowness of party politics , plus robin williams doing lots of funny shtick as a jon stewart-like comic running for president , have been thrown together with low regard for logic or consistent tone .",
        "in 1938 , adolph hitler was chosen as time 's MOV . somewhere , there 's a witty sequeway about this fact and just how awful robin williams ' movie sharing the same `` accolade '' is .",
        "dusty jokes about mama cass and karen carpenter -- how 's that for topical humor ? ... unfortunately , most of the funny moments in ` man ' come when the film is playing it straight",
        "it 's a comedy , a political thriller , a love story : barry levinson 's MOV tries to be all things to all people and fails on every count -- a little like the generic , ineffectual politicians it 's pretending to excoriate .",
        "hey , it 's robin williams getting elected president . why would you turn that movie into some espionage thriller ?",
        "levinson lines up a flabby and humorless series of mini-homilies on current political evils , from corporate donations to tv ads , like a nader-ish `` plague on both your houses '' scold .",
        "there are several flaws in the story content and the pacing , but this movie still gets my vote .",
        "MOV makes telling points and has a lot to say , but it loses its voice along with its consistency around the mid-way point , and that will likely make it an also-ran in the box office race .",
        "the picture betrays its own underlying philosophy about the importance of comedy in politics when , for the better part of its second hour , it becomes completely humorless .",
        "-lsb- l -rsb- acks all conviction in its would-be insurgent attitudes and lacks any courage in seeing through to a tough conclusion the political realities it pretends to attack .",
        "though williams can still make us laugh , MOV does n't deserve your vote ."
    ],
    "summary": "weakened by second-half attempts at thriller and romance , this presidential comedy also fails to hit any sharp political notes , resulting in a confused and unsatisfying mess .",
    "id": "314387293"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bamako_2007",
    "reviews": [
        "rather miraculously , pic succeeds in painlessly educating its viewers about global politics and economics while it describes contemporary africa with freshness and clarity .",
        "that the g8 's policies have been disastrous for africa wo n't come as news to anyone who goes to see african art-house films .",
        "while the film may be impaired as an oral treatise , sissako 's use of the trial is still vindicated . it provides rich symbolism in what is , on the whole , a stimulating work .",
        "a thought-provoking film , told in a traditional african form and unique in the often fraught annals of african film-making .",
        "you ca n't help thinking that the only people who 'd sit through this movie are those already aware of the issues involved .",
        "in the week of the good shepherd this stinging indictment of western involvement in the third world is timely - or would be , if anyone bothered to see it .",
        "there are countless moments that are subtly transfixing . even seemingly casual shots - of vendors peddling knock-off gucci glasses , policemen flirting with local women , a man attached to a drip lying alone in a room - linger in the imagination .",
        "distinctive , with commanding moments .",
        "born of indignation , MOV bears devastating witness to the iniquities of free trade and globalisation from a malian perspective .",
        "yes , this is strong stuff , but spoken in an articulate , measured , passionate west african voice , it 's impossible to ignore .",
        "lensed in warm tones , with impassioned contributions from the non-professional witnesses .",
        "MOV is a work of cool intelligence and profound anger , a long , dense , argument that is also a haunting visual poem .",
        "MOV puts nothing less than economic injustice on trial , arguing the guilt of the world bank , the imf , and the entire apparatus of first world economic domination for the crime of african oppression .",
        "it 's surprisingly moving , funny , tragic , strange and undogmatic .",
        "a gritty and gutsy examination of how african nations are suffering incredible hardships and poverty under the boots of western globalization policies .",
        "MOV ends pessimistically , which is understandable since it carries a continent on its shoulders .",
        "very important , very impressive .",
        "this sophisticated picture about a desperate situation expresses its optimism through its style and its respect for the people who appear in it .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- sissako has an unusual camera eye , patient and alert to the ebb and flow of both the courtroom sequences and the outside scenes . the music is wonderful as well .",
        "trial movies can be painful , but MOV is a powerful polemic leavened with moments of beauty and humor .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- intimate , urgent and wildly imaginative indictment of post-colonial economic policies in africa .",
        "MOV is challenging without a doubt , but sissako 's righteous anger never loses its ability to connect to the heart , even in the film 's densest thickets of symbolism .",
        "MOV is an attack on globalization that is endlessly cogent , confrontational -- and , best of all , as captivating as it is illuminating .",
        "awkward , dull film .",
        "overall , MOV is a passionate plea , filled with interesting ideas and wrapped up in an uneven presentation .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- sissako somehow manages to reconcile the passionate words of the debate and the mundane activities surrounding it , but he seems most interested in noting and even marveling at the subtle comedy of their coexistence .",
        "a strange and often haunting little film .",
        "the central conceit is audacious , but the film feels oddly slack and inert , livened only by testimony better suited to another forum .",
        "ironically , in an attempt to give africans a voice , sissako drowns them out .",
        "miraculously manages to be not merely ferociously partisan , but dramatically compelling and a feast for the minds of moviegoers , not overly nourished these days .",
        "abderrahmane sissako makes no pretence at neutrality with this indictment of globalised capitalism .",
        "credit -lsb- director -rsb- sissako for entertainingly blending serious international issues with the daily comings and goings of village life .",
        "for all its outrage , MOV is not a work of righteousness . -lsb- director -rsb- sissako is a poet , and the filmmaking in this new picture is stuff of a deserving laureate . sissako is thinking about the small but mounting consequences of big ideas .",
        "heated speeches about the international monetary fund , debt relief and global responsibility may not sound like your idea of friday-night entertainment , but -lsb- director -rsb- sissako makes a strong case .",
        "heavy on polemics , the drama nevertheless does not neglect the human story behind all the politicizing .",
        "a passionate , challenging drama from the fine mauritian writer-director abderrahmane sissako .",
        "much of the nearly two-hour film consists of impassioned but lengthy speeches about interest rates , deficits , poverty and corruption . this is no way to entertain an audience , so sissako throws in a few hastily drawn characters and a threadbare plot .",
        "after the resonant and lyrical experience of sissako 's criminally unseen waiting for happiness , which could have been an alternate title for MOV , this new film represents a colossal downgrade .",
        "dramatic features born and bred on the african continent are rare commodities on these shores , and the opportunities they offer can stretch far beyond film appreciation and into the realm of world understanding .",
        "if jean-luc godard had kept his sense of humor , he might be making engaging movies like MOV .",
        "profoundly in context with the world as it is in its acute hour of human need , in response to the urgency of the critical historical moment .",
        "unlike other recent films about the plight of africa , MOV channels its outrage more directly , yet with greater subtlety , by recruiting real-life witnesses to africa 's economic crises .",
        "a clumsy , talk-heavy and crushingly heavy-handed hybrid . while it may have the best of intentions , MOV is sometimes hard to watch .",
        "MOV is a film that grows on you . its power is subtle and you do n't really feel the impact until it 's all over . and when it has , its left with you something unshakeably real .",
        "free of the indignant self-righteousness of michael moore 's lowbrow sloganeering , abderrahmane sissako 's poetic drama offers a clear-sighted examination of third world economic collapse .",
        "MOV is an amazing polemical political film like no other .",
        "MOV puts globalization on trial",
        "sissako 's bolt of lightning is how he once again merges spaces : he sets the trial out-of-doors ... editing the village 's daily events as if they are all a part of the trial 's fabric .",
        "issue-driven drama has rarely been so polemic as it is in this fierce attack on the world bank and international monetary fund 's role in african poverty .",
        "rather than detract from the seriousness of the issues , sissako 's light touch encourages a deeper level of engagement .",
        "writer-director abderrahmane sissako is to be admired for not giving up on a film that features many african voices that do cry out to be heard .",
        "while worthy , MOV suffers somewhat fromits structure . some of the testimony becomes so complicated that unless you are an expert or really truly versed on the subject , you just might tune out -lrb- as i found myself doing on occasion -rrb- .",
        "by all accounts the year 's best african film ."
    ],
    "summary": "a courtroom drama and a portrait of everyday mali life , MOV approaches both subjects with equal skill and success .",
    "id": "341815498"
  },
  {
    "movie": "red",
    "reviews": [
        "while the action is good , the movie is n't as cool as it thinks . if you replace bruce willis with gene hackman , then you have a hit on your hands about these ` old ' agents .",
        "much of the enjoyment comes from seeing these respected thespians so thoroughly embody cartoon characters ; it 's like sidney lumet directing space jam .",
        "proof , if more were needed , that the artistic collision between the aging baby boomers and their comic-book-obsessed progeny makes for some mighty strange , but not unentertaining , bedfellows .",
        "one of those rare action comedies that actually delivers action and comedy , and one where the alleged humor does n't consist merely of wisecracking heroes blowing away cardboard villains .",
        "what really works for MOV is our shared history with the actors involved .",
        "action sequences are just poorly shot . it feels like they took a few comic panels from the book , but you do n't see the effects of a given action .",
        "retired cia agents get dragged back into harness , and the is truth is that they could n't be happier in this good-natured action movie spiced up with a dash each of comedy and romance ...",
        "you 're never too old for mayhem .",
        "the kicker is in the casting : bruce willis , morgan freeman , john malkovich , mary-louise parker , brian cox and helen mirren all come out to play .",
        "director robert schwentke does as much as he can with the cartoonish story and stunts but after a while can no longer maintain the illusion that MOV is actually about anything .",
        "a pitch-perfect parody of over-the-hill action heroes nails and sustains the right tone throughout . of course , when you 've got helen mirren stationed behind a mounted machine gun , how can you fail ?",
        "laced with enough laughs to make this work as both an action ride , and a comedy . mirren and malkovich steal the show .",
        "the film is not entirely successful in evoking the goofy , satirical tone of the dc comic source material , but it 's an entertaining fare for adults , benefiting immensely from its vet and skillful cast .",
        "the movie 's goal , shrewdly , is to see how much fun its collection of oscar nominees and winners can have playing the over the hill gang of espionage . plenty , as it turns out .",
        "too long , too busy , too loud , and too reliant on slam-bang stunt work , MOV 's glib dialogue and sinister government scenarios begin to wear .",
        "the ensemble is terrific . these are pros at work here , and they not only show up the new action-star punks but prove they 're far from expendable .",
        "like boarding a sinfully designed roller coaster that keeps breaking down during the frantic ride ... a picture with incredible concentration to surface details , but a turgid bore in the suspense realm .",
        "MOV really had the chops to go the distance . somewhere along the line , it wandered off the path .",
        "what it lacks in originality , it makes up for in helen mirren with a gun , which should be a requirement of all movies from now on .",
        "MOV is an average shoot - 'em - up except for the wrinkled fingers pulling triggers ... as if the aarp issued licenses to kill .",
        "MOV starts to devolve into nonsense well before it takes advantage of the many things it has going for it .",
        "MOV might just be the best romantic comedy of the year .",
        "MOV is long , predictable , derivative , and without doubt one of the most entertaining experiences to be had in a cinema this year .",
        "no one gets hurt , okay ? see ? he 's just faking his death . now let 's get you some cocoa and a dvd of miss congeniality 2 .",
        "schwentke keeps things light : light on big laughs , light on unique action set pieces and light on any sense that these game but retired spies are too old for this crap .",
        "its silliness becomes wearisome the longer it continues , but i found it as entertaining as , say , clint eastwood 's space cowboys , and could happily sit through it again .",
        "this is an amusing crowd-pleaser , pitting wisdom and experience against youthful arrogance and gullibility .",
        "call it the film equivalent of the traveling wilbury 's ... a sly caper film that boasts an oscar laden , all-star veteran cast yet is anything but old and tired .",
        "MOV is a goofball lament . it 's saying that in the good old days , or at least in the good old movie days , our killers were good-time guys .",
        "the novel aarp-action vibe is loose and pleasant , even if the sensitive viewer ca n't help wishing gunplay and murder were n't so easy to accept as escapist entertainment .",
        "they 're not too old for this shit .",
        "this is a flawed but highly enjoyable actioner , bouyed massively by its big-hitting stars and a cheekily dark sense of humour .",
        "it could use more blammo . and more witty . and more everything else . but it requires nothing from you and , in turn , gives back a reasonable amount of action-tainment , so you still come out ahead in the bargain .",
        "a visually explosive film that leaves little time to catch your breath .",
        "if the prospect of seeing dame helen letting rip with a ginormous machine gun while dressed to the nines tickles your fancy , give the film a go .",
        "here 's another pound of proof supporting the theorem that `` story is about thoroughness , not shortcuts . ''",
        "typical action-blockbuster stuff , entertaining and mindless , that is elevated by the high-wattage cast .",
        "... filled with the kind of sprightly paced , lighthearted violence that 's supposed to evoke chuckles but mostly seems under-heated and over-loud .",
        "attitude is what drives this movie from its opening sequence through to the turning point",
        "what the expendables could have been .",
        "almost becomes a ca n't miss film because of john malkovich .",
        "give me helen mirren with a semi-automatic weapon and morgan freeman smiling , `` we 're getting the band back together , '' and i will happily settle back and enjoy the popcorn .",
        "MOV positively dares you not to have a good time .",
        "though the actors are all , in theory , welcome company , this ensemble never really gels .",
        "it 's halfway between comedy and action , and it does n't quite work as either .",
        "what might have been a guilty-pleasure romp is hobbled by poor direction , sloppy pacing , and a story line that ca n't decide whether it 's farce or a retread .",
        "this is a capable , experienced cast with extensive acting chops , and it 's trashy fun watching them descend to the level of the material , which has mirren in a sleek ball gown , capably letting rip with a 50-caliber machine gun ...",
        "MOV is never quite the kick-in-the-pants that it should be .",
        "although there 's no dearth of spectacular gunplay and fisticuffs in robert schwentke 's light-hearted actioner , what makes MOV really rock is old-fashioned movie-star style .",
        "once it works its way up to a certain volume -- jaunty , one-dimensional , unserious mayhem -- it stays there , forever .",
        "MOV shoots blanks at familiar targets .",
        "while not in the same league as kick-ass or scott pilgrim vs. the world , MOV is still overall a playful and highly entertaining action/comedy .",
        "all the stars are fine and the supporting cast is never less than perfectly adequate . still , there 's something missing .",
        "it entertains and then goes away , a perfectly ephemeral late-summer time-waster that for god knows what reason , cropped up in mid-autumn .",
        "say what you want but a group of old pros know how to make an entertaining movie .",
        "helen mirren can do no wrong . give her a sniper rifle and the world is but putty in her hands .",
        "it 's the kind of cast that lends more credence to the material than it deserves .",
        "MOV is `` chick noir . ''",
        "it veers between high-octane and dullish moments .",
        "i du n no how a film that climaxes with helen mirren wielding a machine gun could be this disappointing . but somehow , r.e.d. pulls it off .",
        "not to be confused with the early - '90s kieslowski film of the same name . definitely not .",
        "highly enjoyable comic action-thriller with a sense of humor about itself ... holds your interest while alternately thrilling and amusing , without insulting your intelligence .",
        "a spunky comic action drama about a colorful band of old timers called out of retirement to help an old buddy , a former cia agent .",
        "MOV instead exhibits all the get-up-and-go of a grandpa on the verge of an afternoon nap .",
        "MOV is an agreeable piffle , a fun action/comedy that 's silly without being moronic .",
        "compared to such generic , flashy duds as knight and day or the expendables , MOV goes down like a flute of fine champagne . here 's how it 's done , youngsters .",
        "as an exercise for movie stars of a certain age , it sure outclasses the expendables .",
        "... a star-studded , action-packed , loaded-with-laughs , great time !",
        "one of the most enjoyable things i 've seen this year , and i would absolutely recommend it .",
        "there 's fun to be had watching willis and parker banter , and listening to malkovich toss off arrhythmically timed one-liners .",
        "the movie 's biggest pleasure is seeing a bunch of old pros -- bruce willis , morgan freeman , john malkovich and helen mirren -- having so much fun .",
        "when people this talented get together there 's an expectation of entertainment that this inert comic book adaptation just does n't deliver .",
        "that 's some serious a-team physics when you can put upwards of a thousand .50 caliber rounds into a bunch of cars and not even wound anyone .",
        "a lengthy procession of geriatric-assassin jokes -lsb- that -rsb- offers a chilling portent of what lies in store should soon-to-be-ex-governor schwarzenegger ever return to the big screen .",
        "not that i 'm complaining , mind you . the plot may be as creaky as the knees of its cast members , but as broad , big-budget spy yarns go , this is one that surprisingly does n't require a nip , tuck or lift .",
        "instead of remaining true to the much darker graphic novel , `` MOV '' goes for the funny bone , using what amounts to wink-and-a-nudge stunt casting that never gets past its own cleverness .",
        "old people who kill people are so much cuter than young people who kill people , right ? in a movie like MOV , that 's all we need to know .",
        "MOV has ka-booms , rat-a-tat-tats and a wildly extended first date . it 's edgy and fantastically gooey -- and flaunts it .",
        "a fun spin on the spy genre with the seasoned veterans showing up the more inexperienced greenhorns . chances are you 'll be seeing MOV once the positive word of mouth hits .",
        "they had me at helen mirren firing automatic weapons .",
        "the star turns are MOV 's raison d'\u0119tre , with the winking performances filling the place of any credible dramatic tension .",
        "if you do n't smile at the image of a stunningly beautiful dame helen mirren , resplendent in a gorgeous white gown , plowing down gunmen with her 50 mm caliber tripod mounted gun , then you simply ca n't be helped .",
        "although tailor-made for genre fans , it benefits from flavors of humor and romance that keep its appeal from being fanboy-only .",
        "schwentke and his cast have taken some decent enough source material and polished into a small gem .",
        "gripping smalltown thriller , with a strong script , superb direction and a terrific central performance from brian cox . fully deserves its place in the best of the fest line-up .",
        "an amusing , light-footed caper about a team of aging cia veterans rudely forced out of retirement .",
        "an engaging , well-made action comedy that benefits from the talents of its decidedly mature cast members , even if it unspools with a pace better suited to their generation than the moviegoers that grew up watching their earlier movies .",
        "explosions ! sight gags ! a bald , bombastic bruce willis ! but helen mirren steals MOV every time she opens fire .",
        "a smart , slick endeavor that gets added mileage from its cast of seasoned screen vets . how seasoned ? the arithmetic mean of the five top-billed stars ' ages is 59 ; throw 93-year-old ernest borgnine into the equation , and the calculator starts to overheat .",
        "gathers a great cast that makes `` the expendables '' look , well , expendable . this is an extremely funny , action-packed movie in which gimmicks such as helen mirren blasting guns do n't grow old .",
        "thanks to terrific performances by parker , malkovich , and willis , and fine directing by schwentke . i had a smile on my face the entire time .",
        "it 's a totally wild ride , full of gun battles , explosions and fisticuffs , liberally sprinkled with the tongue-in-cheek comedy we 've come to expect from mr. willis .",
        "now this is a fun film ! okay -- it 's ' not oscar material , but it has great cast and a lot of action -- and sometimes in this crazy , hectic world , that 's all you need in a movie .",
        "the winking , self-reflexive tone mutes any possible emotional investment .",
        "stars four oscar-winning actors . it 's not every day that you 're able to use ` helen mirren ' and ` heavy artillery ' in the same sentence , but MOV gives you the opportunity .",
        "this is an impressive ensemble for such a slight movie , but in a story so weightless , it might just float away without these performances to keep it grounded .",
        "well-cast action comedy is entertaining -- but very violent .",
        "of all the washed-up washed-out over-the-hill too-old-for-this-sh * t action-hero movies we 've had thrown at us this year ... MOV is by far the most amusing , the most clever , the most tongue-in-cheek , the most fun ...",
        "this geriatric spy caper provides a showcase for a gray ensemble that 's obviously enjoying themselves , but they 're having more fun than we are .",
        "MOV stands for `` retired , extremely dangerous , '' though `` reasonably entertaining diversion '' works too .",
        "MOV is neither a good movie nor a bad one . it features actors we like doing things we wish were more interesting .",
        "the low-energy , high-boredom MOV is exactly like every other spy movie , except the spies are older .",
        "helen mirren in evening wear and combat boots blazing away at the bad guys and looking like the epitome of sophistication while she 's doing it . what else do you need to know ?",
        "none of it holds together if you think about it too much , but the movie works because , for the most part , you 're never tempted to .",
        "lives up to the talent involved , using the eccentric ensemble to elevate a loopy action-comedy-romance .",
        "this latest adaptation of a hip graphic novel fails to fill in the spaces between the action with anything terribly interesting .",
        "MOV is n't a great movie , but it 's great fun , and if that sounds like damning with faint praise , you take things too seriously .",
        "there 's the occasional twinkle from distinguished performers obviously not taking it too seriously , but this is by and large a waste of their talents .",
        "MOV has its moments , including a finale that finally provides the action comedy vibe we expected all along , but it still has to count as a mild disappointment",
        "MOV may look tantalising on paper , but the end product is nothing to smile about .",
        "the cast are clearly having such an immense amount of fun you really ca n't help but join them .",
        "MOV is an efficient and expertly made flick , although it lacks a personal touch from director robert schwentke .",
        "it 's very silly and runs out of steam well before the end , though there are one or two gags .",
        "rowdy espionage by over-the-hill undercover hotheads that is less about belligerent bragging rights , than generation gap self-parody . and a pg rated willis initiated phone sex sidebar for unrequited lovebirds , in prolonged perverse celibate cia desire .",
        "more playful than the expendables , more charming than the losers , willis and co deliver a warm -- and fun -- actioner that benefits greatly from its seasoned cast .",
        "an exhilarating and immensely entertaining movie relying on the old battleships of the screen to come out guns blazing for a sunset thriller with exceptionally high stakes",
        "like the camera , we jump , zoom , flip from one location to the next . the circumstances are far from predictable as is everything that happens in this syncopated film that sizzles",
        "bruce willis has n't been given material this solid to work with in years .",
        "parker , busy with her tv series weeds of late , does n't make a lot of movies . so it 's a pleasure to see her tossing off sly asides in the face of danger .",
        "what makes this movie so much fun is the cast .",
        "in an industry , and in fact a country , that only appreciates youth , it 's nice to see a movie about `` old '' people .",
        "-lsb- strikes -rsb- a careful balance between quasi-cartoonish shoot-outs and oddball humor , which ranges from droll to silly without ever going too far over the top .",
        "MOV , perhaps the first cia-aarp flick , fits seniors with grenade launchers instead of slippers . i say it 's about time .",
        "only in hollywood is someone seriously old at 55 , but this is the underlying thesis of MOV , and it works like a well-worn charm .",
        "the one-liners zing right along with the bullets in a playful pas de deux of mayhem , misdirection and mordant humor .",
        "i literally shed a nerd tear because i could not handle the awesome nature of the action sequences in this film . imagine the ocean 's films with machine guns .",
        "it is possible to have a good time at MOV , but it is not a very good movie . it does n't really try to be , and given the present state of the hollywood economy , this may be a wise choice .",
        "as all-star action romps go , MOV does n't reinvent the wheel or anything , but it 's a lot more fun than the expendables .",
        "this is a case of sheer quality and quantity of acting talent coming to the rescue of a wayward film .",
        "geezer g-men gone wild !",
        "good fun , and though it breathes hard in the second half , the ensemble has charisma to spare .",
        "this action-comedy has a wacky tone that 's entertaining but never involving .",
        "beneath its light exterior is not only a neat , if unsubtle , political undercurrent but a rebellious streak about how the allure of firing an rpg outweighs the prospect of retirement .",
        "what MOV lacks in incomprehensible muscle-bound meatheads it makes up for in humour , story and action .",
        "it 's a fast-paced action-comedy with strong visual effects and enough spark in the dialogue to be good fun , but its trashy spy novel sensibilities mean the characters and plot will soon be forgotten on leaving the cinema .",
        "it is the strong cast , which also includes richard dreyfuss and brian cox , which elevates this film and makes it a fun watch .",
        "director robert schwentke adapts warren ellis and cully hamner 's darker graphic novel and colourfully retools it as a sort of thinking man 's expendables .",
        "not many actors can get away with switching in and out of character , and yet willis does it with ease , confident in our love . and we do love willis .",
        "classiest . comic . book . movie . ever .",
        "malkovich 's performance is over-the-top even for him , and freeman seems to be waiting for a call from his agent .",
        "it 's as if the studio simply assembled a huge pile of money in the middle of the back lot , set it ablaze and started filming . and i wish they had , because it would have been more interesting to watch than this .",
        "MOV is an insult to our memories and to our intelligence , an unfunny farce whose veteran cast is cashing a retirement check .",
        "if you 're missing the rush you get from a great , fun summer movie , bundle up , go watch MOV and have a blast .",
        "a retiree exclaims , ` we 're getting the band back together ! ' a band that not only knows how to play the golden oldies ... but consists of them .",
        "there is a breath of fresh air amidst the deadening gunplay ...",
        "patience is key when it comes to MOV , the latest action ensemble to hit the cinema .",
        "a beautifully executed , slow-motion , guns blazing bruce willis ' exit from a spinning cop car proves you are going to have the best time you 'll have in a theater all year .",
        "... nothing in MOV feels real , just relatively entertaining .",
        "it 's a slight movie , but there is pleasure to be had ...",
        "an action comedy as entertaining to watch as it evidently was to make .",
        "`` MOV '' is a smart , well directed action film that counts among its cast an incredible fourteen academy award nominations and four awards .",
        "unfortunately , while MOV 's stars may have gotten better with age , its many clich\u00e9s have not .",
        "an excruciating bore on screen without a sense of wit , fun or action worth your attention . with MOV , schwentke earns his spot on the not-to-watch list and the hoebers must be taken into custody and thrown into cinema jail .",
        "a high-octane dose of summer-flavored fun , an aarp action film that comes along just in time to add a little levity -- and some serious weaponry -- to hollywood 's serious-minded fall awards season .",
        "if anything , MOV works better as a comedy than as an action film , which automatically makes it better than most of its peers .",
        "director robert schwentke sensibly gives his cast free rein but abandons any pretence of credibility as the retirees dodge numerous bullets and rockets . the venerable cast deserved a more intelligent vehicle for their talents .",
        "with its self-deprecating humour , and a hilarious performance from malkovich , the film -- though it never makes the least bit of sense -- is easy to take , and there are a few snappy lines of dialogue , too .",
        "a fast , funny , smart , adult-oriented action-comedy that generates precisely the kind of giddy vibe the expendables lacked .",
        "it is kick-ass , with helen mirren as hit-girl .",
        "yes , it 's silly . but ` MOV ' is above-average because it boasts so much serious star power .",
        "the film 's two romances are implausible , the dialogue is drawn out with geriatric pauses and the constant funk soundtrack does little to make sense of a plot more disjointed than brian cox 's knees .",
        "i ca n't say i 've warmed much to bruce willis films before now . i went to see MOV with no expectations , and came out thoroughly cheered .",
        "while it 's a movie richly endowed with big names , you come away imbued with the happy thought that they all left their egos at home .",
        "who knew helen mirren would be all sorts of awesome with an uzi ? we did .",
        "having lost all intrigue by the sub-standard third act , the picture becomes a sluggish chore that takes far too long to reach its dopey finish .",
        "if the story made more sense and the humor were more abundant , this could have been a bona-fide winner . instead it falls smack in the realm of forgettably mediocre .",
        "there 's fun to be had with mirren 's victoria and , even more so , john malkovich 's weird , lsd flashbacking marvin boggs , but the plot is pretty humdrum and the film ultimately forgettable .",
        "how it all ends up is significantly less interesting than how they get there . it 's a hoot to watch the elegant mirren shift from high heels to combat boots , as she gamely goes from arranging flowers to being locked and loaded .",
        "just as inexhaustibly stupid and utterly routine as any number of john cena , paul walker or vin diesel vehicles those young whipper-snappers eat up .",
        "MOV is n't edifying , ennobling , or artful . it 's just an utterly satisfying combination of big kicks , cheap thrills and real laughs .",
        "while not perfect , MOV is the popcorn film of the fall season , not to mention more entertaining than most of the pictures from what was a pathetic summer .",
        "it 's not that it does n't have effective moments , it 's that it does n't have as many as it thinks it does . the film 's inescapable air of glib self-satisfaction is not only largely unearned , it 's downright irritating .",
        "an amusing action-movie romp , ` MOV ' boasts a stellar ensemble that makes up for its director 's deficiencies .",
        "although it 's full of wasted potential , MOV is a prime example of a mediocre film elevated by raw star power .",
        "schwentke must think his audience is very easily pleased .",
        "never tell hollywood action heroes in their 50s and 60s , that they 're a bit past it .",
        "a solid action comedy , but the flashy visuals and stellar cast ca n't hide what feels like a slightly missed opportunity .",
        "it 's all a big goof , but it holds together so that you can enjoy the ride rather than wonder if it will ever end .",
        "a fast-paced romp that severs ties to realism early on and once we suspend our disbelief and put our brains into neutral , the film is a lot of fun .",
        "no amount of jazzy cool can hide very large problems in the plot department .",
        "action films with a sense of humor can be the best medicine sometimes at the movies . it 's just that this one has one joke repeated over and over again -- and the one-liners are n't that funny .",
        "a daffy but enjoyable action-comedy that assembles some impressive oldie firepower .",
        "expendable ? perhaps . better MOV than dead ? most definitely .",
        "MOV offers cheap thrills and a few nice gags . it could have been more than that , but the appetite for this stuff is insatiable .",
        "si el entretenimiento funciona , adem\u00e1s , se debe en gran parte a un atractivo elenco que se divierte como loco jugando a los esp\u00edas y a los h\u00e9roes de acci\u00f3n .",
        "a fun little spy thriller that twists the old adage that you ca n't teach an old dog new tricks and suggests that perhaps they can teach you something new instead .",
        "dame helen mirren looks like martha stewart on the outside but rambo on the inside ; you wo n't see anything sexier this year than mirren wielding an automatic weapon .",
        "ok , so this is not exactly shakespeare or even david mamet . it 's more like mad magazine 's `` spy vs. spy '' on crystal meth , or a geriatric `` kick-ass . ''",
        "it delivers a few thrills here and there but ultimately a bland story and forgettable characters turn MOV into a mediocre action film at best .",
        "the low-key character comedy gets buried under all the pyrotechnics .",
        "oh , that `` MOV '' was the giddy romp it might have been , it promises to be or it thinks it is .",
        "a playful action blockbuster with a top-shelf cast and a refreshingly unconventional concept .",
        "the best reason to get out there and see it is to see these actors take on this kind of over-the-top material . the fun they appear to be having on screen ends up being quite contagious .",
        "put your brain on hold for a few hours and you 'll enjoy this light-hearted action comedy .",
        "all the stars seem to be having great fun playing goodies and baddies and running around shooting things . but they could do the same thing paintballing , sparing us from having to watch them and avoiding having to spend 60 million dollars in the process .",
        "the cast 's efforts go about halfway to compensating for MOV 's lack of inspiration elsewhere ."
    ],
    "summary": "it may not be the killer thrill ride you 'd expect from an action movie with a cast of this caliber , but MOV still thoroughly outshines most of its big-budget counterparts with its wit and style .",
    "id": "770860164"
  },
  {
    "movie": "big_mommas_house",
    "reviews": [
        "the movie has some big laughs , yes , but never reaches takeoff velocity .",
        "... neither funny nor stimulating .",
        "the movie 's not phat , just big-boned .",
        "the movie is more than a single never-ending fat joke , but not much more .",
        "you may find yourself waiting for a commercial break . sadly , it never comes .",
        "lawrence gives this depressing effort his all , but that is not nearly enough .",
        "not even the talented lawrence can make it very funny .",
        "it 's not only inferior to all murphy 's movies -lrb- even coming to america -rrb- , it 's a lot less funny than most of lawrence 's own film work .",
        "-lsb- martin lawrence -rsb- delivers .",
        "the make-up effects are astonishing and amusing , there are no surprises",
        "witless , formulaic material .",
        "big momma 's house is as uneven as the readout on a binge dieter 's bathroom scale .",
        "mr. lawrence is better when forced to react to his co-stars .",
        "it 's as big a failure as battlefield earth .",
        "hitting the mark with most of his well-timed jokes , lawrence only falls down when he means to .",
        "yet the dialogue is funny -lrb- mostly punny -rrb- in unexpected ways .",
        "makes good use of prosthetics and silicone to grab laughs .",
        "the driving force that kept us rolling in the aisles focuses on the brilliant physical comedy of lawrence .",
        "big , broad , and ballsy , an overstuffed martin lawrence looms large in big momma 's house and appears ready to toss a gross-out shtick at tom cruise and m : i-2 .",
        "big momma 's house certainly is n't a great film , but it 's a fun and funny enough diversion that one probably wo n't really mind .",
        "the more irritating aspect of big momma 's house is the feeling of inevitability attached to each and every assembly-line joke .",
        "seeing martin 's faux -lsb- breast -rsb- appear on his shoulder is awfully funny , until about 45 minutes of the same joke being repeated ad nauseam .",
        "even though lawrence 's act is getting repetitive , it 's still good enough to make for an amusing time .",
        "the plot 's going nowhere , so why not bring on the fun ?",
        "there 's something about a plus-size floral housedress that brings out the best in many male comics , and lawrence is no exception .",
        "the comic spell that hangs over the plot like a tent of engorged cellulite , and which asks us to dig every corny , contrived , old-hat bit of folksy nonsense and jolly raunch that the writers can cram into us .",
        "the whole project works so hard at creating funny situations that lawrence gets no chance to be funny as himself .",
        "a formulaic misfire .",
        "big momma 's house seldom finds anything funny for lawrence to do in drag .",
        "funny martin lawrence in drag with potty jokes .",
        "idiotic `` comedy '' is larded with thick makeup and thin performances .",
        "lawrence is n't doing anything that has n't been done before , and he 's certainly not doing it any better .",
        "o sonho de martin lawrence \u00e9 ser eddie murphy . infelizmente , por\u00e9m , lhe faltam duas coisas : o talento do \u00eddolo e a capacidade de atrair bons roteiros .",
        "squarely aimed at the type of audience willing to overlook all sorts of inconsistencies and stereotypes in a movie as long as it includes a few juicy toilet jokes .",
        "everything about big momma 's house looks like a twice-told joke .",
        "the movie has no audacity or verve ; it 's all recycled toilet jokes , cheap sentiment , and caricatures .",
        "this is a film that appears to have been made without benefit of a script -- it 's a seemingly random collection of shots and scenes strung together with no concern for continuity , common sense , or an audience 's intelligence .",
        "big momma 's house gives even the notion of summer movies a bad name .",
        "big momma 's house feels thrown together without much thought or effort .",
        "the saddest thing about big momma 's house is that it wastes a talented cast in roles that force them to act like idiots in order for the plot to advance .",
        "other than a few fun moments , big momma 's house does n't turn out to be the rip-roaring drag queen comedy it promised to be",
        "the hitch is that malcolm does n't realize what a honey sherry is -- even a well-padded fat suit ca n't hide malcolm 's romantic urges , and this state of affairs sets up the film 's subplot .",
        "-lsb- big momma -rsb- is about as old as her pantyhose .",
        "big momma lacks the guts and the wits to go for anything but cheap laughs .",
        "an infectious , good-hearted bag of fun .",
        "wade through the slower spots and you 'll be rewarded with some hilarious bits .",
        "if you loved the tv series , then you 'll love this . if you hated the series then you might as well catch the movie on cable .",
        "there are gorgeously funny parts .",
        "lawrence does n't give big momma any special , hidden slyness .",
        "lawrence 's exuberant lead performance and occasional contributions from a game supporting cast do make for some hearty howls here and there .",
        "farcical adroitness and martin 's ablity to turn on the charm keep big momma 's house perking along .",
        "big momma 's house is much like the baseball games we 've been seeing at enron field lately -- a lot of action with poor results .",
        "this is pretty much a lazy film with a few lighthearted moments and no substance .",
        "it 's the nutty professor meets mrs. doubtfire , but without the humor of the former or the heart of the latter .",
        "had me cackling and stomping my feet along with the rest of the preview audience .",
        "this movie may well disappoint fans seeking the blue-streaked lawrence of stand-up and tabloid infamy .",
        "we get a full serving of silly with barely a taste of funny and entertaining . no big laughs here .",
        "big momma is broadly entertaining and efficient .",
        "this movie is rotten .",
        "the thin sliver of a plot is just an excuse to get lawrence in costume and let him do his thing .",
        "a fat suit with a paper-thin plot does not a movie make ."
    ],
    "summary": "big momma 's house is funny in some parts , but it is essentially a one-joke movie .",
    "id": "11526"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lara_croft_tomb_raider",
    "reviews": [
        "poorly-staged action sequence , boring exposition , poorly-staged action sequence , boring exposition , etc. etc. , the end .",
        "big guns , bigger breasts ...",
        "in the department of numbing ineptitude , the pacing runs a neck-and-neck race with the dialogue .",
        "so pandering and pebble-brained you 'd guess it had been test-screened on barnyard animals .",
        "quite simply , i had a blast watching it .",
        "an emaciated excuse for entertainment .",
        "right now my greatest fear in life are the words tomb raider 2 .",
        "half-sketched and tedious",
        "there is more tension in jolie 's t-shirts than in the dramatic action .",
        "damn ! you can toss every page of this script up in the air and no matter what order they fall in , just shoot that sequence .",
        "a disjointed adventure movie that has no place to go",
        "a lacklustre start to what is nonetheless sure to be an extremely lucrative franchise .",
        "nothing scares lara , so nothing scares us , the audience .",
        "the movie has only two modes , killing people with guns , feet and fists and killing time with dopey dialog .",
        "`` i was pretty much bored to tears . ''",
        "plays exactly like a video game committed to film -- and , no , that 's not a compliment .",
        "delivers a rollicking good time , and does n't aspire to more .",
        "as for jolie , one can certainly sympathize with her desire to do something different , but as far as this film is concerned , game over .",
        "it 's like being stuck with a player who spends hours searching the same few rooms for impossible - to-find keys because he or she does n't know the trick to skipping the early boring levels .",
        "loud , banal , empty , frenzied , plasticized , flavorless , drab , violent in a bloodless way and sexy in a sexless way .",
        "con una historia mala , actuaciones simplonas y direcci\u00f3n mediocre , tomb raider es otro de los grandes fracasos del a\u0144o",
        "una cinta comercial disfrutable y veraniega .",
        "sorry to be crude , but sometimes a guy has to admit to his animal instincts .",
        "in the end , for all her \u00fcber-babe sexiness , there is something just a wee bit humourless about angelina jolie .",
        "they are both visually very stunning to look at , both a wee on the wooden side , acting-wise , and both a mite forgettable .",
        "sleek , almost embarassingly entertaining summer blockbuster .",
        "not disastrous , but somewhat disappointing nonetheless .",
        "there 's a lot of motion in this motion picture , but not much movie . video gamers may find it enough ; adventure film fans may long for more .",
        "it 's frustrating to watch the filmmakers unable to make the pulse-pounding leaps that their title character would complete with ease .",
        "this just in : women have breasts !",
        "not perfect , but slick ... a strong b + .",
        "movies like tomb raider are designed only to part fools from their money .",
        "the verdict on the big-screen lara croft : angelina jolie , hot . tomb raider , not .",
        "they 've taken a mega-popular video game and turned it into a mega-void .",
        "it is extremely rare that a movie is so bad that it actually makes me angry , but tomb raider is that rarity .",
        "definitely a rushed job .",
        "unbelievably , laughably bad .",
        "better than mummy returns .",
        "has two good scenes amidst the creative dead zone that surrounds them .",
        "makes `` super mario bros. '' look like `` rocco and his brothers '' !",
        "tomb raider is mostly one big action sequence after another , which would be fine if only they made some sort of sense .",
        "characters say things like , ` my bum 's fallen asleep , ' and ` how much longer ? ' my thoughts exactly .",
        "it seems like the filmmakers got equally caught up in the idea of jolie as croft , so much so that they forgot to build a credible movie around her .",
        "a series of spectacular set pieces filled with eye-popping special effects , although -lsb- director simon -rsb- west does fall back on his trademarked overuse of sound .",
        "this could have been one of those rare so-bad-it 's - good movies , but the experience of watching it falls short of that mark .",
        "with a sequel already in the works , this video game is better left in the arcade .",
        "most of the chase sequences feature more jiggle than you 'd get in a `` three 's company '' marathon . as her astounding exercise regimen shows , lara treats her body like a temple ; many will worship it .",
        "more than being just a terrible movie , tomb raider is a disturbing exercise in the mythologies of sexuality .",
        "the ingredients are in place for a movie that could be a blast . execution ... is where the film falls flat .",
        "plot and performances are buried beneath special effects in ` tomb raider . '",
        "a wonderfully visual , fantastic action-packed entertainment , full of amazing effects and a stunning , sensual super-heroine that really packs a punch .",
        "a mindless taco bell commercial - errrrr ... summer effects vehicle that is utterly and depressingly devoid of any and all human drama ... grade-a feces .",
        "this is one badly made picture with a star whose charisma is its only positive value .",
        "the movie sags whenever the action stops .",
        "you never get any explanation of who these people are or why they do what they do .",
        "jolie kept her side of the deal , everyone else owes her big time .",
        "this would have been a better action movie if the last 10 minutes were replaced . any computer-game player knows the last battle is supposed to be the toughest .",
        "let 's face it , people going to see this movie expect two things : lots of action and lots of slo-mo shots of jolie running .",
        "video-game based action-adventure blockbuster that just about delivers in terms of its casting and action sequences , but falls on its face when it comes to script , plot , character and dialogue .",
        "i feel sorry for jolie and the myriad of stunt trainers and set builders who designed all this great stuff , only to have the likes of director simon west come in and mess it all up .",
        "like her gaming counterpart , she 's all pretty eye candy without much of a soul or even an interesting personality .",
        "ultimately , the film is set piece after set piece after set piece ... . literally . one set at a time , one scene at a time .",
        "loud , tedious , boring and self-important , this movie offers nothing fresh , original or surprising .",
        "even the action , which should be this kind of brainless summer movie 's saving grace , is spare and unexciting .",
        "while lara croft : tomb raider is as cumbersome as most films in this subgenre , angelina jolie makes it watchable .",
        "repeat after me , `` it 's a video game , it 's a video game , it 's a video game '' .",
        "nothing much else in tomb raider lives up to jolie 's sexy posturing and confident butt-kicking .",
        "its heavily mined narrative throws all sorts of ridiculous twists into the mix in order to put croft through her punishing paces .",
        "angelina jolie rocks , but dull script deflates adventure film .",
        "like its klunky predecessors , tomb raider always feels as if scenes are missing or that it was edited by edward scissorhands .",
        "not that many of the young fans who have turned lara croft into one of the history 's first cyber-celebrities are likely to miss the lack of emotional depth .",
        "good , bad or indifferent it does n't matter a hoot what critics think about the live action adaptation of the most popular interactive video character in history .",
        "it 's yet another movie where you frequently have no idea what 's going on or why .",
        "the movie credits five separate persons for the story and screenplay , a quintet of scribes who might better consider a career shift into acting -- they 've clearly done a splendid job of impersonating monkeys at a typewriter .",
        "the plot is not a plot at all but one of those outlandish fantasy premises that one can swallow in the interests of propelling a game , but sounds embarrassingly silly when spoken aloud .",
        "this movie could have been the long sought-after successor to raiders of the lost ark , except for the fact it lacks a damn good story .",
        "anyone who wants to see an actual movie , well , tomb raider stands as another mediocre addition to our ongoing summer of crap .",
        "the film plays like a humorless first draft of what could have been the new indiana jones adventure .",
        "a disappointingly joyless romp with none of the self deprecating we-know-this - is-stupid-but-it 's - kind-of-fun drollness that can make such films bearable .",
        "do n't pack up your pc -- tomb raider the movie has nothing over its electronic counterpart .",
        "this year 's battlefield earth .",
        "almost completely lacking in genuine thrills .",
        "the movie never summons the slightest pretense that there is anything at stake for the audience .",
        "a visually spectacular yet oddly cheerless experience .",
        "a jerky , fragmented tale that jumps from one exotic location to the next without any explanation or flow .",
        "worth watching .",
        "some great action sequences , but not much else .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- movie based on a video game that 's unafraid to look absurd but lacks the self-conviction needed to come off as camp .",
        "so inferior as art and entertainment .",
        "how do you have a pitch perfect actress play the role and then offer no rewards for fans that have been waiting for this for years ?",
        "even by video-game-movie standards , this is an arrogantly , almost smugly empty and incoherent mess .",
        "all the world can blow up around lara croft -- and it does here -- but who cares when there 's no reason to fear for her life ?",
        "it might be easier to list the things that were good about tomb raider , but little comes to mind .",
        "displaying boobs , brawn , and brain -lrb- in that order -rrb- , angelina jolie renders a splashy perfromance but the movie , which is like a video-game turned big-screen entertainment , is not good ; another missed opportunity to have a femme-driven action-adventure",
        "in the end , croft loses to the most dangerous villain of them all : mediocrity .",
        "a tedious bore that deserves early entombment .",
        "lara croft : tomb raider is a movie in need of a joystick and an off button .",
        "finally , a reasonably entertaining movie , inspired by a video game . and they said it could n't be done .",
        "highly anticipated adaptation of the popular computer game is uneven , sometimes awkward , but angelina jolie makes the title character a virtual icon of female competence and coolth .",
        "notably devoid of stuff to engage the mind .",
        "the herald of a cold , heartless , soul-dead cinema for a numbed audience with no interest in human emotion , just a craving to have its synapses jolted .",
        "so deep was the concern that jolie fully realize the role of lara croft : tomb raider that the story got lost in the jungle .",
        "the miracle is that lara croft : tomb raider is no stunt . somehow , they made a genuine movie out of it .",
        "it 's for people -lrb- young ones -rrb- whose taste in entertainment was formed by comics , channel surfing , video games and theme parks .",
        "not much here , apart from lara 's snugly tailored costumes and some entertainingly old-fashioned production design by kirk petruccelli .",
        "tomb raider is full of the things that made raiders of the lost ark a cool ride .",
        "the dialogue is hackneyed and heavy-handed , with cheesy puns that might have been lifted from an old-time college fraternity skit .",
        "the movie version of her ` life ' is just a jumble of every indiana jones and james bond movie ever made .",
        "a surprisingly bland affair .",
        "rarely rises above the level of a poor man 's raiders of the lost ark. .",
        "for a modestly budgeted project -- this movie 's well-done and watchable , even occasionally elegant .",
        "if only the story that surrounds this watchable heroine were as well-stacked .",
        "character shadings take a back seat to confusing exposition and feeble mysticism .",
        "a shallow , cliche-ridden mess that keeps blowing up on screen .",
        "sitting through `` lara croft : tomb raider '' had me wishing i 'd brought a playstation to the theater because the entertainment sure was n't on the screen .",
        "the combined impact of angelina jolie , lots of action and computer animation does n't make up for a convoluted and dull storyline , ponderous dialogue and weak antagonists .",
        "angelina jolie was born to play lara croft but simon west makes her journey into a game of frogger .",
        "the film lacked energy , a consistent pace and well ... a fun time !",
        "if it 's just a hot babe wearing a closet-full of tight shirts , this movie just might do . but if it 's tomb raider you really want , keep your playstation plugged in .",
        "bury it -- before the stench overwhelms us all .",
        "is everything that the mummy returns could have been , but was n't .",
        "adequate popcorn movie fare , but it never manages to make it to the next level .",
        "it 's all about action and ogling .",
        "tomb raider 's preoccupation with time is puzzling , given the movie 's leisurely pace .",
        "jolie gives lara an upper class british accent , but it 's so denatured that she sounds like one of those british techno-pop goddesses on a valium drip .",
        "perhaps fans of the game will better understand the characters and what ultimately substitutes as a decent story , but for the rest of us , the details are hazy at best when not being utterly ridiculous .",
        "just plain dullsville .",
        "here is a movie so monumentally silly , yet so wondrous to look at , that only a churl could find fault .",
        "of all this summer 's mindless blockbusters , this is arguably the most fun .",
        "any script that features dialogue about ` awesome and terrible powers ' in an unironic way should be put out of its misery before someone gets hurt .",
        "all questions of religious symbolism aside , if you think about illuminati , eyes , and triangles , while looking at the back of a dollar bill -lrb- right over where it says , you may get a better sense of which almighty this movie really worships .",
        "despite angelina jolie being perfectly cast as the title character , and some imaginative set-pieces , it would n't be out of place to call this film boring , since it lacks the energy and wit it deserves .",
        "` time was stolen from us ! ' someone cries as they go chasing around fighting over the two halves of a mystical tablet that holds the key to the past and the future . yup , i 'd say 1 hour , 44 minutes , to be exact .",
        "a movie for young boys and slightly older boys . for the rest of us , it 's so inept it does n't even provide an opportunity to ogle angelina jolie properly .",
        "this film does n't just want you to turn your brain off , it wants you to dropkick it into your neighbor 's backyard swimming pool .",
        "merchandising , not story-telling , is this movie 's forte .",
        "you defeat a monster , you walk into another room , and there 's another monster to defeat . repeat until time is up .",
        "a shapeless and graceless mess .",
        "this plot has two major strikes against it : it 's mindless and convoluted .",
        "jolie is a passionate , proud , beautiful woman . so how come she 's playing a character based on a video game , in a movie whose marketing campaign features a game called the taco bell quest ?",
        "my only problem with the film is that with a plot this ridiculous , it ought to have been more tongue-in-cheek , like `` the mummy returns . ''",
        "finally , we gals have a bonafide pg-13 hero to look up to .",
        "when it comes to the action scenes , west is all thumbs . his camera always seems to be in the wrong place , and the scenes never build momentum .",
        "as much fun as watching someone else play a video game .",
        "-lsb- jolie 's -rsb- glittering , libidinous impudence gives this packaged piece of corporate schlock a strange integrity -- perhaps even a soul .",
        "mostly incomprehensible but theoretically enjoyable for a teenaged boy , like a visit to hooters might be enjoyable ... for a teenaged boy .",
        "see summer films such as tomb raider , swordfish and pearl harbor over and over again , as young people are wont to do , and your mind is liable to atrophy from lack of use .",
        "we think you 're better off playing the videogame -- at least there the characters do n't speak .",
        "unlike most modern action directors , who view action the way porno directors see sex -- as an exhausting , noisy marathon -- simon west spaces out the set pieces so they retain some actual thrill .",
        "the latest and glitziest movie adaptation of a video game suffers from most of the faults its less-endowed predecessors did : two-dimensional characters , confusing action and just plain bad storytelling ."
    ],
    "summary": "angelina jolie is perfect for the role of lara croft , but even she ca n't save the movie from a senseless plot and action sequences with no emotional impact .",
    "id": "10375"
  },
  {
    "movie": "muscle_shoals_2013",
    "reviews": [
        "only the genre 's most studious followers will be able to watch MOV without being regularly astonished : even if it sometimes gets lost in its byways , greg `` freddy '' camalier 's documentary tells an extraordinary story .",
        "one of the year 's most entertaining and enriching nonfiction films ... moving and joyful .",
        "the film mixes an impressive array of interviews with plentiful archival footage .",
        "the film possesses considerable persuasive power despite its modest substance and simple construction , making it very much like the timeless songs it showcases .",
        "this is a work that 's a must-see for even the most casual of music fans , while still so chock full of moments of grace and beauty that even the most jaded of us that have seen umpteen other variations on this story can still properly fall in love with it .",
        "has funky magic in it . ooh , baby , does it ever .",
        "deals with the intriguing mystery of why so much funky music came from this one town .",
        "the documentary is a little slapdash , but then so is the very idea of what MOV means . is it the town itself ? or the celebrated rhythm section that started at one studio and then formed its own ?",
        "a marvelous doc about the creation of the fabled MOV sound -- as powerful today as it was 50 years ago .",
        "even fans who do n't know MOV by name know its music by heart . now they can also see how much soul went into it .",
        "director greg `` freddy '' camalier skillfully , unhurriedly unfurls a wealth of classic music-biz tales as told by a who 's who of r&b , soul and rock 'n' roll royalty and various other players and purveyors .",
        "it 's mandatory viewing for fans of the classic rock , soul and rhythm and blues of the 1960s and '70s .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- alternately maddening and magnificent documentary .",
        "if you 're a music buff , than MOV is a must-see ! it 's a well made documentary about an important time in music history that 's informative , poignant , funny , and always engaging .",
        "as the documentary demonstrates , knowing it when you hear it is one thing , but trying to explain the origin of the MOV sound and its qualities is like dancing about architecture .",
        "if you liked '20 feet from stardom , ' you 're going to love this .",
        "like 20 feet from stardom , another standout music doc of 2013 , MOV skillfully shines a light on unheralded musicians whose names usually are not illuminated .",
        "ruminations on native american legends and helen keller 's water pump would be fine in an alabama travelogue , but in ` MOV ? ' could n't we please get back to `` mustang sally ? ''",
        "just as `` sweet home alabama '' speaks for itself without revealing its meaning , so does this american story of ferment and feuding and amazing pop music .",
        "featuring interviews with r&b and rock royalty while exploring the uniquely american sound that crossed racial boundaries , MOV is oddly paced and tone-deaf to its own message at times , but still important viewing .",
        ". . MOV and its presentation does n't reinvent the wheel ... the treasure trove of stills and found footage makes for a compelling and effortlessly watchable film that even the casual music fan should find themselves totally engrossed in .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- charming , reverently shot ramble .",
        "it might have functioned even better as an hour-long tv documentary . but with such great music coming , one hit after after another , it 's always a joy to watch .",
        "the soulfulness of the MOV sound and surroundings is readily apparent from the opening minutes , and director greg camalier does an admirable job rifling through interpersonal conflicts and band breakthroughs .",
        "-lsb- camalier 's -rsb- rambling love letter to a unique american sound is not only full of the beautiful landscapes and small town americana which inspired it , it has an enveloping , beautiful heart .",
        "exceptional music , unexceptional documentary on the swampy sounds of the famous tennessee backing band .",
        "... well worth seeing for it 's well-chosen mix of present-day interviews and archival footage , enlivened by many musical selections .",
        "the lightning rod figure here is rick hall , `` the founder of the music business in MOV '' ... at 80 , hall remains sharply opinionated , and his extensive recollections give MOV its spine .",
        "as personal as the film gets , it never becomes overly sentimental or nostalgic ; rather , it 's a celebratory work alive with simple pleasures .",
        "a stubborn charmer whose life was a magnet for tragedy , hall is the emotional centre not only of the MOV sound but of this film .",
        "the movie is more a collection of cool people telling great stories than it is a structured documentary -lrb- despite camalier 's attempts in that direction -rrb- . but in this case , that 's enough .",
        "director greg `` freddy '' camalier augments the talking heads with unusually evocative vistas ...",
        "a well made , endlessly fascinating and impeccably researched documentary that tells a riveting story and is packed with great characters , terrific anecdotes and fabulous music .",
        "the archival footage is strong , camalier is generous with musical clips , and the talking heads generate some drama when describing epochal moments like aretha 's first session .",
        "occasionally baggy , always sincere , this is an essential document of a defining era when ` soul ' really meant something .",
        "a stomping good doc .",
        "it 's about music at its most primal and mystical essence , exploring the way the soul of a place seeps into and informs the sounds that come out of it .",
        "at once overstuffed with interviews and intellectually underdeveloped , the movie charts the area 's music industry and what is lyrically if elusively called the MOV sound .",
        "a sumptuously assembled , exhaustively comprehensive film about music that changed lives .",
        "camalier 's tuneful if somewhat overlong anecdotal history does the most justice to the MOV sound just by listening to it .",
        "hall 's backstory , riddled with tragedy , gets the proper attention and respect here . but it 's the music that wo n't let you stop watching .",
        "it is amazing to see how this style and sound came to fruition as it changed the careers of artists like aretha franklin and created some of the most memorable albums and songs from artists like etta james , the rolling stones , lynyrd skynyrd , and -lsb- more -rsb- .",
        "retrospective rockumentary deconstructs the secret of a legendary alabama music studio 's success .",
        "an extraordinary story of singers , songwriters , musicians , producers and , most of all , two recording studios in a small southern city .",
        "camalier makes an excellent job of combining talking-head interviews with music , anecdotes and folklore .",
        "though MOV can seem a little conventional , you could never say the same thing of its soundtrack",
        "a bit lengthy but packed with great music , this is a solid documentary that musicians and fans of soul music will likely enjoy .",
        "emotionally moving but messy , it survives thanks to its superb songs , great cinematography and insightful anecdotes - in spite of its lack of a satisfactory conclusion .",
        "supremely enjoyable , MOV does n't add much to the record , but it will probably induce you to flip through your collection for a few to spin .",
        "the director wisely does n't turn this into cavalcade of stars , keeping the focus as much on the man who built this hotbed of creativity and the musicians who played behind the household names .",
        "do not leave the film until the last credit rolls by .",
        "`` MOV '' is filled with great stories , characters and songs -- and , really , what else could you want from a music documentary ?",
        "it all makes for a pretty glossy package and a treasure trove for music geeks , but there 's a human angle to this story that will appeal to just about everyone .",
        "music docs with untold stories about unsung talents are an increasingly scarce commodity . but MOV hits pay dirt with this vivid history of two recording studios that became crucial hotbeds of deep southern soul and funky rock 'n' roll .",
        "warm , enjoyable , smooth and lightweight , this celebratory documentary is a gentle tribute to a remarkable man and his work .",
        "the anecdotes work without the music , but if you like the music ... dang , it 's a stairway to heaven .",
        "the film runs a tad long -lrb- just under two hours -rrb- and could stand another edit , but mick , keith , bono and aretha are on a roll , man .",
        "director greg camalier weaves the interviews together as if he were making music , composing a film with storytelling rhythms and emotional chords . soul aficionados will savour every beat",
        "as aretha might say , respect .",
        "although the intriguingly named first-time director greg `` freddy '' camalier makes the twice-told tales of the film 's second hour watchable , they end up paling in comparison to its essayistic first half .",
        "and lo , the musical miscegenation was good .",
        "a galaxy of stars recall the magic of it all , although a little less boring bono would have been a bonus .",
        "the movie never quite captures the magic of MOV , but it 's still fun to hear old pros like aretha franklin and keith richards trade tales .",
        "what is it that makes the music recorded in the studios in this small , out-of-the-way part of alabama so magical ? that 's the question this documentary film tries to answer .",
        "it posits that the spirit of community forged by the musicians that created this music was part of its magic , and listening to it in the movie , it 's hard to argue . the records they created defined an entire genre and hold up today as completely timeless .",
        "its story is well-worth telling .",
        "a mesmerizing documentary ...",
        "it is hands down one of the best music documentaries ever made .",
        "MOV may not appeal to every generation 's musical tastes , but for those of you who love that sweet soul music and crave that ol' time rock & roll , believe me : it 's just the ticket .",
        "what makes the documentary MOV so fine besides a kicking soundtrack ? well first , there 's its deep sense of place .",
        "greg camalier 's debut feature offers a worthy if sometimes ponderous take on a significant slice of u.s. popular music history .",
        "even casual music fans will enjoy behind-the-hits doc .",
        "even if the MOV sound is n't on your ipod , you 'll like seeing where it came from",
        "two new docs on american culture merit attention",
        "overall , it 's joyous , uplifting - and as funky as the music at its heart .",
        "music history at its elegiac best",
        "this geeked-out tribute to the rural alabama town that birthed an improbable amount of classic r&b and rock does n't have a theory behind its parade of hits .",
        "camalier does n't offer any theories as to why MOV happened , his film nicely sketches what did happen , and why it mattered .",
        "amiably hodgepodge doc .",
        "in the debut documentary of greg `` freddy '' camalier , it 's a toss-up as to which is more magical -- the physical place of MOV , alabama , or the music it produced ."
    ],
    "summary": "essential for soul fans and entertaining for novices , MOV offers a compelling , warts-and-all glimpse at one of the most fascinating stories in modern american music .",
    "id": "771351757"
  },
  {
    "movie": "herb_and_dorothy",
    "reviews": [
        "this easygoing movie fully captures the couple 's charm and offers a unique look at the '60s and '70s new york art scene .",
        "megumi sasaki 's convivial MOV is both a double-portrait of the diminutive couple , now in their 90s and 80s , and a sketch of the art , and artists , collected by these vest-pocket rockefellers .",
        "as the film progresses , we become captivated by the enchanted existence -lsb- MOV vogel -rsb- have made for themselves .",
        "MOV certainly proves there 's more than one way to be an art collector . it just does n't probe deeply enough and ask thorny questions about the nature of collecting and the nature of art , and how they relate to one another .",
        "ultimately , the tale is inspiring : why ca n't we all be like the vogels and become great collectors ?",
        "briskly and engagingly cinematic . ... -lsb- their compulsive collecting seems -rsb- at once crazy , smart , generous and enormously endearing .",
        "a fascinating , warm and delightfully charming documentary that finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them intellectually .",
        "as they share their views of modern art , director megumi sasaki 's film feels like a cozy visit with neighbors whose insights are priceless .",
        "the vogels -lsb- MOV -rsb- , sitting in their same old apartment , overflowing as ever , make for charming company .",
        "delightful , involving doc about an unlikely couple who became pioneer contemporary art collectors with working-class salaries .",
        "herb & dorothy describes and amply illustrates the extraordinary saga of the vogels , who double-handedly built one of the most important collections of minimalist and conceptual art in history with their modest salaries .",
        "delightful , involving documentary about an unlikely couple who became pioneer contemporary art collectors with working-class salaries .",
        "first-time filmmaker megumi sasaki 's documentary herb & dorothy is as simple and straightforward as the subjects of its title .",
        "former journalist megumi sasaki 's warmhearted celebration of these adorable do-gooders cements their significance to the art world and introduces them to the rest of us .",
        "you ca n't hate the film anymore than you can hate MOV . but this is lazy work .",
        "when was the last time you saw older protags , or a happily married couple , in american film ? in this charming docu , the vogels recall vividly their experiences in life and art over the past four decades .",
        "MOV , a documentary by megumi sasaki , grows on you just as its subjects do .",
        "it 's impossible to leave this movie believing that the vogels are weirdos or naifs . a wealth of artists and curators testify to their strong eye , unwavering enthusiasm , and clear judgment .",
        "as director megumi sasaki 's leisurely yet absorbing documentary tells it , the crusty postman and the mild librarian emerged as the fred and ethel mertz of modernism , championing the early careers of such artists as sol lewitt and christo .",
        "if ripley 's believe it or not ! were still around , MOV vogel would surely be in it for amassing a world-class art collection on the most ordinary of working-class salaries .",
        "a solid and engaging documentary that shows the chasm between art and those that are removed , for various reasons , from its creation and most readily accessible exhibition to be a largely artificial construct .",
        "sasaki balances her subjects ' yarns with insights into the cultural moment that shaped them and vice-versa , in particular the shift from abstract expressionism to the sparer gestures of minimalist and conceptual art .",
        "a hist\u00f3ria da paix\u0103o incontrol\u00e1vel do casal vogel por arte contempor\u00e2nea \u00e9 algo n\u0103o s\u00f3 tocante , mas educativo .",
        "the movie gives us an eyeful , but the unexamined irony is that the nice old couple ca n't sell the rest of us on why it 's good ."
    ],
    "summary": "while perhaps not as probing as it could have been , megumi sasaki 's languidly paced documentary is as entertaining as it is inspiring .",
    "id": "770799089"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1017352-red_sonja",
    "reviews": [
        "arnold 's last barbarian role -- worth it for that if nothing else .",
        "the scene where nielsen stands at the molten river border of the ` land of eternal night ' looks particularly good .",
        "mr. fleischer brings absolutely no playfulness to what might , at least , have been enjoyably light . and he brings out the worst in a cast that was ill-chosen to begin with .",
        "horrible spawn of the mediocre conan the barbarian .",
        "worst of all , there 's a charmless brat prince for sonja to take under her wing .",
        "it 's a truly horrible concoction , filled with stiff , overly serious dialogue , wretched performances , bad lighting and a lazy score by the otherwise great ennio morricone .",
        "unwatchably bad sword-and-sorcery nonsense .",
        "... pure silliness , but not silly enough to qualify as amusing . face it ; it 's just dull .",
        "the film is at least as good as conan the destroyer . which is faint praise , indeed .",
        "sure , there are a few funny moments here and there with several obviously intended jokes , but director richard fleischer never milks the elements of self-parody for what they 're worth .",
        "the dialogue passages do n't exactly play like noel coward , but this is a movie that succeeds rousingly well on its own humble , saturday-night terms .",
        "MOV returns to those olden days when women were women and the menfolk stood around with funny hats on until called forth to be whacked at .",
        "none of this would matter if MOV was the least bit exciting , or sexy , or even funny . instead , it ` s lumbering , oddly prim and laughable .",
        "this is a sword-and-sorcery adventure for those who like their action fast and furious , their dialogue ropey and their acting filled with more ham than a butcher 's shop .",
        "if you are rapt by swollen muscles , heaving bosoms , swordplay and a tirade of hammy , fantasy claptrap , the woefulness of this film wo n't put you off .",
        "the title sounds as if this movie is about a communist spy , or maybe a new flower . no such luck .",
        "deathless lines of dialogue like `` in life all is not swordplay '' make MOV laughable in ways that the screenwriters did not intend .",
        "incredibly stupid",
        "hilariously awful",
        "fleischer could have directed this movie from his living room via speaker phone and achieved the same result",
        "no , he 's not conan this time !"
    ],
    "summary": "dull , poorly directed , and badly miscast , MOV is an uninspired conclusion to schwarzenegger 's barbarian trilogy .",
    "id": "10784"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wild_hogs",
    "reviews": [
        "truly awful , monumentally inept , wholly unwatchable .",
        "i 'm not sure how well it speaks of a comedy if the funniest scenes come during the closing credits .",
        "fluff aimed at conservative middle america , a cynical go-with-the-demographic-trends movie that 's shallow and stupid , but featuring big names guaranteeing box office success .",
        "this is n't a movie with any meaningful insights to share about the heartfelt concerns of the over-forty set , but is rather an ill-conceived , `` coming-of-age '' style misadventure which could just as easily have revolved around some recent high school grads .",
        "perhaps i was in a good mood , perhaps my expectations were so rock bottom , but hell , i did n't hate it ...",
        "disneyfied easy rider for the suburban set .",
        "i can only assume a bike wreck is much more gruesome than a car accident . luckily , i have never seen one , but after watching MOV , i can imagine .",
        "no .",
        "instead of opening up the throttle , hogs ends up idling and spreading exhaust .",
        "becker is handy with a camera and totally knows where the film 's bread is buttered , focusing all his energy and attention on his four stars .",
        "well , it 's been 15 years since city slickers so it 's about time someone would rip it off and hope nobody notices .",
        "MOV are nothing but tame piggies on a highway to hokum . honk if you think these overpaid hacks should take their bikes to the nearest shop for creative repairs .",
        "the film does go for the cheap laugh far too often , but it 's certainly not bad enough to be grouped along with the rest of this season 's trash .",
        "the laughs may be more sporadic , but they still come . and sometimes that is about all anyone can wish for . just make sure to check that brain at home -- you wo n't be needing it .",
        "... an indolent , pg-13 , disney `` biker '' flick that does for comedies what exxon did for prince william sound .",
        "a blas\u00e9 road comedy with less than five funny moments in total but plenty of tired gay jokes to pass around .",
        "an especially lame comedy based on nothing but a situation . the humor is farce or slapstick , so character development does n't matter . establish the types , put them in one crazy mix-up after another and you 're done .",
        "an easy target to criticize given its over-the-hill , homophobic , below-the-belt , yet not altogehter unbelievable contrivances . but macy , liotta and tomei keep it real .",
        "how prophetic of tim allen to say in the film 's opening , ` i do n't think i 've been out of cincinnati in over 12 years . ' wishful thinking . next time go for 13 !",
        "MOV really does n't spend much time on the road . good thing , too , because after the guys are found sleeping side-by-side and skinny-dipping together , the writers must have run out of homosexual panic jokes .",
        "i firmly believe that if the actors in a movie are having a good time , that sense of fun can potentially come off the screen and infect the audience . MOV , for me , was this kind of movie .",
        "undoubtedly more fun to make than to watch , these wheezy city slickers are un-easy riders .",
        "travolta could do more good for his career by affixing buxom mud-flaps to his jowls and hauling an eighteen-wheeler cross-country .",
        "this contemptuously formulated comedy , about four middle-age-crisis-suffering men going on cross country motorcycle road trip , is n't worth the film stock it was shot on .",
        "sure , the humour is broad and slap sticky , and many of the situations sophomoric and preposterous , but i still found myself smiling throughout `` MOV . ''",
        "it 's bland and forgettable ; it 'll probably do okay when it plays on a plane .",
        "this bumpy buddy comedy stays in low gear for almost its entire journey . ... as the leader of a pack of redneck bikers , hammy ray liotta is so nasty , even his tattoos have a record .",
        "ok , so MOV is predictable at best . ... there are some laughs to be found .",
        "a film you 'll want to see twice to catch all of the punchlines , `` MOV '' is a great ride down the comedy highway .",
        "one of those lowest common denominator movies that aims only for easy laughs and a quick paycheck for its main actors",
        "the movie frees you of the belief that making it in hollywood requires finely honed skills . if the writer and director of this coarsely honed sitcom could get hired , then the studio doors must be wide open .",
        "a last-minute appearance by a surprise guest star may save the day for the four friends , but it comes nowhere near saving the movie .",
        "was n't my cup of tea ... although i 'll go ahead and say there were a couple of good jokes here and there involving birds .",
        "it 's the gay-panic-a-lympics !",
        "a more appropriate title would have been wild bores ... it 's a movie running down the middle of the road , and you know what you find in the middle of the road ? bad movies and slow squirrels .",
        "actually manages a few decent comedic moments - almost in spite of itself .",
        "i can imagine albert brooks sitting in a theater watching this garbage and praying that it actually ends like easy rider .",
        "... low octane comedy running on fumes .",
        "the landscape of MOV is cluttered with the comic equivalent of suburban sprawl , an endless cyclorama of rehashed jokes and whiny complaint .",
        "somehow , hogs is n't a torture device ; in fact , it 's pretty amusing when it puts its mind to it .",
        "MOV is n't wild so much as a mild evocation of better fish-out-of-water flicks .",
        "allegedly , the picture was shot in picturesque new mexico . effectively , it might as well be picturesque new liskeard .",
        "it 's a joyless cross-country romp in which the heroes confront crazy animals , lascivious hicks and rest-stop bathroom horrors .",
        "` a lot can happen on the road to nowhere , ' reads the tagline on the poster for MOV , a comedy that also illustrates exactly how nothing can happen on the road to nowhere .",
        "the movie ends with an ode to easy rider , but without the satisfaction of seeing any of the characters gunned down by hicks .",
        "it 's ` city slickers ' on bikes , probably someone 's idea of a 40 year old guy 's ultimate fantasy movie .",
        "it 's immediately forgettable but not inordinately painful , more like a routine cleaning at the dentist 's than a root canal .",
        "the movie has exactly four laughs .",
        "what financial strings had to be pulled to get john travolta , tim allen , martin lawrence and william h. macy to sign on for this second-class city slickers ?",
        "MOV is a formulaic road picture that hits a few potholes , thanks to an uneven script and stale comedic devices .",
        "none of the actors has a character to play , but each brings a likable persona to MOV , and that helps smooth over more of the stinky script 's rough edges than you 'd expect .",
        "there really is n't much more to say about MOV beyond the appallingly unfunny results it extracts from squeezing travolta , tim allen , martin lawrence and william h. macy into leather jackets and propping them on high-performance motorcycles .",
        "MOV is more tired , worn out , and sagging than its protagonists -- an arthritic comedy whose humor is below mediocre and whose drama is cringe-worthy .",
        "if MOV went hog wild into comic anarchy -- heck , even creativity -- it might have been worthy of its overqualified cast . as it stands , this weak effort will bring them sacks of money , but no respect .",
        "a little cute cussing , a few decent jokes , a lot of sight gags involving spills on the bikes these ` mild ' hogs get by on being good-natured , and willing to trade a little star power for the chance to ride and get paid for it .",
        "the gags are witless and surprisingly gross -lrb- insect splatter , feces disposal bags , inadvertent homosexual come-ons and the like -rrb- . the four actors , each accustomed to being at the center , never develop any rhythm , any chemistry , any anything .",
        "even chevy chase would n't be caught dead doing this stuff .",
        "MOV ' laughs are n't lasting , but it allows just enough room for its cast to showcase what they do best .",
        "slack direction from walt becker -lrb- national lampoon 's van wilder -rrb- sullies this formula comedy , but the cast is agreeable , particularly marisa tomei as the diner owner who falls for the constipated macy .",
        "never fails to take the low road . it 's a waste of celluloid , filled with potty humor , gay jokes and the unfortunate transformation of real actor william h. macy into a living crash-test dummy .",
        "MOV is an oinker . feeding us slops of dud comedy are stars who ought to know better by now .",
        "perhaps it 's not within the purview of a mere critic to question the judgment if not the sanity of disney executives who green-lit this travesty , but who exactly did they envision to be the audience ?",
        "if you listen closely , you can hear your brain cells fizzling .",
        "MOV is lame enough throughout that you wonder why john travolta , martin lawrence , tim allen and william h. macy signed on for it .",
        "a couple of homophobic jokes is just ignorant , but in a formulaic slapstick comedy , the obsessive nature of director walt becker and writer brad copeland 's interest is just plain weird .",
        "this movie stinks of exhaust and desperation .",
        "of the major stars , it 's macy , not surprisingly , who offers the most texture , soul and self-deprecating humor in this light but appealing comedy .",
        "boy , is this one lame wheezer of a movie . MOV actually feels as though it might take longer to watch than it did to write .",
        "MOV is n't as jaw-droppingly awful as its trailers suggest .",
        "though overly broad and slapstick simplistic , MOV offers a handful of robust laughs , as well as the fun of watching four ingratiating performers .",
        "unexpected romance , amusing pratfalls and comic performances combine to make ` MOV ' a rollicking good time at the movies .",
        "... a cast composed of actors who are bad enough on their own , and who together amount to something unholy .",
        "throughout the film , john travolta , martin lawrence , et al do n't seem to be bonding so much as acting at each other .",
        "like a 90-minute episode of full house , if danny tanner went to ozzfest and taught everyone how to protect piercings from infection .",
        "are so many american men so oppressed by the ` horrors ' of modern life -- high cholesterol , uppity wives , smartass children , cell phones , boring jobs , the general dead-eyed awfulness of suburbia -- that they need a stupid movie like this one to tell them t",
        "travolta has occasionally gotten down in slop like this before . allen and lawrence practically live there . but macy , the guy from fargo and magnolia and seabiscuit ? say it ai n't so , bill .",
        "a note to screenwriters everywhere regarding characters over 50 whose inability to use the internet results in being trapped on a porn site -lrb- see MOV and because i said so among others -rrb- : it 's not funny ; please stop doing it .",
        "is this the best we can do in the realm of star-driven commercial comedy ? if so , i 'll take norbit . i 'll take because i said so . i 'll take i 'll take sweden .",
        "an unending cycle of gay-panic and object-collides-with-testicles jokes and some laughable moments of maudlin sincerity , all to a soundtrack that regurgitates without irony every song that 's ever been in any motorcycle movie in film history .",
        "no cliche goes unloved in this piddle about four aging cincinnati dudes who try to find their bliss by hog-riding till they reach the pacific .",
        "why watch this film when you could stay home and put your head in the oven instead ?",
        "this predictably sappy plot yields some surprisingly ruckus comedic moments .",
        "the premise will likely remind you of city slickers . the bad news : MOV is no city slickers .",
        "the road trip plotline and parade of c-list cameos suggest a 21st-century cannonball run , and that 's not far from the truth .",
        "born to be reviled .",
        "so bewilderingly overflowing with gay camp and homoerotic context , it 's a regular travolta , queen of the desert .",
        "walt becker 's rancid midlife-crisis `` comedy '' seems serenely unperturbed by the grand canyon between the least likable protagonists in recent memory and the audience-tested need to impose redemption onto them .",
        "a middle-age version of billy jack with a benji plot",
        "very little that happens is unexpected or offbeat , and even the most dire situations are resolved in pat , tv-sitcom style . the only wildness in this film is in its title ; the movie itself is about as dangerous and shocking as your average beer commercial .",
        "the main thing about the guys in MOV -- the main source of the movie 's fumbling attempts at humor -- is that they 're not gay . really . seriously . no way .",
        "at one point , tim allen proclaims : ` i 'm lame . i 'm just lame -- admit it , i 'm lame . ' tim , you 're preaching to the choir .",
        "if it 's a laugh you 're after , you have a better shot at getting one by reading a bazooka joe wrapper . at least you get a piece of gum with that .",
        "the characters are not consistent and behave crazily in order to advance what little plot there is .",
        "this could have been a city slickers on cycles . but it 's an incredibly lazy movie , from the on-the-nose casting to the soundtrack -lrb- '70s vintage road rock -rrb- to the script to the scouting of locations .",
        "there are a couple of genuinely funny sight gags , but most of the roadside attractions of MOV are either boring or outright annoying .",
        "if you can imagine city slickers with bikes instead of horses and without the wit , the likable performances and jack palance , then you have a pretty good idea of what this movie is like .",
        "mind-sodomisingly mediocre family comedy .",
        "a humiliating medley of ghastly slapstick stunts . walt becker is the author of this nonsense . he ought to be sued .",
        "sounds great , with this cast of men of a certain age on big scary two wheeled monsters . unfortunately it only pulls it off in places .",
        "there 's not a single funny joke in the entire film , unless your idea of humour involves characters repeatedly crashing into things .",
        "with its central theme of male bonding , MOV is a moderately amusing and entertaining road trip whose likeable cast is its main draw .",
        "not exactly high test , but enough comedic octane for four rad guys to tickle our pistons if we 're not overly mature about it .",
        "women , hmmmph !",
        "a vacuous male-bonding farce ... made worse by dumb slapstick interludes and the failure of the stars to generate much comic wattage .",
        "as stupid and bad as the movie gets , there 'll still be people out there who find it hilarious .",
        "MOV has little story and even less characterization to its stereotyped players .",
        "this shallow comedy imagines itself as an amalgam of st. elmo 's fire , the wild bunch , and deliverance .",
        "the fun comedic turns by the starry quartet partly makes up for the predictable broad humor of this vulgar road comedy .",
        "uninspired script and broad slapstick yuks wo n't earn this any plaudits , but slick , safe package should do ok with north american mall auds .",
        "it 's hard to hate it , trashing the film would be kind of like kicking a puppy in the head .",
        "... not as dumb as it might have been ...",
        "the film 's a bumptious weekend ride : the engine could use tuning and the plugs are shot , but it gets you most of the way there .",
        "-lsb- the filmmakers -rsb- overload on shaky slapstick and unvarnished homophobia , and they stage the phoniest romantic subplot ever .",
        "i 'll take a crashing yet sincerely aimed failure any day over the by-the-numbers , lowbrow audience-pandering slickness of MOV .",
        "eminently forgettable .",
        "offensive and unfunny , hogs is cinematic roadkill , so you 'll wan na steer clear .",
        "the cast of MOV could only have been interesting in a movie about over-the-hill movie stars making a movie about over-the-hill regular guys slipping into the mind-numbing pointlessness of middle age -- but that would have been an ironic .",
        "this is just another waste of time i 'd really hate for you to undergo -- and pay for .",
        "a formulaic laugh machine that 's entirely predictable .",
        "MOV is every bit as terrible as you 'd expect a film with john travolta , tim allen and martin lawrence to be .",
        "well , this is an awful movie.so why did i give it two stars?because , despite the fact that this script is driven entirely by a lowest-common-denominator approach to getting middle-aged men in the theaters , the movie has two single minutes that are simply",
        "... inordinately silly , entirely forgettable ...",
        "in many ways , MOV is the worst type of movie - a cynical affair that means to rob its audience by promising a romping good time it has no intention of delivering . i really think a lot of the people involved ... should be ashamed .",
        "films like these are built for speed , not comfort . the big name cast is there to drag in an audience for the opening weekend , so the picture makes its money before word gets out .",
        "a comedy that 's beneath its one-time a-list talent .",
        "rediscovering one 's inner manhood and earning everyone 's respect boils down to fighting the bad boys . another measure of manliness involves repeatedly making fun of a gay highway patrolman -lrb- john c. mcginley -rrb- and tossing in plenty of homophobic jokes .",
        "the actors possess enough charisma and good spirit to charm even if there 's the sneaking suspicion that their skills are in service of something mediocre .",
        "this collection of gags on male menopause , genuinely offensive gay-cop jokes and bumper-sticker life lessons is beyond intolerable .",
        "the previews for this silly little film looked horrid , but it broke disney box office records for march . so i saw it with my folks and heck , if we all did n't have a good time !",
        "among these pigs in a blanket of cliches , john travolta is particularly cringe-worthy ...",
        "it 's city slickers with horses and cattle replaced by motorcycles and a lot of gay jokes . the celebration of conformity is where its aura of laidback inclusiveness is revealed as a pose .",
        "the `` gay panic '' humor is so rampant that it 's reasonable to wonder if cast and crew members wrapped each shooting day by beating up a homosexual off-screen .",
        "soulless , boring , formulaic and utterly convinced that its audience wo n't care .",
        "petrol-headed fifty-somethings into lynyrd skynyrd and the allman brothers will probably relate to some of the funnier scenes . the rest , including pre-teens , are advised to avoid it like el plago .",
        "an innocuous , monotonous comedy that at least has a playful spirit , but its tone does n't amount to much when pitted against forced shtick and an even more forced attempt at a plot .",
        "an enjoyable enough ride for the undemanding viewer",
        "all of a sudden there 's hope for `` gigli '' !",
        "the MOV gripe , bicker , and bond , and a couple of them even find true love in female forms .",
        "the entire cast aquits itself and none do anything so embarrassing that they can continue to have something to fall back on when they make bad investments .",
        "takes the goofy route through the material , with corny slapstick and hackneyed jokes , none of which are remotely funny ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a dreadful combination of fish-out-of-water jokes , slapstick , and lazy stereotypes .",
    "id": "450816743"
  },
  {
    "movie": "x2_xmen_united",
    "reviews": [
        "as irresistible as movie-theater popcorn -- a lavish , reasonably intelligent , well-acted sequel with kick-butt effects that outdoes its predecessor , 2000 's x-men , in almost every department .",
        "a fantastic sequel with kinetic action scenes and a thirst for the next chapter in the series .",
        "the best new addition to the corp is alan cumming 's nightcrawler . his pointy ears , yellow eyes , and blue skin make him the most creepily beautiful presence in the pageant .",
        "where x-men was often restrained , x2 soars , and it 's a much better film for it .",
        "... once you strip away the fact that the endeavor is mismanaged and lacks essential treasures , it has quite a few decent isolated scenes ...",
        "i felt it low-grade boredom , especially when the characters began to talk .",
        "best of all , this is a film which excites the eye without numbing the brain .",
        "x2 ... is what the first film should have been ; it 's not a comic adaptation , it 's a sci-fi film that stands on its own merit .",
        "a summer firecracker .",
        "with x2 , our modern day movie superheroes have evolved . they are as human as they have ever been , and the more human they get , the more exciting they are to watch .",
        "singer seems like he wants a place in professor xavier 's school for having enough arms to juggle all the plots , which are onscreen .",
        "if this keeps up , sequels might just get a good name .",
        "this snazzy sequel to bryan singer 's comic-book smash x-men is sleek and sexy , filled with delicious characters and effects . just do n't compare it to the original .",
        "while it lacks spider-man 's emotional wallop , x2 : x-men united represents the purest translation of comic book action to the big screen .",
        "an infectiously good time , x2 will no doubt make you forget about the doldrums of human existence and leave you wondering what kind of mutant you 'd most like to be .",
        "... has more subplots going than your average daytime soap operas , but with outcast superheroes instead of rich folk ! in fact , it follows very closely the kind of interrelationships and characterization that made the x-men comic books popular for so long .",
        "x2 is solid , especially when you put it alongside the original and others like it . at the same time , it is completely disposable .",
        "it works perfectly and is never less than believable in an unbelievable , comic-strip kind of way .",
        "aside from the -lrb- perhaps -rrb- overly thrilling spectacle of wolverine 's `` berzerker rage '' the lion 's share of excitement comes from the returning villians and the introduction of nightcrawler .",
        "` grandes efectos especiales , una estupenda historia y acci\u00f3n sin l\u00edmites . ahora , todos somos mutantes '",
        "generally watchable , totally disposable , but passable .",
        "as far as heavily hyped , commercially savvy , slickly produced blockbuster extravaganzas go , this one 's a keeper .",
        "sports enough cool characters and exhilarating set pieces to make you sit tight through the dull bits and tolerate most of the superficial silliness .",
        "stryker 's agents crashing the mutant school look just like the ins officers retrieving elian gonzalez",
        "michael dougherty 's script builds on what went before instead of being a mere rehash , and if you like this sort of thing , you 'll have a grand old time .",
        "a far more moving experience than you 'd ever expect from a comic-book movie .",
        "storm falls victim to the same trap that so many other black characters in ensemble casts fall into - we 'll call it the geordi laforge factor .",
        "x2 has everything fans could want in a sequel !",
        "one of those rare superior sequels - a dark , often exhilarating and occasionally even thoughtful improvement on its portable plastic predecessor .",
        "one of those rare gifts that completely eclipses its predecessor , building on it to create a perfect and wonderful cinematic experience .",
        "there are several memorable bits and genuinely affecting performances .",
        "like that issue of the uncanny x-men that you 'd get every once in a while : the setup for a future episode in which the exciting stuff happens .",
        "overflowing with deep characters in compelling relationships , rich with the always-timely message about bigotry and acceptance , and ... delivers more action and excitement than in the first round .",
        "... sucks you into it 's mutated version of reality , grips you with chilling intensity , and does n't let you go for it 's entire running time .",
        "as far as summer entertainment goes , x2 : x-men united is about as good as it gets .",
        "full of dazzling special effects , stunts and fight scenes , but the story is not as strong as the story in the first film .",
        "... the most successful big budget comic book adaptation since superman : the movie and batman .",
        "very smart , if way too long .",
        "singer is so hung up on the intricacies of his plot that he never allows the world he 's portraying to cut loose into atmospheric fantasy .",
        "during shooting , singer constantly referred to the empire strikes back as his template -- and , by jove , he 's made a movie that 's worthy of the comparison .",
        "just like its mutant characters differ from humans , the x-men franchise differs from most other comic-book cash cows . it 's sadder , saucier and significantly smarter .",
        "a great comic-book movie .",
        "parallels to 9/11 , john ashcroft , the patriot act and the rest of the bush administration 's racist thuggery are obvious ; the movie creates a stirring tide of activist force .",
        "gets bogged down with too many endless fight scenes and too many characters to juggle .",
        "exciting , fast-paced , and avoids most of the pitfalls of taking itself too seriously .",
        "suffice to say that i was steadily engrossed and entertained and ultimately moved by a drama that is , in the end , more human than mutant .",
        "the thrills rocket past so quickly that we seldom get the satisfying pleasure of a movie that knows how to use its spaces , gizmos and trained bodies .",
        "overplotted , a soulless maze of special effects and relentless action .",
        "singer is very good at scene staging , and at linking one scene to the next , creating the kind of downhill momentum that 's exactly right for the matinee-movie stories like x-men united .",
        "the genius of singer 's movie is how easy he makes it for us to recognize and relate to this supposedly ` strange ' world .",
        "the whole project has been developed with enough know-how , unstinting ingenuity and organized energy to lift it far above its flaws .",
        "the marvel age of cinema has truly arrived . ` nuff said .",
        "a comic-book movie with a sense of playfulness , a welcome streak of humor and just the right touch of gravity .",
        "a substantial improvement over x-men , in many ways .",
        "most of the good things about x-men are once again in evidence in this continuation of the epic .",
        "last year , i ranked spider-man among the best comic films made but was hesitant to call it no. 1 . the leader has arrived .",
        "as thoughtful spectacle with some tremendously talented performers , it 's bryan singer 's x-cellent adventure .",
        "fortunately , bigger usually equals better here , and when it does n't , it equals just as good .",
        "performances are solid throughout , with the actors managing to straight-face their way through some truly inane dialogue .",
        "director bryan singer skilfully keeps multiple subplots spinning while moving inexorably towards a climax that puts the first film 's liberty island sequence in the shade .",
        "x2 's excessively complicated and character-crammed plot , which only a teen boy could care about enough to follow closely , has a nasty human bigwig -lrb- brian cox -rrb- fomenting a war against the mutants .",
        "x2 is an interesting fantasy , always aware of its need to remain that way . considering today 's hollywood , that may be its most amazing power of all .",
        "x2 still feels like a prologue . no matter how much goes on , you feel like nothing has happened .",
        "the light tone and modest character development of x-men have given way to an avalanche of digital effects and a bloated symphonic score .",
        "this satisfying new installment looks like just the thing to get the summer blockbuster season off to a supercharged start .",
        "x2 is the movie the first one should 've been .",
        "bryan singer lifts the x-men franchise out of the formulaic superhero realm in his rip-roaring sequel .",
        "bigger , brasher , sexier but much , much more confusing .",
        "fx-heavy franchise pics simply do n't come any better than this .",
        "full of action , babes , story , and style -- now just axe about half the cast so we can have some focus .",
        "fleshes out a futuristic world that is never entirely remote , spiced up with the stinging social issues of the immediate present .",
        "the plot is pure comic book , but it 's immensely entertaining fun .",
        "singer has put together the perfect opening to the summer-blockbuster season .",
        "fans of the `` x-men '' legacy will love the film . to the rest of us , it 's as if we 're asked to follow along on a trip without a roadmap to help guide the way .",
        "opening the summer blockbuster season with flair , x2 : x-men united overtakes its hype to land the title of best comic book movie ... ever",
        "a shortcut title , a shortcut movie .",
        "bryan singer is a director who realizes that comic books are more than just pulp .",
        "it is fun , it is explosive , but it is not a classic , not even in the comic-book genre .",
        "singer has made a fast , furious and sometimes funny superhero flick that should appeal to most anyone .",
        "like the original , x2 succeeds in that neither the writers nor actors treat the comic-book material , like , well , a comic book .",
        "the kind of grand , slick , flashy popcorn entertainment that delivers on its promise of producing eye-popping , heart-thumping , cheer-aloud fun .",
        "it 's exciting , thrilling and , best of all , it 's got brains and a heart .",
        "playful , witty , lively , capable of a surprise or two and emotionally satisfying , exactly what one wants from an action movie .",
        "this may not be a grownup movie but -- unlike the star wars franchise or the batman sequels -- it is a movie that grownups can watch minus the requisite bottle of excedrin .",
        "a slightly flawed film that will nevertheless give fans of the comic book and first film a plenty good buzz .",
        "x2 : x-men united is the kind of movie you enjoy for its moments , even though they never add up .",
        "that rarest of action films , devoid of clich\u00e9s and surprisingly attentive to the humanity of its characters .",
        "this is a welcome change after the mediocrity of spider-man and the outright garbage of daredevil .",
        "yes , there 's action , fun , and even some well-earned tension . but x2 is simply lacking the gel , the magic , the super-power of that strong first film `` x-men . ''",
        "stylishly dark and visually thrilling with turbo-charged mutant action , x-men 2 is a spectacle that delivers on every count .",
        "succeeds more in the special effects department than as a fable about our current , troubled world .",
        "all of this may sound fine and dandy , but it makes for a very busy film that , even at roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes , buckles under the weight of its own ambitions .",
        "so much inventive stuff that it takes your breath away -- from massive set pieces to amazing stuntwork to tiny details .",
        "singer has attempted to be true to his characters , and his intentions are well founded .",
        "the summer has arrived , and with it possibly the best sequel we 'll see this year ... the x-men are back , and back with style .",
        "-lsb- t -rsb- his is a dazzling bit of comic book adaptation , but it never insults the intelligence .",
        "even better than the first .",
        "thanks to ample action , a stellar cast , amazing effects and a storyline that 's solid without being convoluted , it 's xcellent entertainment .",
        "the `` x2 : x-men united '' dvd is straight butter and a must own dvd for any true film fan .",
        "a superbly done roller coaster of a sci-fi/fantasy spectacle .",
        "a fitting salute to a comic that has spanned many decades and fans of all ages .",
        "x2 is motivated by a love of the action and characters . it 's chaotic sometimes , and parts of it drag . but the affection shows , and you feel the director 's enthusiasm .",
        "... a virtual how-to for superhero sequels ...",
        "on a purely visceral level , the movie is a doozy .",
        "in trying to be everything to everybody , it meant nothing much to me .",
        "the effects used for nightcrawler are some of the coolest ever !",
        "it 's not bad for a comic book story .",
        "a major disappointment .",
        "x2 : x-men united is such an entertaining , action-packed film that you almost forget it 's about tolerance and political activism .",
        "everything a super hero movie should be !",
        "sequels are known to hardly be a shade on the original film that spawned them , but in this case , x men 2 is not only as good a film as the first , it 's possibly a much better one .",
        "that rare sequel : one that deepens , darkens and expands upon the original .",
        "`` i 'm gon na go get the jet ready , '' says halle berry as `` storm . '' get the jet ready !? what exactly was she intending to do ? hang some jackets in first class ? restock the onboard revlon products ?",
        "a much superior sequel",
        "busier , funnier , and more involving .",
        "it succeeds pretty well in rising to the challenge that most sequels face : how to give the audience more of what it responded to the first time while feeding its appetite for novelty .",
        "x2 perfectly marks the mutant spot .",
        "stands as a worthy enough follow-up , but just a notch less successful ... lacks the faultless pacing and focused storytelling of the original .",
        "hugely enjoyable sequel that 's every bit as good as the first film .",
        "while most movie-goers will love the film 's sheer thrill ride , x-men fans might leave a little disappointed . the best , i guess , is yet to come . .",
        "`` x2 '' has two times the heroes , two times the action , and two times the fun of the first ...",
        "first-rate and imaginative special effects are paired with a story that raises issues beyond exactly how much of what rebecca romijn stamos is wearing is just blue body paint .",
        "a smooth , shiny entertainment that hums like a jeweled clockwork toy .",
        "would this sequel not just live up to being a sequel of the first film , but even more closely live up to the expectations of fans , some of whom have been fans for over three decades ? yes .",
        "the best approach is to just kick back and enjoy the ride .",
        "it 's as superfluous as it is redundant : x-haust to the nth power .",
        "the special effects have definitely improved .",
        "that rarity among sequels , a follow-up with as much artistic integrity , complexity , humor and well-designed action as the original .",
        "much like its predecessor , x2 is a cold , unfeeling , soulless film , a movie with dollar signs in its eyes and adamantium coursing through its veins .",
        "the whole may be less than the sum of its parts , but some of those parts are nifty .",
        "there 's much to applaud in a superhero movie that takes aim at mortal problems -- from hate , prejudice and intolerance to hyper-surveillance and the corrupting influence of power -- and hits most of its targets .",
        "clearly , this movie is designed to sell action figures rather than make sense .",
        "it 's artificial drama cloaked in big production spectacle . which does n't mean it ca n't be fun .",
        "a double rarity : a sequel that improves on the original , and a big-budget blockbuster that actually has something to say .",
        "singer has assembled a fabulous cast that guarantees both gravitas and believability .",
        "special effects take a bow in this lively sequel that sacrifices narrative pleasure for flashy technique .",
        "as a big screen comic book , x2 is the most rewarding i have yet seen .",
        "like the first film , this one once again failed me to draw me into the world of the x-men .",
        "a bigger and better sequel to the 2000 original .",
        "les mutants reviennent sur nos \u00e9crans en tr\u010ds grande forme",
        "the emotional spectrum has widened , too , encompassing buoyant mirth and heroic tragedy .",
        "possibly one of the best superhero franchises in history , x2 is thoroughly engaging , well acted and well plotted . bryan singer is a master of the genre .",
        "bryan singer ... makes sure the animating theme of this series -- the freedom to be different in the face of intolerant authority -- does n't get lost in the din of battle .",
        "singer and his screenwriters know the value of a surprise and they deliver their share without dipping into the absurd . the result is a movie that surpasses expectations , a superhero flick that can rightfully take its place alongside the best .",
        "x2 feels very much like a step on the way to something else ; but if you can forgive it that , and its occasional hastiness , it 's well worth going to see .",
        "it takes a true cinema talent to turn the daunting and rather unwieldy 40 years of material into a coherent yet complex , smart yet incredibly fun entertainment that satisfies both the fanboys and newbie moviegoers alike .",
        "suffers from acute sequelitis . the characters are n't as vibrant , the dialogue is n't as witty and the action is n't as fresh as they were the first time around .",
        "a wonderfully populated adventure , with the franchise even more compelling the second time out because of our familiarity with the characters .",
        "may be the best super-hero movie yet made .",
        "with its top-notch special effects , x2 promises to be a real crowd-pleaser .",
        "first-rate popcorn cinema and a superfly awesome kick-off to the summer movie season .",
        "harry potter gets daggers in his hand and meets the lord of the rings while star wars plays on in a comic book universe generated , once again , by computers .",
        "moves with the lightning speed , raw power and athletic grace of , well , a genetically mutated superhero .",
        "of the many comic book superhero movies , this is by far the lamest , the loudest , the longest .",
        "the longer the movie goes , the more its 133 minutes prove wearing .",
        "the movie makes up in dynamite what it loses in drama .",
        "although frequently inventive and fun , x2 too often gets bogged down in long ponderous scenes . a frustrating film , it suffers a bad case of bloating .",
        "... if greatness eludes it , it remains sure-footed and dependable nonetheless , an exemplary roller-coaster ride that expands and enhances the work that came before it .",
        "wolverine makes the movie -- a wry , raw , charismatic character , embodied by the excellent hugh jackman .",
        "... a significant improvement over the original in nearly every way .",
        "a bigger and bolder film than the first . the only way that x2 could bring the audience closer to the comic book experience would be to slap it in a pair of spandex . the perfect summer flick !",
        "goes beyond the comic-book movie label in a way no previous super-hero movie has done : it 's well-done sci-fi action-adventure that honors its pulp origins but does n't depend on them ... the most ambitious , sprawling super-hero saga to date .",
        "funny , reasonably crazy , and unpretentiously faithful to its source .",
        "for once , the trailers do n't lie . this is really good - better than the first , actually , and maybe even in the same company as spider-man .",
        "the director allows time , within the action , to cultivate the spirits and souls of his heroes -- and even some of his villains .",
        "it could be its own creature : super-generico . that 's not the worst thing for a movie to be , but it 's not quite marvel-ous either .",
        "once you get past issues related to trying to figure out who everyone is , how they relate to one another , and what their powers are , the movie turns out to be pretty entertaining .",
        "... -lsb- it -rsb- just feels like director bryan singer and his cast are more confident and self-assured , resulting in an action-packed , witty and even thought-provoking yarn .",
        "this time out there 's more action , more character development , more special effects and a much bigger budget .",
        "x2 has an emotion the first film lacked , and , sometimes , the full-blooded intensity that the best pop myths tend to tap .",
        "director bryan singer 's determination to remain true to the legions of `` x-men '' comic book fans is clearly evident in this second film .",
        "brisk and involving with a streamlined forward propulsion , it 's the kind of superhero movie we want if we have to have superhero movies at all .",
        "rich special effects , emotional subtext , and wry attitude that deftly out-ranks the original -lrb- but nightcrawler annoyed me -rrb- .",
        "any disappointments in plot are easily overshadowed by the joy in watching this valiant comic environment take shape on screen .",
        "x2 has some surprisingly touching moments and some surprises to boot .",
        "with so many people running around in spandex and capes , the movie begins to resemble a costume ball .",
        "x-men already rammed its message down our collective throats . now they 're back for seconds .",
        "the plotting seems dangerously self-interested , being concerned almost exclusively with the survival of the mutants themselves , and , behind the succulent effects , the tone is oddly hectoring .",
        "bigger and badder than no. 1 , but still a blast .",
        "in singer 's hands , you never feel there 's anything at stake .",
        "there 's little zest , less grace and , particularly in the writing , no creative spark to ignite the imagination .",
        "for this brief shining moment , the `` x-men '' universe held perfect pitch , and funny book movies had a new standard of execution to live up to .",
        "a truly superior sequel to the original ...",
        "` x ' hits the spot .",
        "this has set the standard very high for this summer and it will be interesting to see what , if any films , can match its calibre .",
        "the higher aspirations sometimes weigh the action down , creating a story that is interesting but not always engaging , lacking the exuberance that could have made it truly exciting .",
        "bigger and more ambitious in every respect , from its action and visceral qualities to its themes .",
        "just once it would be nice to fashion an action sequence in these films where all the x-men team up to use their forces all at the same time",
        "just plain smart , rip-roaring summertime cinematic fun .",
        "exciting . exhilarating . extraordinary . exceptional .",
        "sleek , smart and sophisticated for a far-fetched fantasy .",
        "the expanded cast and cameos will keep fans drooling , but the film never feels over-packed as we get a little history on wolverine -lrb- hugh jackman -rrb- and setups for a few characters for interesting turns in future films .",
        "superhero sequel has more action , bigger stakes and a sprawling cast , adding up to big-time popcorn satisfaction .",
        "one knows this is all fiction because in real life george w. bush would no doubt have sent off all the mutants to guantanamo bay in violation of several international treaties ...",
        "what a great way to start the summer movie season !",
        "an engaging spectacle of energy and special effects built around a doomy mood and an ensemble cast vigorously pursuing a story line that is n't nearly as snazzy as the dressing .",
        "a movie about the x-men could be an examination of outsider psychology - it could be as dark and deep as ingmar bergman 's skammen . but no one here is interested in making anything so esoteric as art .",
        "my goodness , are these x-men ever busy !",
        "it 's a relief to see a sequel that measures up to the original .",
        "singer not only creates a compelling story with strong characters , but he 's also able to improve upon the original by bringing the civil rights subtext into a post-9 / 11 perspective .",
        "x2 : x-men united is sure to appeal to the masses on a super-charged visceral level . overall , this favorable farfetched fable diligently spins a web of pure inventive flashiness",
        "contains maybe the best effects work i have ever seen , with the various spectacular sights not registering with the audience as spectacular because the wizardry that created them does n't call attention to itself .",
        "get ready for the first true cinematic blast of the summer !",
        "very much like its predecessor : slickly made but overstuffed with characters and excessively busy .",
        "a hugely enjoyable adventure that does what all sequels should : it fleshes out the themes and ideas of the first part instead of merely staging variations on the stunts and jokes that audiences loved .",
        "big-budget , crowd-pleasing , multiplex material that does n't insult your intelligence is a rare commodity these days , so i have no problem at all encouraging you to drop eight bucks on this one .",
        "where x-men felt fragmented and impersonal , x2 explodes with ass-kicking style and sass .",
        "there 's invigorating charm in x2 's many scenes of unhurried playfulness and gentle puns on serious themes of tolerance .",
        "x-men 2 \u00e9 um filme de super-her\u00f3is feito para adultos .",
        "double your pleasure with this visually stunning and thematically inventive sci-fi spectacular where mutant humans battle the zealous forces of law and order .",
        "director bryan singer ups the ante in x2 , introducing new characters and creating plot lines that will lead to future adventures . meanwhile , he accelerates the action so the movie 's 134 minutes speed by like an express train .",
        "x2 : x-men united is a thoroughly intriguing sequel in the x-men series , a pure adrenaline ride . but with a weighty -- and very important -- message attached , the film also makes you think .",
        "if you 're an x-men fan , the theater is the only way to get the full impact of the effects - they 're pretty awesome .",
        "with a nod to ` the empire strikes back , ' this is an exciting , action-packed superhero saga with a timely message about tolerance and sacrifice .",
        "not only is it much better than the first movie , but it stands so well on its own that you do n't need to have seen its predecessor .",
        "it still is not great , but it is better .",
        "... x2 has everything you 'd want in a comic book adaptation ...",
        "whereas x-men felt like it was holding back a bit ... the sequel leaps forward , full of confidence .",
        "it would have been nice to see more character development , but if quirks and subplots for each of the x-men were explored , that would take a 15-hour movie .",
        "is the sequel worth the 3-year wait and the ticket price in ? the answer is `` definitely yes . ''",
        "it 's by far the best movie adaptation of a comic book , ever .",
        "stryker keeps x2 from exceeding the sum of its otherwise impressive parts .",
        "after about 1 1/2 hours , i thought , ` this has been a great movie ! ' when the 2:00 mark came and went , i was saying , ` is this ever going to end ? '",
        "improves upon the formula of the original and gives a significantly greater amount of action , but the formula is still rather expository in nature and the action has a tendency to be rather generic .",
        "x2 is considerably deeper -- and eerily relevant at this moment -- than its surface .",
        "no actor has ever inhabited the spirit of a comic character the way hugh jackman has .",
        "for most of its runtime , x2 has the indescribable x-factor of rollicking entertainment .",
        "the primary improvement over the first film ... is that this one is simply more enjoyable with less heavy lifting .",
        "offers a diverting mix of insight and spectacle , human and superhuman .",
        "turns out it is possible to be big without being stupid .",
        "x2 is n't inspired , but it 's fine .",
        "determined to do ` justice ' to their source and show a little bit of all the mutants , both films focus on numbers -lrb- lots of x-men , lots of crosscuts , lots of plots -rrb- rather than their built-in perverse substance .",
        "bryan singer 's x2 : x-men united is a mutant leap forward in comic book filmmaking .",
        "the best superhero sequel since superman ii .",
        "for the most part , the effects are top-drawer , and the story creates a mild undertow of emotion ."
    ],
    "summary": "tightly scripted , solidly acted , and impressively ambitious , x2 : x-men united is bigger and better than its predecessor -- and a benchmark for comic sequels in general .",
    "id": "10568"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1083171-perfect_murder",
    "reviews": [
        "loaded with dramatic irony in the first half and with tension in the second , the film gives douglas another chance to do his slick , sinister best ; paltrow a chance to extend her emotional range ; and mortensen a chance to play the chameleon .",
        "andrew davis -lrb- of fugitive fame -rrb- has created a new and improved version , with first-rate performances .",
        "an effective remake of an ineffective hitchcock thriller .",
        "what andrew davis has essentially done is to take one three-star movie and turn it into another three-star movie .",
        "andrew -lrb- `` the fugitive '' -rrb- davis ' film is less than perfect but it 's a murderously fun way to spend a couple of hours in a darkened movie theater .",
        "his -lsb- davis -rsb- direction is swift and very effective , and the movie , shot in shades of ebony -lrb- the color of black marble -rrb- , looks exceptionally handsome .",
        "you do n't have to believe a word of the strained dialogue in a MOV to be seduced by the movie 's chilly high-gloss ambiance and its skillfully plotted update of frederick knott 's play ...",
        "... a MOV has inexplicably managed to eliminate almost everything that was worthwhile about dial m for murder , leaving behind the nearly-unwatchable wreckage of a would-be '90s thriller .",
        "i think it works like a nasty little machine to keep us involved and disturbed ; my attention never strayed , and one of the elements i liked was the way paltrow 's character is n't sentimentalized .",
        "while the resolution may never be in doubt , how the film arrives there is a constant source of pleasure .",
        "this unscary thriller also suffers from dreadful miscasting , not the least of which is pairing gwyneth paltrow and michael douglas as the leads .",
        "somewhere , alfred hitchcock is yawning .",
        "... there 's nothing about this thriller to prevent it from soon becoming enmeshed in the memory with others in which michael douglas wears a starched collar and grits his teeth .",
        "paltrow , too , is generally a good actress but there is a paint-by-numbers quality to her work here .",
        "as is the case with too many remakes , the slick new take falls short .",
        "... the story offers so many lapses in logic , so many plot holes and so much dialogue to howl for that there 's plenty to talk about afterward .",
        "davis weaves a gorgeously lush film , charged with high tension , but the listless script renders his efforts alarmingly mundane .",
        "... snoozy , slack ...",
        "what the film lacks is suspense , surprise -lrb- the new ending is a dud -rrb- and passion .",
        "a MOV begins better than it ends , and the pleasures it offers turn out to be more of a transitory nature .",
        "a resolu\u0437\u0433o n\u0433o faz jus \u0430s duas primeiras horas de proje\u0437\u0433o .",
        "none of the amusement gained in watching the performances , unfortunately , amounts to much , as the script , in a desperate attempt to lend action interest to the original , static , puzzle plot , compounds surprise turn after surprise turn .",
        "... a fast-paced thriller that probably will leave alfred hitchcock aficionados mourning its shallowness -- but not until after they 've enjoyed an adrenaline rush .",
        "... simpers along with relatively little suspense or thrills ...",
        "slick and twisted tale provides two delicious hours of intrigue and mystery , along with some unexpected wit and black comedy ...",
        "... the film is so lacking in anything original that it is hardly worth recommending .",
        "a streamlined , high gloss , touch-tone remake of the lesser-hitchcock classic . harken ye back to the days of rotary dialing .",
        "a thriller without much genuine suspense is n't much of a thriller even if the atmospherics are dead-on ."
    ],
    "summary": "a slick little thriller that relies a bit too much on surprise events to generate suspense .",
    "id": "13408"
  },
  {
    "movie": "honeydripper",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is an electrifying period piece about how music can bring folks together and generally save one 's soul -- or at least its final 15 minutes is . the rest of the time , it 's just a lot of sassy talk and scenery .",
        "even more than the music in this musically rich picture , the great pleasure of MOV is in watching danny glover as tyrone purvis , the club owner .",
        "john sayles is back in the saddle with another film in his regional cinema series",
        "like a rich and complex novel rendered as a visual experience that is equally rich and as unabashedly poetic in its images as sayles is with his metaphors",
        "the cumulative effect is very tasty indeed .",
        "it survives on its versatile leads , its smoky cinematography -lrb- courtesy of dick pope -rrb- and its seductive musical performances , which run from gospel to jazz to blues to the to the electrifying kick-start of early rock 'n' roll .",
        "never reaches its full tempo",
        "those who are patient will be rewarded with an engaging cast and the type of rousing ending that makes it worthwhile .",
        "MOV 's story is n't anything you have n't seen a dozen times before , but where sayles succeeds is in his ability to dramatize the psychological and linguistic details that give identity to a subculture struggling for survival .",
        "strangely , and perhaps due to the music , the film moves with more verve than much of sayles ' recent work . but it 's still flat and disappointing .",
        "MOV , by veteran american director john sayles , shows just how much life music can give to a movie .",
        "a movie with a lot of pulled dramatic punches , MOV is still very likable . its real attraction is real blues stars playing live with an energy that would float a much lesser movie than this .",
        "a contemplative fable , MOV locates the moment but misses the heart-pounding , gut-wrenching explosion -- the history is there , the thrill is n't .",
        "john sayles is a natural storyteller and national treasure , dedicated to spinning narratives of america , state by state , into a vibrant quilt of 20th-century american history .",
        "MOV is a pleasant enough story , but when sayles is involved , it is a shock to feel so little .",
        "with its cotton-field locations , diddley-bo props and scripted nods toward blues history and mythology , ` MOV ' somehow feels touristy rather than authentic -- as if it were a product of research rather than passion .",
        "together with production designer toby corbett and costume designer hope hanafin , they get their visual cues from the narrative and the music , creating a rich , down-to-earth environment where violence and magic seem equally possible .",
        "the film gets better as it goes along , and it closes with a rousing musical flourish , as immensely charismatic newcomer clark jr. finally hits the stage . at last , sayles ' sleepy drama wakes with a start .",
        "MOV , is medium-grade -lsb- john -rsb- sayles .",
        "a leisurely , atmospheric production with lots of time to appreciate -lsb- sayles ' -rsb- largely african-american cast , along with rocking musical interludes and just the faintest wash of spirituality .",
        "written and directed by the indefatigable indie idol john sayles , the movie is well-acted , but it 's as talky as if it were written for the stage , with fatally slow pacing .",
        "it 's a lovely portrait of a fabled time and place , but was n't there a bit of ugliness , too ?",
        "it 's about ordinary people living in the shadow of nagging , day-to-day racism , and about the music that reminds them of what 's right with the world rather than what 's wrong .",
        "MOV takes forever to develop its characters , its period and its location . but once it 's done all that , the payoffs are rich .",
        "MOV , directed by john sayles , is a shambling fusion of pop mythology and social mosaic .",
        "... suffers from lethargic pacing , so a lot of good will is required to make it through to the electric climax .",
        "a musical period piece that manages to be lighthearted and socially conscious .",
        "-lsb- sayles is -rsb- more concerned with spinning a ground-level human comedy than searching for pie in the sky . his movie is rich with characters and flowing with music .",
        "the film does feature a host of interesting characters and , as always with sayles , the dialogue has more than a few zingers .",
        "john sayles , after 27 years and 16 films , is the ancient mariner of independent cinema , navigating the constantly swirling waters of the genre with passion and skill .",
        "this is n't the kind of flashy big issue movie that makes people stand up and take notice . it 's quiet and moody , with outbursts of strong emotion and energy .",
        "inert",
        "in this allegory , you understand , times change and troubles stay the same .",
        "an engaging and inspirational tale ... handled with graceful understatement .",
        "it 's optimistic , and maybe it does n't have a heck of a lot to do with history , but it 's a tale well told .",
        "while this may not be the rowdiest birth-of-rock - 'n' - roll film ever made -- it 's very likely the least rowdy -- sayles addresses a transitional moment in his own patient , precise way .",
        "it 's a leisurely paced period musical drama set in the jim crow south of the 1950s that 's steeped in the black southern mores ... .",
        "the large cast is admirable , but the joint does n't so much jump as shuffle earnestly from foot to foot .",
        "... a tone deaf movie , filled with obvious , overly expository dialogue and sometimes patronizing symbols .",
        "the movie 's central story is too slight and predictable to justify all the embroidery sayles adds around the edges .",
        "in the endearing musical time-piece MOV , the indie icon -lsb- sayles -rsb- lets his narrative gifts take the lead and the social issues follow like a tight bass line .",
        "this movie is dripping a lot of things , none of them honey .",
        "it 's best to forget the story here and focus on those small moments that shine in any sayles film .",
        "moviemaking seems to have become almost magically easy for this independent writer-director .",
        "it 's infused with some great music .",
        "it 's time to acknowledge john sayles ' dependable good intentions . his latest film , MOV , may have slipped through the cracks of december 's big-ticket releases , but it 's easily sayles ' best film in a good while .",
        "this is minor league sayles , filled with strong performances and rich in evocative historical details , but lacking the freshness that would 've made it something more .",
        "although MOV won a screenplay award at the san sebasti\u00e1n film festival , it 's not sayles ' strongest work . part of the problem is that it keeps building to a rock - 'n' - roll payoff that never quite arrives .",
        "john sayles returns with another literate , professional , yet highly enjoyable film .",
        "it 's a solid history lesson that 's less solid as a movie , simply because so much of the weight seems to be crammed into a too-fragile framework . as a film , MOV is fine history put to less fine use .",
        "the wonderful cast , mainly black , carries it all with ease , even sailing past occasional false moments .",
        "gorgeous cinematography , fine acting , splendid music , good old-fashioned story -- what 's not to like ?",
        "it has all the reliable components of sayles ' films : a strong social conscience ; well-drawn characters whose lives overlap convincingly ; a languid pace that allows for the honest unfolding of their foibles and fears ; a vivid evocation of a place and time .",
        "john sayles 's mediocre honeydipper is flanked by two great scenes .",
        "john sayles is to be commended for again serving up a thought-provoking slice of african-americana sans the shucking and jiving which hollywood typically attaches to black-oriented fare .",
        "trudging nobly under a mantle of impeccably earnest intentions and a fussy , too-quaint-by-half production design , MOV lags and drags to its utterly predictable end . there 's not a spark of spontaneity or soul about it .",
        "falls quite short of its mark , mostly due to the poor casting as well as a deathly slow pace that far too often veers away from -lsb- the film 's -rsb- greatest strength , which is the music .",
        "so lacking in punch or drive that you just start waiting for the thing to end",
        "this likable , laidback movie goes down well , a pleasant dash of southern comfort with some great tunes mixed into the batch .",
        "life in a black alabama community in the 1950s and the frantic efforts of a juke joint manager to keep his club open .",
        "sonny blake turns out a literally electric performance on his electric guitar .",
        "filled with observant , atmosphere-drenched , folkloric vignettes that delineate racism in that time in that place .",
        "any time sayles clicks with his material this succinctly , the results are thrilling .",
        "it 's awfully difficult not to be drawn into this refreshingly low-key and simple tale .",
        "examining the interaction of characters within the racially-tense , musically-rich south , circa 1950 , john sayles questions how much of our actions are determined by our environment , a consistent theme in his work .",
        "MOV is a decent but lesser entry in the unique and praiseworthy oeuvre of john sayles , a maverick filmmaker who has done more to showcase america , its pros and cons , and diversity than any other filmmaker alive .",
        "has john sayles finally lost his mojo ?",
        "with each turn of events being telegraphed well in advance , there are no surprises in sayles ' script . the cast , however , headed by glover 's complex portrait of a man plagued by his past , is fresh enough to cover the stale plot mechanics .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- wonder of beautifully observant cinema , a sneakily magical immersion in a lost place and time ...",
        "the only surprise in all this scripted sentiment is its apparent conclusion that maybe the blues deserve to be dead",
        "as sayles is messing with a brilliant legacy one can only hope he 'll exercise more discernment the next time he sets downto write a script .",
        "the scenes involving musical performances ... are the best parts of the movie , and it would be much enriched if there were more of them .",
        "think of it as an expert piece cultural anthropology with a beat that you can dance to .",
        "very light and quite predictable ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV 's electric musical numbers and sharp performances make for an exciting film , despite its slow pace .",
    "id": "770675536"
  },
  {
    "movie": "conan_the_barbarian",
    "reviews": [
        "let 's face it : arnold is well-cast . but the movie takes itself way too seriously .",
        "too dull to be unintentionally funny .",
        "not since bambi 's mother was killed has there been a cannier movie for kids than MOV .",
        "MOV is an extremely long , frequently incoherent , ineptly staged adventure-fantasy set in a prehistoric past .",
        "a big , sweaty , pulpy adventure tale that 's both exciting and unintentionally amusing .",
        "when it comes to the great lines -lrb- and mottos -rrb- of cinema , it does n't get much better than this .",
        "match verdict : no goals , slow build-up , but much absorbing action off the ball .",
        "balls-to-the-wall swordplay flicks do n't get much better than this",
        "arnold 's first real movie -lrb- not counting hercules and the villain -rrb- . very serious , needs more humor , but a good debut .",
        "muddy and serious , but refreshing compared to other comic book movies .",
        "MOV by john millius is ... one of the top ten motion pictures ever made .",
        "no comic book stuff here : the film is dark and gloomy with excessive violence .",
        "john milius is skilled at allowing his story to unfold as though you were reading a pulp novel , never letting you get bored . he always throws something at you that 's reminiscent of the best in fantasy novels .",
        "schwarzenegger has probably never been better-cast .",
        "even 17 years after its release , MOV still weaves a spell capable of ensorcelling fans of fantasy adventure .",
        "a stirringly grandiose music-video epic",
        "... should appeal to most anyone with a bent for fantasy and swashbuckling derring-do .",
        "there is a real anticipation as schwarzenegger is unveiled as the barbarian and sets off on the road to independence . but for whatever reasons , the actor has a minimum of dialog and fails to convey much about the character through his actions .",
        "ok sandals and loin cloth muscle adventure ... which made arnold a star .",
        "a film that only wants to be described by the single adjective `` awesome '' , though `` epic '' would do in a pinch .",
        "this primitive , mythic epic catapulted schwarzenegger to movie stardom after being a famous body-builder .",
        "... ironically undone by its star , a preening peacock eager to sow the seeds of self-parody with a well-placed camel punch .",
        "visualizing robert e. howard 's creation in the midst of the reagan era is an offer the auteur ca n't refuse",
        "following the release of the dreadful 2011 reboot , the original has been labeled a `` classic , '' but let 's not kid ourselves .",
        "essential 80s cinema with some amazing elements , including the unflinching violence for the time and the brilliant score by basil poledouris",
        "its magnificence stems from the very properties we should be condemning with all our might .",
        "a classic tale is told through fascinating visuals , cheesy characters and good old fashioned muscle-bound strength ."
    ],
    "summary": "though conan may take itself too seriously for some , this adventure film about a former slave seeking vengeance is full of quotable schwarzenegger lines and gritty action .",
    "id": "16016"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1084398-life_is_beautiful",
    "reviews": [
        "with MOV , the final frontier of schmaltz has been reached .",
        "the film 's title , which very well could have been a straightforward declaration prior to the war , becomes a source of twisted irony once we witness guido pull down the grate outside his humble bookshop and the words jewish store are seen sprayed across th",
        "wrenching holocaust fable with bittersweet humor .",
        "roberto benigni 's finest hour arrived in 1997 when the triple-threat writer/director/actor delved deep into charlie chaplin territory - see `` the great dictator '' -lrb- 1940 -rrb- .",
        "this cross between schindler 's list and hogan 's heroes works better than it has any right to , but not as well as most people would have you believe .",
        "benigni 's point , made with tender sensitivity , is that a child 's innocence is worth protecting .",
        "benigni does with the nazi setting what chaplin did n't dare in the great dictator -- he lets the liberating nonsense triumph .",
        "sentimental and contrived , benigni 's well-intentioned holocaust dramedy may only work as a children 's fable . inexplicably , it won a prize at the 1998 cannes festival .",
        "it embraces the bravery of its victims , and educates its audience through truly accessible characters .",
        "i had thought the other sister was appalling in its exploitation of the mentally disabled to grab your entertainment dollar , but that was nothing , nothing compared to what the funny little italian man has wrought .",
        "audiences will be laughing hysterically while crying their eyes out .",
        "three parts charles chaplin to one part buster keaton , benigni 's guileless courtship fable is a latter-day screwball farce in the best sense .",
        "it 's not easy to sit through MOV . between benigni 's mugging , the often flat comedy , and the structure of the piece , it 's actually quite hard . but those up to challenge will receive ample dividends .",
        "it is to the film 's glorious advantage that it does reveal that every cloud , especially the black nimbus of war , has a silver lining and that , indeed , MOV .",
        "MOV has come under attack in some circles for mocking the holocaust . nothing could be further from the truth .",
        "by the end of MOV , you see that benigni is no fool , he is a comic genius with a heart as big as the world .",
        "regardless , the film 's second half is a tender and tragic treatise on the transcendence of a parent 's love , and the power of man-made magic to reconstruct the world .",
        "the holocaust requires no dramatisation to shock us . but this irritating little euro-chaplin has found a new way to present something we 'd all rather look away from .",
        "it 's a high-wire act without a net , and benigni pulls it off with astounding grace and sensitivity .",
        "benigni certainly knew the risk he was taking with his idea , but the circumstances overwhelm him .",
        "in the real death camps there would be no role for guido . but MOV is not about nazis and fascists , but about the human spirit .",
        "you 'll laugh ! you 'll cry ! you 'll smile through the evils of genocide !",
        "this is an excellent movie for families to watch together , to discuss not just the historical framework but challenges that parents face when they see their children learn about tragedy and unfairness .",
        "explores the power of laughter to lift the human spirit even in the face of extreme tragedy .",
        "winner of the grand jury prize at cannes , MOV deserved every vote it got .",
        "i have an incredible difficulty having my words do justice to this film .",
        "art-house sentimentalists will likely go for beautiful in a big way , but even those who aggressively resist manipulation can find a lot to admire .",
        "benigni is an original , carrying off a task that no other filmmaker has realized in quite the same way .",
        "brilliantly spectacles the glorious to nauseating extremes the gift of life affords us ... while encouraging our participation in the former .",
        "giving myself to the film , i was rewarded with one of the most moving and crushing films in years .",
        "benigni 's unique film contributes in a small way to our understanding the affects of the holocaust .",
        "a lasting impression is not made by its laughs or sense of reality , but its huge heart .",
        "a daring , highly original work .",
        "treat yourself , and seek out this film .",
        "many times i was struck by the need to laugh and cry simultaneously , and that odd combination lingered with me long after i finished watching .",
        "but that 's what 's so extremely interesting about this film . it 's deceptive and clever , and it certainly had me thinking it was something else and not such a downbeat film .",
        "one more brave and indispensible little film about the holocaust , this one from an unlikely source , comic roberto benigni .",
        "the film is a triumph of performances , from benigni 's surprisingly subtle lead turn to youngster giorgio cantarini , who is extremely impressive in his debut role .",
        "es una ense\u0144anza de los valores primordiales que debe de mantener el ser humano en circunstancias donde la \u00fanica v\u00eda de escape posible es la muerte",
        "it works so hard at being cute that it forgets to be funny .",
        "through roberto benigni 's joy of spirit , MOV powerfully reaffirms life itself .",
        "the movie is a solid work and wholesome reminder of the holocaust .",
        "the lesson that benigni ultimately imparts is that it 's easy to convince a child horror does n't exist as long as it stays out of the way while the two of you are goofing off .",
        "its intentions may be sound , but its achievements fall far short of the ambitious mark it sets for itself .",
        "sentimentality is a kind of fascism too , robbing us of judgment and moral acuity , and it needs to be resisted . MOV is a good place to start .",
        "warm and even loving without being cloying or spilling over into easy sentimentality",
        "the picture does n't work , at least not to the extent it was intended to .",
        "the movie 's eventual transition from silly fun to heartstring-tugging tearjerker mode comes off as limp at best .",
        "roberto benigni 's comic fable about one family 's struggle to survive in a nazi concentration camp is in offensively poor taste .",
        "-lsb- benigni -rsb- somehow succeeds at such a genre-bending convention -lrb- or unconvention , if you think about it -rrb- , finding just the right balance between humor and drama so that the film in no way is condescending to the subject matter .",
        "dares to laugh in the face of the unthinkable . and because benigni can be heart-rending without a trace of the maudlin , it works .",
        "benigni 's movie made me want to throw up .",
        "... silly , to be sure , implausible , sometimes slapstick , often sophomoric ; but it is never disrespectful . ... a sweet and moving experience .",
        "`` holocaust comedy '' + `` life-affirming drama '' = molto hilarious dramadic cadffefmng . perhaps cadffefmng should mean `` magical taste of realism . ''",
        "shows how humor is a rich spiritual resource that enables us to cope with the unexpected and to smile through the unbearable .",
        "if this is a fantasy , it is probably a compensation we need when facing the reality of history .",
        "yes , there are heaps of charm and poignancy in this trifle , but it 's a trifle nonetheless -- light-and-bright , for sure , but also slight-and-trite .",
        "how appealing you find it will probably depend on your response to benigni 's screen-hogging routines -- the line between endearing and irksome is a fine one .",
        "inspiring , heartrending , funny , sad , surprising and richly imagined .",
        "a dramatic rendition of the fortitude required to reclaim the violated spirit and the imaginary optimism needed to save a dying innocence .",
        "he film 's absurdist account of fascism gives the first half rich comic flavors that grow darker as the story progresses .",
        "the movie manages to incorporate all these things into a moving yet unsentimental story about the beauty of maintaining one 's wits while stumbling blindly in the insane no man 's land that lies beyond wit 's end .",
        "the movie is partly set inside a concentration camp , yet it has more to do with charlie chaplin than oskar schindler , as it uses slapstick pratfalls , social commentary , and gentle satire to create a touching tale of love .",
        "hilarious . heartbreaking . hopeful . imaginative .",
        "it combines a charming romance with a dash of farce , stirs in a little poignancy , and ends up a very enjoyable movie .",
        "a deeply touching story told with imagination and humor .",
        "its strained poignancy is as thick -- and sweet -- as honey .",
        "its sentiment is inescapable , but genuine poignancy and pathos are also present , and an overarching sincerity is visible too ."
    ],
    "summary": "benigni 's earnest charm , when not overstepping its bounds into the unnecessarily treacly , offers the possibility of hope in the face of unflinching horror .",
    "id": "10097"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lenfant_2006",
    "reviews": [
        "the filmmakers let many scenes linger too long but manage to achieve a sense of realism that occasionally packs dramatic punch . a likable -- not lovable -- child .",
        "the exceptional thing about l'enfant is how intensely dramatic the film makes the consequences of bruno 's choice .",
        "the minimalist tone may be an acquired taste -- which might be why -lsb- the dardennes ' -rsb- films have been overlooked at the oscars but awarded the golden palm twice .",
        "l'enfant becomes like one of those nightmares where someone does something terrible , then tries to make it right , then gets into a bigger and bigger mess .",
        "plain-good storytelling : rigorous acting , handheld urgency , and editing prowess render the whiff of manipulation moot .",
        "renier does more with one expression than most actors do with their whole kit . it 's fun , infuriating and uplifting and it 's never boring . great flick .",
        "focuses on the here and now , the possibility that all human beings have within them compassion , remorse and the capability to sacrifice their own interests for another .",
        "this is a movie about the kind of everyday miracle we all need to believe can happen -- how the tiniest glimmer of human connection can lead the most miserable specimen out of darkness .",
        "what interests the dardennes ... is not only how bruno became the kind of man who would sell a child as casually as a slab of beef , but also whether a man like this , having committed such a repellent offense , can find redemption .",
        "meatier than anything that 's likely to be released this year",
        "bruno is a classic character from the pen of jean-pierre and luc dardenne , the belgian filmmakers who find beauty and redemption in the direst of circumstances .",
        "as a slice-of-miserable-life drama , l'enfant is no picnic . but that is the value of a dardenne film . the brothers indulge in social and cinematic realism , obliging us to look closely at the unwatchable .",
        "` l'enfant ' is not an easy film to watch , but i did find it fascinating and worthwhile .",
        "while it does n't measure up to such past -lrb- palme d'or -rrb- winners as ` pulp fiction ' and ` the pianist ' , it does have a certain attraction for the viewer once it gets into its central story .",
        "without a lot of overheated action , the consequences of bruno 's behavior cloud the next few hours of his life . the character is a surprise as both a dramatic creation and a human being .",
        "if you think britney and michael were careless with their babies , you have n't seen anything yet .",
        "the miracle of the filmmakers ' work would seem to be the perfectly struck performances of the leads .",
        "here is a film where god does not intervene and the directors do not mistake themselves for god . it makes the solutions at the ends of other pictures seem like child 's play .",
        "belgian filmmakers jean-pierre and luc dardenne are masters of naturalistic drama in which characters reveal themselves through a grimace or a gesture , rather than artfully scripted speeches .",
        "the beauty of -lsb- dardennes ' -rsb- movies , much like flannery o'connor 's stories , is that they think no one is beyond rescue .",
        "l'enfant is certainly a skillful , engaging movie , but a step backward for this talented team .",
        "l'enfant nudges both its protagonist and its audience toward unlikely affection .",
        "there is a probing awareness and conscience in the dardenne films , without schoolbook lessons tapped onto our thick foreheads , though the emphasis on ethics could put their work on a shelf near the elegant works of eric rohmer and even robert bresson .",
        "for all the squalor and extremely upsetting subject matter , you ca n't take your eyes off the screen . the dardennes have a gift of finding a sort of beauty in ugliness .",
        "deceptively simple , stripped to the bare necessities , it quietly dramatizes the consequences of lying , cheating and stealing in a way that takes your intelligence for granted .",
        "even for a useless criminal , bruno is just not a compelling personality . unreadable lumps generally are n't .",
        "if you 've never seen a dardenne picture , this is the one you should rush to see . 5 out of 5 stars",
        "the film belongs to jeremie renier and deborah francois .",
        "everything about l'enfant feels devastatingly real .",
        "as a character study it delivers the goods , fraught with the sweet tension and painful heartbreak of coming of age and living on the edge .",
        "another engrossing character study worthy of recommendation from the dardennes",
        "the story of a convincing and well-drawn prick whose redemption does n't feel earned .",
        "apesar de todas as falhas de car\u0431ter do protagonista , ainda torcemos por sua reden\u0437\u0433o % u2013 uma proeza que o filme alcan\u0437a sem manique\u043dsmos .",
        "what is astonishing , and most admirable , is the way the filmmakers manage to create sympathy for this pathetic loser .",
        "l'enfant marks the first time that -lsb- the dardennes -rsb- seem interested in projecting more than just art-school indifference .",
        "... as much a tone poem as bresson 's balthazar : bruno is a donkey as well as a child , and his redemption is uncertain .",
        "an observant and effective study in character and setting , suitably grave and distinctively realized .",
        "every act in the film has a mythic resonance .",
        "a searing work about a severely flawed person 's heartbreaking stabs at redemption .",
        "i found myself grudgingly admiring the film on a technical level while being slightly annoyed with it on an emotional level .",
        "... intrigues with its small observations of what makes people tick .",
        "l'enfant is more than just a morality play . it is an investigation of the societal forces that create such misguided people , such overgrown children .",
        "no one is likely to leave l'enfant unaffected by the dardennes incisive exploration of the consequences of a world where some of its citizens have found a way to rationalize , and even ignore , what was if not unimaginable , at least unforgivable .",
        "it 's not -lsb- the dardennes ' -rsb- finest work -lrb- which would be 1999 's shattering drama rosetta -rrb- , but is still a worthy addition to an impressive resume .",
        "l' enfant is a dire and daunting character study and relationship drama set among the underclass in an industrial belgian bleakness ...",
        "hooks you in with its near-inconceivable but sadly realistic premise and tugs you along by the tightened heart strings . although it devolves into traditional formula , the film still retains intrigue with its impenetrable central character .",
        "could be that the brothers are getting either bored of their shtick or fond of their reputation .",
        "like all the dardennes ' films , l'enfant is a vivid , dickensian report from the most dispossessed precincts of society .",
        "told without sentiment or an excess of didacticism , the story of redemption among the urban underclass carries considerable power but never becomes a truly searing experience .",
        "a gritty slice of real life , relentlessly in focus , though always humane .",
        "fran\u00e7ois is heartbreaking in her debut role - here 's hoping the belgian film industry takes note and we see more of her in future .",
        "bland and predictable .",
        "an example of how cinema has the power to convince , to move and to compel with the fewest possible material resources .",
        "a gritty fairy tale about repentance that starts out small and gradually grows in power and intensity , as if by magic , until you 're feeling as panicked and desperate as its protagonist .",
        "viewers in europe have swooned , it is said , at this movie 's painful inching toward redemption . against that , i have to report a slow drip of disappointment .",
        "for all its bleakness , the latest film from the dardenne brothers offers hope and you 'll take away from it how much you have to be thankful for .",
        "unlike the great foreign films of old , l'enfant makes catharsis look easy .",
        "l'enfant is a forceful , impassioned and unsparing triumph from jean-pierre and luc dardenne .",
        "fran\u00e7ois gives a marvelously expressive performance as sonia .",
        "the slyly generic title of jean-pierre and luc dardenne 's l'enfant -lrb- the child -rrb- suggests ample room for doubt about who 's the real kid in their new film .",
        "absolutely terrific .",
        "`` l'enfant '' follows in their fierce and unsparing tradition , a tale of a destitute young couple under extraordinary pressure from without and within .",
        "a genuine tale of redemption .",
        "in the end , the film itself may be of less consequence than the emotions it stirs up in the viewer . can we forgive the unforgivable ? should we ?",
        "a simple moral fable told with compassion and nerve .",
        "its story appears simple , but l'enfant offers subtle insights into bruno 's behavior as it progresses .",
        "-lsb- the dardennes -rsb- break down whatever barriers a more formal film might have offered the audience for protection .",
        "the journey and character evolution of bruno is subtle and believable , thanks to renier 's performance .",
        "story thrives on how realistic , unsentimental , bleak and penetrating it is .",
        "many will exit humming peggy lee 's ` is that all there is ? '",
        "a miracle .",
        "a lethargic , often slovenly chore .",
        "a particularly unlikeable protagonist , the sky-high expectations that come with a palme d'or and the distinct sensation of `` been there , seen that '' ...",
        "with belgian auteurs the dardenne brothers behind the camera , there are deeper levels to explore in another stark but gripping construction of social realism .",
        "a rigorously austere masterpiece infused with intense humanism .",
        "although it 's safe to say that the film is as entertaining as it is distressing , this is bog-standard dardennes at best , and questionable as a palme d'or winner .",
        "does not present any convincing evidence that bruno is either so dense or so uncaring as to be remotely capable of selling his son on a whim",
        "there was a lot of grumbling after l'enfant was screened for critics .",
        "a sad social commentary in the style of robert bresson .",
        "like spike lee 's 25th hour , l'enfant focuses on the redemption of a sinner , but it 's debatable whether l'enfant really earns its teary finale .",
        "focuses on an irresponsible couple who nonetheless gain our sympathy .",
        "throughout this raw , often brilliant drama , the dardennes refuse to judge these deeply flawed characters .",
        "the dardennes waste no time involving the audience in the narrative , through both their hand-held , cinema verit\u00e9 style of filming and by having events take place in real time .",
        "the intimacy the directors achieve with their actors is nothing short of uncanny : renier and fran\u00e7ois go about their business with such naturalness and determination , you forget there are performances going on .",
        "the dardennes ' eye for detail and feel for character rhythms give it an authenticity , and their compassion and belief in redemption give us a reason to care .",
        "more likely to elicit shrugs than applause from the audience .",
        "by recording events with such detailed dispassion , the dardennes avoid undue melodramatics . consequently , this palme d'or-winning confirmation of the world 's cruelty remains unflinchingly powerful .",
        "preachy , overly symbolic and worst of all , dull .",
        "those masters of small-scale realism , belgian brothers luc and jean-pierre dardenne , have created yet another beautifully acted , exquisitely observed morality tale .",
        "the remarkable thing about the dardennes is their complex single-mindedness . each film is an odyssey -lrb- toward grace ? -rrb- in a world that could hardly seem more material .",
        "a hard-hitting and involving morality tale about the thief in the heart of a greedy young man .",
        "the infant grabs hold of the viewer 's heart with his sheer vulnerability and dependence on parents who are only beginning to learn how to take care of themselves .",
        "the dardennes ' documentary style -- real locations , hand-held camerawork and no music -- help increase not only the realism , but the claustrophobia .",
        "it 's expertly directed in a low-key , naturalistic way that brings to mind french auteur robert bresson . it 's also emotionally forceful and contains heartbreaking performances by jeremie renier as bruno and d\u00e9borah fran\u00e7ois as sonia .",
        "it does n't need a lot of dialogue . it is able to deliver its message in almost purely cinematic terms .",
        "adequate , to be sure , but far from extraordinary .",
        "an exploration of the existence of morality -- where does it come from , especially in a world as cold as what 's presented here ?",
        "a film about roads and cell phones , decaying buildings and people who ought to be budding , indifference masked by buffoonery , the belief that money just floats around .",
        "a masterpiece",
        "another terrific , ultra-realistic family drama fom the talented dardenne brothers , winner of cannes film fest top prize .",
        "the dardennes have managed to concoct an engaging and often suspenseful drama without ever calling upon fancy camerawork , sensational performances , or even so much as a musical score .",
        "although `` l'enfant '' won the coveted palme d' or at the 2005 cannes film festival , it is a grossly disappointing movie .",
        "it 's a thin story and the film is unremarkable in cinematic terms , except for the tension that the dardennes manage to maintain , thanks to top performances from j\u00e9r\u00e9mie renier and d\u00e9borah fran\u00e7ois",
        "un baldazo de realidad que confirma a los hermanos dardenne como dos sensibles observadores de personajes marginales ."
    ],
    "summary": "the dardennes continue to excel at presenting works of rigorous naturalism , with detached observations of authentic characters that nevertheless resonate with complex moral issues .",
    "id": "126518660"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cheaper_by_the_dozen_2",
    "reviews": [
        "the humor in sam harper 's script is as malnourished as hilary duff appears to be .",
        "even the bloopers during the closing credits stink .",
        "running a painfully long 100 minutes , the movie is made up of a tiresome series of predicable , slapstick moments .",
        "for the most part , director adam shankman keeps the mayhem comprehensible .",
        "it aims to be pleasant and good-natured , which it is . there are enough laughs scattered throughout to keep everything moderately amusing , and the cast is likeable .",
        "when cutesy family-oriented comedies start to show the strained buffoonery of its leading star -lrb- martin -rrb- , you know it 's time to hang up the hat and call it the day .",
        "the movie may play better on video screens in the back of minivans , but i suspect even seat-belted children will remain unimpressed .",
        "while their last movie relied on boisterous physical humor , this is built on a family feud .",
        "this by-the-numbers pratfall-fest is as synthetically generic as a `` happy holidays '' card from your realtor .",
        "shankman drops the ball at the finish line , jettisoning the tough-love fun for cheap sentimentality .",
        "sequels tend to be stupider by the dozen , and part two is perhaps overshadowed only by the banality and pointlessness of say , leprechaun 6 .",
        "unfortunately in this instance , more does n't make merry , only mayhem .",
        "we likely have a sequel because the first steve martin family comedy successfully grossed 3 1/2 times its budget by teasing light humor out of family high jinks . that 's all fine , but did it have to be set in summer camp-style ?",
        "steve martin is kind of like your uncle who still gets to play quarterback during the holiday family football game , even though he has n't thrown a touchdown since 1992 .",
        "the kids will love it ; parents will just have to put up with it .",
        "this film is funniest when it does n't try so hard .",
        "sequels to comedies usually come with a risk to one 's digestive system , and sequels to bad comedies should carry a warning label .",
        "` cheap ' is the word for MOV .",
        "with three inspired comics -- martin , levy and hunt -- as the adult leads , cheaper 2 is not an entirely wearing experience . but its predictability borders on the insulting .",
        "two dozens and ours together do n't have a dozen laughs between them .",
        "its heart is in the right place , but a reliance on gimmicks and sentiment undermines the story . in the end , both the laughs and the tears here come just a little too cheap .",
        "there 's something pernicious about a toxic mix of sitcom and snickering sex jokes getting packaged and effectively sold as wholesome fun for the family .",
        "this is definitely a family trip to stay home and skip .",
        "there 's a discernible lack of enthusiasm from almost everyone involved , and duff , who 's gone from wholesome to haggard in two short years , is flat-out scary .",
        "a sequel every bit as bland , forced and flat as the generic 2003 comedy which spawned it .",
        "i think it should be considered child abuse to inflict this tripe upon children .",
        "i was convinced i was going to hate this film . but , it did n't bug me as much as i thought it would .",
        "MOV is so incredibly bland and by the numbers it 's painful to watch ... it 's just a collection of unfunny moments that are both uninteresting and annoying .",
        "martin and levy mug for their close-ups and then retire to their trailers while the stunt doubles do the really hard work .",
        "all i wanted to do was rent ron howard 's parenthood again just to remind myself that steve martin once made a film about families that was both honest and funny .",
        "MOV dishes sweetness and sentimentality in holiday-sized portions . it has its heart in the right place . too bad it only fitfully locates its funny bone .",
        "a cheerless sequel to an uninspired remake .",
        "the film is at its best when it 's not trying to be desperately funny , but that 's rare .",
        "if the creators seem lethally bored with their product , most viewers will find their patience tested , too .",
        "there is a good movie to be made about the difficulties parents have in letting go of their children . actually , ron howard already made that movie . it was called parenthood and it starred steve martin .",
        "there is no hilarity , just a couple of veteran funnymen going through the hellishly predictable motions in this unimaginative and unnecessary sequel .",
        "unfortunately , this family comedy does n't live up to its promising premise .",
        "moviegoers who enjoyed the pg anarchy the first time around should find amusement in the second dozen . if the last picture left you with a migraine and a sense of claustrophobia , the sequel will be another bout of pain .",
        "jimmy 's kids ' resentment is noticed only by the keenly attentive carmen electra .",
        "in this hollywood fantasy about a family with 12 kids , nobody does chores , we never see dirty dishes and mom -lrb- bonnie hunt -rrb- is always immaculately groomed , dressed and smiling june cleaver-style , right down to the tasteful string of pearls .",
        "for those unlucky souls who may be forced to take children to the sequel , there is a bit of semihappy news : although ` dozen ' was obnoxious , ` dozen 2 ' is merely innocuous .",
        "it 's a strange feeling to come out of a movie aimed at kids , much less a sequel to something like cheaper by the dozen , and not feel as though i need a shower and a vasectomy .",
        "cute kids . harried fathers . wise , understanding mothers . some stupid pet tricks . a little girl falls in love . over-protective father messes things up . money is n't everything . tender moments . and lots of pratfalls .",
        "sure ai n't a movie . nope , it 's a product , pure and very simple and carefully tested to sell to the widest possible market .",
        "the only ones who are likely to have any investment in all this would be the on-set caterers , who probably bought their own vacation homes after preparing meals for 24 .",
        "this half-hearted , obviously obligatory sequel feels labored and twice as long as it really is .",
        "noisy , silly , gratingly upbeat , and piously sentimental , MOV is what passes for wholesome family entertainment these days .",
        "watching steve martin in MOV is like watching emeril manning the kitchen at arbys .",
        "all the characters get in fights but , spoiler alert , everything ends with hugs , violins , good wishes and warm hearts .",
        "as i watched this sequel , a certain good feeling began to make itself known . yes , the movie is unnecessary . however , it is unnecessary at a higher level of warmth and humor than the recent remake yours , mine and ours .",
        "heed my warning : unless you guys stop going en masse to movies like the first cheaper by the dozen , genuinely funny people like hunt , martin and levy will forever be forced to pay their heating bills doing bland franchise fillers like this .",
        "this messy blend of silly slapstick and oversentimentality probably wo n't please children , teenagers or adults .",
        "many families are likely to find MOV a holiday treat .",
        "give dozen a slight edge to the mournful yours , mine & ours as a holiday season bottom-feeder , because martin and levy are better at slapstick than dennis quaid .",
        "a harmless , inoffensive bit of family programming during the holiday season -- and there 's nothing wrong with that . but ` harmless ' does n't have to mean dull .",
        "i wanted to watch one of the great comic geniuses of the last 50 years make me laugh , and i got stuck watching steve martin in a wetsuit being dragged behind a boat . life 's full of disappointments , is n't it ?",
        "after making shopgirl , it appears steve martin had a lobotomy .",
        "when a film makes $ 190m at the box office , you have to expect a sequel . this one is just as good as the first ... actually a little better .",
        "bland , canned but studiously professional .",
        "yeah , cheaper is right .",
        "a textbook example of how not to mess with success , MOV is every bit as forced , synthetic , banal and mawkish as the first edition .",
        "martin 's soul is for sale , dirt cheap .",
        "shallow , meandering , predictable , padded , and jam-packed with one unfunny , hoarily conceived slapstick bit or pratfall after the next .",
        "the big baker clan goes for a vacation at a wisconsin lake , and we get drowned in a sea of slapstick and schmaltz ... but it 's actually an improvement on its predecessor .",
        "concerned with pat platitudes about learning to say goodbye , the importance of family , and the superiority of parental leniency over authoritarian strictness .",
        "okay , everybody , back to your shopping -- there 's nothing to see here .",
        "MOV is predictable , manipulative , and probably funded by the taliban , but that does n't mean you wo n't enjoy it .",
        "MOV is simply a case of plastic characters jumbled together with a contrived script , shoved in a hollywood comedy oven with the timer bell ignored .",
        "cheaper by the gross .",
        "this sequel is just a string of lame slapstick gags , where steve martin acts handicapped , makes a fool of himself and gets a wetsuit stuck up his butt .",
        "... -lsb- takes -rsb- a dated , sitcom approach that reveals just how little the filmmakers think of their audience .",
        "a miserable experience filled with crude slapstick , cruder sentiment and retrograde jokes .",
        "a couple of good chuckles ca n't redeem this sappy mess .",
        "` MOV ' is one of the reasons that movie viewership dropped off in 2005 .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- cinematic bataan death march of pratfalls , kicks to the crotch , leg-humping dogs , pseudo-adorable rugrats who are a collective menace to society , and stomach-turning schmaltz ...",
        "if you go to this movie and find any decent laugh in there whatsoever , you should know right now that i have nothing but utter contempt for you .",
        "a family fantasy that plays at being happy and picture-perfect but primarily comes off as fake and dismayingly unfunny .",
        "the treacle spreads like molten lava and everyone ends up flat on their molasses .",
        "`` cheapr by the dozen 2 , '' is not as ghastly as one might expect . in fact , it has moments that are realistic and sweet .",
        "crammed with moppet mayhem , mawkish sentiment and bruising slapstick , it 's a flat-footed retread only right to lifers could love .",
        "... you may get a half-hour sitcom 's worth of laughs , but little more .",
        "... feels cobbled together by a committee fresh from a marathon of family reunion and summer camp comedies .",
        "i wonder how many meetings they had before they came up with that title . and did n't we just see this movie a couple of weeks ago , and was n't it called yours , mine and ours ?",
        "any movie that stars steve martin and bonnie hunt ca n't be all bad , and this one is n't .",
        "here 's a sentence i never thought i 'd write : carmen electra is more interesting than steve martin .",
        "this cheerless , tiresome sequel is so tastless and flimsy that it proves big families are n't much fun after all .",
        "it 's the snobs vs. the slobs ! and this holiday 's no picnic !",
        "all in all , the emphasis in this title is less on the ' 2 ' and more on the ` cheaper . '"
    ],
    "summary": "a sequel to a remake , cheaper 2 wastes its solid cast in scenes of over-the-top , predictable humor .",
    "id": "24465"
  },
  {
    "movie": "henry_poole_is_here",
    "reviews": [
        "even with its failures , MOV takes on material that very few filmmakers even attempt . for that reason alone , the picture deserves respect .",
        "henry poole may be cynical , but pellington never allows his movie to be .",
        "a quiet , graceful drama that sneaks up on you .",
        "you can feel the filmmakers ' manipulation at every turn , yet there 's a melancholy and life-is-a-gift spirit that still conveys .",
        "henry too often seems like a suffering cipher rather than a real guy with real problems .",
        "occasionally vacuous .",
        "this director deals in faces and facts , the camera closing in on his actors so they can deliver their big picture pronouncements while crying on cue .",
        "the only big question you may be asking yourself after watching this will probably be `` what could -lsb- fill in the name of any of the talented people inexplicably involved here -rsb- have possibly been thinking when they signed on ? ''",
        "MOV is one of those average guy-miracle stories that are supposed to make you feel good , but instead it just makes you feel used , and used rather badly .",
        "there is something contrived about this story in which people with major problems find a resolution .",
        "this is n't a movie : it 's a sermon .",
        "the combination of placid technique and wilson 's amiable , offhanded approach to a sketchily drawn character leads to a dissolution of dramatic interest around the midpoint .",
        "... examines ... in a sometimes subtle and sidelong poetic way , is examine the ways people recover and heal .",
        "your faith and your patience wo n't fare well for sitting through the slow-moving , lackluster MOV .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- works only insofar as you buy into its premise . if you 're a skeptic ... the real miracle may seem that the film was made at all .",
        "how seriously the filmmakers take the miracle of the stucco wall is up for debate , but the movie 's ultimate revelations feel unearned .",
        "MOV is a gentle , personal film that gets great work from its cast and its unashamedly sweet messages about loneliness , hope , love and faith seem awfully brave these days .",
        "MOV is the subject of a great concept which is executed well in the acting and writing department but suffers from its awful music choices .",
        "there 's a version of MOV that i would 've liked to see , and the painful thing is that it 's not that far off from the real thing .",
        "there may well be a market for simple-minded , high-budget tales of christian redemption ; if so , henry poole should do very well at the box office .",
        "a stronger script focus and less unanswered questions about henry poole might have made the film more appealing .",
        "i went as someone who finds religion a 50-50 mix of fascinating and indigestible . i came out the same and have no expectations of encountering a stucco savior any time soon .",
        "although the ending is unsurprising , henry poole remains an interesting character .",
        "`` MOV '' is not a movie , but rather a sketch for a screenplay that was never written . if ever there was a cinematic impetus to give up all hope for humanity and free expression , it is this patronizing , condescending , and vacuous waste of cell",
        "a noble effort but misguided and largely bloodless .",
        "gooey , ponderous , and maudlin . it 's less a tale of religious rebirth than a faith-based hallmark card .",
        "an easy film to surrender to .",
        "for a mildly quirky comedy-drama , MOV has some surprising philosophical heft .",
        "every so often there 's a tabloid news story about the virgin mary seen in a piece of toast or mother teresa on a tortilla , and most of us equate them with elvis sightings . this film is for the rest .",
        "the movie is certainly flawed , but if you 're able to suspend disbelief for the spiritual premise and can appreciate quiet little character-driven films where not much happens , you can do worse than this innocent and often lovely film .",
        "thanks to wilson 's sympathetic performance and pellington 's restraint , MOV may just succeed in warming hearts and lifting spirits .",
        "MOV is a movie that asks all the big questions and then , weirdly , wrecks itself by offering puny answers .",
        "it 's like a pushy neighbor who keeps inviting you to church and wo n't take no for an answer .",
        "director mark pellington neatly underplays the more maudlin touches of rookie albert torres ' script and draws a richly complex performance from the usually bland wilson .",
        "henry poole never quite approaches the ecstatic .",
        "sometimes funny and sometimes tender-verging-on-rubbery .",
        "a snarky film filled with messages about faith ? you better believe it .",
        "sincere , relentlessly somber parable about a severely depressed man whose self-imposed suburban exile is upended by a familiarly-shaped stain on his wall .",
        "even if you 're not religious -lrb- like me -rrb- , henry poole is an inspiring , charming little movie that is about believing . a little syrupy at times , but ultimately moving .",
        "as it bludgeons us with sappy talk of miracles and a ridiculously loud , these ! songs ! are ! meaningful ! soundtrack , the film is more likely to inspire cynicism than hope .",
        "pic 's tendency to lecture on the power of faith and religion and on the demerits of science seems to assume an almost childlike audience that needs to be spoon-fed pablum .",
        "overall , the film lacks dramatic heft .",
        "after several genre films , pellington goes back to his indie roots with a personal , semi-effective spiritual fable about the vagaries of life and death and the healing , redemptive powers of love .",
        "a grossly obvious take on the draining push and pull of faith , the picture is warm to the touch , just not digestible or , ultimately , meaningful .",
        "that the film is ultimately not about whether the guy gets the girl , but about whether the guy will be able to make peace with his past and go on to live the life he deserves , is pretty remarkable in itself .",
        "a film that christians will embrace , if only from sheer gratitude ; here , at last , is a depiction of christian faith as something other than the domain of cranks and loonies .",
        "its story could n't be more corny , redemptive , or inspirational .",
        "pop songs hold the skinny plot together , but a surprisingly caustic luke wilson is the medicine that helps the sugar go down .",
        "i felt let down by MOV , which seriously examines questions of religious faith until it skips away at last from being pinned down .",
        "henry poole script has no splash .",
        "some touching moments , but too blandly inspirational .",
        "a spiritual movie with the power to emotionally touch believers , agnostics and atheists -- in that descending order , i suspect . it does n't say that religious beliefs are real . it simply says that belief is real . and it 's a warm-hearted love story .",
        "one of the few really appealing features that have come along during this summer 's movie dog days . here 's a film that actually tries to tell a story and tries to say something substantive instead of just blowing things up or going for the cheapest joke .",
        "hope and faith , by their very nature , are issues that need to be handled with question marks . and yet , MOV features nothing but ham-fisted periods .",
        "prepare to gag . ... it has a theme rather like the current political one of `` hope you can believe in . '' well , i 'm here to tell you that this hope is full of audacity but not much veracity .",
        "although some may find this slow , i thought it was adequately paced and that the approach to a controversial subject even-handed and interesting .",
        "it 's too uninspired to be inspirational .",
        "a deeply spiritual movie about miracles , hope , love , and living in the present -- one of the best films of the year .",
        "sober discussions give way to a clumsily handled finale that does n't stand a prayer of satisfying most discerning viewers .",
        "a shaggy god story , theological capracorn that will be indigestible except to the already converted ... MOV is a movie that is n't all there .",
        "the kind of movie where you could read the first 20 pages of the screenplay and accurately predict what will happen in the remaining 80 .",
        "a few smart turns in a forest of stupid does n't make a film smart .",
        "pleasant , if insubstantial .",
        "if you 're a sucker for a new age-meets-old-time-religion tale and you have nothing else to do this weekend , then this one 's for you . everyone else should stay home .",
        "a charming break-out for luke wilson but not the role that provides him with the dynamics we want . touching with the right amount of mystery . great family viewing but no thrills .",
        "with characters named esperanza , dawn and patience that signal deeper meaning , MOV traffics in the kind of inspirational kitsch that only a true believer could swallow .",
        "the further the characters venture into the mystic , the more the movie itself seems to dissipate .",
        "at times you feel as if you should raise your arms and shout `` hallelujah '' or `` amen ! ''",
        "faith-themed dramedy has heavy themes , drinking .",
        "in the world of MOV miracles exist , faith is the wisest operating principle and intelligent thought is everywhere discouraged .",
        "wilson plays disillusionment convincingly , the supporting cast -lrb- especially barraza -rrb- is golden , and director mark pellington has just the right touch to bring off a teary-eyed inspirational drama .",
        "the lord may work in mysterious ways , but the filmmakers behind sensitive , life-affirming indie dramas about brooding young men stumbling towards redemption are an awfully predictable lot .",
        "-lsb- this -rsb- story of retreat and redemption , while deeply personal , may mean more to pellington than to the audience . the miraculous elements in albert torres 's script that offer hope also strain credulity .",
        "it never even gestures at the philosophical heavy lifting of exploring alternate interpretations of ambiguous events .",
        "if ever a movie pushed my cynicism buttons , this one was it ...",
        "this film really and truly moved me .",
        "good intentions , and a rare attempt to embrace spirituality on screen , are n't enough to make MOV a worthy destination .",
        "what , exactly , constitutes a miracle ? do they really happen ? you 'll be thinking about it , hopefully even talking about it , after the credits roll .",
        "drives home the themes in a natural and honest way that never comes off as preachy .",
        "divine intervention notwithstanding , the box office here would ordinarily be meek , but in trying times movies about `` something to believe in '' tend do better than the ordinary bleak-and-hopeless fare that typically drives domestic box office .",
        "tell him to go away .",
        "despite an excellent performance by luke wilson and a promising start , MOV ends up an overindulgent misfire . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "henry poole works hard to convert us , even pulling out quotes from noam chomsky , but it feels a little too much like a bumper sticker .",
        "one of the best films of the year . you 'll laugh , you 'll cry ... you 'll truly appreciate life !"
    ],
    "summary": "full of hallmark-truisms and pop songs presented with strained significance , this comic foible intends less to convert than to preach to the choir .",
    "id": "770682052"
  },
  {
    "movie": "across_the_universe",
    "reviews": [
        "there 's brilliance in there , that 's undeniable -- and if you 're in the right mood , that will be all you need .",
        "something that would have been a bad idea for an off-broadway concept show has inexplicably been turned into a bloated two hour and eleven minute movie musical .",
        "a taymor triumph . a m\u00e9lange of creativity using the beatles music to express a generation in full . the fresh interpretation of the music is perfection .",
        "you could make the same movie using the music of huey lewis . and most likely a less embarrassing one .",
        "julie taymor has delivered an audacious , idiosyncratic creation that plays like a riff on hair with fab four cachet , stretching a thin love story across one tumultuous decade .",
        "a lush , interesting mix of media - song , old-school psychedelic effects , acting & dance . it 's a musical tribute to rock 's most loved british band that plays out in america .",
        "despite the film 's coda , the classic all you need is love , you 'll need more than love -- like patience and tolerance -- for taymor 's overlong -lrb- 133 minutes -rrb- , self-indulgent , excessively stylized musical collage , hampered by generic and banal narrative .",
        "after hair , hairspray and the mass marketing of tie-dye , can the '60s be shrunk to fit any further ? yes , indeed .",
        "every little thing julie taymor does is magic .",
        "julie taymor 's love-it-or-hate-it musical is hugely ambitious but it works brilliantly , thanks to strong performances , a fantastic script , terrifically integrated songs and taymor 's inspired direction .",
        "... a mess that might be the camp classic of 2007 .",
        "julie taymor 's wildly ambitious ode to the fab four is a flawed but occasionally fabulous change of pace .",
        "MOV is an oddity that crosses over to exhilaration and crooked beauty often , keeping the audience on their toes with this mash note to communicative spirits and rousing free-range creativity .",
        "john lennon would be proud .",
        "i saw a film today , oh boy .",
        "it 's flawed but sometimes gorgeous and uplifting .",
        "phantasmagorical ! it 's a unique - if incoherent - counterculture voyage to nowhere . all you need is love , man .",
        "since the film is really an excuse to listen to the beatles , you 'd be better served simply pulling out the old albums or putting your beatles ' mp3 or cds in a playlist on shuffle .",
        "even those resistant to or unmoved by the story can appreciate taymor 's settings of the songs , and the arrangements by t-bone burnett and other studio masters .",
        "here 's an interesting failure : a collection of strung-together music videos -- scored with beatles tunes -- that have plenty of broadway pizzazz but no emotional resonance , a lot of visual distractions but nothing original to say .",
        "you have to be totally open for the experience in order to appreciate and get lost in the weird , wonderful world julie taymor creates onscreen ...",
        "designed to encourage appreciation of the director 's visual flair and the sheer joy of the music . and such visual flair it is ; and such joyful music .",
        "a monumental miscalculation of a musical .",
        "the film is too gauche to work as a real musical and too flat to work as camp .",
        "it is overlong and under-plotted , visually vibrant but thematically pale . the characters are more alive in the original beatles songs than they are on the screen .",
        "a resplendent feast for the eyes . just do n't expect anything resembling a coherent storyline .",
        "when it comes to the in-between scenes , the direction falls back to a routine , rudimentary style . -lrb- it makes a far better trailer than a movie . -rrb-",
        "i 'll go ahead and say it : i 'm embarrassed by how much i liked this movie .",
        "the thin narrative wobbles like an alcoholic after last call .",
        "the rent-like ensemble of yearning young people at the center of the story is a drag ; i wanted to turn the sound down on them and say rude things .",
        "contrary to what you may have heard , love is n't all you need .",
        "MOV , in which taymor shoehorns , contorts and otherwise bullies some of the fab four 's greatest hits into a vapid hollywood musical , is the kind of project that must have looked great on paper . on screen , eh , not so much .",
        "sometimes it works brilliantly , other times -lrb- masked dancers gyrating on ocean waves -- ick ! -rrb- you just want to run .",
        "yes , this is tour de force stuff , and yet , just like a good pop tune , the premise is all boy-meets-girl simplicity .",
        "an often-dazzling rock opera set to the accompaniment of 33 beatles songs .",
        "a phantasmagoric trip through the 1960s with the melodic music of the beatles and a strident salute to love , liberation , and creative expression that will take your breath away if you just go with the flow .",
        "a monumental achievement that somehow snuck through the hit machine system ... there wo n't be a better film come oscar time ... i 'm just grateful that it exists .",
        "MOV ca n't achieve the transcendence and exhilaration musicals strive for , but it often generates a singular kind of magic you 've never experienced before .",
        "you have to work so hard at forgetting everything you know about the boys from liverpool , even as the movie constantly throws their monumental achievements directly at you , that it 's frequently not worth the effort",
        "an ambitious failure , but a failure nonetheless . for a film celebrating life and love , MOV ironically and unforgivably leaves the viewer feeling cold .",
        "not quite the masterpiece it could 've been , but as an experiment , as entertainment , and as a tribute to the group 's lasting inspiration , it works",
        "one of those movies some people will hail as artistic , imaginative and visionary , while the rest of us wonder if those people are high .",
        "taymor 's reach exceeds her grasp for fully half this ambitious film 's running time , but the other half is visually inventive and vividly attuned to the melancholy of the beatles ' 1960s songbook .",
        "you 'd have been better off sampling the brown acid at woodstock than risking brain cells on MOV , the bizarrely ornate nail julie taymor hammers into the beatles ' coffin .",
        "for die-hard fans of the fab four -- and anyone who was touched by the magic of the '60s -- the film is a strange , nostalgic , suitably outrageous ode to a very real revolution in consciousness .",
        "the movie succeeds on sheer catchiness , and -lsb- director -rsb- taymor piles on enough visual extravaganza to conceal the fact that there is n't much of a story .",
        "if you 're willing to submit to the schmaltz and the clich\u00e9s , then there is a fun anticipation in not knowing what creative imagery or long-loved song taymor might use next .",
        "watching some sequences is as close to an actual drug experience as clean living can offer .",
        "just when you think the movie ca n't possibly get more literal , more kitsch-infused , more mortifyingly soft-headed , it does .",
        "despite all the inventive work , the film never achieves the soaring sense of bliss that would place it in the pantheon of movie musicals .",
        "julie taymor 's adventure in beatle-land is a huge success , ripping the songs that defined a generation and its -lrb- dashed -rrb- hopes for peace in a microcosm of a love story",
        "whatever one thinks of it , it 's clear that this film is n't made from a recipe for mainstream american embrace .",
        "it 's more than a nostalgia trip . the real pleasure lies in taymor 's ability to make it all seem brand new .",
        "an ambitious mess of a movie that stretches a thin premise across a bold canvas , resulting in moments of near ecstasy mixed with a nagging lack of emotional involvement",
        "thoroughly entertaining and delightfully tuneful , this fun little film will have you singing to yourself for days afterwards .",
        "misses by the size of the atlantic ocean in getting to what the beatles were about .",
        "uma obra frustrante , mas suficientemente curiosa para merecer uma pouco efusiva recomenda\u0437\u0433o .",
        "while the story is not entirely coherent , the great beatles music and numerous effective cast musical performances makes up for the film 's narrative weakness .",
        "it 's a dicey proposition to reverse-engineer a story , and MOV shows the strain ... -lsb- nonetheless -rsb- a very impressive music-video anthology . -lsb- dvd review included . -rsb-",
        "for my money , give me the original songs and a beer any day , but for a cute treat with a linear story and engaging characters , i suggest `` MOV '' ...",
        "a shorter cut , stripped of some of the forced multiculturalism and contemporary political references , would play like gangbusters in middle schools .",
        "proves compelling enough to give meaning to the whole as a successful experiment and stylization , if predictable and sentimental .",
        "a marvelous visual experience that works even for non-beatles fans .",
        "visually and thematically audacious ...",
        "the actors all do considerable justice to the fab four 's classics , but they are ultimately failed by taymor 's neglect of actual story .",
        "a baby-boomer masturbatory center",
        "the dvd two-disk set gives us the remarkable movie plus lots of extras",
        "MOV does n't completely work , but when it does , you 're in for one wild and wonderful ride .",
        "` MOV ' is whimsical silliness , imaginatively constructed but precious and gratingly excessive .",
        "chooses cheesy and nostalgic mis-en-scene over meaningful engagement with the musical material . a terrible disappointment .",
        "its crazed ambition . when it falls , it falls far , but at least that means it 's reaching high .",
        "MOV does n't have a story so much as a sloppy collage . it drops in character names from the lyrics and shoves in a new song whenever possible . but it only manages to do all that by mangling ideas and misreading the music .",
        "an interesting failure , not a fascinating one .",
        "an example of how not to let your `` grand idea '' get the better of you and make you forget about the basics of moviemaking , like character , plot , and , because this one 's a musical , people who can sing .",
        "MOV actually renders the greatest rock and roll music ever written as desperate and irritating as britney spears ' flop sweat .",
        "a wildly creative magical mystery tour of a film that 's dying to take you away , dying to take you away , take you away .",
        "MOV captured my heart , and i realized that falling in love with a movie is like falling in love with another person . imperfections , however glaring , become endearing quirks once you 've tumbled .",
        "it 's overlong , exhaustingly so , and barely held together by the flimsiest of narratives .",
        "it is n't just another movie about the momentous events of the '60s , but rather a valentine to the era 's artistic and idealistic spirit as symbolized by the music of the beatles .",
        "the movie is no more than an interesting experiment and a rarity among movie musicals in that even if you enjoy it , you wo n't want to hear it again .",
        "a groundbreaking , rule-bending , expectation-smashing musical .",
        "the romance will be painful and tumultuous , and the film will find a way to tie together all external events to this seemingly personal connection .",
        "it 's beautiful , moving , silly , strenuous , overreaching , exuberant and one of a kind .",
        "think of it as more like a video installation at a gallery than a movie .",
        "a magical mystery tour with the power to restore one 's faith in both movies and music .",
        "the beatles will certainly want to drive across the city to see MOV .",
        "the jump the shark moment : weary soldiers tote the statue of liberty across a tabletop vietnam to the strains of the ` she 's so heavy ' chorus from ` abbey road . '",
        "this addictive and ambitious little pic will help you remember why you loved the beatles so much in the first place .",
        "a low-rent , off-broadway spectacle that 's desperately in need of a stage",
        "MOV serves up a handful of brilliant music videos badly strung together by a lame narrative that borrows heavily from hair .",
        "two thirds amazing , one third off-putting and boring psychedelia , but the amazing stuff generally wins out .",
        "beatles musical hits strong notes amid sex , drugs .",
        "some sort of absurd miracle -lrb- or miraculous absurdity -rrb- .",
        "there 's so much to like , even love , about MOV that you 're even more exasperated about its faults .",
        "if you can get past its relatively minor failings , it 's hard not to be seduced by the big heart of this chaotic , colorful movie .",
        "as beatles tunes are turned into schmaltzy goo , you 'll learn nothing about vietnam , hate the fab four , and still have no clue what it means to be an eggman or a walrus .",
        "MOV feels like something entombed on broadway , made to instruct bored tourists while grasping after importance . it 's an anomalous musical epic : a pop movie without the excitement of pop .",
        "in this amazing tribute to baby boomers and beatles fans everywhere , ms. taymor has filled the screen with eye-popping music videos that actually tell a story - not stop it .",
        "somehow , the beatles ' precious diamonds are glaringly missing from lucy 's sky if not in julie 's unevenly charismatic but cluttered and customary universe .",
        "a movie made by beatles obsessives , for beatles obsessives ...",
        "trying to cram 33 songs and a reductive ` greatest hits ' approach to '60s politics into one movie is a tall order .",
        "you need to know right up front that i 'm a music junkie , a person who can not stand to go very long without hearing music i love . although i count hundreds of musicians among my favorites , the beatles are in my top 10 .",
        "... the long and winding road that is julie taymor 's opulent , eye-filling , and disappointingly uninvolving musical extravaganza ...",
        "just as often silly as it is clever .",
        "julie taymor 's MOV is an imperfect film , but it 's still five-full-stars ' worth of imperfect film .",
        "MOV is n't beholden to any stage incarnation . it owes its vision to the vibrant imagination of its director , who created a musical that reminds us how cultural-political events can change our tune .",
        "MOV will have ardent defenders , but in the long run , it will do nothing to infuse life into the current minirevival of movie musicals and is as soft-headed as the wishful refrain all you need is love .",
        "one could never argue that MOV is n't ambitious . however , like many ambitious movies , this one fails spectacularly .",
        "MOV goes irretrievably off key thanks to thin , artificial storytelling and director julie taymor 's hammer-handed approach to an already floundering script .",
        "all the stylistic flourishes in the world can not cover up a screenplay that works better as a game to guess which song will accompany which cheesy generalization next .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- visionary attempt to wed a story of young love and 1960s war protest to the lennon-mccartney catalog .",
        "this lavish labor of love constantly walks a slender thread between masterpiece and folly , but when all is said and done , it confirms , for me , taymor 's status as a master .",
        "an innovative , marvelously constructed musical full of heart , humor , and feelings .",
        "you feel , after two hours and a bit , that the beatles deserve better and the sixties a more defiant touch .",
        "it 's too long , and the ambitious imagery -lrb- strawberries turning into bombs ? -rrb- occasionally misses the mark . but it 's a fun ride all the same .",
        "the film 's too long but when it works , as in a slickly choreographed military induction scene with taymor 's trademark giant puppets and carnival heads , it 's exhilarating .",
        "this is like watching a car-crash in slow motion .",
        "MOV is much too literal-minded to be the far-out , visionary folly she may have intended - not so much cinema on lsd as the ravings of an earnest hippie in a recovery programme .",
        "the more this musical tried to look relevant , the more dated it felt .",
        "what makes this the battlefield earth of musicals is the plot - a wafer-thin affair that might have been written by someone who once skimmed a short magazine article about the 1960s while waiting for their hair appointment .",
        "after two hours of butchered classics , it 's just a relief when it 's over .",
        "like most musicals , the visually stunning MOV has its hits and misses . but , as the film uses the beatles ' back catalogue as its songbook , there really should n't have been any duff notes .",
        "the wide-eyed , openhearted sincerity of the thing never slackens , and neither does its spirit of invention .",
        "thankfully , sturgess keeps the film grounded with a rumpled , earthy charm , and wood brings much-needed emotional depth . and yes , the songs will strike a chord as well .",
        "all you need is love ... but a coherent vision does n't hurt either .",
        "so far out it ai n't never coming back . this flamboyant vehicle for the beatles ' music is boldness exemplified - even if it does frequently trip on its own ambition .",
        "MOV is a classic example of ambition exceeding execution .",
        "... julie taymor 's rhapsodic mash note to john , paul , george and ringo falls just short of breathtaking .",
        "the experience of the movie is joyous .",
        "julie taymor 's flower-powery phantasmagoria is ambitious but ultimately tiresome .",
        "MOV would make for a much stronger picture if taymor had worked from a better dramatic script , one that fleshed out the characters and made them a distinguishing force out to make history , like the beatles themselves .",
        "while it 's overlong and not without problems , there can be no denying that taymor has made an impressive , distinctive and unforgettable contribution to the musical genre .",
        "taymor 's signatures are visible throughout , but she is clearly trying hard to gussy up a screenplay that plays more like the wonder years without the cultural insight .",
        "this ambitious musical balances its visual outrageousness with a moving story . it 's a little exhausting , but also wonderful .",
        "muddled , overlong .",
        "i never realized what a lush cast of characters populate fab four records . or how giddy it would be to see max , jude , jo-jo , prudence and sadie come to life .",
        "a load of kids singing beatles tunes ? you better believe it .",
        "there 's a lot of great stuff here , but it just does n't come together .",
        "taymor has mistaken a deeply clich\u00e9d view of the late '60s for a radical slice of the zeitgeist . let it be .",
        "it 's the sort of movie non-fab four fans may struggle to like , occupying a space somewhere below the inspired dynamics of moulin rouge but well above the dated dirge that was rent .",
        "the beatles survived peter frampton and the bee gees , so they 'll survive julie taymor , too .",
        "good casting and the wonderful strangeness of taymor 's vision means that this movie is great fun .",
        "most of the songs are performed in such saccharine style and staged so literally that they almost seem like they belong in a broadway show . that 's a very bad thing .",
        "MOV is disarming , discombobulating and disappointing ."
    ],
    "summary": "psychedelic musical numbers ca n't mask MOV 's clich\u00e9d love story and uninteresting characters .",
    "id": "563717185"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1013139-maltese_falcon",
    "reviews": [
        "frighteningly good evidence that the british -lrb- alfred hitchcock , carol reed , et al. -rrb- have no monopoly on the technique of making mystery films .",
        "excellent but too mature for the littlest kids .",
        "immaculately designed , evocatively photographed , and easy to watch but also spiky , morally complex , and ultimately unsettling .",
        "it 's the classic hardboiled private-eye movie ; the nervy maiden offering of its celebrated director , john huston ; the first glamorous star vehicle for humphrey bogart ...",
        "the MOV is the first crime melodrama with finish , speed and bang to come along in what seems ages .",
        "exceptionally crafted",
        "`` the stuff that dreams are made of , '' comments spade about the elusive black bird of the title , a sentiment easily applied to this indisputable masterpiece .",
        "john huston 's first whirlpool of seekers and patsies",
        "the film is made up almost entirely of talk , and yet the performances are so wonderfully flamboyant and focused that conversations become the action of the movie .",
        "this spade is no stranger to the guile of shady clients and colorful suspects ...",
        "film noir at its finest .",
        "a true masterpiece .",
        "a must-see for anyone who wants to see a classic film the way they used to make 'em .",
        "the perfect movie experience .",
        "the definitive sam spade portrayal .",
        "classic detective film , but not quite the masterpiece it 's supposed to be",
        "huston 's curdled view of humanity -lrb- especially women -rrb- is already evident in his debut film , a punchy and redoubtable exercise in mystery .",
        "mr. huston gives promise of becoming one of the smartest directors in the field .",
        "sam spade \u00e9 o personagem definitivo de bogart : c\u00ednico , arrogante , frio e cruel , spade possui todas as caracter\u00edsticas do t\u00edpico her\u00f3i dos filmes noir .",
        "it 's rare when you get everything to work so well as it does in this pic .",
        "john huston 's debut is still primo noir .",
        "now that 's some tasty classic noir .",
        "bogart became bogart in john huston 's great first film , a trend-setting , brilliantly cast adaptation of dashiell hammett 's hardboiled novel ... this was the stuff that dreams -- and hollywood -- was made of .",
        "best in noir - best in bogie - one of the best ever .",
        "gets my vote for the greatest piece of american film noir , simply because everything about it is so flawless .",
        "like two other amateur directors who appeared the same year -lrb- orson welles and preston sturges -rrb- , huston knew what he was doing .",
        "one of the most interesting aspects of this classic movie is the way that sam spade thinks though the moral dilemmas .",
        "this is no ordinary tale of crime and detection .",
        "filmed almost entirely in interiors , it presents a claustrophobic world animated by betrayal , perversion and pain .",
        "one of the most brilliant directorial debuts in hollywood 's history , this gem of a movie catapulted humphrey bogart to major stardom , offering one of his finest roles -lrb- with many memorable lines -rrb- as detective sam spade .",
        "it 's the stuff that dreams are made of .",
        "among the movies we not only love but treasure , the MOV stands as a great divide .",
        "the MOV -lrb- 1941 -rrb- is one of the most popular classic detective mysteries ever made , and one of the first in the dark film noir genre .",
        "a seminal moment in the development of what would come to be known as film noir .",
        "with its dark , complex plotting , stark black-and-white photography , concentration on the baseness of man , and a cynical mood sustained to its still shockingly grim conclusion , this is the prototypical film noir .",
        "perfect use of the old mcguffin .",
        "this is one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form .",
        "the MOV is among the most important and influential movies to emerge from the hollywood system -- as significant in some ways as its contemporary , citizen kane .",
        "if ` the MOV ' does n't qualify as the best private-eye yarn ever filmed , i do n't know what does .",
        "sharp and jagged ... stripped clean",
        "... part of what makes a film great is its power to obliterate whatever preconceptions we bring to it . there is brittle wit and sparkling harm and a very adult sense of fun present in the MOV ; it still works as a movie",
        "who can argue with bogart 's glower or mary astor in her ratty fur ?"
    ],
    "summary": "suspenseful , labyrinthine , and brilliantly cast , the MOV is one of the most influential noirs -- as well as a showcase for humphrey bogart at his finest .",
    "id": "17027"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_theory_of_everything_2014",
    "reviews": [
        "eddie redmayne 's captivating performance will be compared to daniel day lewis 's in `` my left foot , '' but it is important to note how much life , joy and humor he brings to the role with little more than a cocked eyebrow , a few facial muscles and his eyes ...",
        "a strongly acted , handsomely crafted film that nonetheless feels bland and unsatisfying .",
        "redmayne and jones are beautifully compatible as hawking and his then-wife jane as they navigate the ebb and flow of 25 years of their relationship .",
        "this is sheer poppycock , of course , but it makes for fine drama , and that 's all cupid and oscar care about .",
        "MOV surpasses the standard biopic to become an unexpected and moving love story between stephen and jane hawking . the acting is superb in this winning film .",
        "on one side is mr. redmayne 's remarkable presence . on the other is ms. jones , whose lovely freshness and calm intelligence complement everything her co-star does .",
        "stephen hawking , a genius challenged by a progressive neurological disease , is a role that demands miracles of an actor . and eddie redmayne , in a landmark performance , delivers them .",
        "MOV is a modest film , a simple film , but an honest and impressively-restrained one , and it should serve to launch redmayne into rarefied air as an actor , deservedly so .",
        "marsh takes a complicated persona and reveals a range of dimensions . the result is an engaging biopic that is often quite moving .",
        "it 's disappointing to see hawking 's life slotted into the conventions of the biopic genre , from a meet-cute at a cambridge party to a centerstage ovation for our genius hero .",
        "an intelligent love story that touches the heart by exploring the sacrifices both parties made to cope with stephen hawking 's debilitating disease .",
        "despite handsome production and two brilliant lead performances , MOV stumbles into virtually every pitfall that afflicts biopics about geniuses .",
        "time is at the heart of hawking 's work , and it animates MOV , too .",
        "`` MOV '' is mostly a conventional biopic about two very unconventional people , and it rests comfortably in the hands of the two actors playing stephen and jane .",
        "MOV is , in its nature , very emotionally powerful ...",
        "anchored by a pair of mesmerizing performances from eddie redmayne and felicity jones , the film almost functions as a more thoughtful companion piece to the blockbuster interstellar , which also concerns itself with matters of the heart amid the cosmos .",
        "redmayne does bravura work , but MOV does n't have the imagination or ambition to be anything more than his showpiece .",
        "there 's a mischievous quality to redmayne that seems a good match with the wit hawking has always managed to convey with a raised eyebrow and a mechanically-voiced quip .",
        "MOV is deftly funny on occasion and lustrously made , key virtues for a film where the plot is largely summarized on wikipedia already .",
        "not flashy , but backed by two of the year 's finest performances , this intimate drama is a revealing look at one of the more fascinating individuals of our generation .",
        "pleasing to watch ... but -lsb- leaves -rsb- little lasting impression .",
        "MOV reveals the man behind the icon : courageous , mischievous , funny but also difficult and selfish .",
        "the debate between theist and atheist has been played out in all matter of social circles for years now , yet it 's only now that a film tackled such a subject in such a beautiful , heartbreaking and enlightening way .",
        "defying every expectation both scientific and personal , this film depicting the extraordinary story of stephen hawking is unforgettable",
        "not an idealistic , all flowers and cuddles ordeal - it 's a veritable depiction of true love , and companionship .",
        "not an idealistic , all flowers and cuddles ordeal - it 's a veritable depiction of true love , and companionship .",
        "eddie redmayne twinkles and tickles the intellectual friskiness of stephen hawking in james marsh 's lively , bright MOV , a brisk telling of the early years of the scientist , best-selling author and survivor .",
        "hawking himself has seen this film and pronounced it `` broadly true , '' and that diplomatic generalization touches on what 's right about it and what 's wrong .",
        "there are no significant revelations , but maybe that 's the beauty of james marsh 's biopic about stephen hawking : MOV is n't looking for answers to the universe .",
        "it nestles into your consciousness with soft lighting and inspiration .",
        "`` MOV '' is for everyone who finished stephen hawking 's a brief history of time and felt they needed more detail about his marriage .",
        "surely there 's more to hawking 's life than this .",
        "redmayne 's options for conveying this emotional core might seem limited , but like hawking , he does n't allow the laws of nature to constrain him . with a smile , a frown , or a tear , he says everything without uttering a word . it 's a wondrous thing to behold .",
        "directed by james marsh , the biopic MOV reminds us that hawking was once a vibrant , able-bodied young man who careened around early '60s cambridge on his bicycle .",
        "in many ways , ` MOV ' is a celebration of life in all of its beauty and sadness .",
        "it 's a creative innovation , i suppose : frictionless filmmaking for a movie about physics .",
        "a smart genius biopic .",
        "these are adult people dealing with substantial problems with intelligence , love , wit , charm and respect for each other . this should not be so rare to see in a movie , but it is , and it is wonderful to see .",
        "highlighted by an extraordinary performance by eddie redmayne , MOV offers an easy introduction to stephen hawking for people curious about the brilliant astrophysicist but intimidated by the whole `` astrophysicist '' thing .",
        "when the full force of the disease hits , hawking is reduced to a twist-tie of a human being , sentenced to a life of gigantic thoughts and pathetic movements . he 's pretzelled .",
        "eddie redmayne knocks it straight out of the universe",
        "starring eddie redmayne as stephen and felicity jones as jane , the two develop a masterful and sonorous dynamic that behaves as a naturalistic relationship that inhabits qualities of both love and sadness .",
        "james marsh 's biopic salutes the famous physicist 's commitment , but falls short of exploring his brilliant ideas .",
        "in its potted appraisal of hawking 's cosmology , MOV bends over backwards to speak to the layman , and relies on plenty of second-hand inspiration . but it borrows from the right sources , this theory . and that 's something .",
        "a well-done soulful , touching story of stephen and jane hawking 's lives - sure to get some oscar buzz",
        "`` MOV '' offers intimate scenes from a very specific and challenging marriage , warts , black holes and all .",
        "hawking 's innovations and refusal to subscribe to outdated modes of thinking merely underscore the utter conventionality of his film biography .",
        "bordering on the bland , stepping into hallmark territory on a number of occasions , this love-filled biopic still managed to melt most of our reservations away .",
        "like this awards season 's other scientific british biopic the imitation game , the film suffers from a squeamish reluctance to really engage with the harsh realities of its story .",
        "the problem is that it 's a reprise of a relationship designed to meet the approval of the living-breathing counterparts .",
        "redmayne uses his eyebrows , his mouth , a few facial muscles , and the fingers of one hand to suggest not only hawking 's intellect and his humor but also the calculating vanity of a great man entirely conscious of his effect on the world .",
        "theory is eye candy , filled with rich , luminous parties , luscious english countryside , and cold hospital halls . its cinematic beauty aside , the film is not a sappy love-conquers-all tale .",
        "the beautiful jones seems limited in how deep she can burrow into jane 's frustration and sorrow . but then , anyone would be lost in redmayne 's wake .",
        "how jarring to see a film so devoid of conflict , tension or struggle .",
        "marsh has somehow made a tearjerker -lrb- albeit a highbrow one -rrb- about the life and times of a cambridge physicist - and that itself is an achievement .",
        "james marsh 's film reorders events and soft-soaps the acrimony , yet boasts an appealingly unconventional coupling and eye-catching performances from its shooting star leads .",
        "redmayne 's quietly exuberant performance is admirable and engaging , never over-stressing its tour de force dimension . but the real colour is brought by felicity jones as jane ...",
        "it 's almost impossible to overhype redmayne 's performance in this witty , touching and very classy british drama .",
        "like so many cinematic lives of the famous , it loses track of the source of its subject 's fame .",
        "an unusual point of view prevents this from ever turning into the standard biopic , but it 's eddie redmayne 's staggeringly committed performance as stephen hawking that makes the film unmissable .",
        "despite its title , MOV is less about astrophysics and more about the quantum mechanics of human relationships under pressure .",
        "as the mathematical wunderkind who advanced a scientific theory beyond anyone 's imagination , the great young actor eddie redmayne -lrb- my week with marilyn , les miserables -rrb- , gives the most electrifying performance of the year .",
        "a stirring and bittersweet love story , inflected with tasteful good humor ...",
        "that it works is a testament to its strong performances and a real sense of empathy toward both sides of the featured relationship .",
        "absorbingly lovely and sad ...",
        "a tale of resilience , energized by superb acting across the board .",
        "a solid , duly moving account of their complicated relationship , spanning roughly 25 years , and made with impeccable professional polish .",
        "it is beautifully shot , well acted and - in the end - tearfully inspiring .",
        "a pair of very strong performances ca n't keep MOV from succumbing to the stultifying gravity of biopic conventions .",
        "it even has hawking fumbling with the title of his first book , suddenly realizing he should interject ` brief ' into what was once ` a history of time . '",
        "MOV is the laundry detergent version of the story of astrophysicist stephen hawking and jane wilde .",
        "redmayne captures stephen 's innate charm and self-effacing humor , while jones radiates a resolve and inner strength ...",
        "anyone who 's seen errol morris ' expressionistic documentary on hawking knows a conventional approach is n't ideal for the als-afflicted genius-which is n't to say james marsh 's new film does n't succeed on its own more modest terms .",
        "entertaining enough bio-pic that , for the most part , avoids the over-treacly elements .",
        "redmayne makes you forget you 're watching an actor put himself through punishing contortions . he keeps you focused on the soul of a man trapped inside a malfunctioning body .",
        "this is not a brief history of time ; it is a brief history of love . and it is as complex and deceptively deep as any of the physics .",
        "this is rich material for the film 's lead actors , and both are superb .",
        "`` MOV '' is a brainy bio that exerts a gravitational pull on the heartstrings .",
        "believe it or not , even world class scientists have private lives .",
        "for this film to work , the lovers had to work - thankfully , redmayne and jones have an easy , enchanting chemistry ...",
        "marsh 's latest film walks a fine tightrope , providing an engaging , provocative and accessible look at these remarkable individuals .",
        "if nothing else , MOV is an encyclopedia of lame shortcuts , from its grainy faux home-movie wedding sequence to its tendency to fade out the dialogue in order to underline-and inadvertently undercut-a traumatic moment .",
        "hat makes MOV so deeply affecting is the two wonderful performances by its leads .",
        "both redmayne and jones have been hovering on the cusp of breaking out in a big way , and MOV is the ideal vehicle to capitalize on their talents and push them to the next level .",
        "depicting stephen hawking as this smiling , pathologically beatific quip machine where nothing changes but the wheelchair saves us the difficulty of imagining him as a real person .",
        "it also stands as a tear-courting visualization of hawking 's and our precious quandary : time .",
        "meticulous in its adherence to conventional narrative inducement , this biopic only offers a sanded-down and embossed vision of stephen hawking and jane wilde 's 30-year marriage .",
        "what shines through loud and clear , though , is the humanity in hawking 's incredible story .",
        "although it 's narrow gauge and barely touches on hawking 's breakthrough theories about time , space and matter , it 's really well made and spectacularly well-acted .",
        "there 's little acrimony in MOV , which may reflect hawking 's actual outlook or just the movie 's puppyish desire to please .",
        "gorgeously produced account of the struggles of the young stephen hawking and his wife jane features award-worthy performances by eddie redmayne and felicity jones .",
        "extraordinary and inspirational , as eddie redmayne realizes a challenging physical , mental and emotional transformation , comparable to daniel day-lewis ' in ` my left foot . '",
        "it would be easy to fall into the trap of wishing this look at one of the greatest minds on the planet was something more , dare i say , intellectual . but this movie is a love story . and a fine love story it is .",
        "relative merits aside , MOV is very good , its chief assets being the extraordinary story of hawking himself , and of course the performance .",
        "prettily shot and glossily produced , this is a film that 's easy to like but equally easy to forget , being almost entirely content free .",
        "... a rather ordinary biography of an extraordinary life , less inquisitive and ready to test boundaries than the brilliant mind it portrays ... . the strength is a graceful performance by eddie redmayne as hawking , in the the mix through awards season .",
        "the film both adheres to and gently upends the conventions of the great man genre .",
        "eddie redmayne is so convincing as famous physicist stephen hawking that you will likely be unable to separate the two men in your mind once this genuinely moving , if slightly maudlin , film flickers to a finish .",
        "this is a handsomely produced , sensitively acted picture , one that 's eager to have you wipe away a tear with one hand while handing over gold statues with the other .",
        "director marsh is a gifted documentarian , but at this point , his dramatic technique is too shallow to get inside his characters ' heads .",
        "a brilliant and beautiful film that gives us a more personal and intimate look at this amazing genius of a man than we 've ever seen before .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- while possessing an outstanding performance by eddie redmayne in the role of the great theoretical physicist stephen hawking , `` MOV '' is formulaic to a fault .",
        "a sweet film . eddie redmayne and felicity jones are remarkable .",
        "what redmayne does is breathtaking-and it never feels like a performance . in a much less showy role , jones does her own heartbreaking work as the woman who dedicated her life to loving and caring for hawking .",
        "redmayne and jones are terrific in a mature look at the marriage of stephen hawking and jane wilde",
        "redmayne and jones are sublime .",
        "though the marriage eventually crumbles , what a joy to see a relationship that 's anything but formulaic .",
        "redmayne makes you believe every minute he 's onscreen that he is stephen hawking , with all his genius , wit and determination intact even as his body withers around them .",
        "a strong and moving offering about facing long odds and nonetheless moving forward . -lrb- full content review -- sex , profanity , etc. -- for parents also available -rrb-",
        "hawking 's actual longevity may shock the medical world , even now , but his remarkable will to survive is no surprise at all .",
        "jane hawking 's inspirational love story of her life with stephen is the stuff for which movies are made .",
        "a sweet fairy tale of the marriage between a living legend , anti-god `` saint '' and the wife who attended to his every need . a nice whitewash . it 's not a warts-and-all film .",
        "redmayne should be getting a lot of notice for his performance ; it 's palpable , it 's poignant . jones , too , is terrific .",
        "MOV treats stephen hawking 's intellectual accomplishments like rom-com filler .",
        "it may be nitpicking to ask a film to fill in more of the difficult details in light of the care and concern given to the source material .",
        "it has the slick sheen of prestige oscar-bait , and its frustrating that it views this most unique relationship-one which surely has more contradictions and asterisks than 99 percent of marriages-through the same lens of every other rose-colored biopic .",
        "redmayne will get the lion 's share of attention for his performance , but jones 's portrayal of jane can not be underestimated , as her ability to convey the conflict between her character 's fortitude and her emotional exhaustion is the film 's foundation",
        "a well-made , well-acted but unexceptional film about one of the most exceptional figures of the last half-century .",
        "must a film about an extraordinary man be so ordinary ?",
        "marsh and cinematographer beno\u00eet delhomme 's exquisite harnessing of light and the former 's guiding of jones and redmayne to performances of surpassing delicacy elevate such passages to something beyond douglas sirk .",
        "redmayne handles all the stages of hawking 's terrible disease with great tact , always careful to portray the man and not the illness .",
        "there 's no question redmayne is the movie 's main attraction . he captures the idealism of the young hawking , an idealism that does n't fade even later in life when he can use little more than his eyes to convey it .",
        "it 's probably sweetened with too much sugar , but it 's still a good movie with some very impressive acting work .",
        "a pair of splendid performances drive the movie , but like the cosmos that professor stephen hawking studied in order to unravel the secrets of the universe , it is cold and distant .",
        "neatly constructed , heartfelt triumph-over-adversity pictures have their place . this one is particularly sly in the way it folds complex and sometimes painful ideas about love and commitment into a somewhat glossy package .",
        "redmayne succeeds because his internal hawking is as convincing and compelling as his external hawking .",
        "operates on the theory that audiences will find more value in hawking 's expressions of oprah-level sentiment -lrb- ` where there is life , there is hope ' -rrb- than in his mind-blowing science .",
        "enhanced by a brilliantly transformative performance from eddie redmayne as hawking , director james marsh 's film is professional in every respect . but it takes itself way too seriously .",
        "it 's a captivating story about one of the most fascinating people on the planet , punctuated by redmayne 's special performance .",
        "director james marsh won an oscar for his incredible art-crime documentary `` man on wire , '' and here he proves capable of walking a tightrope between science and sentiment .",
        "in MOV , director james marsh has crafted an emotional , affectionate tribute to stephen hawking , love , and life itself .",
        "well-acted and often moving , theory of everything is ultimately an insightful love story that just happens to be about stephen hawking .",
        "solidly good brit oscar bait .",
        "the film may have its hallmark moments and gloss over an unflattering fact or two , but in the end it triumphs as a portrait of a brave , brilliant man and the equally courageous woman who gave him everything .",
        "it 's a traditional , handsome , for-your-consideration biopic in many ways , but it 's also deeper than that , and marsh includes little grace notes that do n't conform to the standard formula .",
        "redmayne 's astonishing physical transformation is the film 's showiest feature , but the subtler emotional transformations he and jones display over the course of their characters ' embattled marriage are just as impressive .",
        "sometimes superficial examination of the life of a genius that never adequately explains how its title applies to its content .",
        "the acting lifts the highly fictionalized story out of the realm of banality and bromide .",
        "a glossy , manipulative but affecting portrait of a brilliant man struck , but not struck down , by a terrible malady .",
        "` MOV ' paints a brilliant portrait .",
        "in a biopic-heavy oscar season , redmayne 's crack performance pays homage to a man who has advanced the studies of quantum mechanics , general relativity and black hole radiation .",
        "a very convincing and affecting portrayal of an important figure in modern science .",
        "MOV provides both insight and comfort . there are many ways to make a relationship work .",
        "the treatment of the subject matter goes over to what is essentially religious adoration .",
        "a well-written , well-directed movie an average person like myself can grasp . if i want a more complicated explanation of the universe , then i can refer to hawking 's book , `` a brief history of time . ''",
        "redmayne and jones prove that marriage is just as absorbing -lrb- and perplexing -rrb- as quantum physics .",
        "a compassionate and inspiring look at an extraordinary life , anchored by two of the best performances of the year .",
        "this is a poignant , probing , often cheekily playful portrait of an ordinary marriage of opposites sustained over decades in extraordinary circumstances .",
        "dutiful , coy and by the numbers .",
        "redmayne 's committed performance captures his subject with thrilling conviction .",
        "redmayne , jones , cox and peake portray the principals and their emotional web with delicacy .",
        "it might be a conventional biography , but the performances in the lead roles elevate it to an emotionally satisfying look at a marriage .",
        "it 's a film about the expanding universe that seems to want to contract and contract and eventually shrink into itself and be gone .",
        "there 's no big bang to james marsh 's biopic of cosmologist stephen hawking , just a whimper from audiences as a well-acted but soapy drama shifts too smoothly through its storytelling gears .",
        "no matter how much of this story is true , the movie is a pretty lie .",
        "there can never be enough reminders that a person with a disease is a person , not the disease .",
        "captures hawking 's intellectual vigor as well as his comical spirit",
        "marsh 's movie is inspiring enough , which is the unspoken point of the biopic ...",
        "MOV is everything you did n't know about stephen hawking .",
        "it still feels formulaic , but that 's to be expected without being able to go very far beyond the range of the memoir it dutifully draws on .",
        "jones plays her with quiet determination and suppressed strong feelings . her fine performance never gets eclipsed by redmayne 's , though he 's given the inevitably showier role .",
        "depsite the by-the-numbers trajectory of its narrative , the film is renewed by redmayne and jones ' impassioned turns .",
        "everything is given a substantial boost by its stars , who deliver exceptionally nuanced performances .",
        "follow up by looking into the real story , but this is a moving film about what a complicated thing a marriage is .",
        "... riveting subject matter that 's employed to disappointingly tepid , run-of-the-mill effect ...",
        "redmayne plays the role so vividly that the film 's shortcomings stop mattering . his turn is amusingly playful and emotionally touching . to call it excellent is an understatement .",
        "this is the adult , classy version of the fault in our stars .",
        "if you are interested , even slightly , in what distinguished stephen hawking , this is not the film for you . it has about as much to do with his theoretical breakthroughs as does a judd apatow movie .",
        "redmayne and jones are fantastic . it 's just a shame about the rest of the movie .",
        "MOV hits all the right beats , though never quite soars .",
        "MOV serves as a fitting reminder that beyond the extraordinary maths lies a man : mortal , flawed and confounded by love .",
        "the film is at pains to show what a rebellious genius he was , but it also goes out of its way to show that hawking was also something of a jerk . if the film is intended as a valentine to hawking it 's a very barbed one .",
        "once MOV reaches this transitional period of hawking 's storied career , the film immediately rights itself from its wonky beginnings .",
        "MOV features incredible oscar-nominated performances from eddie redmayne and felicity jones , but ultimately it 's unable to strike a good balance between stephen hawking 's personal and professional life .",
        "for those deadened by the transformers saga comes MOV , a stephen hawking biopic to remind us even prestige movies made with good intentions can be interminable too .",
        "more specificity and insight into treating the condition daily would have been impressionable instead of skimming through hawking 's life events .",
        "the most surprising thing about MOV , which looks from the outside like a movie about stephen hawking , is that it 's a movie about jane , his first wife .",
        "watching him -lsb- eddie redmayne -rsb- slumped in an electric wheelchair , simulating the effects of hawking 's motor neurone disease , it 's easy to forget you 're looking at an actor .",
        "eddie redmayne 's performance - wrapped in his uncanny physical investment - is the absolutely vital key in this film and it 's a scorcher , both sensitive and brave and effecting and devoid of sentimental mush , yet infinitely sad and moving",
        "the film does communicate enough of hawking 's discoveries to let us know why he 's an important thinker . but this movie about a great woman and a great man ends up merely good .",
        "MOV is surely inspirational , but it glosses over some ugly chapters in stephen and jane 's relationship .",
        "brilliant mind comes to life in teen-friendly film .",
        "this is acting out of the my left foot handbook , except ... redmayne rarely deviates from hawking 's whimsical quizzicality . it 's a less wrenching , more user-friendly tour de force .",
        "`` MOV '' is not afraid to reveal honest , intimate and emotionally painful moments in this couple 's relationship . we witness two characters who are heroic but human as they struggle to get to heart in the center of their own universes .",
        "... the noble patient , served up with heavy doses of tea and sympathy .",
        "it works best as a study of human vulnerability and love 's way with us all , and as such , a handsomely mounted , slightly hollow picture by the end becomes a very affecting one .",
        "an unremarkable bio-pic about a remarkable man .",
        "mired in an unremarkable will-they-or-won ` t-they forbidden love that distracts from the more intriguing drama at hand .",
        "any film made about two living people , with their cooperation , is necessarily going to be limited by considerations of tact and taste , and that goes double or triple in this case .",
        "a portrait that mirrors the mysteries of the vast universe with those of life on this terrestrial plane .",
        "redmayne , showing us the sparkle beneath the increasingly knotted and crippled body , will make you forget that he 's not the real hawking .",
        "marsh 's constant , reverent attention to the small things saves this film from its tendency toward convention and foreground its astonishing lead performance .",
        "touching story about a couple able to weather many challenges thanks to their partnership approach to marriage .",
        "as though it were the easiest thing in the world , `` MOV '' juggles and elaborates on the three main areas of hawking 's life - his work , his illness and his marriage .",
        "this is mostly a story of a relationship , and in that regard MOV succeeds admirably .",
        "it 's an exceptional film , not because of its protagonists ' impressive triumphs , but because it honors their struggle .",
        "many moviegoers may think they already know a good deal about hawking 's achievements , but they would do themselves a disservice to miss out on redmayne 's almost perfect performance .",
        "`` MOV '' breaks down simply , perhaps too much so : a great performance in a good movie .",
        "MOV is half love story , half biopic , and we never get enough of either .",
        "what is the idea of romantic companionate marriage , in all its crackpot `` till death us do part '' absolutism , if not a theory of everything ?",
        "well-crafted but formulaic , a glossier version of the kind of movie the lifetime network shows every month .",
        "eddie redmayne and felicity jones are perfect as stephen and jane , providing the humor , strength and emotion required in any marriage , whether it 's a real one or a reel one .",
        "fine performances by felicity jones and eddie redmayne highlight this whitewashed account of stephen hawking 's marriage to jane hawking , based on her second book . a film on her first book , which told the real story , would have been far more interesting .",
        "the triumph of redmayne 's performance is that stephen , after he becomes incapacitated , is the same eccentric , quizzical quester that he was when he was sprinting across the cambridge campus .",
        "as gentle , reliable , and pretty to look at as the falling of the leaves . it also has approximately the same level of dramatic tension .",
        "`` there should be no boundary to the human endeavor , '' we 're told at some point in MOV . but how would this movie know ? there are enough boundaries in it to induce claustrophobia .",
        "for all the scientific rhetoric about the nature of time , what matters most here is how it forges , and then tests , the bond between two people .",
        "people paying to see the film most likely wanted to witness a story about somebody who was extraordinary . why , then , would they want a perfectly ordinary film ?",
        "the film oscillates between superficial treatments of science and corny moments of `` you can do it ! '' kitten-hanging-from-a-branch bromides .",
        "movies about handicapped heroes rise or fall on the quality of the leading performance , and redmayne 's soars on rocket boosters .",
        "the picture milks adversity , quietly at first and then more loudly as the plot pleasantly idles forward . it 's a strategy designed to wring maximum waterworks from an emotionally vulnerable audience , and kudos to marsh , because it genuinely succeeds .",
        "eddie redmayne and felicity jones enliven a straightforward , bbc-grade drama with two mesmerizing performances , antithetical but equally assertive .",
        "the film is focused on a marriage to the degree that this is a melodrama with too many paint-by-numbers cliches of the biography film formula .",
        "the story of stephen hawking and his wife jane is the most unabashed kind of oscar bait , but it 's also quite moving .",
        "stephen hawking is the best thing that 's ever happened to redmayne 's career , and MOV is a treat .",
        "MOV offers interesting characters and standout acting . i wish it had delved deeper into its characters , but for what it is -- a romance involving one of the great minds of humanity -- it 's engaging and moving .",
        "it looks and feels like utter cornball but the sheer commitment of the stars makes the whole thing deeply watchable .",
        "it 's a suitably polished affair , and eddie redmayne and felicity jones deliver fantastic , award-ready performances . but somehow all that polish keeps those accomplished parts from connecting into an emotionally-engaging or unified whole .",
        "it 's the sort of slightly dry , just-the-facts storytelling you might think a scientist would endorse .",
        "if the film unfolds like a fairytale , at least it 's a fairytale that does n't often get told .",
        "redmayne towers : this is an astonishing , genuinely visceral performance which bears comparison with daniel day-lewis in my left foot .",
        "how redmayne , not just able-bodied but downright pretty , twists himself into the famously blighted professor , and then projects the thought processes behind the disability , has to be seen to be believed .",
        "these days `` everything '' has also come to serve as a lazy synonym for `` no one thing in particular . '' and while that usage may not describe steven hawking 's theory of everything , it certainly does fit the movie about his life .",
        "at its best -lrb- which is often -rrb- , director james marsh 's affecting biopic of the cosmos-rattling astrophysicist stephen hawking plays deftly against schmaltz .",
        "for a film about stephen hawking , the premiere voice on the physics of time , space -- and , gee , the universe -- it 's only appropriate that the bio-pic formula is expanded . an extremely powerful film with great cinematography and fantastic performances ."
    ],
    "summary": "part biopic , part love story , MOV rises on james marsh 's polished direction and the strength of its two leads .",
    "id": "771366367"
  },
  {
    "movie": "a_separation_2011",
    "reviews": [
        "estabelece definitivamente asghar farhadi como um dos diretores mais consistentes e fascinantes do cinema contempor\u00e2neo .",
        "rashomon-like in its perceptual complexities , truth vs. belief , asghar farhadi 's drama forces us to constantly shift our assessments and allegiances .",
        "in the guise of a whodunit , farhadi paints a nuanced portrait of iranian society that , seen through our western eyes , looks at once utterly alien and strikingly familiar .",
        "farhadi is less concerned with the bugs and variations in human perception than cracks in the average moral compass , little fault lines that prompt good people to make bad decisions .",
        "the progressively tedious atmosphere ultimately prevents the film 's final scenes from making any real emotional impact ...",
        "feels like a peek through a neighbor 's window .",
        "... like being caught in a barbed-wire fence of ethical dilemmas .",
        "for all the stifled truths of its characters , farhadi 's film feels like a gust of brisk air .",
        "it 's an indictment of a culture in which religion and tradition poison a legal system . it is an exploration of the power of a lie . it is a mystery and a courtroom drama . above all , however , it is a tale of love and sacrifice .",
        "this is primarily a human story about a marriage unraveling , the husband torn between love for his daughter and devotion to his father , the daughter torn between one parent and the other .",
        "it 's a portrait of an essential and sympathetic human dilemma , and in that it 's both real and timeless in ways that transcend borders , cultures and languages .",
        "`` MOV '' moves beyond one couple 's sundering marriage to reveal growing rifts between generations , ideologies , religious mind-sets , genders and classes in contemporary iran .",
        "MOV shows the human struggle for respect and a better life . it 's a struggle rife with human frailty . asghar farhadi is a sly writer and director , and leaves us with questions that are provocative and elusive .",
        "very few movies capture as convincingly as MOV does the ways in which seemingly honorable decisions can lead to interpersonal conflict -- even disaster .",
        "one of the year 's best reveals life in iran",
        "a tragically familiar family drama whose heartbreaking `` for want of a nail '' sequence of events spirals out of control at an intimate and individual level .",
        "a meandering , nerve-wracking , ultimately worthwhile tour of contemporary iranian urban life .",
        "above all , farhadi 's parable teaches that a rush to judgment inevitably turns back on the judge .",
        "smart , provocative , and brimming with ungovernable human emotions .",
        "to say the piercing iranian film MOV is about divorce is a bit like saying the wizard of oz is about a pair of slippers .",
        "with great power and subtlety , farhadi transforms this ugly quarrel into a contemporary tragedy .",
        "MOV twists and turns , layering on crucial details and moral quandaries in each scene , never for a moment allowing us the luxury of identifying too easily with any single character .",
        "you wo n't see a more absorbing film all year .",
        "it 's well acted , thoughtful , using a realistically messy scenario to draw together strong central themes . unusual and well worth a look .",
        "this is a movie that makes you pay attention to action and consequences in a way that has more or less completely disappeared from mainstream cinema .",
        "a stunning piece of work , beautifully telling a raw human story with expert writing , direction , photography , editing and acting",
        "a remarkably poised marital thriller from iran , full of surprise developments and suppressed volatility .",
        "explores the religious , cultural , social and judicial minefield that is modern iraq through the story of a divorcing middle-class couple .",
        "the iniquities of contemporary iran are essayed in this absorbing , award-winning marital drama about the ways in which tiny events can have cataclysmic consequences .",
        "a masterpiece of intimate , dramatic filmmaking .",
        "an eye-opening experience , and a fascinating glimpse into a culture that 's totally alien to my eyes .",
        "the characters are deliberately ordinary , but their stories take on the weight of myth .",
        "`` MOV '' is a great movie , a look inside a world so foreign that it might as well be another planet , yet so universal that its observations are painfully familiar to anyone , anywhere .",
        "ambiguous and enigmatic , it revolves around the termination of a marriage in contemporary tehran .",
        "a gripping family drama .",
        "partly a courtroom drama , partly a political satire and partly a twisty thriller that gradually draws you in and becomes more engrossing with each new revelation .",
        "is it possible , the movie asks , that children , with their belief in absolutes , have purer moral compasses than their forced-to-compromise parents ?",
        "a quietly lacerating portrait of familial discord that morphs into a wider portrait of society and law ... while the setting might be foreign , its concerns are universal .",
        "expectedly , the volatility is penetrating , but the feature is methodical , stewing in every last moment of unease and contemplation , stretching to a point where farhadi is practically lapping himself .",
        "what counts is that talented writer/director asghar farhadi structures it in a culturally compelling and mysterious way , while balancing all the characters to avoid easily typed `` good guys '' and `` bad guys . ''",
        "farhadi 's carefully wrought narrative and the ways it handles the fragile emotions of its characters truly sets it apart , not only from contemporary iranian cinema but world cinema in general .",
        "an exquisitely acted , ambiguous , believable portrait of a society where everything-religion , tradition , justice , gender politics , medicine , everything-is royally and perhaps irreversibly screwed up .",
        "it resonates deeply thanks to its universality , which it miraculously achieves without ever once selling out the social mores of its location . profoundly affecting , wonderfully performed and endlessly surprising .",
        "one of the best foreign films of the year , at once particular and universal in its concerns .",
        "farhadi brings us as close as can be to these characters , but he also refuses to editorialize or nudge us too far in any one direction .",
        "farhadi demonstrates a hitchcockian flair for suspense , while his cast deliver faultless performances .",
        "barriers both transparent and persistently present encase the characters of MOV , constricting them in ways social , cultural , religious , familial , and emotional .",
        "a light yet powerful islamic family drama that refuses to cave in to stereotypes .",
        "a solid iranian oscar-entry that puts women in the forefront in a battle of wills that happily posits more questions than answers .",
        "`` MOV '' could hardly be more concrete , or contemporary , or dramatic .",
        "director asghar farhadi torques each twist of the intricate narrative with jewelled precision . right under the noses of the theocratic regime , he has made a family drama inlaid with a sly critique of iran 's obdurate patriarchy .",
        "will make you re-examine everything you thought you knew about iran .",
        "impressively shot and acted , MOV refuses to judge its characters : everyone here has their reasons .",
        "powerful art cinema that challenges political and social unity in iran .",
        "cleverly , as new details emerge about what really happened , your sympathy lurches from side to side like amy winehouse doing back to black at the belgrade alhambra .",
        "` MOV ' is lively and suspenseful as both drama and debate .",
        "quietly revolutionary film-making , executed in a thought-provoking fashion while triggering an exciting new iranian voice of its own in this genre .",
        "a bit of a slog , although fresh and even lyric in moments .",
        "impressively directed and sharply written , this is a compelling and emotionally gripping human drama with terrific performances from a strong cast .",
        "a movie you 'll muse upon for new shades of meaning .",
        "proves to be a masterful insight into the spiritual and secular hypocrisies currently fragmenting iranian society .",
        "an outsider could see these characters as misguided . that 's not the reality however . farhadi slips us into their shoes and we appreciate each of their perspectives .",
        "asghar farhadi has written a superb screenplay and directs it with equal brilliance . he has managed to make a film that says something about the state of affairs in his iran and weaves that message into an engrossing tapestry of mystery and drama .",
        "the complex realities of human emotions and experience are more than sufficient to carry a film , and farhadi does n't let fussy direction or attempts to be overly clever get in the way of letting this brilliant , quietly insightful story unfold .",
        "a clarion cry that cuts through the xenophobic clutter and the dense fog of war to show that not everyone `` over there '' is a boogeyman waiting to jump out of the closet . if that sounds terribly simplistic , just consider where we live .",
        "MOV is more than a character study ; it 's a deftly plotted drama that unfolds layer after layer and will leave you asking all kinds of questions about your beliefs and moral judgments . fascinating stuff .",
        "the story has no winners , and the daringly ambiguous ending defies simple conclusions . even the title can be taken multiple ways .",
        "the movie opens the door on a foreign culture , yet the people do not seem that dissimilar . ... . they deal with some of the same struggles ... -- generational and class conflicts , ideological differences , and connecting and communicating emotionally .",
        "a devastating portrait of two families in crisis , with their class differences representing the title 's true ` separation . '",
        "`` MOV '' deals with some very murky issues , but it does so with astonishing clarity .",
        "the movie is a singular mix of the foreign and the familiar , but is it the best 2011 film in the whole wide world ? a 99 ? i ca n't say that i concur with my colleagues on that score .",
        "beyond the impeccable performances and direction , it 's foremost an exceptional piece of screenwriting , so finely wrought that the drama seems guided by an invisible hand .",
        "the academy award for best foreign language film belongs right here ... ` MOV ' is a landmark film . no way will you be able to get it out of your head .",
        "together and apart , hatami and maadi are magnetic .",
        "a richly written and performed legal procedural from iran that enlightens as well as entertains .",
        "what 's fascinating is how the various issues -- religious or practical -- are played out in these two quite different families , yet always come down to irreconcilable differences between rebellious women and their stiff-necked , controlling men .",
        "a movie that continually surprises you , reminding you that the best films are the ones that deal with complex emotional truth , rather than a clich\u00e9d cinematic version of it .",
        "thought provoking and powerful drama . one action becomes the trigger for the unravelling that filmmaker asghar farhadi explores : secrets , lies and truths are exposed",
        "the performances and direction match the sharply observed screenplay , which is layered and nuanced , never settling for the pat answer . indeed , it avoids answers as much as it can , giving audiences a far more interactive experience than most films",
        "farhadi does not talk down to his viewer , and he trusts his audience to make their own decisions .",
        "MOV explores how presumed social norms are extremely tenuous and how threats to these almost illusory ideas can threaten our sense of personal security .",
        "these people seem so real they might live next door . and they probably do .",
        "finely crafted drama teems with conflicts involving class , generations , mental health and good old fashioned lying .",
        "one of MOV 's many virtues is the way it gradually reveals , rashomon-like , the complicated facts , half-truths , and lies that each character tells for perfectly legitimate reasons .",
        "a brilliant , mesmerizing drama , incredibly well-acted by its ensemble cast",
        "`` MOV '' is a plaintive fable of the human condition that unites us .",
        "what is a sin ? what is right ? when is it okay to lie ? all these questions swirl in a movie that might possibly be the best foreign language film at this year 's academy awards .",
        "a searing iranian film about divisiveness as a toxin in relationships .",
        "getting absorbed in the film 's complex layers of procedural negotiation and domestic argument , you 'll realize that we often settle for too little from our screenplays .",
        "the audience is rocked back and forth in sympathy ... in a tangled predicament . -lsb- n -rsb- one is one-dimensional in the superb ensemble -lsb- as -rsb- the point of view changes by minutes .",
        "the film wraps us , with stunning directness , in the complex folds of its characters ' passions .",
        "what makes it so good is that no one is bad . these humans , desperate to do right , are caught up in a perfect storm of inhumanity . the evil is in the ecosystem .",
        "an incisive look at entangled family ties in modern iran ... where self-deceit is as pervasive in this society as anywhere else .",
        "offers a fascinating , impartial view of modern iran .",
        "the emotional oscillations that pulsate through MOV -- with its tangle of unfulfilled needs , sliding values , unspoken desires , male posturing , and feminist dilemmas -- are as thrilling as the antics in any hitchcockian thriller .",
        "this is not the iran that the nightly news has turned into a land of evil and inhumanity . these characters are people who love and feel anger and regret . they 're simultaneously familiar and new .",
        "crafts a minefield out of the mundane and may very well be a masterpiece for it .",
        "MOV is not the work of a constrained artist . it 's a great movie in which the full range of human interaction seems to play itself out before our eyes .",
        "farhadi 's true focus is the flawed capacity for any law -- any form of cold rationality , period -- to address the slippery nature of human affairs . it 's a frantic microcosm of life itself .",
        "tensely involving iranian drama with niche potential .",
        "the miracle of MOV is that it does n't spare any of its characters , nor does it seek to indict them . it is a democratic portrait of a theocratic world .",
        "a constant surprise , a film that captures the drama and suspense of real life as urgently as any picture released this year .",
        "tense and narratively complex , formally dense and morally challenging .",
        "movies with this kind of moral complexity are rare , so not only is it worth seeking out , it 's one you need to see with friends because it invites -- or rather demands -- debate afterward .",
        "simin 's and nader 's divorce debate is the first of many complex issues raised and passionately argued in MOV .",
        "so much fun to watch that you could very nearly miss the important fact that it is also as piercing a critique of iranian society as that country has produced in some time .",
        "far more than just the simple domestic drama it pretends to be , filled with subliminally veiled statements that add up to something with far more layers and levels .",
        "one of the year 's most engrossing films , directed by asghar farhadi from his richly layered screenplay -lrb- some advice : pay particular attention to what occurs in the sequence following the opening credits -rrb-",
        "there are no heroes or villains in this story : there are only everyday figures who try their best and struggle to survive .",
        "nothing earth-shattering happens in MOV , but the straightforwardness of this view of a disintegrating marriage , set in the context of complicated cultural and religious mor\u00e9s , is dramatic by itself .",
        "you may also find that some aspects of this very foreign story seem disturbingly not all that foreign .",
        "... subtlety and a sense of profound decency ...",
        "offers an unwritten ending that must be decided by each viewer .",
        "it 's fast paced , exciting , thrilling , edgy , moving , engaging , and - in its portrait of a justice system almost radically alien to the one i live under - absolutely fascinating .",
        "a clever , insightful and heartfelt examination of human frailty that makes watching subtitles seem like a breeze .",
        "it 's the little moments in farhadi 's film that are its most important , speaking every bit as loudly as its big , narrative-driving moments .",
        "although the film might serve as a portrait of iran 's two conflicting social groups as reflected in the green movement/ahmadinejad clashes , it is much more about moral contradictions that any society has to face . a masterpiece .",
        "if any one film can re-inject life into an entire national cinema , it 's MOV .",
        "dynamically shot and paced like a thriller , the film has the density and moral prickliness of a good novel .",
        "asghar farhadi 's MOV serves as a quiet reminder of how good it 's possible for movies to be .",
        "it 's a deceptive , hitchcockian mystery whose clues are laid out so carefully you 'll probably miss them , and a complex philosophical fable in which every character is morally compromised .",
        "it 's a thrilling domestic drama that offers acute insights into human motivations and behavior as well as a compelling look at what goes on behind a particular curtain that almost never gets raised .",
        "a downbeat family drama of no particular distinction gradually turns into a mystery that raises painful moral questions .",
        "we ca n't believe our own eyes . how can we begin to pick one of the many competing narratives before us ?",
        "riveting",
        "it is a rigorously honest movie about the difficulties of being honest , a film that tries to be truthful about the slipperiness of truth .",
        "sophisticated and universal yet deeply intimate , MOV is an exquisitely conceived family drama that has the coiled power of a top-notch thriller .",
        "i know i was n't expecting one of the year 's best movies to come from iran , but here it is .",
        "while the specifics are rooted in iranian culture , the broad strokes are entirely universal -- it 's an intelligent , intriguing and inviting film .",
        "grand metaphorical fiction that unpacks a weighty and involving story",
        "... interesting , and engaging , in both a storytelling and sociological/cultural study fashion .",
        "some films wear their artistry so lightly they appear simply to be happening , the inner workings of the story guided by an unseen hand .",
        "the film involves its audience in an unusually direct way , because although we can see the logic of everyone 's position , our emotions often disagree .",
        "-lsb- the film -rsb- puts us in the uncomfortable role of the adjudicator .",
        "it 's small . it 's real . and it 's deeply moving .",
        "this is a trenchant emotional thriller that you watch in dread , awe , and amazing aggravation .",
        "culturally specific but universally relatable , this slowly escalating iranian drama boasts incredibly impressive motivational clarity .",
        "emotionally resonant beyond the filmmaker 's own country and culture , it is a compassionate yet searingly precise film that refuses to name villains , nor to let any of its protagonists off the hook",
        "sometimes , in an attempt to do the best we can for the people we love , we end up wreaking irreparable damage .",
        "i hope `` MOV '' is the beginning of a new cinematic dawn for iranian filmmakers .",
        "asghar farhadi 's emotionally epic movie is not just a masterpiece dramatically , it is a movie dramatically of its moment .",
        "fahardi 's accomplishment is to have brought to the screen a group of equally complex , equally flawed , and equally human characters whose only real problem is that they must live life with each other .",
        "... riveting , enormously resonant and impressively acted ...",
        "... a complex and nuanced movie about the ... the collapse of a relationship between intelligent people of good will . it is heartbreaking and subtle , the sort of film that some folks say is n't made often or well enough by the usual hollywood suspects .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- flawless domestic portrait .",
        "writer-director asghar farhadi performs some kind of miracle with the tension and complexity he produces from such a simple set-up .",
        "MOV infuses a great insight into modern iran with a powerful insight into the human condition - this demonstrates the power and poetic potential of cinematic drama . it 's a must see .",
        "you can not watch the film without feeling kinship with the characters and admitting their decency as well as their mistakes .",
        "as pure entertainment , `` MOV '' is flawless . but as social commentary , one could infer a conservative agenda .",
        "a case study in how simplicity can produce spectacular results that extend far beyond a film 's budget .",
        "ambiguous endings can work for some films , but it does n't here . still , the powerful performances and near seamless screenplay leave little else to be desired . MOV deserves its oscar ."
    ],
    "summary": "morally complex , suspenseful , and consistently involving , MOV captures the messiness of a dissolving relationship with keen insight and searing intensity .",
    "id": "771237246"
  },
  {
    "movie": "life_aquatic",
    "reviews": [
        "the effect is often soporific .",
        "previously , anderson 's films contained so many ideas they threatened to burst at the seams ; with the MOV , it appears that 's happened .",
        "in the hands of less capable filmmakers this quirky fish tale might have sunk itself , but murray and anderson manage to reel it in .",
        "the MOV with steve zissou is another playful tribute by wes anderson to a wacky individualist .",
        "wes anderson follows rushmore and the royal tenenbaums with ... the same film for the third time .",
        "this wacky , wistful , occasionally humorous satire disappoints . eccentrics afloat , it 's an offbeat ship of fools .",
        "intermittently brilliant , intermittently hilarious -- and occasionally tedious .",
        "anderson may be incapable of making a dull film -- he 's certainly incapable of making a dull-looking film -- and from its fake-docu introduction to its full-circle conclusion , his movie looks interesting and unique .",
        "forgetting to give any character a smidgen of emotion -lrb- it 's funny because it 's straight-faced ! -rrb- , this ends up a series of strange vignettes that you wo n't soon care about , either .",
        "this is a leaky vessel sailing in circles , not the wonderful life we were expecting .",
        "anderson 's ability to deftly flip between whimsy and sentiment remains intact .",
        "orson welles said a film studio was the best train-set a boy could have , but the MOV is something else : anderson uses the sound stages of cinecitt\u00e1 like a kid playing with toy boats in the bath . he makes one hell of a splash .",
        "there 's nothing wrong with wes anderson 's the MOV with steve zissou that a digital insertion of gene hackman would n't solve .",
        "successfully , the film employs a sense of discovery that is befitting ; you 're eager to see what zissou sees beneath the ocean 's surface . you just may not feel what he does .",
        "suggests that wes anderson may have become too immersed in his own meticulous and idiosyncratic world to quite realize that he 's left ours far behind .",
        "there 's precious little humanity on display and steve zissou is nowhere near as compelling a character as his similarly downbeat bob harris in lost in translation .",
        "there is a distinct sense that anderson is trying to re-invent himself with this film .",
        "funny , gorgeous , and touching in spurts .",
        "the film 's storyline plays out as a comic riff on moby-dick , which is hilarious if you 're on anderson 's wavelength but will probably bore to tears those who are n't .",
        "kudos for tone and flavor , but if you take the meat of something we are n't inclined to eat , all the best seasonings in the world wo n't save it .",
        "anderson holds steady to the delicate emotions that run beneath this stormy comedy of betrayal , death and forgiveness .",
        "a pearl of a movie -- maybe it 's a little precious , but it 's also luminous .",
        "it 's a collage of half-measures .",
        "it 's so cool all the life has drained away , leaving nothing behind but a faint whiff of attitude .",
        "murray 's dry humor goes a long way toward making an essentially reprehensible character into a slyly entertaining portrait of middle-aged angst , egoism and neediness .",
        "i savored every frame and gorged on every sound -lrb- being a fan of '70s bowie helps -rrb- .",
        "admirably scruffy in its droll comic pursuits , but has all the storytelling aplomb of a sunday-funnies section .",
        "it 's part of that american eccentricity to obsess over growing up . anderson 's obsession has genuine , daffy substance .",
        "one of the year 's most ambitious and richly entertaining pictures .",
        "the MOV with steve zissou is anderson 's best film to date .",
        "wes anderson 's most self-conscious movie to date . it 's also his worst .",
        "almost entirely whimsical . it bears little resemblance to reality , well , maybe hollywood reality ...",
        "well , this is a painful review to write . the film is a mess . the really odd occurrences are just that ... odd . they have no resonance .",
        "there was some great action and some funny bits but i found this film a little too strange for my taste .",
        "i guess i was just in the mood for -lrb- wes anderson 's -rrb- latest offering , `` the MOV with steve zissou . ''",
        "i really do n't know what to make of this movie , other than to say that it was definitely the least impressive addition to anderson 's filmography so far .",
        "stylish , quirky , enjoyable comedy-drama , with a superb ensemble cast and a terrific soundtrack - this is a treat for fans of anderson 's work , although the uninitiated may be less impressed .",
        "wes anderson has been hailed as a genius by many . on this evidence , he 's not quite there yet , but if you liked bottle rocket , rushmore , and the royal tenenbaums -- you 'll like this .",
        "only the beatles ' yellow submarine equals the MOV with steve zissou for brilliant , psychedelic surrealism .",
        "the result is something rich and strange , both a comedy of the absurd , and an allegory for all those who find themselves at sea .",
        "a lovable masterpiece replete with oddity and imagination .",
        "overall , un-evenly entertaining . rich quality moments somewhat make up for substantial downtime . undoubtedly , this will prove a risky film .",
        "blithely flits from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again with such an agile sleight-of-hand that the two eventually merge into a surprisingly coherent amalgam",
        "worth mentioning in the same breath as rushmore or the royal tenenbaums ? absolutely not .",
        "the MOV stands on its own as a genuine piece of great , progressive filmmaking for the hardworking director .",
        "not as fresh and surprising as , say , rushmore . still , i 'll take a filmmaker who keeps using the same interesting devices over one who does n't even know any .",
        "this laughless and smileless dud ... is as dead as a doornail .",
        "all of director wes anderson 's movies have an idiosyncratic charm , but quirkiness alone is n't necessarily a virtue .",
        "why is it that so many people think this filmmaker is the voice of their generation ? is their generation that vacuous ?",
        "the pirate attack is so outright unreal , it may be as real as anything else in either the documentary or the fiction .",
        "the story -lrb- written by anderson and noah baumbach -rrb- meanders in such a meaningless way that the visual details , as carefully wrought as they are , come off as mere props .",
        "wes anderson takes another spiky , askance and hilarious look at family relationships , while at the same time paying homage to those goofy nature films of the 1970s . it 's a disarmingly enjoyable film that you never want to end .",
        "i admired it more than i liked it , and there was a lot about it that i did n't even admire .",
        "it 's a beautiful picture to look at , as all of his films are , but good use of color and mixing up your film stock do not a classic make .",
        "i 'm eager to see what anderson might achieve with his muse when he strips away some of the busyness and shrinks the parameters of his playground . until then , we 've got the funny , bewildering , giddy spectacle of the MOV .",
        "the film , in its slices , is really quite grand .",
        "entertaining enough to earn a recommendation as a light piece of eye candy",
        "the movie 's driving force is anderson 's signature sense of humor . the underlying -lrb- and unspoken -rrb- joke of this oddball farce is that it is transparently fake .",
        "it is heartening to reflect that the best of bill murray may be yet to come .",
        "this is a movie to watch a million times and never tire of .",
        "aquatic gave me plenty to ponder . but i also remember that , while i was watching it , i wished it were more fun .",
        "i think it 's the closest thing to a new millennium buckaroo banzai that we 'll ever see .",
        "the problem with MOV is not that it 's not funny , but that anderson is already repeating ideas and recycling characters from his other films .",
        "this waterlogged bit of whimsy is the cinematic equivalent of a belly-flop .",
        "lately , i 've complained that `` gross '' does not equal funny . well , `` weird '' does not equal `` entertaining . ''",
        "smug and slow moving . who cares about steve zissou ? for anderson , it is all about the boat .",
        "flat , unfocused and weirdly random .",
        "if there 's anything more tiresome in film today than hip irony , it is forced irony , and here comes a boatload .",
        "the film is very prickly , and full of offbeat humor that is n't welcoming to anyone who does n't buy into the cold , wooden tone .",
        "often , the MOV borrows too much from the characters of anderson 's earlier work . but the humor and imagination of the piece more than makes up .",
        "it 's sad to see the filmmaker himself sinking under the weight of his own ambition .",
        "this is one of the most irritating , self-conscious and smug films of the year , working neither as a dark comedy nor a character study .",
        "little can convey the texture of the texan writer/director 's fourth feature , other than to say it is unmistakably andersonian , as off-kilter and tricksy as the royal tenenbaums .",
        "an interesting , but not entirely entertaining film .",
        "anderson has balanced what 's funny about his concept with a generous number of jokes on-screen ... it makes me expectant again .",
        "all of anderson 's offbeat cinematic ingenuity ca n't disguise the fact -lrb- or is maybe the reason -rrb- that the MOV just does n't have much going for it emotionally",
        "the movie is so listless yet so proud of its whimsy that it demands someone to point out the obvious : in the aquatic life with steve zissou , wes anderson jumps the jaguar shark .",
        "a unique achievement .",
        "if you like murray , and you can savor the concept of a movie that could be a bulked-up version of one of his old saturday night live skits , you will likely like the film .",
        "-lsb- wes anderson -rsb- fourth and most elaborate film fits no genre and defies quick summary .",
        "the film is often quite funny .",
        "it is messy , perplexing and weird , but in a good way .",
        "director wes anderson 's best work to date .",
        "all you need to join team zissou is a red knit cap , a blue speedo , and apparently , a bad sense of humor ... the comedy is so subtle , it 's easy to miss completely .",
        "do you ever feel like everyone but you is in on the joke ?",
        "stubbornly devoted to wes anderson 's precociously detailed and miniature worldview but still one-of-a-kind .",
        "anderson 's latest endeavour will have you yawning from start to finish . **",
        "a take off on jacques cousteau 's life that never takes off",
        "your whimsy tolerance will be tested .",
        "zissou is the latest manifestation of the character that anchors all of anderson 's films -- the mournful king who realizes his kingdom is slipping away .",
        "if anderson can ever focus on actually making a movie -- instead of proving how zany he is -- the man may create something of lasting value .",
        "-lrb- bill -rrb- murray 's blank stare might be because there 's nothing he can do to improve things . usually it 's a device he uses to accent eccentricity .",
        "... the MOV stirs up some sugary silt at the bottom of your gut .",
        "it may be impossible to love the MOV with steve zissou , but it 's remarkably easy to drown in its sea of eccentricity .",
        "MOV may not be as cuddly as his other productions , but it still resonates loudly with grace , joy and originality . it 's a remarkable piece of filmmaking .",
        "murray shines through anderson 's artificial half-movie -- always offering something sadder and deeper . still , it 's hard to get invested when the director wo n't stop winking .",
        "rich , strange and almost inexplicably satisfying , MOV is very much a movie to see and treasure .",
        "a mixed-bag but worth a look .",
        "an often clever film with some genuine laughs and a playful streak .",
        "not entirely successful , but colourful , charming and packed to the gunwales with talent .",
        "-lsb- c -rsb- inematic flotsam that drifts quickly out of mind .",
        "for some , anderson 's world is too hermetically sealed and downright strange to be affecting ; for others , there 's an irresistible charm to his eccentric characters .",
        "anderson needs to diversify his bag of tricks a.s.a.p. -- unless he wants to exhaust his audiences ' good will by cycling them through the same dreary spirals of ennui as he does his characters .",
        "much of what happens feels rough , as if anderson never completed his shooting script ... but individual moments ... just might keep you entertained throughout the film 's near-two-hour running time",
        "aquatic seems willfully eccentric without ever letting the rest of us in on the joke .",
        "if you go with it , you 'll love the film .",
        "like the jaguar shark , the MOV is hard to get a hook into .",
        "while one may expect a little more consistency from a film with such acclaim , consistency is hardly the order of the day when one is making iconoclastic and unconventional movies like anderson does .",
        "... has a slow and natural progression , as anderson 's oceanographer searches for the shark that killed his partner , getting sidetracked by every possible diversion along the way . the diversions are kind of where it 's at .",
        "... about another anderson dreamer whose ambitions far exceed any real talent .",
        "quirky and oftentimes absurd , the MOV is an action comedy of misfit proportions .",
        "' ... the plot is off kilter , the wit is as dry as a james bond martini , and all the characters are wacky . '",
        "though it looks like a wes anderson film , it does n't feel like one .",
        "the movie , well , it stinks like a rotting beached whale .",
        "say what you will about the film but it 's not cookie cutter . it finds its own rhythm to march to . the MOV surprised me every few minutes .",
        "might have worked better as an amusing diversion , but anderson is clearly trying for more . he 's tried too hard .",
        "what peculiar cinema of the sea wes anderson 's the MOV with steve zissou is .",
        "with or without steve zissou , anderson 's disaster can now be mentioned with the titanic , cutthroat island and the exxon valdez .",
        "the audacity of the MOV is in director wes anderson stepping through fashionable attitude and into human essence .",
        "if you 've disliked -lsb- anderson 's -rsb- other films , there 's no reason to check this one out . if you 're a fan , this may prove to be the acid test .",
        "... has an uneven tone and an erratic rhythm that might have been grating were it not for the anchoring performances of murray and wilson ... and the consistent looniness ...",
        "full of -lsb- wes anderson 's -rsb- many trademark flourishes .",
        "as the grizzled peter pan , murray puts in his most understated and complex performance ; he 's by turns pathetic , obnoxious , and scintillating .",
        "it hearkens back nicely to rushmore ...",
        "lacks the energy and snap of previous anderson films , but as bill murray says about a jaguar shark : ` it 's pretty good , is n't it ? '",
        "any movie confident enough to end with the cast jauntily walking down the street -lrb- a la buckaroo banzai -rrb- is worth a look .",
        "what 's most troubling about anderson is how lifeless his movies are getting .",
        "the MOV is a sluggish , lifeless , monumental disappointment -- annoying , smirking and self-satisfied about its own cleverness and ironic detachment .",
        "who cares ? this is boring . the actors are clearly bored and it 's hard enough to stay awake . do n't bother .",
        "there 's not a convincing character to be found , and none of the film 's dramatic scenes or emotional catharses have the ring of truth necessary for us to be affected .",
        "the MOV is full of moments of strange tranquility and screwball juxtaposition .",
        "the movie is so arrogant and self-satisfied that if it had genitals , i would kick them .",
        "hovers frustratingly somewhere between charming and only mildly amusing .",
        "a funny , smart and satisfying cruise into the triangle of comedy comfort .",
        "stocked with colorful characters , episodic wit and well-placed pop tunes , aquatic stays funny even as it flails about at sea .",
        "with his perpetually slumped shoulders and downcast eyes , murray nails his character 's weariness ; you feel tired just looking at him . but lethargy is not necessarily something you want in an audience , and eventually the movie starts to seem fatigued .",
        "the MOV is a movie deeply immersed in movie lore , and the more seasoned the swimmer the richer the experience .",
        "it 's too fragmented , lacks pace and is filled with so many eccentricities that it 's hard to discern the point , if anderson is even trying to make one . but watching anderson fail is still more rewarding that watching other filmmakers succeed .",
        "i 've got to hand it to wes anderson . his films do n't always work , but they are never boring .",
        "has its small pleasures , but mostly it just flaps around like a dying fish",
        "i ca n't recommend it , but i would not for one second discourage you from seeing it .",
        "despite its cast and director , it 's an amazingly unfunny movie , drowned in its own conceits , half-strangled by the tongue so obtrusively in its cheek .",
        "the visuals are all there -- if films got prizes for best poster , this one would be a shoo-in . but story , heart and purpose all seem to be lost at sea .",
        "at times arrogant , furious , ridiculous and mopey , in the end , steve zissou carries the MOV with an understated grace .",
        "vastly disappointing , an uneasy mixture of characters and events , artifice and realism .",
        "there are rewards if you make the effort to understand what anderson and co-screenwriter noah baumbach are trying to say , and at times the MOV with steve zissou is weird , wild and wonderful .",
        "murray 's deadpan performance is one of the many disappointments in the movie : it 's a minimalist bit of acting , in both style and effort .",
        "a ruse of a film that does n't have a tenth of the wit it thinks it has .",
        "the MOV is anderson 's least interesting film , and should serve as a demonstration of the vapidity of his so-called brilliance .",
        "the film 's meta-fey title alone is an example of why some people adore anderson and why he drives others absolutely crazy .",
        "under murray 's steerage , this satiric outing with a sea-going tv personality commandeers the funny bone and will be the best of the year for many a passenger .",
        "quirky and bill murray-ish but does n't always click .",
        "this is one dreary , listless film . the sooner it is forgotten and the once-promising director restakes his claim in being someone to watch , the better off we all will be .",
        "once again , he creates a hermetic , glassed-in movie world of postmodern anachronisms that charms and distances in equal measure .",
        "not a perfect movie , but ... it is my # 1 film of the year .",
        "wes anderson is increasingly concerned with art direction and offbeat touches , to the point where story and characters become an afterthought .",
        "it 's like a grown-up returning to stevenson 's treasure island and rediscovering what was so great about it in the first place .",
        "the precocious director is stuck with a lamentable case of arrested development .",
        "murray 's inertia spurs anderson to new heights of directorial inertia . steve zissou is n't the only filmmaker undergoing a mid-life crisis .",
        "there 's no doubt that anderson is an inventive filmmaker bursting with ideas . the problem is that he has n't found a powerful story to contain them .",
        "the MOV drifts along at a lazy pace , the occasional encounter with pirates notwithstanding .",
        "torn between heartbreak and hilarity , i found myself squirming with conflicted delight , braying like a circus clown on the outside while merrily crying away on the inside .",
        "twisted yet exquisitely witty .",
        "anderson benefits tremendously from the always-engaging production design by mark friedberg , a delightful score by former devo-ian mark mothersbaugh , and the always-engaging performances by top-notch actors .",
        "like the film 's fake fish , the MOV is endlessly fascinating to watch but , if you look closer , there 's not much there .",
        "noah baumbach collaborated on the arch script , whose bittersweet weirdness leaves a residue even as the narrative disintegrates .",
        "even bill murray , leading a now-typical set of odd andersonian characters , ca n't keep this one afloat .",
        "all you need to know is that the film is a rare original , something of lasting value that will keep you engrossed and entertained in a dry , downbeat tone that is focused and filmic and fantastic .",
        "there is a charming 90-minute comedy somewhere in MOV , but the extra 30 or so minutes in this version point out just how self-indulgent anderson is becoming .",
        "the david bowie songs sung in portuguese on the soundtrack of the MOV with steve zissou are a lot like the movie itself . you may not understand the language , but you recognize what 's being said as familiar and reassuring in some way .",
        "if that 's true , maybe anderson is wearing his heart on his sleeve for the first time : he could be paying wry tribute to the medium , showing real love for the process that lets him use his offbeat gifts . but i would n't bet on it .",
        "it 's one of the great mysteries of contemporary hollywood that a talent as sideways as wes anderson gets bankrolled by a major , and not famously risky , studio like disney .",
        "ultimately , it 's hard to connect with these odd , distant people , and though the film has an ending that finds some grace , it 's too little , too late .",
        "murray 's deadpan presence holds it all together . like france 's jacques tati , he 's a master of minimalist angst and perfect straight man to a darkly comic world and anderson keeps him skillfully positioned at the eye of the storm .",
        "this movie is so odd , so uncommercial and so unformulaic , particularly for something produced by a major studio -lrb- disney , in this case -rrb- , that i ca n't imagine how anderson got his idea for it past the front office and in front of cameras .",
        "it 's not funny . neither is it sad , or moving , and without any of that , the MOV is not much of a movie .",
        "the whimsy feels forced , and murray is the only player allowed to hunt for laughs . more goldblum would have helped . wilson acts overshadowed , dafoe has too little screen time and blanchett is only a middling straight man .",
        "for a while , MOV gets mileage out of its quirkiness and the promise that a real plot will kick in . but it 's not to be , and for most of the film 's second half it feels like anderson and his characters are treading water .",
        "its sporadic droll moments tempt one to view it with a charitable eye until patience is exhausted by the end .",
        "i thought i had seen the nadir of moviemaking art . but i had not reckoned with wes anderson . if i had a rating lower than zero , this one would get it .",
        "i should have been completely exasperated with the MOV , with its wispy story and wonder-cabinet production design , but to my surprise i found it mostly delightful .",
        "launches with enormous promise , then sinks into a quagmire of misfired humor and misbegotten characters .",
        "an exquisitely evocative movie that elevates rueful melancholia to a superpower .",
        "a potentially great little cult picture shrieking in protest at being bumped up into a $ 50 million studio movie whose only real pleasure is its happy-color production design .",
        "wonderfully weird and wistful .",
        "what might have a self-consciously quirky comedy is deepened and humanized by its rich performances , especially from murray , who keeps getting better and better .",
        "this may a film composed only of little moments , ah , but what moments they are .",
        "a work about conflict , it is itself conflicted , torn between the confidence of a gifted filmmaker and the insecurity of a gifted writer .",
        "magnificent display of talents not weaved into coherent story",
        "has a quiet comical edginess that reflects the poignancy of the situation and the characters .",
        "the garish , exotic , retro styling is anderson at his visual best . in terms of character and sensibility , though , this is sadly anderson at his worst .",
        "even when caught in a rut , anderson 's obsessive vision still yields many exhilarating surprises .",
        "a film i 'll be able to return in years hence and have lovely waves of happiness wash over me .",
        "the director magically conjures emotional dividends in the film 's invigorating last moments , which wordlessly celebrate an underrated and truly andersonian virtue : solidarity .",
        "wes anderson creates a highly stylized and peculiar world , which either works for you or it does n't . it works for me beautifully ...",
        "full review in greek",
        "this take on undersea adventure movies , though studded with amusing bits , feels smug and self-satisfied , as if the quirkiness no longer is merely a by-product of the way anderson views the world .",
        "expect the absurd , the bizarre , the sweet , and the occasionally surreal , and you 'll probably have a darn good time with the MOV ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV with steve zissou is getting soaked by many critics , who call it smug , ironic and artificial . still , others have praised the movie 's sheer uniqueness , eccentricity and whimsy .",
    "id": "12895"
  },
  {
    "movie": "antwone_fisher",
    "reviews": [
        "the life of MOV may indeed be one that cries out for a movie treatment but you would n't know it from this tepid bio .",
        "it works . i laughed , i cried , i left the theater with a bounce in my step .",
        "it 's no surprise that as a director washington demands and receives excellent performances , from himself and from newcomer derek luke .",
        "even howard stern and eminem showed more humility in creating their onscreen portrayals than fisher does .",
        "a stunning achievement for actor/director denzel washington .",
        "... an extremely touching story",
        "this is the sort of noble , well-produced tearjerker that 's bound to work for some people , but one that lacks any real force , conviction or even a single surprise .",
        "yet another year-end , by-the-numbers , button-pushing biopic , but this one is sub-par even when compared to its sickly , tired brethren . it 's a dime-a-dozen film that 's being touted as a hit simply because it 's denzel washington 's directorial debut .",
        "... a triumphant , three-way debut .",
        "hard , endearing , caring , warm . bring tissues .",
        "at first , the fact that this movie does not follow the usual pattern can feel disconcerting , even amateurish . ultimately it gives the movie a kind of messiness and heart that provides extra authenticity .",
        "so beautifully acted and directed , it 's clear that washington most certainly has a new career ahead of him if he so chooses .",
        "maybe as a world-class actor himself , denzel knows how to get the most out of his performers .",
        "at first i thought that it was just the black version of good will hunting , but it turned into so much more .",
        "it 's a familiar story , but one that is presented with great sympathy and intelligence .",
        "a crowd-pleasing tearjerker ... a film whose earnestness and dignity almost -lrb- though not quite -rrb- overcome the narrative 's sentimentality and lack of surprise .",
        "induces the sort of catharsis that leaves you feeling released , enlightened and in deeper touch with humanity .",
        "offers an impressive melding of quietly radical images and ideas with , yes , an old-fashioned , crowd-pleasing holiday tearjerker .",
        "in a perfect world you 'd have pancakes every morning and every movie would be a 5 . this is the real world and the movie is a 3.5",
        "denzel washington gives a sensitive yet powerful performance as a navy psychiatrist , and newcomer derek luke is a pleasant surprise as the title character .",
        "washington and luke give honest , touching performances in an african-american exposition that refreshingly puts the spotlight on black aggression from a different , subtle point of view -- riveting in spite of its uneven and saccharine-coated tendencies",
        "a film of quiet dignity and calm intelligence that takes no shortcuts to its emotional payoff ... at times it even seems a little stolid and self-serious , a little too earnest for its own good .",
        "this is a fine family film .",
        "an uplifting drama ... what MOV is n't , however , is original .",
        "a riveting story well told .",
        "here , washington has taken a real-life memoir and turned it not into a sappy melodrama , but an honest , respectable and engaging character study in which the dramatics are just as important to the plot as plot itself .",
        "eavesdrop on someone 's psychoanalysis , someone with an attention-grabbingly troubled childhood",
        "with all its pedestrian moments , the film still has the power to sweep you up .",
        "... it 's the raw personal story , at turns disturbing and uplifting , that gives the movie it 's weight .",
        "as an actor , denzel washington is excellent at fleshing out roles , and he shows the same ability behind the lens , fully developing his characters without allowing the pace to slow .",
        "as an actor , denzel washington has demonstrated remarkable humanity , talent and intelligence . now he 's showing the same sort of skill behind the camera .",
        "fisher has a powerful story to tell about the failure of the system to protect children & the subtly devastating consequences of instability & neglect .",
        "a competent tearjerker ...",
        "in his debut as a film director , denzel washington delivers a lean and engaging work .",
        "an uplifting , near-masterpiece .",
        "the film never becomes great until the final act . the rest of the film seems fake , even if it is inspired by actual events .",
        "MOV certainly does the trick of making us care about its protagonist and celebrate his victories but , with few exceptions , it rarely stoops to cheap manipulation or corny conventions to do it .",
        "a fine film that proves the past is never too bleak -- or the future too hopeless -- to discover a productive new life , and a home and family to share it .",
        "who writes a screen treatment of their life and then an autobiography ?",
        "the problem with MOV is that it has a screenplay written by MOV based on the book by MOV .",
        "much of the film seems to miss the mark emotionally , but the ending hits the bull 's - eye , and does so without sacrificing authenticity .",
        "trivial where it should be profound , and hyper-cliched where it should be sincere .",
        "fisher has bared his soul and confronted his own shortcomings here in a way ... that feels very human and very true to life .",
        "fisher greedily encourages washington and hollywood to rape his integrity in the name of ben franklin , not to mention oscar .",
        "a special film with some really special performances from the young actors and of course denzel washington .",
        "fisher 's story is worth telling , and the few clunky narrative tricks he employs in ` MOV ' do n't come close to diminishing that .",
        "denzel washington 's directorial debut is a handsomely made tale of challenge and triumph diminished by `` after school special '' morality .",
        "almost all of washington 's film has the ring of emotional honesty ; the film is marred only by an overbearing feel-good finale that ties up an assortment of loose ends in a too-tidy bundle .",
        "denzel washington 's directorial debut reveals a capable -- if often alarmingly low-key -- presence behind the lens .",
        "less cinematically powerful than quietly and deeply moving , which is powerful in itself .",
        "some wise editing could have made the film stronger , but also would have considerably cut washington 's screentime .",
        "both star and director acquit themselves with dignity , in a movie that treats the emotional life of a troubled man with uncommon sensitivity and insight .",
        "`` MOV '' is an earnest , by-the-numbers effort by washington . it wo n't rock any boats but is solid meat-and-potatoes filmmaking .",
        "heartwarming and touching , and it features a stirring , needed message about putting the past to rest .",
        "the film starts out as competent but unremarkable ... and gradually grows into something of considerable power .",
        "the film works well as a conventional tear-jerker drama told in a straightforward no-nonsense manner .",
        "everything -- even life on an aircraft carrier -- is sentimentalized .",
        "conventional story elevated by two impressive lead performances .",
        "this film is easily one of the year 's best because it never hides its intentions , but still carries a heavy impact . MOV 's strength relies on simplicity , charm , and craftsmanship",
        "washington , in his debut as a director , delivers a solid piece of craftsmanship .",
        "washington the director could n't have made a smarter choice for the title role -- or chosen a more appropriate project to make his own .",
        "inspiring without being too preachy , fisher does n't try to be more than a solid storytelling , which , in this case , is enough to leave you blubbering like a little baby .",
        "earnestly inspirational , conservatively moralistic and little on the bland side .",
        "an absorbing , well-acted film with a low-key sense of humor .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- washington ... reigns in the triumph-of-the-human-spirit sap that tends to sink awards bait like this .",
        "the performances are uniformly excellent , first-time director washington keeps things moving with admirable efficiency .",
        "while the path may be familiar , first-time director denzel washington and a top-notch cast manage to keep things interesting .",
        "well-meaning to a fault , MOV manages the dubious feat of turning one man 's triumph of will into everyman 's romance comedy .",
        "why this story ? as it stands , it 's the story of a clean-cut kid who becomes an even nicer clean-cut kid .",
        "there is real heart beneath the movie 's thick shellacking of lost man-child sensitivity , and generally terrific acting that makes matters credible .",
        "a nicely-drawn , humanistic character study and a genuinely romantic romance .",
        "what could have been heartfelt feels contrived and manipulative .",
        "although MOV is formulaic and at times predictable , it 's also beautifully measured and assured , a confident , extraordinarily well-acted film about a man overcoming a dark life of murder , incest , abuse and abandonment .",
        "a mind-numbing , soul-deadeningly dull experience , it is a miracle of mediocrity , a small wonder : how can anything be quite this tedious ?",
        "a noble , but largely undistinguished work , one that may very well make a lot of people feel warm and fuzzy inside , but is also quickly forgettable",
        "a moving story of determination and the human spirit .",
        "... so positively heartwarming , the main character so well drawn , and the drama so involving , none of the film 's imperfections seem very important .",
        "... one of the year 's most insightful and evocative films .",
        "when the tears start coming , they 're not jerked from you -- they 're honestly earned , and they 're a both a relief and , yes , an affirmation .",
        "washington is customarily solid as the naval shrink , but directs without imagination or flair , sticking to hollywood conventions and skimming over the harsher aspects of fisher 's life .",
        "it does n't amount to a whole lot , but it 's frequently moving and reasonably well made .",
        "a portrait of suffering and redemption for its own sake , MOV arouses only shallow pity .",
        "the structure the film takes may find matt damon and ben affleck once again looking for residuals as this officially completes a good will hunting trilogy that was never planned .",
        "an involving , inspirational drama that sometimes falls prey to its sob-story trappings .",
        "there 's nothing in either the conception or execution to lift it above a tv-movie tear-jerker .",
        "expect a few tears of joy in the audience . and expect to see this film showing up on some lists of the year 's best films .",
        "not only is it unusual that this emotional story of how a damaged boy became a whole man made it to the screen at all , it is a measure of its strengths that it overcomes storytelling flaws that would have disabled a weaker project .",
        "an oscar-worthy , emotionally honest , feel-good saga with a universality that stands out in a season of singularly depressing and cynical hollywood product .",
        "while reeking of a good will ordinary people , denzel still creates a compelling story .",
        "a film that begins with the everyday lives of naval personnel in san diego and ends with scenes so true and heartbreaking that tears welled up in my eyes both times i saw the film .",
        "a tender and touching drama , based on the true story of a troubled african-american 's quest to come to terms with his origins , reveals the yearning we all have in our hearts for acceptance within the family circle .",
        "i felt good while watching the movie and had an extra jump in my step as i walked out of the theater .",
        "uniformly well-performed and blessed with a spotless screenplay that could easily pass a naval inspection .",
        "crafted with the same measured intensity and quiet authority found in his best onscreen work , denzel washington 's debut behind the camera , MOV , is an emotionally charged true-life story of one man 's tenacity and eventual redemption .",
        "all in all , this is the best debut behind the camera from a major actor in a long while .",
        "for sure , MOV is corny . but it 's corny in a way that a hollywood movie about a boy who just wants to go home ought to be corny .",
        "it 's luke 's performance that makes this movie tick .",
        "there 's a simplicity and heart to MOV ... that 's extremely appealing .",
        "-lsb- washington 's -rsb- strong hand , keen eye , sweet spirit and good taste are reflected in almost every scene .",
        "washington directed , and like most actors-turned-directors he brings great care to establishing performances , favoring strong close-ups .",
        "the level of acting elevates the material above pat inspirational status and gives it a sturdiness and solidity that we 've long associated with washington the actor .",
        "watchful , flinty , unexpectedly vulnerable -- and so cathartic it could wring tears from a stone .",
        "if the movie is clunky and raw , it 's also heartfelt , and director/star denzel washington is smart just to keep things simple and stay out of the way of the movie 's improbably powerful autiobiographical story .",
        "a film as modestly underplayed and as unassumingly classy as the star who also directed it .",
        "marks a strong directorial performance by washington , who foregoes tricky maneuvers and allows the emotions and details of his story to carry the day .",
        "it is an inspirational , heart-tugging story of the kind oscar might be willing to embrace .",
        "that the real MOV was able to overcome his personal obstacles and become a good man is a wonderful thing ; that he has been able to share his story so compellingly with us is a minor miracle .",
        "MOV 's overriding honesty even survives the film 's obligatory , sick-making crane-shot-with - swelling-music final image .",
        "celebrates family in a way that 's deeply felt by the director and screenwriter/subject and no doubt will be shared by viewers of any ethnicity .",
        "a movie that resonates with truth and caring and , thanks to the uncommon rapport between luke and washington , grabs at the heart like nothing else this year .",
        "though the screenplay -- written by the real-life fisher -- seems a bit self-aggrandizing , even stone-hearted cynics would be wise to pack tissues .",
        "admittedly moving and even occasionally uplifting , `` fisher '' just seems like a film road well-traveled so many other times .",
        "washington has a successful if modest debut film under his belt .",
        "i started getting watery eyes half an hour into it and then the waterworks hardly ever stopped .",
        "washington 's compassion as an actor comes through in his directing , as he gives his movie the time and space to let the characters breathe .",
        "MOV transforma sua pr\u0443pria hist\u0443ria em uma li\u0437\u0433o de resist\u043ancia e humanidade .",
        "has the capability of effecting change and inspiring hope .",
        "rings false , belittling instead of honoring its sensitive subject with its twinkly score , kid-glove nobility and cloying payoffs . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "devastating story of abuse based on real life .",
        "sails the same route as dozens of hollywood psychiatry dramas ... its power lies in the rich themes and performances .",
        "it is to washington 's credit that he keeps it just real enough to move our hearts and our heads .",
        "yes , MOV is a good movie , in the way that lima beans are good food . you may leave the theater feeling fortified , but you 'll have a bad taste in your mouth .",
        "the most remarkable thing about MOV is the real-life story on which it is based .",
        "for his directorial debut , denzel washington -lrb- has made -rrb- a haunting and resonant film covered with a potent southern gothic chill .",
        "soupy and sentimental , but with an underlying belief in itself that keeps the rhythm constant and just about manages to reach the gut .",
        "while the film is rated pg-13 for language and the brawling , this is one film that high school teachers can use as a teaching tool without any rationalization .",
        "luke is one actor who is sure to be with us in a big way for years to come .",
        "in his debut as a director , washington has a sure hand . his work with actors is particularly impressive .",
        "the acting helps push the movie past its familiarity into something that rings earnest and true .",
        "is MOV 's story inspirational ? yes . does he need to repeatedly tell us just how inspirational it is ? no , but he does anyway . that 's what keeps the film from standing tall .",
        "i found myself getting choked up by the ending , which evokes the joy of knowing that a lot of people love and care about you .",
        "a dull , straight-forward autobiopic , devoid of nuance , idiosyncrasy and character .",
        "luke 's performance as antwone is strong and stirring enough to rekindle that vintage phrase ` a star is born . '",
        "a by-the-numbers patient/doctor pic that covers all the usual ground",
        "it is a movie that leaves you feeling uplifted , even if the actual telling of the story feels mundane .",
        "an assured directorial debut that goes straight for the tear ducts ."
    ],
    "summary": "washington 's directing debut is a solidly crafted , emotionally touching work .",
    "id": "11438"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_good_lie_2013",
    "reviews": [
        "that 's why `` MOV , '' in spite of all its good intentions , is so frustrating . it is a story that deserves much more than such a bland , flat retelling .",
        "a heartwarming , culturally significant , though possibly ill-timed drama about survival , community and the strong bonds of family .",
        "director philippe felardeau finds some extraordinary landscapes here . and his camera also lingers over his characters ' faces , striking maps of their pain , their hunger , their loss .",
        "you heard of a feel-good movie ? this is a feel-right movie .",
        "a touching , generous-hearted movie that touches on immigrant experience with grace .",
        "there are lessons to be learned here . and ultimately the heart of `` MOV '' is in the right place .",
        "it 's often earnest to a fault and fearful of its deeper , darker implications . still , you wo n't leave MOV unmoved . its heart really is in the right place ,",
        "even if the ending is a bit predictable , we still want to see it happen . we want to feel good about what happens to these characters , and fortunately , MOV allows us to , with just a little bit of a heart tug at the end",
        "`` MOV '' is an emotionally dishonest account of a very real , common occurrence involving thousands of people who made their way to the united states in dire circumstances . those refugees deserve better that this film , and so too do filmgoers .",
        "a drama that takes pains to sidestep some message-movie conventions but nonetheless fails to deliver an appreciably memorable or thought-provoking experience .",
        "so well-intentioned that it 's hard to entirely dislike .",
        "may not be anything like witherspoon 's answer to ` the blind side , ' but definitely worth seeing .",
        "witherspoon graciously steps into the background to make this sudanese `` lost boys '' saga work",
        "in examining the most basic human bonds , it closes some of the distance a privileged audience may feel when confronted with the reality of the way the rest of the world lives .",
        "a compelling film - occasionally a bit too earnest , perhaps , or overly broad in its humor , but often deeply moving .",
        "it 's refreshing to see a movie that knows where its heart lies and remain so faithful to that premise . ... as good as the story is , it is the performances that make this a must-see film .",
        "`` MOV '' may be a little too soft . but it largely avoids mawkish sentimentality and casts a glow that is increasingly absent nowadays from films depicting international strife .",
        "MOV honestly earns its laughter and tears , even if it has to do so by way of some hollywood window dressing .",
        "the pieces do n't always fit together as neatly as you might wish , but if you let it , `` MOV 's '' heartwarming soul will win you over .",
        "true-hearted , warm , wise , inspiring , and funny",
        "a big , eager puppy of an issue movie that plants its paws on your chest and licks away at your cheek in eager expectation of praise .",
        "an emotionally warm and immensely appealing story of the immigrant experience of some survivors of the 1980s genocide in sudan .",
        "the political becomes personal , eye-opening and moving in MOV .",
        "this is very much a mainstream movie meant to shine a light on the plight of people who were ignored for too long . for that reason alone , it 's well worth seeing .",
        "the film belongs to three actors you 've never heard of , but if putting witherspoon 's mug on the poster is what it takes to get people to go see it , then that 's a good lie .",
        "this glossy dramatization of the lost boys story at least keeps the focus on its sudanese subjects while relegating the roles of the well-intentioned americans to those of facilitators instead of saviors .",
        "there 's a sense that MOV wants to say something profound but the message is as muddled as its delineation of history is .",
        "the main characters are played by actual refugees-two of whom were child soldiers-and their uninflected , authoritative performances compensate for the feel-good simplifications of margaret nagle 's script .",
        "the rougher edges of the likes of in this world or the golden dream were perhaps beyond its multiplex-oriented remit , but falardeau works in surprising levels of funny , winning , stirring detail .",
        "you can not fail to be moved by this story of young sudanese refugees - and not just to tears either .",
        "MOV is an honest , honourable film at which there is no shame in shedding tears .",
        "a fascinating look at what happened to many sudanese refugees , but also at how people who come from underprivileged parts of the world experience the united states .",
        "it still deserves credit for fore fronting the latter 's story , but as with any issue , it 's never really just enough to acknowledge that you 're looking at it .",
        "heartbreaking but hopeful drama about sudanese lost boys .",
        "falardeau and his screenwriter , margaret nagle , add compelling details and small grace notes where they can .",
        "charismatic leads and a good heart prove enough for tale of lost boys",
        "a moving and haunting script -- also a funny one , at times .",
        "the most powerful scenes might be the gut-wrenching trek the sudan people must make in search of a safer land than their war-torn home , and it adds a depth that separates `` MOV '' from most other cinematic experiences .",
        "in substance as well as style , `` MOV '' amounts to two films joined together ; the first is very good , the second good enough .",
        "reese witherspoon may receive top billing and be the star plastered larger-than-life on the posters , but scripter margaret nagle and director philippe falardeau steadfastly keep their attention where it belongs , on three of the lost boys of sudan .",
        "the poster suggests a redux of ` the blind side , ' times three . at top is reese witherspoon , airbrushed and beaming with charity . at bottom are three faceless africans . thank goodness this image is not an accurate representation of the movie 's priorities .",
        "this is a hollywood-delivered chronicle of the immigrant experience that earns its justification through good will and tact .",
        "it never shies away from the horrors of war-torn parts of africa , yet it is also able to deftly change gears to have a sense of humor and keep us engaged throughout this emotional whirlwind .",
        "in a bait-and-switch worthy of its title , `` MOV '' may lure in viewers eager to see a reese witherspoon movie , but they 'll fall in love with something else entirely .",
        "the bond between carrie and these `` lost boys '' makes for a sincere , simplistic and poignant tale .",
        "ultimately , it 's a decent , well-meaning insight into the plight of the so-called lost boys -lrb- actually 3,600 sudanese boys and girls -rrb- who were found ... thanks to uncle sam .",
        "strong performances from arnold oceng , ger duany and emmanuel jal ensure that the characters of mamere , jeremiah and paul are never reduced to `` exotic '' victimhood .",
        "a unesco educational resource cast in the style of an unreconstructed 1970s sitcom .",
        "it is a warm-hearted picture , and its flaws are forgiveable .",
        "the challenges of america 's welfare system give this impeccably honourable film a vivid set of hurdles to surmount , and it does n't feel overegged or excessively sentimentalised .",
        "reece witherspoon 's presence as an indomitable kansas city charity worker may be its main selling point , but the heart of this fact-based drama is the long journey taken by a group of refugees from the sudanese civil war .",
        "this timely , light comic study of what it means to be a refugee makes for a refreshingly un-hectoring watch .",
        "most of the time , hollywood applies so much energy to warming your heart , the excess energy turns your brain to mush . MOV works as well as it does precisely because of an intelligence , humanity and restraint we rarely see in hollywood films .",
        "the film is predictable but affecting and often funny in its depiction of the young sudanese attempting to adjust to us culture .",
        "MOV is an open-hearted christian parable about faith and self-sacrifice .",
        "MOV is not a typical message drama filled with big statements and teachable moments . but in its modest , quiet way , it shows some of the dignity and determination of the refugees it portrays .",
        "the finely calibrated performances of the three leading men pull the film through to its moving conclusion .",
        "the strengths of `` MOV '' are its lack of adherence to convention , its selective use of its nominal star and its decision to dwell on the sudanese transplants ' struggles and triumphs .",
        "by aiming to be a crowd-pleaser , it fails to do justice to a harrowing part of recent history .",
        "benefits from reece witherspoon 's understated performance . . . a gentle giant and beautifully restrained film .",
        "although it falters when it strays from the immigrant perspective , MOV is an undeniably powerful drama , rooted in authentic performances from its four main actors .",
        "quite contrary to traditional hollywood standards , the film does not approach a story about the third world through the eyes of a western protagonist , but rather through the eyes of those who live the story directly",
        "an inspirational , feel-good drama about the lost boys of sudan who make good as refugees in america and change the lives of americans in close contact with them .",
        "it 's a sappy , but occasionally sensitive , coming-to-america story that hits all of the familiar beats . it has one very big problem , though , and she 's played by reese witherspoon .",
        "sure , it 's reese witherspoon whose face is plastered on all of the ads , but this film does n't belong to her , and MOV is all the better for it .",
        "i never thought i 'd be so happy to see so little of reese witherspoon in a reese witherspoon movie .",
        "if a measure of tasteful restraint is detectable , it serves at least to allow for the depiction of human emotion instead of the market-driven blandification of history .",
        "has more truth than expected .",
        "these are performances that blur the line between acting and being .",
        "it 's a very good film , with some genuinely poignant moments .",
        "a well-told tale that illuminates the experiences of the 20,000 `` lost boys '' -lrb- and girls -rrb- of sudan , with such grace , insight and humor , it can be forgiven a few simplifying liberties taken in the name of moving the narrative along .",
        "`` MOV , '' for all its sincerity , has a slick , produced quality to it , a hollywood sensibility that it simply can not shake off .",
        "good old-fashioned storytelling that truly works . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "a vital project that commands attention and pays off in heart and soul .",
        "if a moviegoer ca n't cry for the great tragedy of these sudanese children , and be touched by their small victories , then who on earth deserves our tears and cheers ?",
        "surely it 's for the best that such white-girl-to-the-rescue theatrics account for just one scene in a movie that otherwise has the good sense to focus on four sudanese refugees offered shelter in america .",
        "one of the smartest choices in `` MOV '' is to acknowledge that witherspoon 's carrie has as much to learn from the sudanese as they do from her .",
        "this is n't just another film that puts a white face on the black experience , as in ` cry freedom , ' ` mississippi burning ' and ` the last king of scotland . ' it really is about three young men trying to make a go in a new land .",
        "sensitive and sincere , it 's an inspiring , redemptive tale of courage and compassion .",
        "director philippe falardeau gets more dramatic mileage from unknowns , former sudan refugees themselves , lending an authenticity that should n't be undercut by movie star intrusion ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV sacrifices real-life nuance in order to turn its true story into a hollywood production , but the results still add up to a compelling , well-acted , and deeply moving drama .",
    "id": "771354991"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tupac_resurrection",
    "reviews": [
        "tupac : resurrection is surprisingly direct ...",
        "lazin 's remarkable achievement is to catch tupac in the act of discovering himself . it 's something to see .",
        "a poet warrior of the first order emerges in this riveting chronicle of the brief life and times of rap superstar tupac shakur .",
        "even hard-core fans will learn something .",
        "by the time you 've heard the gunshot that signals his 1996 death , you will feel that this world lost a very important voice .",
        "tupac : resurrection gives us a little bit of both but , more than that , leaves us with the impression that tupac shakur had a lot more left to say .",
        "content to be a kind of valentine to the slain rapper -- so reliant on recycled mtv footage that it feels more like a behind the music special than a feature film .",
        "the film gives a fine sense of why shakur 's fans carry the torch for his legacy . but it 's better from the perspective of that spirit on the streets , not up in the clouds .",
        "a must-see not only for fans of shakur 's music but for anyone who appreciates a well-told life story .",
        "the film would have been strengthened if it had been a little more willing to challenge tupac 's behaviour .",
        "a dishearteningly incomplete portrait .",
        "whether he 's dead or alive , this film reveals tupac to be a scared , skinny kid with a gun , and a vulnerable human being who could easily be pierced by bullets , just like the rest of us .",
        "the winning conceit of producer/director lauren lazin 's flamboyant documentary about the life of tupac shakur is that the late rapper 's voice is the primary source the audience hears .",
        "gripping documentary , see it with your teens .",
        "tupac 's evolution as an artist showed us a young man who was an activist , involved in the community , who showed signs of becoming a more self-aware and self-critical artist , as his music moved from the political to the personal .",
        "it 'd be easy to write off paramount 's tupac : resurrection as a cheap publicity stunt .",
        "director lauren lazin masterfully stitches together bits and pieces of shakur 's interviews to underline the big , shakespearean themes -- ambition , violence , redemption -- that seemed to define his life .",
        "director lauren lazin keeps us hooked by letting -lsb- tupac -rsb- tell his story in his own words , through video clips and recorded interviews .",
        "the strength of this movie is that it never flinches in showing us why -lsb- tupac -rsb- made the choices he felt he had to make -- even though they ended up costing him his life .",
        "this project makes it easy for anyone to understand not only the sanctified , semicrazed star , but the complicated web of elements that created and destroyed him .",
        "even if the warts in the portrait are reduced to mere blemishes , it provides as full a picture of a gifted artist as can be expected of an authorized biography .",
        "it would be difficult to come away from tupac : resurrection without some level of admiration for this complex artist .",
        "a compelling piece of propaganda .",
        "an outside perspective is exactly what this movie needs toward the end as shakur 's grip on his identity becomes shaky .",
        "offers mainstream america a look at shakur 's immense talent and the ever-expanding world of hip-hop music .",
        "it 's unfortunate that his cinematic life is told with a collage of such static , uninvolving devices as scrapbook photos , journal entries , stock footage and oft-seen mtv interviews .",
        "resurrection is clearly pitched to fans who want a warts-and-some , officially sanctioned memento of their fallen hero .",
        "a story of violence , and it 's superbly told .",
        "informative and interesting reflections on his life by the man himself .",
        "the film paints a convincing portrait of tupac as a true artist whose talents embraced a big chunk of entertainment : acting , music , poetry , dance .",
        "a captivating movie worth seeing .",
        "a strong film , with some genuinely revealing insights into the life of its charismatic and paradoxical subject .",
        "`` tupac : resurrection '' is one of the most eerie documentaries you 'll ever see .",
        "a revelation .",
        "docs like this help to banish the fear of movie audiences that non-fiction pics are nothing but talking-heads bore-fests .",
        "a balanced , insightful portrait of the provocative hip-hop icon .",
        "lazin 's documentary may be somewhat one-sided -- afeni shakur 's involvement guaranteed that -- but it 's still immensely enlightening , and a genuine gift to tupac 's fans .",
        "take away the typical lush life or hard life images you associate with rap , and shakur 's struggles are common",
        "it 's amazing stuff .",
        "mtv offers an airbrushed portrait that does nothing but perpetuate the myth of an ` angelic ' hoodlum .",
        "tupac sold more records after his death than when he was alive . ultimately forsaking clarity and insight , tupac : resurrection is geared firmly towards that audience .",
        "do n't expect investigative reporting ... . tupac : resurrection is a trip through a man 's head .",
        "intriguing but ultimately frustrating .",
        "as engaging and complete a portrait as we are ever likely to get .",
        "tupac : resurrection does not shy away from the violence or controversy in the rapper 's life , but this film is a love letter , no question . shakur comes across as smart , energetic and deeply philosophical .",
        "valentine or propaganda ? no matter how you swing it , this is an energetic introduction to the godfather of gangsta .",
        "a shoddily-made documentary , with many scenes looking like fifth generation copies of bad videotapes ... the film is for tupac 's dyed-in-the-wool fans only .",
        "... a much more conflicted portrait of the late rap star than the documentary itself admits .",
        "intriguing documentary narrated by the slain rapper himself .",
        "resonant and fascinating .",
        "the interview clips that comprise the sole voice-over are carefully chosen to illuminate both pac 's scorching charisma and debilitating paranoia .",
        "this poignant , albeit overly poetic documentary claims to capture the slain actor/rapper ` in his own words . ' that aspect of it does n't totally work , but plenty else does .",
        "earns its place as one piece of a pop-culture puzzle , a genuine reflection of a period that still echoes throughout the culture .",
        "filmmaker lauren lazin has created a loving tribute to this late star as if he was her own son . fans will approve .",
        "it 's a little too forgiving of his more serious character flaws , and it skirts some of the more unpleasant aspects of his life , but it 's a moving tribute in the end .",
        "though we do feel the need of other voices to provide perspective , tupac : resurrection is even-handed for a single-point - of-view film .",
        "it 's a tale told well , but from a definite perspective .",
        "as its title suggests , tupac : resurrection is less concerned with analyzing shakur than with bringing him back to life , for which his fans can only be grateful . for everyone else , this film provides an affecting , partial portrait .",
        "a sympathetic but honest look at a man whose formidable talent was equaled only by his penchant for making bad choices .",
        "this is an important document and a fresh , intimate portrayal .",
        "-lsb- the film -rsb- never breathes long enough to revel in the magnetism and wit of a conflicted personality who burned through his talent like he knew he was n't long for the world .",
        "this mesmerizing documentary makes clear what a talented performer and vibrant presence shakur was .",
        "a well-wrought , if highly subjective , introduction to shakur , especially for the curious .",
        "while resurrection provides a few precious moments of personal and social insight , it 's basically just another product line in the endless marketing of shakur as an urban martyr .",
        "let 's assume you are a person who never intends to see a doc about rap music , but might have it in you to see one . this is the one .",
        "even if rap is n't your thing , tupac 's is an intriguing life story -- and nobody tells it better than him .",
        "a kiss-up rather than a real examination of the rapper 's life .",
        "the movie is like an extra-strength episode of mtv 's diary , which is like a&e biography in the first person .",
        "an open-ended , honest portrait of a hugely talented young man .",
        "in a year of outstanding documentaries , `` tupac : resurrection '' rates up there with the best .",
        "to say he was complicated does n't even begin to scratch the surface of what tupac was really about . unfortunately , neither does this film .",
        "fans , of course , will devour this film , but there 's plenty to chew on for the uninitiated as well .",
        "tupac : resurrection affirms that tupac shakur , the big rap star and a fine actor murdered in 1996 after surviving five bullets a few years earlier , can be resurrected , at least commercially .",
        "while tupac : resurrection includes some never-before - seen family photos and performance footage , and excerpts from the late rapper 's journals , it offers little in the way of new information or insight into the rapper 's world .",
        "it does have the limitations of the form : selective memory and admiring treatment that errs on the side of its subject . but resurrection also humanizes shakur even as it enshrines him and soft-pedals some difficult questions .",
        "lazin 's film gets off to a bad start with a miscalculated opening sequence presented in a way that implies we 're listening to shakur speak about his own murder , an impossibility that undermines the film 's documentary credibility .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- absorbing experience .",
        "it never addresses the problem that the more tupac opens his mouth to explain what his music is or is n't about , and what role in society it is or is n't supposed to serve , the more obvious it becomes that his views are n't reflected in the actual music .",
        "it 's great to hear a person no longer with us captured so bountifully in interviews , talking and even bubbling about his friends , his legacy and his scrapes .",
        "tupac 's fierce charisma keeps this documentary watchable until the bitter end .",
        "this film 's title is accurate . tupac shakur is more alive than he 's ever been -- and more endlessly fascinating than ever .",
        "as poignant as it is informative ."
    ],
    "summary": "there 's no question where the director 's loyalty lies in this one-sided tribute ; however , tupac 's charisma makes this doc an engaging sit .",
    "id": "14017"
  },
  {
    "movie": "alvin_and_the_chipmunks_chipwrecked_2011",
    "reviews": [
        "even with a wealth of material , the movie is more groan-worthy than giggle-inducing .",
        "it 's an uninspired and instantly forgettable film . but it completely succeeds by its own standards : an 87-minute rainy-day distraction that will probably make a zillion dollars .",
        "only david cross , as arch-enemy ian hawke , manages to wring a few laughs from the sodden script , but for those you have to listen to such chipmunk teen speak as `` totally adorbs '' for 90 minutes .",
        "it might divert the tiniest tots but grumpy adults will be wondering why dave did n't call in pest control long ago .",
        "there simply is n't enough material to withstand a feature-length running time in between the musical numbers .",
        "... there are a lot of wonderful family-friendly films out there this season . alvin and the chipmunks : chipwrecked is not one of them .",
        "`` chipwrecked '' serves up more of the derivative chaos that floats this franchise 's boat .",
        "pity the poor adults in the cast : they do n't have a chance . adults in the audience do n't have much of one , either .",
        "there is chipmunk gambling . there is seductive dancing by chipettes wearing only towels . there is a musical gag involving the lyric `` whip my tail back and forth . ''",
        "maybe for the next installment , they can go off to college and find something better to do than making these silly movies .",
        "eighty-seven minutes , the duration of this auditory assault , would be sufficient to slaughter every brain cell and induce blithering idiocy .",
        "with all the digital and environmental tomfoolery , it 's a shock that chipwrecked was n't released in 3d , and that renders it ever so slightly more respectable . but seriously , jason lee , you 're so much better than this . please , stop now .",
        "set out the rodent traps for this lazy exercise in children 's entertainment .",
        "patently , obviously unacceptable on any kind of storytelling level .",
        "`` chipwrecked '' will probably be a winner with families that have small children , but older children may squirm and adults will find themselves wondering how such a promising premise got so quickly beached .",
        "stale for anyone older than the preschool set .",
        "if you ca n't get enough of aggressively cute animated rodents shaking their fuzzy tails while singing helium-voiced covers of funk and hip-hop dance hits and spouting clich\u00e9d ` urban ' catchphrases -lrb- ` oh no she di'int ! ' -rrb- , then this ` squeakquel ' is for you .",
        "a sarah palin joke ? a charlie sheen wisecrack ? is this a chipmunks movie or a letterman monologue ?",
        "to stoyntio me shma ta kaboyria stoys proypologismoys den eide fysika to logo na gyalisei sth synexeia mia paragwgh poy tha toy apoferei $ 400-500 ekatommyria opws kai na ` xei",
        "there 's a germ of a light , goofy kids movie somewhere in here , but it 's buried under a pile of clich\u00e9s .",
        "chipwrecked is a mind-numbing piece of uninspired baloney , meant only to pacify hyperactive children .",
        "within 5 minutes , i concluded that no one over the age of 4 could possibly withstand more than 3 minutes of those hideous rodent voices without suffering permanent damage .",
        "number of chipmunks who speak fluent chola when necessary : three . number of spider-man/pepe le pew mash-ups i ca n't really get into : one .",
        "good news : the shrill cg rodents , who last infested theaters in 2009 's squeakquel , are stranded on a jungle island with little hope of survival . bad news : they 've brought us along .",
        "the ship 's captain , at the beginning of the film , is named captain corelli . this little item kept me amused for a good ten minutes .",
        "cross is the only provider of laughs in this film , which is now just a franchise machine whose purpose is to gouge yet more cash out of the kids who liked the previous two films .",
        "with each cast member wearing a pronounced paycheck face , chipwrecked assumes a dtv stance for this unimaginative sequel , dishing up the bare minimum to keep cashing in on the brand name .",
        "the inexplicably popular live action/animated series featuring a bevy of screechy-voiced singing rodents reaches its third -- and one fervently hopes , final -- installment .",
        "aside from the in-laws threatening to stay until the new year , one of the worst things about christmas is a new alvin and the chipmunks movie .",
        "if only they were truly stranded on that desert island ...",
        "by the time the gang performs a rendition of ` ai n't no stoppin ' us now , ' i wanted to reply , ` well , you do n't have to rub it in . '",
        "in the end , i 'd rather hang onto fond memories of my eisenhower-era record , squeaky voices and all .",
        "87 minutes of high-pitched singing , shenanigans , bad behaviour and family bonding , enlivened by a decent sarah palin joke .",
        "even by the exceedingly lenient standards of second sequels to terrible kids ' films , chipwrecked feels particularly arbitrary and devoid of inspiration .",
        "for kids , familiarity , silliness and dave 's unconditional love make it appealing . for adults , the best it has to offer are nostalgia and a running time under 90 minutes .",
        "the gags are mostly slapstick and , as such , are a welcome change from the smut of adult hollywood these days .",
        "it all seems rather jaded this time around , and even the pop songs -lrb- usually a saving grace in these movies -rrb- feel tired .",
        "you know there is something wrong with a movie when even david cross in a giant pelican suit is n't funny .",
        "the animated chipmunk singing group creates generic funny-animal antics on a tropical island . after two critically lambasted but huge hits , why make any effort at imagination or originality ?",
        "how is ` alvin and the chipmunks : chipwrecked ? ' abysmal to anyone over the age of 7 . -lrb- content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "the obvious nods to castaway , lost and other pop culture references are barely worth a grin .",
        "once you 've tuned into the inane chipmunk banter , film three in the series , chipwrecked , still manages to charm while thrilling the kids ...",
        "the movie is a way to kill 90 minutes if you have small children to amuse , but those 90 minutes could also be spent with them at the library , maybe , or at a swimming pool .",
        "harmless -- and charmless .",
        "ratatouille aside , our children should not be playing with disease-carrying rodents .",
        "silly threequel is full of pop-culture references and jokes .",
        "you usually have to go to an adam sandler movie , or the quad cinema , to see something as incompetently made as `` alvin and the chipmunks . ''",
        "chipwrecked lacks the charm and energy of the earlier films and stranding the animals on an island is a flimsy contrivance to force alvin to grow up .",
        "they die horribly .",
        "slightly better than the second film thanks to decent comic performances from jason lee and david cross , though it still manages to waste the talents of the voice actors involved and the songs are even more irritating this time around .",
        "small kids will love it ; i found it more than endurable .",
        "overall , mike mitchell 's assault will appeal only to the under-10 set and send everyone else running for ear plugs .",
        "to be fair , this franchise was never intended to appeal to anyone over six . but you do wonder how the filmmakers still managed to contrive something so unfunny and trite .",
        "largely inoffensive but equally unimaginative .",
        "flails about in search of a creative reason to exist .",
        "it 's probably quite a few people 's idea of hell - being trapped on a desert island with alvin and the chipmunks for ear-drum-testing company .",
        "puns like these would be unforgivable coming from a human . from high-pitched rodents , they prompt calls for an exterminator .",
        "there 's a wilful awfulness to the script that 's occasionally quite appealing : in one scene , alvin pledges to turn the chipmunks ' `` punishment into fun-ishment '' .",
        "either the `` alvin and the chipmunks '' movies are getting better , or i 've accidentally buried my brain for the winter .",
        "chipwrecked is the sort of sunday afternoon trifle that will mollify children and mortify their parents .",
        "it starts out as not so much a movie as a commercial for carnival cruise lines -- which perhaps should n't be a surprising turn for a strictly cash-in threequel ... and , anyway , can you bring rats on a cruise ship ?",
        "... on some level , i really want to like these movies - but i can never remember them long enough .",
        "well , at least it is n't in 3d .",
        "i briefly fantasized about how it might have perked up last week 's `` new year 's eve '' if zac efron or hilary swank had a romance with one of the chipmunks of either gender .",
        "the film will mostly appeal to the youngest of viewers , who probably instead should be reading a book or playing in the fresh air .",
        "cheerful , not too scary , easily digestible -lrb- albeit some of the dialogue is indecipherable for us non-chipmunks -rrb- and relentlessly energetic , chip-wrecked stays afloat delightfully",
        "in between the cutesy musical covers -lrb- from the go-go 's to lady gaga -rrb- , the young rodents engage in harmless slapstick and even learn a bit about themselves .",
        "the third in the series about the singing chipmunks and their exasperated but perpetually forgiving human father is a little brighter and sweeter than its predecessors .",
        "it 's no big surprise that this franchise is suffering from serious squeakquelitis .",
        "chipwrecked is derivative and predictable and not for anyone who 'd rather be watching schindler 's list . but it 's good , clean old-fashioned family fun .",
        "meant for a kiddie audience . adults will be brain dead by the time they sit through all the squeaky songs",
        "shrill , silly and furry - these squeaky-voiced , computer-generated rodents are back for their third formulaic frolic .",
        "hopefully this third instalment might bring the series to a close - they say bad things happen in threes ..."
    ],
    "summary": "lazy , rote , and grating , chipwrecked is lowest-common-denominator family entertainment that 's strictly for the very , very , very young at heart .",
    "id": "771219444"
  },
  {
    "movie": "mad_max_beyond_thunderdome",
    "reviews": [
        "miller never falls back on the formulas that have become the bane of too many recent action films , and his sustained cuts lend a clarity to the proceedings .",
        "an astonishing display of virtuoso cinema that is destined to take its place among the most vivid and freshly imagined fist-to-groin contests in the medium 's history .",
        "quality , visionary sci-fi .",
        "disjointed but it still rocks .",
        "gibson impressively fleshes out max , tina turner is striking in her role as aunty -lrb- as well as contributing two topnotch songs , which open and close the picture -rrb- and the juves are uniformly good .",
        "the performances are superb . the script allows gibson to bring a welcome new dimension to the mad max character , and the actor rises to the occasion .",
        "great goofy fun .",
        "the punky energy of the earlier films has given way to a self-conscious striving for significance , obscuring miller 's considerable kinetic talents in favor of a lumpy didacticism .",
        "enough imagination , wit and ingenuity to put recent spielberg to shame .",
        "good action plus tina turner . welcome indeed .",
        "both the most spectacular and the most cerebral installment to date .",
        "definitely the worst movie in the mad max series . weakly plotted , largely a re-hash of the previous movie without even the vaguest hint of tension .",
        "the directors , george miller and george ogilvie , borrow from every source they can find ; movie buffs can pass the time spotting the lynch shot , the leone shot , the jodorowski shot , and all kinds of others .",
        "there is something to get excited about in this third chapter of the mad max series : the powerhouse presence of tina turner .",
        "MOV is n't a bad movie . it has entertaining sections , decent performances and more than a few provocative images . but it also has a major shortcoming : it 's too darned sane .",
        "the third in mel gibson 's sci-fi series is the weakest , but it remains a hugely entertaining futuristic spectacular .",
        "outrageously sinister , unblinkingly violent , MOV is everything that fans of the futurist road warrior could hope for and more .",
        "it 's hard not to wonder why beyond thunderdome is n't better .",
        "beyond thunderdome is the third in george miller 's mad max series , and it closes the trilogy like a lightning blast followed by the ominous , resonant drone of thunder .",
        "this middle portion of the picture becomes dangerously preachy , but just before we and max are bored , director miller returns max to his roots , a screaming chase sequence through a desertlike australian landscape .",
        "if `` mad max '' embraced a geneticist 's acumen and `` the road warrior '' a philosopher 's spirit , `` thunderdome '' is about cold , hard economics - not just in bartertown 's transactions but the market expectations that come with the receipt of studio funding .",
        "this infusion of money and production by a major studio gives the film a slightly more polished look , but is inferior to the previous two films in every other way .",
        "more visionary and more entertaining than the first two .",
        "a huge step down from the first two , but still watchable -lrb- if only for the action -rrb- .",
        "despite some funky oddities and a smashing climactic chase , this pales in comparison to the road warrior .",
        "this film has showier stunts than its predecessors , and a better sense of humor . it also has tina turner , in chain-mail stockings .",
        "mel gibson proves to be a formidable warrior .",
        "let 's face it , MOV is n't terribly memorable .",
        "the weakest of the mad max films , but the thunderdome cage match is worth viewing .",
        "an admirable conclusion to the mad max trilogy : softer than its predecessors , but possessing its own unique voice .",
        "bartertown is convincingly detailed , and the fight in thunderdome is thrilling , ludicrous stuff , goofy and thrilling at the same time .",
        "not a shade on the originals , but still action to the max !",
        "weakest entry in the series"
    ],
    "summary": "beyond thunderdome deepens the mad max character without sacrificing the amazing vehicle choreography and stunts that made the originals memorable .",
    "id": "10815"
  },
  {
    "movie": "american_beauty",
    "reviews": [
        "very clever , hugely entertaining .",
        "easily one of the year 's best films .",
        "this cinematic rose is truly the one to pick .",
        "this chronicle of suburban families imploding in slow motion contains genuine laughs , but they escape through clenched teeth .",
        "MOV mesmerizes because every moment , however caricatured , hits a nerve in each of us .",
        "kevin spacey 's work in the movie is the best film acting that he has ever done .",
        "it truly , honestly makes me see the beauty in the world , a goal not many films have achieved . in short , it gives me pause .",
        "silky , seductive and unsettling , MOV is an dazzling piece of movie-making , nimbly shifting from dark comedy to drama to horror to pure poetry and back again .",
        "MOV takes its place among the best family dramas of recent decades .",
        "wildly funny and unpredictable .",
        "it wants to be an original beauty so much that it does n't realize just how plain and ordinary it really is .",
        "belleza americana es el espejo de una sociedad que ha querido vivir enga\u0144ada durante d\u00e9cadas y que ahora comienza a despertar a la realidad",
        "it is the screenplay , that penetrating , character-driven screenplay , that surely makes MOV one of the best -lrb- if not the best -rrb- films this year .",
        "a visually extravagant , entrancingly dark comedy about how people fall apart and build walls of angst between each other",
        "the kind of artful defiance that hollywood is usually too timid to deliver : a jolting comedy that makes you laugh till it hurts .",
        "as ever , spacey is brilliant with his edgy , almost psychotic creation , delivering alan ball 's quick-witted script in superb , deadpan fashion .",
        "cinematographer conrad l. hall uses shadows and the color red to startling effect , and director sam mendes moves around his characters so assuredly , i realized you do n't even need dialogue to follow the plot .",
        "a film which turns the microscope on the human condition in all its ragged glory .",
        "as it detects increasingly vital signs of life behind the absurd surfaces that mr. mendes presents so beautifully , the film takes on a gravity to match its evil zest .",
        "simultaneously gripping and frustrating , MOV is the best film of the year that irritated the hell out of me .",
        "MOV brings a bracing blend of cunning , insight and compassion to the drama of a suburban family coming apart .",
        "annette bening gives the performance of her career .",
        "bening 's performance is nothing short of exhilarating .",
        "artful , wise and darkly witty .",
        "the language is brutal and lyrical .",
        "it is art that entertains and tells us something about ourselves .",
        "it explores the endemic problems haunting many contemporary families : consumerism , unemployment , drugs , peer pressure , loneliness , discrimination and violence .",
        "there are six main characters and another half-dozen smaller parts in MOV . all of them are well written and well acted .",
        "nothing short of perfection .",
        "this film is solid gold .",
        "it may take several viewings of this extraordinary film to mine all of its spiritual riches .",
        "this is definitely a knife-to-the-heart movie -- the kind whose potent effect is easy to feel yet hard to describe .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- near-masterpiece .",
        "there is beauty to which this movie is stone cold blind : beauty it tramples on as ignorantly as buddy kane or col. fitts .",
        "a hist\u00f3ria \u00e9 uma pequena metralhadora girat\u00f3ria que n\u0103o se preocupa em poupar alguns dos mais arraigados valores do american way of life .",
        "a great , tremendously entertaining experience . i only wish there were more films this satisfying .",
        "mendes has assembled `` MOV '' from other groundbreaking films . his ambition lies in the way he presents `` MOV '' as a modern version of the major films he copies .",
        "when all is said and done , does n't really offer anything new .",
        "a dynamite comedy-drama .",
        "les recomiendo leer entre l\u00edneas , la realidad mostrada es devastadora , demasiado `` bella '' y `` ordinaria '' para algunos ...",
        "from the opening moment we know we 're in the hands of gifted , assured , focussed filmmakers .",
        "like network in the 1970s and ordinary people in the '80s , MOV is a scathing reflection of contemporary american life .",
        "there 's so much to see in this movie that , with every blink , you 'll miss something amazing . something poignant . something timeless .",
        "the obvious star is spacey , who makes lester such a human character that you ca n't help sympathizing with him , despite the many embarrassing gestures on his part .",
        "a heart breaking-retching-touching-intestine churner .",
        "it 's a picture with a great cool shiny surface , and it boasts superb actors , witty and iconoclastic writing , vigorous and imaginative direction and brilliantly stylized cinematography .",
        "it 's a black comedy that 's supposed to be about the hollowness of the american dream , but in fact ... it reveals the moral and intellectual bankruptsy of hollywood .",
        "hilarious , cynical , disturbing , yet emotionally satisfying .",
        "i think it unfolds as a profound masterpiece , then collapses in a muddle of probably unintentional , certainly unnecessary pessimism .",
        "MOV is a singular accomplishment so specifically keyed to spacey 's talents that it mandates going out on a limb to say it contains the performance that will ultimately be regarded as ` the one ' .",
        "what MOV has to say is n't pretty , at least not in the conventional fashion , but it is a brilliant , exhilarating piece of filmmaking .",
        "superlatively well-made .",
        "... a novelistic integrity , a cool black comic sensibility and , at its core , a raw throbbing monster of a busted heart .",
        "shrouded in ugliness despite brilliant performances by bening and spacey .",
        "there 's so much right -- and so much wrong -- with this lauded , scathing look at suburban discontent .",
        "an uncompromising , sometimes uncomfortable , but utterly exhilarating movie , easily the best yet this year .",
        "it is a great film and will definitely be regarded as one of the best films of the 90 's ... right next to titanic .",
        "time and again , you fear mendes wo n't be able to sustain such a confident shuffling of his pack , but somehow he does , and for once the result is a genuine surprise .",
        "it challenges and disturbs as it invigorates and entertains .",
        "one of the year 's very best pictures .",
        "an astonishingly assured first feature from transatlantic theater whiz kid sam mendes .",
        "moves from mirthful to moody and to downright overwrought near the climax .",
        "an original , a tour-de-force exhibition of acting missing from the movie screen so far this year .",
        "there are times when `` MOV '' feels like it might be toppling over into melodrama , but mendes grabs the reins and reels his actors in , generating power and a lot of perspiration in the process .",
        "filled with moments of uncommon intelligence , sensitivity , truth and wit , MOV is an instant american classic .",
        "spacey 's style and delivery save the film time after time .",
        "as the world changed in the past five years , so did the relevance of MOV .",
        "complexity , say quite a few of my colleagues . lies , i say .",
        "one of the edgiest movies of the year .",
        "a stylish film about an american family that pretends to be moral and enlightened , but revels in its mean-spirited sarcasm and its championing of self-interest .",
        "dark , intelligent , scandalous , emotional , and truthful -- one of the year 's best .",
        "brit sam mendes makes an impressive directorial debut with a glossy , well-acted satire of the american burbs , a theatrically stylized meditation that combines the zeitgeist of 1950s eisnehower with that of 1990s clinton .",
        "this is what movies are all about .",
        "director mendes guides an artful path between desire and self-disgust , playing youth against experience , male against female .",
        "beauty is a blood-chilling dark comedy with unexpected moments of both fury and warmth , a strange , brooding and very accomplished film that sets us back on our heels from its opening frames .",
        "director sam mendes presents some memorable images , and moments of kubrick class clarity , but the whole does not hang together .",
        "MOV is a very funny film that packs an unexpected emotional wallop .",
        "it never justifies the blatancy of its opening , and it never does anything to freshen what is only one more journey through familiar fortyish unfulfillment .",
        "there 's too much dead air around the dialogue and the comic pacing is nonexistent .",
        "the dark , deeply ironic ending , though given away by our narrator in the first few minutes of the movie , stays with you for weeks after it 's all over .",
        "worth seeing as a snapshot of american society at a peculiar juncture in its unfolding as an empire .",
        "the film struggles with its mood swings and is marred by its own tonal and thematic inconsistencies .",
        "though the film is outrageously entertaining , its relentless struggle to find social relevance becomes so heavy-handed that it leaves you feeling sucker-punched .",
        "if you enjoy `` films '' then rush right out . otherwise put it on your `` must rent '' list .",
        "moviemakers who feel betrayed by the cheery sitcoms of their adolescence can now take it out on all the rest of us and , as a bonus , get points for profundity too .",
        "an incisive if over-the-top take on familial dysfunction .",
        "above all , `` MOV '' is about finding peace and a sense of wonder in the least likely of places , such as your inner torment or , failing that , perhaps a floating plastic bag .",
        "a millennial classic .",
        "powerful acting , great story , but far too mature for kids .",
        "the flaws that exist in MOV are effortlessly overcome by a cast that blossoms . spacey in particular exhibits a rare wit and gravitas with lester 's weary frowns and cutting smirks , proving his mettle in this career peak performance .",
        "it 's daring in that it sympathizes with a protagonist who 's a pederast though its portrait of an american family on the brink of collapse is essentially a cartoon",
        "one of the most startling , brilliant pictures to come out of a major studio in many years .",
        "an elusive and allusive work of art that wo n't be pinned down easily .",
        "recently , happiness and election have taken pot shots at suburban morals and ethics , but none has hit so close to the bone and so on-target as MOV .",
        "it 's like norman bates getting good advice from mother .",
        "as the latest mainstream movie symptom of our premillennial malaise , MOV is so brilliantly acted , written , directed and visualized that for all its despondency and despair , it is a lot of fun .",
        "amazing .",
        "the movie , despite its exaggerations and caricatures , does grip you , ever so slowly at first , and pull you in .",
        "an explanation of why i love the movies so much .",
        "at this point in the year , i 'd readily call MOV one of the best movies of 1999 . it is certainly the best-acted , with kevin spacey a standout among a stellar ensemble cast .",
        "with lester as its guide , MOV peels away the layers of what passes for normalcy in contemporary suburbia to reveal the creepy-crawlies under the neatly trimmed lawns .",
        "a sitcom with a brain , though its depth is pretty synthetic .",
        "near-perfect .",
        "marvelous filmmaking on every level .",
        "startling , brilliantly assembled .",
        "because the film 's visual conception and most of its performances have such disturbing power , in dreamlike fragments MOV is able to burrow inside the cliche to understand how it came to be .",
        "the real star of the film is alan ball 's exceptional script , which continually reveals new , surprising layers in characters that initially seem like cartoonish types .",
        "despite the acting , which ranges mostly from good to terrific , mendes is the real discovery here .",
        "exhibits a stable , consistent tone and style , using brilliant direction , incredible acting and a smart screenplay that balances the comedy with the morbidity .",
        "funny and highly entertaining .",
        "cripplingly broad , with network-sitcom beats dressed in r-rated threads ... -lsb- endorses -rsb- a particularly adolescent male point of view .",
        "MOV was a deserving best picture and lester 's rich existential journey and social commentary of modern america peels away the inauthentic and superficial to reveal the epic allure in a bleak suburbia .",
        "i ca n't remember the last time i 've seen a mainstream , big-studio release this well-acted .",
        "beauty is never less than fascinating and always visually stunning .",
        "mendes and screenwriter alan ball , both making their feature debuts , resort to a few heavy-handed tactics to get their points across , but their sheer audacity is so exhilarating it hardly matters .",
        "the hairpin turns from farce to melodrama , from satire to bathos , are fresh and deftly navigated , but almost every one of the underlying attitudes is smug and easy .",
        "boldly challenging our sympathies , -lsb- lester -rsb- somehow wins them because , to borrow a phrase , he 's a man in full .",
        "this amazing and impassioned fantasia about american loneliness begins as satire and ends with a vision of the sublime .",
        "MOV is a profoundly satisfying piece of cinema which works its way inside you , grabs hold of your heart and simply refuses to let go .",
        "in their scathing portrayal of middle-class anxiety , screenwriter alan ball and director sam mendes create an average joe determined to unearth the carefully buried truths of his life .",
        "british theatre director sam mendes made an astonishing film debut with this sublime black comedy about midlife crises .",
        "savagely funny and sympathetically insightful .",
        "an acerbic , darkly comic critique of how social conventions can lead people into false , sterile and emotionally stunted lives , MOV is a real american original .",
        "surprising and enjoyable .",
        "MOV is a devastating motion picture of unconceivable power .",
        "one of the great films of the decade .",
        "a dark comical masterpiece .",
        "peers between the white picket fenceposts of suburbia to reveal emotional toxicity and unexpected grace .",
        "i somehow liked the film more than i probably should have .",
        "MOV accomplishes in a mere two hours , what many movies and sequels all year long have not ; it makes the viewer reason and empathize with the great american family .",
        "delights in confounding our expectations again and again ... in its probe of what lies beneath the shiny surface of everday life , `` beauty '' sometimes recalls david lynch 's `` blue velvet '' or his ground-breaking tv series `` twin peaks . ''",
        "i 'd have preferred that this realization be stumbled across by means other than pot and lust , still , a great film .",
        "you know you 're in the hands of a true filmmaker when you feel invited , at every turn , to share his sense of entrancement . i got that feeling in just about every frame of MOV .",
        "bravo and roll out the oscar nominations .",
        "MOV is an american classic .",
        "hilarious , painful and brutally frank .",
        "i think lester burnham is destined to become an iconic american character , one with a life well beyond the film that spawned him .",
        "one of the best films of the year .",
        "-lsb- the filmmakers ' -rsb- attacks on real-estate agents , corporate america and suburbia are n't so much shooting fish in a barrel as they are shooting fish in a shallow dish .",
        "flaws and all , this is intelligent , exhilarating , effervescent film-making , and a remarkable debut from sam mendes .",
        "disturbing , bleak , thought-provoking .",
        "MOV approaches a manic , almost cartoonish edge without falling over . both spacey and bening use extraordinary comic timing to bring these very sad , lost characters to life .",
        "alan ball 's script is a terrific piece of material , and mendes responds directly to its subversive , provocative vision of a curdled american dream .",
        "mendes manages to give individuality and distinction to some extremely familiar material .",
        "why , then , did i enjoy it so little ? because of its unrelenting self-importance : MOV wants us to know , in every shot at every turn , just how clever and mercilessly cutting it is .",
        "kevin spacey gives the performance of his life .",
        "a truly beautiful , poignant and brilliantly funny film , it does n't get much better than this .",
        "it took a british stage director to create the ultimate movie about the american family .",
        "this engrossing centrepiece meshes with subplots involving burnham 's dysfunctional family and unbalanced neighbours , in a virtuoso study of isolation , repression and fulfilment . mendes infuses the lush visuals and lyrical script with dramatic panache .",
        "the writing is acidically amusing without ever trying to conceal the loneliness at the heart , the direction a perfect frame for the characters and the wonderful performances that create them .",
        "kevin spacey is the greatest actor of his generation , hands down , no contest .",
        "the film is stunningly poignant , and when first time cinema director mendes turns his hands to the serious aspects of the disintegration of human souls , the funny lurches to the profound with hardly a flicker of disruption .",
        "MOV is deeply disturbing , acerbically funny , brilliantly acted , breathtakingly original and highly sophisticated .",
        "a tightly coiled rage seethes beneath the pretty surface of MOV , a wickedly funny black comedy directed by newcomer sam mendes .",
        "this is spacey 's best performance since he took home an oscar for the usual suspects .",
        "this seriocomic autopsy of middle-class virtue has the capacity to startle and surprise , and a gift for finding grim humor at the heart of tragedy .",
        "mendes loves his performers , framing their big moments with suburban metaphors and dizzily poetic fantasies .",
        "with its parade of neurotics , psychotics , bigots and deceivers , MOV is an endlessly rewatchable black comedy .",
        "a terrific film about troubled souls .",
        "compelling to watch , full of black humor , evocative imagery and wrenching sadness .",
        "-lsb- beauty -rsb- is certainly adept at showing how awful life in the united states is at the moment -- and that 's what gives it some bite . but it 's no less adept at taking that awfulness and making it pleasurable to watch -- and that 's what makes it entertaining .",
        "mendes can stake a claim alongside the likes of kubrick and egoyan as one whose cinematic vision both challenges and entertains .",
        "MOV is a comedy because we laugh at the absurdity of the hero 's problems . and a tragedy because we can identify with his failure .",
        "MOV offers one of the best ensemble casts you 'll see in any american movie this year .",
        "hilarious , slightly sick , and super-edgy .",
        "an incisive , deliriously funny and profound vision of the american dream hitting meltdown .",
        "MOV is that rare instance where all the elements of a movie -- story , setting , acting , shot construction -- come together to convey its message .",
        "if it is never really as profound as it seems to think it is , MOV is consistently entertaining .",
        "the movie is an impressive achievement , yes , but not always a deep and effective one .",
        "you ca n't help but wonder how people find themselves trapped in situations where they have all their happiness and energy sucked right out of them . you ca n't help but wonder if it will happen to you .",
        "original in story , interesting in premise , acted sharply by its well-rounded cast , directed in a manner made all the more absorbing , and edgy and humorous enough to keep me going .",
        "astounding .",
        "well-acted , reasonably insightful , and often laugh-out-loud funny .",
        "this is a rare and outstanding film that deserves attention and will challenge some heady competition for a place as the best film of the year .",
        "what , at first , promises to be an insightful satirical look at a suburban american family unravels into a familiar tale of infidelity and rebellion .",
        "MOV is a flat-out masterpiece , surely the best movie of the year ; indeed , an all-time classic .",
        "kevin spacey gives a performance , in what may be one of the great films of our time , that will surely garner him an academy award nomination .",
        "bitterly funny and beautifully crafted .",
        "the world 's most honest sitcom ."
    ],
    "summary": "flawlessly cast and brimming with dark , acid wit , MOV is a smart , provocative high point of late '90s mainstream hollywood film .",
    "id": "12878"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1048445-snow_white_and_the_seven_dwarfs",
    "reviews": [
        "... the very definition of a classic ... and the newly restored , thx-mastered dvd transfer is breathtaking .",
        "more than the grandfather of full-length animated films , it is a genuine classic in its own right .",
        "songs like ` heigh-ho ` and ` some day my prince will come ' are timeless ; people who have n't seen this in years still recall every word .",
        "it is a classic , as important cinematically as the birth of a nation or the birth of mickey mouse .",
        "arguably the best disney ever .",
        "while i see the film 's importance from a technical aspect and laud it for its sense of mood , it 's not at the top of my list of animated classics .",
        "to one degree or another , every animated feature made since owes it something .",
        "MOV may not be the ` fairest of them all , ' but being the very first of them all is reason enough to admire the effort .",
        "walt disney 's greatest achievement , the sensation of the motion picture industry ... unbelievably beautiful ... unutterably charming ... the beloved fairy tale comes to vivid life .",
        "more important historically than it is entertaining .",
        "one of the most important films in the history of popular cinema , and film fans must never forget the incredible achievement it was in 1937 . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "it is snow white 's afterbirth that merits both canonization and destruction .",
        "to say of MOV that it is among the genuine artistic achievements of this country takes no great daring .",
        "disney 's first animated feature pushed the art form in thrilling new directions , completely redrawing a much-loved fairy tale of bad stepmothers , forest glades and handsome princes that previously existed only on the printed page .",
        "the film is as charming as it is novel in conception and execution and it is so bound to appeal as strongly to grown-ups as to youngsters .",
        "some early sequences seem a tad uncertain , but a little way in all becomes surer of itself and , for now going on eighty years ago , a miracle .",
        "great movie , great treatment , but if you 're particular about your collection , know that the combo pack is available in both dvd and blu-ray packaging .",
        "the film 's overall effect is undeniable , not only on the history of cinema as a whole , but in each new viewing that reveals another dimension or additional detail , the sum total of which is one of the true cinematic masterpieces",
        "it luxuriates in the art of animation , watching the various animals race through the woods , or watching snow white running scared from an array of imaginary horrors .",
        "there are only a tiny number of films that have come anywhere close to equaling its achievement .",
        "always a classic",
        "this story has it all : brilliant characters and a wonderful , satisfying story .",
        "largely it succeeds because it really is a great deal of fun .",
        "this is both an entertaining old movie and a significant historical document . if you love film , then you must see MOV .",
        "you 've probably seen it 15 times by now , so why not make it 16 ?",
        "so perfect is the illusion , so tender the romance and fantasy , so emotional are certain portions when the acting of the characters strikes a depth comparable to the sincerity of human players , that the film approaches real greatness .",
        "in addition to its historical value as the first animated feature , it is still a delight , with memorable songs and characters .",
        "it 's a delightful family fantasy film that is timeless , one that both children and adults can enjoy .",
        "most remarkable in snow white 's romps through the forest with her pack of animal pals , disney 's brilliant cell animation has rarely been equaled .",
        "... the animation itself is top-notch , and in a number of darker sequences -lrb- snow white 's terrified entry into the forest , for example -rrb- , disney 's adoption of expressionist visual devices makes for genuinely powerful drama .",
        "this is animation as it had never before been experienced .",
        "MOV -lrb- 1937 -rrb- is the first full-length animated feature -lrb- 83 minutes in length -rrb- in color and with sound , one of disney 's greatest films ,",
        "like many of the disney films , from pinocchio to fantasia , this film is a cinematic rite of passage -- for children and adults .",
        "the first time was the charm with the queen , probably still the most effective , scariest , and coolest villain disney has yet created ."
    ],
    "summary": "with its involving story and characters , vibrant art , and memorable songs , MOV set the animation standard for decades to come .",
    "id": "9380"
  },
  {
    "movie": "soul_power",
    "reviews": [
        "this has no contextual structure at all . it is essentially the archive footage slapped together .",
        "conscientiously , if conventionally edited re-hash of the oscar-winning `` we were kings . ''",
        "in addition to the expected shots of ali and don king in all their megalomania , the intimate portraits of james brown , bill withers , and b.b. king in his triumphant homecoming are as powerful as their performances .",
        "passionate fans of the music will relish these archived images while regular moviegoers will be entertained , but not moved by what they see .",
        "as the record of a cultural event , MOV is a hit-and-miss affair .",
        "gluttons for these artists and for music festivals in general might wonder , as i have , whether there 's any way the filmmakers might share more of the remaining 123 1/2 hours .",
        "a non-stop head-bobbing knee-bouncer .",
        "some may complain about the lack of contextualizing material but what is on the screen is so exciting and energetic that most viewers will probably be too busy tapping their feet and swaying their heads to the beats on display to notice or care .",
        "documentary about the three-day music festival preceding the famous ali-foreman fight has its moments , but plays too much like what it is : outtakes from the oscar-winning when we were kings .",
        "a thrilling time machine that lets you travel to zaire in 1974 to see legendary performers bringing it all back home .",
        "james brown and b.b. king anchor this footnote in boxing history , but the film peaks near the midpoint with bill withers ' truly soulful performance of `` hope she 'll be happier . ''",
        "director jeffrey levy-hinte pads out the concert footage with not always stimulating backstage stuff , but the music makes it all worthwhile .",
        "ali motormouth footage left over from when we were kings . actually , this whole film was made from wwwk leftovers , we learn . but we manage to forget that detail whenever the music soars .",
        "offers a vivid glimpse of a fascinating moment in musical history , racial politics and global pop culture .",
        "unseen for 35 years , its spectacle is undimmed , and you can pick many highlights .",
        "the behind the scenes record of the event is fascinating , both in terms of the mechanics of successfully creating such a massive enterprise and in the personalities involved .",
        "the concert footage is excellent , with brown in decent form , even if in truth he was already a decade past his creative peak . good music movie , thin documentary .",
        "capturing the site , the sounds , the smells , and the sweat of a major musical happening , MOV is irresistible .",
        "busting with footage left in legal limbo for over three decades , jeffrey levy-hinte 's documentary is uproarious and uplifting .",
        "while MOV is bound to be compared to the oscar-winning ali/foreman documentary when we were kings , it never scales the same heights .",
        "while there 's an awful lot to like about this infectious celebration of a remarkable event featuring some superb , larger-than-life performers at the top of their game , the enterprise comes across as a bit of a missed opportunity .",
        "it does n't disappoint . the line-up reads like a who 's who of 70s soul and r&b . and the sound quality 's shockingly good .",
        "some fascinating behind-the-scenes footage and some astonishing performances .",
        "in linking the legendary 1974 rumble in the jungle with the music festival that ran alongside it , we get a remarkable glimpse of the day 's racial and political issues .",
        "the movie is surprisingly dry and flavorless . it certainly does n't help that filmmaker jeffrey levy-hinte put this collection of footage together without any narration and with a bare minimum of narrative captions .",
        "for a documentary about a music festival , MOV does n't include nearly enough music .",
        "... if you are a fan of any of the musicians ... or maybe i should say if you 're completely unfamiliar with any of the musicians mentioned - then MOV is well worth seeing . or at least hearing .",
        "it 's hard not to wish that maybe there was a little less of muhammad ali promoting himself and a little more of the concert .",
        "watching MOV is like flipping through polaroids of that era . the color is a little washed out and everyone looks amazingly young .",
        "does its part to widen this historic concert 's potential audience base .",
        "b.b. king . bill withers . miriam makeba . celia cruz . and james brown , earning every inch of the title , `` godfather of soul , '' who all by himself probably deforested a few acres around kinshasa with the volcanic blast of his set .",
        "MOV is a window into a time when anything seemed possible .",
        "the documentary gives us a tantalising taste of what appear to have been some incredible performances . such is the quality of the footage and sound recording that you rather wish the film was longer .",
        "MOV leaves you wanting more , and not in a good way .",
        "the performances are fine , but this feels like a companion piece to ` when we were kings ' rather than a work that can stand on its own ...",
        "director jeffrey levy-hinte does a terrific job re-creating a landmark moment , with behind-the-scenes footage complementing triumphant performances .",
        "a vibrant and joyous new documentary .",
        "a dazzling chronicle of the african american music expo that was meant to accompany the 1974 rumble in the jungle heavyweight title bout between muhammad ali and george foreman in kinshasa , zaire -lrb- now congo -rrb- .",
        "the movie is crisp and quick and looks as if it were shot yesterday , but for all that , MOV is ultimately disappointing .",
        "an edifying glimpse at a moment in black history when the world really was looking on .",
        "this is musical history that deserves to be placed alongside the best of its era .",
        "brilliant archive footage and blistering live performances - an exhilarating concert film .",
        "as a concert film it 's unparalleled : a stunningly photographed , soul-stirring celebration .",
        "ultimately it 's the music that makes this film a cause for celebration -- especially the chance to see ` soul brother # 1 ' james brown and his blistering band perform at their absolute prime .",
        "it 's impossible not to be moved .",
        "MOV turns out to be an unusually resonant time capsule , one that weaves together theatrics , musicianship , cosmopolitanism and sharp political critique in a vibrant look-back that 's at once celebratory and wistful .",
        "it 's best seen as a breezy entertainment and a reminder of how potent some of these performers -- many of whom are dead -- were in their primes .",
        "watching the godfather of soul on the big outdoor stage , you think back to his appearance in the t.a.m.i. show a decade earlier . and then you think : i feel good .",
        "a footnote to a masterpiece .",
        "MOV is the indispensable companion film to leon gast 's thrilling 1996 documentary when we were kings .",
        "it packs the emotional and historical power of a heady ` family gathering ' celebration of african and , to use the term then in fashion , afro-american pride .",
        "MOV works fabulously as both a concert film and a time capsule of a time and place when gods of black masculinity joined forces to make an international statement of togetherness .",
        "a lively and entertaining documentary about a three-day concert of r & b music held in 1974 in zaire , africa .",
        "what 's infectious in MOV is the almost shocking optimism of its america-meets - africa '70s world-beat vibe .",
        "MOV is worth seeing -- and hearing -- for the evocation of an era and above all , for the exuberant and infectious performances .",
        "MOV is marvelous , and no wonder -- among the performers in this concert film are james brown , b.b. king , bill withers , miriam makeba and celia cruz , all at the peak of their powers .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- , even with its classic performers and songs , falls short of sparking the thrill it should .",
        "the well-preserved -lrb- or well-restored -rrb- footage , and the simple joy of the artists , easily put any misgivings in the shade .",
        "a compilation of captivating performances by legendary titans of music , `` MOV '' shows the real power of soul .",
        "seems destined to join classic concert films like woodstock and gim me shelter in the musical archives for its ability to capture the feel of the times and really make you feel like you were there .",
        "likeable documentary that serves as a fascinating companion piece to when we were kings .",
        "documents the bass line running under the absurdly politicized , hyper-kinetic boxing match that found muhammed ali facing off against then-titan george forman",
        "the performances that MOV captures are so captivating , so exciting , that it holds its own ... i defy anyone to sit still through this infectiously funky doc .",
        "leon gast 's documentary when we were kings , about the 1974 ali-foreman \ufb01ght in zaire , now has a great companion piece .",
        "`` MOV '' is an imperfect social document of a time when anything seemed possible . here 's proof that michael jackson never had a thing on james brown .",
        "ali 's bravado-soaked words , breezily tossed off after he disrupts a don king press conference , also serve as an artist 's manifesto for the film 's musical acts : celia cruz , the spinners , fania all-stars , bill withers , b.b. king , miriam makeba , and others .",
        "flavourful behind the scenes footage mingles with infectious concert performances to make this a very welcome record of a unique piece of music history .",
        "though conventionally filmed in a chronological fashion , this could be the most energetic movie this year .",
        "the sporadic appearances by ali hopelessly unbalance the proceedings , his fiercely outspoken interviews providing the only morsels of substance ."
    ],
    "summary": "featuring some incredible performances from many 70s soul legends , MOV is an exhilarating snap-shot of a bygone era .",
    "id": "770798458"
  },
  {
    "movie": "born_on_the_fourth_of_july",
    "reviews": [
        "hey ... cruise can act !",
        "tom cruise proves he 's more than a chiseled face in stone 's anti-war epic .",
        "signaled oliver stone 's transition from iconic commentator to tremulous anarchist .",
        "sledgehammer stone deals from a grotesquely stacked deck as usual",
        "typical jingoistic stone bullroar , but professional .",
        "a forceful and admirably heartfelt performance by tom cruise galvanizes this picture , which should be more powerful than it is considering the darkness and fullness of the emotions at its center .",
        "MOV is ... the most ambitious nondocumentary film yet made about the entire vietnam experience .",
        "this is a sad case of a film with high and noble intentions that features great dramatic performances , but it ends up being a superficial epic , diluted , limited , and strangely unmoving .",
        "made when oliver stone still had cred and cruise was n't a laughing stock . a fine movie .",
        "i 'll give stone credit for capturing the craziness of kovic 's life , but he fails to give a human face to his free fall .",
        "not the sort of movie you actually enjoy , but its thought-provoking subject matter and haunting images are not easily forgotten .",
        "a great performance by cruise",
        "tom cruise , who takes kovic from clean-cut eager teen to impassioned long-haired activist , is stunning .",
        "though departing from the source material , ron kovic 's stirring chronicle of his vietnam experience , this film is a good companion piece to oliver stone 's oscar-winner platoon , showcasing star tom cruise in one of his most dramatic performances .",
        "not counting his iconic themes for such blockbusters as star wars and jaws , this might feature john williams ' best music score to date .",
        "an exceptional feature on every level of execution , also displaying a rare sensitivity to stone that he would spend the rest of his career trying to bury in violence and experimentation .",
        "unflinching story of vietnam vet turned activist .",
        "cruise 's impassioned performance as kovic is an impressive accomplishment .",
        "a compelling , elegiac film , particularly encouraging after the simplified morality of platoon .",
        "stone does populist anti-war with a passion .",
        "whether or not you agree with its politics , and it 's sure to spark some debate , there 's no denying the film 's power .",
        "stone has found in cruise the ideal actor to anchor the movie with simplicity and strength .",
        "oliver stone -lrb- best director oscar -rrb- directs this film about individuals whose traditional patriotism is ambushed by the vietnam war and reborn in political protest .",
        "as deeply felt as platoon , as graphic and unrelenting as salvador , but it 's less manipulative than the former and more dramatically integrated than the latter , because cruise anchors the movie .",
        "nothing cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in MOV .",
        "stone has created a film whose overblown parts add up to far less than the epic whole he had in mind .",
        "this is an impassioned movie , made with conviction and evangelical verve . it 's also hysterical and overbearing and alienating .",
        "if this is a four star film , you can rest assured that three of those stars come from the balls-out bravura of tom cruise in the lead role ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by an unforgettable performance from tom cruise , MOV finds director oliver stone tackling thought-provoking subject matter with ambitious \u00e9lan .",
    "id": "16218"
  },
  {
    "movie": "big_lebowski",
    "reviews": [
        "bad news for those in search of accessible comedy ; good news , as always , for those who work at finding oddball flourishes and well-disguised social commentary .",
        "since the MOV does n't have an idea in its head , it has to fill the empty space with ` witty ' conceits",
        "it sounds like another precious coen brothers gimmick , but in bridges ' hands it becomes a hysterical running joke .",
        "in a perfect world all movies would be made by the coen brothers .",
        "outstanding acting , writing , direction and photography all combine to make this a great comic success .",
        "some viewers have criticized the movie for being too much of a shaggy dog story , lacking a cohesive point or purpose . yet to look for the point is to miss it entirely . coen-heads hop aboard for the ride .",
        "nearly everything in the MOV is a put-on , and all that leaves you with is the coens ' bizarrely over-deliberate , almost teutonic form of rib nudging .",
        "the comedy here is sometimes so sharp that you could roll in the aisle with laughter and not seem any odder than the characters you see onscreen .",
        "the dude and sobchak begin as caricatures too , but they 're allowed to grow into something deeper , if only because the humanist economy of the coens ' surrealist vaudeville allows for a couple of human beings within the tapestry of freaks .",
        "much of ` lebowski ' is amusing , some of it is downright hilarious and all of it is stylish , with plenty of the coens ' usual inventive shot composition and tricky camerawork .",
        "the movie is more fascinating than funny , one you 're more likely to discuss afterwards that laugh at while it is playing .",
        "this deliberately messay comedy stars jeff bridges as a slack-brained pothead , but the funniest turn is given by john turturro as a gay latino bowler who urges his ball with sexy thrusts of his pelvis .",
        "the MOV may have a reputation for being the late night movie of choice for some burnouts , but it 's much more than your average stoner film .",
        "not that the MOV is without its charms , but , like its central character , it is occasionally aimless and incoherent .",
        "this broad farce about mistaken identities would have worked much better if the filmmakers had n't mistaken their own .",
        "outrageously fun .",
        "the MOV is a mess . but what a glorious , wonderfully-entertaining mess it is .",
        "definitively the coolest comedy in a long time .",
        "a film that may be instantly forgettable but should keep you grinning for a couple of hours .",
        "nimble , crackerjack entertainment with the crazed , anything-goes humor and the visual splendor we have come to expect in the best of the coen brothers ' offerings .",
        "in many ways , the MOV has surpassed fargo as the coens ' high-water mark .",
        "after seeing and enjoying lebowksi at least four times over the years , i can plainly see why the movie freaks have embraced this off-kilter comedy so enthusiastically .",
        "loopy , unfathomable , profane and very funny .",
        "it 's the actors that make this film : without the perfect casting ... and without their perfect comic timing , it would n't work . but it does work , every minute .",
        "it 's pretty much impossible not to love the dude .",
        "i 'd probably hate all of this stuff if i did n't think the movie was so damn hilarious .",
        "far from being shallow pastiche , it 's actually about something : what it means to be a man , to be a friend , and to be a ` hero ' for a particular time and place .",
        "i wish the coens the best , but they 're going to have to do better than this . i know they can .",
        "one of the best comedies of the nineties , and the best film thus far from the coen brothers .",
        "there are bits of brilliance here as in all coen brothers movies . just not enough of them .",
        "there are more ideas here , more wacko side characters and plot curlicues than the film can support , and inevitably it deflates from having to shoulder so much .",
        "it may not be fargo , but you 'll be swept away by the sheer nonsensical , farcical wonder of it all .",
        "the MOV does n't always bowl strikes . but in this wacky comedy , even the gutter balls are funny .",
        "no , it 's no fargo . it 's the most flamboyant , erratic , spontaneous movie the coens have ever made .",
        "jeff bridges as the dude is stroke of casting genius .",
        "-lsb- the coens -rsb- rummaged through political and personal history for the underpinnings of this los angeles caper , from 1998 , sending up , with rueful astonishment , the american way of war .",
        "on one hand , it has many layers , but on the other hand , it 's just about a dude who wants his rug back .",
        "a very funny and twisted comedy ...",
        "enormously entertaining !",
        "... yet another in a long line of promising yet disappointing comedies from joel and ethan coen ...",
        "one of the funniest , coolest , most absurd cult films ever made , and one of the best from the dynamic duo - joel and ethan coen .",
        "it 's essential .",
        "it 's the whole proud , embarrassing sociopolitical , cultural heap of american history-and the american century in particular-in two fleet , funny hours . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "the coens concoct an absurdist chandler-esque mystery , drop in a couple hilarious dream fantasies , and even bring in a drawling sam elliot to narrate this tall tale like a western myth .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- you 'd never guess that the movie is loosely based on raymond chandler 's detective novel `` the big sleep . ''",
        "leave it to the coen brothers to use a man urinating on a rug as the catalyst for an entire film 's events .",
        "by taking it easy , the dude abides and becomes a spiritual teacher of crazy wisdom .",
        "this is a film that has great visuals and has genuine laugh-out - loud humor .",
        "it 's best just to accept the MOV on its own anything-goes terms .",
        "like a good caucasian , joel and ethan coen 's l.a.-based crime-caper-comedy is an acquired taste , but potentially addictive once you take to its perfectly offbeat blend of seemingly disparate elements .",
        "viewers with a taste for bizarre , even surreal , humor will have a ball .",
        "a genial spoof about life on the unhinged margins of l.a. that 's a lot more carefully constructed than it pretends to be .",
        "it 's the wealth of great characters and their insane dialogue that make this a memorable film .",
        "this time , they have all the parts together , but someone forgot the glue .",
        "o ` dude ' \u00e9 um personagem absolutamente fascinante .",
        "although there are plenty of laughs to be had , what ultimately makes this film feel like a minor effort is the lack of the tightly coiled -lrb- albeit noticeably bent -rrb- internal logic that governed the duo 's previous efforts .",
        "inside the minds of joel and ethan coen is a wonderfully weird place .",
        "if nothing else , the dude speaks for me when appraises the music of the eagles .",
        "the result is a lot of laughs and a feeling of awe toward the craftsmanship involved . i doubt that there 'll be anything else like it the rest of this year .",
        "this movie seems to me almost a mishmash of the worst bits that were left out of previous coen brothers outings .",
        "to what do we owe the pleasure of the coen brothers ' new joie de vivre and love for their fellow man ?",
        "stylish and wickedly funny black comedy illuminated by a great performance from jeff bridges , and loaded with all the coen brothers ' trademark wit and flair .",
        "i 'm not a fan of the coen brothers , but this is an entertaining enough diversion .",
        "a wild ride for adults only .",
        "adds up to considerably less than the sum of its often scintillating parts .",
        "bridges does more with his deflated body language than many comedians can manage by chewing the furniture .",
        "as with raising arizona , the MOV gives us a protagonist whose dopey innocence seems to be his only protection from the real world .",
        "if it 's all supposed to be in fun , why does it feel so much like an insult ?",
        "this is a terrific movie .",
        "the coen brothers try really hard to be outrageously funny , and they succeed more often than they fail .",
        "it never really bored me at any point , but at the same time , it never really excited me either .",
        "the coen brothers throw this film into the gutter , never developing what could have been a strictly ballroom-like spoof of the bowling world .",
        "... a loving study of los angeles loserdom .",
        "like meeting the three stooges after they 've blasted their brains with mind-altering drugs , time-traveled into the 1990s and landed in a vintage bowling alley .",
        "the MOV tiene el efecto deseado : creer en los personaje , a\u00fan sin creer necesariamente en la historia .",
        "an indulgent spoof , MOV is n't a straight gutter ball , but it 's no strike , either .",
        "joel and ethan cohen are in the midst of just such a golden streak right now .",
        "this uneven screwball comedy -- a disjointed and half-hearted attempt by the coen brothers to return to the raising arizona style -- is bound to underwhelm even their most fervent admirers .",
        "it 's weirdly engaging , like its hero .",
        "this plot need not be taken too seriously . watching it amble along is enough of a treat , since the coens populate this story with oddballs and bowling balls of such comic variety .",
        "a typical coen brothers film is like no film you 've ever seen .",
        "when you 're having a down day , pop in the MOV for a little pick-me-up , and always remember : the dude abides .",
        "as tempting as it is to completely dismiss the MOV , it 's hard to do because the coens are able to create wickedly funny eccentrics and possess the ability to energize certain actors to inhabit them completely .",
        "there is no satisfactory beginning , middle or end to it , but it does have its moments ."
    ],
    "summary": "typically stunning visuals and sharp dialogue from the coen brothers , brought to life with strong performances from goodman and bridges .",
    "id": "14281"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fast_and_furious",
    "reviews": [
        "better than the last two , but still pretty mindless action .",
        "while it 's good to see the original cast back , there is n't much of a story and even less action to keep you entertained .",
        "this popcorn flick satisfies the vicarious need for speed and pushes the pedal to the metal .",
        "fast & furious is all about the speed and crash-boom-bam of the high-octane action , and on that score , it delivers admirably . does its built-in audience really need anything more ?",
        "parental content review",
        "unfortunately for fast fans , this one runs out of gas early on ...",
        "this souped-up edition is bigger , faster , louder - but not necessarily better .",
        "the plot is utterly incomprehensible , but the legions of street racing fans hopped up on nos and full throttle energy drink are n't going to care .",
        "director justin lin still has n't learned film geography . even the kinetic tunnel races , meant to nitrocharge the movie , fall flat from spatial incoherence . you barely know what 's happening , and to whom .",
        "the imagination of the almost-identical title matches the imagination of the almost-identical script .",
        "tokyo drift director justin lin films this one with the most flair and no small amount of destruction .",
        "a tryptophan yawn .",
        "even the most mundane lives occasionally sparkle with moments of exhilaration , and so does moscow , belgium .",
        "writer chris morgan 's already proven a predilection for action over logic and director justin lin , who 's switched gears from sundance darling to sequel hack , plays to his strengths .",
        "like a lemon that 's been tricked out with a fancy paint job , fast & furious wo n't stand up to much scrutiny under the hood .",
        "a franchise that started as a corrective for distressing action-movie trends becomes what it started out hating . time for something new .",
        "works as a mindless collection of racing sequences and cool cars , made all the better because of diesel 's extremely likable bad-boy persona and a director who knows how to keep his foot on the gas , action-wise",
        "% u03b7 % u03b5 % u03b9 % u03c3 % u03b1 % u03b3 % u03c9 % u03b3 % u03b9 % u03ba % u03ae % u03c3 % u03ba % u03b7 % u03bd % u03ae % u03bc % u03b5 % u03c4 % u03b7 % u03bd % u03b1 % u03c1 % u03c0 % u03b1 % u03b3 % u03ae % u03c4 % u03c9 % u03bd % u03b2 % u03c5 % u03c4 % u03af % u03c9 % u03bd % u03b5 % u03af % u03bd % u03b1 % u03b9",
        "` fast & furious ? ' the stars of this sequel are more like sluggish & vaguely grumpy , though it 's nothing a little bit of fiber in their diets could n't cure .",
        "` neat to watch ' summarizes the film quite nicely . the revenge subplot that drives MOV is uninteresting since we have n't seen these characters in eight years .",
        "fast & furious is a piece of junk , but at least it is an entertaining and endearing piece of junk . for a franchise i actively dislike , this is the best of the bunch .",
        "general unoriginality contributes to ` the fast and the furious ' series ' own issue as a ` seen one , seen 'em all ' series .",
        "if it 's not MOV automotive action you 're after , hoping instead for a cohesive character driven plot , then you 're more likely to just get furious pretty damn fast .",
        "fast & furious could be called grand theft autopilot . lin knows that his demographic does n't care about truth . they want to see stuff smash up - and in as outlandish and outrageous a way possible .",
        "a completely disposable action movie .",
        "the dialogue resembled bad '80s porn with extreme overacting and cheesy one-liners . ironically , fast & furious is like porn , you want them to shut up and get to the action !",
        "fast & furious succeeds because the action is supercharged in a style that recalls mel gibson 's apocalyptic classic , the road warrior . the characters are more than cartoonish , and the plot grips the road .",
        "MOV milks the cars/chicks/hip-hop vibe for all it 's worth , which is roughly $ 8 , if you 're male , 18 and under .",
        "... pretty much contains the same high-octane hollow hedonism that has run through this routinely noisy , frenetic film franchise ... this speeding-wheel spectacle has all the charm and intrigue of a shopping mall speed bump .",
        "everything that happens here happened in the three previous chapters -- and in cannonball run , for that matter .",
        "here 's hoping this is the last , but after the huge amount of money it has taken already in the states , do n't be surprised to see a 5th .",
        "is n't worth even the most forgiving action fan 's time ...",
        "bummer .",
        "as hard as it is to believe , having the old gang back really does make a big difference , just not big enough . lin is n't the director to offer anything new enough to make fast & furious worth your time unless you 're a hardcore fan of the series .",
        "the tagline for this film is : ` new model , original parts ' . it should be : ` are you dumb enough to pay for the same film twice ? '",
        "though i admit the title of the film is slightly dumb , i ca n't really fault much else going on here .",
        "provided a cinematic equivalent of nos to the franchise with a tone shift that helped make it one of the most popular and profitable action series in the last decade .",
        "... a combination of kinetic filmmaking and hulking charisma that can only be called bro bliss .",
        "one wishes fast & furious had the whole package -- as much smarts as speed -- but as an uncomplicated , undemanding lark , it 'll do .",
        "as brashly dumb as all the earlier pictures in the series , but this time there is also a more rampant mean-spirited streak running through it .",
        "all four films feature terrific stunts . but fast & furious is the first film since the original to be smart about how far to stretch logic without sacrificing the desired macho swagger and revved-up emotions .",
        "as exciting as they are , the action sequences still never pick up enough dramatic momentum to make us care .",
        "by the fourth installment of the franchise , fast & furious has shed two articles from its title , regained the four original lead actors , and turned shamelessly into a monotonous unofficial edition of the grand theft auto gaming series .",
        "... when it comes down to it , this is really a classic western with cars instead of horses .",
        "one of the film 's biggest laughs is showing title credits . clearly , after a prologue in which thieves play chicken with a burning , tumbling oil tanker , the possibility exists this is a steven soderbergh experimental gamble . dumb , fun & entertaining .",
        "lin makes the few set pieces sandwiched between the many flat , talky scenes count as much as they can .",
        "director justin lin does n't have the love of design that made the 2001 the fast and the furious a deliriously beautiful noir .",
        "unfortunately for the wider potentials of the series , the human inter-relationships gain little traction , taking second place to the ripping rubber and screaming pistons .",
        "-lsb- d -rsb- amn if there ai n't enough street racing in this here street racing movie ...",
        "come on dude , let us see the race ! we did n't buy tickets for an artist 's recreation .",
        "hopefully for the next go-around , the series will plunge even further into the crash-em-ups and flip-e-doos that feel so organic to the attitude of the series , and less into that thing called `` acting '' i 'm assuming the entire cast is trying to pull off .",
        "` the cast was available ' is no reason to make a sequel .",
        "this means many loud racing sequences -lrb- ably directed by justin lin -rrb- that look like the very video games inspired by these movies : candy-colored automobiles , digital dashboards and automated female voices .",
        "fast & furious is exactly and precisely what you 'd expect . nothing more , unfortunately .",
        "fans who are only looking for automotive porn may enjoy themselves , but the relentless dude pandering eventually loses its charm .",
        "slick but idiotic action flick ... does n't have any real power , and no intelligence whatever , under its glossy hood .",
        "both screenplay and plotting are basic but the action scenes are a wonder to behold if you can forget the number of civilians who would have been killed as the chases progress through various cities .",
        "it 's just filler between lots of jerkily edited car porn .",
        "`` ride or die , remember ? '' er , not really , no . more like `` yawn and forget '' , as nabokov once recommended . only 13-year-old boys and jeremy clarkson could possibly enjoy this .",
        "the story makes precious little sense but the car chases help to keep you awake and smouldering hunks walker and diesel get to make eyes at each other one more time .",
        "the film appears to have been not so much directed as welded together out of other bad movies that have crashed and burned .",
        "as far as car chase movies go , it 's right on the money with great action scenes , terrible dialogue and some seriously sub-par acting .",
        "there are only a couple of things to be said about this movie : the cars are fast , the racing is faster and none of it makes the slightest bit of sense .",
        "the soundtrack pounds away as the cars compete in the most unbelievable races with so many quick cuts and cgi that you hardly know who 's where in relation to anyone else . but it does n't matter .",
        "you know why movies like MOV are so easy to pick on ? because they take themselves so damn seriously .",
        "lots of action scenes with the cars , while the cast pretend to drive fast . and that 's it .",
        "fast & furious represents a drastic drop in quality for the series . the reason is simple : it abandons the central premise of the franchise , which seems a betrayal of the very thing that made the other entries so enjoyable .",
        "the stars are back in the fourth installment of this fast-cars/hot-chicks series , which tells you a little something about the rocky roads their careers have traveled since 2001 's original film .",
        "like brian and dom , fast & furious would benefit from more female company . and vin diesel 's mumbling sulk gets to be a drag after a while .",
        "the awful writing and weak acting keeps the movie from delivering an experience as strong as the original .",
        "enough with the brooding and the emoting . what fast & furious needs more than anything is some hint that the people involved know how ridiculous it is .",
        "fast & furious reconfirms that car-chase movies -- good , bad , or mediocre -- all assume the future employment of the quaint old fast-forward button .",
        "a tepid , repetitive and digitally augmented hot cars-hot women thriller that might probably wo n't give vin diesel and paul walker the career boost that the fast and the furious did .",
        "in the jammed landscape of mass-market new releases , it offers an attractive getaway route from self-importance , snark , and chatty comedies about male bonding . here , stick shifts do the talking .",
        "it 's not called `` fast & furious : schindler 's list '' . perfect reboot if you like the genre . big crashes , property mayhem , and sparse dialogue .",
        "a film that ultimately feels more like a cobbled together rent-a-car than a sleek euro-styled crotch magnet",
        "acting is n't really the point of fast & furious . indeed , this cast can barely act interested .",
        "chris morgan -lrb- the screenwriter on `` the fast and the furious : tokyo drift '' - 2006 -rrb- is to blame for a script that runs more like a '70s ford pinto than the hopped up muscle cars burning rubber onscreen .",
        "removing the `` the '' from its predecessors ' title not once but twice , fast & furious 's abbreviated moniker harkens back to the series 's 2001 original while simultaneously expressing a tough curtness that marks it as its own model .",
        "with his sleepy-eyed gaze and biceps that no shirt can contain , diesel quietly commands the movie .",
        "it definitely could have used more humor and , according to the alpha males in my viewing party , more sex appeal ... and we 're not talking about injectors and camshafts .",
        "with diesel anchoring the storyline , and director lin dazzling us with his car crashing extravaganzas , fast & furious will likely unleash another series of sequels .",
        "what 's amazing about this loud , lazy film -lrb- they could n't even be bothered to give it a title -rrb- is that it 's still entertaining",
        "furious entertainment for a moment of `` populist rage . '' but it 's hard to escape the feeling that fast & furious is more than a little ... mechanical .",
        "what is this , the fourth ` MOV ' movie ?",
        "the latest film is extremely noisy , features some fine stunt driving , particularly in its opening sequence , but it 's dramatically a bit of a dribbler . i 'm still trying to figure out the relationship between the opening of the film and the ending .",
        "the ending leaves just enough of a cliffhanger that a fifth installment is all but guaranteed . if it 's anything like this one , i 'm down for the ride .",
        "early , pre-credit scenes are so meticulously choreographed and expertly edited that you just can not wait for the real film to begin . however , minutes later , you ca n't help wishing the thing would just hurry up and finish .",
        "diesel 's bassoon-voiced , low-watt charisma seems best placed in this franchise , and there is an undeniable spark with his foil walker , who 's all white teeth and californian tan .",
        "noise , noise , noise . crunched metal and shattered glass . more noise . revving engines . vin diesel 's giant head . hot chicks in tight miniskirts . even more noise . the end .",
        "we get stuck watching vin diesel and paul walker squint and say words in a weak approximation of acting , wasting precious time that could be spent enjoying street racers zipping through crowded thoroughfares and jumping over obstacles .",
        "this is dumb , loud and fast , with a questionable attitude towards road safety and a supporting cast apparently recruited for their tattoos rather than their acting ability .",
        "ultimately , there is nothing on offer here but speed and fury . if you 're tempted to revisit something of this ilk , watch the fast and the furious , or better still track down the vastly superior cop-in-the-criminal-underworld action flick point break .",
        "slick action , hot hardware , shame about the screenplay ... still , it 's the best since the original tfatf , and fans of diesel 's gravel-voiced swagger will get a kick seeing him reprise the role that put him on the map .",
        "this is not rocket science , it wo n't tax your brain , it wo n't win any oscars but it will have you on the edge of your seat and give you a great two hours of adrenaline pumping entertainment .",
        "`` as silly as it is derivative , with quite a bit of unintentional comedy , but the action scenes deliver , and car fetishists will find much to love . ''",
        "following in the skid marks of its predecessors , this fourth installment of auto erotica reunites the original cast for one more go around the track .",
        "if it were a dvd , you 'd fast & forward to the chases , but not forgive & forget the crushing disappointment . in cinemas , you have to endure exposition and sob-you-were-my-best-friend scenes . it 's clearly time for fast & furious vs. the transporter ...",
        "turn off your mind , though , and there 's some fun to be had from some of the better whizz-bang sequences .",
        "run a mile in any direction from MOV .",
        "a carbon-rich orgy for eunuchs of the freed speed creed .",
        "by far the weakest entry of the four .",
        "aside from the opening sequence , there 's nothing imaginative about it , and the actual filming is routine shaky-quick-cut stuff .",
        "boiled down to its essentials , f&f is four pretty swell auto-race video games encased in the bloated carcass of a script , by chris morgan , that must have been researched in the archive of movie cliches .",
        "it delivers on the title 's promise .",
        "this example of presummer pop diversion will be best appreciated by future audiences flabbergasted by its unabashed revelry in fossil-fuel consumption .",
        "it 's time for these car fiends to slam the heap into ` park . ' diesel should use his esp powers to find a better gig with a franchise that still has some gas -- such as maybe the pacifier 2 ?",
        "it 's MOV , but it 's also noisy and dumb % u2014and inferior to the original in every way . remember to use your turn signal when moving into the pass lane .",
        "the director , justin lin , brings the same pinpoint reflexes to the action as he did in tokyo drift .",
        "the words plod , slow and drag should never even come close to a car chase movie , but that 's what comes to mind instantly after watching this clunker .",
        "the reunion is fun and frantic , like the original on double nitro .",
        "feels about as fresh and lively as a piece of burnt rubber .",
        "everything here cuts to the chase , with personalities presented in a streamlined shorthand , and dramatic plausibility sacrificed to the need for speed ... fast & furious , fatuous & forgotten .",
        "a superfluous , wandering plot ultimately keeps it from attaining the heights of a modestly diverting action thingy , dooming it instead to the pits of a modestly disappointing action thingy .",
        "the script does n't quite have the fire power to make this actioner 's hot wheels sizzle convincingly",
        "instant immersion is the style of this franchise , plunging audiences into high octane race and chase mode from frame 1 . and it works .",
        "more of the same . yawn .",
        "i can count on half a hand the things i found appealing about the middle fifty minutes of this movie , but i 'll be damned if i do n't want to know what happens next ...",
        "running on empty ...",
        "guaranteed to provide simple , straightforward thrills for anyone seeking temporary distraction from the routine and monotony of a life not lived through the window of a candy-colored automobile .",
        "walker 's acting is so somnambular that even his car 's steering wheel stands a better chance at grabbing an oscar nomination .",
        "the fastest , most furious movie ever . it is so fast , you 'll be furious with excitement . i 'm going to try to write my review fast , but that might make my editor furious .",
        "perhaps the most significant thing about the fourth installment , by far the weakest entry in the franchise , is indicating how much pop culture has changed : it looks and feels like one of the many glossy videogames the series itself has inspired .",
        "fans of one of the most successful franchises of the ' 00s deserve more than this lackluster , boring , inanely written , poorly acted , forgettable trip around the cliched block . `` meandering & lethargic '' would have been a more accurate title .",
        "it seems deftly appropriate that they would decide to remove the two ` the 's from the title , the most replaceable word in the english language and compensate their absence with two of the most transparent ciphers to ever get above-title billing .",
        "if you 've enjoyed this ride before , you 'll enjoy it again . if you think the actors do n't have quite the emotional range of the vehicles they 're driving , you probably wo n't .",
        "like a souped-up show car , fast & furious is all gleaming surfaces and muscular detailing , but there 's absolutely nothing going on under the hood .",
        "one of the first great sequels for 2009 ! non-stop fun from 0 to 200",
        "any suggestions for the title of fifth film ? how about fast & furious : i 'm gon na kick your ass ? or , no , i know : fast & furious : tokyo drift .",
        "if you are a fan of the first film in the series and can forget about the two predecessors , then this is the sequel you have been waiting for . vin diesel is back !",
        "oh yeah , there are also lots and lots of car crashes -- so many , in fact , that it feels at times like a big-screen version of an auto industry bailout plan .",
        "it 's dumb , but it 's fun , and it does n't pretend to be otherwise .",
        "there 's not even much car-racing in it -- and why would anyone want to watch this movie if it does n't have a lot of car-racing in it ?",
        "thrilling ride with high speed chases and action packed fighting that will satisfy any appetite .",
        "everyone on screen gets to do the adrenaline-pumping , id-heavy stuff people who park neatly in their little suburban shopping mall parking spaces -- people like us -- never get to do .",
        "this is a movie about street racers ... criminals in fact , and there was nothing grimy or dirty about it at all .",
        "this is more of the same .",
        "a film that is neither too fast or furious -lrb- more like slow and cranky -rrb- ...",
        "mt. rushmore sports a more animated ensemble cast than on display here , each of who seems content to try and outglare the other .",
        "insert your own car-related gag here for the uninspired fast & furious .",
        "the sequel that should have followed the fast and the furious ... sharp editing , cool stunts , and cars going way too fast still make for a fun time at the movies .",
        "-lsb- awful race scenes are -rsb- why you want to see this movie . even more unfortunate : what passes for a plot is interspersed between them . are you catching my tokyo drift ?",
        "you do n't need a road map to conclude this franchise has run out of gas and is going nowhere .",
        "wild car chases and ridiculous humor do n't make a film good , but they sure can make it fun to watch .",
        "no matter what , it 's safe to say that this entirely acceptable retooling of the franchise makes for a satisfying experience for those who enjoy four-wheeled chases , hot bodies , hot cars , and a tall dose of tough-guy machismo .",
        "the stars look bored out of their minds when the fourth episode of the franchise stalls between racing sequences , which is all too often in a flick where 106 minutes speed by in what feels like at least four hours .",
        "people who want nothing more out of a movie than an extended rap video -- there 's lots of hip-hop , close-ups of cars , and women in shiny tiny shorts -- may be satisfied . but this movie is n't much more than a re-do of the first film in the series .",
        "this franchise is out of gas .",
        "this will personally go down as the flick that really made me realize how much i hate cgi stunts .",
        "the end result , while it provides moments of kinetic entertainment , is too repetitive and uneven to be satisfying .",
        "a technical team the size of a small army attempts to inject some life into fast & furious , the fourth entry in the urban auto franchise , but only succeeds in upping the decibel level of this grating , clamorous mess .",
        "fast & furious spends a lot of time advertising how exciting it is , without actually being exciting .",
        "as superfluous sequels go , fast & furious makes deuce bigalow : european gigolo seem vital .",
        "a strange piece of nostalgia , where , without apology , fast cars still rule and fuel is burned with abandon .",
        "high speed designer fleet crash 'em up border wars lined with hottie wallpaper , that 's pretty much same shenanegans , different day . and without benefit of border patrol agents , passports or speeding tickets .",
        "the good news is that the movie 's speedy and strong enough to deliver some well-tuned excitement , even if it 's as bulky and brainlessly bright as the muscle cars it celebrates .",
        "i 'd rather see diesel re-teamed with the co-star who was his true soulmate , the special co-star who brought out the best in him - the duck from the pacifier",
        "if all you want to is extreme car chases , explosions , and violence ; then this is well worth the price of admission .",
        "has plenty of visual eye candy with its slick cars and action-packed sequences , but it 's ultimately low on surprises , imagination and palpable thrills , even if you 're willing to suspend your disbelief and to check your brain at the door for 107 minutes .",
        "enough is enough",
        "paul walker , with his two-day bristle of beard and touch-too-tan complexion , has the incipient , leathery look of a man who will look about two decades older when he turns 45 .",
        "if you are a fan -lsb- of the franchise -rsb- , i think there is absolutely some good fun to be had .",
        "there was a time when car movies used to be about the cars . the star of this picture is a computer , creating cgi car crashes . the picture is a phony .",
        "plays like an overgrown parody of the first three movies combined .",
        "it certainly is MOV but it is also lacking in basic plot structure and character building",
        "fast & furious is everything it sounds like : crass , unoriginal , and mostly tiresome .",
        "MOV gets off to a terrific start but quickly runs out of gas , thanks to a lazy script and some unimaginative action sequences .",
        "the action will get your heart racing like a shot of nos to the eyeballs . however , that rush comes at a cost of a story-line comedown . if you 're feeling simple , or drunk and stoned , this would be a perfect way to spend the night .",
        "people drive fast , perform improbable stunts , things blow up , and the leads glare at each other a lot .",
        "a return to gloriously idiotic form for the street racing series .",
        "diesel is still charismatic thug dominic toretto , walker is still determined cop brian o'conner , and the story is still dumb .",
        "rival street racers battle a mexican heroin ring . hard-hitting , satisfying action fare , with vin diesel returning to help restore an ailing franchise ."
    ],
    "summary": "while MOV features the requisite action and stunts , the filmmakers have failed to provide a competent story or compelling characters .",
    "id": "770685393"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gosford_park",
    "reviews": [
        "best enjoyed as an opportunity to see a who 's who of the british film acting community in what amounts to a modestly amusing series of sketch-comedy bits .",
        "clue ! meets remains of the day",
        "it was sort of like going to a dinner party and finding yourself surrounded by a group of insufferable snobs , none of whom you would ever think of inviting to your house .",
        "all in all , MOV has nothing nice to say about anybody , and i like that in a movie .",
        "for the first time in his lengthy career , the director 's gone all british -- and , once again , it looks smooth as silk .",
        "good , but certainly not one of altman 's better or more memorable works .",
        "robert altman and a ridiculously talented group of english actors have crafted an upstairs-downstairs comedy of true originality -- a british costume film that 's funny but not at all fusty .",
        "often a rich pleasure to see , hear and think about .",
        "one of those rare films that yields even more on subsequent viewings than it does on its first engaging encounter .",
        "this is an exemplary exercise in anglophilia .",
        "every detail rings true ; every performance , even the briefest , is a gem .",
        "an outrageously talented , audaciously large cast gets down to murderous skullduggery .",
        "altman is one of the few contemporary directors who consistently showcases excellent women 's roles , and he 's rewarded with a symphony of strong performances .",
        "the all-star conclave of mostly british talent altman has brought together would be a pleasure to watch no matter what sort of film they found themselves in .",
        "so craftily made that it ca n't help pleasing .",
        "what a treat it is to peep in on these clever , nasty people and their scandalous goings on .",
        "everybody 's so good in this !",
        "a succulent and devious drawing-room mystery that , in its panoramic way , takes a puckish pleasure in scrambling and reshuffling the worlds of upstairs and downstairs .",
        "it is the work of a master but it is not a masterwork .",
        "though faultless in production , `` MOV '' does n't quite break away emotionally .",
        "the venerated american director 's best film since short cuts .",
        "qualifies as a solid double , maybe a triple .",
        "a sweet tune , airy but not quite gay , and it carries a sardonic edge .",
        "disappointing is too soft a choice of words .",
        "like a hedge maze at an english country house , you can lose yourself in it , for good and ill . but you 'll likely want to give it another try when you emerge .",
        "the most enjoyable altman effort in nearly a decade .",
        "at its best when it is about nothing .",
        "the film is at its best as social satire , as altman and screenwriter julian fellowes take every opportunity to expose and skewer upper-class snobbery .",
        "the joys of the film are legion .",
        "MOV is less a sobering microcosm than it is comically subversive , a great , convoluted upending of period conventions .",
        "opulently designed , meticulously directed , cleverly written and wittily acted by a cast as polished as the floors .",
        "abounds in scenes to savor . it 's a feast , and one of altman 's best .",
        "for the usually great robert altman , this is a terribly disappointing directing effort .",
        "the performances are utterly delightful , from stephen fry 's inspector to maggie smith as a hilariously catty relative .",
        "there are some interesting things happening in park , most notably the clashes between servant and aristocrat , as well as man and woman .",
        "a smart , perceptive , funny and sometimes touching social satire about life during the dying days of the british empire .",
        "gooses a creaky genre into new relevance , but it offers no compelling stories and largely wastes the talents of its stellar cast .",
        "after a series of clever but unexceptional `` little '' movies , altman emerges with one of the best films of his career -lrb- which is saying a lot -rrb- , juggling a complex plot and a huge cast in a thoroughly entertaining british comedy-mystery .",
        "altman 's fecklessness pretty much reduces the likes of derek jacobi and alan bates to bit players who have n't been given any bits .",
        "an elegant , awfully english affair -- an atmospheric country-house whodunit with a stellar cast and crew from the uk .",
        "altman takes you from one delicious subplot to another , serving up mirth and misery in equal measure and exploring the gulf between the lives of those above and below stairs .",
        "an intruguing commentary on the separation of the classes that will bring back memories of the remains of the day .",
        "wonderful british whodunit with some sexual content .",
        "taking advantage of a splendid cast , a sharply focused script and the fresh english setting , `` MOV '' emerges as one of the most satisfying of robert altman 's numerous ensemble pictures .",
        "contents and style converge smoothly and seductively in altman 's luxuriant period drama that applies agatha christie murder-mystery format to a rigorous anatomy of british class structure in the 1930s , with all the who 's who in u.k. in the cast .",
        "altman 's unexpected venture into agatha christie territory works a treat .",
        "it 's lovely to see that altman , now in his 70s , still has an acid bite that would sting filmmakers half his age .",
        "altman juggles about thirty different characters , moving them from the upper-class upstairs to the servants ' quarters ... and he does so without losing the audience .",
        "pret-a-porter and dr. t. & and the women , tarnished his '90s comeback , but the ornery altman is back in top form here .",
        "please do n't raise an eyebrow when you hear such lines as , `` desperate for a *** ? '' or `` too many fags . they 'll be the death of me . '' the locale here is english society . the date : november 1932 . and the `` fags '' that are being chatted about are puffed on , so pl",
        "MOV is a fancy attempt with a lot of style and , the press notes brag , authenticity ; but it 's a long bore .",
        "proof positive that so many people are just too eager to lavish praise on a project that involves british accents and period costumes .",
        "five stars do n't do it justice .",
        "altman is a supreme artist-joker , and the jest this time is that the most american of film directors has given us a finely wrought british whodunit with the emotional layering of a first-rate novel .",
        "MOV is steeped in grace and style , yet an undercurrent of tension buzzes throughout the proceedings .",
        "a winner well before the murder mystery must be resolved .",
        "altman at the top of his game .",
        "sold as a murder mystery , MOV is less a whodunit than a who 's - doing-what-to-whom",
        "resurrects the manifold pleasures of a polished tale brightened by a glittering array of classy british players .",
        "the film plays and feels loose and off the cuff , but never random . no movie this year approaches its nimbleness and fluidity in mixing character , theme and wit .",
        "an ambitious , entertaining twist on the classic british country-house murder mystery .",
        "the clue genre never looked as good as it does in robert altman 's MOV .",
        "altman 's best film since the player and one of the best in his long career .",
        "an anglophile 's delight .",
        "MOV earns the most dreaded label of all : overrated .",
        "un microuniverso retratado con un gusto tal que dan ganas de ir a descansar y a retozar con semejante grupo de personas y personajes ...",
        "a visual feast .",
        "not a classic but certainly classy .",
        "works as a murder mystery , a comedy of manners , a human drama , and a social commentary simply by providing a rich tapestry of characters and relationships , status and class .",
        "cinema used to its full artistic potential",
        "o filme flui de maneira sempre interessante .",
        "was it biting social satire , or was it only smug and misanthropic ?",
        "is there anyone but altman who could have pulled off such an effervescent mix of satire , affection , and devastating rebuke ? and attracted such an ensemble ? and let everyone work at this high level ?",
        "a virtuoso ensemble piece to rival the director 's nashville and short cuts in its masterly interweaving of multiple characters and subplots .",
        "a grand and glorious entertainment , and a welcome return to form by one of today 's directorial giants .",
        "despite its little twists and departures from the norm , MOV is basically a crowd-pleaser , a slight film with a fat ensemble all keen to entertain .",
        "a sheer delight .",
        "it 's been nearly 10 years since an altman film has been as consistently entertaining as this one is .",
        "ranks among robert altman 's best work ever .",
        "the performances range from good to great ; it 's a shame that their efforts do n't coalesce into a more resonant result .",
        "one of robert altman 's best which is another way of saying ` one of film 's best . ' and at least eight reasons oscar needs an ensemble acting category .",
        "maggie smith is superb as a the most snobbish of english society women in this upstairs-downstairs sendup .",
        "acute social observation ... leavened with humor and the undercurrent of -lsb- a -rsb- mystery spoof",
        "altman 's signature , having a giant gala cast is in evidence with the credits reading like a who 's who of british acting - simply delightful .",
        "it 's about time grumpy old genre-annihilator robert altman got around to blasting the british drawing-room saga .",
        "most of the action -lrb- and i use the term loosely -rrb- is seen from the eyes of the servants , then discussed ad nauseam .",
        "like most altman films , `` MOV '' employs a sizable cast and the focus of the story bounces from character to character , like a bee sampling flowers in the garden .",
        "folks , this film is pretty weak .",
        "may not be altman 's greatest triumph , but it is one of his finest works in years and it is one that is worth revisiting again and again",
        "as always , altman graciously leads a wonderful ensemble cast , and many of them are worth kudos .",
        "robert altman once again -lsb- dr. t -rsb- takes us to a place where the people are so annoying that they get in the way of the story",
        "trust me -- not high-brow critics -- this is atmospheric dribble .",
        "the whodunnit aspect is not the meat of the movie . it is instead the characters themselves and their personal affairs , hang-ups , and peculiarities that make the film interesting to watch .",
        "MOV goes down as easily as a warm brandy after one of the seven course dinners popular at the enormous english country house where the story is set .",
        "what is most gratifying is watching the most american of directors capture the english idiom so well .",
        "this is n't academy award material , but it 's good enough to provide an enjoyable afternoon or evening , especially for those who love 1930s-era british drama and intrigue .",
        "as with altman 's best movies , MOV is above all an entrancing hum of atmosphere and texture .",
        "since this is the end of the year , when all unused superlatives expire like vacation time , let 's call it the best assemblage of actors in any movie this , last , or next year .",
        "another full frontal assault on the hollywood studio system .",
        "a top-drawer entertainment from start to finish .",
        "obviously choreographed by a director of great skill , yet the sheer number of the players allow few to really register in a mystery which offers few surprises",
        "in a year bursting with very few remarkable achievements , `` MOV '' emerges as one of the best and most engrossing features of 2001 .",
        "the movie spends all its 137 minutes convincing us how dazzlingly intellectual it is .",
        "the most leaden and uninteresting threads of the film 's first half become the most important elements in the murder mystery .",
        "an ambitious-but-off-kilter film that desperately searches for but never finds its mark .",
        "an interesting ensemble mystery .",
        "blends the rules of the game , upstairs downstairs and ten little indians into a rich feast that will have adult filmgoers licking their chops .",
        "altman invites an artistic conundrum : should a movie be considered great if it only fits together after repeated viewings ?",
        "... the plot seems little more than an excuse to explore textures and generate atmosphere ... to present us with a microcosm of society worthy of trollope .",
        "it bored me so much that i was n't able to watch it straight through ; it took me four attempts to get to the closing credits .",
        "robert altman expertly depicts pre-wwii british class struggle ... there 's no better portrait of hierarchical doom .",
        "a scintillating comedy-drama and one of -lsb- altman 's -rsb- most richly moving and entertaining pictures .",
        "hopefully , we can find ourselves just as intelligent as the characters and filmmakers . these are the type of films that remind us what great storytelling is .",
        "carpeted with dry wit and filled to the rafters with salacious secrets and unspoken animosity ...",
        "an unbearable runtime , waaaaaaaay too many characters and almost zero story .",
        "this is the highest caliber of masterpiece theater cheese , politely seedy , deliciously droll , served up by a anglophile 's dream cast .",
        "it 's dryly , acidly funny .",
        "every aspect of it ... emerges triumphant , spinning together as elegantly as a stage full of dancers en pointe moving in unbelievable unison .",
        "i guess you could make a drinking game out of it . take a swig every time somebody comes on screen and you have no idea who they are or what their purpose in the film is .",
        "if you 're a anglophile , you 'll enjoy it . if not , do n't bother .",
        "gosford is a go , despite some flaws .",
        "even with some huge names of british stage and film topping the bill , and a sharp dissection of class distinctions , its scope is too encompassing to be completely enjoyable .",
        "if altman 's last effort , last year 's dr. t and the women , was one of his most critically reviled films ever , MOV should do much to salvage his reputation .",
        "altman seems to be having a good time running his spectacular cast through its paces , and you will , too .",
        "altman has always shown particular skill at managing ensemble casts , and it 's on display here .",
        "a tongue-in-cheek hybrid of many things .",
        "a crafty little gem .",
        "enormously entertaining murder mystery .",
        "tells a story that is important , heartfelt and very , very sad .",
        "the kind of generous , sardonic , deeply layered movie that altman has made his own .",
        "altman is once again back in top form .",
        "altman 's finest work in years , a stinging yet sensitive satire tempered by a tender sympathy for his repressed souls .",
        "one could go on and on , cataloging the pleasures that pour forth from the screen ."
    ],
    "summary": "a mixture of upstairs , downstairs , clue , and perceptive social commentary , MOV ranks among director altman 's best .",
    "id": "13293"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_descendants_2011",
    "reviews": [
        "a beautifully touching , tragic and amusing follow-up film from the director of sideways .",
        "MOV manages to even surpass those stratospheric expectations most fans will have walking into the theatre .",
        "MOV is humane , decent , and close to real quality .",
        "people looking for a good lei would be wise to say aloha to ` MOV , ' alexander payne 's hawaiian-set luau in which laughter and tears combine for a cinematic feast .",
        "MOV is an exercise in why women are such horrible , despicable shrews . when this film is n't demonising its female characters for daring to be unhappy in their marriage , it 's condescending them for showing too much emotion ...",
        "a truthful , warm-hearted , deeply moving film about loss , about death , about legacies and , yeah , family .",
        "mr. payne 's undeniable knack for naturalism makes `` MOV '' a wholly persuasive and heartfelt experience .",
        "i enjoyed clooney 's performance enormously without ever buying it for a second .",
        "-lrb- clooney -rrb- is at the top of his game in his scenes alone with the comatose elizabeth . asking questions that are unable to be answered , his pain at his loss and her betrayal is heartbreaking .",
        "here 's where i am right now : MOV is the best movie of 2011 . it is the movie of the year , in many ways beyond its simple superlative overall excellence .",
        "well-acted and touching with a mild eye for human foibles , this is one of the better-written films of the year .",
        "like `` sideways '' and `` about schmidt , '' `` MOV '' lets alexander payne show us the other america and the other americans - little lives caught up in small but epic problems far away from the la la land of hollywood hype , sex and violence .",
        "each year there are usually one or two films that do n't deserve all of the insane praise they get -lrb- last year 's the fighter is a prime example -rrb- and it looks like `` MOV '' is one for this year .",
        "it 's smart , funny , heartbreaking , heartwarming , wise , and , despite some sad moments , genuinely optimistic . i experienced more feelings watching it than i usually get from ten movies .",
        "MOV is damn near perfect . director alexander payne is a master of the human comedy and george clooney has never exposed himself to the camera this openly .",
        "if you see MOV , see it for clooney -lrb- and woodley -rrb- , but do n't believe the hype that it 's one for the ages .",
        "at once mellow and light , there 's hardly a scene that does n't somehow revolve around death , or other grave matters .",
        "what 's so special about payne 's approach in MOV is how acutely observed and subtle the movie is , especially since the previews are selling it as a broader , more absurd comedy .",
        "although it 's not quite a black comedy , it 's still filled with the patented payne quirky characters and i love clooney in roles like this .",
        "heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking story about love , death , duty and responsibility",
        "like the waves on the beautiful hawaiian beaches , our emotions rise and fall in this splendid , emotionally rich drama in which laughter and tears are balanced on the precarious surfboard of life",
        "dwells on how , just beneath the surface of that teen who seems a shrugging idiot or that woman who seems an everyday mom , there rustles an undergrowth of pain , or loss , or heartache .",
        "MOV is a heartfelt and tragic piece , but it 's also mature and very funny .",
        "a marvellous follow-up to 2004 's sideways - well worth the wait .",
        "hay un humor asordinado debajo del drama de matt king -lrb- sentida labor de george clooney -rrb- , tanto que se trata de la pel\u00edcula m\u00e1s seria del director alexander payne hasta el momento , lo que no quiere decir la menos optimista .",
        "if MOV occasionally slips a notch below payne 's highest standards , it 's a wry , intelligent look at the contradictions and complexities of human emotions .",
        "a lot of MOV is affecting , but its mushier tone is often less emotionally resonant than the bitter sarcasm of payne 's earlier work .",
        "for every moving or darkly comic or genuinely surprising moment , there 's a cloying one close behind .",
        "the master of modern america cinema is indeed back , with a suitably understated bang .",
        "there are flashier directors working today , but payne 's position at the forefront of contemporary filmmaking comes from telling richly human stories filled with wit , insight and unique charm .",
        "payne 's movie is one more love letter to imperfection that renews my affection for the predicament of being human .",
        "one of the year 's best films , a bubbly meditation on family and responsibility that weighs just enough to matter .",
        "clooney has never been better , displaying more range and less actor-ego than ever before ... MOV would still be a splendid movie without him ; with clooney , it 's one of 2011 's very best .",
        "audiences will argue about whether it 's a comedy or a drama , but they 'll agree they saw a wonderful film .",
        "MOV finds payne , now 50 , having arrived in midlife with a new maturity , eschewing solipsism and snickers for a deeper engagement with the world .",
        "there are ample opportunities for the film to soak in pathos , righteousness , farce , or pictorialism , and payne manages to nod at those pitfalls without falling into them .",
        "an emotionally ennobling film that wears its compassion on the sleeve of its ugly hawaiian print shirts .",
        "it 's good , but far less than you 'd expect from the guy who started his career with the gleefully provocative citizen ruth and election .",
        "in the hands of writer-director alexander payne , clooney has rarely seemed so much at home .",
        "payne displays a knack for both perfect casting and using his lead actor in sometimes unconventional , unexpected ways",
        "director alexander payne prefers to start a movie with one strike against him . he always picks a dislikable protagonist ... then , as he slowly gives characters self-awareness , he gives us reasons to watch and care about them .",
        "the best thing here is clooney , cleverly dropping some of his man 's man mannerisms to make matt less of an idea and more of a human .",
        "clooney takes up the archetypal role of unofficial investigator , with a younger sidekick in tow . though the film offers a fine portrait of character growth , it 's allotted by the crime-themed structure of the avenger film .",
        "the perfect combination of dramedy , tragedy and familiar fallouts that simultaneously brings tears of joy and sorrow , with seemingly effortless effect .",
        "the last , touching final frame is worth the entrance price alone .",
        "moving and blackly funny , MOV deals with universal emotions about the nature of family which will strike a chord with everyone",
        "worth seeing for the outstanding performances from george clooney and shailene woodley - and a great advert for hawaii .",
        "warm , subtle and gentle , MOV demonstrates what can happen when indie talent is nurtured to mainstream success .",
        "this sweet , sad new film from alexander payne holds a promise of gentleness that is fulfilled , and a promise of complexity that is n't .",
        "worth the wait . do n't stay away for so long next time though , alex.",
        "it 's worth seeing for the sharp but uneven human observations in the script and direction by alexander payne -lrb- sideways -rrb- , and sometimes it 's fun -lrb- but mostly exasperating -rrb- watching george clooney trying to act as he struggles through ...",
        "watching a film as mature , moving , original and unpredictable as ` MOV ' renews my faith in american movies , and reaffirms alexander payne 's status as one of our most gifted storytellers ...",
        "payne 's observational humor and attention to detail yield something emotionally epic . everything from beachfront jogs to hospital confessions reveals layers of humanity and absurdity .",
        "it 's lovely - funny and sad and funny/sad in ways you ca n't always pinpoint , capturing both the perpetual pacific island breezes and the unsettled interior lives of hemmings ' characters , chief among them the attorney played by george clooney .",
        "while MOV is n't as sharp as payne 's earlier films , it 's the rare crowd-pleasing tearjerker where the tears feel earned .",
        "an ultra-polished picture in which every emotion we 're supposed to feel has been cued up well in advance . there 's nothing surprising or affecting about it . not even clooney , who works wonders with the occasional piece of dialogue , can save it .",
        "clooney is remarkable in alexander payne 's film about loss , confusion and getting by .",
        "payne is an unobtrusive director , a filmmaker who lets the script do the walking - in this case , perhaps too much .",
        "wants to be mature but ca n't help shortchanging its drama through constant reliance on its protagonist 's unimpeachable nobility .",
        "great movies like MOV ' do n't only take an audience on an absorbing journey - in the hands of ... alexander payne and a superb cast headed by george clooney , you feel like you 've come to know the characters ' entire lives in the span of two hours .",
        "clooney is brilliant as the emotionally jolted hero of payne 's droll yet immensely moving film . in its perfectly wrought eloquence , it may be the best film of the year .",
        "another over praised george clooney film .",
        "as ten-year-old scottie tries to sort out the specter of her mother now , inert and silent following a water-skiing accident , she faces questions she ca n't begin to articulate .",
        "you think you know exactly how this work-distracted father is going to reconnect with his daughters , and what obligatory moments the movie will provide , but both the script and the stars are too smart for that .",
        "a grown-up , emotionally complex film buoyed by clooney 's wonderfully nuanced performance .",
        "a dismal cacophony of turgid emotion and lame comedy .",
        "george clooney , an actor who more often than not appears in exceptional projects , finds another gem in MOV .",
        "i loved watching george clooney 's character interact with everyone . i did n't care about the finished result , just the process .",
        "shining above extraordinary performances by the entire cast is nick krause , who had me laughing out loud uncontrollably .",
        "as ever , payne -- adapting a novel by kaui hart hemmings -- walks a fine line between caricature and compassion .",
        "a tragedy infused with comedy -lsb- that -rsb- calls for a balancing act from filmmaker and star alike , a tightrope they navigate with nary a wobble .",
        "the challenge in describing the film is that it does n't neatly fit into any pigeonhole . it 's a serious movie that happens to have a sense of humor , because payne and his collaborators see the absurdity in everyday existence .",
        "as the morally conflicted and mentally distraught matt king , clooney gives what could be regarded as the most well-rounded and emotionally raw performance of his distinguished career .",
        "the story keeps you guessing as to where it will go , and it features some piercing moments of emotional truth .",
        "to call `` MOV '' perfect would be a kind of insult , a betrayal of its commitment to , and celebration of , human imperfection . its flaws are impossible to distinguish from its pleasures .",
        "there are too many times when you are not sure whether to laugh or be doleful or squirm . for example , the grandmother with alzheimer 's who thinks she 'll be visiting queen elizabeth . this turns into a tasteless judd apatow moment .",
        "it left me cold . the pathos is as unearned as the protagonist 's privilege .",
        "mahalo , alexander .",
        "a grown-up , perceptive , funny film about family and responsibility , subjects rarely covered in movies except in cliched , romantic terms .",
        "payne manages to keep the delicate balance between these antics and the somber nature of what 's happening in matt 's life .",
        "MOV hums along fueled by the imperfections that make us all human , while trying to uncover moments of grace and wisdom despite those imperfections .",
        "... we fill in vast gaps because we know and presumably like the star . there 's nothing really wrong with that , but payne 's done better work , more substantial work .",
        "no , it 's not sideways , but alexander payne 's emotionally complex drama is hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure , boosted by a stellar turn from george clooney .",
        "what a pity the artistic trust -lrb- director/co-writer alexander payne along with nat faxon and jim rash whose screenplay was based on kaui hart hemming 's novel -rrb- could n't find a way of making the protagonist 's character more sympathetic .",
        "speaking insightfully and realistically , george clooney , shailene woodley and amara miller are a delight to watch .",
        "`` the descendents '' is terrific .",
        "becomes a human , believable and quietly moving film .",
        "director alexander payne 's best film .",
        "hawaii 's lush and luminous landscape is well appreciated , but it does nothing to mask the maddeningly irrational plot-points payne expects us to swallow in the name of an alleged skewering social commentary .",
        "... all about taking things that could be salacious and sensational , and paring them down to a realistic , deeply affecting , human level .",
        "one of the ten best films of 2011 .",
        "as with sideways and about schmidt , payne finds clever ways to blend sharp comedy and warm drama to create a seriously involving and entertaining film .",
        "a kinder , gentler , less interesting alexander payne .",
        "payne has mastered the knack of balancing moods and tone , leavening complex emotional moments with sometimes downright goofy humor .",
        "a quirky , methodical detour through tropical paradise .",
        "it works like a charm ... to the extent that one 's critic self wants to resist the urge to break down why it 's working .",
        "this unforgettable movie succeeds by making audiences feel like a part of the family . clooney knocks it out of the park with a marvelous performance . woodley makes a strong bid for a supporting actress nomination . the supporting players are all given ...",
        "mockery and empathy seesaw , the balance precarious -- and thrillingly so . it 's the noblest kind of satire : cruel and yet , in the end , lacking the killing blow .",
        "a very good movie , filled with precious , small , touching moments . i suspect that it will stay with you long after the credits fade .",
        "this movie had me the minute george clooney , as the responsible but not particularly engaged matt king , describes himself as the `` backup parent '' .",
        "a family tragedy brings a high-powered lawyer closer to his two young daughters in this affecting and often funny comedy-drama featuring a deft star performance by george clooney .",
        "a richly rewarding , originally conceived , at times even oddly humorous and exquisite , sensitively crafted film . and in which clooney continues to move beyond movie star vehicles , and venture into risky roles like this bad dad , with humbling grace .",
        "it 's quite literally clooney 's best performance in a while .",
        "this mature , well-acted dramatic comedy is deeply satisfying , maybe even cathartic .",
        "flawless in the still manner it approaches crippling encounters with grief and disgust , dryly expressing the necessary unraveling of a distracted man . the descendents is simply terrific , profound yet understated .",
        "director and co-writer alexander payne again shows the most acute and perceptive understanding of the american psyche of any current director .",
        "the latest exhibit in payne 's careful dissection of the beached male , which runs from matthew broderick 's character in `` election '' to jack nicholson 's in `` about schmidt '' and paul giamatti 's in `` sideways . ''",
        "a family drama whose distinction comes primarily from its nuances and subtleties .",
        "i kept expecting it to get better , but it just sort of did its thing and called it a day .",
        "it 's clooney and woodley 's movie , as they become a team before our eyes .",
        "an introspective and heartwarming film , unafraid to convey its story with pleasing simplicity .",
        "with so many balls in the air the temptation is to rush from one plot strand to another , but payne takes the opposite approach . he also captures the complexity of emotional reactions that grief stirs .",
        "in playing an everyman stranded between anger and duty , clooney earns an emotional payoff that a lesser actor would simply demand .",
        "payne has a gift for life 's messiness , the mash-ups of pain , humor , anger , terror , and longing that collide in the midst of big moments and domestic dailiness .",
        "descendants is a good film , with strong performances and some wonderfully human , funny moments . but with a sharper screenplay , it could have come all the more closer to paradise .",
        "writer-director alexander payne 's fruitful collaboration with america 's premier actors continues with MOV ' .",
        "devastating , moving dramedy about death and forgiveness .",
        "`` the balmy breezes and small-town intimacy of island life give `` MOV '' a leisurely tone that distinguishes it from payne 's more angry-edged work . ''",
        "with a great role for a movie star , an idyllic setting and the best dialogue of the year-this might be the year 's oscar frontrunner .",
        "-lsb- clooney -rsb- is a movie star who ca n't shake -lrb- and does n't want to , one suspects -rrb- the baggage of that good fortune , yet consistently works to blend into the ensemble for the sake of story . MOV gives us his most emotional work to date .",
        "payne has always tended to look at society from the perspective of a curious , puzzled alien , but now the alien has grown moist-eyed and affectionate .",
        "MOV is probably the best film of 2011 .",
        "it has been over seven years since payne 's last film , `` sideways , '' was released and the man has not lost his touch .",
        "george clooney gives a wonderful lead performance in his new film MOV but clooney has always been more than just a handsome face , he 's a proper movie star and in that old hollywood tradition , he 's also an everyman , one of us .",
        "no doubt the awards hype around the film will get people into cinemas but it does n't warrant the attention considering payne 's previous work and clooney has put in much better performances .",
        "few films have captured so perfectly our awkward reactions to grieving that may be inappropriate - or merely human .",
        "understandable when dealing with payne 's typically directionless protagonists , MOV occasionally feels like it is unsure of where it 's going , yet it still always ambles along at a pleasant pace regardless .",
        "a thoroughly rewarding assembled-for-adults dramedy that benefits immensely from both its island locale and one of george clooney 's finest performances .",
        "MOV is a devastating and rewarding emotional journey .",
        "will keep you soaked in its melancholy until the very end ...",
        "sort of like a shotgun marriage between jimmy buffett and harry chapin .",
        "a dramedy directed by the same hands that helmed `` sideways , '' `` MOV '' is one of the year 's best movies . it 's a grownup look at loss and betrayal , with terrific performances and memorable characters you 'll root for , warts and all .",
        "overrated , but not a bad movie",
        "`` MOV '' goes on too long , but that 's its only flaw . and frankly , i can see why payne and his editor decided to go with this print instead of making some awfully tough decisions .",
        "MOV '' tackles some of the prickliest issues a contempo family can face with such sensitivity that it 's hardly noticeable you 're being enlightened while entertained .",
        "mark your oscar ballots : beautifully written , splendidly acted , alexander payne 's new serio comedy about love , forgiveness and redemption , adds another glorious panel to an already distinguished -lrb- if still brief -rrb- career .",
        "clooney and the elder daughter -lrb- shailene woodley -rrb- give oscar-worthy performances in this hard-knocks film that will have you laughing one moment and sobbing the next .",
        "a drama of unusual nuance . it lingers , spawns thoughts , connections , as a great film ought .",
        "after his last feature , mr. payne was compared by some to billy wilder for his wit , and by others to jean renoir for his humanity . after this one i 'd compare him to the man who made `` sideways . '' it 's the highest praise i know .",
        "it 's one of the year 's best pictures , one to savor and think about .",
        "its pace is as leisurely as a day in its hawaiian setting , which makes the lovely parts lovelier but its angsty moments even more torturous and uncomfortable .",
        "a splendid comedy-drama about a father coping with his comatose wife and difficult daughters represents high points for george clooney and alexander payne .",
        "callng chevy chase . george clooney has taken your role . MOV calls out for clark griswold and his brood -- the griswolds in hawaii . this time around george clooney plays the clueless dad .",
        "surprisingly warm feel good film about coping with a tragic loss .",
        "payne once again feels his characters ' pain and this makes for something very special , an achingly sad comedy of errors .",
        "MOV is beautifully shot -lrb- by phedon papamichael -rrb- and compellingly performed , especially by its young stars , and it has moments of startling tenderness . if only it did n't feel phony to its bones .",
        "MOV is a wonderful film , full of nuance and beleaguered humanity .",
        "a large patch of the movie 's social contract are the hawaiian notions of ` aina , malama and pono . it joins the short list we are n't embarrassed to screen for malahini .",
        "a heartbreaking story with satisfying emotional payoffs , and truly beautiful hawaiian photography .",
        "george clooney and shailene woodley are terrific as lost-soul dad and old-soul daughter in alexander payne 's funny , thoughtful film .",
        "marked by stellar performances and an incisive screenplay , MOV packs a real hawaiian punch .",
        "even as payne 's weakest film , MOV is still worth seeing",
        "i understand clooney is playing a detached father and husband , but there 's no explanation why a financially well-off man basically without a job has no clue about his wife and children .",
        "a tough , tender , observant , exquisitely nuanced portrait of mixed emotions at their most confounding and profound -- all at play within a deliciously damp , un-touristy hawaii that 's at once lush and lovely to look at .",
        "clooney will most definitely be getting an oscar nod for his touching , open and honest work .",
        "`` MOV '' has all the qualities of a special story . and it should be on the short list of oscar 's favorites .",
        "MOV has a jaunty , energetic air about it . it 's just the thing to lure you into the heart of a family tragedy .",
        "it 's a picture that once again prompts the self-answering question , `` is george clooney great , or what ? ''",
        "it 's more straightforward and sentimental than most payne films , and at times it lands very close to sitcom territory . but it also has scenes as wrenching and as true as any onscreen this year .",
        "in its mixture of wit , warmth , poignancy and perceptiveness , it 's a worthy addition to payne 's remarkable string of winners .",
        "easily payne 's most notable work since his 1999 breakthrough `` election '' and quite possibly the finest work of his entire career .",
        "in clooney , MOV has a backbone of anguish and basic , human decency .",
        "tough , touching and unsentimental , payne 's low-key hymn to loving , losing and learning to move on is a pleasing addition to an impressive oeuvre .",
        "payne has the ability to make something as rich and as joyous as sideways , and MOV is not it .",
        "george clooney shows up for oscar season more reliably than elmer fudd shows up for the first day of rabbit season -lrb- or maybe that 's duck season -rrb-",
        "are you ready for a forgiving , humane alexander payne ? he 's pretty good at it , even if it 's new to him .",
        "MOV gives george clooney another fine role as a comfortable man shaken by the realities of life .",
        "payne has a particular skill for making movie stars seem like normal people , and the resolute normalcy of the cast helps to show hawaii not as a resort paradise , but as a place like any other where people live , work , love , and die .",
        "payne continues to live up to his name as a wry observer of modern american crises .",
        "this intelligently written , beautifully photographed , intensely emotional family drama is among the best of 2011 and should earn george clooney an oscar nomination .",
        "... a typically watchable yet far-from-consistent effort from the filmmaker .",
        "a film that 's as moving as it is witty and dark . it 's simply terrific .",
        "has the same mix of lightness and depth of payne 's past films even if the material does n't feel nearly as strong .",
        "you care for these people , who are utterly real . they also have great lines , such as ` paradise can go fuck itself . '",
        "i 'm a notorious softie , and i found things to like about the film , most particularly clooney 's performance ; but i remained untouched .",
        "begins as a rambling tale about an inept father wrestling with tragedy and gradually builds toward a satisfying emotional payoff .",
        "the hawaiian setting gives MOV a distinctive flavor that survives payne 's efforts to bury it in schmalz .",
        "mostly , MOV deals wisely with the complexities of coming to terms with the death of a loved one who leaves a mess behind .",
        "it 's warm and human and beautifully made , and it is one more triumph in a long list of recent triumphs for george clooney as a movie star and an actor both .",
        "if there is a lighter side to director alexander payne , `` MOV '' is it .",
        "telegraphs every emotional beat and holds the viewer 's hand every step of the way , giving us the most sanitised and programmatic version of catharsis imaginable .",
        "clooney holds his tribe together",
        "MOV is a film that 's honest in its emotions . it effectively presents the consequences of adultery , the sadness in death and the love which family always have for one another , even when they hate what they 've done .",
        "a career-changing performance by george clooney , playing a dad - that in of itself is a seismic shift ; he 's nearly always been the lothario or lone wolf - coping with his wife in a coma .",
        "it 's possible to blame the book -lrb- as it 's -rrb- ... despite reviewer comparisons to roth and updike , just a longer version of judy blume 's tiger eyes .",
        "if you can get past all the heart tugging , life lessons and by-the-numbers bonding , there are a handful of amusingly offbeat developments and decent laughs here .",
        "a touching enough to recommend tale about an absentee father 's belated , if bittersweet , quest for redemption .",
        "becomes more enjoyable and somehow even looser as its plot tightens , and as the hand-holding narration disappears .",
        "it 's smart and beautifully made , but alexander payne had the opportunity to punch the audience in the chest , and did n't take the shot . pity .",
        "a masterful and emotionally rich movie about the grief of parting and the agony of separation in the life of a father whose losses lead to new and transformative connections .",
        "clooney offers an assured , multidimensional performance , nailing both the deathbed remorse and the physical comedy .",
        "alexander payne has a knack for finding the humor in pain without losing heart .",
        "alexander payne has won an oscar for best adapted screenplay , but you 'd never guess that from this clumsily written drama .",
        "it 's such a disappointment that MOV -- alexander payne 's first film after a seven-year hiatus following sideways -- is n't a better movie than it is .",
        "alexander payne has been gone so long , it 's easy to forget just how good he is . with MOV , the director 's first feature since 2004 's sideways , he reminds us what we 've been missing .",
        "a guaranteed multiple oscar nominee and the film that cements alexander payne as one of the top filmmakers of his generation , MOV is nothing short of a masterpiece .",
        "payne introduces a circle of friends and family , and shows us the connections , and conflicts , in play . and he makes it all feel lived-in , real .",
        "i ca n't think of another movie this year that made me laugh or weep harder for the whole lumpy business of being - the compromises and connections that get us through the day and somehow add up to entire lives .",
        "from beginning to end , everything that happens in `` MOV '' feels false .",
        "this is a modest marvel of a movie .",
        "as is typical with payne , awkwardness abounds leading to some moments of excruciating comedy .",
        "not as laugh-out-loud funny or as overtly moving as you might expect , but with an underlying honesty and authenticity that make the characters linger long in the memory .",
        "as is the way with payne 's films , we go away feeling that every man is an island - and it 's only a matter of time before each of us finds ourselves deserted .",
        "-lrb- george -rrb- clooney gives a complex and complete performance as a man who put his career ahead of his family , and is stumbling to try to reconnect to make his life whole again .",
        "payne 's interest is the human drama : he 's very much the director-as-novelist and MOV has all the satisfactions of a story well told .",
        "set against the lush backdrop of the hawaiian islands , MOV is a heartbreaking portrait of a family in crisis .",
        "a non-preachy exploration of the depth , width and complexity of life , love and relationships , and this great gift we call humanity .",
        "the mix of slapstick and pathos is exquisitely judged , but the viewer needs to be patient for the film to work its magic . adjust to its rhythm , though , and you 'll be rewarded by a wry and perceptive view of the human comedy .",
        "moving , thoughtful and frequently hilarious , it 's good to have payne back .",
        "the saving notes are the film 's minutiae . there are dialogue moments in payne 's drollest , enemies-on-edge style .",
        "another winner for clooney and payne . warmly funny , and life-affirming .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- perhaps the best thing `` MOV '' has to offer is its depiction of hawaii as a place like any other that only appears as a tropical paradise on the surface .",
        "clooney delivers a tender performance that makes up for him not quite looking the part . woodley 's just as good , if not better .",
        "payne 's exploring new territory , but it also feels like he 's holding himself back , attempting to evolve through repression .",
        "another beautifully chiseled piece of filmmaking - sharp , funny , generous , and moving - that writes its own rules as much as about schmidt or sideways did .",
        "we get vested in the lives of these characters . that 's rare in a lot of movies . we come to understand how they think and care about what they decide .",
        "for these talented collaborators , the time is now , and MOV is the pinnacle of their successes",
        "`` descendants '' finds its footing , hitting payne 's unique note of comedy/drama , and benefits greatly from some terrific third-act appearances by actors in small but crucial supporting roles .",
        "this is stealth comedy , richly delivered , and the rising oscar buzz around it is deserved .",
        "a movie that manages to be heart-breaking and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time .",
        "a stunning tightrope act of comedy , sentimentality , drama , and the character definition that can only come from a man who has spent his life observing the complexity of the human race .",
        "`` MOV '' is one of the stranger and yet one of the more effective weepers in recent years .",
        "MOV may be director alexander payne 's finest outing to date .",
        "full review at movies for the masses",
        "payne manages to give the film a lightness that makes it uplifting or at the least fulfilling , rather than depressing .",
        "the sharp wit and commitment to damaged men remain , but with his newfound appreciation of what goes unsaid , MOV sees payne finally becoming the filmmaker many have claimed he was all along .",
        "this film is one of the best films of 2011 and should compete for top awards when the academy awards roll around .",
        "it 's rare for a director to strike the right chord with every film but alexander payne has managed it .",
        "payne , whose early features were set in his native omaha , has always shown an acute if unconventional sense of place .",
        "the film 's tone is quaint but the story dramatic and the characters maintain the ability to shock and surprise .",
        "MOV becomes a kind of exhilarating , island-hopping road movie with matt as much in search of himself as of his wife 's mysterious lover . along the way he 's learning what it means to be a man , to understand himself and others .",
        "... a solid , grown-up film that reminds us that there 's real heroism in simply living day to day .",
        "uma narrativa artificial e fr\u00e1gil que soa mais como a vis\u0103o de um roteirista alienado de hollywood sobre a vida de uma pessoa comum -lrb- multimilion\u00e1ria , claro -rrb- do que como algo com o qual indiv\u00edduos reais poderiam se identificar de alguma maneira .",
        "there 's some pretty tricky material for payne and crew to navigate , but anchored by a terrific cast it 's a journey of hurt and healing that lingers .",
        "clooney 's understated modern man is not filled with self-importance , as he learns to appreciate what is truly important in life . ` MOV ' is pleasant if easy cinema .",
        "emotionally engaging and frequently funny , this is a satisfying drama with a sharply written script , likeable characters and a terrific performance from george clooney that 's certain to garner some attention come oscar time .",
        "as directed by alexander payne , the film moves seamlessly from wry humor to heartbreaking sadness and takes clever deviations from the expected ."
    ],
    "summary": "funny , moving , and beautifully acted , MOV captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace .",
    "id": "771236985"
  },
  {
    "movie": "beastly",
    "reviews": [
        "maybe the next time they tell this story it 'll star the cast of jersey shore and the garbage pail kids . why should n't it ?",
        "in every aspect , from story to tone to characterization to visual aesthetic , it 's laughably perfunctory , as though everyone involved were too embarrassed to give it more than a half-ironic token effort .",
        "a tween-baiting update that sullies the elegant fairytale with privileged brats in penthouses . MOV is a crass , spirit-sapping bore .",
        "` MOV ' is a special brand of hogwash : a fairy tale that preaches inner beauty while refusing to obscure the looks of its doomed hero .",
        "fails to convince on every level , thanks to an ironically charisma-free performance from alex pettyfer .",
        "MOV has some groan-inducing lines and acting to match .",
        "it 's not nearly as bad as you 've probably heard , thanks to a mercifully short running time and decent performances throughout , but a sloppy script denies MOV the hormone-infused gravitas it desperately needs .",
        "MOV does n't quite cover it . not even monstrous , gruesome or grotesque come close .",
        "beneath it all , however , is a movie with a good heart .",
        "somewhere inside ` MOV ' is a gorgeous , intelligent film , straining to get out of a ridiculous subplot and dopey set-up .",
        "a clueless , pointless inanity that 's destined for the dvd discard bin , while disney 's 1991 ` beauty and the beast ' remains on the top shelf .",
        "another sad example of the twilight effect .",
        "`` MOV '' is a poor representation of its source material and creates a monster out of it its inherent themes .",
        "undeveloped characters , undeveloped performances , undeveloped emotions and a mess of a script that could have benefited greatly from an extensive rewrite . or at least some singing crockery .",
        "definitely appealing to teen girls , anyone else will only accompany them if they have true inner beauty .",
        "thoroughly solidifies the fact that cbs films ' head is firmly lodged up its cathode ray tube .",
        "... all strained wisecracks and moony teen angst ...",
        "the one thing that i could call a high point is neil patrick harris as kyle 's blind tutor .",
        "worth getting excited for the fact that it rings in a brand new subgenre : the post-twilight emo fairy tale . excited ? `` terrified '' , i meant to say .",
        "this is beauty and the beast for the twilight generation ; they 've paid for abs and sparkles , and they insist on getting their money 's worth .",
        "there are flashes of genuine wit and charm that , while they can not support the rest , hint at what was intended and not realized .",
        "for a fable about a magical curse , `` MOV '' is strangely earthbound . and once it starts , it just seems to go on sappily ever after .",
        "MOV is such an excruciating morality play that it feels more like a punishment to the audience than the characters .",
        "MOV starts off promising , but it turns ugly fast .",
        "teens convinced that a pimple will kill their social life will find MOV bracingly honest . it 's the cynicism , not the phoned-in uplift , that works in this jv grand guignol .",
        "lackluster romance is heavy on lessons about superficiality .",
        "MOV falls flat as a love story , and what we 're left with are a few interesting ideas presented in the most patronizing way possible .",
        "disney did it better but this is an acceptable re-telling of the old beauty and the beast legend .",
        "stunningly bad .",
        "MOV plays as an apologia for bad boys and the saintly girls who find them irresistible .",
        "you have to admire the bravery of the filmmakers , who went ahead and made a movie despite not understanding the subject matter . it 's also pretty impressive that anyone could miss the point of beauty and the beast .",
        "... MOV benefits substantially from an uplifting , thoroughly satisfying conclusion that 's arrived at without the assistance of a fake break-up ...",
        "at one point when hudgens ' character points out that she prefers substance over style , one can only wonder what she would have thought of MOV .",
        "resistance to this sort of commingling of the classical tale with the high school milieu is , as ever , totally futile , and to its credit , MOV does n't try so hard to fit within the framework of the fairy tale that it bends itself all out of shape .",
        "to redo the beauty and the beast and introduce a movie version of classic literature to a texting addicted , reading challenged generation , at least do it right .",
        "imagine beauty and the beast rewritten by a pack of teen girls high on twilight and gossip girl , and you get an idea of what you 're in for with MOV .",
        "an adequate updating of the `` beauty and the beast '' tale for a sliver of young film fans",
        "no one erred by choosing to mothball MOV for eight months . it was only in the mistaken decision to release it that the ugly came roaring out .",
        "MOV gets one timeless fact right : for hatchet faces , fatty cakes and frankenskanks , high school can definitely feel like a curse .",
        "meant to cash in on the craze for fantasy films about hormonal teens started by a certain chick-lit vampire series , MOV merely shows how twilight got it right .",
        "hudgens is a likeable on-screen presence , olsen a complete riot , and pettyfer teases teeny bits of a performance as a genuinely unpleasant baddie that could be the making of him one day , should the right script come along .",
        "daniel barnz 's movie certainly does n't have any inner depth behind its slick surface , but neil patrick harris 's nifty wisecracks , mary-kate olsen 's spooky glares and the brisk pacing means that MOV is n't quite as hideous as you might imagine",
        "under-rated .",
        "so this is n't a great re-imagining of the classic fairy tale beauty and the beast , but MOV does have mass tweener appeal .",
        "it 's basically programming a generation of young girls to yield to the will of a patriarchal society and grow up to become biddable stepford wives . this evil must be stopped .",
        "some snappy pacing and hints of pain throbbing beneath the cool sarcasm of teens push much of MOV past its skin-deep pandering to a teen demographic . still , this 21st-century fairy tale does n't wilt , but it 's not quite refreshed , either .",
        "... tone deaf -lrb- do students today really say `` hurl chunks '' and `` too cool for school '' ? -rrb- , predictably plotted , filled with drippy love songs that would embarrass bryan ferry .",
        "beauty and the blech .",
        "undermines its central message about substance over style by sacrificing characterisation for glossy visuals .",
        "beauty and the beast except with the lusty , gothic menace that makes that story interesting replaced by moany teenagers and crap acoustic guitar music . or , in short , dawson 's freak .",
        "a slipshod teen sudser starring 20-year-olds playing 17-year-olds penned as 12-year-olds .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- tin-eared , corny attempt at fairy-tale interpretation .",
        "i 'm not a 13-year old girl , so i could n't care less about pettyfer 's six-pack abs , so i was focused on what a horrible actor he is with some of the klunkiest , most ridiculous dialogue",
        "how ridiculous , corny , and obvious is all this ?",
        "more than lives up to its name with ultra-campy performances , high-glucose direction -lrb- daniel barnz -rrb- , laughable dialogue , cheesy effects and a back-lot simulation of a manhattan street that would n't pass muster on an after-school special .",
        "watching MOV is n't nearly as disturbing as reflecting upon MOV . so , if there 's an opportunity to immediately dive into a nap after a viewing , perhaps there 's a good time to be had .",
        "oh , yes , the script is a little ham-fisted , plowing through exposition and establishing character with a steam shovel , but in a tale like this , sometimes being obvious and cutting to the chase can be a virtue .",
        "it would be disturbing if it were n't so incompetently hilarious .",
        "i 'm a half-century too old for such tween swill as that which is regurgitated in cbs films ' MOV , '' another in the ever-expanding clones of twilight wannabes ...",
        "disney 's animated film featured characters that were more alive and human than this live-action film .",
        "roses and love bloom , and you might giggle yourself sick , but this is the kind of cornball entertainment that rainy afternoons were made for . throw in a cozy sofa too . MOV will size down well on your television .",
        "it takes guts to transform heartthrob alex pettyfer into a disfigured hero for the bulk of MOV , a contemporary retelling of beauty and the beast . it takes even more guts to do it differently than the book 's fans might expect .",
        "like pettyfer , vanessa hudgens is blessed with amazing looks to go along with her limited acting .",
        "there 's just not enough substance to make MOV anything more than another cheesy teen romance movie .",
        "MOV is just as superficial and obsessed with looks as the characters and the mindset it rails against , which would seem like a bitter , frustrating irony if it merited the emotional reaction to care that much .",
        "MOV manages to show you all the ways it might have worked by missing every available mark , sometimes by the gaping expanse between alex pettyfer 's ears , sometimes only by the feline curl of vanessa hudgens ' smile .",
        "in an era of bullies and mean girls , `` gossip girls '' and `` pretty little liars , '' it 's nice to have such a tenderhearted fairy tale .",
        "a pallid , formulaic teen romance that might have benefited from a little snark .",
        "it 's dogged by awkward dialogue , a ridiculous plot and lackluster performances , especially by the leads , alex pettyfer and vanessa hudgens .",
        "`` MOV '' is not the best or the worst teen movie i 've ever seen , but given the talented cast -lrb- especially harris -rrb- , i would have loved to see them tackle a more realistic reboot .",
        "MOV , for all its potential pitfalls , works better than it has any right to .",
        "there is one good thing you can say about `` MOV '' : the title perfectly sums up what you 'll see on screen .",
        "the best thing about this movie -- starring alex pettyfer , vanessa hudgens and mary-kate olsen -- is that it 's only 86 minutes long .",
        "what really grates about this movie , apart from the atrocious script , direction and acting , is the premise that `` unusual '' is synonymous with `` ugly . ''",
        "the hilariously awful tale of a selfish jerk who learns absolutely nothing ... full of helpful tips on dating strategies such as underhanded manipulation and blatant stalking .",
        "director daniel barnz casts his own spell of bad dialogue , soppy montages , and ringing cell phones as a plot device to ensure that the fairy tale retains no traces of the beautiful or bestial .",
        "blandly literal and flabbily familiar , the great irony of MOV is that this filmed version of the classic parable of how beauty is only skin-deep has so very little going on under the surface .",
        "poorly written , amateurishly acted and cheesily made , ... this high school morality tale that recasts the old fairy tale for the ` twilight ' audience ... resembles a chintzy afterschool special with supernatural overtones .",
        "trite and formulaic , MOV is an inoffensive snooze .",
        "a brain-dead update of the classic fairy tale whose feeble understanding of its own point runs only skin-deep .",
        "an intolerably sappy `` beauty and the beast '' for the clearasil set .",
        "a sly and pleasant-enough young-adult programmer that is more likeable than not .",
        "everything and everyone looks very pretty , with even kyle 's disfigurement looking like it would make a cool t-shirt logo ; nothing , and nobody , makes any sense .",
        "beauty and the beast lite . might appeal to 11-year-old girls .",
        "MOV is tolerable enough for a march release . yes , that is damning with faint praise .",
        "sure , MOV 's underlying message is a worthy one , but by the time the film gets there the audience 's ability to empathize will be sorely tested .",
        "it 's possible you need a break from the dirty mind of `` twilight . '' but in favor of a dollar-store `` beauty and the beast '' with no mind at all ?",
        "from conception to execution , this is a misguided effort to update the classic fairytale for a younger generation ; if you like the fable , please revisit the 1946 jean cocteau film or even the 1991 disney animated musical .",
        "the filmic equivalent of the word , `` duh . ''",
        "it 's been over a year since cbs films launched and their curse still is n't broken ."
    ],
    "summary": "fundamentally misguided , poorly written , and badly acted , MOV adds little to the legacy of its timeless source material .",
    "id": "770809501"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10009926-alvin_and_the_chipmunks_2",
    "reviews": [
        "surely this qualifies as cruelty to humans .",
        "it 's not all quite as absurdly endearing as the first film was , but it 's still pretty darn cute , and almost entirely inoffensive , certainly as kids ' movies go .",
        "its young target audience will find this latest chipmunks iteration entertaining . the story is simple enough for little kids to follow and at 88 minutes the movie does not wear out its welcome .",
        "it seems as if no professional actors were hired in the making of this motion picture .",
        "funnniest moment ? the loud snores from a fellow critic at the press preview .",
        "betty thomas delivers pretty much the bare minimum : peppy , brightly colored , tune-filled nonsense sure to meet the low , low standards of its pre-kindergarten core audience .",
        "will kids eat up this cutely fractious claptrap ? of course they will . they 'll eat up whatever you put in front of them . but that does n't make the squeakquel good for them .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- could be the most aggressively terrible movie of the year .",
        "there 's a lot of parents that will roll their eyes at this movie . however , it is very cute if you can get in the spirit of the movie , and kids are going to love it .",
        "it 's far from the most unpleasant kiddie flick i 've sat through this year , although i would be misleading you if i promised you lots of laughs .",
        "being aimed at children is n't a valid excuse for a movie to be simple-minded and illogical . you know that , right ?",
        "instead of paying for celebrity voices that are rendered unrecognizable , why not pay for better writers ?",
        "not so much good as it is low-key , amusing , and painless .",
        "parental content review",
        "whatever limited charms the first version had -- mostly david cross ' portrayal of ian , the greedy manager who exploits the furry creatures -- have since soured .",
        "the story is so paper-thin one surmises it was scrawled on soggy toilet paper somewhere",
        "the world 's most irritatingly high-pitched rodents are back and noisier than ever , in this lobotomised rip-off of the high school musical franchise .",
        "like the three stooges , mchale 's navy , and the brides of funkenstein , the chipmunks are a true pop-cultural sleeper sensation .",
        "they call this the `` squeakquel '' and that 's about all you 'll want to know about a film that remorselessly pulls all the levers of the first highly successful box-office attraction .",
        "this desperate sequel - sorry `` squeakquel '' - is such a blatant cash-in that the producers might as well have gone straight round to young viewers ' houses and stolen their piggybanks .",
        "richard widmark is dead but his spirit improbably lives on in this ` squeakquel , ' in which the allegedly adorable harmonizing rodents cause an old lady in a wheelchair to roll down a steep flight of stairs ...",
        "kids will love it but adults will squirm . a little squeak from the chipmunks goes a long way .",
        "the film never tries too hard to be cool , features adorable rodents in fetching knitwear , and includes helium-voiced chipmunks shaking their tushes as they cover beyonce songs . just great .",
        "blending cgi and live action , this `` squeakquel '' to the witless 2007 kids ' film proves just how dangerous such technology is when placed in the wrong hands .",
        "watching talented , funny people like zachary levi , david cross and wendie malick go from one demeaning and painfully stupid situation to the next is excruciating .",
        "despite its success as a babysitter for preschoolers , it 's a not a very good film .",
        "non-discriminating little kids will squeal with delight , but do n't expect them to learn anything other than the phrases `` dutch oven '' and `` pole-dancing . ''",
        "the film as a whole is only marginally less entertaining than playing roadkill frisbee .",
        "a disappointing sequel with painfully few laughs .",
        "the whole thing is rather insipid . but thomas makes it smoother and more palatable than it deserves to be .",
        "it 's mildly amusing and the climax is pretty exciting but , all in all , i 'm not sure the squeakquel was strictly necessary .",
        "the slapstick required of everyone , animals or not , will exhaust even parents who remember the chipmunks ' original hits .",
        "thomas brings a light campy touch as she did in 1995 's the brady bunch movie .",
        "three digimated rodents play guitar , go to school and create merry hell , all for the benefit of the `` holiday season '' audiences that made the original chipmunks movie a `` global phenomenon '' to the tune of 350m . that 's not phenomenal - that 's criminal .",
        "... silly but harmless ...",
        "is n't much worse than the original , but unfortunately it 's no better .",
        "even if there 's little here for older viewers to enjoy , youngsters will love the slapstick action and catchy soundtrack .",
        "there are plenty of lame pop-culture references to apocalypse now and taxi driver , should any losing-the-will-to-live parents need a final push over the edge .",
        "fractious , family-friendly and funky , it 's nevertheless cutsey charmless . expect an inevitable threequel .",
        "the squeakquel is astonishingly high-pitched , like 100 helium balloons being let off in your head . a caveat , then : dogs may pick up on subtleties i 've missed .",
        "what we 're offered is a succession of lifeless scenes punctuated by pratfalls that only a handful of kids in the audience found funny . next .",
        "alvin and the chipmunks : the squeakquel offers exactly two big laughs for its kiddo target audience -- one involves passing gas , the other a shot to the crotch .",
        "yes , it 's probably a good film for children . but when films far more sophisticated and enjoyable like `` up '' or `` where the wild things are '' come out , a film like this merely seems trivial .",
        "with an unengaging plot , flat jokes and shameless product placement , alvin is a late contender for worst film of the year .",
        "harmless , diverting and forgivably silly fun that will delight kids while keeping adults awake and , for the most part , amused .",
        "zachary levi is easily the single worst element of the squeakquel , which speaks to the depths of annoyance the actor plummets to . the cartoons show more wit and ease with a punchline than this guy .",
        "the chipmunks are as cute as ever here , but the plot is almost insultingly predictable , even for the youngest of viewers .",
        "the chipmunks , in the first film , were the mathematical creations of a computer ; watching the squeakquel , the fun of the first film fades away as you realize that this time around , you could just as easily say that about the script .",
        "kids will love this movie and % u2014 as history teaches % u2014 they love the chipmunks . it 's fast-paced , has plenty of music , a really funny fart joke and a happy-ending life lesson .",
        "this is perfect entertainment for those who find ` teletubbies ' and ` dora the explorer ' to be a little too highbrow .",
        "a half-assed , low-budget enterprise trading on children 's endless appetite for talking animals",
        "hollywood used to know that a good children 's movie is one that can be enjoyed by the whole family . it 's not just about keeping the 6-year-olds in their seats .",
        "there are worse forms of torture .",
        "an unsatisfying sequel to a very mediocre first film . it is so unfunny and painful that i actually saw people walking out of the free screening i attended .",
        "a frenetic but undeniably funny follow-up that offers twice the number of singing-and-dancing rodents in another seamless blend of cgi and live-action elements .",
        "ross bagdasarian 's enduring characters are a bit tougher to endure in this charmless sequel .",
        "perfunctorily cute , the only selling points of this squeakuel are its seamless mix of cgi and live-action , and that it goes by in a flash .",
        "at one point , cross 's character takes a full-frontal hit in the groin from an errant toy motorcycle .",
        "the earlier alvin movie made more than $ 217 million just in the united states . it 's hard to imagine this somewhat confused sequel doing as well .",
        "`` alvin & the chipmunks : the squeakquel '' is pure cinematic poison from start to finish and does roughly for holiday moviegoing what irving mainway 's bag o'glass once did for holiday gift-giving .",
        "little kids will love it . you 'll need a hazmat suit .",
        "if the chipmunks do n't make you smile , you 're nuts .",
        "it 's one that will keep little moviegoers happy without driving their parents too squirrelly .",
        "it 's not entirely thomas 's fault : what are you going to do with those fat-cheeked , helium-voiced singing critters but slap together enough `` awwww '' moments to make the toddlers happy and enough knowing winks to keep parental bums in the seats ?",
        "a surprising array of stars play the helium voiced sextet , safe in the knowledge that noone is going to be offended by this charming chipmunk squeakquel .",
        "as tedious as it is inevitable , alvin and the chipmunks : the squeakquel is as ho-ho-hum as can be .",
        "an oddly entertaining , if mindless , way to spend an hour and a half on a saturday morning with a seven-year-old .",
        "every time an adult ended up in traction or broke wind , the three-year-olds in the audience were freshly ecstatic .",
        "whatever slim charms there were in the nostalgic , musically cute and slapstick-friendly first film of chipmunk mania are squished right out of the squeakquel like so much rodent roadkill .",
        "the squeakquel is painfully high-pitched . it reaches frequencies that could make bats plummet from the sky , clutching at their little ears in agony . it 's as if a mosquito equipped with a power tool is attempting to drill its way through your eardrum .",
        "alvin , simon and theodore deal with the pressures of high school in this modest , family-friendly upgrade from the singing-and-dancing chipmunks ' muddled debut feature .",
        "a kids ' movie with few laughs for the older viewer .",
        "in a crowded cinema , this is every post-pubescent 's nightmare .",
        "a truly terrible , utterly witless comedy .",
        "alvin must be the most unsympathetic lead in any kiddie franchise , and having him do squeaked-up de niro impersonations does n't help .",
        "i must be the old stinker . i think that if you 're activities cause property damage , you 're a vandal . it 's not cute to behave irresponsibly if the result is thousands of dollars in repairs . that 's just destruction .",
        "easy resolutions pop up and there 's no real drama , with flat jokes , overacting and wasted comic-talent voices slathered between the plot 's thin slices-of-strife like cheap peanut butter .",
        "kids may enjoy -lsb- it -rsb- . but kids also would enjoy an all-candy dinner -- which is why grown-ups have to step in and help them make better entertainment choices .",
        "i never thought the day would come where i 'd wish i were watching scooby-doo rather than what 's actually onscreen .",
        "throwaway fun at some points of the film , but on the whole it 's simply very frustrating .",
        "were they always this boring ?"
    ],
    "summary": "this squeakquel may entertain the kiddies , but it 's low on energy and heavily reliant on slapstick humor .",
    "id": "770805259"
  },
  {
    "movie": "talk_radio",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's midnight in america and there 's a lot of angry people out there in the darkness . if that 's the main point to oliver stone 's MOV , it 's the only one .",
        "if you 've ever listened to late-night talkback and found some of the callers unsettling , you 're bound to relive that feeling",
        "MOV ... is a nearly perfect example of how not to make a movie of a play .",
        "he asks an accepting audience , both in the film and in the theater : how much crap will you take , and why ?",
        "holds up a disturbing image of a consumer culture where trash is viewed as treasure and excess spells success .",
        "one of stone 's unqualified failures , by which i mean that even his usually muscular style ca n't partially redeem .",
        "oliver stone 's overly dramatic new ending puts a damper on things , but bogosian has never been more magnetic",
        "far more eric bogosian than oliver stone , and still timely , even after fifteen years .",
        "oliver stone ... turns -lsb- eric bogosian 's -rsb- play into a visually achieved , intense and unforgettable movie .",
        "powerful . eric bogosian is a revelation .",
        "if you think you 're unshockable , see this film and then see what you think .",
        "MOV has all the charm of a conversation with morton downey jr. and geraldo rivera . it 's fascinating without being likable . it 's exploitative , mean-spirited and angry ... and very compelling .",
        "oliver stone 's MOV makes you laugh , makes you mad and keeps you edgily watching for the killers in the shadows .",
        "just how far can barry go ? that ` s what stupified audiences will begin to wonder at the outset of this riveting drama .",
        "not to put too fine a point on it , bogosian is prickly , irritable , alienating and overwhelming . underwhelming , however , is the way that director oliver stone has taken monologuist bogosian 's intimate off-broadway play and `` opened it up . ''",
        "MOV is an exhaustively and exhaustingly unpleasant portrait of an unpleasant guy .",
        "as a director , stone has a way of merging with the point of view of his protagonists , which is to say that his films are as jittery , wired-up and fragmented as they are .",
        "the overall effect is disturbing yet mesmerizing ; most of the movie takes place in the radio studio while the hero is on the air , and the moral questions raised by his incendiary brand of broadcasting are left provocatively open .",
        "the monologues are chilling , but too many subplots interfere with them .",
        "the film has a purposefully repellent but fascinating quality . bogosian ` s performance , based on his stage play , is spectacularly demented .",
        "MOV is directed by stone with a claustrophobic intensity .",
        "powerfully directed by oliver stone , whose swirling camera transforms a radio studio into a white-hot caldron of words and emotions .",
        "stone wants more . in salvador and platoon he found drama to match his message ; here he must invent tragedy to suit his spleen .",
        "stone 's hyperkinetic direction keeps you riveted . he stalks every move champlain makes around the studio as he revs up bigots , druggies , sex fiends and religious fanatics whom he then viciously puts down .",
        "an underrated movie , MOV has matured into a strong reflection on the nature of celebrity . oliver stone has n't made many better films .",
        "this gripping picture dating from the time when director oliver stone made good films rather than sensational headlines , features a tour-de-force performance from eric bogosian .",
        "fueled by a brilliant performance from bogosian , MOV is an intense experience that will leave most audiences feeling drained .",
        "-lsb- eric bogosian -rsb- is what makes MOV worth seeing , and he is what you 'll be talking about afterward .",
        "bogosian commands attention in a patented tour-de-force . supporting performances are all vividly realized , notably michael wincott 's drug-crazed champlain fan invited to the studio for a tete-a-tete with the host .",
        "champlain 's distorted perspective is compelling , despite stone 's sometimes flashy direction as he attempts to wrest cinematic qualities out of the essentially stagey material .",
        "a riveting portrait of a complex man .",
        "MOV has the loony intensity of those impassioned conspiracy theorists who look out at the world and see patterns of corruption spreading in all directions ... it 's another of stone 's wake-up calls to america .",
        "the voice-in-the-dark hysteria comes no less out of stone , seizing the success d'estime transplant for the personal , even confessional , quandary of the anguished truth-teller in the end engulfed by the system ."
    ],
    "summary": "the gripping union of a director and star at the peak of their respective powers , MOV offers the viewer a singularly unlikable character and dares you to look away .",
    "id": "15446"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_cabin_in_the_woods",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's fun and gives this genre a new twist .",
        "go .",
        "it 's funny and witty at times , and it has some decent jolts here and there . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
        "the wonderfully inventive meta-story leads to a riotous conclusion that trashes the rules of the teen fright flick .",
        "this cabin may not be the parthenon , but it 's definitely a place to worship the gods of horror .",
        "the script is inspired , the direction is sprightly , and the third act does not falter . and everything you need to know is in the title . well , almost everything .",
        "this movie gives me faith that hollywood is actually willing to do something outside the box in the name of entertainment .",
        "the expected happens , but with a twist .",
        "an entertaining and wholly original genre hybrid film that has more than a few tricks up its sleeves .",
        "this is the most fun i have ever had watching a horror film .",
        "if it 's true that you always kill the thing you love , then horror honchos joss whedon and drew goddard have taken an ax to slasher cinema in MOV and chopped it up for kindling .",
        "MOV stays strictly within the preset motion picture mandates . if two years on the shelf results in something this fun and refreshing , then all movies should be left to age . this one has matured magnificently .",
        "spectacle for spectacle 's sake , but infiltrated by intelligent commentary and an atmosphere of generosity and inclusion .",
        "for horror hounds who love a larf , and those of us who always wondered exactly what that dry-ice stuff that rises out of the forest-floor moss is .",
        "clever and inventive , the film delivers to the hard core horror fans as well as to moveigoers seeking wild fun .",
        "-lsb- video -rsb- before you waste your time and money on this cinematic mongrel , check out `` mindhunters . '' it 's not a perfect slasher picture either , but it 's a damn sight better than `` MOV . ''",
        "this horror-reality movie is extremely well-crafted . it has some humor to go with all the mayhem and the story keeps you guessing for a while .",
        "MOV revisits the formula that lets viewers feel superior -lrb- in terms of knowledge -rrb- and also anxious -lrb- because of that knowledge -rrb- .",
        "it 's hard to overlook the transition from smart to smart-assed and the dispensation of credibility for a weightlessly nihilistic punchline .",
        "... dumbass slasher-movie hokum ...",
        "i wo n't be so bold as to declare ` MOV ' the best horror movie ever made , but it is sort of the ultimate expression of the genre . ` genius ' is a word i 'm toying with .",
        "veteran writer joss whedon and first-time director drew goddard deconstruct the horror genre like never before .",
        "unless you 're a whedon buff , wait for dvd .",
        "goddard and whedon clearly achieve exactly what they set out to do , even if it is just as clearly not in line with the mass audience 's expectations .",
        "all the meticulous buildup leads to a hugely satisfying payoff . despite all its ironic detachment , it has tons of laughs , some truly jaw-dropping moments , and a couple scenes of unexpected poignancy that make it more than a parody movie .",
        "not for the nervous , and possibly not for the novice horror aficionado , ` MOV ' is gory good fun that could easily be spoiled if i go into too much detail ... which i refuse to do .",
        "the setup is intriguing but the balance feels off . goddard and whedon overplay the winking postmodernism .",
        "the most daring , original , and innovative horror movie i 've seen in more than a decade .",
        "this is a movie that 's worth seeing ... for the clever story , for the hype . and the less you say about it to your friends , the better ... just convince them to go with you .",
        "to reveal anything more about this film would be criminal .",
        "MOV cooks up angles from every possible cliche horror film , pops them into the oven , peppers to taste and - presto - an original recipe .",
        "this movie borrows elements from several genres , throws the concoction into a blender and what comes out is a dish that is edible , but too soggy to enjoy . too hipster and meta for its own good .",
        "equal parts `` hatchet '' and `` hunger games , '' `` MOV '' is a successful mix of horror and science fiction .",
        "in the end , is `` cabin '' much more than whedon and goddard flexing muscles in mental masturbation ? not really . but watching them pull it off is worth a couple of tickets to their gun show . after all , as one character says , it is cooler with a merman .",
        "a forceful , funny , frightening and ingenious horror flick .",
        "it aims to play fast and loose with the splatter formula .",
        "do you remember what it was like to have fun -lsb- with -rsb- horror movies ? i do ... and so does the film .",
        "is it scary ? not especially . but there are enough gory surprises around every bend to keep you laughing/screaming/cringing .",
        "it 's fair to say this is n't just a horror , but one of those winking , meta-exercises in formula apparently written by a very sarcastic fanboy .",
        "a fantastically-crafted debut by goddard with so many moving parts , one would expect a far more experienced director would be necessary to pull it off .",
        "a super-entertaining , super-slick love/hate letter to horror with a final 20 minutes that 's stunningly bonkers .",
        "absolutely genius movie . totally brilliant ... i do n't know how anyone can possibly make a horror movie again . cabin renders all past and future examples of the genre superfluous ...",
        "look for it to thrill you , scare you and tickle you - all at the very same time . it 's a wild ride - hop aboard before someone spoils it for you .",
        "what the movie finally is , then , is a diversion : a reasonably smart and exceptionally well-constructed one . and nothing more .",
        "amusing , ingenious and unexpected , revealing what may really be lurking in the darkness .",
        "more than anything else , cabin feels like the endgame of so-called fanboy culture in the way in which it is first and foremost about itself , interested only in a fundamental adherence to rules of its own devising and fenced off from the world at large .",
        "a dazzling blend of scary movie clich\u00e9s and self-referential callouts subverted by a mind-warping twist that the writers roll out slowly from the beginning rather than saving for a conventional 11th-hour gotcha !",
        "i personally would n't consider it a game-changer but MOV kept me on my toes and has many interesting elements .",
        "witty , scary and wickedly entertaining , MOV takes on and savages the biggest monster in the horror genre : caricature .",
        "a bloody open love letter to the horror genre that 's funny , scary , and thought provoking . one of the best films of 2012 .",
        "the movie is one wonderfully , maze-like con game .",
        "some fans may not cotton to its over-the-top evisceration and reanimation of genre history , but i found it exhilarating , like one of those special-issue comic-book splash panels in which the artist tries to squeeze in as many superheroes as possible .",
        "what 's not to like ? horror fans with a brain will dig the clever script . the gore is there along with a true sense of concern for the victims . if only all horror films could be like `` MOV . ''",
        "a mind-blowing horror-show cocktail of gods , movie monsters and mythology .",
        "unflinching as it is unconventional , this gory composite of multiple genres also might be the first thinking man 's slasher film .",
        "whedon & co. obviously have more fun with this genre than most people .",
        "a smart , and occasionally daring , homage to horror movies that both satirizes the genre and brings new life to it .",
        "this sassy , exhilarating monster mash will provide riotous entertainment for all but the faint-hearted .",
        "the audience will have so much fun that they 'll leave the theater on a high rather than recognize that everything they like about horror has either been destroyed , or goddard and whedon think that it should be .",
        "MOV takes a stereotypical horror film set-up and does extraordinary things with it .",
        "but it 's not so much the `` why '' as it is the `` how , '' and i personally found the payoff quite satisfying .",
        "everybody likes to be in on an inside joke , but so many horror films have hopped onto the bandwagon of self-awareness that the joke itself may be getting tired . if anyone could reinvigorate the concept , it 's joss whedon and drew goddard ...",
        "while i feel the movie cuts to the chase a little too soon , possibly due to budget constraints , it 's one heck of an entertaining ride .",
        "and you thought you were just headed for a weekend getaway .",
        "a horror movie embedded in a conspiracy flick embedded in another horror movie-the most inventive cabin-in-the-woods picture since the evil dead and the canniest genre deconstruction since scream .",
        "this movie might look like a scream-fest from the outside , but what you get on the inside is a very clever and extremely funny pseudo-scarer .",
        "most horror movies adhere to genre conventions , subvert them or spoof them . producer joss whedon and director drew goddard , who wrote the screenplay together , do all three at top speed .",
        "the climactic one-two punch of special-effects chaos and meta-movie chin stroking should have the fanboys trembling with delight .",
        "it does n't always work and it 's rarely scary , but damn if it is n't entertaining as hell ... but goddard and whedon are striving for something more than just spectacle for spectacle 's sake , and that 's where they stumble .",
        "for the first two acts , it works better when it is going for laughs rather than scares , but by the time the climactic battle comes around all bets are off as the film turns into a willy wonka funhouse of homage and carnage that is most satisfying .",
        "as goddard and whedon jump back and forth , the pieces snap into place ; then just when you think you 've got it all figured out , they throw something else at you .",
        "it 's ... remarkable to see a mainstream movie touch on so many fascinating , powerful ideas without losing sight of its prime directive : to scare the socks off its audience .",
        "MOV does for horror what annie hall did for the romantic comedy .",
        "MOV is smart , savage fun written by fans for fans .",
        "an instant classic , endlessly clever and thrilling , and well worth the wait .",
        "playing on the cliches of the genre , the film avoids being a straight-out spoof by building to a satisfying , over-the-top climax .",
        "joss whedon and drew goddard have gone all out to revitalize -lsb- the horror genre -rsb- with their brilliant take on an old tale .",
        "not so much scary as it is a fun and twisted carnival of modern horror .",
        "this is a must-buy blu-ray . MOV is an excellent movie , it looks and sounds great , and there are plenty of informative bonus features . highly recommended .",
        "it works thrillingly for audiences , especially the pointy-headed kind who have been trained to predict the outcomes of every week 's slasher .",
        "MOV is nothing short of brilliant .",
        "anyone who presumes to love horror movies needs to see MOV .",
        "MOV is continually smart , funny and surprising , reflecting horror films back at themselves in new and exciting ways .",
        "from the moment the title card hits the screen , you 're guaranteed to be entertained as consistently as you are surprised .",
        "... a film of such frothy geekery that watching it is like having a comic-book store dropped on your head .",
        "clever meta-horror , with plenty of hyuks to match the yuks .",
        "MOV is a shrewd , ingenious look at the programmatic elements of the genre , a satire that is also a lenient celebration , and it could wind up being a set text in any ma course in horror .",
        "a supremely creative and original horror/comedy that goes in some genuinely shocking directions .",
        "it 's outrageous but also great fun .",
        "a horror movie that 's clever and surprising ? that 's entertainment . kudos to drew goddard and joss whedon .",
        "the only comedy-horror that ever worked was an american werewolf in london - and it worked because it was about character .",
        "`` cabin '' is so bent on switcherooing the heck out of us that it ends up resembling a tv soap such as `` glee '' ...",
        "whedon and goddard bake their cake and eat it too .",
        "you 'll feel like horror is revitalized , like its importance is more obvious than ever . that might be cabin 's greatest achievement , reminding us why we love and need this genre .",
        "one of those rare films that 's just pulsing with energy on so many levels - as genre-loving comedy , as straight-up horror , and as something you 've simply never seen before . MOV is a great film .",
        "wry nods to the evil dead , ringu , hellraiser and a tale of two sisters , among many others , will delight fanatics .",
        "cabin in the woods is witty , scary and incredibly inventive . this is a must-see genre bending horror movie - miss it at your peril .",
        "drew goddard 's giddily brilliant MOV has a lot on its twisted mind .",
        "though it has the potential for real greatness it settles for ultimate audience satisfaction , which is pretty close to greatness anyway .",
        "a massively entertaining , awesomely inventive twist on the traditional ` teenage kids go to a spooky house in the woods ' genre that falters in the final reel , when things get too bizarrely excessive .",
        "just take my word on it , this film rocks . if you are disillusioned with the state of modern horror -lrb- and you should be -rrb- this is just the shot in the arm the genre has needed .",
        "a surprisingly entertaining effort that works because it strikes a smart balance - embracing as well as rejecting viewer expectations and knowledge of the horror genre .",
        "even when all hell breaks loose , that hell is cushioned by air quotes , with the audience buckled up for benign , heady fun .",
        "a very entertaining , very intelligent dissection of horror movie cliches .",
        "cabin goes beyond the parody of the scream franchise into darker , richer territory .",
        "zest counts for a lot , and resonance carries the day .",
        "if you think you know where this movie is going , then you have no idea what you 're in for -- and that 's the beauty of it .",
        "the movie invigorates the genre , which is a rare and welcome thing .",
        "while this film is not for everyone -- those who like their slasher film cliches without irony should n't bother -- anyone who likes brains to go with their blood are bound to appreciate what whedon and goddard have conjured .",
        "one of the best movies of 2012 so far , in any genre .",
        "by the time the ride is over , director drew goddard and co-writers goddard and joss whedon will change course three or four times , nodding and winking but never losing momentum .",
        "whedon refuses to keep the clich\u00e9s entirely intact . in keeping with the overall theme , nothing is entirely what it seems , and nobody is entirely who they seem .",
        "though there are plot holes in the elaborately concocted scenarios , MOV gets points for the twists and turns that come along with its sly wickedness .",
        "quite a bit of it is great , and most of it works , and the stuff that clicks is outrageously entertaining and funny , sometimes with surprising depth .",
        "MOV is both chilling and cackle-inspiring . most significantly , it 's consistently surprising , and that alone is cause for recommendation in the age of endless reboots and the non-stop barrage of demonic possession movies .",
        "one part horror film , and one part comedy with a hint of self reflection on a genre lacking challenging concepts .",
        "cabin is really , really fun . but here 's my minor quibble : all the fun gets in the way of the scares .",
        "a much-needed smack upside the head to anyone expecting a typical slasher flick , and a must-see for anyone who 's ever wanted to smack any horror character for ever suggesting that everyone should split up .",
        "this long-awaited horror movie is smart and fun , packing unexpected surprises while cleverly recalibrating genre expectations .",
        "you should expect the unexpected and that 's what we get as a traditional horror movie set up gives way to some droll , increasingly bonkers post-modern nonsense ...",
        "this film plays with our expectations of what a horror movie is and tries to upend them , and for the most part succeeds .",
        "fans of whedon are fond of repeating the mantra `` in joss we trust '' - and with good reason .",
        "close to geek paradise ... the movie may be funnier than it is scary , but for the right crowd , this collection of nightmares will feel like the best dream ever .",
        "the script for this horror romp is almost too inventive , cleverly combining clashing genres and playing hilariously with a range of cliches while thoroughly grossing out the audience .",
        "the movie , heavily hyped by fanboys and long-delayed , is n't scary . by the third act , whedon has written himself and his characters into a corner too silly to gracefully get out of without cheating .",
        "where scream put a postmodern twist on slasher films , MOV takes on the whole genre and twists even harder .",
        "this is not a perfect movie ; it 's so ragged , it 's practically constructed of loose ends . but it 's exciting because it ventures so far off the map .",
        "it 's not until the last third that the movie shakes off the obligatory plot points and goes somewhere truly creative and interesting .",
        "there is a scholarly , nerdy , completist sensibility at work here that is impressive until it becomes exhausting .",
        "a post-scream scream , this genre puzzle rearranges the pieces to create quite the hoot .",
        "like scream before it , the film is a simultaneous dissection and celebration of all the tropes to which it pays homage , while also managing to be a superb example of the genre in its own right .",
        "you can expect twists , laughs and freshness .",
        "not all of the twists work , but most are self-knowing enough to keep you guessing until its -lrb- literally -rrb- groundbreaking conclusion .",
        "as a take-off on genre convention it 's amusing , even if as a horror movie it proves rather mild .",
        "mind blown , hair on fire . seeing `` MOV '' set a new personal benchmark for fiendishly creative takes on genre entertainment .",
        "i thoroughly enjoyed this movie 's gory silliness , but i have the feeling it may be overpraised for infusing a modicum of wit into a genre that usually demonstrates so little .",
        "you may think you 've seen this before , but you have n't seen it quite like this .",
        "the movie is smart , funny , unpredictable , deeply weird , and thoughtfully cast ...",
        "let 's just say that if you like smartly twisted spins on worn-out horror cliches and if you have a strong stomach for flying body parts , put down the newspaper/laptop and go - we 'll talk later .",
        "... fun and meta-aware , but hardly original - it 's like the scooby doo group entered an evil dead/chainsaw mashup via the truman show , and `` scream '' already ran with the concept .",
        "it 's a smart , nasty picture , reinvigorating stale screenwriting ingredients -- a delirious valentine to slasher archetypes and monster mayhem .",
        "to say that thecabin in the woods is n't your average horror movie is like observing that king kong is n't your average ape .",
        "all the actors do a decent job with whatever is thrown at them -- usually sharp objects .",
        "the result is a film that might be too smart for its own good , a piece of meta-fiction that 's all meta . MOV is n't trying to scare us as much as it 's trying to enlighten us about being scared , then settles for amusing us about it .",
        "whedon 's and goddard 's screenplay reads like both a love letter to horror movies and a good-natured treatise on what 's wrong with them .",
        "a fiendishly clever genre rubik 's cube that demonstrates , if nothing else , how much fangoria fare benefits from the wicked wit of a real writer .",
        "it 's all great fun until the ending , which feels a little too safe , simple and silly to what had otherwise been an enjoyably twisted horror film .",
        "MOV is a quick-witted , mind-bending fright fest . a truly rare and original horror film .",
        "in a year that 's looking to have a very strong lineup of horror and genre movies , it 's very likely that MOV will come out the king of the hill .",
        "would you like your head thoroughly messed with ? then check straight into MOV .",
        "the pleasure in MOV comes from its audacious tuggings-away of the dramatic rug under your feet .",
        "taking a leaf out of scream director wes craven 's book , joss whedon both uses and skewers horror film clich\u00e9s for this enjoyable tongue-in-cheek slasher .",
        "MOV is a horror movie about horror movies . except not really . it 's a horror movie about what horror movies do for us , about why narratives of horror mean something to us .",
        "a remarkable and genuinely captivating original .",
        "it has so much else going on with it that even those not already predisposed to the horror genre will find it a blast as well .",
        "the filmmakers have a real love for the horror genre and its tropes and archetypes , and while much of what goes on here will have special resonance for fellow buffs , you do n't have to be a scholar of spooky movies to appreciate how the story 's being told .",
        "MOV is a fiendishly clever , constantly imaginative horror thriller that keeps springing new surprises on the audience right up until the end credits .",
        "if you like nutty energy , wacky ideas , crisp dialogue and scary , bloody , gory , grotesque and twisted movies - man , are you going to have a blast this weekend .",
        "for all of its many intellectual pleasures , and smart commentary , cabin in the woods is a visceral roller coaster of a movie at heart . and like the best thrill rides , when it 's over , you just want to get back on and go again .",
        "everything about `` MOV '' is a delicious practical joke ...",
        "MOV has some big laughs and lashings of gore ...",
        "may be the strangest , yet , oddly compelling movie you will ever see in your life .",
        "a pulpy , deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps .",
        "movies that mean to deconstruct movies seem to be made solely by and for cinema vampires , those ghost-faced geeks whose pallor is rarely challenged by exposure to the sun .",
        "the less you know about this movie going in , the more fun you 're going to have .",
        "cabin is a meta-horror-comedy mash-up that , at least for two-thirds of its running time , holds together smartly .",
        "the end result is an admittedly uneven piece of work that does seem as though it 'd benefit from repeat viewings ...",
        "the best movie of the year so far .",
        "MOV manages to throw the horror and comedy genres into a blender , and the result is a delicious product that 's ridiculously fun and warrants watching at least once .",
        "i do n't know that this movie exceeded my expectations , but it certainly matched them .",
        "MOV is crammed with so many twists and turns that the mere thought of reviewing it and ruining the fun for others is scary in and of itself .",
        "this is a movie that knows it is capitalizing on the clich\u00e9s and stupidity of its genre , but refuses to bow to the same simple-minded standards to achieve something more",
        "an original and audacious horror-comedy that oftentimes works better than it should .",
        "one hottie , one cutie , one stoner , one jock and one intellectual go to a remote cabin in the woods . if this sounds like a setup for a joke , well , it kind of is .",
        "taking its cue from michael haneke 's deeper , crueler funny games , MOV explores why we-sicko viewers-take pleasure in the suffering of others .",
        "a great one-off idea brilliantly executed .",
        "the best thing to do in relation to MOV is to avoid spoilers and go see it .",
        "i have n't enjoyed a film as much since the artist , and this is easily the most fun i 've ever had watching a slasher movie .",
        "it looks as if the film has an ambition to do for horror cinema what the book of revelations did for christianity .",
        "whedon slays again with a triple onslaught of horror , humor & sci-fi . forget about staying away from the cabin ; rather , stay away from all the spoilers . just go and see for yourself .",
        "a next-generation scream , a self-referential horror film that tongue-in-cheekily deconstructs its own genre .",
        "a fun puzzle movie .",
        "the film manages not only to present the genre with knowing winks and give it a few necessary nudges but also treats it with undeniable respect .",
        "` cabin in the woods ' is not just a great horror film , but also a thesis on why we need horror films and what role they serve in our diet .",
        "the strength of ` cabin ' comes in the playful nature of the screenplay . goddard and whedon play everything tongue and cheek in a completely meta atmosphere .",
        "whedon and goddard are n't just having a fun little go at tired horror movie conventions -- they 're trying to nuke the entire genre .",
        "what follows is what could be described as a clever and wildly fun deconstruction and reassembly of the standard hollywood horror flick .",
        "it 's a horror movie about horror movies ; it destroys horror movies , too .",
        "keep your brain working while you watch this movie .",
        "the first movie in a genre often known for its meathead simplicity , that 's nearly undone by the scale of its ambition .",
        "meta musings leave this reviewer cold",
        "a smart and fun horror film",
        "toes the line between parody and deconstruction , but it transcends its subject matter rather than just subverting or co-opting it .",
        "utterly novel and audacious , MOV completely rewrites the scary movie as we know it . intelligent , imaginative and too much fun , it redefines and sets a new standard for the horror movies that will come after it .",
        "highly recommended for fright fans interested in a more cerebral brand of bloodletting .",
        "what do you do when a genre has completely played itself out ? you reinvent it one last time and let all hell break loose .",
        "whedon and goddard -lrb- who penned horror film cloverfield and here directs his first feature -rrb- have clearly had enough of the old clich\u00e9s . but out of their dissatisfaction they have created a cool , crazy movie .",
        "you need n't be a fanboy to enjoy the moment when the ride really takes off and the spectacle flowers . a scary imagination will do just fine .",
        "a motion picture about the endurance of horror as a historical watermark , where it has been , and where it might be able to go from here , it 's no less than an all-encompassing celebration of a too often spit-upon genre .",
        "on paper , MOV is an exercise in knowing the drill , but goddard executes it with serious brio and wit .",
        "the most maniacal monster movie ever created .",
        "the idea is to set up a movie we 've seen a hundred times before , and then to rearrange it into something new and deliriously satisfying .",
        "if MOV were a meal , it would consist of 90 minutes of studying a well-written menu , and then ordering the cream pie , which arrives in your face . sweet , sweet release .",
        "an entire row of what they call `` fanboys '' at the screening i attended laughed all the way through the movie , although i failed to see anything remotely amusing .",
        "enjoyable , blackly comic horror with strong performances , a decent balance of gore and gags and a script that 's both witty and inventive ...",
        "the filmmakers are less interested in providing a slow buildup to their frights than in splattering the clich\u00e9s of the form in funny , spirited ways .",
        "let 's just say that if you trust in all things joss whedon -lrb- director of the recent avengers triumph -rrb- , the mere mention of his skilful and inventive co-scripting collaboration with talented drew goddard will be recommendation enough .",
        "an amazing , tidy little thriller that , like its escher-like movie poster , gleefully turns the horror genre upside down .",
        "in order to subvert any popular form , entertainment first has to work on its own terms . goddard and whedon are too busy geeking out to bother with those requirements .",
        "what i can definitely tell you , without giving away any of its secrets , is that cabin in the woods is going to be a pleasant surprise for just about everyone .",
        "like most of the scream movies , MOV provokes chills of dread even as it hilariously deconstructs the horror movie sub-genre by sub-genre .",
        "do yourself a favor and go see it . then , when talking about it with friends who have n't seen it ... shhhhhh .",
        "i 've always wondered how people in horror flicks make such terminally stupid decisions ... and where the old coot predicting doom gets his information . this movie answers , in a freaky-gory manner so far off-the-wall that it could be a coffee table .",
        "a terrifying horror film , a cackle-worthy satire and a thought-provoking dissection of the genre .",
        "the target audience is clearly horror geeks with a clear knowledge of the genre and its cliches . but if you are one of those people , then you 'll probably not enjoy a movie more this year .",
        "certainly one of my favourite films of the year so far and a must-see for anyone wanting to be genuinely shocked by the places a walk in a dark , dark wood can take you .",
        "-lsb- whedon finds -rsb- an inventive way to subvert the genre with a re-twist of the dreaded knife of horror , and a very acute big brother eye .",
        "cabin is perfectly enjoyable without ever quite feeling like there 's anything at stake .",
        "i think you 'll find that your visit to the genre-bending MOV will prove to be one of the most unabashedly enjoyable trips in years . i hope you enjoy the ride .",
        "MOV will undoubtedly be one of the best horror-thrillers you 'll see all year , as well as one of the best films . it will also standout as an all-time horror classic .",
        "a deliciously dark horror-thriller that brims with twists , turns and sneaky secrets and manages to spin the horror genre on its head to really deliver some smart chills .",
        "this is n't just the funniest slasher movie i 've ever seen . it 's probably the slasher movie to end all others . there 's no point in making another . seriously , this film says everything there is to say about the genre .",
        "not since scream has a horror movie subverted the expectations that accompany the genre to such wicked effect as MOV .",
        "intelligent , witty and cine-literate in a charmingly self-referential way , MOV sets out to do something different and does it with bravado .",
        "detention , which will come out this year . . goes to the next level on meta movies . but cabin is n't trying to be meta ; it 's focused on genre . those are different types of satire so i can appreciate cabin taking genre further than ever .",
        "cabin in the wood has a lot of fun with the conventions of straight-ahead schlock .",
        "this may be the most creative american horror film in decades .",
        "MOV is the closest anyone 's ever likely to get to a lighthearted stoner version of michael haneke 's funny games .",
        "an absolute delight ; though i will not vouch for the delight apt to be received by those not well-versed in the genre it so playfully references and mocks .",
        "like a senior thesis about the modern horror genre masquerading as a movie",
        "quirky and fun but not as great as it thinks it is .",
        "clever enough stuff until the computer generated monsters run amok .",
        "... enough unemployed characters from whedon 's failed series dollhouse to staff every abercrombie & fitch in beverly hills .",
        "horror cinema subversiveness need not preclude actual horror , a fact that 's unfortunately lost on MOV .",
        "the finest horror comedy in years , MOV is a potent , hilarious apology for decades of generic horror fare .",
        "it 's pretty clear from MOV that co-writers joss whedon and drew goddard love horror movies almost as much as they are annoyed by them .",
        "the film deserves credit for trying something original and having the courage to follow through on its vision .",
        "`` MOV '' is a fantastic poke in the eye of our horror-movie expectations .",
        "funny , smart and blood-soaked use of an old horror trope . fans will spend much time freeze-framing the eventual video release to catch all the details .",
        "a genre-bending concoction of horror , action and comedy -- a big ball of evil dead , scream , matrix , the hunger games , scooby doo , zombieland , and a lot of season 4 of buffy .",
        "`` MOV '' gets at the story underneath the story , and the reason behind the clich\u00e9s .",
        "analyzing cabin in the woods after the fact is in some ways more satisfying than actually watching the movie itself .",
        "this movie has its tongue so firmly in its cheek , it 's poking through and making a really nasty hole .",
        "dare i suggest that -lsb- this film -rsb- is better at exploring questions about our voyeuristic culture ... than the hunger games ? yes , i think so .",
        "the less you know , the more you 'll enjoy it , and we 're not going to spoil it for you . that 's what the internet 's for .",
        "it sounds like the oldest horror story in the book but from the first scene of MOV it 's clear that the director , drew goddard , and his co-writer , joss whedon , are bent on turning the formula upside down .",
        "a genre film that offers a considerable amount of horror and a lot of fun , especially as the leading characters seem to be variations on the old scooby-doo team .",
        "a twisty puzzle , as promised by the rubic 's cube cabin on the film 's poster , this blood feast has gore galore to satiate your thirst .",
        "ranks among one of the most wryly self-aware works of american pop culture entertainment in years .",
        "really just another instalment in the live-action scooby-doo franchise",
        "horror films are supposed to be scary , but not very smart . MOV is both . it 's about as clever as you can imagine a film of this type being that is also this wicked and this brutal .",
        "set to emerge as the year 's best horror movie .",
        "clever enough to make you reconsider how you look at horror films . and a ton of fun , too ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is an astonishing meta-feat , capable of being funny , strange , and scary -- frequently all at the same time .",
    "id": "770785486"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_future",
    "reviews": [
        "july 's film-making is a taste i have yet fully to acquire , but she has a distinctive vision , a style , placed before you on a take-it-or-leave-it basis . i took it .",
        "july , who gave us the lovably odd me and you and everyone we know , has layered on so much self-conscious whimsy - monologues from the cat , dialogues with the moon and other dashes of magical realism - that the central drama struggles to be heard .",
        "this strange film reminds me of some stories by franz kafka , such as ` the trial . ' it is a story which makes no sense when viewed objectively , but hangs together well enough as a subjective experience .",
        "nobody but july could have made a film so defiantly insufferable .",
        "parece apenas interessado em lan\u00e7ar o meme dos `` lolcatz '' como g\u0119nero cinematogr\u00e1fico .",
        "miranda july takes the twee and cute thing way too far this time",
        "many viewers , especially her detractors , ca n't see the forest for the twee in july 's films . that 's certainly true of `` MOV '' - but burrow down past the creepy-cutesy touches , and you find a film that 's painfully real .",
        "you end up feeling sorry for the cat but not for sophie and jason , who seem unable to deal with life , love or , in fact , anything .",
        "july 's new film is n't as witty or touching as her debut but she still manages in her off-kilter way to say something original about her characters ' hopes and fears and illusions ... but viewers with an aversion for whimsy should probably steer well clear .",
        "it 's parodic sundance independent cinema - pure , aimless , triple-brewed whimsy .",
        "miranda july may be a bit too weird for her own good . on the other hand , it is a glorious weird .",
        "it 's easy to be distracted by the talking cat or the talking moon , but they are merely wallpaper over a yawning chasm of panic and disappointment .",
        "july 's second film , while not quite as perfectly realised as her debut , nimbly avoids the ` sophomore slump ' , providing the curious with another window into her highly idiosyncratic world .",
        "kooky indie experimental film that might have something intelligent to say about leading a weird life , but was such a tiresome watch that it turned me off .",
        "whimsy both conceals and sugars some rather bitter observations on change and mortality .",
        "as they contemplate the difference between a couple of months and five years , sophie and jason begin to think more substantively about time .",
        "a playfully self-aware dig at the emptiness of some modern lifestyles that will make you check your own .",
        "i 've seen MOV ... and it 's not bad at all .",
        "not a crowd-pleaser by any measure , but a mature , bold and recklessly inquisitive film , however unpleasant it is to consume in the moment .",
        "july 's romantic fantasy of stagnation and romantic drift has depths , but they 're hidden behind walls of kookiness ."
    ],
    "summary": "a dark and whimsical exploration of human existence that challenges viewers as much as it rewards them .",
    "id": "771225871"
  },
  {
    "movie": "swingers",
    "reviews": [
        "it 's not the most creative of plots , but it captures a generation and the down-on-your-luck-in-so-many-ways motif effectively : it 's like comfort food , with more heart than liman usually provides .",
        "what it lacks as a cutting character drama , it makes up for in easily quaffable lifestyle porn , though it 's up for debate whether one of those things is equal to the other .",
        "director-cinematographer doug liman gets points for breathing a bit of life into an already tired indie sub genre .",
        "four guys hang out , kid one another , get into scuffles and flash their gonadal searchlight for available women . yikes , have n't there been enough variations on the multiple-buddy movie ? actually , no .",
        "a winningly confident snapshot of the nightlives of a bunch of young showbiz wannabes in a very upto-the-minute hollywood .",
        "one of the sharpest male-oriented comedies of the 1990s .",
        "liman and favreau concoct a consciously derivative world for these guys , and though it 's appropriate to the movie , i got tired of it after a while .",
        "the arc is nothing new , but the writing and pacing make it fresh and energetic , at least enough for it to have became a cult classic .",
        "ninety minutes spent learning how not to pick up girls . this is what the movies were made for , is n't it ?",
        "directed in flair by doug liman , with winning performances from jon favreau and vince vaughn , this comedy is the most successful since diner of what could be described as a cycle of `` walking and talking '' and `` hanging out '' pictures .",
        "-lsb- an -rsb- insubstantial but satisfying project that 's a good movie for 20-somethings and everyone else who wants to get a smile out of someone else 's relationship angst for a change .",
        "a guy film that gives you something to latch onto , that makes male bonding both believable and appealing .",
        "the film is so well paced that it 's an honest to goodness multiple viewer . in fact , it had more appeal to me on a second viewing , mainly because i missed some sneaky stuff the first time around .",
        "fresh , zesty , if unfortunately titled , MOV rocks .",
        "the ultrahip settings and characters are a great backdrop for an angst-y comic relationship movie . this one deserves a second viewing .",
        "captures the yearnings and motives - both romantic and pathetic - of guys in their 20s like no film since diner .",
        "promises more than it delivers .",
        "screenwriter favreau strengthens the characters and the reality of the situations by making wonderful use of language and male jargon .",
        "actor-screenwriter favreau and director liman demonstrate with MOV that they 're definitely ` money . '",
        "this kind of story -- a staple of low-budget features -- is getting awfully stale , and the injection of humor ca n't completely invigorate the proceedings .",
        "the acting is fantastic from everyone , epsecially favreau and vaughn : favreau shows great comic flair as the neurotic , down-on-his-self-esteem guy ; and vaughn is just , well , `` money '' -lrb- word for cool in their clique -rrb- .",
        "the movie is sweet , funny , observant and goofy with a small `` g , '' which means you do n't get paid , but at least you do n't have to wear the suit .",
        "inventive , smart and very funny .",
        "one of those very rare movies where you really come out a changed , happier person -- at least for awhile . hey , maybe i 'm money , and i do n't even know it !",
        "a swinging good time ! vaughn is a revelation",
        "mr. favreau wrote this screenplay with his real friends in mind . and the cast 's camaraderie is appealingly clear .",
        "rarely has the american male been portrayed more accurately ... or with funnier results .",
        "the first and best outing from favreau and vaughan . trendy , but hilarious . vegas , baby - vegas !",
        "this movie is definitely `` money , '' baby !",
        "this exercise in indie hipster cool is ` money ' -- and that 's no joke , baby .",
        "shows that honesty and humanity are n't incompatible with comedy in modern hollywood .",
        "blessed with a brilliantly quotable screenplay , one of the most electric and insightful ever written .",
        "like a les brown tune , a really dry martini and a hug from a good buddy , MOV makes you feel warm all over , baby .",
        "it 's no masterpiece , but it 's real .",
        "MOV is uneven , amateurish and borderline misogynistic . but it 's also very funny , and it never loses its cool .",
        "not only are its characters more realistic and sympathetic than quentin tarantino 's , but MOV is much more good-natured and even likable than anything he has ever done .",
        "favreau 's script and doug liman 's direction are what makes this little tale come alive .",
        "it has an energetic , snappy script , punctuated by countless great lines , a strong ensemble cast , while doug liman 's direction is fresh and alive .",
        "MOV has a few good laughs here and there , but never achieves anything poignant .",
        "an independent film shot for around $ 250,000 that lacks a cutting-edge , something indie films should not leave home without .",
        "jon favreau has created what amounts to a comedy with a national geographic twist , a charming , almost documentary account of the habits of the north american human male in the wild .",
        "not particularly insightful regarding male pattern loneliness ... but it is damn funny to a guy whose been there ."
    ],
    "summary": "funny , heartfelt , and effortlessly cool , MOV made stars out of vince vaughn and jon favreau , established doug liman as a director to watch .",
    "id": "14550"
  },
  {
    "movie": "star_trek_iii_the_search_for_spock",
    "reviews": [
        "... a somber , mournful installment of the star trek franchise . and when the defining trait of your series is dullness , this is n't exactly the best strategy .",
        "an emotionally satisfying science fiction adventure .",
        "not bad , but the series would boldly go to better places .",
        "christopher lloyd !",
        "almost certainly the best of the `` bad '' star trek films ... and for the first 30 or 40 minutes , it 's not really even bad , to speak of .",
        "not many trekkies would list the search for spock as their first viewing choice , but it rarely lets you down .",
        "these are classic directorial occasions , and nimoy rises to them with fervor , in effect beaming his film up onto a higher pictorial plane than either of its predecessors .",
        "stirring but sad science-fiction enterprise .",
        "this 1984 film 's few and unimpressive special effects evidently qualify it as science fiction , but the genre it really belongs to is the male weepie : there has n't been a gooier buddy romance on the screen since joe buck took ratso rizzo to miami .",
        "it 's reasonably entertaining fare for non-fans .",
        "something of a let-down , a longwinded paean to the grandeur of leonard nimoy 's famous vulcan character , which should n't come as much surprise since nimoy himself directed it .",
        "directed by leonard nimoy , this episode could best be described as functional , in that the situation is interesting enough for a routine episode of the tv show .",
        "nimoy 's first turn at the director 's helm makes for reliable viewing , though no one will ever mistake it for one of the best .",
        "the enterprise crew blasts us with existential phaser hits , but this third series entry betrays its western roots so badly the spurs are showing . glorious - if derivative - fun .",
        "the best odd-numbered trek movie .",
        "all the old enterprise personnel carry the film , as it is more concerned with character re-animation than development .",
        "familiarity breeds contempt since this is not really a notable entry in the star trek series .",
        "` star trek iii ' takes nearly forty minutes , much of which is filled with silly , mystical exposition about the current state of spock 's soul , before things start moving . the last twenty minutes are equally slow , but the stuff in between is quite enjoyable .",
        "it has the physique and will of a bold adventurer , but it 's afflicted with acute brain-stem damage . mixed in among some of trekdom 's best moments are some of the canon 's sloppiest choices ...",
        "one of the best of the series .",
        "decent sfx , but a little more action would n't have gone amiss .",
        "may be the unappreciated middle child of the trek franchise , but it 's still one of better and more indispensable episodes .",
        "contrived but involving .",
        "this is a good but not great star trek movie , a sort of compromise between the first two .",
        "the humanity of the star trek series , unexpected as it is in a sci-fi setting , remains the series ' best feature .",
        "offers a thiought-provoking treatment of the mind-body problem .",
        "cheesy but cool , especially when spock gets his space burial by being ejected into space in a giant sunglasses case .",
        "if wrath of khan is the ` action ' entry and voyage home is the ` comedy ' installment , then search for spock is the ` drama ' - and it 's a damn good entry overall ."
    ],
    "summary": "though it may be short on dazzling special effects , the search for spock is still a strong star trek installment , thanks to affecting performances by its iconic cast .",
    "id": "12642"
  },
  {
    "movie": "princess_diaries",
    "reviews": [
        "one can not dismiss a movie in which andrews , that rare woman in the hollywood garden of girls , reminds us that bell-like enunciation , unfailing politeness and proud posture are markers of self-respect accessible to all , whether commoners or royalty .",
        "the flaws in the MOV ' dated story line are numerous and irritating , its message about physical beauty is frustrating , and you might want to think twice before taking any curly-haired , eyeglass-wearing child to see it .",
        "the story it tells is distressingly out of date , especially in its antique notions of what constitutes `` success '' for girls .",
        "it 's not grand cinema , but it is an enjoyable confection that will give some families an excuse to spend some time together .",
        "the film is broad , cute , and calculated at every turn .",
        "not as sophisticated as pretty woman , but much more interesting than bride .",
        "the perfect film to take one 's daughter to .",
        "the film 's san francisco locale looks great , and the movie has random moments of sparkle . but it reeks of familiarity .",
        "the film is fun , though it 's easy to imagine a fresher , lighter version without marshall 's heavy showbiz hand .",
        "a sloppy and convoluted film .",
        "one of the most delightful and touching comedies to grace the big-screen in years that features no swearing , no sex , no violence , no drugs -- and no dull moments .",
        "a non-animated g-rated movie is a rarity these days but the rating here reflects the fact that all the guts , all the good stuff , has been exorcised from the finished product .",
        "its very unhipness is part of its charm",
        "a modest , enjoyable fairy tale that easily outcharms its animated stablemates of the past decade .",
        "if your child 's insecure about her appearance , do n't take her-it 'll teach her that she 's not valuable unless groomed,beautiful,self-sacrificing , & well mannered .",
        "`` above all , the MOV has heart . that 's rare to find nowadays ''",
        "the princess may need a therapist not a diary when everyone is finished with her .",
        "as slick , professional and bland as anything else garry marshall has directed in recent years , including 1999 's runaway bride and the other sister . he does n't do edgy .",
        "it is a charming bit of fluff , aimed at younger audiences , but there is not much cleverness to it and it is sloppily constructed .",
        "does raise a lot of decent if familiar themes , exploring teen self-awareness , self-consciousness , friendship , ego and the like .",
        "a charming story that transcends gender and age entertaining with sprightly ease .",
        "slugs through its almost two hour running time .",
        "i 'm sick of these movies .",
        "those in the market for what it has to offer will find it pleasantly agreeable , and those who are n't wo n't be in the theater in the first place .",
        "the film is so carelessly made that every surprise in the story is given away very early on -- we know from the beginning exactly what will happen , and scenes are so badly staged that any comic or dramatic potential is lost .",
        "a very watchable , very warm little disney comedy .",
        "as far out of the intended demographic as i am , i have to admit there were certain pleasures to the movie .",
        "`` the MOV '' requires a lot of suspension of disbelief , and if an audience is n't willing to go there , then the film simply does n't work .",
        "despite two decent performances from anne hathaway and julie andrews , this harmless , recyclable comedy by garry marshall ca n't help but deliver the same old thing , in the same old way , with little spark and even less believability .",
        "most of the plotting and situations are trite .",
        "those in the target audience will love it .",
        "the most surprising thing about this movie is just how little humor or heart it has .",
        "97 percent of the movie is ham-handed and by-the-numbers .",
        "surprisingly little time is spent mining the comic potential of mia 's education , with the comedy rationed in favour of a tiresome amount of attention lavished on her ongoing school problems .",
        "the movie is one to savor for its good humor and big heart , despite some hackneyed fairy-tale notions .",
        "a surprisingly sophisticated comedy .",
        "pretty and pretty amusing but wholly fake .",
        "gina wendkos ' script , based on meg cabot 's novel , leaves much to be desired .",
        "occasionally funny but more often hackneyed , schmaltzy , predictable and overdone .",
        "uninspired and forgettable .",
        "it works great for its target audience -- young girls -- but it will struggle to find its way with anyone else .",
        "this cinderella fantasy transforms a geek into a princess , and teaches a few life lessons along the way .",
        "the unexpected rewards of director garry marshall 's -lrb- `` beaches '' -rrb- latest spin on the well-worn pygmalion fairy tale are numerous .",
        "terrific fun for girls and their families , too .",
        "this fairy tale , which feels as if it were made in the 1960s , deatures a star-making performance from the child-actress anne hathaway",
        "notions of responsibility , surrogacy , rites of passage and the value of friendship are gone through , but the highlighting of modern tropes merely serves to emphasise the film 's conventionality .",
        "a light , uneven pygmalion story that may win young girls over with its wish fulfilment theme and teen movie staples , but does not live up to the expectations created by the cast and director .",
        "marshall milks the san francisco scenery for all it 's worth , but is all thumbs when it comes to squeezing the full comic possibilities of the story ...",
        "that this failed is largely down to the stilted , clich\u00e9d dialogue of the screenplay ; fans of the wittier novel by meg cabot may well be disappointed .",
        "it has a premise fraught with potential , but that potential goes largely unfulfilled due to a curious timidity by the filmmakers .",
        "it would probably best be reserved for a gals ' matinee out ... it 's like ` cinderella ' in modern dress .",
        "screenwriter gina wendkos , working from meg cabot 's novel , resorts to monotonous movie clich\u00e9s : almost uniformly cruel classmates and a callous , cacophonous mob of media jackals .",
        "a great chick flick that is fun for the whole family !",
        "the MOV can be quickly summed up as a series of bland vignettes about a 15 year-old girl 's makeover as if directed by an 80 year old man .",
        "amounts to a -lsb- pretty woman -rsb- sequel with a gangly teenager replacing the hooker with a heart of gold .",
        "it 's easy to suspend , or at least relax , critical capacties in the name of good , wholesome fun .",
        "a refreshingly -- but not aggressively -- reformist fairy tale that does n't talk down to its audience .",
        "there is n't anything distinctive to make it particularly memorable .",
        "bumpy but endearing .",
        "it 's just too bad that the filmmakers did n't pay more attention to delivering a well-made and at least somewhat original film that everyone could simultaneously enjoy and appreciate from a crowd-pleasing and artistic standpoint .",
        "a sweet movie from a sweet director .",
        "all young girls are princesses inside , although many do n't know it and some never will . the more movies that let us in on this wonderful secret , the better .",
        "only anne hathaway 's charisma and a cute script save this movie from becoming completely painful .",
        "entertaining , light-hearted , and maybe even a little wise .",
        "this old-time story works one more time due to newcomer hathaway .",
        "squeaky clean and rather sweet .",
        "hardly a cross-dressing update of my fair lady . but in its own blanded-down fashion , it captures just enough of that show 's metamorphic zest to make you wish it were .",
        "`` the MOV '' just gives a high gloss sheen to a perfectly average piece of disney live action entertainment .",
        "you can take your 5-year-old and her great-grandmother , and they 'll both enjoy the picture just as much as you do .",
        "the MOV is a sweet and absurd little fairy tale that should play better to its demographic than marshall 's reprehensible pretty woman .",
        "maybe if there was more of mia and clarisse knocking about frisco together and less of mia and her continual high-school tribulations , the MOV as a whole would feel just as special .",
        "the g-rated MOV could be a television pilot , but it ca n't hope to compete .",
        "aspires to be nothing more than a light time out for girls who still believe they can marry a backstreet boy . and it works as such . for all others -lrb- i.e. , guys -rrb- , it 's nothing to write home about .",
        "the movie seems to equate her life-changing decision with the choice to be confident in her newfound cuteness . yuck .",
        "it would all be agreeable enough if marshall did n't drag things out , making what should be a 90-minute disney movie into a two-hour affair that keeps getting sidetracked with needless subplots .",
        "too cute and too messy at the same time .",
        "gets the duckling - to-swan ambivalence just right .",
        "pack the girls into the minivan and rest assured that you and your offspring will leave the theater with a rosy , cheery glow .",
        "is breathtaking in its mediocrity and wrong-headedness .",
        "a delightful , amusing fairy tale that it leaves you wanting more .",
        "after a rocky start , the film gradually develops its own goofy charm .",
        "so aggressively bland and inoffensive that it practically recedes from the screen .",
        "the MOV is a march through the swamp of recycled ugly duckling stories , with occasional pauses in the marsh of sitcom cliches and the bog of idiot plots .",
        "even if the parents in the audience roll their eyes at this movie 's flimsy plot , clumsy dialogue and unbelievable characters , young girls will no doubt fall for the fantasy .",
        "the MOV is directed by garry marshall , which should make any thinking gal run screaming from the multiplex .",
        "an ideal family film .",
        "a half-hearted attempt by director garry marshall to rip off pygmalion , as well as replicate his smash 1990 hit pretty woman .",
        "modest at best .",
        "has disney wholesomeness stamped all over it .",
        "a likable throwback to an old tradition of pictures from the disney studio .",
        "gina wendkos ' screenplay dutifully installs roadblocks in mia 's path , but her future as princess is never in doubt ; it 's in her training where the comedy should lie , but virtually never does .",
        "a film that will drive you nuts because the momentum of happiness is soured too much by idiot plots , bad writing and too much wasted time on supporting actors in feeble subplots .",
        "fitfully amusing comedy .",
        "this is a great big luscious lollypop of a movie , terrific fun for girls of any age and for their families , too .",
        "it 's solid target-audience entertainment , but it 's also all-too-sappy filmmaking .",
        "andrews ' performance is the spoon full of sugar that helps this medicine go down .",
        "to be effective , many movies require the viewer to engage in a willing suspension of disbelief . for the MOV to work , the viewer will have to engage in a willing suspension of higher brain activity .",
        "this innocuous , frothy fairy tale is n't so off-putting as you might imagine , thanks in large part to andrews ' ageless charm .",
        "a welcome rarity .",
        "the MOV is n't always perfect . but it fills an empty spot in the hearts of girls of all ages who have been pining all summer for a movie like this .",
        "gooey , glossy and girly , it 's also a sweet and charming cinderella story .",
        "it 's noteworthy that the family-friendly disney film the MOV manages to wring some originality out of its fairy-tale plot .",
        "the classy julie andrews almost saves this picture from mediocrity .",
        "el diario de la princesa es el regreso de estos estudios a las comedias blancas e inocentes .",
        "the film was directed by garry marshall , who turned `` pretty woman '' into a fairy tale for big girls 11 years ago . in many ways , `` diaries '' is the g-rated remake ...",
        "despite the hackneyed quality of the pretext , nice performances save this film from itself .",
        "it 's a cozy message for young girls , even if it 's couched in a predictable plot that is pure disney .",
        "these diaries have too many dull pages and not enough juicy bits to keep you interested .",
        "... does n't hold much appeal for those outside its target audience .",
        "garry marshall directs with the same fairy tale charm he gave `` pretty woman , '' but without the disturbing prostitution angle .",
        "it 's another movie where teenage girls look like a bunch of unfeeling idiots or worse .",
        "it 's an absolute credit to the cast that the MOV has charm at all .",
        "what starts as a feel-good movie quickly degenerates into a feel-bored movie , not least because at two hours it 's at least thirty minutes too long ."
    ],
    "summary": "a charming , if familiar , makeover movie for young teenage girls .",
    "id": "9627"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tin_cup",
    "reviews": [
        "a formula sports comedy with a lot of non-formula human comedy .",
        "the golfing equivalent of bull durham -- and just as enjoyable .",
        "this film 's overriding message is as pleasing as its flippant , skillful banter .",
        "as sports movies go -lrb- regardless of the sport -rrb- , this one turns in a respectable showing , injecting some intelligence and maturity into a story that easily could have succumbed to a flood of ` struggling underdog ' cliches .",
        "one of the best films of 1996 with its message that in love and in sports , playing it safe ca n't hold a candle to taking risks and acting from the heart .",
        "if you are a golfer , you 'll have a better time out on the links .",
        "MOV , starring kevin costner as a likable loser , accomplishes the impossible , maybe the unimaginable -- it makes golf entertaining .",
        "kevin costner 's golfing romance has ok swing but bad form .",
        "this is a marginally enjoyable film . it could have been a lot better with more effort .",
        "predictable and lame .",
        "like other shelton movies , it 's dappled with interesting characters .",
        "all the golf action and happy `` feel-good '' emotions that audiences expect -lrb- and want -rrb- but ... without following the traditional sports movie conventions .",
        "dispiritingly conventional and obvious .",
        "nobody in hollywood knows more about sports and is less sentimental about them than shelton .",
        "you can almost feel writer-director ron shelton praying for lightning to strike twice , but to no avail .",
        "MOV works for viewers of any handicap .",
        "as he always does in comedy , costner grants an irresistible gleam of gallantry to male mulishness .",
        "the dialogue and characters are convincing and intelligently developed . russo wears vulnerability and neediness like a second skin , while costner plays the tragic hero with considerable charm .",
        "what makes MOV such an unabashed pleasure is shelton 's care in writing and developing interesting characters .",
        "costner has n't been this charming and spontaneous for years .",
        "amiable and constantly amusing rather than uproarious , this mangy tale of a ne'er - do-well 's fitful assault on personal and professional respectability benefits greatly from kevin costner 's ingratiatingly comic star turn .",
        "the climactic game , in which roy , in a way that defies prediction , attempts to sink the shot of his life , is the most rousing sequence of the year , a celebration of what it really means to win .",
        "lose about 30 minutes and there may be a stronger film in there .",
        "shelton resurrects the likable costner of `` bull durham '' in this genial golf comedy .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- sweet comedy .",
        "give him a fleshed-out character whose sense of humor is as strong as his code of ethics , and costner relaxes and never puts a foot wrong .",
        "how could you not love the guy ?",
        "while the new movie is generally pleasant , it 's also creaky : you know exactly where it 's going and it takes too long to get there .",
        "you 're about to get bonked on the head with a has-been story , mediocre acting , and some squirmingly painful dialogue .",
        "unfortunately , much of the movie 's plot hinges on our belief that costner is hopelessly , head-over-heels in love with russo -- and they just do n't have any chemistry together .",
        "this is a pleasant enough throwaway film you will not remember in the fall .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- quirkily easygoing comedy .",
        "breaking down the golf trajectories into separate shots during the sports climax comes across as an expedient form of cheating -- the very opposite of authenticity .",
        "ron shelton appears to understand two things better than any other contemporary film-maker : sports , and kevin costner ."
    ],
    "summary": "breezy and predictable , MOV is a likeable sports comedy that benefits greatly from kevin costner 's amiable lead performance .",
    "id": "13203"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1015052-night_of_the_living_dead",
    "reviews": [
        "landmark horror film somewhat blunted by bad acting .",
        "reinvented the american horror film",
        "there is a resounding lack of sentimentality that cuts through the death and chaos , as a desperate bunch of people fight to stay alive .",
        "shocks come from the way in which romero repeatedly presents a clich\u00e9d situations in which we think we know what 's going on , only for romero to pull out the rug from underneath , thereby producing a greater shock .",
        "it 's the funniest but most real-looking horror film ever made .",
        "gets under your skin and burrows into your blood and psyche .",
        "maybe the best movie ever made in pittsburgh .",
        "the latest `` ultimate edition '' features a digitally colourised version as well as an audio commentary by mike nelson .",
        "chuckle , if you can , during the first few minutes ; because after that laughter catches in the throat as the clammy hand of terror tightens its grip .",
        "this is horror at its most probing , subversive and socially aware , with a truly harrowing ending that reveals the dangers of misdirected fear and prejudice .",
        "i felt real terror in that neighborhood theater last saturday afternoon . i saw kids who had no resources they could draw upon to protect themselves from the dread and fear they felt .",
        "over its short , furious course , the picture violates so many strong taboos -- cannibalism , incest , necrophilia -- that it leaves audiences giddy and hysterical .",
        "a tightly-edited , claustrophobically-framed horror film that retains , along with its relevance , its ability to startle and appall .",
        "the grandaddy of them all . created a whole new genre '",
        "a doozie .",
        "one of the best films ever made , and possibly the most influential horror movie of all time .",
        "oft-copied zombie classic is still intense and gory .",
        "the racial subtext spoke volumes in 1968 . once the zombies start knocking , only a fool would cling to segregation .",
        "carve -lsb- s -rsb- open the guts of american culture , using violence and even the horror genre itself as a tool rather than an end .",
        "if -lsb- romero 's -rsb- original vision of the undead looks dulled by today 's standards , his embedded political commentary on racism feels just as sharp .",
        "director george a romero redefined the meaning of horror for fear-sated audiences in the 1960s with this seminal classic .",
        "subjects us to the kind of unrelenting nightmare we only wish we could wake up from .",
        "it 's pitch perfect in writing , mood , and scares , and still holds up to scrutiny , no matter how harsh .",
        "it 's a virulent portrait of an america in flux and decay , from the flag billowing near the graveyard at the start to its disturbing depiction of a lynch-mob mentality . but night also transcends its period through sheer intensity .",
        "the original and the best .",
        "`` MOV '' became a seminal film without being a particularly good one . it nudged horror movies away from creepy-but-family-friendly into adult films featuring gruesome violence and nihilistic overtones .",
        "i ca n't underrate its intangible ability to bypass my rationale and lunge straight at my subconscious . when it 's really cooking , it 's the scariest film i 've ever seen .",
        "this disc is done right !",
        "although pic 's basic premise is repellent -- recently dead bodies are resurrected and begin killing human beings in order to eat their flesh -- it is in execution that the film distastefully excels .",
        "george romero set a new standard for horror with this low-budget opus .",
        "romero saw the enemy , and they are the zombie masses among us . there is nowhere safe to hide .",
        "one of the most nightmarish films ever made , and one that 's still hard to laugh off today .",
        "there 's a brute force in MOV that catches one in the throat .",
        "seldom have so many pundit parses and public praises owed so much to so little as in the case of the career-launching ` MOV . '",
        "this little seat-of-the-pants regional production chewed up and spit out taboos like raw meat in a feral feeding frenzy .",
        "arguably the greatest horror film ever made - and one of the greatest in any genre - ` night ' is also the ultimate b-movie .",
        "sorry , but it really is n't that scary in this day and age .",
        "MOV happens to rank squarely with the greatest films ever made , period .",
        "a quarter of a century old and it is still absolutely terrifying .",
        "george romero 's remarkably assured debut , made on a shoestring , about a group of people barricaded inside a farmhouse while an army of flesh-eating zombies roams the countryside , deflates all genre clich\u00e9s .",
        "the dialogue and background music sound hollow , as if they had been recorded in an empty swimming pool , and the wobbly camera seems to have a fetishist 's interest in hands .",
        "this film managed to successfully mesh the concepts of flesh-eating zombies , isolation , and global panic realized on a claustrophobic and intimate scale .",
        "a spare , disturbing classic .",
        "it 's the anticipation of horrible scenarios that makes the film work so well .",
        "ainda hoje permanece como um dos melhores do g\u0119nero ."
    ],
    "summary": "george a. romero 's debut set the template for the zombie film , and features tight editing , realistic gore , and a sly political undercurrent .",
    "id": "50375489"
  },
  {
    "movie": "brooklyn_castle_2012",
    "reviews": [
        "overlong . it wanders . it needs trimming . but the director never goes far wrong when she just hangs with the kids , focusing on their focus , capturing their disappointment at losses and the thrill of each victory on the chessboard .",
        "set against a backdrop of deep budget cuts and high-stakes testing , this story makes an eloquent plea for the crucial but endangered role of afterschool programs in public education .",
        "there is much of what you expect -- gifted kids , dedicated teacher , tense anticipation , thrilling victories . the characters are endearing and their stories are stirring .",
        "a truly wonderful , uplifting film - because it 's an emotional experience that 's driven by appreciating and celebrating what these young kids can do .",
        "among the team 's racially diverse roster , four leaders emerge ; sticking doggedly to the competition-doc template , dellamaggiore traces their parallel paths to the finals .",
        "it 's clear that chess is n't just a game ; for these students , it can also open doors .",
        "every player knows the finality when the other player sadly turns over his king , signaling surrender . we know it even better when we do it ourselves .",
        "it 's a heartwarming look at the exact reason why we need to fund after-school programs and give more attention to the arts .",
        "great story , well-made , what 's not to like ?",
        "as the film offers glimpses of the kids ' inner lives and external experiences , it helps you see how expansive both can be .",
        "beyond telling the touching stories of these unlikely champions , MOV serves to raise a battle cry for funding for after-school programs .",
        "it 's a wonderful documentary look at an astonishingly successful public-school chess program that manages to be more moving and heartening than you expect . which is saying a lot .",
        "the film 's structure is routine , but the film does n't sidestep its more serious issues , while its charming subjects make it a winner both on and off the chessboard .",
        "i might have preferred less of the focus on winning and losing and more on the cause , which i find strange coming from me , since i rarely am crazy about issue docs .",
        "if the film occasionally bumps up against the limitations of its spellbound-like template , its refusal to ignore the social issues outside of the classroom proves it 's more than simply a novelty human-interest story with impressive knight moves .",
        "we ... gain a keen sense of how chess in particular helps otherwise academically challenged kids find a way into their own brains .",
        "it would be easy for this film to be a very obvious , very shallow story in which the moral is that even kids from the worst possible circumstances can succeed . that 's not what it 's about .",
        "there 's an irresistible cinematic appeal to watching kids dedicate themselves to fundamentally non-kid-like practices like competitive ballroom dancing or studying etymology to ease their way in spelling bees .",
        "... a powerful and positive story about dedicated teachers helping kids succeed no matter what their circumstances",
        "like chess , not exactly a high-energy experience but seeing what these kids accomplish , seemingly against all odds is breathtaking all the same .",
        "... provides a corrective to the popular image of american schools as obsessed with sports and popularity , and it makes the strongest possible case for funding after-school activities .",
        "chess , brilliant young students and great teachers potent mix .",
        "MOV does a superb job of celebrating the triumph while reinforcing the relentless vigilance it requires from everyone involved .",
        "with MOV it 's really nice to see so many young , positive minds at play in the world , and to cheer on so many smiling children dreaming of enlightened futures .",
        "MOV is inspiring stuff that grabs you by the throat and will leave you cheering - quietly of course . no shouting in a chess match .",
        "there 's a general spirit of triumph and perseverance to `` MOV '' that 's inevitably uplifting .",
        "`` MOV '' easily checkmates your inner cynic .",
        "katie dellamaggiore 's lively and affecting documentary introduces us to a cast of characters that 's very winning -lrb- in both senses of the word -rrb- .",
        "the admirable MOV transcends its formula to become an optimistic look at extracurricular education and young people .",
        "an irresistibly uplifting doc .",
        "enlightening , inspiring and expertly crafted .",
        "MOV provides a snapshot of indomitable american can-do attitude , and gives one hope .",
        "we meet five of the team 's members and several of their teachers ; by its end , you 'll be rooting for them all .",
        "`` MOV is a compelling , engaging and inspiring documentary , featuring junior high kids that you can relate to . even if you do n't know the game of chess all too well , it wo n't stop you from enjoying this pleasant film . ''",
        "it 's not to sir , with love : it 's fierce ambition , the channeling of emotion , and hours of drilling .",
        "the i.s. 318 team ? a delightfully motley , vulnerable , multicultural bunch , whose addiction to chess has allowed them higher aspirations for top high schools and , eventually , college and careers . you will root for them like crazy .",
        "socioeconomic concerns bring depth to doc about pre-teen chess whizzes .",
        "as inspirational academic stories go , it does n't get much better than this .",
        "`` MOV '' is an engaging tale , and the principal is wrong : these kids are much more lovable than the yankees .",
        "heartwarming and educational .",
        "it pays to consider even the small details of society 's greatest investment in the future : our future generations .",
        "it 's deeply satisfying watching these public school , hard-knock kids win , and ms. dellamaggiore knows it .",
        "... a smart and emotionally satisfying documentary that also manages to show that not every american public school is a graffiti-strewn money pit .",
        "the message is that chess can motivate working-class kids to become better students , and though that 's nice to know , the movie does n't illustrate this theme in much depth .",
        "a great subject goes a long way in this standard but effective entry in the amazing-kids documentary category .",
        "this engaging , entertaining film might just spur you to become involved in some way in making sure that important and productive public school programs survive the recession and further budget cuts .",
        "what may well be the most optimistic , inspiring and downright thrilling movie released all year ...",
        "i do n't know diddly about chess , and i still loved it .",
        "castle is suspenseful , funny and , particularly in its depiction of the challenging home lives of some of the kids , moving ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a warm , engaging , and even uplifting documentary about chess-playing whiz kids .",
    "id": "771271065"
  },
  {
    "movie": "in_bruges",
    "reviews": [
        "... quirky , engrossing and often mordantly funny ...",
        "if monty python made a black , shoot - 'em - up satire , this is what it would look and sound like .",
        "MOV may , at its core , be just another tarantino-esque shoot - 'em - up with jokes , but it 's been a long time since someone 's gotten one right .",
        "a brilliant black comedy that successfully moves from character-driven shenanigans to suspenseful thriller .",
        "as with all road movies , it all comes down to chemistry , and almost every character in MOV convincingly connects , selling the story 's absurd twists and turns .",
        "does n't need to be too hip or too cool to be damn good .",
        "this dark comedy shifts effortlessly between silly and sobering , and it finally gives colin farrell the chance to be as funny as we 've long suspected he could be .",
        "as the ` ironic ' contrast between historic flemish beauty and modern vulgarity and violence increases , the movie becomes overdetermined in its twist-of-fate plotting and over-reliant on thuggish humor ...",
        "mcdonagh shines more as a writer than director but he displays a fresh , darkly comic take on life that 's quite welcome .",
        "offbeat and off-putting , unless you 're really heavily into `` guilt and sins and hell and all that . ''",
        "a jolly satiric romp with very astute talents in all departments , including the travel agent .",
        "even when the film goes off the rails , however , it 's still a fun ride .",
        "after losing his way in things like alexander , ask the dust and miami vice , farrell has never been better .",
        "sharply uneven , MOV is a film of some charming scenes and witty moments , demonstrating helmer 's love for language but suffers from rough and frequent tonal changes .",
        "a shaggy , not-all-that-good-but-good-enough gangster comedy ... violent , intermittently amusing and very 1992 .",
        "the breeziness and eventual dramatic weight of the story , along with the hilarious , snappy dialogue , help the film rise above its basic ordinariness .",
        "good chemistry between gleeson and farrell , lots of wisecracks , laughs and blood .",
        "hard to beat a good crime story lightened up with honest laughter and existential angst .",
        "just when you think you 've seen every possible variation on the hit-man genre , irish playwright martin mcdonagh in his feature debut has fashioned an audacious combination of old world grace and modern ultraviolence .",
        "this half-comic , half-serious account of two irish hitmen who are sent to the titular belgian burg to cool their heels after a job is moderately fair as a nutty character study , but overly far-fetched once the action kicks in .",
        "maybe it 's just that the cycle of hitman film escapades is played out for the time being , but MOV might have been better off using a silencer .",
        "for all his movie 's tough talk , it 's a sometimes slipshod construction .",
        "playwright martin mcdonagh 's debut feature of his own script shows still-tentative cinematic skills , yet his flair for dialogue and inanity delivers the laughs as the bodies hit the cobblestones .",
        "MOV is funny and flashy , but as it ends you know you 've been laughing because it truly hurts , and every flare and flash of the talking and the killing have left something much more subtle burned into your brain .",
        "it plays really engagingly , with the leads doing a wonderful mutt and jeff act and the camera lingering lovingly over scenery that looks awfully pretty in the moments before it gets spattered with blood .",
        "this is funny and touching ; subtle whilst incredulous , any which way -- it 's clever , endearing and lots of fun .",
        "an intriguing mix of situational humor and existential dread , a balancing act of light and dark , memorably executed .",
        "one of the most original films in years .",
        "mcdonagh 's trademark is dark humor , the ability to humanize inhuman situations , and plot twists you do n't see coming . expect all of these here , along with gorgeous cinematography by eigil bryld .",
        "the first film to earn a place on my 2008 10-best list , MOV is a laughing skull of a movie .",
        "it 's got wacky hit men and wackier situations . and it 's intentionally funny . but there 's this unabashed sadness running all the way through it .",
        "if MOV does n't end up being the funniest and most quotable movies of the year , then it should be very close .",
        "the humour is offbeat and frequently very un-pc , the entire cast play off each other beautifully and this is all round a refreshingly original film .",
        "not a comedy for everyone , but definitely a comedy for some , especially those who enjoy dark , un-politically correct comedy and who do n't mind a bit of blood and violence amongst the laughs .",
        "an entertaining blend of dark comedy , gruesome suspense and tender emotion",
        "the dialogue is front and center , in spite of the picturesque setting and all the goings-on , and it 's the best thing about the film .",
        "everything comes together in a climax that acts like one in a standard crime thriller but means a bit more .",
        "the sight of a coked-up colin farrell karate-chopping a racist dwarf in the neck alone is worth the price of admission",
        "i thought it was fantastic .",
        "a near-masterpiece , impossible to pigeonhole or predict . it is the kind of great movie that could only be made by a neophyte .",
        "... it 's certainly difficult not to admire the fervor with which both farrell and gleeson tackle their respective characters and the film 's ample dialogue ...",
        "a film that 's so bloody wonderful -lrb- in both meanings of the word -rrb- that all other movies this year might as well go straight to video .",
        "MOV is the first movie by the celebrated irish playwright martin mcdonagh , who also wrote the script . it 's an electrifyingly funny take on the euro-gangster flick .",
        "visually stunning photography of the silent byways and crannies of the ancient medieval city of bruges frames a story of guilt and honor played out by wonderfully demented hit men .",
        "the handling of the violence seems like that line about jesting at scars if you never felt a wound .",
        "MOV is a weird mix of bloody violence and situational comedy that occasionally provides a sombre meditation on mortality , and even functions as a picturesque travelogue to boot . and it works .",
        "one of this holiday season 's most pleasant dark-horse dramadies .",
        "mcdonagh has an expert hand when it comes to depicting cases of arrested development like this , or characters whose conviction that they are `` nice people '' is baldly contradicted by the way they act .",
        "it was a joy to watch colin farrell rekindle the magic seen in his earlier performances .",
        "moonlighting playwright martin mcdonagh yanks a trapdoor on his gallows humor - jerking from wry cringe comedy to a surreal congregation of blind skinheads , fat americans and high midgets before a violent , solemn climactic parable about purgatory .",
        "no chit-chat passes by without an ornate bit of would-be profane drollery",
        "an offbeat black comedy , part buddy movie and part odd couple with better weaponry , MOV comes cocked with twists and surprises .",
        "entre la comedia negra y la tragedia sangrienta , una pel\u00edcula inusual y con ciertos rasgos de originalidad no apta para todos los est\u00f3magos o sensibilidades .",
        "MOV , with its blunt , black wit running up against its moral fiber , manages to have its violent-crime-comedy cake and transcend it too .",
        "the film is a trifle , but a darkly entertaining one .",
        "a rude and riotous laugher .",
        "the first great film of 2008 ... finally , an original hitman drama .",
        "it is easily one of the best debut feature films in recent memory . the notion of a pair of hit men cooling their heels as they 're forced to play tourist in a picture-postcard town is clever enough . but as the story unspools , it grows more intriguing .",
        "a kind of eccentric , wisecracking waiting for godot that shifts gears into a bloody , unpredictable action spectacle that never loses its heart .",
        "MOV is not a great movie , but there 's no mistaking that it 's the product of a great talent .",
        "nothing is new about MOV , and yet writer-director martin mcdonagh makes it seem fresh .",
        "overplotted , choppy , and contrived , it nonetheless has a curious vitality that makes you wonder where mcdonagh will go next .",
        "disappointingly strip-mines the very fatigued comic hit-man genre to diminishing returns .",
        "there are good moments laced through the severely uneven MOV , but the best reason for seeing it is bruges itself .",
        "marketed as a much faster-paced shoot - 'em - up than it ultimately is ... go for the scenery , stay for the act iii climax and ralph fiennes .",
        "the two lead actors , brendan gleeson and colin farrell , were great in their respective roles .",
        "when it is a dark comedy full of feisty dialogue and humorous pulp fiction-type exchanges , MOV is fantastic .",
        "brooding , tense , allegorical , quirky , tragic and unbelievably funny , MOV may be the most intelligent , introspective and bizarre gangster thriller in quite some time , perhaps ever .",
        "brilliantly sharp screenplay oozes pathos , incongruity and comedy of the blackest kind ... hilarious yet tragic , unpredictable yet conventional , but always involving and surprisingly moving",
        "if you 're stuck , MOV does n't seem to be a bad place to be .",
        "a very dark comedy that gets sillier and bloodier and less funny as it nears its violent conclusion .",
        "every once in awhile , a film will come out that just slaps you in the face . and i mean that in the best possible way .",
        "the performances , by both farrell and brendan gleeson , have an unpredictable , appealing , off-kilter , bull-in-a-china-shop quality that transcends the material 's innate familiarity .",
        "for a movie i knew nothing about going into , it really surprised me and i had a great time watching it .",
        "it 's definitely not to everyone 's taste , but the most interesting pictures never are .",
        "what 's a pair of irish hitmen doing MOV ? i.e. , what are two colorful but hackneyed movie stereotypes doing in belgium 's most well-preserved medieval city ?",
        "the movie gradually deepens from odd-couple comedy into catholic-themed drama , but it remains marvelously funny throughout .",
        "-lsb- director mcdonagh 's -rsb- seesawing between slapstick and horror comes across as opportunistic because ultimately he can not place the lives of these men in a credible moral context .",
        "a brutal and at times amusing excursion .",
        "it feels contrived -- often clever and sometimes funny but always self-conscious , one of those indie flicks where the damn quirkiness is plastered on and right in your face . it 's like an architect making the gargoyles the centrepiece of his church .",
        "while -lsb- director mcdonagh -rsb- proves less skilled at managing a plot-driven narrative , sensational performances from all involved -- farrell , dangerous and dim , has n't been this natural in ages -- more than shoulder the burden .",
        "gleeson and farrell have a fine , natural chemistry , so it 's a shame when circumstances change and rob the film of its greatest asset , especially when that charm is replaced by silly shoot-outs that leave the audience stranded in an unintended purgatory .",
        "MOV manages to toy with cliche while avoiding it entirely .",
        "if you could hoist a film on your shoulders and parade it through the theater for adulation and hoorays , the new british crime comedy MOV would be the one .",
        "gleeson is a delight and farrell gives his best performance in ages , capturing both the unrepentant philistine and endearing vulnerability at war in the tormented ray .",
        "gleeson reminds us that the best acting always looks like no acting at all .",
        "MOV is a refreshingly different take on the hitmen genre .",
        "the stars ' foul-mouthed riff on laurel and hardy is shamefully entertaining while director martin mcdonagh 's dialogue is cynical and disgracefully funny .",
        "MOV is a wildly imperfect feature debut , but it does make you curious to see what else mcdonagh has to offer .",
        "tightly scripted and intricately plotted , the buddy film manages the neat two-step of being simultaneously profane and engaging .",
        "i never expected to be moved by MOV , but i was .",
        "those who know mcdonagh 's work know a vein of darkness will run deeply through the comedy . it has seldom been darker . or funnier .",
        "almost certainly the most expletive-riddled film of the year , irish playwright martin mcdonagh 's feature debut puts a fresh spin on the hitman genre that 's part harold pinter , part laurel and hardy and part fellini .",
        "imperfect though it may be , MOV has charms that are difficult to resist , much like the city for which it 's named .",
        "clever , unpredictable and entertaining , with moments of anguish ...",
        "the twists and turns of mcdonagh 's elaborate plotting , its tremendous location of the medieval city of bruges in belgium , and the high level of performances from everyone involved makes it one of this year 's pleasures .",
        "despite its graphic violence , MOV remains a hilarious comedy with poignant moments , while never tipping over into maudlin territory .",
        "colin farrell has redeemed himself , and shown he is an actor of the first rank .",
        "mcdonagh 's dialogue is often bruisingly funny -- particularly once hambone ralph fiennes makes his belated entrance -- and his sense of the absurd never falters .",
        "mcdonagh directs with supreme confidence , just as he writes .",
        "if you enjoyed last year 's underappreicated you kill me , book yourself a return ticket to bruges .",
        "while the individual parts of the movie satisfy , MOV does n't really come together as a whole .",
        "funny and thrilling , you 'll find redemption MOV",
        "despite the contrived conclusion , it all works marvellously , and that 's thanks to some terrific performances .",
        "mcdonagh does n't quite reinvigorate the genre , but if you liked lucky number slevin or you kill me , you 'll like this too .",
        "full of black humor and sharp comedic jabs , but with an undercurrent of genuine soul searching .",
        "for all its very snappy dialogue and daringly crass humor , MOV aims to be about , in one character 's words , `` guilt and sins and hell and all that . ''",
        "there are several standout moments , but as a whole it feels rather flat and arrested . for a film about purgatory , however , that might be appropriate .",
        "unfortunately , the finished product is lost somewhere in the messily finger-painted tones ; bruges is a decent blast of uneasy cinema , but is ultimately crushed under the weight of its own self-adulation .",
        "` MOV ' discloses nothing that is not at once discernible and , even with new wrinkles , does not measure up against better caper-gone-awry works .",
        "could colin farrell 's true calling be as a comedian ?",
        "you 'll be glad you spent time MOV",
        "this film debut by the theater writer and director martin mcdonagh is an endlessly surprising , very dark , human comedy , with a plot that can not be foreseen but only relished .",
        "it may be a tarantino knock-off in the end but it is one of the most entertaining tarantino knock-offs that i can recall seeing in recent memory .",
        "... intriguing mix of bloodletting and laughter .",
        "fun fun",
        "with MOV , the british gangster movie gets a croydon facelift . it may not be new , but it 's a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre : fucked-up , far-out and very , very funny .",
        "hugely enjoyable , frequently hilarious comedy-thriller with a superb script and terrific performances from gleeson and farrell .",
        "-lsb- i -rsb- ntellectual slapstick , a ticklish combination of comic torment , a brutal grasping of life 's fickleness , and sheer bloody violence that is like a shout in the dark against it ...",
        "the unbelievable sensitive hit men trifle might have worked if it was just a travelogue about the belgian flemish fairytale medieval city of bruges .",
        "but for all the showy action and spurty blood , it 's the evolving intimacy between ken and ray that is most compelling in MOV .",
        "mcdonagh breathes new life into moldy pulp fiction tropes with a heavy-duty helping of irish catholic angst , mixing the sacred and the blisteringly , side-splittingly profane .",
        "as the film reveals its surprising depths , its witty convolutions and its deep sense of irony , you realize that you 're in the presence of something unusual indeed .",
        "as a black comedy , MOV is a work of comic genius .",
        "it somehow manages to never stop being brutally funny , while also becoming tragically bleak .",
        "MOV is a haunting and hypnotic movie , just the thing to get lost in .",
        "too good for action , its action is flaccid ; too good for hip , its hipsterism is tired .",
        "writer/director martin mcdonagh has created something tonally unique , a film that is hilarious and tragic , irreverent and wistful , peopled with characters learning to love life with death all around them .",
        "a perfectly titled and thoroughly engaging -- if at times gleefully violent -- black comedy .",
        "farrell has n't been this good in some time , and his loose , funny performance suggests he should try comedy more often .",
        "-lsb- mcdonagh -rsb- talks a blue streak beautifully , but he has yet to find the nuance and poetry that make his red images signify with commensurate sizzle and pop .",
        "a fantastic start to a new career .",
        "... not , fortunately , a hollywood film and does n't dumb down for its audience . instead , martin mcdonagh makes you pony up and pay attention to his complexly woven tapestry .",
        "an unfunny comedy , this dismal effort is so full of plot holes it could pass as swiss cheese",
        "its mock-artistic thriller trappings notwithstanding , ` MOV ' is basically a funny , tragicomic two-hander , with the casting of farrell alongside gleeson enabling a pleasing irish inflection .",
        "a morality tale with a distictly coen-ish air , making excellent , occasionally surreal , use of a great location and lacing the comedy with bloody unpleasantness . it even has a quirky score by coen collaborator carter burwell .",
        "a double-act with depth , the cast of MOV seize upon an invigorating script and defy expectations .",
        "it 's like prime era mamet with relentless , unstoppable super-profane dialogue !",
        "colin farrell raises eyebrows , belly laughs and sympathy in martin mcdonagh 's debut feature .",
        "ralph fiennes is no sexy beast and writer/director martin mcdonagh is stronger on dialogue than story , but this is still a laugh-out-loud dark comedy , giving colin farrell his finest role in ages .",
        "there 's a mametian rat-a-tat to mcdonagh 's dialogue , but the offbeat humor and the characters ' genuine pain and regret feels unique .",
        "MOV has unforgettable moments of depth , lots of pitch black humor , outrageous , unbelievable twists that are nevertheless quite entertaining and the teaming of gleeson and farrell who jointly deliver an acting knock out .",
        "a wonderfully absurd film . mcdonagh is never stuck for a brilliant kiss-off line . i doubt he 'll ever be stuck for an audience either .",
        "farrell has brought his a-game to this cracking little comedy-noir written and directed by martin mcdonagh . he is absolutely superb .",
        "feels like two short films bolstered end to end , one a deliciously dark comedy with a heart of gold and the other a less accomplished gangster flick that is too derivative and neatly tied up for its own good .",
        "MOV lurches from pretty but uninformative tour-of-the-town footage to static conversations between ray and ken , dully framed .",
        "all the proletarian poetry in the world ca n't save this movie from its blurry mess of mixed motives .",
        "... the -lsb- year 's -rsb- first terrific -lsb- film -rsb- . ... -lsb- n -rsb- ot to take anything away from the others -lsb- but -rsb- the big surprise here is just how hilarious farrell is .",
        "when it 's funny , it 's hilarious ; when it 's serious , it 's powerful ; and either way , it 's an endless pleasant surprise .",
        "martin mcdonagh 's raucous dark comedy teeters between cheeky humor and violence , overplaying both to varying degrees .",
        "after playing one too many sullen poseurs it 's clear colin farrell and ralph fiennes had a ball making an inky black comedy seething with grandiose invective .",
        "for what it 's worth it 's not often you get to see an angry irish hitman doing coke while hanging with dutch prostitutes and a racist dwarf .",
        "a bravura , genre-twisting gem . this is one picture that packs a wallop .",
        "fun romp filled with likable hit-men , breezy dialogue and unexpected diversions .",
        "a cleverly written and humorous script by renowned playwright and director martin mcdonagh , together with outstanding performances by colin farrell , brendan gleeson and ralph fiennes , results in one very brilliant film .",
        "the revelation is farrell , whose natural petulance as an actor has never chimed so well with his deeper reserves of childlike vulnerability .",
        "the word ` unexpected ' is a severe understatement when regarding the narrative genius of MOV .",
        "in the end , the only problem i see with MOV is that it will be a tough film to market to a mainstream audience .",
        "what could have been an all-too familiar story of guilt , betrayal , male bonding and honour among thieves , gets a smart , endlessly surprising treatment here .",
        "MOV earns its laughter -- gales of it , if you 're tuned into its chattering rhythms . but its triumph lies in mcdonagh 's ability to seamlessly merge such snappy , waggish tones with bleak tragedy , and not compromise the story 's truthful integrity .",
        "it all gets a little bit chaotic but at the same time i enjoyed this film .",
        "sure , there are clumsy film edits and there are too many close-ups , but an emphasis on character and acting is exactly what is missing in much current film .",
        "in terms of showing what farrell is capable of as an actor and not just as a marquee name , MOV stands alongside the new world .",
        "famed irish playwright martin mcdonagh 's film debut MOV is a ferociously funny , deadly serious character study of two dublin hitmen holed up in the titular belgian town .",
        "... has trouble balancing the movie 's twisted humor and explosive violence , creating glaring shifts in tone that make watching MOV a wild , if only sporadically satisfying , trip .",
        "like farrell 's shaky shooter , this comedic thriller hits its marks most of the time .",
        "it 's hard to mix dark wit with real tragedy , but that 's what writer-director martin mcdonagh pulls off with MOV , a wonderfully realized examination of unintended and deadly consequences .",
        "those who can withstand the verbal assault on their sensibilities will be rewarded . the film features some very good performances , as well as an interesting take on the morality and mental strain of being a killer .",
        "` after i killed him , i dropped the gun in the thames ' -- so begins MOV , an insanely clever thug 's tale so rife with obscenity that those 11 words form one of the longest complete sentences that can be repeated safely here .",
        "MOV is memorable for its two leading men , whose mutt and jeff killers are nearly as fascinating and likable as those played by samuel l. jackson and john travolta in pulp fiction .",
        "MOV is what guy ritchie might dream about making if , in fact , he could make a worthwhile movie anymore .",
        "-lsb- director -rsb- mcdonagh got winning performances from all of his cast , and the film exudes a charming sense of fun .",
        "writer-director martin mcdonagh revels in splattering his profane , bloody film all across bruges ' lovely cobblestones , and the result is a spectacular , hilariously transgressive debut .",
        "in the end , MOV is a bit arch and artificial , but it is more than redeemed by farrell and gleeson 's presence , and by the bushwhacking wit of the film 's writer/director .",
        "melancholic music and a torpid pace do n't make MOV profound , but they are symptomatic of this phony , pretentious crime film 's schizophrenia .",
        "it 's obvious why -lsb- director -rsb- mcdonagh wanted to launch his film career with bang-bang instead of talk-talk . but his timing seems off .",
        "not entertainment for the faint-hearted and mindlessly censorious , and in this particularly chaotic period , it seems right in tune with the times . it goes almost without saying that the acting of the three leads is , in a word , splendid .",
        "it 's deeply insulting to movie audiences when an award-winning playwright thinks that this sub-tarantino nonsense carries the essence of cinema in some way .",
        "here is an unapologetically irreverent european flick that makes subtle character development as effortless as colin ferrell 's upward bent eyebrows .",
        "once the shooting starts , everything collapses , and the ending is the kind that causes head-shaking . it 's as if the filmmaker realized he wrote himself into a corner and had to resort to a contrivance to bring things to a close .",
        "no one wants a movie that tiptoes in step with political correctness , yet the willful opposite can be equally noxious .",
        "a cold little jolt of cruelty , which is more than most crime thrillers can offer .",
        "nothing more than a modern film noir incongruously set in a medieval city , but ... made enjoyable by its unusual locale , tart tough-guy dialogue and a strong cast .",
        "a gruesome , confused stumblebum of a movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "featuring witty dialogue and deft performances , MOV is an effective mix of dark comedy and crime thriller elements .",
    "id": "770679093"
  },
  {
    "movie": "not_another_teen_movie",
    "reviews": [
        "this parody of teen comedies is just teen comedy by the numbers , for those who can only count to three .",
        "a film 's always in trouble when it has more screenwriters than cast members .",
        "with so many gags coming at us so fast and furiously , some of them are bound to misfire . but , hey , that 's ok : there 's always another gag around the corner , and chances are it 'll be funny .",
        "surprisingly funny .",
        "beyond the obligatory sight gags -- and a french-kiss scene that would simply stun the aarp -- much of the film elicits little more than weak giggles .",
        "laugh-out-loud funny at times , comic bits that , no matter how stupid or base , make it virtually impossible to suppress a chuckle .",
        "there simply is n't anything to say about it -- good or bad . maybe that 's because it is n't a movie at all , just a string of scenes .",
        "while not oscar-worthy stuff , MOV does make the laughter grade .",
        "many of the movie 's targets are just too big and too obvious to elicit more than a smile of recognition , and the movie quickly degenerates into little more than a game of spot the -lrb- generally unfunny -rrb- reference for fans of the teen genre .",
        "in director joel gallen 's attempt to spoof the genre , he has merely added another lame entry to it .",
        "plumbs new depths of offensiveness for its stomach-churning crudities .",
        "for anyone for whom these films are a guilty pleasure , this pretty much delivers in terms of silliness and over-the-top laugh attempts .",
        "it is obvious that the creative forces did not take the film to seriously and if you do not , you just might find yourself laughing along .",
        "... crude and unfunny , one of those movies that seem to be put together by cynical marketers who have reason to be convinced american moviegoers will laugh at - and celebrate - any movie that `` dares '' invoke scatological play and sexual titillation .",
        "... any flick that features molly ringwald as a woman who hates teenagers is okay in my books .",
        "uses the unwelcome scary movie method of spoof comedy , in which timing is ignored and jokes are prolonged and beaten to the point where they 're just obvious , not funny .",
        "teenage wasteland -- strictly for older teens .",
        "filmmakers showed great affection for the material they parodied and this is always an important ingredient for any successful parody .",
        "MOV is a little like watching christina aguilera make fun of britney spears .",
        "not too bad as long as you know what you 're getting into ...",
        "gruesomely unfunny , an appalling debacle that 's like one long , agonizing groan ... an astoundingly awful picture .",
        "it ca n't help but fall prey itself to a final deadly genre clich\u00e9 : its soundtrack outsparkles the movie .",
        "not only is it consistently clever , but it has respect for many of the movies it lampoons .",
        "stupid , offensive entertainment delivered with nothing more than a smirk is still stupid and offensive .",
        "a lowly slice of wanton vulgarity that will have people smacking their heads and exclaiming , ` not another idiotic spoof movie ! '",
        "like the generations it entertains , the vitality of the teen movie genre waxes and wanes .",
        "too much of MOV simply duplicates previous films , without adding anything .",
        "forget the teen movies ; what this one has to worry about is audience members thinking ` not another parody . '",
        "natm gets in a few good jabs , but to call this a movie is to malign such thoughtful , well-constructed films as dude , where 's my car and freddy got fingered .",
        "for every one and a half good jokes , there 's a bad one , yet when its funny , its more often than not , very funny .",
        "we can proudly agree that it is indeed the most obvious and hypocritical comedy of 2001 .",
        "almost immediately disposable , fading from memory before it even ends .",
        "the targets may be obvious , but director joel gallen and his squad of screenwriters happen to be the first to open fire . they ca n't help but score plenty of hits .",
        "one of the most incompetent , thoughtless , witless , smug , cynical , one-dimensional , puerile , boring and deadening movies i have ever seen .",
        "no vale la pena gastar el dinero en un monumento a la estulticia y la superficialidad como es esta cinta .",
        "just when you think films have got as bad as they 're ever going to be , along comes a picture that takes cinema to a whole new level of shoddiness .",
        "will you remember -lrb- it -rrb- six months after you see it ? probably not . but you will remember that you had a good time watching it .",
        "this scattershot and dissolving satire accomplishes nothing more than recycling copycat material from the idiotic teen films of today and yesteryear it thinks it 's skewering in savvy fashion .",
        "nothing here breaks new ground , but funny is funny is funny , and joel gallen 's sly little movie is funny enough .",
        "a blandly attractive cast , hit and miss jokes , excessive helpings of scatological humor , unsure direction ? sure seems like another teen movie to me .",
        "for the most part natm requires passing acquaintance with the source material .",
        "by the time a member of teen-movie royalty makes a cameo in the film 's finale , MOV has long exhausted any hope of succeeding . instead it becomes , well , just another teen movie .",
        "if ever there were a genre long overdue for a vicious lampooning , it would have to be the clich\u00e9-plagued ... teen comedy/romance . now the time for reckoning has arrived .",
        "teen is nothing more than the timelessly crude throwaway project it wants to be .",
        "i admit i laughed once or twice but not enough to recommend anyone plunking down hard cash to see it .",
        "a willfully bad film that makes fun of inadvertently bad films : the results are predictably unwatchable .",
        "it was not good to see yet still more wretched excess in the jokes about characters being sprayed with vast quantities of excrement .",
        "a headache-inducing , lame-ass ride down memory lane .",
        "MOV is a happy , nasty and frequently hilarious assault on 20 years ' worth of youth pictures .",
        "another major culprit here is joel gallen , a former mtv exec whose idea of ` direction ' is to drive a joke into the ground and continue to milk it long after it has become annoying .",
        "despite an occasional laugh here and a chuckle there -- comes off as a hit or miss endeavor that unfortunately has more of the latter and never comes close to kicking into comedic overdrive .",
        "the makers of MOV should be embarrassed that , in parodying she 's all that , they copied most of the plot and then made a movie that bogs down in the same places as the original .",
        "save your time , save your money , save your soul . stay at home .",
        "joel gallen -lrb- who created the mtv movie awards -rrb- and screenwriters michael g. bender , adam jay epstein , andrew jacobson , phil beauman and buddy johnson all seem to have labored under the delusion that alluding to pop-cultural tropes is inherently comical .",
        "if you look hard enough , you will find the inner beauty within MOV . you will win the big football game , and become prom queen , too .",
        "more often than not you 'll be groaning from painful recognition rather than actually laughing .",
        "more like a game , with checklist of the stereotypes and classic teen film scenarios , than it is a movie .",
        "how do you take jabs at things that were supposed to be comical in nature to begin with ? MOV never quite figures out the answer to this .",
        "perhaps the most tasteless comedy ever aimed at a multiplex . at least until the sequel .",
        "there is , apparently , a very fine line between parody and suckiness . spoof films , by definition , take ideas one step further than their predecessors . MOV goes an extra couple steps , and it all comes off as frantic desperation .",
        "MOV perfectly sums up how i feel about it .",
        "it 's a bad sign that the features MOV is parodying are funnier than the movie itself .",
        "a cinematic mad magazine aimed squarely at the toilet-humor sect .",
        "yeah , it 's another teen movie , all right -- the worst one ever made .",
        "has about as many laughs as groans .",
        "wonderfully good spirited and unabashedly raunchy .",
        "nothing like a vulgar teen comedy to whet a dry holiday whistle , but i 'll take mine with splash of humor .",
        "i left with an overwhelming feeling of what might have been -- not a lot unlike , i suppose , the high school experience itself .",
        "only randy quaid is able to do something with this detumescent script .",
        "spotty , only slightly inspired and occasionally amusing fluff .",
        "MOV is hollywood 's answer to the whoopee cushion .",
        "what scream did for horror movies , this movie does for 80 's - 2001 teen movies , with a great soundtrack .",
        "a big , fat , juicy spitball lobbed , with mostly dead-on aim , at the teen-smarm clich\u00e9s that have accumulated like so much earwax over the last three years .",
        "unlike young frankenstein , airplane or the first naked gun , MOV fails to stick to a story and carry it through to the end .",
        "it 's stupid , it 's obvious , it 's scatological and violent -- but it made me laugh and i 'm giving it thumbs up , god help me .",
        "half the jokes in this one are funny and work , while the rest are unfunny and lame .",
        "if you have a high tolerance for unblinking gross-out gags and you love making fun of freddie prinze jr. flicks , odds are you 'll have a good time with this one .",
        "a breath of fresh , frisky air , even if it does hinge on cliches .",
        "along with this venial sin of simple redundancy , the picture commits the less pardonable crime of commercial irrationality .",
        "if you have n't brushed up on the latest freddie prinze jr. bomb , you 'll simply feel stuck in detention .",
        "crass , misogynistic , homophobic and racist , it lacks finesse , originality and humor .",
        "references are n't the same thing as jokes , and often a gag peters out before the scene is over .",
        "the jokes are overlong and lean heavily on the most obvious and most raunchy .",
        "the cinematic equivalent of being near-drowned in human excrement .",
        "no one expects a movie like MOV to be anything but silly and crass , but one could hope it could be more consistent and less vulgar .",
        "the level of cleverness rarely rises above the parody of shannon elizabeth 's character in american pie .",
        "a clever satire that 's layered like a breakfast club sandwich with sly in-jokes , sight gags , gross-out scenes , and , of course , requisite bathroom humor ."
    ],
    "summary": "natm has some funny moments , but the movie requires the audience to have familiarity with the movies being spoofed and a tolerance for toilet and sexual humor to be truly effective .",
    "id": "14614"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cinderella_story",
    "reviews": [
        "the movie strains to bend the fairy tale to accommodate another coarse high school comedy of air-headed teenage vixens ganging up on a meek little angel .",
        "the sort of entertainment that makes you happy to be grown up and able to avoid the current onslaught of trite , lazy , unimaginative films aimed at tween-agers .",
        "what we have here is a failure to communicate anything the least bit interesting unless you 're under 10 and this is your first cinematic rodeo",
        "alas , the attempts by writer leigh dunlap and director mark rosman to modernize this fable fall flatter than cinderella 's arches after a night of dancing on glass slippers .",
        "a sloppy , idiotic mess that demonstrates nothing but contempt for anyone deluded enough to actually watch it .",
        "in this awkward , updated fairy tale , the shallow , bland script drowns in so many cliches that it becomes tedious , except for the most devoted `` lizzie mcguire '' fans .",
        "you might imagine her father 's death by earthquake is a terrible trial , but , this being a romantic teen comedy , the trauma is fleeting .",
        "feels like a pro forma tv movie from the get-go and relies almost entirely on duff 's likability to hold the audience 's attention .",
        "the whole thing feels like detached adults ' cartoonish idea of what high school life is like .",
        "the efforts to find cinderella and struggles with fiona take longer than they should , but there is an old-fashioned happily ever after ending for everyone who deserves one .",
        "under the charmless direction of mark rosman , the actors seem to be frozen at the rehearsal stage , with the blessed exception of a sublimely funny jennifer coolidge as the botoxed horror of a stepmother .",
        "instant sugar shock .",
        "a mostly charmless affair .",
        "a MOV misfires as a comedy and offers no fresh twists or clever turns on this ancient fairy tale .",
        "this teen movie is all about the packaging .",
        "writer leigh dunlap and director mark rosman tart up their cinderella variation with the predictable accoutrements of teen comedies .",
        "in typical lizzie spirit , it 's harmless , it 's sweet , it 's corny , it 's fun and it all comes out impossibly right .",
        "a step down for duff , who owes her fans and herself something fresher than another lazy rehash of the world 's most-exploited fairy tale .",
        "thanks to a charming cast and several bubbly moments , adults in the audience may find themselves genuinely entertained by the pleasantly feathery story .",
        "the timeless fairy tale is updated into a cookie-cutter specimen of the teen-girl comedy .",
        "i 'm too much of a man to enjoy this movie ... remarkably , duff is not annoying .",
        "duff needed to channel tv-lizzie for this role , but instead she gives us milquetoast .",
        "if you let them , studio executives will take endless advantage of the fact that many kids have no discernment whatsoever , as will hilary 's producer-mother .",
        "mostly boring , sometimes quite clumsy , and never particularly interesting .",
        "when not unnecessarily bland , synthetic , and indistinguishable from undistinguished teen tv , a MOV is unnecessarily coarse and dumbed down , with every character except sam and austin subject to perfunctory ridicule .",
        "stock characters played broadly in a script rife with clich\u00e9 plot devices and a bad case of the blands",
        "it 's got enough humor to get a smirk about every five minutes , but also has enough cheesiness and stupidity that i 'll have forgotten all about the movie in about a week .",
        "modern footwear simply does n't fit this perennial fairy tale heroine , who 's been reborn as a valley girl in a rendition that stumbles in almost every conceivable way .",
        "a bibbidy - bobbidy - bomb ... more pumpkin than gilded coach , more smelly sneaker than glass slipper .",
        "lacks the guiltily pleasurable panache -lrb- and punch -rrb- of other recent chickadee flicks posited as protofeminist fairy tales .",
        "does justice to its well-known source material while putting a pleasant spin on it . it 's better than one may be lead to expect , which is perhaps the best compliment of all .",
        "from its uninspiring title -- and certain turnoff for young males -- to its limp slapstick and uneven acting , a MOV arrives with a dull thud .",
        "if some films are made to order , the market-researched a MOV has the stretch marks to prove it .",
        "clearly a movie that is aiming strictly for its target audience of young girls .",
        "at worst , it 's an insult even to the intelligence of 12-year olds .",
        "-lsb- it -rsb- treads the confused ground of instilling anti-image and antiauthoritarian values while its heroine 's bliss is wrapped in an idea that status and wealth equal happiness .",
        "the result is pure pumpkin , though fans of squeaky-clean , helium-voiced hilary duff might fall under its sickly sweet spell .",
        "i look at `` MOV '' as i would look at early elvis films - this is a teen movie made for the sheer enjoyment of her fans .",
        "it 's all way too bland .",
        "every high school clich\u00e9 in the book is dredged up for this piece of fluff",
        "a MOV definitely is for the younger film crowd . it 's unabashedly simplistic and formulaic , made to highlight the charms of -lrb- hilary -rrb- duff .",
        "besides adolescent girls who either want to be hilary duff or want to slobber over chad michael murray , the story offers nothing new to an already beaten-to-death teen genre .",
        "the only thing missing is the pumpkin that turns into a coach . that 's ok , because duff turns into a turkey way before midnight .",
        "this year 's one-zillionth mean-girl movie , and that 's not the only thing here that 's played out .",
        "chad michael murray could be the next johnny depp , or he could be the next luke perry - only time will tell .",
        "let me get quickly to the word that best describes this movie . it is horrible .",
        "airy and blithely romantic at first , but very quickly descends into unintentional absurdity and stays there ... . it 's pre-fab ` fun ' at its most mirthless .",
        "make it stop . please , make it stop .",
        "a MOV does n't break any new ground , but it 's a well-acted little breeze of a film -- perfect if you 're a 12-year-old girl .",
        "with a few hilarious exceptions , the jokes are bland and unfunny , and the fairy tale reinventions are n't creative or witty enough .",
        "enough sugar to induce a diabetic coma .",
        "there are no original twists , no fun takes on the archetypal characters , no interesting visual style to make the movie pop .",
        "i honestly did not realize a movie could squeeze this many hollywood clich\u00e9s into 86 minutes .",
        "lackluster comedy ... could have been titled you 've got instant messages .",
        "desperately conceived by even the most insipid standards of contemporary teen-queen cinema .",
        "you can say of this movie , truly , that they took the most famous tale in the world and broke it .",
        "give this wannabe cinderella a big bibbitti bobbitti boo .",
        "viewers outside -lsb- duff 's -rsb- demographic will find only the occasional shining moment in this generic picture .",
        "it 's not a terrible movie , just a disappointingly pleasant one .",
        "duff is cute and chirpy ; murray is cute and bland , and the stepsisters squabble a lot . ho-hum .",
        "this witless little comedy takes the classic fairy tale and turns it into a hilary duff vehicle about popularity , e-mail and cell phones at a san fernando valley high school .",
        "the mind is more fragile than , say , teeth , and cotton candy like this will quickly cause irreparable cavities in the brain .",
        "its take is about as original as its title , full of recycled ideas and half-hearted performances .",
        "poorly written , poorly acted exercise in banality and studio greed .",
        "a benign , whimsical semblance of its namesake fairy tale .",
        "rather than anything original or humorous or , heaven forbid , romantic developing from this fable , we get only tired clich\u00e9s and worn-out stereotypes .",
        "` a MOV ' makes so many good chocies , you wish you could like it more than you do .",
        "i took a friend 's 10-year-old daughter to see the film , and she found it ` too childish . ' and who am i to argue with a member of this film 's target audience ?",
        "charles perrault must be spinning in his grave .",
        "duff has yet another brainless movie to add to her repertoire .",
        "the movie will wash over adolescent female audiences who do n't know any better like melted brie on 110-degree asphalt , but for the rest of us it 's a grueling waste of time .",
        "funny and sweet update of the MOV .",
        "this is simple , lazy storytelling rendered merely functional by appealing leads and the eternal lure of romantic fantasy .",
        "a couple of cruel stepsisters are thrown in to push the cinderella angle , but their asinine antics merely highlight first-time screenwriter leigh dunlap 's stunning lack of talent and imagination .",
        "with the chance to be fresh with a traditional fairytale , director mark rosman and his filmmaking team still indulged in the same old , tired teen-movie tricks .",
        "it 's all very silly , unconvincing melodrama .",
        "duff plays off her lizzie maguire persona as a cute but unassuming girl , but also conveys soulfulness and earnest longing .",
        "content to be another candy-coloured fantasy . it 'd be easier to enjoy it as such if most of the young characters here were n't mean-spirited caricatures who chiefly serve to illustrate sam 's virtues .",
        "an instantly forgettable wisp of marshmallow that revisits the same teen-crush cliches that have surely been in play since the days of the classic fairy tale it ransacks for inspiration .",
        "the prince is a wet rag , the slapstick stepsisters are dull and even the fretful sam seems colorless .",
        "the premise -- scripted by leigh dunlap with a reported uncredited polish by callie khouri -- is largely preposterous , but rosman embraces rather than evades those obstacles .",
        "while a MOV is cute and reasonably intelligent , it falls prey to the same curse that afflicts most movies in this genre -- a stunning lack of originality .",
        "the weak plot may entertain little kids still glued to lizzie mcguire reruns , but this just is n't really funny or interesting -lrb- even in an updated and kitschy way -rrb- for the rest of us .",
        "nothing 's particularly risky or original , but neither is anything all that repulsive .",
        "just about the same exact movie as all those other trifles aimed at the tween girl demographic that have been unleashed upon the unsuspecting moviegoing masses this year",
        "... the picture is n't the prince of a vehicle duff 's been looking for .",
        "only several charismatic actors and fleeting moments of genuine romance survive this modern thrashing of the age-old fairy tale .",
        "mean girls it 's not ; a plastic butter knife has more edge . but sometimes it 's nice to know your kids wo n't cut their fingers .",
        "leigh dunlap 's script abounds in one-liners of mild pedigree at best , and under the direction of mark rosman a timeless tale has been transformed into an enervated sitcom .",
        "a terrible movie , sappy and dead in the water .",
        "the movie starts off keenly aware of the hokum of fairy-tale schemes . yet , like a slew of similarly themed movies -lrb- the prince & me and 13 going on 30 -rrb- , it has a hard time giving its audience a brand-new vision .",
        "anyone who 's not already a duff fan should stay away . and given the lack of energy and innovation at work here , even fans may find this one redundant and lackluster .",
        "once upon a time there was a lovely fairy tale , then an evil curse was cast upon it and it was turned into this movie .",
        "this reviewer 's young daughter and her friend - both anticipating third grade - decided they enjoyed the film because the mushy stuff was kept to a minimum ."
    ],
    "summary": "an uninspired , generic updating of the classic fairy tale .",
    "id": "10321"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tangerines",
    "reviews": [
        "MOV is a tense , moving , nuanced anti-war drama .",
        "for all of the potential , historically specific revelations regarding nation and religion , MOV elects to become bathetic hokum .",
        "small in scale if huge in heart and scope , MOV uses four characters to limn the religio-nationalistic hostilities unleashed by the dissolution of the soviet union in 1992 .",
        "the cinema , so infatuated with loud bangs and flowering orange blasts , does , as ivo says , cheat us . director/writer zaza urushadze instead gives us a clever , claustrophobic plot befitting a three-act play .",
        "MOV works primarily as a showcase for its trio of lead actors , who work hard to make their characters ' gradual yet quick thaw seem not just credible , but inevitable .",
        "a thoughtful , quietly compelling parable set in a time of civil war .",
        "the film telegraphs its pacifist message early on , but it 's still deeply affecting .",
        "as a writer-director , urushadze has the vision to come up with lingering images-like ivo 's long , sensitive hands guiding pieces of wood to a buzzing saw-and the taste and the film sense to pick them up again only when needed .",
        "accompanied by a melancholy but atmopsheric refrain from niaz diasamidz , which gives an excellent sense of place as well as adding to the elegiac mood , the film is a great example of how powerful and universal small but well-crafted stories can be .",
        "slaps an honest emotional sincerity and a dry , almost humorous pragmatism in the face of macho posturing and identity tribalism .",
        "the acting is solid ; ulfsak is ideally cast as the easygoing , timeworn woodworker .",
        "georgian writer-director zaza urushadze avoids histrionics or moralizing , relying on a strong cast that expresses the film 's central argument about war 's absurdity largely through taciturn action , not words .",
        "simple , direct and achingly melancholy , `` MOV '' unfolds in a setting that feels timeless . urushadze 's filmmaking feels timeless , too , and it 's rich , lovingly observed , masculine work that successfully shrugs off the temper of `` macho . ''",
        "there are some touching interactions between the players , but the film 's humanism is too predictably calibrated .",
        "the film works not because of any kind of historical specificity but because of its ability to simplify .",
        "writer-director zaza urushadze turns this fragile premise into a superior chamber drama .",
        "MOV offers a relatively quiet reflection on the important elements in life . but the movie feels like the first two acts in a morality play , and i want to see the third .",
        "MOV , the first estonian picture nominated for the foreign-film oscar , has a heart as ripe as the citrus fruit of its title , but its message does n't yield much juice .",
        "it might be willfully na\u010fve , but it also successfully argues that the path to peace begins with a laying down of not only guns , but also cynicism and distrust .",
        "`` MOV '' is an example of lean , unadorned old-school filmmaking where familiar style and technique combine to unexpectedly potent effect because of the great skill with which they 've been employed .",
        "a melancholy morality tale that beautifully illustrates the folly of conflict and blind hatred .",
        "MOV explores the absurdities and complexities of the ensuing nationalistic , territorial and religious fall-out with an admirably simple set-up .",
        "the funniest and most profound film about war since dr strangelove .",
        "a quietly profound study of the unfathomable nature of conflict .",
        "this is a film that mines the profoundest truths from the simplest of stories and underlines the sheer absurdity of the situation .",
        "it is tremendous storytelling : engaging , intelligent , and with some lovely touches .",
        "although set in a specific time and place , the film 's message about human life is universal . and director/writer zaza urushadze makes his points without being heavy handed , overt or politically demonstrative .",
        "the anti-war message is not new but the film delivers it eloquently and with quiet , insistent dignity . and sadly , it 's a message that 's still not being heeded .",
        "it 's not often that you watch a film stripped of all the usual bells and whistles , let alone one that packs the emotional punch of zaza urushadze 's MOV .",
        "the film is a character study , a chamber piece with incursions , a morality play with a thoughtful sense of its own boundaries .",
        "a most effective antiwar movie though an oversimplification that seems to say that if you get two enemies to sit down with each other over soup , shashlik and a hard-boiled egg , a peace treaty will soon emerge .",
        "in an age of incestuous ties between the pentagon and hollywood that produces films like `` american sniper '' , thank god for the estonians who remind us of what a horror war is .",
        "a small-scale , poignant and accessible anti-war statement .",
        "although the subject of civil war within the former soviet countries has been tackled in other movies , this retelling is one of the most concise and affecting .",
        "we know war is petty , we know it kills and divides , but MOV saddens us and makes us feel the pains of war , when it really counts .",
        "a lovely , unassuming anti-war film that all adults should see .",
        "leading an impressive cast , ulfsak , an accoladed estonian actor , is quietly commanding as the war-weary , heroic ivo .",
        "quietly break -lrb- s -rrb- your heart with the folly of humankind",
        "it is difficult not to be moved by `` MOV , '' which begins to feel like a legend despite one 's nagging sense something is missing from the film 's hasty third act .",
        "though the themes about war and peace will be familiar , this is good , old-fashioned storytelling - with a high level of craftsmanship .",
        "uses its small scale to say something big .",
        "humanity is the theme of this oscar nominated drama in which an old estonian man opens his home and heart to two rival ` children of death ' - a chechen mercenary and a georgian soldier ... hope is a wonderful thing",
        "nakhashidze is splendid as the malcontent ; he carries a life story in his world-weary facial expressions . casting directors , take heed : this guy is a character-star waiting to be noticed .",
        "if the lesson about our similarities outweighing our differences is obvious , the conclusion is unexpected and unforgettable .",
        "this remarkable piece of antiwar cinema honors its theme , and the movie medium .",
        "`` MOV '' is a modest film , sure of its proportions and clear about its intentions . the key to its effectiveness lies with the actors ...",
        "every time the viewer feels ok to kick back they 're whacked them over the head by crude message-mongering or unsubtle ironies .",
        "MOV ends up being serviceably bleak , but rarely compelling .",
        "by the end , georgian director-writer zaza urushadze has performed a small miracle by presenting the insanity of war in such a compact form .",
        "excellent performances from the ensemble cast -lsb- ... -rsb- elevate what is an otherwise theatrical treatment of a timeworn narrative .",
        "MOV becomes an object lesson in the resilience of ancient animosities , and the limits , sadly , of common sense .",
        "because the conflict between abkhazians and georgians is so sketchily drawn , the ultimate heartwarming tone of the film seems not so much unearned as unspectacular .",
        "urushadze 's excellent cast imbues their thinly drawn characters with a great deal of life , but the roles are so transparent that the film feels like more of an advertisement for peace than it does an argument for it .",
        "the shift from philosophical parrying to actual combat does n't make MOV more compelling ; on the contrary , it suggests that the filmmakers did n't have the confidence to tell their story without falling back on genre tropes ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV ' impassioned message and the strong work of a solid cast more than make up for the movie 's flawed narrative and uneven structure .",
    "id": "771375391"
  },
  {
    "movie": "up",
    "reviews": [
        "if it had lived MOV to its golden first five minutes , MOV would have been the film of the decade . as it is , it remains the best animated flick of 2009 , a funny , moving , beautifully made argument that dreamers can move mountains .",
        "the creative leadership of the pixar team restores clarity , simplicity , and courage to storytelling , establishing a daunting gold standard for family films .",
        "a sure lock on an animated film oscar nod , MOV delivers a wondrous world filled with people and creatures you 'll fall head over heels in love with .",
        "a joyous , wacky , sometimes bittersweet story of love , loss and making your dreams come true , MOV does what pixar movies usually do % u2013 it far exceeds our expectations .",
        "it 's beginning to seem as if pixar 's delivery of one of the very best films of the year will be an unstoppable annual tradition . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
        "filled with wonderment and intrigue , it tells a timeless tale of adventure and aging that touches on almost every emotion .",
        "maybe movies are getting worse or maybe pixar is getting better or maybe it 's a combination of the two - but MOV is one of the year 's best .",
        "a hugely enjoyable work , whose care , craftsmanship and creative courage are rarely found in mainstream films - animated or otherwise .",
        "one of its best : touching , funny and graphically exciting .",
        "MOV delivers a half hour of pure cinematic magic , followed by the rest of the film which is merely very good .",
        "do you like hearing kids screaming and parents rushing their children out of the theater never to return ? me too .",
        "if it sounds like i ca n't find anything in MOV to be curmudgeonly about , that 's because i really ca n't .",
        "i do n't want to oversell this film but , really , how could i ? it 's the first great film of the summer , indeed , of the year .",
        "nobody these days tells stories as cinematically as do the people at pixar .",
        "through its writing , direction and execution , MOV does n't just achieve hipness , it transcends it . with its spirit of fun and adventure , it echoes raiders of the lost ark -lrb- only funnier -rrb- -- it 's a thrill ride , but a thrill ride with heart .",
        "whether you view it in 3-d or 2-d , you and your family are in for a terrific , fun-filled ride . without doubt , ` MOV ' is the best movie so far this year .",
        "for a story well told , an adventure with genuine thrills and a heartbreakingly believable love story , there 's not much better than MOV .",
        "a lovely , entertaining , summer comedy adventure . do n't miss it .",
        "the honesty of the story here , as beautifully depicted and acted by asner and young jordan nagai is so real , so palpable , you almost forget you are watching an animated film at all .",
        "the title is deceptively simple , which is fitting , because the latest achievement from pixar animation is deeper and more complex on every level than it would initially appear .",
        "a feather-light farce with a delicious dose of the sentimental , it is n't the animation company 's biggest , most complicated or even its best . it 's just a film in which most every oddball element of an odd yet familiar story works .",
        "-lsb- c -rsb- heerful and fantastical yet never unrealistically optimistic ... -lsb- t -rsb- he cleverness and originality of MOV is nearly boundless ...",
        "as in their finest work , the pixar filmmakers have created thrilling cinema simply by rifling through its history .",
        "pixar 's tenth animated feature film clocks in as one of their best .",
        "what other animated film has contemplated the anxious stubbornness of the elderly to cling to whatever independence they can for as long as they can , to remain connected to familiar places and things ?",
        "pixar really set the bar high with wall * e and even though this film falls a little short , it is still sweet , visually stunning and filled with a ton of heart .",
        "both a breezy children 's adventure yarn and a serious consideration of love , death , and lives left behind .",
        "MOV is actually about rediscovering your soul , or surviving the worst and making the most of it . it 's funny , illuminating , deft , accomplished , mesmerizing , warm , and in the end , as inspiring as its title .",
        "parental content review",
        "if you 're old enough to sit quietly through a feature film , go see it .",
        "it 's a swashbuckling , continent-hopping adventure and an under-stated , nuanced psychodrama . it 's a wildly creative fantasy and an almost devastatingly poignant piece of realism .",
        "what you will love about MOV is what you do n't expect it to be .",
        "practically perfect in every way , this is pixar 's most uplifting adventure yet !",
        "themes of adventure , home , and inner childhood are all tweaked and rejuvenated with as much spark and pop as high-flying carl himself . a spry , imaginative romp through the jungle of the imagination .",
        "all you need to know is that john lasseter and andrew stanton are executive producers of `` MOV '' .",
        "`` MOV '' is pure magical fun !",
        "MOV , like all pixar films , has a story to match the quality of the visuals .",
        "a tremendous tale of unfulfilled dreams and fulfilling promises . pixar continues a winning streak of brilliant films .",
        "its refusal to sugarcoat death and loneliness deepens its appeal , with carl 's longing for ellie so palpable , few wo n't be moved as the film wends along its harrowing way .",
        "it is among -lsb- pixar 's -rsb- most emotional pictures , a heartfelt , high-altitude exploration of love and loss and letting go .",
        "i laughed , i cried , i spooned a balloon animal .",
        "pixar 's magic still has sparks to spare .",
        "the opening sequence of MOV sits in silence , telling the story of carl and ellie and is so overfilled with emotion , tears fell at the end of this beginning .",
        "once the balloons make their grand , eye-popping entrance in a kaleidoscope of color and texture , the film becomes chaotic and silly , and coasts downhill for the remainder .",
        "MOV is arguably pixar 's finest achievement to date , and is surprisingly mature -lrb- and moving -rrb- in its subject matter .",
        "pure joy and one of the best films of the year . you got ta have a good story , and this one is a gem . it even made a bit misty-eyed . good stuff from pixar . paul chambers , cnn .",
        "one of pixar 's most emotionally satisfying creations .",
        "disney/pixar 's MOV is a triumphant masterstroke for the studio and their teflon reputation .",
        "the first from pixar to be filmed in disney digital 3-d , MOV looks and sounds great . the script is charming , touching and altogether delightful ; the voice talent perfectly suited to the characters .",
        "do n't be surprised if MOV is sitting pretty atop our top 10 films of the year list come the new year .",
        "MOV has much to offer kids but more to offer adults . we 're so entertained we do n't realize we 're exploring tough questions . how faithful are we in the promises we make ?",
        "an instant cartoon classic coming courtesy of a successful collaboration by the good folks at disney and pixar .",
        "... if you 've ever wondered what kind of jokes dogs would tell if they could speak , here 's your chance .",
        "pixar again raises the bar to wondrous new heights .",
        "there are not words enough to express how good MOV is .",
        "a highpoint of ingenuity and storytelling in the pixar canon and indeed the animated form .",
        "a masterclass in narrative exposition , and the moments explaining their childlessness will bring a lump to your throat .",
        "pixar triumphs again with a delirious fantasy that has one leg in the real world of hopes dashed and realised and the other in the cartoon tradition of journeying and adventure .",
        "MOV , as ever , is all about the characters . and the observations of human -lrb- and animal -rrb- behaviour . and the exquisitely timed physical comedy .",
        "vies with monsters inc and wall-e as the best and most inventive of the pixar films - with , as it were , added depth .",
        "a pixar pinnacle . that may seem like outlandish praise , given the animation studio 's sterling tax record . but when was the last time you walked out of a pixar movie simply giddy , as if you were high on computer-animated pixels ?",
        "extending the patented pixar mix of humor and heart , MOV is the studio 's most deeply emotional and affecting work .",
        "as of may , best picture of the year : another jewel in pixar 's crown , MOV is a truly uplifting experience , a themtically inventive , emotionally touching , poignantly romantic film that lingers in memory long after seeing it .",
        "MOV chooses old-school heart and soul over modern-day cynicism . how refreshing .",
        "another year , another pixar masterpiece . ho hum .",
        "the sheer brilliance of MOV lies in its ability to make something so deep , profound and complex seem so innocent , fun and simple .",
        "it feels nervy and adventurous and a little messy , the result of formidable creators and genuine wits working on an enormous budget , enormously well-spent .",
        "MOV is an absolute masterpiece with a great message that never becomes anything less than incredibly entertaining , striking a perfect balance between moving sentiment and rollicking fun .",
        "hold onto your seats as pixar takes you on yet another delightful adventure MOV , MOV and away .",
        "fun , thrilling , imaginative and tender with breathtaking cgi effects , but it 's much funnier and exhilarating for kids . adults will be often amused , but they 'll find that it lacks the `` wow ! '' factor , brilliance and genuine warmth of a truly classic pixar ...",
        "a fantastic experience the way only pixar could make it , a touching , intelligent story punctuated with gentle whimsy and bold excitement .",
        "this is , along with wall-e and the incredibles , one of the most sophisticated pixar movies ever made .",
        "an often funny , whimsically sweet-hearted fable about a boy in an old man 's body and a regular little boy , who embark upon an adventure in a house tethered to thousands of ether-filled balloons .",
        "all this deflated cinema and pixarism mischaracterizes what good animation can be -lrb- as in coraline , monster house , chicken little , teacher 's pet , the iron giant -rrb- . MOV 's aesthetic failure stems from its emotional letdown .",
        "MOV is quite wonderful entertainment blending moving moments with action-packed sequences and comedy . buoyant and beautiful , it is a movie must .",
        "not only the best kids movie of the year but one of best movies of 2009 .",
        "everything MOV does with quiet , time-bestriding imagination is a triumph .",
        "MOV is buoyant with thrills and spills , yet it 's anchored , quite movingly , in the acceptance of mortality . this rollercoaster ride will leave everyone on an MOV .",
        "MOV has wit and warmth , wonderful storytelling , winning characterisations and a palette of bright and beautiful colours . if ever an animated production was a serious contender for a best picture oscar , then this is the one .",
        "MOV matches or surpasses pixar 's previous hits like toy story , monsters inc and finding nemo . it shares their joyousness and visual flair , but for all its flights of fancy is more firmly rooted in the real , human world .",
        "there are frequent pangs of sadness throughout the film that beautifully balance both the adrenaline-charged action and broad comedy . this keeps both our hearts and minds involved with the story .",
        "MOV is a soaring -lrb- ha ! -rrb- achievement , visionary entertainment , and one of the very best films of the year - animated or otherwise .",
        "the first ten minutes or so of pixar 's latest animated wonder are cinematic perfection .",
        "those pixar geniuses have done it again - this is a hugely entertaining , beautifully animated and powerfully emotional film .",
        "a lush visual rendering of the pennsylvania dutch proverb , ` we get old too soon , and too late smart . '",
        "per usual , the nuances of human relationships are conveyed via pixar 's predictably acute attention to detail , coded in a mysterious evocation of mood .",
        "has more heart and soul in its tiniest pixel than most competitors ' movies can boast in their entirety .",
        "the pacing is perfect , the animation looks terrific , the emotional range is wide , and there are a few sly jokes you might not catch the first time around . that 's okay ; you 'll want to see it a second time anyway .",
        "as buoyant and richly tinted as the balloons that figure so prominently in its story , MOV is also thoroughly grounded in real emotion and ideas of substance .",
        "so fantastically buoyant , so soaring and so universal , that it 's hard to check the urge to get down on one 's knees before the cinema screen and give thanks for the joy of being a moviegoer .",
        "like the outfit 's previous film , wall-e , MOV is superb in setting MOV characters and a world that hankers over memories of yesteryear , but once the adventure moves into its obligatory action denouement , it enters a world of stereotypes that disappoints .",
        "it 's an unusual , magical film with which to open an art-house festival .",
        "i challenge you not to tear MOV .",
        "the first 10 minutes of pixar 's fantastical 3-d animated adventure MOV are a sublime testimonial to the purity and magic of the cinema . i know because i was a sobbing basket case by minute 11 .",
        "it 's quite simply the best pixar yet , seamlessly melding stirring emotions and thrilling adventure into a classic tale about letting go of the past and embracing the moment .",
        "MOV is breathtaking in its imaginative detail and astonishing in its emotional range .",
        "the glory of pixar 's films as that they touched on universal themes , all the way through , that just happened to also tickle kids . this one starts out that way , and then settles comfortably into being a kids film .",
        "quintessential pixar .",
        "there might not be a more dependable name in all of hollywood than pixar , and their tenth animated feature , MOV , continues the studio 's remarkable hot streak .",
        "what makes MOV such a satisfying film is the story of an old man deciding that he still has life left to be lived . and that life is an adventure .",
        "alternately funny , touching , exciting and visually dazzling , often all at once , this is the kind of film that you genuinely need to see twice in order to fully absorb everything it has to offer .",
        "a wonderful film , bursting with creativity and remarkable , in the way pixar efforts usually are , for being a ` family film ' that does n't pander and treats its story like serious business .",
        "it 's breezy , clever , hilarious , and entertaining -- all par for the course at pixar -- and has the depth and intelligence that separate pixar from every other animation factory .",
        "the most tender , touching and deftly told love story of the year is in the opening few minutes of MOV ...",
        "MOV is yet another triumph from the incredible pixar studios .",
        "i loved , loved , loved MOV . i can not praise it enough .",
        "if you feel down , a sure cure is to see `` MOV . '' it will lift your spirits and make your heart soar .",
        "a symphonic balance of captivating silence and clever dialogue , belly-laugh humor and tear-in-the-eye despair , fast-paced action scenes and scenes slowed for their precious detail , MOV orchestrates its talent into one truly unforgettable piece .",
        "real men cry at MOV .",
        "all filmmakers protesting that they only spoon feed kids the crap they crave , i present to you pixar 's two recent stars : a silent robot and a geriatric widower .",
        "after a strong takeoff , MOV lands on dead grounds .",
        "MOV is a beautifully balanced effort that will take you MOV , MOV and away on its beautiful balloons .",
        "this is one of pixar 's better films , comparable to ` the incredibles . '",
        "pixar delivers -lsb- another -rsb- piece of expertly-rendered , artful entertainment ... that does n't pander to kids and that families will still adore .",
        "pixar has gone past the point where they made animated films that happened to be good stories . now they are making good stories that happen to be animated .",
        "... 3d does n't tell the story -- the backbone of any quality film . MOV has a great one that holds MOV no matter how many dimensions are used .",
        "it 's no surprise that MOV was chosen to open the cannes film festival . this is a work of art .",
        "MOV is an engaging , exciting , warm-hearted trip at the movies . MOV starts slowly , but picks MOV helium and soars ... in 1923 buster keaton made the balloonatic . 86 years later MOV enters the buster keaton stratosphere .",
        "MOV is a high stakes adventure like nothing else we 've ever seen .",
        "from start to finish MOV is simply amazing .",
        "another buoyant and life-affirming pixar yarn . how do they keep on doing it ?",
        "another original , boundary pushing story . it 's not quite nemo , but it will have you shouting ` squirrel ! ' at every opportunity .",
        "what 's so impressive about MOV is that the film-makers never lose sight of their adult concerns .",
        "visually , MOV is breathless perfection , a dream ride of vivid colour and wit . it also has emotional depth . carl 's sense of failed purpose is felt : indeed he and muntz are both , for different reasons , seeking fulfilment .",
        "the humour gets weirder as it goes on and it 's among the lightest of pixar 's films , but the first 20 minutes offer the saddest , most poignant sequence seen in an animation film since bambi 's mother died .",
        "pixar 's most commercially daring and most fanciful film to date .",
        "a coming-of-old-age story that breaks the heart , tickles the funny bone and fires the imagination , MOV is a captivating , exuberant delight . and did we mention it contains the greatest moment in movie animation ? oh .",
        "uplifting , upstaging and uproarious , this beautifully crafted animated adventure is buoyed MOV to the heavens by a heart-gladdening story of genuine warmth and poignancy .",
        "so expertly put together , so beautifully written and filled with such brilliant and believable characters , it 's no exaggeration to say we 're in the throes of a golden age of animation not seen since disney 's heyday from the 1930s to the 1950s .",
        "pixar 's tenth film is one of the most uplifting ever made . it 's an instant classic and one of those rare movies which will appeal to all ages and intellects . it has heart and intelligence , beauty and excitement , plus loads and loads of imagination .",
        "what 's marvelous about MOV is how confidently it assumes the audience will smartly follow wherever it wants to take us .",
        "pixar has done it again , in every best way possible .",
        "MOV is a breathtaking ride into the realm of pure imagination . MOV shames the pap that now passes for family entertainment -lrb- yes , night at the museum 2 , i 'm talking to you -rrb- .",
        "it 's a joy to watch , for any age .",
        "i ca n't say that MOV is the best movie made by the cgi masters at pixar . i can say , though , that there is none better .",
        "a tenderness and spirit that is like helium for the heart .",
        "another triumph for pixar - a 3-d animated feature about a memorable cross-generation friendship that is also a probe on the true meaning of adventure",
        "do you think pixar ever gets tired of the monotony of good press ? if they do , they better get over it . MOV is a spellbinding gem , powered by pure whimsy and so deeply moving you forget entirely that you 're watching animation .",
        "i would n't have changed a thing about the movie , but my stomach might have .",
        "this is one of those rare occasions where everything works ...",
        "an animated movie that 's far more human than most live-action ones , and easily maintains the exalted standards we 've come to expect from pixar . it 's guaranteed to raise your spirits .",
        "while it may seem to have a limiting premise and characters , it 's done so well that it 's easily on par with the pixar films that came before it .",
        "only pixar could take a simple adventure story and turn it into a profound statement about life 's infinite possibilities .",
        "this is really special .",
        "a near masterpiece . 1st half is absolutely brilliant -- a beautiful compelling work of art . i laughed , i cried , i ogled at the rich visuals . sweet and touching theme .",
        "the movie is packed with lovely jokes , some of them funny in inexplicable ways .",
        "the key to pixar 's success has always been the perfect blend of heart and humor -- and they 've certainly done it again here .",
        "colorful , fun and delightful -- exactly what is expected from pixar .",
        "has something of the craziness of the classic donald duck and scrooge mcduck comic-book stories created by carl barks in the 1940s and '50s ...",
        "it 's sharp , funny , tear-jerking , and there is simply no better time to be had at the movies for anybody of any age",
        "the first third is pretty dark for kids , but once the house lifts off the movie soars .",
        "a beautiful film in every sense of the word , MOV belongs at or near the top of the list of pixar 's best movies .",
        "so for kids , an adventure movie . for adults , an adventure on a whole different level .",
        "MOV is less visually exuberant than many of the other pixar films , but in this case that 's a plus .",
        "while MOV achieves liftoff and even soars , it encounters enough turbulence to result in a bumpy flight .",
        "rarely has any film , let alone an animated one powered by the logic of dream and fantasy , been able to move so successfully -- and so effortlessly -- through so many different kinds of cinematic territory .",
        "while their latest achievement ca n't quite one-up wall-e , it offers soaring highs that are bound to enchant viewers of any age .",
        "from the title onward , MOV is a stratospheric success . it 's guaranteed to lift your spirits , and not with a pushy dreamworks-style gag reel of celebrity voices and committee-processed one-liners .",
        "with its tenth film , pixar has seemingly raised its own stakes , delivering a tale of such richness , such poignancy and such incredible imagination that one can only marvel at their dedication to the art of storytelling .",
        "MOV , the latest lovely fantasy from the artists at disney 's pixar animation , it 's a truly fantastic adventure -- a lighter-than-air daydream about a cranky widower , a chubby boy and their amazing journey .",
        "pixar has set the bar impossibly high . that they clear it here by a foot and not by a mile does n't mean they have n't succeeded in serving MOV extraordinary entertainment .",
        "there 's still something breathless about MOV , but i wonder if the pixar formula is n't starting to show its seams ...",
        "this film is lovely in attitude and execution . in a world that sometimes seems filled with mean people , mean institutions and mean humor , MOV is friendly , affirming and deeply moving . it 's funny , too , but never at anyone 's expense .",
        "the outrageously inventive fable that it tells lifts it above the mundane and sends it floating off to the heights of charm as if carried by a helium balloon .",
        "MOV may not quite rank as pixar 's finest film , but it is certainly the animation studio 's oddest and bravest picture , and possibly its most beautiful .",
        "best since finding nemo .",
        "technical brilliance and nuanced storytelling lift pixar miles above the competition .",
        "my six companions and i uniformly fell in love with this movie , and i ca n't wait to see it again , even at $ 15 for 3-d .",
        "it works not because the animation is impressive -- and it is -- but because they have a well-thought-out script and compelling characters ...",
        "a wonderful , whimsical flight of fancy , a wild 3-d excursion into storybook delirium that is nonetheless firmly grounded in trecognizable human emotions",
        "minus a lot of laughs for children pixar 's beautiful animation alleviated by michael giacchino 's magnificent music transports us to a far away make-believe place in the blink of an eye .",
        "get ` MOV . '",
        "hampered by a poor , almost cryptic advertising campaign , MOV returns pixar to their storytelling roots as experienced in previous films like the incredibles and ratatouille .",
        "-lsb- MOV -rsb- could easily have been cloying , but instead proves disarming in its deep reserves of narrative imagination and surprise , as well as its poignant thematic balance of dreams deferred and dreams fulfilled .",
        "how powerful are the folks at the pixar animation studios ? their latest offering , MOV , can possibly make you cry within the first 15 minutes .",
        "how much do i love this movie ? if it were mathematically possible , i 'd give it five stars out of four .",
        "in the hands of peter docter and gang , the exploits of a grumpy widower and an eager eight-year-old become incredibly entertaining in ` MOV . '",
        "MOV is challenging , emotionally and narratively , but it trusts viewers to keep MOV ; pixar has never been interested in talking down to children or their parents .",
        "to watch MOV with any attention is to be moved and astonished by the economy with which specific visuals are invested with emotion throughout .",
        "pixar will one day make a stinker , but i 'm happy to report that MOV is not it .",
        "good , not great , pixar",
        "MOV delivers like no other movie released this year thus far , operating as a massive summer movie and an intimate character study at the same time and with equal impact .",
        "the celebrated animation studio reaches great heights -- again -- with a surprising story that 's about a whole lot more than an old man with a flying house .",
        "the most shocking thing about MOV -- a trick pixar plays with eerie regularity -- is how easy it all seems .",
        "writer-directors pete docter and bob peterson present hilarious insights into bird brains and canine psychology and treat thornier human emotions deftly .",
        "pixar 's high-flying 3d adventure of an aged widower and his eight-year-old accidental stowaway is a constant delight . word of mouth should soar .",
        "a whimsical story that taps into the magical relationship between the young and the old .",
        "yet another pixar film that 's approximately 3 billion times better than almost all other animated movies .",
        "pixar has done better in the past , but , until their next masterwork arrives , MOV will do nicely as the winsome fable it is .",
        "many a pixar film has been nominated for the best animated feature academy award . `` MOV '' may finally be the one to snag a nod as best picture , animated or otherwise .",
        "MOV may be the first pixar film about actual people , and for all of its computer-generated visions and 3d inventions it 's always about human emotion and human experience .",
        "the characterizations are fairly coarse cartoons , in contrast to the emotionally rich cartoons that have become pixar 's hallmark . they 're more schematic than organic , and that applies to the plotting as well .",
        "because the movie 's grounded , it 's free to fly where it wants , and it does so with an exuberance and poignancy that at times feels majestic .",
        "gorgeously rendered in subtly immersive 3d and full of organic cinematic nods , this is a rare , wondrous story of true love and dream-catching . of holding on and letting go . you will believe a house can fly .",
        "they should create a new category for this year 's academy award for best vocal acting in an animated film and name asner as the first recipient .",
        "for family audiences looking for heart and laughs , ` MOV ' soars above the rest as the funniest film of the summer .",
        "a sweet , tender film that is easily one of the best films of 2009 , and with its 3d experience , it is the first film of the summer that is a must-see in the theaters .",
        "this cast a spell over me , hitting all the right notes , and reminding me once again , why i love films so much in the first place .",
        "the new pixar animation feature `` MOV '' goes boldly where even live-action movies rarely dare .",
        "the filmmakers let our imaginations take flight with carl 's house and we willing tag along for the adventure .",
        "opens on a note of human subtlety that goes beyond what we expect of a cartoon and grows into what may very well be the most touching human drama of the year .",
        "MOV , MOV and away",
        "a film that opens daringly ends with a shout-out to star wars",
        "i 'm not as filled with the same helium for disney/pixar 's MOV as other critics , but i 'd be cruel if i was n't lifted by the story of rediscovering a life of adventure .",
        "a triumph of animation and imagination , MOV is impossible not to enjoy , with its combination of adventure , true love and humour",
        "new beginnings and a spirit of adventure are the themes of this enchanting animation from pixar in which a lonely old man and eager young boy fulfil their dreams in a helium propelled flying house . ingenuity and humour are in abundant supply",
        "the flight -- especially in 3-d , which is the best way to experience MOV -- is a marvel of art come to life",
        "it 's often said that pixar makes children 's movies that adults can appreciate ... in reality , it makes movies for adults that children will tolerate -- sometimes only just .",
        "the imagination just soars when that house takes off with all those helium filled balloons .",
        "MOV is one of the best pixar films , which means it 's something very special .",
        "a sweet and gentle fable ... sad & funny & thrilling all at once .",
        "funny and poignant and full of life , MOV easily qualifies as one of the best movies of the year so far . go with someone you care about .",
        "a vibrantly bubbly exploration of how life 's great adventures can stem from death 's gloomy depths",
        "you never know what you 're going to get with this sort of thing , if people will sit on their laurels and bask in the concept or go to the effort of working out a compelling story . luckily the folks at pixar are n't known for taking the easy way out .",
        "... an animated masterpiece ...",
        "adventure is about escaping death 's closure , but it 's also about clinging to life 's openness - letting one escapade 's end evolve into something new . `` MOV '' is a tremendously affecting story of indomitable love , infectious spirit and embraced possibilities .",
        "has there ever been a bolder moment in a children 's film than one in which the lead character essentially sets off on his final journey into the heavens ?",
        "as corny as it sounds , MOV soars to new animation heights .",
        "no matter how you look at it , through the innocent eyes of a child or the wider , wiser worldview of an adult , the bright , buoyant MOV brims with imagination , adventure , humor and heart .",
        "the most successful moments use screenwriter peterson 's rapid-fire witty dialogue and sight gags .",
        "everything else is MOV to the studio 's usual standard , blending gorgeous and imaginative -lrb- but never gimmicky -rrb- animation with zippy storytelling , heartfelt sadness and laughs .",
        "MOV is a more more classic piece of entertainment , which cleaves to the pixar template of being beautifully rendered , emotional and laugh-out-loud adult funny , all the while capturing the na\u010fve charm of old-school disney .",
        "this is a wonderful film . it tells a story . the characters are as believable as any characters can be who spend much of their time floating above the rain forests of venezuela .",
        "even the out-of-place moments and blunt conceits can be forgiven , as they perform dutifully in service to the kind of thrilling movie adventures we regular folks can only dream of , but which the wizards at pixar perform with ease .",
        "breakneck speedy , hysterically funny and appropriately lithe , MOV handles itself in action with the same intensity as with comedy , never stopping to leave room for a laugh or a gasp .",
        "MOV is a story of human bonds remembered and new ones forged , and never for one moment does it seems insincere or contrived .",
        "easily the summer 's , and probably the year 's , most enchanting movie , MOV is a buoyant delight .",
        "pixar tops itself with its new animated offering MOV , a movie so visually and emotionally skillful that it makes monsters , inc. look positively antic , toy story seem like mere child 's play , and wall-e appear as sentimental fluff .",
        "everything about MOV is an MOV , in the most visceral and poetic ways .",
        "pretty close to being a perfect outing at the movies . and considering the marvels pixar has already given us year after year , that 's a stunning achievement .",
        "pixar 's most mature and refined chunk of animation to date .",
        "MOV emerges as a gentle hymn to adventure of both the soaring , storybook variety and the smaller , less obvious kind -- the perilous , unpredictable and richly rewarding journey of ordinary , everyday life .",
        "if such first-rate entertainment simply offers a remarkably fun experience instead of a life-changing one , it 's only because we 've come to regularly expect epiphanies from its creators .",
        "if only live action adventure movies were as well-written , subtle and painstakingly realized as this , we might be willing to renew our almost expired belief in the transporting powers of what pauline kael called `` movie movies . ''",
        "an enjoyable movie that 's also something pixar 's work usually is n't -- forgettable .",
        "a thrilling , heartfelt and humorous family film with enough jubilant energy to lift you right off your seat .",
        "the lessons of MOV lift us , even as they ground our heroes in what really matters .",
        "an absolutely rollicking adventure , MOV combines incredible animation with funny , old fashioned storytelling .",
        "what a magical , marvellous movie .",
        "its pg rating hints that this is one of those toon tales that will resonate more powerfully with adults than with kids , and never more so than in the sequences between carl and his wife -lrb- did we really just witness a miscarriage in an animated film ? -rrb- .",
        "an exquisite work of cinematic art that also happens to be the funniest , most touching , most exciting and most entertaining movie released so far this year .",
        "with ratatouille , wall-e and now MOV , pixar animation studios has graduated from moviedom 's finest animation house to its most consistent producer of great cinematic art , period .",
        "is MOV top-shelf pixar ? no . but is it quality summer movie entertainment ? absolutely . even when the folks at pixar aim to keep their feet solidly on the ground , they ca n't help but soar .",
        "MOV is n't merely good -- it is a thoroughly entertaining film that is downright great .",
        "its charms appear to have been applied with surgical precision ; by the end , i felt expertly sutured , but not much else .",
        "another near-perfect pixarian blend of escapist fun and heart-warming sentiment .",
        "pixar 's latest hero is a septuagenarian , misanthropic crank . and this film is all about him . it should n't work . we should n't like him , or want to watch him . but we do . you will . and you 'll love it .",
        "as beautiful as anything the animation house has yet produced -lrb- and their first feature in 3d -rrb- , it is at times meandering and not a little mawkish , but its vivid primary colours conceal a great deal of shaded nuance .",
        "click to read the full review",
        "mais um exemplo de como a pixar consegue construir , digitalmente , aquilo que a maior parte dos realizadores contempor\u00e2neos falha em criar com atores reais : hist\u00f3rias e personagens repletos de humanidade e do\u00e7ura .",
        "pixar 's unwavering standard of excellence is simply unfair , as it spoils us audiences who then expect other films , animated or live action , to measure MOV .",
        "the latest computer-animated adventure from pixar studios has a simple premise that should enchant viewers of all ages , fusing childhood fantasies of escape with adult feelings of melancholy and regret .",
        "overall it is MOV there -lrb- pardon the pun -rrb- with the best of the big studio cgi animations for kids and adults .",
        "webster 's online dictionary gives genius five definitions . they should add one more : pixar . twenty-two academy awards , four golden globes and three grammys qualify the studio .",
        "the overall look of the film , with its breathtaking aerial views of south american landscapes and its symbolic interplay of squares and circles , puts every other animation studio to shame .",
        "MOV recalls finding nemo in the grace with which it balances thrills and tenderness .",
        "this is probably the most original of all -lsb- pixar 's -rsb- films to date , and the realism brought to the screen is constantly surprising .",
        "it propels the viewer MOV , MOV and away in an experience combining smart , imaginative storytelling with dazzling dreamlike visuals , creating an experience that is the special province of animation -- at once utterly convincing and completely impossible .",
        "you can tell that this film was a labor of love , and that the cast and crew were sufficiently inspired by the material to craft a children 's movie that is destined to be a classic .",
        "were the filmmakers behind MOV scared by their own movie 's seriousness ?",
        "rest assured , it gets funny . and it 's thrilling , too , as the third act takes place almost entirely in the sky .",
        "a film like MOV makes it clear that pixar has moved beyond the point where it feels the need to pander to children .",
        "the look of MOV is a world away from pixar 's usual cgi intricacies -- simple in a way that only artists with a genius for complexity can achieve .",
        "for any run-of-the-mill movie studio , MOV would represent a major achievement . but this is pixar we 're talking about ... and so the standards have to be a little tougher .",
        "saying MOV ranks somewhere right in the middle is like dissing the bottom half of the top 10 titles that any genre has to offer . and if that is where MOV appears on the list of 2009 's best films , then so be it .",
        "better than at least 90 % of the non-pixar animated movies being produced , as well as a film experience that can be fully embraced for its originality of vision and tone .",
        "how many production houses can boast of reordering audiences ' favorites lists with each new release ?",
        "exudes a wit and wisdom that elevates it to the animated adventure apex .",
        "a near perfect feature , a thrilling combination of humour , pathos , action and drama . utterly original , endlessly inventive , and brilliantly crafted to appeal to old and young alike , it may well be pixar 's finest feature yet .",
        "a must see , in whatever format .",
        "lo notable de pixar es que tampoco parece pretender alcanzar nuevas metas , ni siquiera superarse a s\u00ed mismos , con cada nuevo proyecto . simplemente lo hacen lo mejor que pueden .",
        "MOV soars .",
        "a solid disney adventure feature animation using pixar .",
        "... adventure , humor and beauty to spare .",
        "pixar does it yet again with a competitor for the best film of 2009 ...",
        "pixar 's stunning 3-d adventure is an upper for everyone .",
        "if wall-e was pixar 's jim cameron movie , MOV is their jean cocteau film .",
        "-lsb- a -rsb- kid 's adventure yarn embedded in a grownup tale about grief and regret , purposes lost and rediscovered .",
        "MOV is full of fun and fantasy , and also earns its pg rating with complex emotional situations .",
        "a powerful , often hilarious film .",
        "indeed , MOV has first-rate animation and superlative voice work , but it 's the heartfelt story that cements its status as the best film of 2009 so far ."
    ],
    "summary": "an exciting , funny , and poignant adventure , MOV offers an impeccably crafted story told with wit and arranged with depth , as well as yet another visual pixar treat .",
    "id": "770671912"
  },
  {
    "movie": "oss_117_lost_in_rio",
    "reviews": [
        "ca n't overcome the fact that it 's sending up a 007 series that -- with the exception of 2006 's superb casino royale -- already plays like a parody of itself .",
        "it 's generally friendly and enjoyable , but it sags a bit .",
        "stupid , racist , sexist and yet weirdly lovable , bumbling detective hubert de la bath is back in o.s.s. 117 : lost in rio .",
        "the tenor , tone and immaculately lampooned art direction often make up for shtick that gradually grows thin in the belly-laugh department .",
        "time to retire oss 117 's license to kill before any more innocent people suffer .",
        "... when all else fails , -lsb- jean -rsb- dujardin 's smug grin and oblivious conviction in his every knee-jerk prejudice makes the character work .",
        "laugh-out-loud funny .",
        "all this is mighty silly , but there 's something to be said for watching a french movie that , for a change , is n't about l'amour , existential angst , or madness .",
        "michel hazanavicius 's parodic return to the 1950s espionage novels of jean bruce is sharp , uproarious and outrageous enough to overcome its minor lulls and flaws .",
        "by sacrificing the knowing anachronisms of its predecessor , lost in rio also sacrifices most of its wit .",
        "strutting around like a rooster in a thin-lapeled suit , 117 is n't much different from other comic bond figures , but the movies find a fresh and exceedingly rich vein of comedy in his airy sexism , racism , and colonialism .",
        "spouting enough racist and anti-semitic platitudes to incite unrest across the planet , this knockoff bond 's sheer delight is sorting out sinister political grossout swipes and brutal historical truths , from all the just plain silly fun .",
        "lost in rio wins giggles only when rubbing its spy milieu up against sheer randomness , but the sight of dujardin 's self-absorbed mug carving up a rubber crocodile for survivalist sustenance can only do so much .",
        "the part is tricky , but jean dujardin does it well , greeting every woman with a cocky jean-paul belmondo smile , and every foreign disaster with calm . thank heavens france is here to help !",
        ". . hands down the funniest movie of the year to date",
        "less raucous than cairo , nest of spies , this new adventure for the suave but bigoted french super-agent is still extremely good fun , with its amusing script , hilarious characters and astonishingly detailed production design .",
        "may well be the second funniest spy spoof ever made .",
        "it 's the grooving to composer ludovic bource 's fab xylophone beats and dujardin 's hyena laugh and heroic self-regard you 'll remember .",
        "atmospheric , with authentic 60s/70s capering all over brazil .",
        "just as before , i found myself grinning sheepishly when i was n't laughing , though the gags are less plentiful than before . this naughty , silly and wildly non-pc film , looks to me easily the equal of the clouseau adventures .",
        "i sort of liked the 2006 film , and i sort of like this one , too . i may like it a little more , because dujardin grows on you .",
        "the story is lame and the action is flaccid , but as hubert would be the first to tell you , the french have a word for those who ca n't take a joke : c'est la vie .",
        "sequelitis is apparently not purely an american phenomenon .",
        "... a truly funny spy spoof that delivers its comedy goods and pokes fun at everything and anything , especially oss-117 .",
        "dujardin has flawless comic timing as the hero who may stumble but -- with the arch of an eyebrow and a flash of a grin -- always rises to the defense of the r\u00e9publique .",
        "it 's larky , snarky fun .",
        "a reasonably pleasant surprise .",
        "writer-director michel hazanavicius amusingly sends up the genre 's visual and verbal codes , and relishes satirising oss 117 's sexist and anti-semitic views by pairing him with a beautiful female mossad agent .",
        "what 's really lost in rio is the participants ' sense of humor .",
        "bolstering its rejuvenation of the '60s french spy spoof franchise , this sequel to `` oss 117 : cairo nest of spies '' -lrb- 2006 -rrb- walks a fine line of non-politically correct comedy that grabs precarious laughs just before the gags hit the floor .",
        "i do n't know that we actually need agent oss 117 , but the world is a slightly better place with him around . and the film itself is a harmless trifle -- make that truffle , chocolate of course .",
        "in fitful bursts , lost in rio reaches further than its predecessor , delving into a loopy absurdism .",
        "i do n't know about you , but i look to french films for stylish love stories and potent social dramas . i definitely do n't look to gallic movies for slapstick comedy , a genre at which the french are especially bad .",
        "a very funny french comedy of a variety that usually does n't make its way here .",
        "mr. dujardin , a skilled comedian , deftly embodies the spy 's combination of cluelessness and condescension , but it 's an act that eventually wears thin .",
        "a winning spoof of the earlier 007 films ... liberally peppered with funny bon mots and character bits .",
        "director michel hazanavicius loves his sublimely naive bigot , and so do we",
        "hilarious , often silly french hit is the latest in a franchise that spoofs the james bond brand , in the spirit of `` get smart '' and the pink panther films . the yank audience is out there , but can it be uncovered ?",
        "this is like a subpar naked gun feature cooked up by eisenstein and godard during a drug-addled lost weekend . where 's leslie nielsen when you need him ?",
        "it is dujardin who wins the day -- and eventually , of course , the gimlet-eyed girl -- as the perfect , preening fool .",
        "the chief glory is the way its director , michel hazanavicius , manages to copy the thrillers of the time while taking the mickey out of them - this is funny , mischievous and sly .",
        "a berretta that is a few shots short of a full clip , michel hazanavicius ' lightning jabs at the spy super-hero fantasy are disjointed . too little , too late ?",
        "it 's puerile slapstick for the most part , energetically performed and shot in period style -lrb- splitscreen effects , garish decor -rrb- - but nobody will mistake it for a milestone in spoof .",
        "an amiable , mel brooks-style spoof that mercilessly satirises the gallic bond 's racism and breezy misogyny . glamorous locations , expert production design and sly nods to the swinging sixties setting are all endearing .",
        "there are good riffs about how to track down nazis in brazil , and dujardin trying to spit-roast a crocodile is good value . but it 's too often crass and laboured , this time .",
        "the gags are packed in tight and are a satisfying mix of those you can see coming from far over the horizon and those that jump out to surprise , although there are few real laugh-out-loud moments .",
        "essentially recycling nest of spies with different locations and less reliance on historical events , part three will require some fresh ideas , but until then this is a good joke worth the repeating .",
        "not only is it funny , it looks and feels fantastic , thanks to its duplication of the breezily kitsch cinematography and direction of sixties spy flicks , right down to the technicolor wash .",
        "thoroughly enjoyable , frequently hilarious spy spoof with a terrific comic performance from jean dujardin .",
        "with its shaky camera zooms and ridiculous abundance of split-screens shots , it also nails once again the stylistic quirks of the pop films of the 1960s in a way that 's more astute than austin powers and funnier than recent hollywood efforts ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by another appealing performance from jean dujardin , this sequel offers more absurdly fun action -- and more politically incorrect humor -- for fans of '60s spy films .",
    "id": "770809484"
  },
  {
    "movie": "exorcist_the_beginning",
    "reviews": [
        "let 's hope exorcist : the beginning marks the end of a franchise that never should have gone beyond the 1973 original",
        "plenty violent . and bloody . and gory . what it is n't -- not really -- is scary .",
        "although harlin has n't directed a full-out horror movie since 1988 's a nightmare on elm street iv , he seems to have spent most of the time since memorizing them .",
        "it 's not despicable . it is merely boring .",
        "trips over itself in a rush to get gross and then lingers too long on pustules , gaping wounds and maggots .",
        "a perfectly mediocre horror film .",
        "the pacing is slack , and the increased level of blood and guts seems like a desperate move . and most of the special effects -lrb- especially the cgi work -rrb- are really shoddy .",
        "if you 're looking for groundbreaking badness , you need n't look much further than the new exorcist prequel , which is one interminably grisly waste .",
        "despite a high body count , shock cuts and loud noises , this prequel to william friedkin 's 1973 horror film fails to deliver any palpable shivers .",
        "the film focuses too much on gore and weird special effects .",
        "you 'd think evil would have multiple game plans , kinda like joe gibbs or bill parcells . instead , hawley and harlin just want to reenact their favorite scenes from the original",
        "a sincere -- and sincerely problematic -- film that may have been shot twice , but deserved a third try to get things right .",
        "stellan skarsgard 's haunting portrayal of a man struggling with his faith overshadows the special effects and horror aspects of this ` exorcist ' prequel .",
        "the special effects work on the film is so mediocre that the audience actually laughed at one moment that was intended to be terrifying . demonic butterflies ? please .",
        "suitable only for teenagers on a first date or mel gibson catholics .",
        "ignoring the essentially inward story of the exorcist , -lsb- harlin -rsb- has created a sprawling anything-for-a-jolt movie , more in the spirit of a midnight teen-scream flick than a portrayal of a dark night of the soul .",
        "it manages a trifecta of pain : it 's dull , it 's grim , it 's stupid . how 's that for a recommendation ?",
        "harlin 's hackwork screams volumes of a falsely moody and generic scarefest ... an inexplicable tease for true horror hedonists",
        "nothing seems believable and the scares never come .",
        "what would possess a filmmaker to create another `` exocist '' movie ?",
        "this is what happens when an entire movie is created via reshoot .",
        "a plodding mess of a movie , with very few frights , and those that are there are all timeworn clich\u00e9s .",
        "a great waste of time , talent and resources",
        "maybe the long-troubled , twiced-filmed prequel should be called exorcist : the boring .",
        "wandering into the territory of cinema as audience punishment .",
        "... it does n't have anything interesting to say ...",
        "the prequel ... just goes to show , once again , that the exorcist was a one-of-a-kind film . but you know how it goes : the power of cash compels them .",
        "a snorefest interrupted briefly by a only a few semi-decent moments .",
        "a $ 54 million sensationalistic hack job that is heavy on gore and cheap shocks and almost completely devoid of any sense of genuine human , social , or religious insight",
        "schrader 's vision still comes through , despite harlin 's excessive and posturing blood-letting .",
        "a horror movie that starts off decently but quickly falls victim to clich\u00e9 .",
        "it 's ironic that the producers enlisted harlin specifically to up the movie 's fright quotient , because the finished product contains zero scares . laughs , on the other hand , are abundant .",
        "it 's not that they did n't try to make a good film . they just did n't try to finish a good film .",
        "... a soul-deadening , feature-length hodgepodge of clich\u00e9d horror reveals and unstylish gore-for-the-sake-of-gore , sewn together with loose threads of dull exposition .",
        "i would think that john boorman , director of exorcist ii : the heretic , is now officially off the hook . this is n't entertainment ; it 's assault and battery .",
        "the beginning tries to be three films in one , but winds up lacking coherence or any identity of its own . however , it is n't horrible when taken as a simple horror flick .",
        "shocks are few and the terror is more ooky than chilling , which will terrify -lsb- only -rsb- those members of the audience suffering an obsessive-compulsive neat freakness",
        "the film 's pace is slow and deliberate , probably in an attempt to try to build mood and suspense , but all it manages to build is excruciating boredom .",
        "saying harlin succeeded in making it less cerebral might make the studio happy , but audiences are likely to still be bored beyond belief .",
        "could rival exorcist ii : the heretic as the most ridiculous and boring horror movie ever made",
        "when it was first released , the exorcist caused nausea , fainting and heart attacks ; by comparison , the beginning elicited waves of giggles and guffaws from a preview screening audience .",
        "harlin keeps it creepy , atmospheric , and disturbing for the first half , but when it progresses past the halfway point silliness ensues .",
        "as shocking as an dokken album cover and , finally , as pious as the passion of the christ .",
        "harlin 's film does n't even work on the level of entertaining schlock like peter hyams ' devil thriller end of days .",
        "reams of tedious exposition finally give way to a random jumble of horror movie clich\u00e9s , rising to a shrill pitch of hysteria that is never remotely frightening .",
        "some things are better left mysterious , and some movies better left unmade .",
        "brutal . not for kids .",
        "an utter violation of anything that ever made the exorcist memorable ... just gaudy effects and things jumping out to say `` boo ! ''",
        "more than 30 years after the original hit screens , along comes the very best of the sequels .",
        "contrived , clich\u00e9 , murky , muddled , and an utterly gory mess ...",
        "the serious catholic themes that made the original film genuinely disturbing have been flattened out into a cartoonish backstory pitting merrin against nazi storm troopers .",
        "most of the movie feels nothing like an exorcist film .",
        "flawed , but still good .",
        "this is not horror . it 's sadism .",
        "by the time the three or four false endings are finished and the credits roll , moviegoers will be left wondering whether schrader 's version will be released on dvd .",
        "it rates fairly high on both the scare-o-meter and gross-out scale , with an early hyena attack guaranteed to have you flinching in terror .",
        "maybe schrader 's more subdued take was really the only way to approach this story . hopefully one day we can all see the difference .",
        "... a movie that unfolds with all the urgency of a history channel production .",
        "not good to be sure , but hardly the unwatchable black hole of suck we had been led to anticipate .",
        "by the time we get to the real exorcising , it 's too late . we 're bored with , and as , hell .",
        "this one wo n't make your head swivel .",
        "... i had goose-bumps on my goose-bumps clear to the top of my head ...",
        "` if you ca n't scare 'em , repulse 'em ' would appear to be the motto of exorcist : the beginning .",
        "never feels like anything other than generic , brain-dead , dolby-jolt , multiplex hackwork -- i kept expecting skarsgard 's habitually catacomb-prowling merrin to bump flashlights with lara croft .",
        "never underestimate the box-office appeal of a boring horror film .",
        "a lot of noisy tomfoolery that never coalesces into a solid horror yarn , lacking even the beloved pea soup 'n' rotating noggins that made us quake way back when .",
        "... atrocious ...",
        "the hellishly long buildup works , but the payoff is predictable , pitting merrin against a contortionist white devil in a blue dress .",
        "stellan skarsgard deserves another movie . this cruel , nasty , ugly prequel deserves to be exorcised right off the marquee .",
        "this exorcist prequel is more or less what used to be called a b-movie . even b-movies , however , had to please audiences on some level .",
        "pena que , em vez de merecer seu pr\u00f3prio cap\u00edtulo nos livros de hist\u00f3ria do cinema , tenha se revelado digno apenas de uma nota de rodap\u00e9 .",
        "harlin amps up the sound effects and gore in an attempt to disguise the absence of any genuine scares .",
        "-lsb- harlin 's -rsb- skill has never been proven and here , with effects that make the original look state-of-the-art , we see a film that is trapped in empty suspense and faulty terror .",
        "... an interesting little piece of entertainment : stylized , ambitious , and filled with scenes in which the element of creepiness seems genuine rather than synthetic .",
        "i was mildly surprised when it did n't stink up the joint . in that regard , you can call it the queen of the damned 2004 .",
        "it never approaches the stratospheric badness of exorcist ii : the heretic , but this lemon does its damndest to heap more dirt on the franchise 's grave .",
        "... yes , it is as bad as you 've heard .",
        "yet another film where a loyal black man dies to save his `` master , '' a hollywood trend that 's downright sickening .",
        "not unlike exorcist ii . it 's a huge mess with passages of great beauty , juxtaposed with a few truly scary moments and a bunch of hokum and stupidity .",
        "exceedingly lame production has few frights and not much story either .",
        "blood , flies , maggots , ravenous hyenas , power failures , grave-digging and much ineffectual voodoo ensue .",
        "warner 's late-game recruiting of a vulgarian like renny harlin to tack on some barf-bag moments is simply an insult to fans of the original .",
        "boring as hell .",
        "the priest grabs a rifle and blasts away : father merrin , action hero .",
        "although old scratch is n't strong enough to fight off the baltimore catechism for very long , the scares are good enough .",
        "working nazis into the satanic brew certainly ups the evil ante , but it does n't help make exorcist : the beginning a worthwhile movie .",
        "this may be called the beginning , but it probably spells the end of the franchise . there are a few good jolts , but it 's more creepy than scary .",
        "simultaneously boring and overwrought -lrb- especially in the laugh-inducing climax -rrb- ... fails as a sequel , as a metaphysical exercise and even as a cheesy exploitation item .",
        "this is the kind of film that mysteriously vanishes from most participants ' resumes .",
        "if this violent , tedious and gore-splattered prequel to the horror classic is any indication , the devil has officially become boring .",
        "jesus , mary and joseph -- could they have made a worse movie out of exorcist : the beginning ?",
        "an all out gore fest that would make mel gibson blush .",
        "impressive on a number of levels and awful on precious few .",
        "director paul schrader delivered a movie that the studio did n't like . now renny harlin makes one that nobody likes .",
        "the beginning surpasses both sequels , yet it still feels like a potboiler that regurgitates reliable jolts as if it were sticking to its own rites .",
        "the original exorcist verged on being demonic child porn . this beginning simply feels as if it has no end .",
        "this one is all hokum and not willing to dig deeper than into the familiar demonic bag of horror movie tricks .",
        "an example of the studio getting exactly what they ask for and the final product suffering because of it",
        "mr. harlin 's helming is uninspired enough to remind you that he 's the fellow responsible for such tankers as cutthroat island and driven .",
        "the battle here is not between father merrin and the devil . it 's between those who 'd make a scary film about a priest wrestling with his faith and those who 'd prefer an artificially adrenalized satanic smackdown .",
        "harlin 's hamfisted horror-show offers an hour and a half of tooth-grinding boredom followed by 20 minutes of all-singing , all-dancing , knees-up stupidity .",
        "exorcist : the beginning makes the mistake of confusing loud noises , grotesque images , obscene violence , and buckets of blood for frights .",
        "a botch job of mistimed scare scenes , bland characters and computer-generated hyenas .",
        "the prequel to william friedkin popular shock opera emphasizes unpleasantness over scares and coherence .",
        "one would think studios would shy away from this dead horse ; i guess the power of crap compels them .",
        "it is n't quite hell , but clambering to the end of this dusty remnant of an idea is certainly purgatory .",
        "it does n't disappoint .",
        "what is rather horrifying is how this would-be thriller manages the bizarre feat of being simultaneously dull and completely ridiculous .",
        "carves out its own niche by combining the christian horror of the original with the cruelties and crassness of colonialism .",
        "laughably poor prequel that is dumb , nonsensical and not remotely scary -- however , it remains watchable thanks to stellan skarsgard .",
        "the acting is serviceable at best , the direction unfocused -- and the special effects and makeup cheesy-looking .",
        "what begins as a reasonably watchable if shamelessly derivative occult thriller gets progressively sillier as schlockmeister director renny harlin piles on the cheap scares and red herrings .",
        "the scariest thing here is the editing , which is - bar none - the worst i have ever seen in a mainstream hollywood movie .",
        "interesting but not compelling , spooky but not scary ... succeeds only in surpassing the first unnecessary sequel .",
        "pokey , blood-spattered , cheap-scare - larded prequel .",
        "this annoyingly disjointed shocker stumbles badly after promising early scenes , and quickly devolves into a chaotic blur of underdeveloped characters , illogical transitions and standard-issue scary-movie tropes .",
        "nothing in the movie is noteworthy , except for maybe its offensive treatment of children .",
        "this movie is no exorcist , but it 's no alien vs. predator either .",
        "the best thing that can be said for it is that everybody got paid handsomely for killing off a franchise .",
        "in broad strokes exorcist : the beginning is a compelling story -- but the devil 's in the details .",
        "a grimly goofy , tediously bloody , dismally un-scary trashing of friedkin 's original that fits comfortably with the myriad other ` supernatural ' disasters of recent years .",
        "there 's been a tremendous struggle to bring exorcist : the beginning to theaters , and having seen the end result , it 's hardly been worth it ."
    ],
    "summary": "a mediocre , gory horror film , nowhere near the quality of the 1973 original .",
    "id": "13326"
  },
  {
    "movie": "adieu_au_langage",
    "reviews": [
        "godard seems almost giddy in his use of 3-d .",
        "the single film from 2014 that most actively tries to find a new language for filmmakers to inhabit , and honestly , it might be the most consistently captivating one as well .",
        ". . we keep going back to roxy and , astoundingly , godard just about succeeds in allowing us to see the world through the dog 's eyes , the implication being that it is the purer form of experience .",
        "throughout this enigmatic film 's short running time , i could n't for the life of me make out what godard was trying to say .",
        "a film that 's stuffed with language , its title notwithstanding .",
        "if this kind of synaptic brainstorm sounds like an invigorating cinematic experience , i 'm here to tell you that watching goodbye to language on a big screen will be 70 minutes well spent .",
        "a hugely entertaining and almost entirely inscrutable lark , with a punk rock air of both surrender and rejuvenation .",
        "working in 3-d for the first time , mr. godard pushes the envelope and - depending how you look at it - trolls the format for all its worth .",
        "i 'm attaching four stars more out of helplessness than critical acumen , by the way ; if the film is beyond language , it 's certainly beyond a traditional rating system .",
        "put in short , the film is chaos , but glorious , wondrous chaos that lets us see what genius looks like from the inside .",
        "the result is , beyond question , the finest way that the -lsb- 3d -rsb- format has ever been put to use .",
        "-lsb- video essay -rsb- `` goodbye to language '' is a vibrant think piece about modern man 's constant state of fear of the frankenstein culture of violence that governments and corporations have created .",
        "this is an experimental film by its most pure definition .",
        "the master still knows what he is doing even if we often do n't .",
        "the elder filmmaker 's take on our world of separations and alienation .",
        "MOV , which ends with a dog 's bark and a child 's cries , is a masterpiece , a film attuned to a future that likely will not come to pass .",
        "cinema is a vernacular of domination , and quaking with revelations both formal and personal , the film attests that godard has spent his career apologizing for it .",
        "overall , the concise , often impermeable experience does justice to the title by indicting a society on the verge of self-destruction with its own tools .",
        "unlike anything else you 'll see this year .",
        "if `` goodbye to language '' -lrb- the title must be ironic , right ? -rrb- were to appear without godard 's name attached , how would it be received ? that 's the only really interesting question provoked .",
        "the sheer assaultive power of goodbye to language makes it godard 's most vibrant and exciting film for some time and , you might say , his most terroristic .",
        "from its opening intertitled quotations , it 's patently obvious who has made this movie . and yet it somehow feels fresh , exciting and new within the godard canon .",
        "it leaves me almost speechless , slightly mystified , strangely wistful and perhaps with a mild case of eye strain , but delighted nonetheless .",
        "`` goodbye to language '' seems like an appropriate title if it 's meant to suggest that logic and sanity have completely disappeared from this world .",
        "reviews of jean-luc godard 's latest film ... generally include the phrase `` not for everybody . '' so the potential viewer has to ask herself or himself : `` am i everybody ? '' turns out i 'm not .",
        "3-d is the ideal toy for an old enfant terrible like godard to play with . packed with dazzling images , the film makes 3-d feel like something brand-new to the medium .",
        "it is there to jolt , to challenge , to disrupt : the old brechtian imperative .",
        "the title says ` goodbye , ' but jean-luc godard says hello with a stimulating and playful meditation on the state of the world and the possibilities of the image .",
        "all in all , it is intriguing exercise in social criticism . but it 's an unpopular message delivered in an unbearable execution .",
        "it probably ca n't be called a great film , but it 's a teasing and exhilarating one , one that flirts with despair but somehow , i think , comes out on the side of joy .",
        "it 's something of a miracle that a filmmaker still has the capacity to wow an audience with the aid of those bulky glasses .",
        "aside from anything else , godard has made the most striking use of 3d since that unlovely medium came back into vogue .",
        "it 's a good bit funnier , as well as freer in its rapid-fire associations , than the more strident and structured film socialisme .",
        "MOV is a film that brings us face to face with doubt , despair , and everyday existential confusion , made in a state of pure liberty .",
        "it 's like someone gave godard a list of everything you 're not supposed to do in a 3d movie , and he did every one of them . which is why he 's a genius .",
        "this is a master filmmaker whose interest in form and its instruments have kept him vital .",
        "-lsb- godard 's -rsb- 3-d technique is the first advance in deep-focus camerawork since the heyday of orson welles ; it lends the settings a sumptuous intimacy as it restores the astonishment of sheer perception to the art of the cinema .",
        "goodbye to language can be oddly , ineffably mesmerising , though for those of us who appreciate the notion of storytelling will leave rather unfulfilled",
        "is it difficult , abrasive and pretentious ? absolutely . but there are worse things to be than any of those .",
        "compared with captain america or whatever , goodbye is `` revolutionary . '' but so what ?",
        "this is easily my favorite godard film in a long time -- since weekend , in fact , which was made before i was born .",
        "a film you need to see again should be a film you want to see again , and the oblique beauty of goodbye to language , shot in 3-d , has a tractor-beam-like pull .",
        "goodbye to language follows in the eye-searing , mind-spinning wake of godard 's recent features , taking the fragmentation even further than in his film socialisme .",
        "even at a brisk 70 minutes , goodbye to language is dense with too many ideas and innovations to unpick on one viewing .",
        "my relationship with goodbye to language has not been a honeymoon of unruffled bliss , but i 'm glad to have had it , and can say unequivocally that it should be seen in an environment where its 3d effects can do their work -- that is to say , in a cinema .",
        "goodbye to language is far more stimulating visually and aurally than it is intellectually , but at 83 , godard is still pushing the form . i 'll take it .",
        "the innovation raises the spirits , but gives you a splitting headache . that 's how it is with godard , who revels in his dreams so willfully that the results are frequently frustrating and opaque .",
        "jean-luc godard is an original and at 84 has lost none of the youthful vitality he demonstrated in his first feature .",
        "anyone interested in the possibilities of the moviegoing experience - what can happen in a dark theater - owes it to themselves to say hello to `` goodbye to language . ''",
        "at 84 , godard is still looking for new ways to express himself , though he thinks it harder than ever to achieve meaningful interpersonal communication in the information age .",
        "goodbye to language 3d challenges the very ways in which we watch movies . and that 's the point . the things jean-luc godard is able to do with 3d as a medium are astounding .",
        "jean-luc godard is the acknowledged mascot , if not master , of intellectual cinema . in `` goodbye to language 3d '' the 84-year-old auteur ... reprises his longstanding suspicion that words are worthless .",
        "the reason to buy a ticket is to take the ride , though , and seeing what 84-year-old godard does when given an extra dimension is intensely fascinating .",
        "shooting on various low - and medium-grade digital cameras , godard turns `` goodbye to language '' into a rumination on memory , communication , everyday life and sexual tension .",
        "old dogs , similar tricks , but hardly tired .",
        "for better or for worse , godard has traded roller coaster thrills for a carnival of gimmicks .",
        "godard ca n't stop himself from exploring new ways to make pictures . he seems to enjoy doing so almost as much as he enjoys frustrating the expectations of those who still want a movie to have a beginning , a middle and an end , in that order .",
        "in goodbye to language 3d is a new inspiration -lsb- for godard -rsb- , used for artistic , fun-of-filmmaking reasons . that alone is cause for celebration .",
        "there 's a lot to unpack here , but even if you 're just staring slackjawed , like an idiot who will figure this all out later , it can be a lot of actual , honest-to-god fun - and usually very funny .",
        "it joins the very short list of intriguing experiments in 21st-century 3-d , which otherwise comprises werner herzog 's `` cave of forgotten dreams '' and wim wenders ' `` pina . ''",
        "at 83 , godard continues to push boundaries , even if his latest movie may baffle all but the most devoted film theorists .",
        "lots of luck figuring any of this out before dozing off .",
        "watching it is , i would imagine , as close as we 'll get to being able to be godard , sitting there thinking , or dreaming . it 's a documentary of a restless mind .",
        "the everyday world is made vivid and strange , rendered in a series of sketches and compositions by an artist with an eccentric and unerring eye .",
        "the experience of being eluded by jean-luc godard has its consolations , foremost among them the 83-year-old director 's prerogative to elude .",
        "as far as purely aesthetic experiences go , i doubt anything i 'll see anywhere this year will beat jean-luc godard 's goodbye to language .",
        "the helter-skelter non-story does not stay long on anyone or anything but tackles a range of topics obliquely ."
    ],
    "summary": "as visually thrilling as it is inscrutable , goodbye to language 3d offers a late-period masterpiece from a legendary director still very much in control of his craft .",
    "id": "771379104"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cars_2",
    "reviews": [
        "it took real willpower to sit through this entire mess , and even my granddaughter -lrb- 10 -rrb- said `` that was a terrible movie , grandma ; i did n't like it . ''",
        "MOV feels like a rival animation studio trying to copy the pixar formula - and failing .",
        "despite the bucktoothed charm of the truck named mater and a plot that pays lip service to alternative fuels , the john lasseter-directed animation does not turn the lemon into lemonade .",
        "-lsb- pixar -rsb- t has set such a high bar with what it has done with animation and storytelling over its 25 years that when it falls short -- and it does fall short with MOV -- the disappointment can make a perfectly good , entertaining movie seem like a letdown .",
        "this being pixar , MOV looks fantastic , but the studio has never given audiences -- especially audiences over the age of 10 -- less reason to be emotionally invested in the beautiful shiny things flying across the screen .",
        "especially coming from pixar , this frantic but uninspired ` toon is a major disappointment .",
        "there is a lot to like about `` MOV . '' the 3-d animation is sumptuous , the action sequences are exciting . it manages to be witty enough to engage adults while being 100 % kid-friendly .",
        "i blow a piston whenever 2006 's cars gets trashed as the runt of the pixar litter . the sequel is a tire-burning burst of action and fun with a beating heart under its hood .",
        "how **** ing sad this movie is .",
        "it is a good film , but lacks the emotional punch of `` up '' or the exquisite ending of `` toy story 3 . '' maybe this one is bad enough that the establishment will allow an animator other than pixar to win the top awards this year .",
        "without the warm-hearted innocence mater brings to screenwriter ben queen 's madcap espionage adventure , lasseter 's sequel would be little more than a superior technical exercise , visually impressive but so slight as to seem superfluous .",
        "if you were the kids that the merchandising is aimed at , then you would love this film . it 's just not for us .",
        "no , MOV is n't another pearl from pixar , but it 's entertaining and well-made .",
        "with the love story jettisoned in favor of explosions , a confusing plot and poorly defined characters , MOV goes nowhere fast .",
        "it looks like a pixar film , but it sure does n't feel like one .",
        "the new runt of the pixar litter . but so what ? if the pixar gurus occasionally want to kick up their heels and make movies that offer only surface pleasures , then so be it . the only requirement should be that they entertain , which this certainly does .",
        "... MOV is a bright and breezy excursion that avoids the slow patches the original had ...",
        "cars dazzled my eyes and warmed my heart . MOV ... inspired resistance instead of welcome .",
        "the animation is superb , but the length and sledgehammer delivery takes MOV down to second gear .",
        "minor pixar , but it would be a major film were it made by just about anyone else . i , for one , will not get greedy .",
        "unlike the duller than duller `` cars , '' this is better than the toys they sell along with it .",
        "a fairly disastrous sequel ...",
        "undoubtedly flawed , this animated film is still -lrb- barely -rrb- worth seeing .",
        "with MOV it seems pixar may have fallen on the self-made sword of success . but even for adult audiences , it is no more than middling - it is neither terribly good nor terrible , but it still out-performs the majority of rival animation studios ' output .",
        "it 's so eye-popping that MOV easily ranks as one of the best 3d entries this year .",
        "despite a more interesting plot , MOV still leans on a number of problems established in the first film -- specifically leading men , lightning mcqueen and mater .",
        "MOV is a very messy concoction , but it does prove entertaining every once in a while .",
        "at a time when some `` grown-up '' action films are relentlessly shallow and stupid , here is a movie with such complexity that even the cars sometimes have to pause and explain it to themselves .",
        "larry the cable guy has helped make mater one of pixar 's sweetest creations . he just happens to reside in the studio 's least-magical franchise .",
        "not that MOV is an actively bad animated film . it 's just sort of an average animated film .",
        "unlike most pixar fare , this is n't a movie you can imagine many adults wanting to see without their children in tow .",
        "although it would be unfair to label MOV as unwatchable , it is surprisingly tedious in parts and not as satisfying as one might expect .",
        "a convoluted , boring storyline and a way-too-long feature .",
        "`` MOV '' blows a gasket .",
        "i have such high regard for pixar and its creative team , led by john lasseter , that it actually hurts to knock one of their movies-something i 've never done before . but then , i 've never gotten a headache watching any of their previous films . despite ...",
        "between the smart visuals and the dumbed-down script , MOV manages to be good enough - which , considering pixar 's past levels of brilliance , is a considerable disappointment .",
        "a sequel with a lot of horse power under the hood , but little else .",
        "cars sequel revs up action and mixes in spy thrills .",
        "visuals look spectacular and action sequences take full advantage of the 3d format so you feel like you are burning rubber down winding roads at dizzying speed .",
        "MOV wo n't win any new converts , but will sell an awful lot of car toys .",
        "unlikely to be regarded among the best of the american studios ' work , MOV is a likeable sequel with dazzling visuals and adheres to everything disney stands for .",
        "pixar 's first bad film relies more on merchandising opportunities than storytelling ones .",
        "the whole thing 's basically theseus ' paradox as performed by a cast of sentient automobiles .",
        "though technically up to snuff , it 's flat-footed stuff .",
        "kids will be entertained and so will adults . i just did n't find myself particularly engaged .",
        "the action is non-stop and pleasing to the eye , but somewhere along the way , pixar 's soul was left behind .",
        "do n't tell the kids , but santa claus is n't real and pixar is fallible .",
        "the summer 's first must-see family film is another cross-generational treasure from pixar-disney , with a full tank of humor , high-tech animation in the service of a good story , and heart .",
        "this is also one of the most violent pixar films , with cars being shot at , thrown into the ocean to drown and dying . yes , dying . it tries to be a bond film , but when was the last time you let your five-year-old watch one of those ?",
        "pixar moves into the fast lane for a sequel that does n't flame out , but is burdened by too much plot",
        "... by pixar 's outrageous standards of oscar shoo-in virtuosity , this sequel is a disappointment at best .",
        "globe-spanning sequel to pixar 's 2006 automative adventure is a visual treat , but has less to offer mature viewers than the studio 's recent top-of-the-line models .",
        "not every pixar feature needs to be deeply profound or lead you to the brink of tears for it to be a worthwhile experience . what 's so wrong with just having a blast at the movies ? most of the time that 's all my inner-child needs .",
        "while the little ones will have plenty to feast their eyes , ears and short attention spans on , grown-ups should accept that this is one pixar effort that treats the adults in the audience more like baby sitters .",
        "`` MOV '' is a honda needing a body shop as compared to the pristine ferrari that was `` cars '' . it 's an unequal pixar blend for adults and kiddies that never evolves into the storytelling success of its predecessor .",
        "there is nothing here to justify a sequel , other than the merchandising revenue . what they have given us is a limp , over-stuffed film that lacks class .",
        "for the first time , we get a sense of ` let 's just knock this out ' instead of ` let 's knock this out of the park . '",
        "sidekicks exist to steal the show , not carry it like tow mater is asked to do in MOV . the redneck rust bucket is on screen so much that 3-d glasses should come with tetanus shots .",
        "the rare sequel that improves on its predecessor , this lightning-paced caper-comedy shifts the franchise into high gear with international intrigue , spy-movie spoofery and more automotive puns than you can shake a stickshift at .",
        "heartless , convoluted , and boring",
        "the original movie has been debugged and rethought . it 's funnier and sharper .",
        "the movie is an interesting reminder of how very , very high the pixar wizards have set the bar . sometimes they make masterpieces ; sometimes , as in this case , they just make pretty good movies .",
        "the constantly shifting scenery and the over-reliance on mater 's idiocy combine to produce a fatigue not common to better pixar efforts .",
        "this is mater 's movie . it 's a materthon . i would call it materific if he did n't leave me longing for walle 's robot to crush him into a silent cube .",
        "pixar runs out of gas . into a brick wall .",
        "young kids will like this , but that 's about it .",
        "mater is dumb , excitable and puppy-dog loyal , his idiot-savant automotive expertise grounded in humble , blue-collar simplicity . i doubt anyone will protest much , but pixar has now found its redneck jar-jar binks . such a proud moment .",
        "with toy story 3 , one could sense the heartfelt devotion the filmmakers put into visiting those characters again ; i do n't feel it here . MOV is still a highly entertaining bit of animation , but the soul is n't filled by watching it .",
        "cute cars and some terrific animation , but MOV lacks compelling characters and a clever story . pixar is so adept at providing emotion and laughs . this one lacks both .",
        "cars ' second lap wisely trades the tepid americana of the first go-round for a tangier takeoff on globe-hopping spy adventures .",
        "of all the great pixar films and franchises , `` cars '' is perhaps the most difficult to embrace .",
        "pixar had never produced a clunker , but with `` MOV , '' the animation studio has not only stalled , it 's gone into reverse .",
        "mediocre pixar is still way better than what any other animation studios are doing .",
        "i hate to say this , but MOV is the first pixar movie that feels dead inside .",
        "someone must like mater , who 's already had his own spinoff tv show . just as someone must like larry the cable guy , who voices him . but that someone is n't me , and if it is n't you , you 're in for one very long matinee .",
        "all winning streaks must come to an end , but this is ugly .",
        "a work of disheartening anonymity ... not only is MOV mediocre , it does n't even feel like mediocre pixar .",
        "like the first film , MOV runs out of gas . unlike the original , this one fails to cross the finish line .",
        "MOV '' never seems to rev up to its full potential . at one hour and 53 minutes , it feels sluggish and padded . the film lacks spark and drive .",
        "a too long and repetitious sequel to the winning first film that is part cars , part james bond , part transformers , and part beverly hillbillies .",
        "the first pixar feature film that seems unnecessary -- more marketplace contrivance than passion project .",
        "as an animated feature MOV is good as long as you can put up with mater , but as a pixar movie its missing much of the magic that you 've come to expect from the studio .",
        "for the first time in its 25-year existence , pixar has created an utterly ordinary film .",
        "it 's good fun but , with so many characters and plot strands , it also feels cluttered and rather chaotic .",
        "MOV is beautiful to look at , but the characters still do n't really grab hold of your hearts like woody & co from toy story or even the fish in finding nemo .",
        "ironic that cars continues to be pixar 's most underpowered juggernaut - but you have to admire the body work .",
        "lasseter delivers some exciting race sequences set in , among other places , paris and london , but the stop-start nature of the yarn results in a rare instance of pixar failing to fire on all cylinders .",
        "sweet turbo mother of fuel injections , what is this ?",
        "time , perhaps , for the franchise to be towed off to the scrapyard . sorry , pixar .",
        "it 's not vintage pixar , but MOV is still streets ahead of most of the animated pack .",
        "MOV is beautifully animated but it 's also frequently dull and painfully unfunny , thanks to an irritating lead character , an overstuffed script , several poorly conceived jokes and a plot that 's probably too complicated for its target audience .",
        "aesthetically MOV is as accomplished as anything the studio has done , but look under the bonnet and the script does n't quite have the sophistication to shift into top gear .",
        "a great deal of know-how has been poured into MOV but there 's no way this cutesy scenario can work on multiple levels .",
        "only the youngest audience members will be amused -lrb- if a bit squirmy -rrb- ; older kids and parents will find their patience tested . at least pixar 's peerless animation remains a treat .",
        "a hypocritical bore of a film that is fundamentally no different in tone , humor and plot than your average larry the cable guy film .",
        "the cars characters will never be in danger of melting my heart , but the spy antics in this film are enough of a rip-roaring distraction to carry me through the almost two-hour running time .",
        "fine as a mild diversion , but up against pixar 's high standards , it 's a definite disappointment .",
        "the first pixar film that could understandably be dismissed as filler .",
        "at least MOV looks as expertly sleek and sturdy as audiences have come to expect from the standard-setting animation company , which is celebrating its 25th anniversary .",
        "MOV narrowly avoids becoming pixar 's first truly bad movie , but it 's definitely the studio 's worst movie .",
        "while it does n't hit the grand heights of other pixar films , there 's still a lot of fun to be had here .",
        "too much of the movie putters along on autopilot .",
        "feels like it was written by someone who got fired from an eddie murphy film , or jay leno . it 's the sequel no one asked for .",
        "lasseter and his team 's pitch-perfect way with genre cliches revs up the espionage subplot .",
        "lightning and mater are both likable characters . their odd-couple friendship makes `` MOV '' worth watching , even if some elements of the film are n't fully carticulated .",
        "they said it could n't be done . but pixar proved the yaysayers wrong when it made its first bad movie , `` cars . '' now it has worsted itself with the even more awful `` MOV . ''",
        "this is a movie made for kids who grew up on tiny tin versions of their favorite vehicles , a group outside the often adult reach of a typical pixar experience .",
        "as lovable as mater is , let 's face it : a little bit of larry the cable guy goes a long way .",
        "unless you have a kid in tow who wants to see about 75 new cars that you 'll later have to buy for them in toy form , this movie is n't a must-see .",
        "you 'd think that the grown-up audience that actually buys the billions of dollars worth of cars toys and other merch would n't have to deal with being so studiously ignored , especially when no other pixar movie has ever intentionally shut them out .",
        "it 's mater to the rescue every time the plot bogs down .",
        "as silly and soulless spy spoofs go , MOV has its moments here and there .",
        "ultimately , MOV is n't a bad film but it does have some deadly dull stretches and never hits top gear .",
        "one for the scrapheap .",
        "a mater overload is on the cards , and much as the new characters add some dimension , it 's still a mater-mcqueen show , essentially .",
        "it 's funny , entertaining , and visually witty . i could happily watch it again , just for the ingenuity of the background detail .",
        "mater 's ugly-americanism may be ` humorous , ' but simmering below the surface of this story is the horrifying prospect of another kind of american idiocy taking hold around the world : ` intelligent design . '",
        "it is all quite jolly and fast-paced , a feast for the eyes , but there 's not much for the mind or the heart .",
        "the invention here is often still dazzling , the race sequences are invigorating and spirited voice work atones for the inexpressiveness of the cars themselves . even so , this is n't pixar at top gear .",
        "it unquestionably sparkles visually and the very youngest kids will still enjoy it , but between MOV and particularly pixar 's three previous features stands a wide chasm of quality .",
        "so-so .",
        "not much engine-power here .",
        "pregui\u0437oso no desenvolvimento de seus personagens e clich\u043a na elabora\u0437\u0433o de sua trama .",
        "yes , `` MOV \u2033 is better than `` cars . ''",
        "notwithstanding john turturro 's amusingly smug italian f1 speedster and a few lighthearted jabs at japanese tv and technology , MOV generally remains stuck in neutral .",
        "MOV is such a mess , it makes the original look like it ought to rank among pixar 's masterpieces by comparison .",
        "it 's sometimes funny , often silly but never really transcendent , though the same could probably be said of the original , as well .",
        "MOV is not a bad sequel , just a disappointing one -lrb- though cars was not great either -rrb- , a structurally messy animation that goes overboard as compensation for the flawed narrative .",
        "you never believe any of the movie 's homilies are more than shallow truisms tacked onto an overlong toy commercial .",
        "lackluster and misguided , dialing up the noise and violence while a cast of allegedly beloved characters are left in the rear-view mirror , playing second fiddle to explosions and gunfire .",
        "pixar 's least-serious film to date : playful , silly , crammed with one-liners and throwaway sight gags . though it lacks the immense depth of feeling that characterizes the studio 's more acclaimed releases , it 's by no means hollow .",
        "MOV looks like the work of multiple committees completing various objectives , with varying degrees of success .",
        "this souped-up sequel kicks it into high gear with new characters , slick animation and a global espionage caper .",
        "`` MOV '' teaches gentle kid-friendly lessons about the importance of friendship and being yourself and introduces some great new characters in its parallel spy drama and auto racing plots .",
        "a tedious action caper that has only a handful of laughs and suffers from a dearth of storytelling magic . it 's shockingly un-pixar-like .",
        "tedious , derivative , and with little inspiration , MOV is not only the weakest pixar effort , it is also the studio 's first genuinely bad one .",
        "it 's a worthwhile diversion ... but let 's hope that lasseter and friends soon return to the emotional ambition that has made pixar such a reliable brand to date .",
        "apparently co-director john lasseter is so in love with the idea of talking cars that he could not see that it falls short of the standards he is responsible for establishing .",
        "here is the most important thing you need to know about this movie : larry the cable guy has top billing .",
        "MOV demonstrates that not every hit movie merits a sequel .",
        "as appalling as any motion picture released so far in 2011 . ruthlessly betrays every last thing the original so passionately stood for .",
        "if you have kids under 10 , you 'll at least marvel at the multiple car chases and car races this sequel delivers . but for everyone else , this is the first pixar movie that you should skip entirely . -lrb- full content parental review also available -rrb-",
        "MOV runs out of gas . it 's on fumes -- and some of them pretty noxious . there may be enough color and motion to initially interest children , but the plot will lose them , and boredom may follow .",
        "lasseter should have left this sputtering galumph on the table and pumped the gas into toy story 4 .",
        "more of a spinoff than a sequel , MOV succeeds on the back of a much more likeable hero and plot full of silly fun and adventure .",
        "not a total car wreck but has enough `` dents '' plotwise to make it less than a pixar movie should be",
        "pixar can do bugs , fish and toys , but they just ca n't bring these cars to life .",
        "it seems the gang at pixar animation studios is human after all -- they 've finally come out with an out-and-out stinker .",
        "it 's finally happened . pixar 's mythical run of great films is over .",
        "MOV 's lovely globe-spanning graphics and 007-ish action give it a slight edge over its sire , but not by much . the overlong , convoluted plot and charmless , bargain-basement humour is way beneath pixar standards .",
        "exceptionally colorful and bright animation mingles with a multi-layered storyline that bogs down around the lowbrow humor of larry the cable guy .",
        "even with its highly adroit usage of 3d , this animated exercise in busyness has an incomprehensible james bond-ian storyline that should baffle young ones as much as it grates on their elders .",
        "despite its technical and design finesse , this ranks as pixar 's weakest project to date , as well as the first from the animation powerhouse that can be described as craven .",
        "lightning and mater mix it up with formula 1 and spies in yet another pixar winner .",
        "hits the gas with a simpler story about friendship , bolder visuals , good natured humor , and wall to wall action .",
        "formally , everything 's in order-it 's an attractive film with some ingenious action sequences-but the problems overwhelm the pleasures , leading to the conclusion that this film 's trouble is under the hood .",
        "even pixar , as trustworthy a brand as there is , lays an egg from time to time . in the case of MOV , it 's a rotten egg to boot .",
        "if you 're going to set the standard in animation , however lofty it may be , you best be prepared to live up to it . and MOV , it pains me to say , does not .",
        "a light summer feast for the senses that will have the whole family vrooming , for sure .",
        "this is n't an animated film , this is a cartoon .",
        "base-level entertainment on a familiarly laid racetrack . while unfolding against a sumptuous visual backdrop , MOV does n't have the same adventurousness of spirit that marks pixar 's best efforts .",
        "frantic , loud , colorful , `` MOV '' is pure unfiltered stimulation without the thematic weight of the original . what it loses in gentle observations , it more than makes up for in explosions , spy movie conventions , and more explosions .",
        "the film 's frenetic pace will keep the kids from getting bored but overall MOV does not further pixar 's previously pristine legacy . MOV makes for a decent play date but is not an especially good movie .",
        "for the first time in its 25-year history , pixar has produced a picture that has no reason to exist -- other than the obvious monetary one , of course , or maybe director john lasseter 's desire to make a faux james bond movie .",
        "in terms of story and atmosphere and overall feeling , `` MOV '' is a brand-new experience - and a distinct improvement .",
        "the law of averages has finally caught up with the most remarkable studio in modern movie history , the dream factory that lived up to buzz lightyear 's joyous cry of `` to infinity and beyond . '' this frenzied sequel seldom gets beyond mediocrity .",
        "all the shifts in location with four big races and the spy story get overly complicated without drawing us in , a disquieting sense of missing the forest for the trees .",
        "harsh criticism for this kiddie-focused sequel is not unwarranted , but my thought is that the film works best when not put into the pixar context . viewed in a vacuum , MOV is solid family entertainment .",
        "it 's not that `` MOV '' is an unpleasant exercise in animated filmmaking . it 's just such a perfunctory one . the sequel is about as captivating as a trip to the disney store at the mall .",
        "did no one , at any point , simply ask , `` do we really want larry the cable guy carrying this movie ? ''",
        "we 've come to expect perfection from pixar , mostly because pixar expects perfection from itself .",
        "after eleven artistically and financially successful features , pixar has delivered their first dud with MOV .",
        "it 's not that MOV is bad-it 's just ordinary , and pixar has never made ordinary .",
        "there 's more going on than there was in cars and the globe-trotting 's a gas . but compared to the pick of the pixar pack , this is some way down the grid .",
        "it 's hugely sad that the emeryville studio have turned in their first dud but the stark reality is that MOV really offers very little for neither kids nor adults .",
        "what an irony that MOV is in many ways the epitome of the fast-paced , superficial postmodernity that its predecessor bemoaned .",
        "`` MOV '' is a solid vehicle for pixar .",
        "a rollicking , free-wheeling joy ride .",
        "a sequel that improves on the original , MOV is sheer delight .",
        "the sequel zooms along quickly enough , but its attempts at humor are often stale and forced and there 's a distinct lack of emotion to the proceedings .",
        "after the serviceable first film ... this sequel puts the accelerator to the floor and never looks in the rear-view mirror .",
        "a really fun movie with a lot going on in it .",
        "with `` MOV , '' pixar goes somewhere new : the ditch .",
        "a tad too complicated but there 's a large bonnet full of surprises , laughs and adventures as brilliant action and chaos explodes onscreen",
        "MOV is not only the weakest pixar film to date , but it 's the first one that can be sadly dismissed as not particularly worth seeing .",
        "utterly brilliant animation , inventive story telling and thrilling spy movie with heart",
        "it 's sweet-spirited , visually delightful -lrb- if aurally cacophonous -rrb- , and it will make for a pleasant enough family afternoon at the movies . but we 've come to expect so much more than mere pleasantness from pixar that MOV feels almost like a betrayal .",
        "`` MOV '' might be a better james bond film than five or six of the actual bond films , and the fact that its hero is a bucktoothed , redneck tow truck without a hood does nothing to detract from its -lrb- admittedly modest -rrb- appeal .",
        "it 's pixar 's first clunker .",
        "if it 's going to be diet pixar , at least it 's action-packed diet pixar -- with overwhelming , detail-choked production design that occasionally had my jaw lowering like a forklift .",
        "it does just about everything but tell an actual story .",
        "`` MOV '' hardly seems like a pixar movie at all - it lacks the studio 's usual emotional ambition , it settles for the gag-a-minute style of its commercial rivals , and is by far the studio 's least original movie .",
        "there are a lot of expertly designed action scenes and some very detailed , great-looking set pieces , but in the end , making mater the main character turns the film into kind of a forrest gump lite .",
        "a sensory-overloaded sequel that revs to a confusing , high-octane frenzy , never forging any emotional connection with the audience . but the accompanying short , ` toy story hawaiian vacation ' is delightful . keep the short - can the feature .",
        "bad creative decision # 1 : making cars a spy movie . the whole point of cars 1 was to slow down and appreciate life . now it 's a busy generic caper . bad creative decision # 2 : cars with guns .",
        "not since hee haw has the south been so successfully slandered ; larry the cable guy 's live action films are beyond abysmal , and his hayseed , grinning rube act is no less offensive or cynical when transposed into cartoon form .",
        "it is gorgeous - as gorgeous as any animated movie is likely to be in all of 2011 ... and it has a completely awful story and script .",
        "this is one pixar film where you really do feel the length as keenly as the merchandising push .",
        "take the family , and leave your cynicism at home if you dare . even though MOV does n't top my pixar list , it 's still a great film .",
        "pixar 's first true disaster , which totally fails to understand what was good about the first film , or what 's great about pixar itself .",
        "it 's an example of what a sequel should , or at least can , be .",
        "MOV is marginally better than its predecessor , but the same problem still remains : cars just are n't very interesting as anthropomorphic animation vehicles -lrb- pun intended -rrb- .",
        "given pixar 's track record , it would be easy to forgive MOV as a swing and a miss . yet the movie is more disconcerting than that ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is as visually appealing as any other pixar production , but all that dazzle ca n't disguise the rusty storytelling under the hood .",
    "id": "770805427"
  },
  {
    "movie": "monkey_kingdom",
    "reviews": [
        "an engaging , kid-friendly nature doc with a hint of social commentary rolled in .",
        "a populist take on simian society and alpha leadership leads to an entertaining look at caste systems in the animal kingdom .",
        "the cheekiest , funniest , and most purely entertaining entry in the disneynature series .",
        "the film should hit the sweet spot for family audiences .",
        "with its sumptuous photography , razor-sharp editing , and a delightfully comic narration by tin fey , `` MOV '' shows us like no other film in recent memory how closely animals act like people .",
        "the cumulative effect is cheerily life-affirming , a bracing infusion of macaque-style joie de vivre .",
        "MOV is delightful , and its swinging and vaulting best any stuntwork you 'll see in this year 's summer blockbusters ...",
        "the imagery of this film will linger in this reviewer 's mind long after the monkey names are forgotten .",
        "it 's hard to imagine what message children will take away from this film other than that monkeys are just like characters in a fictional disney movie , which they are not .",
        "monkeys .",
        "the film offers a valuable life lesson in the powers of determination and timing , but most of all it 's darned entertaining .",
        "you know how nature docs work . you forgive the hoked-up comic relief ... and tasteful allusions to death and dying and procreation because the tight shots of maya 's lil ' kip are so durn cuuuuute .",
        "it 's been clear for awhile now that tina fey rules . `` MOV '' is just the latest entertainment to benefit .",
        "as much fun as a tree full of toque macaques , MOV is arguably the most entertaining of disneynature 's eight features .",
        "assess to what extent we 're witnessing man-ufactured monkey life ... -lsb- or -rsb- just pay no attention to the men and women behind the curtain and simply enjoy the underwater photography of monkeys swimming .",
        "MOV is beautifully shot by co-directors mark linfield and alastair fothergill , who each have a slew of nature-doc credits to their names .",
        "stick around for the credits to find out how pivotal scenes were shot for this worthy addition to disney 's long tradition of nature family films .",
        "disneynature 's documentaries have proven to be exquisite to watch , but time and again , they falter , if not fail outright , at telling stories without getting in their own way .",
        "although its chief asset is its inherently entertaining subject matter , `` MOV '' does far more than just let the cameras roll : it teases a compelling drama out of one monkey tribe 's complicated social hierarchy ...",
        "MOV may be disneynature 's low point thus far , but that does n't mean it is n't a great time .",
        "you 're likely to laugh and learn in equal measure-and so will your little ones .",
        "another winning entry in disneynature 's collection of easily accessible documentaries . -lrb- full content review -- violence , etc. -- for parents also available -rrb-",
        "adorable as expected but also surprisingly absorbing , with marvelous narration from tina fey .",
        "an enjoyable documentary , with some painless lessons . and a good heart , too ...",
        "this latest production showcases lavish , breathtaking cinematography , in addition to heartwarming stories about the inhabitants of these gorgeous lands .",
        "while previous entries in this series have been over-anthropomorphized , defanged and declawed , mark linfield & alastair fothergill 's -lrb- `` earth , '' `` chimpanzee '' -rrb- latest is a winner with an organically spun story",
        "it pretty closely follows the disneynature formula , so do n't expect anything groundbreaking . you can , however , expect a sweet and entirely enjoyable all-ages delight .",
        "you could n't do much better than `` MOV '' to get kids invested in learning about , and protecting , the natural world .",
        "if you do n't love monkeys already - and really , we all should - then `` MOV '' will swing you in the right direction .",
        "`` MOV '' is n't going to be mistaken for science , but it 's extremely entertaining .",
        "`` MOV '' tugs our heartstrings to the top of the trees . with a lot of patience , and perhaps a little trickery , directors mark linfield and alastair fothergill have produced a simian `` cinderella . ''",
        "what we witness in MOV is nothing less than amazing .",
        "`` MOV '' clocks in at a very digestible 82 minutes and does n't overstay its welcome . it does n't monkey around - that 's left to the film 's subjects , who are more than happy to oblige .",
        "the story of the colony 's exile and return feels like a dull sermon , but the animals themselves , with their expressive faces and moe howard hairdos , can switch from slapstick to pathos faster than charlie chaplin .",
        "everything MOV lacks in scientific rigor , it makes up for in pure entertainment value-and then some .",
        "the lead monkeys are such an engaging trio , and the filmmakers are so successful in capturing them in vibrant images , that family audiences will probably be charmed , if not enthralled .",
        "you 'll wish the narrative could be as au naturel as the photography , but MOV makes for pleasantly diverting eco-tainment .",
        "tina fey-narrated monkey documentary is funny , educational .",
        "if it helps convey zoological and ecological lessons to children with short attention spans , then so be it .",
        "MOV is a passable time-passer , with lovely visuals and positive if oversimplified messages about conservation and motherhood , but nothing more .",
        "engaging live-action eco-documentary , combining education with entertainment ...",
        "all in all , this is one of disneynature 's best in-country outings so far , so much so that you 're very likely to leave the theatre feeling downright giddy and more connected to the world than before .",
        "it might be tempting to roll your eyes at the disney-ness of it all . then again , maybe it 's that disney-ness that keeps you watching all the way to that happy ending in the first place .",
        "MOV moves so smoothly and quickly that the filmmakers ' time-consuming dedication and labor-intense toil stays , as it should be , invisible .",
        "the filmmakers bring us to places and creatures we would never see otherwise , so we get education along with the entertainment",
        "this may be an unabashed , disneyfied version of nature . but it 's also fun , touching , and expertly assembled .",
        "it 's a wondrous way for the whole family to spend 81 minutes . and most importantly , part of your ticket purchase during opening week goes to protecting this endangered species ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV 's breathtaking footage of primates in the wild is likely to please animal lovers of all ages .",
    "id": "771378525"
  },
  {
    "movie": "24_city",
    "reviews": [
        "a blend of documentary and drama which is by turns movingly authentic and deliberately artificial .",
        "a familiar scenario both here and in china , but jia zhang-ke has shaped it into a complex and lucid cinematic poem about identity , transience , and loss .",
        "24 MOV includes evocative footage of factory 420 's dismantling , but emphasizes people over place .",
        "in -lsb- jia zhangke 's -rsb- chronicle of the changing fortunes of a defunct but once glorious aeronautic factory and its workers through talking heads and wordless images exclusively , the documentary strain prevails to simple , yet emotionally reverberating effect .",
        "jia purposely refrains from voicing any opinions here and its authenticity may be arguable , but if pure fiction is so often taken as historical testimony , why should n't half-fiction qualify for the same honours ?",
        "jia zhangke seems to be entering a new phase of his fascinating career with 24 MOV , a documentary/fiction hybrid that reworks the director 's signature techniques and strategies to stunning and self-critical effect .",
        "in the end , the filmmaker 's fragmented approach marks an interesting , if not entirely successful , departure for one of china 's most talented working directors .",
        "24 MOV belies its documentary origins with overtly poetic film language : the film is an elegiac visual symphony of carefully framed compositions , trompe l'oeil camera movements , posed portraits , internal rhymes and mysterious vignettes .",
        "24 MOV wo n't change the minds of detractors -- it is his most painfully slow yet -- but it might change the minds of his supporters , including this critic , for jia attempts something that is , in the end , unforgivable .",
        "strongest moments are when the pristine hd lensing by hong kong 's yu lik-wai -lrb- a jia regular -rrb- and wang yu , and warm string music by yoshihiro hanno , take over in montages showing the gradual dismantling of the factory .",
        "zhangke never hints much about politics ... his is more the story of ordinary people caught up in history and still determined to live their lives as well as they can . it 's both relevant and resonant .",
        "the film takes on an operatic feel , moving between euphoria for the new and lament for the lost .",
        "reflective historical documentary on ordinary chinese workers .",
        "enthralling , beguiling and haunting .",
        "chinese arthouse fixture jia zhang ke looks at the closure of a state-owned factory in chengdu , combining real interviews with awkwardly am-dram mock ones .",
        "punctuated with eyebrow-raising poems about aeronautics factories , its treacle-paced obliqueness will frustrate some viewers . but the pay-off 's a layered , haunting portrait of china in its shift to a capitalist economy .",
        "a deeply serious and sombre film , trying to find a way of telling the stories of people affected by the gigantic political and economic changes sweeping that country whose concerns must in the end affect us all : 21st-century china .",
        "history weaves in and out of faces that purl their monologues -- real or scripted -- as jia presents the past as a giant , invisible river .",
        "an intriguing hybrid of fiction and documentary , this film chronicles the dismantling of a notorious factory in chengdu to make way for a new luxury community . it 's skilfully assembled , but a bit dry for western audiences .",
        "this subversively old-fashioned hymn to industrial production is filled with offbeat , vaguely absurd details .",
        "celebrated filmmaker jia zhangke melds fiction and non-fiction filmmaking to portray the new betrayals in store for the chinese as they shift to capitalism -- ones not very different from the old betrayals of a paternalistic society .",
        "brilliant evocation of maoist-minded workers alienated by china 's bourgeois transformation .",
        "with this moody and curiously effective follow-up to his critically acclaimed drama still life , director jia zhang-ke paints another vivid portrait of china devastated by commercial ` progress . '",
        "24 MOV is best viewed with no pretense of it being a documentary . thus absolved of having to provide context , it can be appreciated for its narrative , a past-meets-present series of melodramas .",
        "the boom-and-bust cycle that afflicts company towns in capitalist countries also dogs the state-run cogmakers , as chinese auteur jia zhang-ke lyrically depicts in 24 MOV , an ode to changing times .",
        "the director has an exquisite eye that keeps getting stronger and subtler . he trusts that beauty is vagueness 's alluring upside .",
        "one of the year 's best ... a narrative film masquerading as a documentary , and more of an essay on the status of life in a modernising china than either",
        "simultaneously more and less than meets the eye .",
        "24 MOV is an intriguing blend of documentary and fiction that is intermittently both moving and informative , though it 's also slightly too long and drags a little around the halfway mark .",
        "jia is one of the guiding lights of the sixth generation of chinese filmmakers , and 24 MOV is a potent exploration of his constant theme -- the tectonic shifts that occur as the old gives way to the new .",
        "becomes whatever the viewer wants it to be .",
        "the complexity of -lsb- zhangke 's -rsb- postmodernist formal gambit nonetheless gets at something pressing .",
        "jia zhangke uses documentary and narrative storytelling in `` 24 MOV , '' an extraordinary chronicling of how deconstruction of an aviation factory in chengdu , china , effects the lives of 30,000 workers for whom the factory was not just a job , but a way of li",
        "compelling and provocative with powerful images and quietly moving interviews that shed light on impact of social , economical and political changes on factory workers in china .",
        "this blending of the truth and invention is a key plank of chinese director jia zhang-ke 's work , which skates so close to documentary it is hard to spot the join .",
        "as far as nonfiction goes , you probably wo n't seen anything else this year so beautifully filmed .",
        "mostly , 24 MOV falls into the same jia trap of inadvertently drawing the viewers ' gaze past his human subjects and to the poetic images of a country in painful metamorphosis .",
        "the actors in 24 MOV , an experimental fiction-nonfiction hybrid , bring their own existential realities to their short , touching performances .",
        "mr. jia is an artist , one of the most interesting filmmakers working anywhere in the world , and he made his film to bear witness to a way of life while witnesses could still be found .",
        "the result is surprisingly engrossing -- even lively , due in part to brief musical numbers inserted amid the interviews ."
    ],
    "summary": "one of china 's most talented directors blurs the lines between non-fiction , drama , and musical theater in this vivid portrait of a country in cultural flux .",
    "id": "770771535"
  },
  {
    "movie": "patch_adams",
    "reviews": [
        "somebody needs to come up with a remedy for the maudlin robin williams comedy .",
        "if you can suspend disbelief at every odds-defying incident and mind-blowing improbability , the inspirational message may work on you like magic . if not , the film falls flat as a 60-second souffle .",
        "a little too conventional and predictable for my taste . however , when the ending came , the whole effect of the movie was pretty much ruined .",
        "this film wants to be loved so much , it pleads with us to believe its black and white message .",
        "another assembly-line vehicle !",
        "it suffers from excessive heart - warming itis !",
        "the picture takes too many emotional shortcuts and ends on a heavily sentimental note it dooes n't earn .",
        "preachy and overlong !",
        "this contrived feel-good film is a bit like adding artificial sweetener to eggnog .",
        "by the end of it , you may feel like tripping a stranger just to shake off the sticky-sweet residue .",
        "the true story of a virginia medical student who breaks all the rules by daring to proclaim that the best medicine for patients is love , laughter and play .",
        "watching MOV is like being bedridden and suffering the further indignity of a caregiver who is self-righteous and thinks he 's a comedian .",
        "... infuriating because it divides the world into fun-loving rebels and uptight establishment-types",
        "... formulaic from the word go , with so many trite , overused devices that it could serve as a primer for ` things to avoid when making an original movie . '",
        "an overdose of sentimental claptrap , underscored by marc shaiman 's clich\u00e9d string arrangements .",
        "has obviously been made for an audience that has never seen a movie before .",
        "williams pulls out all the stops in a lead role that gives him carte blanche to careen between extremes of silliness and sentimentality ; he tries too hard , too obviously , much like the pic itself .",
        "indulges to the hilt every obnoxious , hyperactive , oh-what-i-wouldn ` t-give-for-a-tranquilizer-gun aspect of robin williams ' performing style .",
        "true-story medical tale is made shallow and sentimental .",
        "shadyac underscores williams ' comic routines with superfluous and frankly relentless reaction shots of patients and hospital staff alike crumpling with laughter .",
        "a perfectly fine , play-it-safe vehicle for robin williams that showcases both his great gift for improvisational comedy and his ability to make a heartfelt connection .",
        "it is overly sentimental and manipulative . that is to be expected from a movie such as this , but it , especially the latter , can not be ignored .",
        "it 's a whimsical , feel-good film .",
        "though he really does seem like a swell person , i 've always liked williams better in theory than i do in practice . and this blubbering ass-kiss of a movie is very possibly the last straw .",
        "although the real-life adams has shown great imagination as a doctor , the same ca n't be said for director tom shadyac and his producers .",
        "its simpleminded mawkishness aside , MOV also represents filmic storytelling at its most corrupt .",
        "offensive and deeply false ` inspirational ! '",
        "those in sore need of busting a gut had better look elsewhere for comic relief .",
        "almost every scene triggers a sense of deja vu !",
        "the whole thing plays like a really long robin williams ' talk show appearance with a plot slapped on .",
        "the screenplay starts flying all over the place , as if the rubber band holding it in place snapped , and a courtroom scene at the end is an insult to the audience 's intelligence .",
        "here is the year 's least welcome technological advance , the computer-generated butterfly meant to provide a touch of magic for a film that has none of its own .",
        "williams tries his best with the lines he 's given , but they make up a sermon that we and every other character is simply bludgeoned with .",
        "has some very funny moments , but they 're all drowned out by an overbearingly sentimental script .",
        "over-determined , heartlessly manipulative !",
        "this attempted tribute to the human spirit more often than not seems like it was written by a computer .",
        "a sea of schmaltz that is even more insulting than it is nauseating .",
        "vile .",
        "intenta hacerle ver al p\u00fablico lo importante de las relaciones humanas entre doctor y paciente",
        "involving and emotionally fulfilling , if quite a bit over-sentimental .",
        "the film may get sappy at times and come off as over-sentimentalized at others , but for the most part it 's an engaging , funny and touching story .",
        "instead of drama , MOV gives us mere iconography , and wastes williams 's iconoclastic dedicated doc .",
        "if i were the real MOV , i 'd sue for malpractice !",
        "if shadyac 's aim was to fashion a film kindred in essence to adams ' own outlook and work , then this feelgood extravaganza must come pretty close to hitting that mark .",
        "director tom shadyac and screenwriter steve oedekerk have sleekly outfitted a sudsy feel-good formula into an entertaining holiday comic tear-gusher .",
        "a sure-fire crowd-pleaser !",
        "a movie of depth and delight !",
        "though both williams and the film stray into some questionable areas of humor , he succeeds quite nicely at pulling it off .",
        "it extracts tears individually by liposuction , without anesthesia !",
        "a genuine , heartwarming crowd pleaser , although director tom shadyac can be seen disgorging heapings of sentimental claptrap over this biographical landscape .",
        "blindingly unsubtle !",
        "the story 's a bit too formulaic to summon the tears it 's going for ."
    ],
    "summary": "syrupy performances and directing make this dramedy all too obvious .",
    "id": "12824"
  }
]